Trial by Soundby AgrithChaptersChapter 1: ArrivalChapter 3: PlanningChapter 4: DiscoveryChapter 5: MonsterChapter 2: A Cave and a BoneChapter 1: ArrivalChapter 1: Arrival The chirping of birds awoke him from his slumber. He had no idea where he was, or even who he was. Sounds, people, sensations, and memories all fought for dominance. Nothing made sense. In some memories, he could remember everything clearly except for what he was. In others, he remembered what he was but nothing he did. To say he was confused would be an understatement. He slowly opened his eyes, taking in the sights around him. He was in a small clearing in a forest. It was early morning as the dew hadn’t evaporated yet. He tried sitting up but found his body wouldn’t respond to commands. He began to panic, fearing he would lay there, unable to move, until he died. The fear of death seemed to rouse some sort of response from his body, as something literally clicked and he was able to move his arms. They were green, completely made of some type of metal, and surprisingly he was able to feel with his hands. He pulled up some grass, observing how the morning dew ran down the blades onto his hands. That’s when he noticed the gurgling of a stream some distance away. As he got up to investigate, he noticed a glint of silver in the grass. Moving closer, he saw it was a metal staff slightly taller than he was. The ends looked like large tuning forks, but were sharpened to deadly points. He picked it up and twirled it around. It felt right, as if the staff was meant for him and him only. He walked over the stream and looked at his reflection. While his arms were a deep green, his body was bright yellow. There were six spikes on his back, ranging from 2 feet to six inches long, getting shorter towards the back. His jaw appeared to be split in three parts, with two opening to the sides and a large piece opening down. His head was completely covered in armor, leaving very little skin exposed. Combined with a height of eight feet, minus the spikes, he looked very intimidating. But who was he? ...Derahk… Derahk. It sounded right and it seemed it fit him quite well. He continued observing his reflection, taking note that the only organic parts seemed to be his head; the rest of his body looked like an imitation of life made of cold metal. A branch snapping in the distance drove him back to reality. It sounded far off and it was unlikely whatever made that noise was aware of his presence. Derahk could here muffled noises, most likely voices, but couldn’t tell what they were saying. He tried looking for whatever was making those noises, but the thick forest and low light prevented him from seeing more than a few feet into the forest. The voices were getting louder but he still couldn’t make them out. He decided the best course of action would be to hide in the trees until he could determine the source of the voices. He leapt into the nearest suitable tree, taking care to hide the yellow on his body and making sure his staff was accessible. He didn’t have to wait long until the source of the voices emerged into the clearing. While he didn’t have any idea on what the locals looked like and was expecting anything, he was surprised when two small quadrupeds stepped out the brush. He shifted through his memories in an attempt to identify what those things were, but he came up with nothing. They were small, covered in fur, and their short legs compared to their bodies seemed to indicate they were children. One was brown with a tan mane and tail. The other was white with a blue mane and tail and appeared to have a small growth on its head. What the purpose of that growth was, Derahk didn’t know. They were talking to each other, but there was something wrong with what he was hearing. They seemed to be talking about how beautiful the morning was, but they weren’t using words Derahk could recognize. He understand what they were saying, even if they were speaking a language he didn’t know. “It’s nice being able to go out in the morning without bundling up,” the brown one said. “Yeah, I prefer dew to frost any day,” the white one said. “Know if the pegasi are planning any storms soon?” the brown one asked. “Stone, just because my dad is a pegasus doesn’t mean he tells me the weather report every day,” the white one snapped. “Sorry for asking,” Stone said, “I just didn’t want to get rained on in a few days.” “Why? What are you planning? You know what happened last time you tired something stupid.” “It’s nothing like that Crystal. Just a few outdoor activities that I don’t want getting wet.” “Whatever you say,” Crystal said with a wink. “What was that?” Stone asked. “What was what?” “That wink.” “What wink?” “Never mind.” Crystal giggled softly and they walked over to the stream. Derahk had stopped listening to the conversation halfway through. He was still trying to figure out what these things were and the mention of pegasi seemed to spark something in his mind. Memories began to surface, vague at best, but they gave him names. These things were ponies; not dumb animals, but intelligent creatures. The brown one, Stone, was an earth pony and a colt, indicated by his somewhat deep voice. The white one, Crystal, the one with the growth on its head, was a unicorn and a filly, having a somewhat higher voice than Stone. All of this came to Derahk in the span of three seconds and during those three seconds he heard a faint creak beneath him. And another. He looked down to see the branch he was standing on was beginning to sag under his weight. The branch began producing cracking noises and the two foals turned away from the stream and looked towards the source of the sound. “Hello? Is somepony there?” Crystal called out. “Come out now and I won’t buck you for spying on us,” Stone threatened. “Stone, that’s not very nice,” Crystal scolded. “Whoever it is shouldn’t be-“ The branch finally gave and sent Derahk crashing into the ground. His staff followed him, imbedding itself next to his head. Surprisingly, he didn’t feel any pain, but that might be due to the lack of an organic body. He shook his head and sat up, making sure his body was in one piece. Some mud was smeared on his arms and a few leaves were caught in his armor, but otherwise he was completely fine. He looked over to where to the two foals were and saw they hadn’t moved. They were too shocked at seeing an eight foot tall metal being falling out of a tree to do anything. Derahk attempted to say hello, but all the foals heard were a series of clicking noises. When they didn’t respond, Derahk stood up and busied himself with getting the leaves out of his armor. “What is that thing?” Crystal whispered, though Derahk could hear them perfectly. “I have no idea,” Stone whispered back, “Do you think it wants to eat us?” “If it wanted to get us, it could have gotten us when our backs were turned.” “So what do we do?” “Talk to it?” “Are you crazy?” Stone said, voice no longer a whisper, “We have no idea what it wants.” “Better than nothing,” Crystal said. Finished with removing the leaves, Derahk pulled his staff out of the ground and examined it for damages. Finding none, he walked over to the stream, causing the foals to back away from him. He paused for a moment before washing his arms and staff in the water. After he finished removing all he mud, Derahk turned towards the two foals still hadn’t moved. “Say something,” Stone said, nudging Crystal forward. “Me? Why do I have to be the one to say hello?” Crystal said, digging her hooves in the ground. “You’re the one who suggested it.” “You’re the braver one.” The exchange continued for some time before Derahk made a few clicking noises to get them to stop. He split his staff in two, causing the two foals to flinch, and placed the halves on back, out of the way. He then crossed his arms, as if to say, “I’m waiting.” Stone, tired of waiting, pushed Crystal harder than he was before and senther several feet forward, tumbling head over hooves. “Coward,” Crystal muttered under her breath, “Oh, h-hello Mister Whatever-You-Are. I’m Crystal Lightning and this is my friend Stone Shatter. We-we were wondering what exactly you are. I’ve never seen something like you before.” “Nice to meet you. My name is Derahk and I’m a rahkshi,” Derahk said, though it came out as a series of clicks. Crystal stood there confused, wondering if those clicks were this thing’s way of talking. Derahk mentally faceplammed, remembering how they didn’t respond when he said hello. “Um, can you talk?” Crystal asked. Derahk nodded, but pointed at her and shook his head. “You can speak but we can’t understand you?” Crystal said. He nodded. “Well how are we gonna learn more about you?” “I know, let’s take it to Magic Knowledge,” Stone said excitedly, “She’s smart and knows loads of stuff. Maybe a way we can understand him.” “That’s actually a good idea,” Crystal said, “for once. Does that sound like a good idea, Mister?” Derahk shrugged and made a few clicks, translating into “Meh, what the hell.” “Alright Mister, follow me,” Crystal said, charging towards the trees before stopping, “You are a mister, right?” He nodded, motioning with his hands to get her to go. “Alright, to Magic Knowledge’s we go!” Chapter 3: PlanningChapter 3: Planning Early morning in the town of Silver Grove was a time when very few ponies were out and about, with the exception of Crystal and Stone and their early morning walks. The library, which served as a backup to town hall, however, always had a pony awake during the day; a.k.a. the librarian and local scholar, Magic Knowledge. A red coated unicorn with a black mane and tail with a gold streak and a book for a cutie mark walked around the library, periodically checking books for damages she might have missed. Satisfied, she walked over to a table and began sorting through the things she had to do. “Whenever the new shipment of books comes in, I should have enough reading material for the Summer Reading Program,” Magic Knowledge said to herself and sighed, “If only enough young foals were interested in that sort of thing. Maybe I can make it more exciting by-“ She was interrupted by a loud knocking at the door. “Who is Equestria could that be?” she said, looking at the clock, “It’s not even noon.” She opened the door with her magic and was surprised to see Crystal and Stone standing there; surprised as in she knew of the little crush between them and thought they would still be out in the forest. “Stone, Crystal, what a surprise to see to you,” Magic said, “What are you doing here? I thought you would still be out and about in the forest. Please, come in.” Magic stepped aside to let the two foals enter. “I wasn’t expecting anypony to come by this early, so I don’t have much in the way of snacks,” Magic said. “That’s okay,” Crystal said, “Aren’t you going to ask why we’re here.” “I hope you didn’t run into any trouble out in the woods.” “No, at least we hope it isn’t trouble,” Stone said. “What do you mean?” Magic asked, “Is there something out there?” “Actually, there are several somethings,” Crystal said, “I think we should start with the ones you would believe.” Crystal told Magic Knowledge about the Diamond Dog and lizard they saw on the path. When Crystal finished talking, Magic walked over to a window that overlooked the town. “Are you sure you know what you saw?” Magic asked. “Yes, I’m positive,” Crystal said. “Stone, is she lying?” Magic asked Stone. “I saw them too,” Stone said. Magic sighed and turned towards the foals. “This is not good,” Magic said, “If they aren’t just passing through, things could go very bad.” “What do you mean?” Crystal asked. “Some of the guards stationed at Baltimare are being moved east,” Magic explained, “While the city’s defenses won’t suffer, guards for the surrounding area are going to be stretched thin. If something were to happen here, help may not arrive in time to make a difference.” Magic instantly regretted telling two children the grim news. “But if we rally the whole town, we shouldn’t have anything to worry about,” Magic reassured. Crystal and Stone instantly perked up. “Now tell me about this other thing you found.” “Well, he can’t talk, at least we can’t understand him,” Crystal said. “But he can understand us,” Stone added. “Really? Interesting,” Magic said, raising a hoof to her chin, “Tell me more about him.” “He’s unlike anything I’ve ever heard of,” Crystal said, “He’s at least eight feet tall, has a bunch of long spikes on his back, he has a staff with pointy ends, and seems to be completely made of metal.” Magic Knowledge stared, dumbfounded that these two foals didn’t run away in terror at the sight of something like that. “And you didn’t run away from him?” Magic asked, “What came over you?” “To be honest, we were too scared,” Stone explained, “We heard some noises and he fell out of a tree. We didn’t even know he was there.” “And you trust him?” “He could have attacked when our backs were turned, but he didn’t,” Crystal said, “and he helped us hide when he heard the diamond dog and lizard. He doesn’t seem bad to me.” “You mentioned he couldn’t talk,” Magic said, “Why is that?” “He can make clicking noises and a weird screech,” Crystal said, “but nothing we can understand. Maybe you can find some sort of translation spell.” “Yes, if I have time, but the more important matter at hoof is the diamond dog and lizard you saw,” Magic said, “I’ll need to alert the mayor and help with preparations.” “But don’t you want to meet him?” Stone asked. “Meet whom? The metal thing?” Magic asked. “Yeah, we were planning on bringing him here but decided that wouldn’t be a good idea,” Crystal said, “At least not during the day. He’s out in cave in the forest.” “I have a feeling this could go bad if handled wrong, so I want you two to bring him here around midnight,” Magic said, “I’ll leave the door open so you can get in. And make sure nopony sees you; there’s no need to start a panic. Does that sound like a plan?” “Sounds good to me,” Stone said, “I’m sure he’ll be fine for a few extra hours.” *Back at the cave* Derahk left the cave to get better light for observing the bone. Unknown to him, a wolf had been watching him ever since the two foals left him alone. It had been planning on claiming the den until Derahk showed up. Were Derahk not so entranced in the bone, he might have heard the wolf sneaking up on him, but alas, he was unaware of the wolf until it decided to charge. It slammed into his back and sent him flying forward, landing face first in the dirt. Spitting out the dirt that got into his dirt, he turned around in time to see the wolf in mid leap. Instinct took over, and Derahk curled his hand into a fist and punched the wolf in its jaw, sending it flying off to one side. Dazed from the punch, the wolf had barely recovered before Derahk grabbed it and threw it into a tree. Cracks could be heard as the wolf collided with the tree, sliding down it and barely clinging to consciousness. Derahk roared a challenge at the wolf, waiting for it to get up. The wolf struggled to get and when it saw Derahk standing there, it took off as fast as possible, as painful as it was. When the wolf was out of sight, Derahk returned to his bone and acted like nothing had happened. It was almost dark and Derahk was getting a little worried. He thought either Stone or Crystal would have come by now, at least to tell them how they were planning on sneaking him across town. Even if he couldn’t give any input, knowing the plan ahead of time would make things several times easier. Not that he was worried. He could level the entire forest, even if he didn’t know it. He just wanted a distraction from the constant high pitched squeaking the bats kept making. There too many and were too small for him to deal with efficiently, so he had to put up with them. An hour after the last ray of sun had disappeared, he heard something approach. Honing in on the source of the sound, he could tell it was Stone. A minute later, the brush in front of the cave parted and the brown colt walked out. “You should have picked a spot closer to the path,” Stone said, “I almost got lost out there.” Derahk clicked and held up two fingers then pointed at Stone. “Crystal?” Derahk nodded, “She’s on the path using a light spell so I can find my way back.” Derahk tilted his head at the mention of magic. While he had a suspicion that there was magic in this world, he wasn’t fully sure of it until now. “Something wrong?” Stone asked. Derahk shook his head and motioned for Stone to get moving. “Alright, follow me,” Stone said, before disappearing into the brush. Derahk followed, staff assemble and at the ready. Even though he was confident he could detect any threats before they emerged, not holding the staff left him feeling weakened. They pushed through the bramble, Stone stumbling about in the low light while Derahk strode confidently, the low lighting not a bother with his echolocation. Up ahead, he could see a faint light in between the trees. Derahk and Stone emerged from the woods onto the path to find Crystal. At the tip of her horn was a small ball of silver blue light, not enough to be blinding but enough to see the surrounding area. “Took you long enough,” Crystal said, “Do you have any idea how boring it is just standing here?” “Next time, you go out into the woods and get him while I stand here,” Stone said. Derahk rolled his eyes and made a loud screech, enough to frighten the two foals but not enough to wake the whole village. “Fine, we’ll get going,” Crystal mumbled, “Just try to stay hidden as much as possible.” The short journey to Magic Knowledge’s place wasn’t as difficult as Derahk thought it would be. There were very few ponies out and he was easily able to avoid all of them. With the lack of widespread street lamps and a half full moon, it was easy to stick to the shadows and they made it to the Library without being detected. Now there are several things that need to happen in order to successfully sneak into a place. The first thing is to get there undetected. The next thing is managing to fit into the entrance you have chosen. Let’s just say that was easier said than done. After several minutes of struggling to fit through the doorway, trying not to tear the frame out of the wall and amazingly not alerting any of the sleeping villagers, Derahk finally managed to wiggle through the door way. The only damages were a few scratches on the frame and a sore snout on Stone from a wayward fist. Derahk looked around the library before finally stopping on Magic Knowledge. Even knowing beforehand what she was in for, the only words she managed to get out were “Oh my” before passing out. Chapter 4: DiscoveryChapter 4: Discovery “Magic? Magic?” Crystal said, shaking Magic Knowledge in an attempt to wake her up. “Ugh…what happened?” Magic asked, groggy from fainting. “You fainted when you saw our friend,” Stone said. “Friend? What friend…” Magic trailed off when she saw Derahk. She blinked a few times to make sure he was really there. “So it wasn’t a bad dream,” she said before passing out again. “Not again,” Crystal said, trying to shake Magic awake, again. Derahk sighed, at least as close to a sigh as someone could with his mouth, and banged his head against the wall a few times. The thumping noises seemed to coax Magic out of unconsciousness. “Please don’t faint again Magic,” Crystal said. “I think I’ve done enough of that for tonight,” Magic said, moving herself into a sitting position, “and I’m quite surprised you two didn’t have the same reaction.” “Maybe it was because he fell out of a tree when we first meet him,” Stone said. Derahk tried to do a sarcastic laugh, but it ended up sounding like an animal getting torn into pieces. “Okay, so he can make noises but not produce anything that sounds like language,” Magic said while walking over to Derahk, “Maybe we could try writing.” Derahk was sitting on the floor, making sure his spikes weren’t going to hit anything. Magic’s horn glowed and a table with quills and scrolls on it slid in front of him. “Do you know how to write?” Magic asked. Derahk nodded hesitantly before picking up a quill. He searched through his memories but couldn’t find anything that resembled a written language. A few things popped up, so he decided just to draw them. He moved the quill across a piece of parchment only to find no images were being produced. “You have to dip it in ink first,” Magic said while levitating an ink well in front of him. Derahk nodded in thanks and dipped the quill in the ink. He then began writing the symbols that were in his mind. At first, they made little sense; but as he continued writing, he began to associate the groups of symbols with words. When he was done, he put the quill done and slid the paper over to Magic. “Ummm, I think we might have a problem,” Magic said. Where Derahk saw words, she saw rows of circles with lines and smaller circles drawn in them. While there were consistencies that cropped up every now and then, she didn’t even know where to start with translating. The alphabet could be radically different from any known language or it could even be based on phonetics with Derahk’s limited vocals. “I don’t even have a clue what kind of language this is,” Magic said, “I’ve never seen anything that used circles before. While I have seen some alphabets use shapes to connect certain words, nothing even comes close to this. Do you know any other language?” Derahk shook his head. “Well, I guess I’ll just look for something that comes even remotely close to this and work from there,” Magic said and turned to Stone and Crystal, “Shouldn’t you two be at home?” “Our parents think we’re at slumber parties,” Crystal said. Magic raised an eyebrow at that. “Why does everypony think something weird will happen at a slumber party?” Stone asked. “Once you get a little older, you’ll understand,” Magic said, “Well, I guess you can sleep in the conference room. There are a few blankets in the closet down the hallway. Bathroom is on the other side.” “Okay,” Crystal said, “Good night Magic, good night Mister.” “Good night everypony,” Stone said. “Good night,” Magic said. Derahk made a few clicking sounds before returning to the parchment. Crystal and Stone walked down the hallway to get some sleep. Magic started looking through the books, searching for anything that could allow them to communicate with Derahk. Derahk continued looking through his memories, hoping he could find something. It was an hour before he came up with something. Instead of actively searching for a memory, he looked for certain sensations that could be attributed to writing. It was time consuming, but eventually he found something that could be useful. Trying to find instances where he wrote something, he found a memory where he was sitting down and looking at a black wall. On the black wall were a series of shapes that he was supposed to write down. Excited, he began writing all of them down on the parchment. Seeing them before him seemed to send some sort of signal through his mind and more memories of writing began to emerge. Magic, noticing he was writing again, walked over to see what he had accomplished. While it didn’t look as neat as the circles, it was definitely a different language. When Derahk had finished, he again slid the paper in front of Magic. “Interesting,” she said, “I think I may know what this is. Let me double check.” Her horn glowed as a think tome levitated down from one of the upper shelves. She put it down with an audible thump and began searching through the index. Finding what she was looking for, she opened it to a page near the middle and began comparing Derahk’s writing with the writing on the page. “Aside from a few discrepancies which I attribute to poor writing style, this is a perfect match,” Magic explained, “This language was used by a few Diamond Dog warrens up in Gem Fido. It wasn’t all that common and fell out of use in favor of a universal script. Oh, and it can be translated directly into Equestrian. Here, let me write it out for you.” Taking out a fresh sheet of parchment, Magic wrote out the alphabet Derahk had written and next to each letter, she wrote the corresponding symbol in Equestrian. “The grammar is the same so there shouldn’t be any confusion, but for now, let’s just stick with translating what you write. Is that alright?” Derahk nodded. “Good. Now let’s start with your name.” ”My name is Derahk.” “Derahk,” Magic said to herself, “Does that name have any meaning?” “Not that I am aware of.” “Okay, next question: what are you?” “I am a Rahkshi of Sonics.” “Umm…what does the ‘sonics’ mean?” “I am honestly not sure. My memories are fragmented and I only have glimpses of what my life was like before I awoke in the forest.” “So how come you know who you are?” “The majority of my memories are of what I am, not who I a. Seems strange. It feels like something is blocking me from knowing who I used to be.” “Maybe with time it will come back to you. What were you doing out in the forest?” “I have no idea. I woke up in a small clearing and ran into Stone and Crystal a few minutes later.” “Do you have any idea what you might have been doing?” “I have a nagging feeling I do, but again it feels like something is blocking it.” “Well whatever this thing is, it seems to be going to extreme lengths to keep you in the dark.” ”You can say that again. Looking through a memory only to find a gaping hole in it is almost annoying as these little indents on my head.” “Indents? What indents?” “Right at the base of my head. I only feel them when I run my hand over them. It seems like a minor annoyance but it is like a bald spot on your coat. It doesn’t do anything but you don’t want it to be there.” “May I take a look at them?” Derahk nodded and lowered his head so Magic could see. What Magic saw confused her a little. At the base of the plates that made up the top of Derahk’s head, there appeared to be what looked like runes carved into the metal. At least that’s what they appeared to be. Upon closer examination, they were the same circle language Derahk had written earlier. “They aren’t indents; they’re carvings in your circle language. Actually, they don’t even looked carved; more like-“ Derahk didn’t hear the rest she had to say. Magic had decided to prod the carvings, and the instant she did everything when dark and he lost all feeling. His consciousness floated in a void and he desperately tried to keep his mind from drifting apart. After what seemed like an eternity, Derahk had managed to stabilize everything and risked taking a look around. In what he assumed to be a void, he could see tiny specks of light floating around him. Reaching out, his mind brushed up against a few of them. …coma…..memory……life…..plug……kraata…..mission……..checks….. Memories. Fragments, but they were still memories. He looked around. All those specks, those millions of specks, were the memories he was missing. All he had to do was collect them all. But how? It would take years to gather all the specks. Wait, what the hell was he talking about? This is his mind, just will the memories to come to him. Just as he was about to do just that, all the specks vanished. He didn’t have time to panic as he felt himself being flung across the space. Next thing he next, he was staring at a wood paneled ceiling with Magic shaking his head back and forth. “Derahk? Derahk, thank Celestia you’re awake,” she said worriedly, “What happened?” Sitting back up, Derahk shook his head before writing a reply. “How long was I out and what did you do?” “You were out for only a few minutes. All I did was touch the carvings on your head.” “Whatever you did sent my mind to place that appeared to contain all the memories that seemed to be blocked. I was going to try to access them all but I was sucked back into consciousness before I could.” “So those things are blocking your memory?” “Possibly. I can’t say for sure.” “What do you want to do now?” “As much as I want to go back and get my memories, I don’t think it would be a good idea to go back so soon. I think I’ll just rest; you should too, you look like you need it.” While Magic was used to staying up until midnight, it was nearly four in the morning and Magic’s eyelids felt like lead weights. “Yeah, I think I should too,” she said with a yawn, “There’s a pantry down that way if you get hungry. I’m gonna hit the hay.” Magic walked over toward another part of the building, stumbling slightly, and entered a study that doubled as bedroom. “Goodnight,” Magic said before flicking off the lights. Derahk sat there in the dark, not feeling tired in the slightest. While some of his questions had been answered, he now had a slew of new questions. He decided it wouldn’t be worth it to continue dwelling on the mysteries surrounding, so he made himself comfortable and closed his eyes. Author's Notes: Yeah, little action in this chapter. But don't worry, there definitely will be in the next chapter. Chapter 5: MonsterAuthor's Note: I changed the fight scene a bit after reading a few of the comments. If you already read it, I would suggest going and rereading it. Chapter 5: Monster “Hey Magic, are you in- WHAT IN EQUESTRIA IS THAT?” Derahk’s eyes snapped opened and he looked towards the library entrance. Standing in the doorway was a dark blue earth pony stallion. His eyes were wide with fear and looking at Derahk. Not in the right mind, Derahk waved at the new pony and rolled back over, ignoring him. “Wha-wha-wha-“ the stallion continued to stutter until Magic walked in. “Good morning,” Magic said with a yawn, “Welcome to the Silver Grove Public Library. How may I help you?” The stallion almost couldn’t believe how calm Magic was being when there was a monster in the room. “What is that?” he said, shakily pointing a hoof at Derahk. “That’s Derahk. He came over last night to talk. Well, more like write since he can’t talk. Do you need something, Blue?” Blue was completely speechless. The local librarian saw fit to house a monster with no support. Was she insane?! “It’s rude to stare, you know?” Magic said, breaking him out his trance. “Stare? That thing is a monster,” Blue said, “Why did you let it in here?” “’Him’ not ‘it’,” Magic said. “Him?” “Derahk is a male. And he is not a monster. He is intelligent and is capable of writing complete sentences.” “I believe it when I see it.” A piece of crumpled up paper struck Blue in the head. Blue looked down and spread it out. The night before, Derahk had memorized most of the Equestrian alphabet and could write complete sentences with the help of the guide. “Shut up. Your voice annoys me.” “What? How?” Blue said. “Told you,” Magic said, “He’s a lot smarter than he looks.” Derahk clicked a few times and flipped Blue the bird. Since ponies don’t have fingers, the gesture was lost on them. “Umm, okay,” Magic said, “Let’s introduce you to each other. Derahk, this is Blue Earth, local shopkeeper. Blue, this is Derahk, a rahkshi.” “What in Equestria is a rahkshi?” Blue asked. Derahk gave Blue an “Are you serious?” look. “Okay, next obvious question, why is he here in your library?” “Crystal and Stone found him yesterday morning,” Magic said, “Then they came to me and asked if they could bring him here. I said yes and they brought him over in the middle of the night.” “And you see nothing wrong with this?” “I find it best not to think about it too much,” Magic said, “I fainted twice when I first saw him.” Blue took a deep breath to try and collect his thoughts. After a minute of calming down, he trotted over to Magic and looked her in the eye. “Are you INSANE?!” he yelled, “You have no idea what he is capable of! You don’t know what he wants! He could have been waiting for you to fall asleep before he killed you!” “What’s with all the yelling?” Stone asked as he stumbled into the library. “What are you doing here?” Blue said to Stone, “Shouldn’t you be at your house?” “Me and Crystal stayed the night,” Stone said. “In the same building as a monster?” “He’s not a monster.” Blue’s eye twitched. “What in Tartarus is wrong with all you ponies?!” Blue screamed, “You’re all insane and none of you realize it!” “Please stop yelling. I’m getting a headache,” Magic said, rubbing her temples. Blue began sputtering incoherent gibberish, pointing between Derahk, Magic, Stone, and Crystal who had just gotten up. A piece of paper slid in front of Magic. “I think we might have broke him.” “Don’t worry,” Magic said, “He’ll come-“ “EKKKKK! MONSTER!” Everyone looked at the door in time to see a yellow tail disappear from sight. “Was that Miss Lemon Drop?” Stone asked. “I think it was,” Magic sighed, “That’s going to be a problem.” “Problem? This is perfect!” Blue cackled manically, “The whole town will be alerted and that monster will be captured and all of you will-“ Blue slumped to the floor, a large bump forming on his head. “Thank you Derahk. He was getting a little annoying,” Magic said. Derahk nodded and motioned to the open door. “Yes, we should try to stop everything from getting worse,” Magic said, “Knowing Lemon, the whole town probably knows by now. We should head to town hall and stop a mob from forming.” “What about him?” Stone said, poking Blue. “Leave him for now; I’ll take care of him later.” They exited the library, Derahk just barely making it through, and headed towards the center of town. As Magic had feared, a large group of ponies had formed, some carry improvised weapons; others, torches for some reason. The mayor, Fire Storm, was attempting to calm the mob with little success. “Ponies, be calm,” Fire Storm yelled out, “I’m sure Lemon Drop was just exaggerating.” Fire Storm was the mayor of Silver Grove. He had a black coat, red mane and tail, and had a flaming meteor as his cutie mark. He was elected as mayor less than a year ago and had little time to learn how to calm an enraged mob. “I’m not exaggerating,” Lemon Drop yelled out over the crowd, “There was a monster in the library and it was about to attack Magic.” “Kill it!” “Burn it!” “Kill it and then burn it!” “I didn’t think our town was that violent,” Magic said to herself. “What do we do?” Crystal asked. “We need to get the crowd’s attention, but I don’t know how,” Magic said. Magic began thinking of ways to do attract attention when Derahk let loose a roar. If Derahk was next to Magic’s ear, her eardrums might have blown out. Thankfully, he was standing at full height and wasn’t near Magic. While probably not the best way to quiet the crowd, it nonetheless did its job. Everypony was dead silent and looking at Derahk, most with fear in their eyes though a few looked curious as to what the eight foot tall metal beast was. Fire Storm forgot what he was trying to do and looked at Derahk with wide eyes. After thirty seconds of very uncomfortable silence, someone finally spoke up. “So Lemon was actually telling the truth?” Magic’s ears were still ringing so she couldn’t hear what everypony was saying. “What do we do now?” “Well, we already formed a mob, let’s get him!” The entire crowd of ponies charged forward towards Derahk. He rolled his eyes and pulled out the two halves of his staff. He assembled them and twirled it around, getting into a defensive position. When the mob was thirty feet away, Crystal and Stone jumped in front of Derahk. The mob ground to a halt, some ponies tumbling over each other during the sudden stop. “Stone, Crystal, move.” “No,” Stone said. “We won’t let you hurt him,” Crystal added. “We won’t hurt him, we’ll just destroy him.” “I’ve always wanted to perform a vivisection.” Derahk growled softly and motioned for Stone and Crystal to move. “No we won’t let them hurt you,” Crystal said. “Or you hurt them,” Stone said. Derahk sighed and stabbed his staff into the ground. He then crossed his arms and looked at the mob expectantly. One by one, the ponies lowered their weapons or put out the torches. Around this time, Magic was able to hear again and looked around in surprise. “What did I miss?” she asked. Derahk turned to look at her. *Bzzzzzzt, plink* An arrow clattered to the ground, having failed to penetrate the metal on Derahk’s back. He ripped his staff out of the ground and spun 180 degrees, facing the direction of the archer. A diamond dog stood in the middle of the road, bow in one hand and a shocked expression on his face. He obviously thought the arrow would injure Derahk or at least imbed itself in his armor. Derahk roared and charged towards the diamond dog when he heard hissing behind him. Digging his feet into the ground, Derahk whipped out with his staff, smashing the bow and using the momentum from that to spin around towards the source of the hissing. The diamond dog ran off in terror, not wanting to fight in close quarters. On the rooftop of one of houses bordering the center of town was the lizard Derahk saw on the path. On several other houses were several other diamond dogs and another lizard. They all had various weapons drawn, but none of them had bows. “Isss that the thing you sssmelled on the path yesssterday?” the lizard hissed. “Yes, that smell is too unique to be anything else,” one of the diamond dogs said. “Ssshame sssomething ssso unique hasss to die.” “Who are you and what are you doing here?” some random pony out in the crowd yelled. “Forgive me, we haven’t introduccced ourssselvesss yet,” the lizard said. He jumped off the roof and walked towards the ponies, causing them to back away. “My name isss Sssilver Ssskin, and we are the Onyxxx Banditsss.” “Filthy scum, what are you doing here?” “Isssn’t it obviousss? We are here to kill all of you and sssteal everything,” he turned towards Derahk, “and you will die firssssst.” Silver Skin stepped forward but stopped when Stone ran up to him and bucked him in the leg. “No, I won’t let you hurt him!” Stone yelled. “Foolisssh pony,” Silver bent down and picked Stone up by his scruff, “You think you have any chanccce of hurting me? How laughable. Maybe I’ll kill you firssst sssinccce you are ssso eager to die.” Silver pulled out a knife from his belt and was about to slit Stone’s throat when a blast of yellow energy struck him in the chest and sent him flying. He dropped Stone and Crystal ran up to him. Everyone turned their eyes to Derahk, who was pointing his staff where Silver was standing before the blast. “What are you waiting for foolsss, kill him,” Silver ordered. Derahk looked at the rest of the Onyx Bandits. If he could have been smiling, he would have been doing so. The end of his staff began to crackle with yellow energy. When it was sufficiently charged, Derahk swung it in a wide arch and a large wave of energy was sent towards the diamond dogs and lizards. The dogs suffered the worst injuries. While the lizard was only thrown off the roof, the dogs all had blood dripping from their ears and mouths. They howled in pain, clutching their ears and staggering around. Derahk charged forward, grabbing a diamond dog by its arm and throwing it into another. He then twirled his staff around, impaling a dog in the chest. Leaving the staff imbedded, he grabbed another dog and violently broke its neck. Pulling his staff out of the now dead diamond dog, he sliced the chest cavity of another dog open and broke another ones jaw. He then went over to the two he downed first and slit both of their throats. When he got to the lizard, he punched it in the jaw and impaled its tail with his staff. He twisted and pulled, ripping off two feet of the tail and spraying a fine mist of blood around him. The lizard screeched in pain and held what was left of his tail. The end of it was still on the staff and twitching slightly. “You…bassstard.” Derahk turned to where Silver Skin had landed. He was standing unsteadily and pointing a sword at Derahk. “I’ll…KILL YOU!” he roared, before charging at Derahk. Derahk sidestepped and tripped Silver. Silver immediately got back but was forced back to the ground when he felt something stab his chest. Derahk had impaled Silver with his staff. It was in so deep the tips were sticking out the back. Derahk twisted the staff slightly and lifted Silver into the air; the end of the tail continued twitching. Silver’s hands were gripping the staff, trying to keep weight off the wounds. “What…,” Silver gurgled, “How…?” Derahk chuckled lightly before swinging the staff around and sending Silver flying. He rolled a few times before coming to a stop. His stomach was ripped open and blood pooled around him. He breathed wheezily, coughing up blood. “Not…posssssible,” Silver said with his last breath. His breathing stopped and blood continued to poor out of his wounds. Derahk split his staff and stabbed the ends into the ground, removing the blood. He then pulled them out and attached them to his back. That’s when he realized how quiet it was. He turned around to see everyone staring at him with fear in their eyes. Even Stone and Crystal were frightened. Magic stepped up, tears in the corner of her eyes. “Why…why did you have to kill them like that,” she said, nearly breaking down, “The two that you slit their throats, they might have surrendered if you gave them a chance. And you killed Silver when you knocked him over. You could have knocked him out, but you killed him instead.” She looked away, tears streaming down her face. Derahk began approaching her but stopped when she raised her hoof. “Don’t come any closer,” she sniffled, “I can’t believe I ever trusted you. Leave. Just…leave us be. We don’t want monsters in our town.” Derahk lowered his head and looked around at the carnage he created. All the diamond dogs lay on the ground, blood staining the ground. The remaining lizard was unconscious due to blood loss. He turned back to the crowd. They were all staring at him with looks of pure hatred. He clicked once before walking towards the edge of town; the stares followed him. When he reached the edge of town, he took one last look. The remaining lizard was unconscious due to blood loss. He turned back to the crowd. They were all staring at him with looks of pure hatred. He clicked once before walking towards the edge of town; the stares followed him. When he reached the edge of town, he took one last look. Several ponies had begun to clean up the destruction and help the lizard, but most still stared at him. He knelt down and scratched out a message in the dirt. He stood back up with his back towards the town, not wanting to see the hatred directed at him. Wanting to get out of there as fast as possible, he let instinct take over. He jumped up and moved his legs in front of him. His feet locked together and the staff halves on his back shifted until the pole ends attached with his feet. His hands gripped just in front of the prongs at the end. He was hovering a meter off the ground with no visible propulsion. He tilted his feet down slightly and began moving forward. He pushed down on the staff ends and began gaining height until he was level with the tree tops. He continued on until he was out of sight of town. Magic walked over to see what Derahk had written. What she saw had her completely break down. He had only written two words, but those two words meant so much to her. “I’m sorry.” Chapter 2: A Cave and a BoneChapter 2: A Cave and a Bone “So, Mister, what were you doing out in the woods?” Crystal asked. Derahk shrugged, having no memory prior to waking up this morning. “Were you planning on doing something?” Stone asked. Derahk shook his head. If left to his own devices, he would have wandered the forest until he ran into something interesting. “Are you alone?” He thought for a moment before nodding. He wasn’t sure if there were any others like him, but there was nothing to indicate anyone else was in the area. He would have heard them. A rustling ahead of them caused him to stop. The two foals continued for several feet before noticing Derahk had stopped. “What’s wrong?” Crystal asked. Derahk held up a hand to keep them quite. Another rustling, and this time he heard voices. Whoever they were, he didn’t want his presence revealed so easily, so he scooped up the two foals and jumped into the brush. “What are you doing?” Stone said, almost yelling. Derahk silenced him by placing a hand over his muzzle. Once he had calmed down a little, Derahk removed his hands and pointed down the path they were taking. “I think he heard something down there,” Crystal said, which Derahk confirmed by nodding. “What exactly?” Stone said. Derahk shrugged and motioned for them to be quiet. He heard movement on the path. Moments later, a large lizard thing and a dog that walked on two legs went by. Derahk’s hands instinctively moved towards the two halves of his staff; these things did not have friendly intentions. The dog stopped near where they were hiding and smelled the air. The lizard noticed and turned towards it. “What do you sssmell?” the lizard asked. “Something…metal. I’ve never encountered this smell before,” the dog said, “It smells like steel, but it’s something different, possibly magically.” “How long ago wassss it here?” “Can’t be sure. No less than an hour, at most.” “Then it’ssss not worth our time. We have a job to do. Come on.” The dog and lizard continued down the path. It wasn’t until Derahk could no longer hear them did he let Crystal and Stone go. “Who were those guys?” Stone asked. “One was a diamond dog and the other was a lizard from the Black Marshes,” Crystal said, “But more importantly, why are they here. There are no gems around here and the nearest swamp is way to the south.” “Let’s hurry to Magic’s place. I don’t want to run into those guys again.” “You said it. Come on, let’s go.” They continued their journey, though Derahk couldn’t shake the feeling he would run into those things again. After five minutes of walking, they finally exited the forest into a large clearing. A decent sized town was a way down the path, with several farmsteads along the edge of the clearing. “Magic’s place is right this way,” Stone said, setting off down the path. “Stone, wait,” Crystal said, putting her hoof on his shoulder. “What now?” “Do you really think it would be a good idea to take him straight into town?” Stone looked at Derahk. Something that out of the ordinary wouldn’t get the warmest reception in a town like this. “Well, what do we do?” Stone asked, “We can’t sneak him over to her place.” “We’ll have to wait until it gets dark and everypony is asleep,” Crystal said, “That way, we can go to Magic now and explain the situation to her so she’s ready.” Derahk clicked a few times. “You’ll just have to hide out in the forest until it gets dark,” Crystal said, turning to Derahk, “We wouldn’t want you freaking anypony out.” Derahk rolled his eyes and walked back into the forest. “Hey! Where are you going?” Stone yelled, running after Derahk. Derahk stopped walking after going several hundred feet into the forest. He closed his eyes and began to send out sonic waves into the ground. Stone and Crystal stood off to the side, wondering what he was doing. After thirty seconds of mapping out the surrounding area, Derahk opened his eyes and set off in the direction he detected a suitable sized cave. Stone and Crystal followed, still wondering what he was doing. After a minute of walking, the forest thinned a little and Derahk found what he was looking for. A large rock jutted up from the ground with a hole large enough for him to squeeze through on one of the faces. He went through and stood in a cave that was just tall enough for him to stand up in, though he had to keep his spikes close to his back. The tunnel was once a den for a large creature, evidenced by several bones lying around, but had been abandoned for some reason. A quick screech confirmed nothing living was there. Stone and Crystal ran in to find Derahk sitting down, picking at one of the bones. His staffed laid assembled next to him, ready in case something decided to reclaim the cave. “Well, I guess this is okay,” Crystal said, “I was going to suggest something closer to the path, but this isn’t too far away. Well, either Stone or I will come get you when it’s time. Bye!” “Something tells me he isn’t listening,” Stone said. Indeed, Derahk wasn’t paying any attention to them. Instead, he seemed to be trying to glean the secrets of the universe from the bone he was looking at. “Bye!” Crystal yelled loudly, snapping Derahk out of his trance. He looked at the two foals standing at the cave entrance before waving his hand good bye. They responded in kind and left, leaving Derahk alone with his bone. Author's Note: Don't worry, this chapter's shortness shouldn't be too commonplace once I get on a roll. And be patient, the action will start picking up in the next few chapters. I'll give everyone a reason to fear Rahkshi.
Chapter 1: ArrivalChapter 1: Arrival The chirping of birds awoke him from his slumber. He had no idea where he was, or even who he was. Sounds, people, sensations, and memories all fought for dominance. Nothing made sense. In some memories, he could remember everything clearly except for what he was. In others, he remembered what he was but nothing he did. To say he was confused would be an understatement. He slowly opened his eyes, taking in the sights around him. He was in a small clearing in a forest. It was early morning as the dew hadn’t evaporated yet. He tried sitting up but found his body wouldn’t respond to commands. He began to panic, fearing he would lay there, unable to move, until he died. The fear of death seemed to rouse some sort of response from his body, as something literally clicked and he was able to move his arms. They were green, completely made of some type of metal, and surprisingly he was able to feel with his hands. He pulled up some grass, observing how the morning dew ran down the blades onto his hands. That’s when he noticed the gurgling of a stream some distance away. As he got up to investigate, he noticed a glint of silver in the grass. Moving closer, he saw it was a metal staff slightly taller than he was. The ends looked like large tuning forks, but were sharpened to deadly points. He picked it up and twirled it around. It felt right, as if the staff was meant for him and him only. He walked over the stream and looked at his reflection. While his arms were a deep green, his body was bright yellow. There were six spikes on his back, ranging from 2 feet to six inches long, getting shorter towards the back. His jaw appeared to be split in three parts, with two opening to the sides and a large piece opening down. His head was completely covered in armor, leaving very little skin exposed. Combined with a height of eight feet, minus the spikes, he looked very intimidating. But who was he? ...Derahk… Derahk. It sounded right and it seemed it fit him quite well. He continued observing his reflection, taking note that the only organic parts seemed to be his head; the rest of his body looked like an imitation of life made of cold metal. A branch snapping in the distance drove him back to reality. It sounded far off and it was unlikely whatever made that noise was aware of his presence. Derahk could here muffled noises, most likely voices, but couldn’t tell what they were saying. He tried looking for whatever was making those noises, but the thick forest and low light prevented him from seeing more than a few feet into the forest. The voices were getting louder but he still couldn’t make them out. He decided the best course of action would be to hide in the trees until he could determine the source of the voices. He leapt into the nearest suitable tree, taking care to hide the yellow on his body and making sure his staff was accessible. He didn’t have to wait long until the source of the voices emerged into the clearing. While he didn’t have any idea on what the locals looked like and was expecting anything, he was surprised when two small quadrupeds stepped out the brush. He shifted through his memories in an attempt to identify what those things were, but he came up with nothing. They were small, covered in fur, and their short legs compared to their bodies seemed to indicate they were children. One was brown with a tan mane and tail. The other was white with a blue mane and tail and appeared to have a small growth on its head. What the purpose of that growth was, Derahk didn’t know. They were talking to each other, but there was something wrong with what he was hearing. They seemed to be talking about how beautiful the morning was, but they weren’t using words Derahk could recognize. He understand what they were saying, even if they were speaking a language he didn’t know. “It’s nice being able to go out in the morning without bundling up,” the brown one said. “Yeah, I prefer dew to frost any day,” the white one said. “Know if the pegasi are planning any storms soon?” the brown one asked. “Stone, just because my dad is a pegasus doesn’t mean he tells me the weather report every day,” the white one snapped. “Sorry for asking,” Stone said, “I just didn’t want to get rained on in a few days.” “Why? What are you planning? You know what happened last time you tired something stupid.” “It’s nothing like that Crystal. Just a few outdoor activities that I don’t want getting wet.” “Whatever you say,” Crystal said with a wink. “What was that?” Stone asked. “What was what?” “That wink.” “What wink?” “Never mind.” Crystal giggled softly and they walked over to the stream. Derahk had stopped listening to the conversation halfway through. He was still trying to figure out what these things were and the mention of pegasi seemed to spark something in his mind. Memories began to surface, vague at best, but they gave him names. These things were ponies; not dumb animals, but intelligent creatures. The brown one, Stone, was an earth pony and a colt, indicated by his somewhat deep voice. The white one, Crystal, the one with the growth on its head, was a unicorn and a filly, having a somewhat higher voice than Stone. All of this came to Derahk in the span of three seconds and during those three seconds he heard a faint creak beneath him. And another. He looked down to see the branch he was standing on was beginning to sag under his weight. The branch began producing cracking noises and the two foals turned away from the stream and looked towards the source of the sound. “Hello? Is somepony there?” Crystal called out. “Come out now and I won’t buck you for spying on us,” Stone threatened. “Stone, that’s not very nice,” Crystal scolded. “Whoever it is shouldn’t be-“ The branch finally gave and sent Derahk crashing into the ground. His staff followed him, imbedding itself next to his head. Surprisingly, he didn’t feel any pain, but that might be due to the lack of an organic body. He shook his head and sat up, making sure his body was in one piece. Some mud was smeared on his arms and a few leaves were caught in his armor, but otherwise he was completely fine. He looked over to where to the two foals were and saw they hadn’t moved. They were too shocked at seeing an eight foot tall metal being falling out of a tree to do anything. Derahk attempted to say hello, but all the foals heard were a series of clicking noises. When they didn’t respond, Derahk stood up and busied himself with getting the leaves out of his armor. “What is that thing?” Crystal whispered, though Derahk could hear them perfectly. “I have no idea,” Stone whispered back, “Do you think it wants to eat us?” “If it wanted to get us, it could have gotten us when our backs were turned.” “So what do we do?” “Talk to it?” “Are you crazy?” Stone said, voice no longer a whisper, “We have no idea what it wants.” “Better than nothing,” Crystal said. Finished with removing the leaves, Derahk pulled his staff out of the ground and examined it for damages. Finding none, he walked over to the stream, causing the foals to back away from him. He paused for a moment before washing his arms and staff in the water. After he finished removing all he mud, Derahk turned towards the two foals still hadn’t moved. “Say something,” Stone said, nudging Crystal forward. “Me? Why do I have to be the one to say hello?” Crystal said, digging her hooves in the ground. “You’re the one who suggested it.” “You’re the braver one.” The exchange continued for some time before Derahk made a few clicking noises to get them to stop. He split his staff in two, causing the two foals to flinch, and placed the halves on back, out of the way. He then crossed his arms, as if to say, “I’m waiting.” Stone, tired of waiting, pushed Crystal harder than he was before and senther several feet forward, tumbling head over hooves. “Coward,” Crystal muttered under her breath, “Oh, h-hello Mister Whatever-You-Are. I’m Crystal Lightning and this is my friend Stone Shatter. We-we were wondering what exactly you are. I’ve never seen something like you before.” “Nice to meet you. My name is Derahk and I’m a rahkshi,” Derahk said, though it came out as a series of clicks. Crystal stood there confused, wondering if those clicks were this thing’s way of talking. Derahk mentally faceplammed, remembering how they didn’t respond when he said hello. “Um, can you talk?” Crystal asked. Derahk nodded, but pointed at her and shook his head. “You can speak but we can’t understand you?” Crystal said. He nodded. “Well how are we gonna learn more about you?” “I know, let’s take it to Magic Knowledge,” Stone said excitedly, “She’s smart and knows loads of stuff. Maybe a way we can understand him.” “That’s actually a good idea,” Crystal said, “for once. Does that sound like a good idea, Mister?” Derahk shrugged and made a few clicks, translating into “Meh, what the hell.” “Alright Mister, follow me,” Crystal said, charging towards the trees before stopping, “You are a mister, right?” He nodded, motioning with his hands to get her to go. “Alright, to Magic Knowledge’s we go!”
Chapter 3: PlanningChapter 3: Planning Early morning in the town of Silver Grove was a time when very few ponies were out and about, with the exception of Crystal and Stone and their early morning walks. The library, which served as a backup to town hall, however, always had a pony awake during the day; a.k.a. the librarian and local scholar, Magic Knowledge. A red coated unicorn with a black mane and tail with a gold streak and a book for a cutie mark walked around the library, periodically checking books for damages she might have missed. Satisfied, she walked over to a table and began sorting through the things she had to do. “Whenever the new shipment of books comes in, I should have enough reading material for the Summer Reading Program,” Magic Knowledge said to herself and sighed, “If only enough young foals were interested in that sort of thing. Maybe I can make it more exciting by-“ She was interrupted by a loud knocking at the door. “Who is Equestria could that be?” she said, looking at the clock, “It’s not even noon.” She opened the door with her magic and was surprised to see Crystal and Stone standing there; surprised as in she knew of the little crush between them and thought they would still be out in the forest. “Stone, Crystal, what a surprise to see to you,” Magic said, “What are you doing here? I thought you would still be out and about in the forest. Please, come in.” Magic stepped aside to let the two foals enter. “I wasn’t expecting anypony to come by this early, so I don’t have much in the way of snacks,” Magic said. “That’s okay,” Crystal said, “Aren’t you going to ask why we’re here.” “I hope you didn’t run into any trouble out in the woods.” “No, at least we hope it isn’t trouble,” Stone said. “What do you mean?” Magic asked, “Is there something out there?” “Actually, there are several somethings,” Crystal said, “I think we should start with the ones you would believe.” Crystal told Magic Knowledge about the Diamond Dog and lizard they saw on the path. When Crystal finished talking, Magic walked over to a window that overlooked the town. “Are you sure you know what you saw?” Magic asked. “Yes, I’m positive,” Crystal said. “Stone, is she lying?” Magic asked Stone. “I saw them too,” Stone said. Magic sighed and turned towards the foals. “This is not good,” Magic said, “If they aren’t just passing through, things could go very bad.” “What do you mean?” Crystal asked. “Some of the guards stationed at Baltimare are being moved east,” Magic explained, “While the city’s defenses won’t suffer, guards for the surrounding area are going to be stretched thin. If something were to happen here, help may not arrive in time to make a difference.” Magic instantly regretted telling two children the grim news. “But if we rally the whole town, we shouldn’t have anything to worry about,” Magic reassured. Crystal and Stone instantly perked up. “Now tell me about this other thing you found.” “Well, he can’t talk, at least we can’t understand him,” Crystal said. “But he can understand us,” Stone added. “Really? Interesting,” Magic said, raising a hoof to her chin, “Tell me more about him.” “He’s unlike anything I’ve ever heard of,” Crystal said, “He’s at least eight feet tall, has a bunch of long spikes on his back, he has a staff with pointy ends, and seems to be completely made of metal.” Magic Knowledge stared, dumbfounded that these two foals didn’t run away in terror at the sight of something like that. “And you didn’t run away from him?” Magic asked, “What came over you?” “To be honest, we were too scared,” Stone explained, “We heard some noises and he fell out of a tree. We didn’t even know he was there.” “And you trust him?” “He could have attacked when our backs were turned, but he didn’t,” Crystal said, “and he helped us hide when he heard the diamond dog and lizard. He doesn’t seem bad to me.” “You mentioned he couldn’t talk,” Magic said, “Why is that?” “He can make clicking noises and a weird screech,” Crystal said, “but nothing we can understand. Maybe you can find some sort of translation spell.” “Yes, if I have time, but the more important matter at hoof is the diamond dog and lizard you saw,” Magic said, “I’ll need to alert the mayor and help with preparations.” “But don’t you want to meet him?” Stone asked. “Meet whom? The metal thing?” Magic asked. “Yeah, we were planning on bringing him here but decided that wouldn’t be a good idea,” Crystal said, “At least not during the day. He’s out in cave in the forest.” “I have a feeling this could go bad if handled wrong, so I want you two to bring him here around midnight,” Magic said, “I’ll leave the door open so you can get in. And make sure nopony sees you; there’s no need to start a panic. Does that sound like a plan?” “Sounds good to me,” Stone said, “I’m sure he’ll be fine for a few extra hours.” *Back at the cave* Derahk left the cave to get better light for observing the bone. Unknown to him, a wolf had been watching him ever since the two foals left him alone. It had been planning on claiming the den until Derahk showed up. Were Derahk not so entranced in the bone, he might have heard the wolf sneaking up on him, but alas, he was unaware of the wolf until it decided to charge. It slammed into his back and sent him flying forward, landing face first in the dirt. Spitting out the dirt that got into his dirt, he turned around in time to see the wolf in mid leap. Instinct took over, and Derahk curled his hand into a fist and punched the wolf in its jaw, sending it flying off to one side. Dazed from the punch, the wolf had barely recovered before Derahk grabbed it and threw it into a tree. Cracks could be heard as the wolf collided with the tree, sliding down it and barely clinging to consciousness. Derahk roared a challenge at the wolf, waiting for it to get up. The wolf struggled to get and when it saw Derahk standing there, it took off as fast as possible, as painful as it was. When the wolf was out of sight, Derahk returned to his bone and acted like nothing had happened. It was almost dark and Derahk was getting a little worried. He thought either Stone or Crystal would have come by now, at least to tell them how they were planning on sneaking him across town. Even if he couldn’t give any input, knowing the plan ahead of time would make things several times easier. Not that he was worried. He could level the entire forest, even if he didn’t know it. He just wanted a distraction from the constant high pitched squeaking the bats kept making. There too many and were too small for him to deal with efficiently, so he had to put up with them. An hour after the last ray of sun had disappeared, he heard something approach. Honing in on the source of the sound, he could tell it was Stone. A minute later, the brush in front of the cave parted and the brown colt walked out. “You should have picked a spot closer to the path,” Stone said, “I almost got lost out there.” Derahk clicked and held up two fingers then pointed at Stone. “Crystal?” Derahk nodded, “She’s on the path using a light spell so I can find my way back.” Derahk tilted his head at the mention of magic. While he had a suspicion that there was magic in this world, he wasn’t fully sure of it until now. “Something wrong?” Stone asked. Derahk shook his head and motioned for Stone to get moving. “Alright, follow me,” Stone said, before disappearing into the brush. Derahk followed, staff assemble and at the ready. Even though he was confident he could detect any threats before they emerged, not holding the staff left him feeling weakened. They pushed through the bramble, Stone stumbling about in the low light while Derahk strode confidently, the low lighting not a bother with his echolocation. Up ahead, he could see a faint light in between the trees. Derahk and Stone emerged from the woods onto the path to find Crystal. At the tip of her horn was a small ball of silver blue light, not enough to be blinding but enough to see the surrounding area. “Took you long enough,” Crystal said, “Do you have any idea how boring it is just standing here?” “Next time, you go out into the woods and get him while I stand here,” Stone said. Derahk rolled his eyes and made a loud screech, enough to frighten the two foals but not enough to wake the whole village. “Fine, we’ll get going,” Crystal mumbled, “Just try to stay hidden as much as possible.” The short journey to Magic Knowledge’s place wasn’t as difficult as Derahk thought it would be. There were very few ponies out and he was easily able to avoid all of them. With the lack of widespread street lamps and a half full moon, it was easy to stick to the shadows and they made it to the Library without being detected. Now there are several things that need to happen in order to successfully sneak into a place. The first thing is to get there undetected. The next thing is managing to fit into the entrance you have chosen. Let’s just say that was easier said than done. After several minutes of struggling to fit through the doorway, trying not to tear the frame out of the wall and amazingly not alerting any of the sleeping villagers, Derahk finally managed to wiggle through the door way. The only damages were a few scratches on the frame and a sore snout on Stone from a wayward fist. Derahk looked around the library before finally stopping on Magic Knowledge. Even knowing beforehand what she was in for, the only words she managed to get out were “Oh my” before passing out.
Chapter 4: DiscoveryChapter 4: Discovery “Magic? Magic?” Crystal said, shaking Magic Knowledge in an attempt to wake her up. “Ugh…what happened?” Magic asked, groggy from fainting. “You fainted when you saw our friend,” Stone said. “Friend? What friend…” Magic trailed off when she saw Derahk. She blinked a few times to make sure he was really there. “So it wasn’t a bad dream,” she said before passing out again. “Not again,” Crystal said, trying to shake Magic awake, again. Derahk sighed, at least as close to a sigh as someone could with his mouth, and banged his head against the wall a few times. The thumping noises seemed to coax Magic out of unconsciousness. “Please don’t faint again Magic,” Crystal said. “I think I’ve done enough of that for tonight,” Magic said, moving herself into a sitting position, “and I’m quite surprised you two didn’t have the same reaction.” “Maybe it was because he fell out of a tree when we first meet him,” Stone said. Derahk tried to do a sarcastic laugh, but it ended up sounding like an animal getting torn into pieces. “Okay, so he can make noises but not produce anything that sounds like language,” Magic said while walking over to Derahk, “Maybe we could try writing.” Derahk was sitting on the floor, making sure his spikes weren’t going to hit anything. Magic’s horn glowed and a table with quills and scrolls on it slid in front of him. “Do you know how to write?” Magic asked. Derahk nodded hesitantly before picking up a quill. He searched through his memories but couldn’t find anything that resembled a written language. A few things popped up, so he decided just to draw them. He moved the quill across a piece of parchment only to find no images were being produced. “You have to dip it in ink first,” Magic said while levitating an ink well in front of him. Derahk nodded in thanks and dipped the quill in the ink. He then began writing the symbols that were in his mind. At first, they made little sense; but as he continued writing, he began to associate the groups of symbols with words. When he was done, he put the quill done and slid the paper over to Magic. “Ummm, I think we might have a problem,” Magic said. Where Derahk saw words, she saw rows of circles with lines and smaller circles drawn in them. While there were consistencies that cropped up every now and then, she didn’t even know where to start with translating. The alphabet could be radically different from any known language or it could even be based on phonetics with Derahk’s limited vocals. “I don’t even have a clue what kind of language this is,” Magic said, “I’ve never seen anything that used circles before. While I have seen some alphabets use shapes to connect certain words, nothing even comes close to this. Do you know any other language?” Derahk shook his head. “Well, I guess I’ll just look for something that comes even remotely close to this and work from there,” Magic said and turned to Stone and Crystal, “Shouldn’t you two be at home?” “Our parents think we’re at slumber parties,” Crystal said. Magic raised an eyebrow at that. “Why does everypony think something weird will happen at a slumber party?” Stone asked. “Once you get a little older, you’ll understand,” Magic said, “Well, I guess you can sleep in the conference room. There are a few blankets in the closet down the hallway. Bathroom is on the other side.” “Okay,” Crystal said, “Good night Magic, good night Mister.” “Good night everypony,” Stone said. “Good night,” Magic said. Derahk made a few clicking sounds before returning to the parchment. Crystal and Stone walked down the hallway to get some sleep. Magic started looking through the books, searching for anything that could allow them to communicate with Derahk. Derahk continued looking through his memories, hoping he could find something. It was an hour before he came up with something. Instead of actively searching for a memory, he looked for certain sensations that could be attributed to writing. It was time consuming, but eventually he found something that could be useful. Trying to find instances where he wrote something, he found a memory where he was sitting down and looking at a black wall. On the black wall were a series of shapes that he was supposed to write down. Excited, he began writing all of them down on the parchment. Seeing them before him seemed to send some sort of signal through his mind and more memories of writing began to emerge. Magic, noticing he was writing again, walked over to see what he had accomplished. While it didn’t look as neat as the circles, it was definitely a different language. When Derahk had finished, he again slid the paper in front of Magic. “Interesting,” she said, “I think I may know what this is. Let me double check.” Her horn glowed as a think tome levitated down from one of the upper shelves. She put it down with an audible thump and began searching through the index. Finding what she was looking for, she opened it to a page near the middle and began comparing Derahk’s writing with the writing on the page. “Aside from a few discrepancies which I attribute to poor writing style, this is a perfect match,” Magic explained, “This language was used by a few Diamond Dog warrens up in Gem Fido. It wasn’t all that common and fell out of use in favor of a universal script. Oh, and it can be translated directly into Equestrian. Here, let me write it out for you.” Taking out a fresh sheet of parchment, Magic wrote out the alphabet Derahk had written and next to each letter, she wrote the corresponding symbol in Equestrian. “The grammar is the same so there shouldn’t be any confusion, but for now, let’s just stick with translating what you write. Is that alright?” Derahk nodded. “Good. Now let’s start with your name.” ”My name is Derahk.” “Derahk,” Magic said to herself, “Does that name have any meaning?” “Not that I am aware of.” “Okay, next question: what are you?” “I am a Rahkshi of Sonics.” “Umm…what does the ‘sonics’ mean?” “I am honestly not sure. My memories are fragmented and I only have glimpses of what my life was like before I awoke in the forest.” “So how come you know who you are?” “The majority of my memories are of what I am, not who I a. Seems strange. It feels like something is blocking me from knowing who I used to be.” “Maybe with time it will come back to you. What were you doing out in the forest?” “I have no idea. I woke up in a small clearing and ran into Stone and Crystal a few minutes later.” “Do you have any idea what you might have been doing?” “I have a nagging feeling I do, but again it feels like something is blocking it.” “Well whatever this thing is, it seems to be going to extreme lengths to keep you in the dark.” ”You can say that again. Looking through a memory only to find a gaping hole in it is almost annoying as these little indents on my head.” “Indents? What indents?” “Right at the base of my head. I only feel them when I run my hand over them. It seems like a minor annoyance but it is like a bald spot on your coat. It doesn’t do anything but you don’t want it to be there.” “May I take a look at them?” Derahk nodded and lowered his head so Magic could see. What Magic saw confused her a little. At the base of the plates that made up the top of Derahk’s head, there appeared to be what looked like runes carved into the metal. At least that’s what they appeared to be. Upon closer examination, they were the same circle language Derahk had written earlier. “They aren’t indents; they’re carvings in your circle language. Actually, they don’t even looked carved; more like-“ Derahk didn’t hear the rest she had to say. Magic had decided to prod the carvings, and the instant she did everything when dark and he lost all feeling. His consciousness floated in a void and he desperately tried to keep his mind from drifting apart. After what seemed like an eternity, Derahk had managed to stabilize everything and risked taking a look around. In what he assumed to be a void, he could see tiny specks of light floating around him. Reaching out, his mind brushed up against a few of them. …coma…..memory……life…..plug……kraata…..mission……..checks….. Memories. Fragments, but they were still memories. He looked around. All those specks, those millions of specks, were the memories he was missing. All he had to do was collect them all. But how? It would take years to gather all the specks. Wait, what the hell was he talking about? This is his mind, just will the memories to come to him. Just as he was about to do just that, all the specks vanished. He didn’t have time to panic as he felt himself being flung across the space. Next thing he next, he was staring at a wood paneled ceiling with Magic shaking his head back and forth. “Derahk? Derahk, thank Celestia you’re awake,” she said worriedly, “What happened?” Sitting back up, Derahk shook his head before writing a reply. “How long was I out and what did you do?” “You were out for only a few minutes. All I did was touch the carvings on your head.” “Whatever you did sent my mind to place that appeared to contain all the memories that seemed to be blocked. I was going to try to access them all but I was sucked back into consciousness before I could.” “So those things are blocking your memory?” “Possibly. I can’t say for sure.” “What do you want to do now?” “As much as I want to go back and get my memories, I don’t think it would be a good idea to go back so soon. I think I’ll just rest; you should too, you look like you need it.” While Magic was used to staying up until midnight, it was nearly four in the morning and Magic’s eyelids felt like lead weights. “Yeah, I think I should too,” she said with a yawn, “There’s a pantry down that way if you get hungry. I’m gonna hit the hay.” Magic walked over toward another part of the building, stumbling slightly, and entered a study that doubled as bedroom. “Goodnight,” Magic said before flicking off the lights. Derahk sat there in the dark, not feeling tired in the slightest. While some of his questions had been answered, he now had a slew of new questions. He decided it wouldn’t be worth it to continue dwelling on the mysteries surrounding, so he made himself comfortable and closed his eyes. Author's Notes: Yeah, little action in this chapter. But don't worry, there definitely will be in the next chapter.
Chapter 5: MonsterAuthor's Note: I changed the fight scene a bit after reading a few of the comments. If you already read it, I would suggest going and rereading it. Chapter 5: Monster “Hey Magic, are you in- WHAT IN EQUESTRIA IS THAT?” Derahk’s eyes snapped opened and he looked towards the library entrance. Standing in the doorway was a dark blue earth pony stallion. His eyes were wide with fear and looking at Derahk. Not in the right mind, Derahk waved at the new pony and rolled back over, ignoring him. “Wha-wha-wha-“ the stallion continued to stutter until Magic walked in. “Good morning,” Magic said with a yawn, “Welcome to the Silver Grove Public Library. How may I help you?” The stallion almost couldn’t believe how calm Magic was being when there was a monster in the room. “What is that?” he said, shakily pointing a hoof at Derahk. “That’s Derahk. He came over last night to talk. Well, more like write since he can’t talk. Do you need something, Blue?” Blue was completely speechless. The local librarian saw fit to house a monster with no support. Was she insane?! “It’s rude to stare, you know?” Magic said, breaking him out his trance. “Stare? That thing is a monster,” Blue said, “Why did you let it in here?” “’Him’ not ‘it’,” Magic said. “Him?” “Derahk is a male. And he is not a monster. He is intelligent and is capable of writing complete sentences.” “I believe it when I see it.” A piece of crumpled up paper struck Blue in the head. Blue looked down and spread it out. The night before, Derahk had memorized most of the Equestrian alphabet and could write complete sentences with the help of the guide. “Shut up. Your voice annoys me.” “What? How?” Blue said. “Told you,” Magic said, “He’s a lot smarter than he looks.” Derahk clicked a few times and flipped Blue the bird. Since ponies don’t have fingers, the gesture was lost on them. “Umm, okay,” Magic said, “Let’s introduce you to each other. Derahk, this is Blue Earth, local shopkeeper. Blue, this is Derahk, a rahkshi.” “What in Equestria is a rahkshi?” Blue asked. Derahk gave Blue an “Are you serious?” look. “Okay, next obvious question, why is he here in your library?” “Crystal and Stone found him yesterday morning,” Magic said, “Then they came to me and asked if they could bring him here. I said yes and they brought him over in the middle of the night.” “And you see nothing wrong with this?” “I find it best not to think about it too much,” Magic said, “I fainted twice when I first saw him.” Blue took a deep breath to try and collect his thoughts. After a minute of calming down, he trotted over to Magic and looked her in the eye. “Are you INSANE?!” he yelled, “You have no idea what he is capable of! You don’t know what he wants! He could have been waiting for you to fall asleep before he killed you!” “What’s with all the yelling?” Stone asked as he stumbled into the library. “What are you doing here?” Blue said to Stone, “Shouldn’t you be at your house?” “Me and Crystal stayed the night,” Stone said. “In the same building as a monster?” “He’s not a monster.” Blue’s eye twitched. “What in Tartarus is wrong with all you ponies?!” Blue screamed, “You’re all insane and none of you realize it!” “Please stop yelling. I’m getting a headache,” Magic said, rubbing her temples. Blue began sputtering incoherent gibberish, pointing between Derahk, Magic, Stone, and Crystal who had just gotten up. A piece of paper slid in front of Magic. “I think we might have broke him.” “Don’t worry,” Magic said, “He’ll come-“ “EKKKKK! MONSTER!” Everyone looked at the door in time to see a yellow tail disappear from sight. “Was that Miss Lemon Drop?” Stone asked. “I think it was,” Magic sighed, “That’s going to be a problem.” “Problem? This is perfect!” Blue cackled manically, “The whole town will be alerted and that monster will be captured and all of you will-“ Blue slumped to the floor, a large bump forming on his head. “Thank you Derahk. He was getting a little annoying,” Magic said. Derahk nodded and motioned to the open door. “Yes, we should try to stop everything from getting worse,” Magic said, “Knowing Lemon, the whole town probably knows by now. We should head to town hall and stop a mob from forming.” “What about him?” Stone said, poking Blue. “Leave him for now; I’ll take care of him later.” They exited the library, Derahk just barely making it through, and headed towards the center of town. As Magic had feared, a large group of ponies had formed, some carry improvised weapons; others, torches for some reason. The mayor, Fire Storm, was attempting to calm the mob with little success. “Ponies, be calm,” Fire Storm yelled out, “I’m sure Lemon Drop was just exaggerating.” Fire Storm was the mayor of Silver Grove. He had a black coat, red mane and tail, and had a flaming meteor as his cutie mark. He was elected as mayor less than a year ago and had little time to learn how to calm an enraged mob. “I’m not exaggerating,” Lemon Drop yelled out over the crowd, “There was a monster in the library and it was about to attack Magic.” “Kill it!” “Burn it!” “Kill it and then burn it!” “I didn’t think our town was that violent,” Magic said to herself. “What do we do?” Crystal asked. “We need to get the crowd’s attention, but I don’t know how,” Magic said. Magic began thinking of ways to do attract attention when Derahk let loose a roar. If Derahk was next to Magic’s ear, her eardrums might have blown out. Thankfully, he was standing at full height and wasn’t near Magic. While probably not the best way to quiet the crowd, it nonetheless did its job. Everypony was dead silent and looking at Derahk, most with fear in their eyes though a few looked curious as to what the eight foot tall metal beast was. Fire Storm forgot what he was trying to do and looked at Derahk with wide eyes. After thirty seconds of very uncomfortable silence, someone finally spoke up. “So Lemon was actually telling the truth?” Magic’s ears were still ringing so she couldn’t hear what everypony was saying. “What do we do now?” “Well, we already formed a mob, let’s get him!” The entire crowd of ponies charged forward towards Derahk. He rolled his eyes and pulled out the two halves of his staff. He assembled them and twirled it around, getting into a defensive position. When the mob was thirty feet away, Crystal and Stone jumped in front of Derahk. The mob ground to a halt, some ponies tumbling over each other during the sudden stop. “Stone, Crystal, move.” “No,” Stone said. “We won’t let you hurt him,” Crystal added. “We won’t hurt him, we’ll just destroy him.” “I’ve always wanted to perform a vivisection.” Derahk growled softly and motioned for Stone and Crystal to move. “No we won’t let them hurt you,” Crystal said. “Or you hurt them,” Stone said. Derahk sighed and stabbed his staff into the ground. He then crossed his arms and looked at the mob expectantly. One by one, the ponies lowered their weapons or put out the torches. Around this time, Magic was able to hear again and looked around in surprise. “What did I miss?” she asked. Derahk turned to look at her. *Bzzzzzzt, plink* An arrow clattered to the ground, having failed to penetrate the metal on Derahk’s back. He ripped his staff out of the ground and spun 180 degrees, facing the direction of the archer. A diamond dog stood in the middle of the road, bow in one hand and a shocked expression on his face. He obviously thought the arrow would injure Derahk or at least imbed itself in his armor. Derahk roared and charged towards the diamond dog when he heard hissing behind him. Digging his feet into the ground, Derahk whipped out with his staff, smashing the bow and using the momentum from that to spin around towards the source of the hissing. The diamond dog ran off in terror, not wanting to fight in close quarters. On the rooftop of one of houses bordering the center of town was the lizard Derahk saw on the path. On several other houses were several other diamond dogs and another lizard. They all had various weapons drawn, but none of them had bows. “Isss that the thing you sssmelled on the path yesssterday?” the lizard hissed. “Yes, that smell is too unique to be anything else,” one of the diamond dogs said. “Ssshame sssomething ssso unique hasss to die.” “Who are you and what are you doing here?” some random pony out in the crowd yelled. “Forgive me, we haven’t introduccced ourssselvesss yet,” the lizard said. He jumped off the roof and walked towards the ponies, causing them to back away. “My name isss Sssilver Ssskin, and we are the Onyxxx Banditsss.” “Filthy scum, what are you doing here?” “Isssn’t it obviousss? We are here to kill all of you and sssteal everything,” he turned towards Derahk, “and you will die firssssst.” Silver Skin stepped forward but stopped when Stone ran up to him and bucked him in the leg. “No, I won’t let you hurt him!” Stone yelled. “Foolisssh pony,” Silver bent down and picked Stone up by his scruff, “You think you have any chanccce of hurting me? How laughable. Maybe I’ll kill you firssst sssinccce you are ssso eager to die.” Silver pulled out a knife from his belt and was about to slit Stone’s throat when a blast of yellow energy struck him in the chest and sent him flying. He dropped Stone and Crystal ran up to him. Everyone turned their eyes to Derahk, who was pointing his staff where Silver was standing before the blast. “What are you waiting for foolsss, kill him,” Silver ordered. Derahk looked at the rest of the Onyx Bandits. If he could have been smiling, he would have been doing so. The end of his staff began to crackle with yellow energy. When it was sufficiently charged, Derahk swung it in a wide arch and a large wave of energy was sent towards the diamond dogs and lizards. The dogs suffered the worst injuries. While the lizard was only thrown off the roof, the dogs all had blood dripping from their ears and mouths. They howled in pain, clutching their ears and staggering around. Derahk charged forward, grabbing a diamond dog by its arm and throwing it into another. He then twirled his staff around, impaling a dog in the chest. Leaving the staff imbedded, he grabbed another dog and violently broke its neck. Pulling his staff out of the now dead diamond dog, he sliced the chest cavity of another dog open and broke another ones jaw. He then went over to the two he downed first and slit both of their throats. When he got to the lizard, he punched it in the jaw and impaled its tail with his staff. He twisted and pulled, ripping off two feet of the tail and spraying a fine mist of blood around him. The lizard screeched in pain and held what was left of his tail. The end of it was still on the staff and twitching slightly. “You…bassstard.” Derahk turned to where Silver Skin had landed. He was standing unsteadily and pointing a sword at Derahk. “I’ll…KILL YOU!” he roared, before charging at Derahk. Derahk sidestepped and tripped Silver. Silver immediately got back but was forced back to the ground when he felt something stab his chest. Derahk had impaled Silver with his staff. It was in so deep the tips were sticking out the back. Derahk twisted the staff slightly and lifted Silver into the air; the end of the tail continued twitching. Silver’s hands were gripping the staff, trying to keep weight off the wounds. “What…,” Silver gurgled, “How…?” Derahk chuckled lightly before swinging the staff around and sending Silver flying. He rolled a few times before coming to a stop. His stomach was ripped open and blood pooled around him. He breathed wheezily, coughing up blood. “Not…posssssible,” Silver said with his last breath. His breathing stopped and blood continued to poor out of his wounds. Derahk split his staff and stabbed the ends into the ground, removing the blood. He then pulled them out and attached them to his back. That’s when he realized how quiet it was. He turned around to see everyone staring at him with fear in their eyes. Even Stone and Crystal were frightened. Magic stepped up, tears in the corner of her eyes. “Why…why did you have to kill them like that,” she said, nearly breaking down, “The two that you slit their throats, they might have surrendered if you gave them a chance. And you killed Silver when you knocked him over. You could have knocked him out, but you killed him instead.” She looked away, tears streaming down her face. Derahk began approaching her but stopped when she raised her hoof. “Don’t come any closer,” she sniffled, “I can’t believe I ever trusted you. Leave. Just…leave us be. We don’t want monsters in our town.” Derahk lowered his head and looked around at the carnage he created. All the diamond dogs lay on the ground, blood staining the ground. The remaining lizard was unconscious due to blood loss. He turned back to the crowd. They were all staring at him with looks of pure hatred. He clicked once before walking towards the edge of town; the stares followed him. When he reached the edge of town, he took one last look. The remaining lizard was unconscious due to blood loss. He turned back to the crowd. They were all staring at him with looks of pure hatred. He clicked once before walking towards the edge of town; the stares followed him. When he reached the edge of town, he took one last look. Several ponies had begun to clean up the destruction and help the lizard, but most still stared at him. He knelt down and scratched out a message in the dirt. He stood back up with his back towards the town, not wanting to see the hatred directed at him. Wanting to get out of there as fast as possible, he let instinct take over. He jumped up and moved his legs in front of him. His feet locked together and the staff halves on his back shifted until the pole ends attached with his feet. His hands gripped just in front of the prongs at the end. He was hovering a meter off the ground with no visible propulsion. He tilted his feet down slightly and began moving forward. He pushed down on the staff ends and began gaining height until he was level with the tree tops. He continued on until he was out of sight of town. Magic walked over to see what Derahk had written. What she saw had her completely break down. He had only written two words, but those two words meant so much to her. “I’m sorry.”
Chapter 2: A Cave and a BoneChapter 2: A Cave and a Bone “So, Mister, what were you doing out in the woods?” Crystal asked. Derahk shrugged, having no memory prior to waking up this morning. “Were you planning on doing something?” Stone asked. Derahk shook his head. If left to his own devices, he would have wandered the forest until he ran into something interesting. “Are you alone?” He thought for a moment before nodding. He wasn’t sure if there were any others like him, but there was nothing to indicate anyone else was in the area. He would have heard them. A rustling ahead of them caused him to stop. The two foals continued for several feet before noticing Derahk had stopped. “What’s wrong?” Crystal asked. Derahk held up a hand to keep them quite. Another rustling, and this time he heard voices. Whoever they were, he didn’t want his presence revealed so easily, so he scooped up the two foals and jumped into the brush. “What are you doing?” Stone said, almost yelling. Derahk silenced him by placing a hand over his muzzle. Once he had calmed down a little, Derahk removed his hands and pointed down the path they were taking. “I think he heard something down there,” Crystal said, which Derahk confirmed by nodding. “What exactly?” Stone said. Derahk shrugged and motioned for them to be quiet. He heard movement on the path. Moments later, a large lizard thing and a dog that walked on two legs went by. Derahk’s hands instinctively moved towards the two halves of his staff; these things did not have friendly intentions. The dog stopped near where they were hiding and smelled the air. The lizard noticed and turned towards it. “What do you sssmell?” the lizard asked. “Something…metal. I’ve never encountered this smell before,” the dog said, “It smells like steel, but it’s something different, possibly magically.” “How long ago wassss it here?” “Can’t be sure. No less than an hour, at most.” “Then it’ssss not worth our time. We have a job to do. Come on.” The dog and lizard continued down the path. It wasn’t until Derahk could no longer hear them did he let Crystal and Stone go. “Who were those guys?” Stone asked. “One was a diamond dog and the other was a lizard from the Black Marshes,” Crystal said, “But more importantly, why are they here. There are no gems around here and the nearest swamp is way to the south.” “Let’s hurry to Magic’s place. I don’t want to run into those guys again.” “You said it. Come on, let’s go.” They continued their journey, though Derahk couldn’t shake the feeling he would run into those things again. After five minutes of walking, they finally exited the forest into a large clearing. A decent sized town was a way down the path, with several farmsteads along the edge of the clearing. “Magic’s place is right this way,” Stone said, setting off down the path. “Stone, wait,” Crystal said, putting her hoof on his shoulder. “What now?” “Do you really think it would be a good idea to take him straight into town?” Stone looked at Derahk. Something that out of the ordinary wouldn’t get the warmest reception in a town like this. “Well, what do we do?” Stone asked, “We can’t sneak him over to her place.” “We’ll have to wait until it gets dark and everypony is asleep,” Crystal said, “That way, we can go to Magic now and explain the situation to her so she’s ready.” Derahk clicked a few times. “You’ll just have to hide out in the forest until it gets dark,” Crystal said, turning to Derahk, “We wouldn’t want you freaking anypony out.” Derahk rolled his eyes and walked back into the forest. “Hey! Where are you going?” Stone yelled, running after Derahk. Derahk stopped walking after going several hundred feet into the forest. He closed his eyes and began to send out sonic waves into the ground. Stone and Crystal stood off to the side, wondering what he was doing. After thirty seconds of mapping out the surrounding area, Derahk opened his eyes and set off in the direction he detected a suitable sized cave. Stone and Crystal followed, still wondering what he was doing. After a minute of walking, the forest thinned a little and Derahk found what he was looking for. A large rock jutted up from the ground with a hole large enough for him to squeeze through on one of the faces. He went through and stood in a cave that was just tall enough for him to stand up in, though he had to keep his spikes close to his back. The tunnel was once a den for a large creature, evidenced by several bones lying around, but had been abandoned for some reason. A quick screech confirmed nothing living was there. Stone and Crystal ran in to find Derahk sitting down, picking at one of the bones. His staffed laid assembled next to him, ready in case something decided to reclaim the cave. “Well, I guess this is okay,” Crystal said, “I was going to suggest something closer to the path, but this isn’t too far away. Well, either Stone or I will come get you when it’s time. Bye!” “Something tells me he isn’t listening,” Stone said. Indeed, Derahk wasn’t paying any attention to them. Instead, he seemed to be trying to glean the secrets of the universe from the bone he was looking at. “Bye!” Crystal yelled loudly, snapping Derahk out of his trance. He looked at the two foals standing at the cave entrance before waving his hand good bye. They responded in kind and left, leaving Derahk alone with his bone. Author's Note: Don't worry, this chapter's shortness shouldn't be too commonplace once I get on a roll. And be patient, the action will start picking up in the next few chapters. I'll give everyone a reason to fear Rahkshi.
