Derpy Hooves: Dragon Slayer

Chapters

Undelivered Mail
Forced Farewells
For Everfree
Ray's Light
Errant in the dark
The Invisible Mare
Road of Ruins
The River Sticks
Of Water and Dragons
When Dealing with Dragons
Lair by Lair
The Dragon's tale
An Evening with Derpy
Balefren's Story

Undelivered Mail

Chapter 2: Undelivered Mail

The sun was on the last legs of its journey for the day. Light was just beginning to fade, signally to everypony that it was time to start packing up for the night. Those who had brought food started to pack up what remained and made plans for where to spend the night. The crowd of onlookers and those who simply enjoyed the food began to head back to their own homes for the night.

On the outskirts of town a white unicorn wearing a brown duster stood outside a small simple house. He looked at a notebook as it hovered in front of him and reviewed the notes he had written. The faint orange glow of his magic surrounded the notepad as he turned the pages. He flipped through the pages until it came to one that had a series of numbers and an address written on it.

Five Forty Five Brook rd. Lowering the notebook the unicorn looked at the numbers on the poorly built wooden mailbox in front of the house.

Five Forth Five, he read, this was the house the ponies in town had told him she lived. Even though all his notes seemed to point to this address, he looked at the little home with crooked shutters and peeling paint. This place looked too small and neglected to be the home he was looking for.

Well if I’m going to get this done, I might as well do it before I lose daylight, he thought. Slowly he walked up the small path to the front door. He paused for a moment looking at the faded brown door before reaching out with a hoof and knocking.

The unicorn stood for a moment listening for the sound of movement from inside. A few moments passed without an answer to the door and he heard no sound or saw any signs that anyone was home. Frowning he knocked once more a little harder.

Once again he waited and received no response. Frustrated he turned his attention to the little window next to the door. Carefully he peered at the smudged pane of glass hoping to see someone inside. He had spent most of the day running around town trying to find this place and now no one seemed to be home.

Or had the ponies in town given him misleading information on purpose to hide the resident? He wondered. Feeling fed up, he looked at the old oak door once more. Maybe I’ll just try once more, he thought.

Moving back up to the door he reached out to knock, but as his hoof was about to hit he paused over the door latch. Suddenly his frustration converted into into bravery and he reached for the door handle instead. A light touch on the handle revealed that the door was not locked.

There was a rusty clank as the door mechanism unlatched and a creaking sound as the hinges parted allowing the door to slowly open.

The last rays of sunlight spilled through the open door, but they were barely enough to light the inside of the home. The unicorn took one step inside and cautiously looked around.

The interior was that of a small living space and kitchen combined, in the far corner he could make out a doorway into a bedroom and on the other side a smaller door that was the bathroom. The home had the basics inside with no decorations or adornments of any type.

“Hello?” he said quietly. After a moment of pure silence he gave it another try much louder. “Is anyone here? I have a delivery,” he called out taking another step inside. Still no reply or sound came.

The white unicorn’s heart sank in defeat. He had spent all day on a wild goose chase it seemed. Feeling confident no one was home, he made his way into the kitchen a little farther. He had to be sure if he had wasted all his time coming out here.

Concentrating he lit up the tip of his horn with a small sphere of orange magic. The orange glow was enough to illuminate the room in front of him. He made sure he was not allowing his horn to shine too bright to avoid catching the attention of anyone outside.

The unicorn slowly wondered around the small house examining things. To his disappointment it seemed his first impression of the mostly bare home, was correct. Other than a few dented pots and pans laying on the stove and some simple children’s toys in the corner, there was nothing in the home that would help him identify who lived here, or if anypony lived here at all.

He had just turned his attention to the small bedroom in the back when suddenly the front door slammed behind him. Startled he almost tripped as he turned around.

“What are you doing in here?” a voice said threateningly.

The unicorn looked through the dim light, he was not able to make out who was there, but he knew it was most likely the owner of the homestead.

“Ah, I have a delivery,” he said trying not to sound nervous.

“Why didn’t you just put it in the mailbox then?” the voice said.

The unicorn listened carefully as he slowly moved towards the door. The voice was feminine but there seemed to be a coldness to the tone. “Well I have special instructions to personally give it to the recipient,” he explained as he was gradually allowing more light to come from his horn. “At this address.”

“Did your instructions say to just go right inside as well?”

The unicorn didn’t reply right away, instead he took another step forward and increased the light until the room was light enough he could see the grey Pegasus standing in the doorway. “I’m sorry I didn’t think anyone actually lived here, the town ponies were not very helpful,” he explained as he felt a wave of relief, as he recognized the pony before him as Derpy Hooves, the so called town fool.

“Well I live here,” Derpy said looking cross as she stared at the unfamiliar unicorn.

“I am really sorry,” The unicorn continued. “I’ve have an urgent letter for Delphina Ray, have you seen her?”

“At this address?” Derpy said with a sudden softer and confused tone.

“Yes of course,” The unicorn replied. He took a few more steps closer as he began to open his saddle bag with magic.

“She isn’t here,” Derpy said. “But you can give the letter to me, I will get it to her,” she added as she reached towards the mailbag.

Startled by the sudden movement the unicorn hopped back and sealed the bag up quickly. He glared at the Pegasus for a moment, upset that she would try to take his bag like that.

“Look, this letter is to be given to Delphina directly by me, I can’t leave it to anyone,” He explained keeping himself calm.

“She won’t be back for a while, I will get it to her, I’m a Mailmare around here you know,” Derpy said smiling innocently.

“Yes I heard, you deliver letters on the weekends,” the unicorn said. He watched as Derpy nodded happily. “Well then as a mailmare you must understand that I cannot leave a confidential letter with just anyone, it has to be to the addressee.

Derpy frowned for a second before smiling again.

“She is my roommate, she won’t be back for a while, you can trust me to get it to her.”

The unicorn shook his head.

“How long will she be? I’ll just have to wait.”

“Hours, days, could be weeks,” Derpy said as she took a few steps towards the unicorn.

In response he turned his back on the blonde pony and began to pace around the room thinking.

“Come on now, Derpy, can you give me a more realistic time? Where is she?”

Derpy watched as the white colt wondered back and forth through her living room.

“Well she doesn’t always tell me where she is going and sometimes I don’t see her for weeks. She makes trips into the Everfree forest to do all kinds of things.”

The unicorn was passively listening as he wondered into the bedroom. He was trying to decide if he should ask to stay here, or if he should try to hunt down Delphina elsewhere. While he was thinking he suddenly noticed something… The bedroom was far too small for there to be a roommate situation going on, there was one little bed tucked into the corner of the room and no signs of any other kind of bedding.

“You say she is your roommate?” he asked curiously as he emerged from the bedroom. Looking around the room he did not see Derpy anymore and he heard no response either. “Derpy?” he asked again as he increased his light spell to its maximum.

Enough orange light filled the room to light up every corner. To his surprise, the grey Pegasus was nowhere to be seen. He opened his mouth to call her name again, but he stopped. Suddenly he felt a shiver go up his spine as if he knew something was wrong with this whole situation. He had been warned when he picked up this assignment and now those warnings were playing in his head.

"Beware, Delphina is no ordinary pony, she is far more dangerous than you can imagine," the voice said in his head. Before he had time to think something landed on his back hitting him hard.

He bucked with all his might but the weight knocked him to the floor, before he could react something was strung over his head from behind and wrapped around his neck.

From the ground he strained with all his might but he was pinned down. Looking over his shoulder he could make out somepony on top of him, the same pony who was tightly wrapping something around his neck.

“Stop,” he managed to gasp out.

“Stop struggling then,” a familiar voice said from on top of him. Against his better judgment, he obeyed and laid still.

He cringed and gritted his teeth as he felt the cool metal chain drag across his throat. A few awkward tugs and pushes later he heard a click of metal, and then the weight on top of him was lifted. At the same time the little remaining light from his horn went out.

Before the unicorn could decide what to do, a voice called to him in the dark. “Stay,” it commanded. With the shock of everything wearing off, he was able to place the voice. It was Derpy’s, but the tone was no longer simple and friendly. It was now serious and threatening,

“What’s going on?” he asked looking into the darkness of the kitchen. He concentrated for a moment to recast his light spell, but nothing happened. “Derpy?”

“Sit still,” she replied as some clanking sounds came from her direction. A moment later a beam of light filled the room as a small lantern came to life.

Derpy stood in the middle of the room now with the lantern sitting on the floor in front of her. The white unicorn looked on as a large shadow of the Pegasus with wings fully spread was cast on the fall wall like a demon in the night.

More focused now, he caught a glimpse of the front door that was still slightly open. Thinking of his options, he began to get up in order to make a run for it.

As the unicorn began to stand, Derpy moved in on him in a flash. She delivered a swift kick to his back leg sweeping it out and knocking him off balance causing him to stumble back to the floor. She followed it up with another kick to his midsection.

The white unicorn let out a wail of surprise and pain at the sudden attack. He lay on the floor with tears in his eyes unable to breathe for a moment.

Derpy took a step back and looked down at the colt with scorn in her eyes. “I told you to stay there,” she scolded.

“What did you do to Delphina, where is she?” the unicorn coughed as he began to suck in air again. He looked up into Derpy’s eyes. Her brilliant yellow eyes, that were staring back at him perfectly straight.

Straight? Her eyes were perfect suddenly, he thought. Then a realization came to him. Something he had not thought about, but it seemed to make sense now. “You are Delphina,” He said calmly.

Derpy responded with a sigh as she turned her back to the unicorn. “I figured as much,” she snorted. “You couldn’t have just put the letter in my mailbox; you had to go around town asking about Delphina and about Five Forty Five Brook rd.”

“Who are you?” he asked feeling the need to know for sure.

The grey mare slowly walked over to the front door and pushed it shut. After feeling confident it was closed tightly she turned around and faced her captive. “I am Delphina Ray,” she announced. “And who might you be?”

“Balefren Vivid,” he said quietly as he looked at the fire in the pegasus’s eyes.

“Well Balefren, you sure haven’t lived up to your name so far; you fool of a delivery pony, what do I do with you now?”

Reminded about the delivery Balefren looked around for his saddlebag. “I have a letter for you Delphina,” he said trying to sound professional and not unnerved.

“Yes I know, I already took it from your bag,” she said as she produced the letter in her hoof. Pinning the letter to the floor with her hoof she moved her head past it in a flash that left the top of the letter open. Balefren took note of what looked like a glint of metal in her mouth.

“So you were pretending to be Derpy Hooves…” the unicorn said to himself.

“I am Derpy Hooves, she is my alter ego in a sense,” Delphina said as she slid the exposed letter out of the envelope and began to read it.

“And I wasn’t supposed to know that,” Balefren continued reasoning with himself.

“That is also correct,” Delphina said looking up from the letter. “It is very important that everypony here only knows me as the simple, clumsy and harmless mare.”

Balefren sat in silence as the grey mane read the letter. He didn’t know what to say next. He thought about begging for forgiveness or swearing to keep her secret, but all the while his eyes wondered back over to the door. Escape seemed like the best option, he could get out, make a run for it and get back to Trottingham.

The Postmaster had warned him not to tangle with Delphina Ray. He spoke of the mysterious and dangerous reputation she had with the underground in Trottingham. "Find where she lives and drop that letter off!" His boss’s voice said in his head. "Ponies who meet her tend to go missing afterward."

But instead he wanted to be adventurous and meet the mysterious mare face to face. “Damnit,” he whispered to himself cursing his foolishness. Now he sat questioning his fate as he watched Delphina read the letter he had brought her.

“Vivid,” Delphina said looking up at the unicorn. “Do you know what the contents of this letter are?”

“No ma'am. To look at another’s mail would betray my duty as a mail pony." Delphina gave him a skeptical stare looking into his eyes intently for a moment, before a smile came to her face.

“Well good, you did something right,” she said sounding almost cheerful. It was almost as though the light hearted Derpy was back.

Balefren spared no time to try to exploit her change in mood. “So now that you have it, can I go? I have business back in Trottingham.”

“Sure, you can go,” Derpy said still smiling. Balefren sat motionless for a moment wondering if she really meant it. He watched as Drepy swiftly scooped up the letter and tucked it into her saddle bag. Feeling a sense of relief the white unicorn got to his feet. As he rose he felt the metal chain object bounce around his heck. He realized had forgotten about it!

“One thing,” Derpy said as she moved in front of him and blocked his path. “That necklace you’re wearing is mine, and no one in Ponyville can ever know about me.”

“That’s two things,” Balefren said feeling anxious.

“Regardless,” she said pointing a hoof at the black and gold colored chain around the unicorn’s neck.

“You put it on me! You can have it back, I don’t want it,” Balefren said in defense as he reached for the necklace. As he made contact with the small chain a sudden jolt of pain shot through his hoof. It was like a blast of electric fire. “Ouch!” he cried as he quickly let go of the jewelry.

“You can’t take it off like that,” Delphina explained. The next step seemed obvious now to Balefren and he wanted this thing off. He concentrated with his magic to lift the necklace off. His horn began to glow orange, but then the light faded just as quickly as it came.

“What did you do?” he cried out starting to feel panic. He thought back to earlier when he tried to use his light spell and it no longer worked either.

“You can’t take it off like that either,” Delphina said. “That amulet is a magic poriferan, one of three forged by King Solaris himself over a thousand years ago, from a rock of sky.”

Balefren looked at the pegasus confused and frustrated.

“Poriferan?

"Like a sponge, a magic sponge."

"Why did you put it on me then?” he said as his legs started to shake.

“Getting upset will not help your situation,” Delphina warned. She watched as the unicorn took a deep breath and collect himself. “Good, now I do need it back,” she added once he appeared calm.

“Why did you put this on me?” Balefren asked again.

“I needed to test it, and you gave me a reason to do so."

“Delivering mail?”

“You broke into my house, as far as I knew you were an assassin."

“What?!” Balefren said surprised. “Why would I be an assassin?”

“I told you I have to keep my identity a secret, I have enemies in many places.”

“Ok so how do I get this off?” the unicorn said trying to look down at the amulet around his neck.

“It’s easy, there are two ways,” Delphina said moving closer. “One is that it can be easily taken off of your dead corpse.”

Balefren took a step back startled; Delphina followed him backing him into the corner of the kitchen. The unicorn’s horn lit up again briefly as he desperately tried to cast a spell to get himself out of his situation, but once again the orange magic around his horn faded.

Delphina grinned at the attempts, and that the magic amulet was working as designed.

“The other way is for the pony that placed it around your neck, to take it off,” She said smiling.

Balefren breathed a sigh of relief, but it was not enough to slow his racing heart. “You’re not going to kill me?” he asked.

“Well there is the other matter of keeping my secret,” she reminded taking another step closer.

“Take your necklace then, I’ll never talk to anyone,” Balefren promised.

“Not yet,” Derpy said smiling. “There is a better way for both of us I think.”

Balefren was now sitting on his hunches with his back against the cupboard as he once again saw the mare’s expressions change to the innocent looking Derpy Hooves. He watched as the pegasus turned around and began to trot into the little bedroom.

“The letter you gave me requires me to go on a trip,” Derpy said as she entered the bedroom and out of Balefren’s sight. He could hear rummaging sounds as drawers and items were hastily being moved around. “You will accompany me, you will do as I say and what I need, once I’m done I will take my necklace back and set you free far from Ponyville."

With the grey pegasus in the other room, Balefren Vivid spared no time, getting to his feet he made a run for the front door. He only heard the part about having him come with her on a trip before he made it to the door latch. Working the handling quickly he unlatched and opened the door. Without looking back the unicorn began to run for his life into the summer night. On his way out he regretted not kicking over the lantern to aid in his escape.

Derpy came out of her bedroom with a pair of saddle bags in her teeth stuffed full of clothing and items. She carefully placed the bags on the floor and with a grin she looked at the open front door. Calmly she used a fronthoof to pick up the bags and toss them on her back. She strained for a moment at the extra weight, and then gave a little hop using her wings to lift herself into the air. Slowly she made her way across the room pausing for a moment to pick up the lantern with her mouth. Still moving at a calm pace Derpy flew through the doorway and into the night.

A circle of light floated slowly down the patch from Derpy’s house. The grey mare floated along peacefully looking for her new assistant as she thought of him. She had not gone far when she made out the familiar looking shape of the white unicorn. He was lying on the ground in a small ditch at the roads edge. He is pretty vivid, she thought to herself, maybe he will live up to his name she added mentally laughing.

Balefren lay in the dirt having been struck by an agonizing pain from around his neck as he ran from the house, leaving him stunned. He was just recovering from the shock when he saw the soft glow from the lantern floating down the path towards him. He cursed to himself as he knew that it was Delphina coming and she must have planned on this.

“Hey there Vivid, you must be really itching to go,” Derpy said as she placed the lantern down. Balefren slowly began to get to his feet. “No need to frown, this will be good for you,” Derpy said looking at the big frown that spread across the unicorn’s face. “Stand still,” she warned as she flew just above him and tilted herself skillfully so that the extra saddle bags to fell directly onto his back.

Balefren’s legs buckled under the surprise weight, but he quickly stood tall against it. Derpy landed in front of him and picked the lantern back up. Holding the light in his direction she inspected the battered unicorn.

Balefren was a mess, his brown cloak was torn and disheveled, his flank and legs were covered in dirt and he slightly swayed from side to side as if he was about to collapse from exhaustion. Derpy shook her head, she hadn’t thought about it, but the unicorn had been traveling all day and had spent hours searching around town for her. Thinking about it made her suddenly feel tired as well. She carefully took the lantern into one of her hooves as she opened her mouth to yawn.

“What now?” Balefren started to say as he watched Derpy yawn. He opened his mouth to ask another question but found himself starting to yawn as well.

“On second thought,” Derpy said as she looked up at the stars. “We should rest and set out at first light tomorrow.”

“Where are we going?” Balefren asked in mid yawn.

“Rest up and you’ll see,” Derpy said as she flew to his side. “Let me help you with those,” she said as she reached down to lifted the saddle bags back off of the colt. Carefully she laid them down in the ditch.

Now realizing how tired he was, Balefren didn’t care about anything else anymore. “Where do I sleep, your house is small.”

“It’s not safe there anymore. You better sleep in the ditch out here,” Derpy said. Balefren opened to his mouth to question this, but Derpy put a hoof to his mouth to hush him. “You’ve been spreading my name all over town, who knows who could have heard about Delphina living out here. So lay down here and sleep. I will be back at dawn.”

Too tired to argue or question things further Balefren laid down using the corner of one of the saddle bags as a pillow. As he went prone he would have seemed to have disappeared from anyone looking from the roadside. Sleeping outside was nothing new for him; long trips often required it, although his preference was still to have a roof over his head.

“Alright, I will see you in a bit, don’t try to go any farther or the necklace will zap you again,” Derpy warned as she picked the lantern back up and began to fly back to her home.

Forced Farewells

Chapter 3: Forced Farewells

Derpy awoke suddenly. She looked over at the lone window in the room to see if the sun was up yet. Through the smudged panes of glass she could tell it was still night. It must be around four am she thought. She always had a great sense of time and she felt like she had slept for a few hours.

Sitting up in the dark she suddenly heard a creek from a floorboard in her kitchen. Balefren Vivid must have gotten up early and come inside, was her first thought. But her instincts warned her to be cautious. Although she had never had any trouble in Ponyville due to her feigned persona she was never one to let her guard down. Before she finished her thoughts a loud cracking sound came from the other room. It was the sound of metal striking wood, multiple times in rapid succession.

On full alert, the pegasus leapt up from the bathtub she had been sleeping in and silently took flight into the living area. She hovered over the entrance to her bedroom, waiting and watching. There was one more crash from inside her room, and a stifled sound of someone muttering. A moment later a dark figure appeared in the doorway and stepped into the kitchen. It was still dark enough that no real detail could be made out. Derpy hesitated to strike, and remained hovering silently overhead. She watched and waited using the same trick she had played on Balefren earlier. The roof of her home was designed to be much higher than it appeared. A series of lower rafters gave the appearance that the ceiling as much lower than it actually was, allowing her the opportunity to go unnoticed up above.

The dark figured moved into the middle of the room then stopping suddenly. The mysterious pony stood still for a moment before appearing to bend over to do something.

Delphina slowly lowered herself down right behind the intruder. Not making a sound she mentally prepared herself. If they didn’t move and head out of the home in the next five seconds she was going to classify them as hostile and strike. If they up and left, then she would follow them into the night until she could confirm who it was. In her head she started to count, one… two… three…

Before she got any further a bright light suddenly lit the room as the pony lit a torch at his hooves. Delphina winced at the sudden light and before she could react the pony spun around and kicked the torch at her. She flapped her wings to evade but was not quick enough, the torch glanced off one of her wings as she moved.

As the light danced through the room she could see the intruder, the white and black stripes were a dead giveaway. It was a zebra she did not recognize, but she knew why they were here as she thought about her last run in with their tribes.

The zebra kicked with a hoof that wore a steel boot. The boot had several sharpe blades protruding from it in three directions. Delphina did a barrel roll maneuver as she continued to soar up into the rafters narrowly avoiding the sharp blades. Without sparing a moment the zebra reared up on his hind legs firing off a few more kicking kicks in the air.

Delphina came up to eye level with the rafters in her home. She retracted her hooves up as much as she could to dodge the next few attacks from below. The torch below rolled around on the floor creating a dancing display of shadow and light throughout the home. A glint of light caught Delphina’s eye on the beam of wood next to her.

“I forgot about you,” she exclaimed as she took the finely crafted sword blade in her teeth. She had almost forgotten she had stored her blade up there for safe keeping.

With the sword in teeth, Delphina gave one strong flap of her wings to turn herself around. With her back legs now pointing at the roof she kicked against the rafter and propelled herself straight down.

The zebra on his hind legs was about to make another strike when he saw the Pegasus suddenly spin around and come right at him. Her sudden speed was so fast he did not have time to defend himself as the shining blade came at with him deadly accuracy.

The blade hit its mark sliding directly into the zebra’s mouth and continuing to go through him. Delphina landed with a thud next to the assassin. She released the hilt of the sword that was now at the tip of the zebra’s lips. She spun and delivered a kick to his midsection knocking him to the ground.

Moving cautiously she retrieved the torch from the corner where it had come to a rest. Carefully she kicked it over to the mortally wounded pony. Now fully in the lit the zebra lay making wheezing sounds as a small pool of blood was starting to exit his mouth and nose.

“At this point, I guess it’s pointless to ask which tribe sent you,” Delphina said looking into the dying stallion’s eyes. He looked back his eyes with an expression of surprise and horror. “I imagine you didn’t think things would end like this.”

With the adrenalin wearing off, Delphina started to calm down as she watched the would be assassin on the floor. “If I take it out, you will have roughly ten seconds before you pass out from blood loss. I’m sorry it had to be this way,” said Derpy as she smiled kindly. Bending down she took the sword hilt in her mouth.

With one strong jerk she withdrew the sword and stepped back. With the sword removed, the trickle of blood, turned into a river as the life giving fluid emptied out onto the floor. True to her word the zebra started seeing fuzzy sparks in his clouded vision within a few seconds and an overpowering urge to sleep washed over him.

With the deed done, Derpy turned and dropped the blood covered weapon into the kitchen sink. She tapped the faucet and water began to flow.

The sound of the door latch moving suddenly caught her ear. She turned her attention to the front door, preparing to grab the sword from the sink.

The door opened just a crack and a white head with light brown mane began to poke through. Derpy felt relieved as she recognized Balefren, the ruckus must have woken him up, she thought.

Through the cracked door Balefren saw the grey pegasus standing by the kitchen sink. Seeing that she was also awake, he promptly pushed the door open the rest of the way and came inside. “Derpy, I’m not fully on board with all this, but I can’t sleep out in that ditch, its killing my back, can I lay down somewhere in…” His speech was stopped as his eyes cross the zebra lying in the corner surrounded by blood.

Derpy tried to think of something to say besides the truth only to find her mouth hanging open without the words to say. With wide eyes Balefren looked at the slain stallion and then back to Delphina. A cold shiver ran up his spine again and fear overtook him at the gory sight. Without a word he back peddled through the door and closed it behind him.

“Wait!” Derpy called after him.

“This is madness,” Balefren said as he started to quickly trot down the walkway. In the distance he could see dawns first light starting to glow over the mountain tops. There were no doubts now in his mind how dangerous this mare was. “She thinks she can make me her servent?” he muttered. “Think again crazy pony!” he continued to stomp off down the path. Behind him he heard her voice calling his name.

“Vivid! Come back,” Derpy called standing in the doorway of her home. “The necklace!”

Balefren continued down the road as he tried to forget about what he had just seen, but as much as he wanted the images of the dead zebra where already transfixed in his mind. Maybe it wasn’t real? He thought. Maybe he was still dreaming. He took a moment to look back over his shoulder. He could see the pegasus in the distance still in front of her house. She wasn’t chasing him, but she was still calling out for him.

“Leave me alone you crazy demon!” he yelled. At least she wasn’t chasing him, he thought. Wait, why wasn’t she chasing him? Suddenly he remembered the necklace and what had happened earlier, but it was too late. Before he could take another step, suddenly a paralyzing shock of pain shot through his body from the necklace through him all the way to his tail. With a scream of agony he fell to the dirt.

Delphina watched from her doorstep as the unicorn in the distance stopped moving and collapsed. Now she could go retrieve him without turning it into a long drawn out race. The necklace not only stifled magic abilities, but it also did not allow itself to get too far from the one who placed it around someponies neck.

Balefren lay on the ground unable to move. His entire body felt like it was being pricked by thousands of needles. Once again he found it so intense he was unable to breath. After a minute of fighting the torment he felt his vision starting to go black. He knew he was going to pass out again and he welcomed it over the effects of the necklace.

By the time Delphina arrived the white unicorn appeared to be sleeping peacefully. Maybe keeping him is a bad idea, she thought. She looked down at his face as it rested sideways on the pile of rocks. His mouth hanging open and a small puddle of drool was touching down on the ground.

“It’s been a while; let’s see if I can do this,” she said as she bent down and began to lift the unconscious stallion up.

***

Balefren awoke suddenly coughing. Sitting up the unicorn spat out whatever was choking him. As his coughing fit subsided he rubbed his eyes as he looked around at his surroundings. He was in a dark little room, wooden beams and dirt mortar walls surrounded him. He was sitting in a pile of bedding that seemed to be shredded mattress of some sort. Next to him was what appeared to be a old wooden bed frame that was split in two halves. Next to that was a dresser that was overturned.

Very confused the stallion tried to remember what had happened and how he came to be in this unfamiliar place. It took only a few seconds before he started to recall the night before. Trotting down the road as dawn approached and being struck down by the fiendish magic amulet around his neck. None of this accounted for how he came to be in this trashed room.

Before he could reason anymore a clank of metal came from a neighboring room. The sounds continued as something was thrown about and knocked around. Next he heard the unmistakable sound of liquid being splashed around.

Wait, this is Derpy’s house, he thought. He had not gotten a good look at it in the night, and the room wasn’t such a mess before, but it had to be. That meant the mare must have brought him back here, and she was undoubtedly doing something in the main room.

Carefully Balefren Vivid got to his feet. Despite his curiosity he forced himself to move slow and cautious in an attempt not to make his presence known. One slow step after another he crept towards the doorway. After what seemed like forever he was close enough he could stick his head out.

As Balefren’s head emerged into the living area a splash of water struck him from above. The torrent soaked his brown mane and flowed down his back and sides on its way to the floor. He stood in shock as the ice cold blast moved across his hide.

“Good morning,” Derpy said candidly from above him as she held an empty bucket. Balefren gritted his teeth as he slowly glanced up at the pegasus. “I suppose this worked out, you being out like that I mean,” she added.

“I…you…” Balefren muttered unable to focus through the sheer surprise of being drenched.

“There are still some dry towels in the bathroom you can dry off,” Derpy offered pointing a hoof towards the little bathroom opposite of them. Without another word Balefren silently walked toward the bathroom soaking wet and feeling miserable. As he entered the bathroom he could still hear Derpy behind him talking.

“With you out cold, it gave me time to clean up here."

Clean up? Balefren thought to himself as he grabbed a rather large towel off of a single hook on the wall. The place was still a mess, what could she have possible been cleaning up?

“Also don’t think you can sneak up on me,” Derpy commented as she flew back over to the kitchen sink and began to fill the bucket of water again.

“You didn’t have to poor water on me,” Balefren muttered.

“Look at it this way Vivid, now you won’t have to take a bath this morning,” she added as she poked her head into the bathroom. Balefren hung the towel back on the hook as he watched Derpy poke her head in. She smiled and gave a nod toward the other side of the bathroom, before disappearing back into the kitchen.

Picking up on her que and not thinking the unicorn turned his head and looked over at the little bathtub. “Dear Celestia,” he cried as he gazed upon the lifeless zebra lying awkwardly in the tub. Startled he leapt out of the bathroom in a tizzy. “There is a dead pony in there!” he yelled at Delphina.

“Best place for him,” Delphina replied somberly. “Although I think most of his blood drained onto my floor already, the tub will dispose of any that is left.”

Balefren just stood speechless for a moment watching the grey Pegasus as she splashed another bucket of water across the floor washing away some lingering traces of red. The water flowed swiftly and drained through rather large gaps in the floor boards.

“How can you be so camber about this?” he asked finding the words.

“Oh Vivid, everyone dies, some in their sleep of old age, others of diseases or accidents, and sometimes from a sword through the head,” Delphina explained as she turned her attention to the white colt. Balefren just stood with an uneasy look on his face. “I’m sorry; I guess I’ve been around death enough that I just accept it, in all its forms."

Balefren felt his stomach growing uneasy quickly. He could feel the beginning of a cold sweat beginning to cross his brow as he thought about how dismissive Delphina was about killing another pony.

“Are you going to kill me?” Balefren asked with a shudder in his voice, as he realized he didn’t mean anything more to the mare then the cold body in the bathroom.

Delphina dropped the bucket and gently glided down to the floor. Landing softly she tucked her wings away and slowly approached the frightened unicorn. “I am sorry, I guess I’m just un-sensitized to these things, you have to forgive me.”

“Me…” Balefren spoke quietly as he fought the urge to throw up from fear.

Derpy took a few more steps until she was face to face with the colt. Looking into his eyes, she said “No, but you have to promise to cooperate with me for the rest of my mission.”

“What use could I be to you?” Balefren spoke with his voice crackling as he fought back tears. “Don’t lie to me Delphina.”

“You will just have to see,” Derpy said smiling. “You’ll just have to trust me, you’re not dead yet,” she added trying to best to reassure him.

“Alright,” Balefren said with a sniffle as he got control of his emotions. “I will come along, but can you promise not to kill anyone?”

“What happened last night was not something I asked for, in fact it may have a result of your actions, I will say I have no intention on killing anypony but I can’t guarantee,” Delphina said. She watched Balefren frown unhappy at her explanation. “If it does happen, I can assure you I will not be the instigator of any fight that results in injury or death, is that good enough for you?”

“I think I get what you are saying,” Balefren said.

“Well it will have to do, it’s time to get moving we’ve stayed here too long, we have to be going,” Derpy said motioning toward a stack of saddle bags by the door.

***

The sun shone brightly across a clear blue morning sky, bathing the land in its heating rays. Now all packed up the pair of ponies made their way into Ponyville one last time. Balefren had been instructed he was to carry two sets of the saddle bags and he was to only address Delphina as Derpy. Under no circumstances was he to do anything that may risk blowing her cover.

Understanding the grey pegasus’ abilities he didn’t even want to think about what she would do if he were do something to expose her.

Just a few things I need to wrap up in town, she had told him. Then they would be off into the lands of the wilds on a mission still kept secret from him. Balefren had accepted his fate as a temporary servant to the mysterious pony, but he was still very much concerned with what she had in store for him. He watched Derpy with a suspicious eye trying to discern as much as he could.

As they crossed town, he watched Derpy skip and hop as she went, grinning all the while. She waved at passing ponies and stumbled around. Balefren trudged along behind her studying her mannerisms, the difference in her personality and movements where uncanny. It must have taken years of practice to truly be able to act like a completely different pony. He would have never guessed that the mare he met in the dark was the same pony.

As they passed through town square they came to a little apartment house squeezed in-between two others. The place was identical to the rest of the homes in the area with the straw covered roofs, tan plaster walls and wooden support beams.

Derpy came to a stop and landed on the doorstep. She rapped on the door with her hoof and turned quickly to look at Balefren. “Stand back a little more, and be quite,” she reminded. Just as fast she turned her attention back to the front door as the door latch clanked and it began to open.

Balefren backed away some more and moved himself over enough that he still had a good view inside. He lifted a cautious ear trying his best to eavesdrop.

In the doorway stood a small light purple unicorn filly with straggly blonde hair similar to Derpy’s. She hopped excited at seeing the grey mane at the door.

“Aunt Derpy!” she cried as she jumped up and gave Derpy a hug.

Balefren’s curiosity was peeked at this display. He watched on as another pony came into the doorway. It was a yellow unicorn with smooth flowing blue hair. She started talking to Derpy, but he could not make out what they were saying. He took a step forward to get closer, but was blocked as a large black stallion moved passed him hulling several large carts.

“So I am going out of town for a while,” Derpy explained. “I won’t be able to watch Dinky any until I get back.”

“Oh ok Derpy,” Lemon Hearts said. “We were going to Canterlot for the weekend anyway, I’m sure I can find some other pony to keep watch on her.”

“Momma, I wanna go with Derpy,” Dinky said tugging on her mother’s apron.

“I’m sorry Dink, aunty is going to be gone too long for you to go with,” the yellow unicorn explained. “We’re going to go to Canterlot to see your dad instead.”

“I don’t want that, I wanna with Derpy!” Dinky begged with a tears starting to form in her eyes.

“Derpy will come visit as soon as she gets back,” Lemon reassured.

Derpy grinned innocently as she bent down and picked up the little violet filly. “I’m going someplace you can’t follow Dinky, but I hear your father has something special planned for you in Canterlot.”

“Really?” Dinky exclaimed getting excited. Derpy gently sat the young pony down. Dinky turned back to her mother. “Is dad doing something special?”

“Bet on it,” Lemon Hearts said winking to Derpy. “Thanks for stopping by to let me know, please be careful out there Derpy.”

“Don’t worry, I’m always careful,” Derpy said as she turned stumbled over the doormat. “I’ll see you later Dinky!”

“Bye bye Derpy,” Dinky called out from the doorway as her favorite foalsitter walked away.

***

Balefren watched Derpy trot across the street and over to him.

“What was that all about?”

“Just some kid I foalsit for sometimes,” Derpy replied as she walked past the white unicorn not stopping.

Balefren sprang to his feet and began to follow. “You know she looked a lot like you,” he commented. Derpy suddenly stopped in her tracks and gave him a sour look. “Or not,” Balefren corrected himself. Derpy looked ahead and began to walk again.

“I have to keep up appearances with these ponies as much as I can, it’s important to my cover.”

“So you don’t really care about them?”

“Only as it relates to the success of my mission."

“And what is that mission?”

“That mission, is none of your concern, we have a new mission now.”

“Ok what is that mission?”

“That is need to know basis for you,” Derpy said grinning at the unicorns frustration.

“So you won’t tell me anything?” he said trotting a bit louder.

“Nope,” Derpy said shaking her head.

“Nope you will tell me something? Or nope you won’t say anything?” Balefren tried to clarify.

“Just follow me and do as I ask until we get out of town, then I’ll tell you more,” Derpy said looking back over her shoulder at the unicorn. “One last quick stop here,” she said standing in front of a little building on the corner, it had a red and blue roof with a little flag pole out front. The flag had an equestrian symbol and a symbol of a letter on it.

“The post office?” Balefren questioned.

“Yes, stay out here, I have to let them know, I won’t be able to do my weekend route,” Derpy explained as she went inside.

Balefren stood outside for a moment, but his curisotiy got the better of him quickly. He made his way into the post office. He entered very casually, trying to be as nonchalant as he could. He made his way slowly around the little lobby acting like he was interested in the packaging and stamps displayed on shelves. Out of the corner of his eye she saw Derpy in the corner talking with a pony who must have been the Postmaster for the branch.

“Alright, thanks for letting me know Derpy,” said the big brown stallion.

“Glad to hear you already had someone standing by for the weekend routes!” Derpy said sounding excited.

“Always do,” the stallion said rolling his eyes. “We seem to fall short or have some kind of problem on the weekends.”

“Oky Oky” Derpy said acting oblivious to the Postmasters remarks. She turned around and spotted Balefren standing by a rack of packaging. Looking into his eyes she scowled quickly to show her displeasure of him coming inside.

Taking the hint, the white unicorn, dropped everything he was doing and trotted about outside in a hurry. A moment later Derpy emerged. She trotted up alongside him, she encouraged him to keep walking on as she talked.

“What are you doing?” she said cross. “I told you to wait outside.”

“It’s not a big deal, I was just strolling around,” Balefren replied.

“It is a big deal, I need to know I can trust you and that you’ll do as I say, if you don’t here, then how can I expect to you make it when we are out in the wilds. Things can be life and death out there and if you decide not to listen to me and just take strolls around you can get us both in big trouble,” said Delphina in a lecturing tone.

“Ok sorry, I didn’t think of it that way,” Balefren apologized. In his head he was questioning the rationale behind comparing things in town to how he would act in a dangerous place like the wilds, but he decided it was not worth bringing up.

“Ok, that’s all I need from this place, let’s get going,” Derpy said her voice returning to the calm and friendly tone.

“Alright where are we going?” Balefren asked feeling a wave of excitement coming over him as he was about to find out what she had planned.

“The Everfree forest,” Derpy said. Balefren frowned in disappointment. He knew of the Everfree forest, it was known as a mysterious and dangerous place, but nothing he feared.

“I expected something more from all the talk and secrecy,” he said kicking a rock along the ground.

“Well, if we make good time, we can make it through the Everfree forest before nightfall.” Derpy predicted.

“Through the forest?” Balefren said thinking out loud.

Derpy gave a small laugh as she replied. “Of course, you didn’t think I would need all this fanfare and extra help if I was just going into that little forest did you?”

Balefren laughed nervously, “Well you had me thinking that for a moment.”

For Everfree

CHAPTER 4: For Everfree

As the pair left Ponyville behind Derpy looked up at the sun and compared its position to the distant mountains. “Looks like it’s about noon, we’ll have ten hours of daylight left,” Derpy said as she shared her observation.

“We should be able to cross through the forest in five hours,” Balefren commented.

“Very good Vivid,” Derpy said impressed. “I thought you may be familiar with the landscape.”

“Well I am a delivery colt, I make a point of knowing geography and navigation,” he boasted.

“That is why I picked you,” Delphina said slyly. At this Balefren stopped walking. Derpy looked back at him as she continued on.

“Do you want to know what you’re involved in? I think we’re far enough away from prying eyes and ears I can fill you in.”

Balefren resumed his pace with a fresh vigor as he caught back up to the pegasus.

“Do you know who that letter was from? The one you delivered to me?” Derpy asked.

Balefrend Vivid stayed silent for a minute before responding.

“Yes, it was from someone in the Dark Mares.”

“Very good, I knew you were a smart pony.”

“Ponies living out here may have no idea but anyone who lives in Trottingham knows of the Dark Mares.”

“And what do you know of them?”

“They are a mysterious cult conducting secret and forbidden business from the shadows,” Balefren said thinking back to different things he had seen and heard about them. “Many think they are just an old ponies tale, nothing but a rumor in the wind.”

“And what do you think?”

“I felt like I always knew there was something going on behind the scenes, and after meeting you, I can only say they’re real.”

“Well you’re on the right track,” Delphina said. “But they are not a cult; cults worship a god or other religious idol. The Dark Mares do no such thing.”

“So what did they tell you to do?” the unicorn asked feeling excitement stirring in his stomach.

“So that you’ll understand what they have asked of me, let me tell you a little more about them first,” Delphina said suddenly stopping. Just a short distance up a head the clearing ended and the thick overgrow trees of the Everfree forest loomed. “Let’s stop here for a bit to eat, and I’ll tell you a story.”

Balefren nodded in agreement as he realized how hungry he was. Both ponies sat down next to an old treestump that had been cut down long ago. The large stump was smooth and wide and served as a natural table.

Derpy opened her small saddle bag and withdrew some bread and a knife. Balefren tried to use his magic to open his bags. Once again the amulet blocked the magic and nothing happened.

“I don’t think I’m going to ever get used to that,” He sighed.

“It’s only for a while, I promise,” Derpy said as she helped lift the saddle bags off the stallion’s back and placed them on the ground. “Food is in the green ones, the yellow and red bags are… other things,” she warned.

Balefren didn’t want to mess with ‘other things’ so he opened the green bags and took out a few carrots that were carefully tucked inside.

Once the food was ready to eat, Derpy started to talk.

***

Long ago, I mean long ago, thousands of years ago, there was a young student of the great king Solaris. This student was a very smart and talented unicorn named Umethes. The great king recognized his talents and insisted he was at his side as his number one pony. For decades Umethes served the king. As the years went by Umethes began to study and chronicle the Alicorn king and his empire.

After more years went by, his studies started to revel something that shocked him. Although the great Alicorn’s were godlike and benevolent, his studies started to show that, that may not always be the case. Using his knowledge of their powers and combining it with his theory of disharmony among their race, he predicted that if left unchecked whether it was through rivalries amongst themselves or turning on the ponies they ruled the Alicorns would someday bring about the end of the world.

Fearing that his findings would greatly upset and even trigger the reaction he now dreaded, Umethes knew he could not go to King Solaris. Instead he gathered his closet friends and formed a secret union sworn to watch over and protect pony kind if their great King were to ever turn against them.

As the years went on, the group and their ancestors continued to stay in the shadows and watch. What was a duty to protect pony kind from the corruption of their rulers soon spread into many other matters of protecting ponies across the land. As time went on their duties spread to watching other immortal and dangerous creatures and doing what had to be done to keep them out of Equestria.

As years turned to centuries and things changed, Celestia took up rule over the land. One of the things she declared was to spread tolerance to those outside of the pony world. She wanted to convert and help all creatures in the land. One race she quickly put a strong focus on was Dragons.

Celestia created a treaty amongst the eldest and wisest of the Dragon lords. Celestria’s decree was that no dragon shall be hunted or harmed within her lands. In return the dragon’s promise was that no dragon would ever harm a pony. Although the oldest and wisest dragons understood and agreed, not all dragons are as smart, or cooperative.

Since dragons have always been a very real threat through the ages, the Dark Mares took it upon themselves to watch and ensure the beasts upheld their part of the bargain. Over the years they learned how to deal with Dragon’s just as they had learned about the Alicorns. Cloaked in secret the Dark Mares tracked all dragons in and near Equestria. It was decided that taking a more aggressive approach was the best option. Through means, diplomatic and other, the Mares persuaded most dragons to move out of the land and live elsewhere. Most did, but some refused. Those that stayed were under constant observation, and any who dared threatening ponies were dealt with. Permanently.

Celestra would be very upset at the Dark Mares actions, but it is something that has to be done. Everything may seem nice and safe in Equestra, but just beyond the borders lay a world that is no safe place for a pony. Thanks to the Dark Mares, those dangers stay at bay and every pony can live worry free.

So we remain in the shadows doing what must be done to ensure the safety of ponies, from enemies aboard and within.

***

Balefren remained quite the entire time listening intently until Delphina had finished the story. He waited another minute to make sure she had nothing else to add before speaking.

“First thing, you really aren’t a good story teller, and second you said ‘we’ there at the end," he said.

Delphina frowned for a moment at the criticism. “Yes that is correct, I am a Dark Mare,” she said nodding.

“So the mission you were given then, is…” Balefren paused as if he didn’t want to say it.

“Slay a dragon,” Delphina said finishing his sentence. Balefren just sat silent for a minute as he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach at the thought of facing a dragon. “This dragon has been going in and out of Equestria much and doing what he pleases. We have evidence that several ponies who have gone missing met their end with him.”

“How can we kill a dragon?”

“He has been warned many times, the time for talk has ended, so they have called on me,” Delphina continued ignoring Balefren.

“It would take a hundred of Celestria’s best guards to take down a dragon,” Balefren reasoned. “No pony could do it alone, not even Celestia herself.

Grinning Delphina began to calmly pack the leftover food back into the green saddle bags. “I’m better than a hundred of her guards,” she said looking back over to Balefren. “I’m more than a match for any dragon.”

“How can you be so sure of yourself? It’s one thing to study a monster like that and have an idea where their weakness’ are and things, but it’s much different to actually face one down; alone,” Balefren argued.

“Come now Vivid, you’re not acting very bright again,” Delphina taunted.

“I’m just saying Delphina, do you really know what a living breathing dragon is like?” Balefrend retorted.

“Living, breathing and dying,” Delphina replied.

Balefren sat speechless. He didn’t believe what he was hearing, but knew he shouldn’t question her. Through rumor and legend he only knew of one pony to ever have supposedly killed a dragon.

“Also, I won’t be fighting it alone,” she added with a wink in his direction. Before he could think of something to say she picked up the smaller red saddle back and hoisted it on her back. Delphina began to head back down the path. “Pick up the rest of the gear Vivid, we’ve got to make good time if we want to get through the forest before nightfall.”

Reminded of the plan for the day, Balefren dropped his concerns and quickly picked up the bags. He cursed to himself again as he once more tried to use magic to move them. Once they were secured on his back, he started to run to catch up to the grey pegasus. He was glad she wasn’t flying at least. Why wasn’t she flying? He thought to himself.

“The Everfree forest is not a place you want to spend the night in, unless you have too,” she called back. “Come on Balefren.”

***

The forest was dark and cold. Balefren fought back a shiver as he followed Derpy down the narrow twisting path. The trees were large but very spread out, their tops spawned many branches with very think dark leaves that blocked out almost every bit of sunlight. It felt like they were walking in an endless shadow.

The encompassing darkness made Balefren nervous; casually he sped up his pace to match Derpy. Trotting alongside the mare, he tried to strike up another conversation.

“So how did you get your cutiemark?” he asked looking at the small group of bubbles on her flank; he regretted asking the moment the words left his mouth.

“The less you know about me the better Vivid,” she replied.

“Can I guess?” Balefren said feeling bold. “Just for fun, I’m pretty good at telling how ponies get their marks.”

Delphina rolled her eyes and let out a small sigh. “Alright, for fun,”

Balefren smiled happily as he started to share his thoughts, “Alright, several bubbles. Bubbles tend to be a symbol of innocence, playfulness, silliness, and stup…” he paused before he added more. “So I’m thinking deep at heart you are the kind, playfully, silly mare that Derpy is. I bet you got your mark playing with your mother or family, even from blowing bubbles!”

Delphina grinned slightly and only for a second, before her face resumed a serious focused look.

“You’re just a kid at heart, and I think taking on Derpy as your alter ego, is a way you can get back to your true self,” Balefren concluded. “So how did I do?”

“You’re wrong,” Delphina said. “But good guess, if I had grown up with caring parents in a nice home that could have very well been what my mark is.”

“Ok, now I have to know what I means than,” Balefren begged. Delphina just shook her head signaling she was not going to say more. “Well that’s no fun,” he sighed.

“Fun? How about I do you then?” she asked. Balefren glanced back at himself and his cutiemark, and then at Derpy.

“Ok, give it a try,” he challenged.

Derpy looked at the white unicorns flank briefly studing it. Balefrend Vivid’s mark was a yellow and orange flame surrounded by a triangle. “Your family name is Vivid, as in something that is easy to see, or something very clear. Something bathed in bright light for instance. You already indicated you know how to use light magic, so it leads me to believe that your mark is related to creating light.”

“Not bad,” Balefrend interrupted.

“Hold on,” Delphina counter interrupted. “With a family name like yours I imagine that your parents surrounded you in light a lot. I suspect there were always lights on around your home and everywhere you went. The dark was not something you were ever exposed to as a child. Darkness was something strange and unnerving to you in fact, and it’s something you still fear deep down, being alone in the dark. Growing up you learned to focus your life’s work on being above the darkness and bringing light to everything you can. I figure at some point you had some break through and found a knack for being the light that pierces the dark. And so you get a cutiemark of a single flame set on a angled frame.”

Balefren stood quite not sure how to respond. He didn’t want to admit that she was very close on her analysis. Delphina noticed that the unicorn’s pace was slowing down a little. She realized she probably hit a nerve somewhere in her rambling.

“Or as a young colt you set your father’s books on fire by mistake and found that you like the feel of the heat and smell of the flame,” she said joking.

Balefren grinned as he accepted the humor. “I did burn down the garden shed once,” he admitted.

“I hope that wasn’t when you got your mark,” Derpy added.

“Nope, I got my mark much later during magic studies,” Balefren said as he thought back, his smile faded quickly at the memories.

“I’m sorry, I was over analyzing things like you did,” Derpy said as she saw the pain in the stallion’s eyes. “I don’t know which part was right, but you don’t have to tell me.”

“It’s alright, I started it,” Balefren admitted. “Let’s talk about something else.”

***

Derpy Hooves and Balefren Vivid made good time through the dense forest as they chatted and shared opinions on less important topics such as the worst food they had ever eaten. Late afternoon quickly turned into evening as they came to a stop in a small clearing.

The glow of amber skies could be seen above where no trees happened to grow. Derpy looked up at the sky frowning. “I would have thought we would have gotten farther than this, daylight is going to be gone an about an hour,” She remarked.

“Could we run the rest of the way?” Balefren wondered. Derpy gave him a disbelieving glance before responding.

“Are you in shape enough to run for an hour?”

“Of course, I’m a delivery pony aftercall. I’m used to long runs,” Balefren replied confident.

“Alright then, let’s do it,” Delphina said. “But I’m not stopping if you fall behind, you can spend the night in here alone,” she added with a grin as she started to trot off.

Balefren opened his mouth to protest, but instead started off on a near full speed run, passing Derpy in moments. He knew he had conditioned himself to be able to run at almost full speed for very long distances, he wondered if the pegasus had done the same.

***

As the pair ran down the trail through the Everfree forest, the loss of sunlight was making the already dark forest much more difficult to navigate. Earlier in the day any debris on the ground was at least noticeable. But now shadows began to grow on the ground giving on the illusion things where there, that were not, and hiding things that were there.

“You know if I could use my horn, I could light up the path really well,” Balefren suggested.

“Not going to happening, we should be nearing the edge of the forest in a few minutes, we can make it,” Delphina said. Despite her determination, she was very aware of the risk running through the dark posed. She felt herself naturally slowing down a little to make sure she was not going to take a misstep.

Noticing the gery mare falling behind a little Balefren looked back to offer support.

“You could fly if you want; it’s not a big deal.”

“Those branches just overhead are like daggers, and they are even harder to see, I’ll be alright.”

After another minute Balefren noticed she had fallen a little further behind him.

“If you fall behind, you’ll have to spend the night here,” he said mimicking the mare from earlier. Looking up in the distance, a glint of light up ahead caught his eye. It was almost pitch black now, but he could tell the little light ahead was the edge of the forest and waiting was the last rays of sunlight for the day.

Inspired and anxious to be out of the forest he doubled his effort and began to sprint the rest of the distance. “I see the edge!” he called out as he pulled away.

It only took another minute before the unicorn broke free of the foliage and into an open field. A gold and violet sky was there to greet him. On the fringe of the horizon where small clouds stretched out for miles, as if they were a soft white blanket coming down on the land. With excitement, and borderline exhaustion Balefren sat down on a small hill overlooking the fields below.

He waited for his breathing to catch up before he commented. “Isn’t it a wonderful sight Derpy?” he said looking up at the sky smiling. Something about the summer sunsets made him feel so peaceful. “Derpy?” Balefren said again as he looked around. Then he realized that the Pegasus was not with him. He was all alone.

***

Back in the forest Derpy shook her head in a daze. She was laying on the ground face first in a small pile of dirt and leaves. It only took her a second to regain her composure. She had tripped over something, no, something had snagged her leg, she remembered.

Quickly she leapt to hear feet and looked around. The darkness was thick, but she could make out shapes well enough. Only feet from where she fell, there was something sticking out from the ground. She cautiously moved over to the object to examine it. As she moved, she realized that her right rear hoof was in considerable pain and discomfort.

“Not broken,” she said reassuring herself. Bending down she looked at the thing that had tripped her. It was not a rock or a fallen tree branch. What Derpy was looking at was something crafted specially to trip someone up. She could make out some kind of trip wire, and markings. It was hard to tell in the dark, but it looked like it didn’t fully trigger.

She suddenly heard faint movement from the base of a tree close to her. Trained reaction kicked in as the realization of the danger set in. “I messed up,” she muttered as she leapt up unfurling her wings. With one powerful stroke she was air born.

In the same instant there was a loud snap and a whoosh of air as something lashed out at her. Just as she was getting altitude she felt a cold sting as something lashed around her leg. Instantly her momentum was stopped as a line of some sort went taut. Unable to react she felt herself being slung to the ground.

With a thud the pegasus hit the ground hard face first, and lay unmoving. Around her fallen body, a number of cloaked figures approached grinning smugly at their handy work.

***

On the edge of the Everfree forest Balefren had hesitated for a moment. He really, really did not want to go back into the forest, especially at night. He tried his best to convince himself that Delpina Ray could easily take care of herself in any situation, but something nagged at him. She couldn’t have gotten this far behind him. She must have tripped or something, he thought. Unsure of what to do, he slowly began to walk back into the forest.

The white unicorn’s nerves were on edge, not only for having to go back into the dark depths of the woods, but also for the unknown he would be facing. One step after another he cautiously retraced his route. He was on high alert listening for any sound, and watching for any movement. The forest was so dark now; he could only see things within feet from him. How he wished that his horn was free so he could light up the night.

Balefren had not gone too far before he heard sounds of someone, or something moving about in the foliage. He was about to call out for Derpy, when he paused and held his breath instead. Standing perfecting still and not moving, he listened intently on the sounds. Something about it didn’t seem right, it was like… There were multiple bodies making noise from different places, he realized. A cold shiver shot up his spine as fear started to cloud his thoughts. He looked behind him at the light from the forests edge. He was a moment from turning and running when suddenly a small glint of light began to glow just up ahead.

Getting control of his fear, he turned his attention to a small red glow a short distance ahead. He couldn’t tell where it was coming from, and it was gone within seconds of appearing, but he saw something in that moment that the light was there. He saw the body of Derpy Hooves lying on the ground unmoving. Her blonde mane spread out covering her as if it was a death shroud.

“Impossible, she can’t be,” he whispered in disbelief. If she was though, that would mean that, he thought then looked down at the amulet that hung around his neck. “Ok, if she’s dead, I should be able to take this off,” he said to himself as he gritted his teeth. Holding his breath again the unicorn lifted a hoof up and began to take the amulet off.

As soon as the necklace started to lift up, a jolt of fiery pain shot through his hoof. Balefren bit his lip to keep himself from crying out from the sudden jolt. He knew this meant she must still be alive.

Balefren thought for a moment questioning what he should do… what could he do? After a moment, he looked at the saddle bags he wore. He thought back to Delphina telling him not to open the red one because it was dangerous. In the dark he couldn’t tell them apart though.

The sound of something being dragged across the forest floor, hastened his decision, without thinking anymore, the unicorn dashed forward towards the noise yelling as fiercely as he could. “Hades teeth upon you!” he yelled as he leapt forward running into something hard. With adrenaline pumping Balefren tossed open the saddle bags and began to throw the contents in the direction of the threat.

Contents from the bags flew making thuds and crashes as they stuck different things in the dark. His onslaught was met with high pitch screeches and cries of surprise from unknown creatures. The forest suddenly seemed to come alive with noises and creatures crashed through the undergrowth all around. After a few seconds of chaos, everything suddenly fell silent.

Balefren stood breathing heavily with a saddle bag still hanging from his mouth. He felt like he was ready to take on anything. At his feet he could make out the shape of someone, as he started to calm down he bent over for a closer look. To his relief it was the unconscious Delphina Ray laying before him. Before he could do anything else, there was movement in the bushes right in front of him. Looking up he tried to focus his eyes on the source.

“You better flee unless you want to face the wrath of Balefren Vivid!” he snarled. As he spoke light from a small flame sprang up in front of him. The light was enough to expose a fat little creature sitting in front of him.

Balefren blinked at first looking at the odd creature. It was only half his height; it had black scales with red glowing eyes. Between its claws was the light source that seemed to be a small twig that was burning as if by magic. It reminded him of a lizard, but had a pointed snout that looked more like a dog.

“Horn pony,” the creature said with a raspy voice. “We have horns.”

“Yes, I do,” Balefren said unsure how to reply.

The creature seemed to smile as it motioned in the air with one of its claws. “No we have horn,” it said pointing its claw at him. Not sure how to take this, Balefren considered it a threat and quickly stood tall.

“Stay back, I am a powerful wizard from Vivid enclave!” he roared trying his best to intimidate. As he finished speaking he couldn’t help but notice that many of the black creatures had begun to move in around him.

“Shhhhh,” the creature hissed. In that moment Balefren found himself surrounded by a torrent of claws and bodies.

The unicorn bucked and tossed himself to and fro trying to break free. He fought for only a minute before one of the creatures was pouring something over his face. Balefren coughed and sputtered as the strange sticky liquid doused him. As he focused on not breathing or drinking in the substance, it gave his attackers the chance to better restrain him. Before he knew what happening they had wrapped ropes around his legs tripping him up.

With a grunt the unicorn fell to the ground. He tried to us his magic desperately, but to no avail. More liquid was suddenly being poor over his face again. Unable to hold his breath any longer, he opened his mouth and gasped. As he did, another splash of the substance was forced inside.

Unable to fight it, he found himself forced to swallow some of the concoction. It felt like ash on his pallet with a strong bitter aftertaste.

It only took moments before Balefren started to feel like he was in a tunnel spinning and whirling around. As he lay on the ground in a daze, his vision seemed to clear just for a moment, as he looked at Derpy’s sleeping face lying next to him. She seems so peaceful, he thought, I wonder if I’ll look peaceful too? Unable to maintain control anymore Balefren Vivid felt a great sleep wash over him.

Ray's Light

CHAPTER 5: Ray’s Light

Balefren awoke suddenly as he felt something touch his nose. Unconsciously he tried to reach a hoof up to rub it, but he found he was unable to move. His eyes shot open as he found himself restrained. Now fully awake he looked at a small brown spider that was crawling across his face. “Eeeh,” he cried shaking his head until the small creature came free.

Once the threat of the little spider was gone, he felt silly for having cried out like that. Calming himself down he tried to figure out what was going on. Looking around he did not recognize where he was. He was lying on a cold stone floor; around him were grey brick walls. The walls were cracked and covered with moss and vines as if they had been exposed to the elements for years. A row of strong black iron bars went through the middle of the room trapping the occupants in one side from the entrance on the other. In the middle was a small black gate that appeared to be shut. The room reminded him of some kind of dungeon in a castle, something that had not been built in Equestria for thousands of years. And he was stuck in the cell.

***

His next concern was that his legs were bound tightly with several ropes. He tested them trying to move in different directions. It seemed whoever tied them didn’t know how to make knots, so they just used more rope to make up.
I bet I can get out, he thought as he started to flex and relax his muscles. Each time he did, it seemed like the ropes were stretching and getting looser.

As he tested the ropes, he also scooted himself around in a circle to see more of the room. He had just turned around when he saw the familiar colors of Delphina laying in the far corner of the room. He was glad to see her, and quickly he snaked his away across the floor and over to her side.

Looking upon the grey mare, he saw that she was bound in similar fashion to him. He also quickly took note of a small patch of crimson in her normally blonde hair. He could tell she had hit her head very hard.
“Delphina,” he whispered softly. When no response came, he gently rocked himself against her.

No good, he thought, she could have a concussion, she shouldn’t be sleeping. With renewed vigor he fought with the ropes that bound him. After what seemed like forever, one of the ropes started to slide loose. Balefren rolled over and twisted his neck until he was able to catch the end of the rope in his mouth. Gripping tightly he pulled until the rope slide free. As one rope came loose the others seemed to follow as their whole entanglement structure came apart.

Triumphantly Balefren leapt to his hooves shedding the ropes like a bathrobe, he had to restrain himself from shouting a victory cry. Quickly he turned his attention to Derpy. With concern in his eyes he sat at her side and propped her upright against the wall. He looked at her face once more to check for signs of life, but saw none.

“Alright sit tight, I’ll get you out of these,” he said softly as he began to tug at the ropes surrounding her. Using his mouth and hooves it took him several minutes before he started making progress unwinding the ropes. He found it more difficult than unwinding himself as he didn’t want to hurt her wings as he worked the ropes.

As he was just starting to get the first rope free, he felt a twitch come from below him. He dropped the knot that was in his teeth as he focused his attention on the mares face. Her eye lids twitched slightly before slowly opening up.
Balefren looked upon Derpy’s bright yellow eyes as they gazed back. One was slightly crooked and unfocused. It was the look he had come to expect from her and something about it made him feel like things were going to be ok.
“What did you do?” she said hoarsely. Balefren's grin just got wider at the sound of her voice. Slowly Delphina’s eyes focused and she began to look around.

“Take it easy, I think you have a concussion,” Balefren said. “I’m not sure where we are, but it’s like…”

“A dungeon,” she said finishing his sentence.

“You are as sharp as ever,” Balefren pointed out.

“What’s?” Derpy said weakly trying to move a hoof and finding it encased with ropes.

“Let me get those, someone tied us up,” Balefren explained as he grabbed a rope in his teeth and resumed untangling.

“This isn’t good,” Derpy said quietly. Balefren paused with the rope in his mouth, he could tell she wasn’t her normal self yet, she was suffering.

“Mrmmf,” Balefren said trying to talk around the rope before he spat it out to speak clearly. “Just take it easy, I’ve got things under control,” he said. Derpy managed a smile somehow, although she did not believe him in the least. She sat in a haze of pain and fuzziness as Balefren resumed untying her.

Fearful that their captors might return, he tugged and twisted the ropes as quickly as he could. It took a few minutes before he finally felt the final rope coming loose. With one last yank the ropes fell to the floor leaving the mare free.

“Can you stand?” he said giving her a nudge. Derpy just stared blankly ahead for a moment before coming animated again with a slight shake of her head. She felt dizzy and her vision was clouded with fuzzy stars.

“I can,” she said, “but probably not for long.”

“We’ve got to get out of here before those things come back,” Balefren warned as he looked back over his shoulder at the black gate at the front of the cell

“What things?” Derpy said groggily.

“Black things with…” Balefren paused trying to think of a good word to describe them. As he thought Derpy suddenly looked up, her eyes locked on something in the distance.

“Imps,” she said slowly.

Balefren grinned and nodded. “Yeah kind of like that, an imp,” he said agreeing. Derpy shook her head slowly signaling he had missed something. Watching her yellow eyes he realized she was looking past him.

The all too familiar shiver went up his spine again as he slowly turned around. Standing right outside the bars of the cell was a small black creature with bright red eyes. Balefren gasped in surprise as he stood at attention and stepped in front of Derpy.

The imp just stood there watching them with interest.

“What do you want?” Balefren said after a moment. The creature did not respond, it just continued to watch.

“They’re normally harmless, and stupid,” Derpy whispered. “They’re also followers, you can make them do things if you try.”

Balefren thought about this for a moment, and then with a plan in mind he slowly approached the bars of the cell. The imp started to step back at first, but stood its ground once it was not in reach of the cell.

“Say there little guy, how would you like to do something for me?” Balefren said in a friendly voice with a big smile on his face, as if he was talking to a pet.

“Not like that,” Derpy said from behind him weakly. She spoke too quiet and he didn’t catch quite what she said.

Balefren kept his eyes locked on the little creature as he moved his face up just inches from the cell bars. “I’ll give you a treat if you open the door for us,” he said. “Come on, I’m sure you would love to help a friend out?” Balefren watched with enthusiasm as the little black dog face creature took a step forward.

The imp opened his mouth as if to speak, but instead he spat a large amount of saliva into the pony’s face. Balefren cried out in surprise and fell backwards grasping his face, as the slimy substance struck him. The imp laughed with a raspy voice pointing a claw at the stunned unicorn.

“I’m blind!” Balefren said in a panic as he rolled around on the ground. He frantically rubbed his hooves across his face and eyes.

Through the pain, Delphina was still cognoscente enough she grinned at the stallions troubles. “Calm down, it’s just spit,” she managed to say.

“But there’s so much!” Balefren whined as he started to use a torn edge of his coat to wipe. “How can someone have so much spit?” Once he had a chance to wipe his face down better, he slowly opened his eyes. To his relief he was not blind. Looking forward he saw the face of the nasty little creature who was still laughing in its own way at him. “You think its so funny? Come in here and I’ll show you how funny it is to have something in your face!” Balefren called out angrily.

In response to the threat the imp spit again, Balefren saw it coming this time and side stepped the attack. The imp continued to laugh in success watching as Balefren continued to move around in the cell.

Balefren kept pacing around so that he was not a stationary target. As he walked he tried to think of what they could do. With Derpy down it let any action to him, and without her being very mobile there was no chance they could make a run for it. That only left one option for him. He would have to fight them all off. At this realization he looked over at the mare sitting on the corner against the wall.

She looked back at him through weary eyes. He could tell that she was thinking the same thing, and just like him, she was not pleased with the concept. “Maybe they’ll just let us go,” he whispered to her.

Delphina shook her head slowly. “There is a reason they’ve brought us here, they don’t act alone, someone is controlling them,” she explained the best she could.

“So you mean…” Balefren said and stopped not sure where she was going.

“Someone set them up to get us, and we’re not going to live through this,” she said.

Balefren wanted to reason with her, but no words came to him to say. Instead he just stood as a nauseating feeling began to fill his gut.

“You should make a run for it when they open the gate,” she suggested. “Leave me to my fate,”

Balefren shook his head refusing the idea. "I won’t leave you like that, and anyway the necklace would zap me before I go too far,” he said. No sooner had he spoke when a realization hit him. The necklace! He thought, if she took it off, he could use magic.

“Derpy, you have to…” he started to say, but was interrupted by a loud bang on the iron bars. The sound was so loud he couldn’t help but cringe as his ears rang.

Turning around the unicorn watched as a whole pack of the imps stood at the entrance to the cell now. A slightly bigger one was holding large mallet that he had just used to strike the cage. Balefren recognized him as the one he had tried to speak to the night before.

“He’s the leader,” Derpy whispered.

Both ponies watched silently as the imps spoke in a language they did not understand. The leader imp pointed at the gate, then at the ponies. In response to him, several smaller imps rushed forward, one with a large key that he put into the gate lock. Twisting the key, the gate opened and the others rushed in.

Before Balefren could consider attacking, three little imps rushed at him holding spears. Aiming them at his face, to keep him at bay he stood his ground trying to hide his fear the best he could. As the imps entered the cell, Derpy began to stand up. With a slight groan the grey pegasus got to her feet and stood tall.

Balefren glanced over at her surprised, she looked as strong and sturdy as ever, but he knew she was pretending much like him. The mare gave him a quick wink and a nod. Alright then, he thought, he was the one who would have to make a move.

“What do you want with us?” he asked trying to sound fearless.

Swinging the club carelessly the imp leader spoke. “Horn pony, we want horns,” he said in a squeaky voice. He pointed the mallet in the direction of another smaller imp who held some kind of small metal saw. Balefren felt a cold sweat start to form as he thought of them using it to remove his horn. “And shiny neck,” the leader added pointing at the amulet around the unicorn’s neck. “Give,” he said demanding.

“Before you try to do anything, I want to warn you,” Balefren said thinking of a plan. “This pegasus here is none other than Derpy Hooves… Dragon slayer,” he started to boast. “She is slayer of dragon’s and beasts; she is the stealth like the wind striking death from above to all foes around. She is indestructible and unmerciful, no creature is her equal, she only allows you to live for her amusement, if you don’t leave us be, she will strike and you all will be at the gates of Hades before you can blink!”

The rabble of imps looked at each other speechless, not sure what to think. Even the leader seemed to have some fear in his eyes after the threatening speech. All eyes turned to the grey Pegasus that stood with her head held high.

Derpy stood focusing on standing, but her blurred vision and dizziness was getting the better of her. Unable to stand anymore, she let out a groan as fell backwards onto her butt. The imps roared with laughter as the grey mare now sat on the ground barely able to steady herself with her front hooves.

After the laughter died down, the imp leader turned to Balefren once again. “Give,” he said with more of a growl in his voice.

“Take it,” Balefren offered. “The necklace,” he added quickly not wanting them to confuse it with his horn.

“You take off, give,” said the imp.

“No it's fine, come and take it,” Balefren offered, thinking of the surprise they would be in trying to take it off him. Just as he was thinking this, he happened to notice an imp standing in the back shyly, who seemed to have bandages over both of its claws. “You already tried to take it off me?” he said thinking out loud.

“You take off, or we take off carcass,” the imp explained.

As Balefren was wondering where the imp learned a word like carcass, Derpy spoke up. “It doesn’t work like that,” she explained. “It’s magic and you can’t even take it off his dead body.”

“Then how?” the imp snarled as he took a few steps towards the grey mare. Balefren took a step forward to try to get between the imp and Derpy, but he was blocked by the rattle of spears in his face.

“I’m the only one who can take it off,” she said weakly. Balefren felt his heart skip a beat. She was thinking the same thing he was.

“Do,” the imp said. “No trick, you bleed,” he threatened as he motioned to push the unicorn closer.

Balefren tried to hide his excitement has he was headed slowly over to where Delphina was sitting. As he stood in front of her, he slowly leaned his head forward so she would have good access to the necklace.

“They’re creatures of shadow,” she whispered as she slowly reached around behind his head and began to unhook the amulet’s chain. “I hope you’re light is strong enough Vivid.” With a final twist of her hoof the necklace fell to the floor.

All the imps cried out excitedly as the gold jewelry hit the stone floor with a clank. They jumped forward forgetting everything else. The leader swung his mallet around, pushing the others back as he leapt for the necklace.

“Mine!” he cried.

Balefren took a few steps backwards from the melee. He felt a strong surge flow through his body and around his horn. It felt wonderful, like eating a great meal after starving for days. His magic had returned.

The imp leader held up the necklace proudly to display to the others it was indeed his. “Now horn,” he said turning around and pointing at the unicorn. All the imps turned in time to see Balefren Vivid standing in the corner silently with a small white ball forming on the tip of his horn.

The white unicorn put all his concentration and will into his most powerful light spell. The spell that had earned him his cutiemark, sprang to life as the single point of light began to grow rapidly. Before the imps could react a blinding flash filled the room covering everything in perfect white.

Cries rang out from the creatures as the light blinded and scared them. In a panic they began to try to flee the best they could. Before they could get far, the white light faded revealing a large white ball of energy hovering over the unicorn.

“Pure light,” Balefren said between gritted teeth as the ball shattered into hundreds of white beams that filled the room. Each beam moved at incredible speed and bounced off the walls. As the light struck the imps, it tore through them. Some were vaporized by the blasts and others impaled by daggers of light.

Then as quick as it started the light faded leaving the remains of the imps scattered across the room. Balefren managed to look across the room at Delphina Ray. She still sat in the same pose, but her eyes were locked on him.
“I told you I got this,” he said as he felt his legs giving way beneath him. Without enough strength left to keep himself up, he fell to the floor hard. “I think I over did it,” he said up at the ceiling, grinning to himself.

***

Balefren awoke suddenly again, but this time he recognized his surroundings. He still lay on the grey stone floor in the ancient ruins of some building. Looking up he could see blue sky through cracks in the celling. It was still daylight outside and he was unsure of how long he had been asleep.

Slowly the unicorn got to his feet. Cautiously he looked around for any signs of the imps, to his relief he did not see any. With the exception of the mallet the leader had used, all traces of the imps had vanished. With no sign of an immediate threat his next thought turned to Derpy. Quickly he looked across the room to the corner where the mare was now laying on the floor.

“Delphina, don’t you sleep,” he said as he thought about her head injury. He was not sure why you were not supposed to sleep if you have a concussion, but everyone was always very adamant not to let that happen.

As Balefren approached the grey pegasus began to move slightly. Lifting her head she watched the white shape of the unicorn through blurry vision.

“Come on Del, we need to get out of here before they come back,” Balefren said worried as he looked back over his shoulder. Without fully stopping, he bent down and began to help Delphina to her feet.

“What? No, it’s alright,” she responded groggily.

“Were you sleeping?” Balefren cried out in alarm.

“Yes, I think we both were,” she said as she started to become more coherent. “Looks like its late afternoon judging from the hole in the roof.”

“You have a bad head injury, you shouldn't sleep,” Balefren continued.

“That’s just an old mares tale, best thing for any kind of injury is to sleep. If it's bad enough I won’t wake up either way,” Delphina explained. Balefren took a step back letting her stand on her own, but still had a concerned look on his face. “Speaking of… My head does really hurt,” she said placing a hoof on her forehead.

“We’ve got to get out of here, before those things come back,” Balefren reminded her. Delphina just grinned as she stood her ground calming. “Are you still too sick to travel?”

The mare shook her head. “I’m feeling much better, relatively speaking,” she said rubbing her head again.

“Then let’s go!” Balefren said as he began to trot towards the cell door.

“Vivid?” Derpy said as she still stood in the back of the cell. Balefren stopped in the doorway and looked back at her. “Don’t you remember what happened?”

“Of course, I used my light spell and scared them off,” he said quickly. “Like you said they were creatures of shadow, so light scared them.”

Delphina shook her head again. Balefren gave her a confused look as she explained. “You killed them.”

Balefren felt his heart drop, and a sick feeling run through his stomach. “No, my spell is harmless, that couldn’t happen,” he reasoned, as he felt his hooves start shaking.

“I know you didn’t mean to, but your light was harmful, in fact most of them were vaporized by your blast.”

“No, that’s…” Balefren whimpered. “I’m going to be sick.”

Delphina just stood and watched as the unicorn ran out of the room. She felt some regret in telling him now, but she did not think he would have reacted so badly.

Once Balefren was gone, Delphina exited the cell and went around the corner where her saddle bags and items were scattered around on the floor. She took note of the poriferan necklace that now lay on the floor as well.

She figured they had some time now, and their prison now could become a good shelter for the night. It was time to go to work.

***

Down the hall from where Derpy worked Balefren was trying to get hold of overwhelming emotions. He had emptied the contents of his stomach through a crack in the wall; it didn’t leave him feeling any better. With dry tears in his eyes Balefren wandered the ruined halls trying to forget about the murders he had committed.

As he turned a corner he came to a large room. It seemed like it was a once a throne room or a ball room. Like most of the rest of the castle the walls were crumbing with bits of plants overgrowing them. Looking up the sky was clear and blue over the entire room. At some point the whole ceiling had collapsed.

It was something that seemed odd, since the floor was mostly clear of debris. He slowly walked the length of the room looking out through old windows that no longer had glass in them. He looked from side to side trying to grasp what this place was, and who may have lived here long ago.

He came to the end of the room where a small raised platform stood. This must have been where a throne of some sort once stood, he thought. He had a strange feeling that something much greater than him was in this place. His troubles were momentarily forgotten as a sense of awe washed over him.

“This was once the great castle of the royal sisters,” Derpy said from behind him. Balefren slowly turned at hearing her voice. “They say it was the grandest of all buildings ever made, built by pure magic, it attracted all of the greatest wizards from across the lands, to test their spells and work together in harmony.”

“What happened?” Balefren asked as he looked the sun through a window aligned for the perfect view.

“Nightmare Moon happened,” Derpy said. “The sister rebellion, once it was over they say this place was in ruins, and left to rot. The Everfree forest grew up around it and it was mostly forgotten. They say the forest itself was born out of the intense and strong magic that took place here.”

“I guess that would explain why it feels so strange here,” Balefren said.

“You can feel it?” Derpy questioned.

“I didn’t really notice it before, but with the necklace off, I can feel something strange here,” the unicorn said trying the best to describe the odd sensation. “It’s like it’s alive.”

“Well trees are living things,” Delphina said cynically. “Look Vivid, I have a few things I could use your help with.”

“You’re awfully quick to change the subject,” Balefren said suspiciously.

“Sorry to spoil the moment, but night will be coming soon and we’ll have to be spending it here, and I want to be ready,” Delphina explained.

Balefren’s ears perked hearing they would be staying the night. “Here?”

“Yes, but before we do, can you go and find these things for me?” she asked as she approached him holding a scroll. “I’m preparing some things in a room around the corner from that cell.”

Balefren took the scroll using his magic; he opened it and read the contents. “I’m not sure what these are,” he said confused. “Telop frebeat?”

“There’s picture on the back, they’re all simple herbs and plants that all should be growing right around this place.”

Flipping the paper over Balefren looked at the images, and recognized many of them as plants he had seen. “I’ll need something to carry…” he started to say as Derpy tossed a tan saddle bag at him. With hardly a flinch the orange glow of his magic caught the bag and placed it snugly on his back. Rolling up the scroll he tucked it inside the bag as he began to walk out. As he passed Derpy he stopped for a moment.

“It had to be, right?” he said concerned. Delphina knew he was referencing the imps.

“They were evil creatures, it had to be,” she said in an empathetic tone. “But I know it doesn’t make it any easier for you, but you’ll understand someday.”

“I hope so, because it feels bad inside right now,” Balefren said as he walked on.

“It’s never easy taking a life, I’m glad you didn’t do it lightly.” Delphina confronted the unicorn. “Now we have work to do, get that stuff as quick as you can, I’ve got a surprise waiting,” Derpy added changing to a cheerful tone.

Balefren nodded as he started to gallop towards the exit. “Let’s see what you do delivery colt,” Delphina whispered to herself as she watched him disappear around the corner. In the red saddle bag she wore, the amulet rested. She had decided to leave it be, for now. “Let’s see what you do, my light pony.”

Errant in the dark

CHAPTER 6: Errant in the dark

Along the mountain side at the base of the Castle of the Royal Sisters Balefren walked along the edge of the forest. Out here the trees were far more spread out allowing much more sunlight through. He was able to easily spot the many different kinds of plants that made up the forest floor.

With the ingredient list floating next to him for reference his eyes searched up and down for matches. He felt much more comfortable being able to use his magic to assist him. It had only taken him a few moments before he captured the first two things on the list, but now he seemed to be having a harder time.

He kept tragic thoughts of the past locked away as he focused hard on the search. He was fully aware of what else may be lurking around. Even though most things he could think of no longer seemed to be as frightening as the ordeal he had just been through, he still remembered Delphina Ray’s words to never let his guard down.

The small trail came to a halt at the edge of a steep ravine. There was a small wooden bridge held together by rope spanning the distance. Balefren stopped just short and took a closer look. The bridge seemed to be in good shape; he wondered who could have possibly taken the time to build it? The wooden planks seemed to be freshly cut with no signs of wear or weathering, the only explanation he could think of was that the imps must have done it. Although they didn’t seem like the engineering type.

Balefren decided he would continue on without crossing the bridge for now. The thought of a suspended rope bridge was bad enough, let alone on of mysterious origin and status. He turned astride the edge of the gorge and continued his search.

***

As far as the white unicorn could tell, he must have been out in the woods for about an hour. He had gathered all the ingredients Delphina had listed on the sheet, with the exception of one. The final ingredient was a purple flower with blue highlights called ‘creeping death’.

“Who comes up with these names?” he said aloud as he tucked away the scroll. He was sure he would not have a hard time spotting it. So far he had just followed the edge of the thickets and found the other ingredients. After a few more minutes of following the tree line, he reluctantly decided he would need to head into denser areas in search of the flower.

Finding a spot that seemed to have a little gap, Balefren slowly made his way in. Stepping between the trees the difference in the forest became apparent right away. Light began to fade as shadows covered his path; cool moist air filled the void between the trees. It felt so strange and unnatural as he moved through it.

Balefren was just reconsidering his decision to go into the undergrowth when he spotted a bush with many little purple flowers. With excitement he trotted over quickly and pulled a few of the flowers with his magic. He stopped just long enough to examine one of them to confirm it was the creeping death. Hastily he tucked it into the saddle bag and turned to go back. He took only a few steps before a unnerving chill went up his spine.

“Why do you pick my flowers?” a voice said.

Balefren froze in his tracks and looked around quickly to see who was speaking. He looked to the left and right then around in a full circle, but he could not see anyone. He stood for a moment unmoving and unsure how to respond. After a minute of silence, he started to walk again.

“Stop,” the voice said again.

Balefren froze once more. He was sure the voice was coming from in front of him, but he could not see anyone. He cautiously looked up into the trees for signs of someone hiding above, but he did not see any.

“Who are you?” he asked, as he took another step towards the clearing.

“I am the ghost of the forest,” the voice said. “Take another step and I will punish you.”

As it spoke he felt something push on him as if someone shoved him.

Balefren stood firm, not quite convinced. The voice was feminine and sounded pretty young, it didn’t evoke any kind of fear. “Ghost?” he questioned as he looked around again.

“Of this forest,” replied the disembodied voice.

“How can a forest have a ghost?” he said thinking out loud.

“I’m a ghost in the forest,”

“Ok, that makes more sense,” Balefren reasoned. “Can I go now?”

“No!” came an angered reply.

“Look if you’re not going to kill me or slime me, or whatever ghosts do, can I just go?” he said feeling irritated at the invisible threat.

“I demand a sacrifice for taking my flowers,” the voice said.

“I don’t really have a lot,” Balefren said lying, but after a moment of thinking he realized he didn’t have anything other than what Derpy had given him.

“In your bag,” the voice said.

“Look I picked several different flowers, I don’t think giving them back as a sacrifice to take other flowers is very
reasonable."

“What else you got?” the voice snipped.

Balefren felt a force open up the other side of the bags, the side he hadn’t used to fill with herbs. Was he being shaken down by a spirit? He wondered.

“Not sure what’s in there,” he said honestly. He hadn’t even thought there might be something in the bag. It only took a split second for a few carrots and slice of bread to be lifted in the air. Now getting a sense where his target may be, Balefren spun suddenly and kicked hard in the direction the food was hovering. Unfortunately his hooves did not connect with anything.

“This will do,” the voice said with a laugh now a farther distance away.

“What does a ghost need with food?” he reasoned. “Why did I have food in the bag?” he added talking to himself.

“You may pass weirdo, but be warned these are my woods!” the voice said as it faded into the distance. Not wanting to argue, the unicorn quickly made his way back into the clearing.

The strange encounter was making him feel more unnerved now that it was over then when it was happening. As he ran back up the hill toward the castle ruins, he couldn’t help but wonder what just happened, and why was there so much food in his bag? Regardless he had all the herbs Delphina had requested and from the looks in the sky, night was nearing.

***

“Delphina Ray!” Balefren yelled as he entered the castle ruins. He stood for a moment as he listened to his voice echo through the ruined chambers. He realized that he didn’t really remember his way around the decaying building and he had no idea where Delphina was setting things up. He was about to call out again when he heard a grunt from behind him.

Turning around quickly the unicorn found himself face to face with the grey pegasus. She stood glaring at him with a dagger between her teeth. She tossed the knife down to the ground where it stuck between a crack in the floor.

“I let it slide earlier because of the situation we were in,” she scolded. “But I told you not to call me by that name in the open.”

“Sorry,” Balfren replied thinking back to her instructions. “I didn’t think it mattered with no one else around.”

“The ears have walls,” Delphina said as she turned and began to head towards a twisting stairway.

“You mean walls have ears,” Balefren corrected as he started to follow. “Who would be listening in around here?”

“Remember what happened in Ponyville, my true name gets around quick,” Delphina said. “Did you get the things I sent you out for?”

“Yes I did, Del… Derpy,” Balefren said correcting himself. “I got it all in my bag here.”

Derpy paused for a moment on the stairs to look back at the unicorn as he opened the saddle bag showing an assortment of plants and herbs. She nodded pleased, as she began to trot up the stairs quickly. “Follow me, hurry we are losing daylight,” she called back. Balefren sped up as he started up the stairs.

He reached the top just to time to see Derpy’s blonde tail fade into a room just around the corner. Following he stuck his head into the doorway of the room. Inside was a large stone slab that was now serving as a table. On top of the slab was an assortment of mental cans, glass jars and tubes.

Ignoring the confused look on Balefren’s face, Derpy quickly moved around and pushed a large pot over to the edge of the stone table. “Here, put that stuff in here,” she instructed as she picked up an ashy grey rock and placed it in a small tin and slid it under a makeshift rack where several glass jars sat.

Balefren did as he was instructed and placed all the plants he had gathered into the pot. “So what is this?” he asked curiously. Derpy reached over and slide the pot back towards the middle of the table. At the same time she retrieved a small canteen.

“Should be enough water left,” she commented to herself as she undid the flask top and began to poor the water in the tin with the grey rock. “Can you make a spark by this pan, Vivid?”

Balefren took a step forward but stopped not sure what she meant. Seeing the unsure look on his face she quickly corrected.

“With magic, a spark you might use to start a fire,”

He nodded and with a faint glow of his horn a small burst of flame leapt to life in the base of the tin can. “I didn’t do…” he said startled.

“Thank you,” Delphina said cutting him off. “You ignited the gas that is being produced from the reaction of the water and the rock.”

“Oh,” Balefren said acting like he knew what she was talking about. He watched with curious eyes as the small orange flame seemed to burn just above the top of the can, as if by magic.

Next Delphina separated the ingredients placed half in one of the jars above the small flame, and the rest in the other jar next to it. “Just add a little water to these,” she said pouring a little more water from the flask into each jar.

“Are you making soup?” Balefren asked.

Derpy laughed at the question as she produced a little bag and poured a ashy looking substance into each jar. “Just watch, can you give me that stick?”

With his horn glowing orange the wooden stick that was laid out on the table floated over and into Delphina’s grasp. She took it carefully and swiftly stirred up each jar one after the other. Balefren watched in amazement as what was clearly green plants and flowers suddenly began to turn into a white paste.

Before he could ask what was going on, small bubbles began to rise from the jars. After a few seconds the bubbles started to become much bigger and float into the air. It reminded Balefren of a foal's toy for making bubbles out of soap.

“How do you know how to make stuff like that?” Balefren asked then paused uneasily as something came to him. He felt a shiver go up his spine as he answered his own question. “You’re an alchemist.”

Delphina looked up from her brew long enough to give the unicorn a grin.

“And your cutie mark,” Balefren continued as his realization grew. “It’s bubbles from making up potions and things.”

It all made sense now seeing things in this context, why had he overlooked something like that before? He had seen strange pots and things in Derpy’s house and had not given any thought.

“Yes you are correct,” Delphina said as she removed the makeshift spoon from the jar. “And since the imps spilled all our bags and lost my potions, I figured I should make some more.”

“Yes they spilled all our stuff around,” Balefren lied as he thought of himself in the night throwing the saddle bags about trying to fend off the attackers.

“And after seeing the power of your light spell, I knew I had to capture its essence, so I sent you to get the things I needed,” Delphina explained. “Can you be a dear and move those two jars over there to cool?”

Balefren nodded and with magic lifted both jars and gently placed them down on the cool stone slab. Before Delphina could ask, he turned his attention to the small can that still burned below. With a quick thought his magic choked out the flame. “How do you make fire with a rock?” he asked curious as he looked into the small tin.

“The rock is high in what they call calcium carbide, when mixed with water it makes a flammable gas. Normally I have to use a flint or something to spark it.”

“So what now?” Balefren said looking at the two jars containing the white substance. Before his eyes the murky white was starting to clear up leaving what looked like water.

“This is the fun part,” Delphina said. “I want you to cast your light spell in those jars.”

As she spoke Balefren gave her a concerned look and she quickly explained.

“Don’t cast it has hard as you did before, just big enough to fit in the jar.”

Still not completely sure about it, Balefren began to concentrate. A small ball of light quickly began to build above his horn. It grew in size quickly and began to float across the room. Balefren worked to keep the spell under control as he moved it towards the little jar.

“That’s it,” said Delphina encouraging the unicorn. “If you get it in there, that solution should absorb and hold your magic intact.”

She moved around the room to behind the unicorn as he cast his spell.

“That or it will explode,” she added.

Balefren’s eyes went wide with surprise, but he kept his concentration as he lowered the ball of light into the jar. Now fearful of exploding glass, he closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as the light settled into the solution.

After a moment of silence, he opened his eyes. Delphina now hovered over the table silently holding a lid in her hoof. In a display of agility she slapped the lid on the jar and sealed it in a quick motion.

Balefren looked at the jar that now began to come alive with colors. The clear liquid swirled around in a blur of colors until it settled in a rainbow looking mixture with layers for red, orange and yellow on the top and down to blue and purple on the bottom.

“Well we won’t have trouble telling them apart for other potions,” Derpy said as she placed the jar down carefully. “Now do the other one,”

Once again Balefren’s horn glowed as a small spark of white quickly grew into a white hot glowing ball. Concentrating he moved the glowing orb over the table and down into the second jar. More confident in the mixture and the unicorn, Derpy remained poised in the air over the jar. As the ball of light settled into the jar, she swooped down and capped the lid tight.

Both ponies watched as the second jar began to swirl until the same rainbow effect appeared inside. “The way it's holding your light magic must be reflecting the light much like rain against a sunny sky creates normal rainbows.”

Balefren watched the mare carefully put the second jar away into her red saddle bag that rested on the edge of the stone table.

“What now?”

“Now we can get something to eat,” Derpy said coming around the table. “Since you’re back, what do you have in your bag?”

Balefren was reminded of the food that had been in his bag. “Why was there so much food in my bag?” he asked with a serious tone. “I was just going out to get those few things for you.”

Derpy stood still for a moment, then turned her back looking out through a crack in the wall. “You noticed?”

“Of course I noticed, it was pretty much all the food we had left, and it was all packed in my one bag,” Balefren responded.

“Look Vivid, what matters is you came back.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Balefren said, but as he spoke he started to see what was going on.

“I took the necklace off you,” Derpy said turning back around to face the white unicorn.

“I wasn’t bound to stay anymore,” Balefren said to himself suddenly realizing things.

“Yes,” Derpy said.

“I could have ran back home,” he continued to reason.

“Yes, I left it off you, to give you a chance to leave,” Delphina said softly.

“I didn’t even...” Balefren paused. “Why?”

“You were so shook up about killing those imps, I wanted to give you the option to leave. I know in your heart you wanted an adventure, but you were so broken up. So I put the remaining food in your bag and sent you out,” Delphina said moving closer to the unicorn.

“I didn’t even think of that,” he admitted not sure how to react.

“Well it doesn’t matter now, because you came back, you chose to stick it out and finish what we started.” Derpy said smiling. She moved in close to him. For a moment Balefren felt as though she was going to nuzzle against him. At the last moment she weaved her head away and instead flipped open the saddle bag.

The unicorn realized what she was doing and opened his mouth to protest, but Derpy spoke first. “Where is the food?” she snapped her tone changing to Delphina’s much darker manner.

“Umm…” Balefren stuttered. “I was going to get to that.”

“Did you really eat it all?” Delphina said in disbelief. “I mean, you’re a big stallion, but you know we need that to live on out here.”

“A ghost took it,” Balefren admitted. As he spoke those words Delphina moved around to face him. With her wings spread wide she looked at him scornfully. Balefren hung his head down in shame; he wasn’t sure how to tell her about what happened.

“Balefren Vivid, just when I’m starting to like you…” she paused. “You think you can lie to me about ghosts stealing the food? I mean, why would a ghost need to eat food, you idiot.”

“I know, I said the same thing.”

“Oh so you talked to the ghost did you?” Delphina said cynically.

“Come on Derpy, you’ve been around I mean, ghosts and…” Balefren treid to reason with the blonde mare.

“Vivid, don’t be silly, there are no such things as ghosts, yes there are lots of weird and scary beats and monsters, but in the end, dead is dead, there are no ghosts.”

“Well there was this voice, and no one was there, it said it was a ghost of the forest,” Balefren defended himself.

“What did it say?” Delphina asked curiously. Her interest was now peeked as the unicorn’s story seemed to be holding up.

“It said it was mad I was taking flowers, and demanded I give it something. I felt it push me around, and it took the food.”

“And you thought this was normal?”

“Well I wasn’t really thinking, it happened so fast, I didn’t know the food was even in my bag,” he reasoned. “Something was there, I felt it, but I couldn’t see or hear it moving around.”

“Almost like…” Delphina suddenly stopped speaking as she was looking into the doorway of the room. A strange sparkle caught her eye that caused her to change posture. Dropping her wings, a smile suddenly came across her face.

“Well what’s done is done, at least there are still some muffins and cookies in that old storage cupboard in the corner,” Derpy proclaimed cheerfully.

Balefren was taken aback at first; suddenly Derpy was back and in a great mood. He was about to ask, since he knew there were no muffins or other food anywhere, but he realized she was playing at something.

“Yes, I suppose we will just have to eat desserts from here on out,” he said playing along. Derpy gave him a slight wink, as she moved back across the room toward him. As she walked she motioned with her eyes towards the door.

Knowing that something was up, Balefren slowly backed up until he was standing by the doorway. Derpy approached him and leaned in close. “Your hungry ghost followed you back here,” she whispered.

“Let’s head back downstairs for a minute, Vivid, I have something else I need to show you,” she said out loud.

Balefren nodded as he followed the pegasus out of the doorway. If only there was still some kind of door that they could just shut, he thought. Now standing just outside in the hallway he waited for Delphina’s move.

“Ok, peak in slowly, look towards that old rotted cupboard,” she whispered. Slowly both ponies stuck their heads into the doorway.

Balefren looked across the room and watched the old cupboard closely. He didn’t see anything going on, but after a moment he felt Derpy elbow him in the side. Looking at the corner of the old cupboard, he saw a broken shutter begin to move slightly as if someone was carefully pulling it back to sneak a look inside. He opened his mouth in alarm ready to shout out, but Delphina stepped on his hoof quickly.

“Move in there, and be ready to cast your light spell at the cupboard,” she instructed. Balefren gave her a concerned look as he took a step into the room. “Don’t worry, it’s a ghost, it’s already dead,” she added with a grin.

Balefren took a few steps back into the room trying to be as quite as he could. At the same time behind him Delphina positioned herself in the doorway so that no one could exit without running into her.

“You by the cupboards, show yourself!” she yelled in a commanding tone. “We know you’re there, show yourself, you have until the count of 3 before my unicorn friend here blasts you with a fireball!”

Vivid glanced back at Derpy about to explain he didn’t know any fire spells, but realized that she was trying to bluff the unknown intruder.

“One…” She spoke. Balefren began to concentrate and sparks of light began to form over his horn. “Two…” Delphina continued, but still no response from the cupboards. Balefren's now familiar ball of light was growing to a large size. “Three!” Delphina cried out as she braced herself in the doorway.

Balefren looked up and was about to send his ball of magic flying across the room when suddenly, the pots and cans on the stone table began to go bouncing around as if someone was running across the table kicking them about. He turned his head and watched as the path of the objects falling over were moving straight towards him, he was about to let loose his magic in pure defense, when he felt a whoosh of air over his head as if something jumped over him.

A thud came from the doorway and Derpy grunted as she stood her ground against and unseen force trying to push her over. Balefren watched in surprise as the grey mare wrestled with some invisible force. He was at a loss of what to do. Luckily Delphina shouted instructions immediately.

“Blast me,” she ordered. “Now!”

Hearing the command and not thinking of any consequences, the unicorn let loose the magic he had been holding above his horn. The ball of pure white hit the doorway exploding with a blinding flash and letting loose a sound like a clap of thunder.

Balefren who was prepared for his own magic, had his eyes closed and shielded from the blast. As he slowly opened them, too his greater surprise, he saw two ponies standing in the doorway. The familiar grey mare with blonde mane had her back to the hallway. Right up against her was a tan pony with a red mane. Both of them stood with a dazed look in their eyes. Balefren took a few steps forward, but he was at a loss of what to do.

The tan pony was a unicorn, and had a carrier satchel around her neck. Before he could discern more, Delphina shook her head for a moment as the dazing effect wore off. Without hesitation she kicked a hoof hard striking the tan pony in the gut.

The force of the blow sent the red haired unicorn sprawling backwards against the wall where she slumped to the floor. Balefren watched speechless, as Delphina flipped open her saddle bag and dug inside.

She was looking for her knife, but quickly remembered she had left it sticking in the floor back down stairs. Undeterred her eyes focused on a glass beaker that had fallen off the table and the end had broken off. Not saying a word she dashed forward crossing the path of the fallen pony. As she passed Delphina place another swift kick into the unicorn’s ribs.

A muffled cry was the response as the pegasus passed by and swiftly bent down and picked up the long shard of glass. With the glass in her hoof, she spun around and plunged the jagged edge directly at the fallen pony’s neck.

Balefren’s eyes were wide in horror as he watched the sudden move. In a split second he watched the sharp edge guided by Delphina moved right up to the pony’s neck, but with an inch to spare it stopped.

The dazed unicorn on the floor came around just in time to see the makeshift weapon being thrust at her face. Eye’s wide in shock she laid still looking up at the grey pegasus in horror. Delphina grunted in frustration as she tried to push the glass forward, but was unable. Looking down she saw the faint orange glow of magic covering her hoof. She looked up at Balefren, who was looking back with an expression of horror much similar to the tan pony of the floor.

Balefren thought she was going to scare the mare at first, but realized if his magic hadn’t held her back, she would have slashed the pony’s throat.

“You were going to kill her!” he shouted in outrage, as he realized he had almost witnessed a murder.

“Now’s not the time to be empathic,” Delphina said darkly. “This pony, or whatever it is, is a huge threat; something that can be so invisible is too dangerous.”

Balefren understood the reasoning he was hearing, but dismissed it.

“I don’t believe that, she could have done harm already, who knows how long she’s been following us, she didn’t hurt us."

“That is the problem; I don’t know how long she has been following us, listening in. You know how quickly my name spreads; you don’t know who sent her or who she is tipping off about us, as long as she lives, she is a threat to our mission, and our lives,” Delphina said sternly. “Balefren Vivid, release my hoof.”

“No,” the white unicorn responded standing tall. He saw a brief flicker of hatred appear in the pegasus’s yellow eyes as he defied her. “I won’t let you harm her, not until I can question her,” he declared. “Now drop the glass.”

Delphina looked down at the hapless mare on the floor, her eyes tearing up with fear, and then she looked back up to Balefren who stood with a serious face glaring at her. With a frown, she released the piece of glass, and it fell to the floor with a tink sound.

“Alright Balfren, question her, but be warned I will do what needs to be done,” Delphina said as she stepped away and started to head back around the table, where her things were carefully stacked in a pile.

As Delphina backed off, Balefren moved in closer to the fallen unicorn.

“Sorry about that,” he said kindly. “She can be very intense; my name is Balefren Vivid, who are you?”

The tan unicorn looked up slowly with her blue eyes, she propped herself up with her front hooves, and took a moment to wipe her tears on her arm. “I’m Earren Tangle,” she said as she cleared her throat. She held a hoof to her stomach and rubbed it lightly.

“You’ll live, but you’ll have a bruise,” Balefren said, as he opened his worn jacket to show and dark brown spot on his midsection.

“She kicked you too?” Earren said softly trying to hide a smile. Balefren nodded grinning.

“She seems to do that when she meets ponies for the first time."

“Scary way to greet someone,” Earren said as she began to slowly get up.

“Well what about you?” Balefren said slyly. The tan unicorn looked back at him confused at first, and then realized what he was talking about.

“It’s the only spell I really know, making myself invisible to sight and sound,” she admitted shyly.

“Well I feel better knowing you aren’t a ghost” Balefren said joking.

“Sorry about that,” Erran said looking down at the floor.

“Don’t feel bad."

Delphina suddenly made a thudding nose and cleared her throat loudly, signaling she was getting impatient. Balefren looked across the stone table at the grey mare who was doing something suspiciously under the table.

“Alright look Erran you need to explain what you’re doing here, who sent you, everything,” Balefren said turning his attention back to the young mare. “And tell the truth.”

“I was hungry,” she said simply.

“What?” Balefren said taken back.

“I haven’t eaten in a week, and then I got your food, so I followed you here to see if there was more food."

Balefren gave a small laugh and looked back over to Derpy. Delphina stood in front of the table with her sword blade now resting visible in front of her. She did share his amusement.

“Well what were you doing in the woods?” Balefren asked.

“Do you have muffins?” Earren said as her eyes wondered over to the old cupboard. “I can tell you everything if I had something to eat.”

“Sorry Earren,” Balefren said shaking his head. “The muffins are a lie.”

“Any food?” she clarified.

Balefren just shook his head more. “You ate all we had left; we’ll have to forage for our meals from now on.”

“I’m sorry,” the tan unicorn apologized realizing she had eaten the last of their food.

“Ok, so why are you out here in the Everfree forest?” Balefren said getting the conversation back on track.

“I’m lost."

“How long have you been lost?”

“A few weeks."

Balefren held a gasp of surprise at the thought.

“Nonsense,” Delphina chimed in. “Even if you were walking in one direction, you would get through the forest in a few days.”

“That’s what I thought, but the more I walked, I always seemed to end up back where I started,” Earren defended.

“Didn’t you just go in one direction?” Balefren asked.

“I did, but no matter what way I went or for how long, I still found myself in the forest. It’s like something was keeping me here and not letting me leave.”

Balefren thought about this concept for a minute wondering if it was possible. He took a look over at Delphina to see her thoughts. She seemed to also be thinking, but not as much as she was glancing down at her sword a lot.

“You’ve felt it, haven’t you? Something strange in the forest?” Earren said looking at Balefren. He thought for a moment before responding.

“Yes,” he admitted. “Something odd, but I can’t say it would keep me within the forest.

“Regardless, that is a pretty weak excuse to why you are spying on us,” Delphina said. “Let’s get this over with.”

“Sit tight for one second,” Balefren said to the tan unicorn, as he turned and went around the table to face Delphina. She looked back with one eye focusing on Balefren and the other eye still remaining locked on the other unicorn.

“Don’t think you can make a move, I’ll be on you before you make it to that doorway,” She threatened the tan pony.

“I think she is telling the truth and she is harmless,” Balefren whispered.

“Of course you think that, that little cutie innocent face and baby blue eyes,” Delphina said sarcastically.

“If you objectively assess her, what can you tell me?” Balefren asked. “Honestly.”

Delphina sighed, as she gave an honest assessment even though it was against what she wanted to do. “She is trembling slightly and not able to hide it, her story fits and didn’t seem to be rehearsed or spontaneous. She has not been trained to stand up to interrogations, at least not trained well. It seems she only knows enough about us, from our conversations in this room moments before I noticed her enter.”

“Alright, so we can let her go,” Balefren said feeling relieved.

“But…” Delphina started. “Her magic ability to disappear like that is far too great of a risk to have anywhere near us.”

“What if we kept her away? Long enough that we would be long gone, would you accept that?” Balefren asked as an idea started to occur to him.

Rolling her eyes Delphina reluctantly answered.

“I suppose, what do you have in mind.”

“We restrain her, tomorrow morning we leave here, and leave her behind tied up. By time she gets loose we will be long gone and she will not be able to follow. Everyone lives.”

“Someday you’ll understand,” Delphina said. “But what you suggest sounds acceptable, it seems as though she is cursed in some manner that does not allow her to leave the forest. We can take advantage of this as well, and spare her life.”

“Thank you Del… Derpy,” Balefren said smiling as she gave the grey mare a quick hug. Suddenly and without warning the pegasus, broke his grasp and leapt into the air, grabbing her sword from the table as she flew.

Against the wall, the tan unicorn had been slowly creeping towards the doorway and was about to run out. In the blink of an eye Earren suddenly disappeared from sight. Derpy flew at full speed and swung the sword with the blunt edge first. With skillful accuracy it came to a sudden stop on what appeared to be empty space.

Earran suddenly appeared in the doorway with the flat edge of the sword resting against the back of her head. She cried out in pain and fell to the ground. Delphina landed in front of her spinning the sword around so that the sharp edge pointed at her throat.

“Del!” Balefren cried out in alarm. She glanced up at him and winked signaling everything was alright. In his mind Balefren swore he would never forgive her if she struck the tan unicorn down.

“What did I tell you?” Delphina snarled. “Next time, it will be more than your head hurting,” she warned as she withdrew the sword. “Vivid, tie her up, the ropes that are in my pile of stuff behind the table there.”

Balefren looked down near his feet at the small pile of items and clothing. Sure enough he could make out a good length of rope poking out of the middle. With his magic glowing the rope rose easily into the air. He recognized it as the rope he had been bound with earlier.

“Please no,” Earran protested ignoring the pain throbbing on the back of her head.

“It’s ropes, or my shiny friend,” Delphina said leaning down and flashing the sword blade. “It’s still your choice."

Balefren watched the tan unicorn go limp on the floor as she accepted her fate to be tied up.

“Good,” Derpy said. “Tie her tight with magic, so she can’t undo it with her magic.”

Balefren nodded as he moved closer with the rope floating behind him. Carefully he began to coil the rope around the mare’s legs.

“Sit tight, it will be alright,” he said trying his best to comfort the girl as he restrained her.

After a few minutes Balefren was happy with this work. Earren Tangle was now wrapped up snuggly with her hooves tied together with loops that caught her tail and a bit of her mane as well. Although the ropes were tight, Balefren had been careful not to make them uncomfortably tight for the mare.

“Tight?” Delphina asked as she walked around the bound pony inspecting things.

“Tight,” Balefren replied feeling proud of his handy work.

“Alright good, I don’t want to wake up with my throat slit,” she added as she walked around the table and over to her things.

Balefren cringed at the thought, but said nothing letting it go. He watched as Derpy gathered a few things in her bag and came around the table once more. She was holding a small strip of black cloth between her teeth.

“Use this to blind fold her, without her sight she can’t manipulate anything with magic,” she said tossing the cloth to Balefren.

“Best bet will be to sleep in here behind the table; it should give good cover from any prying eyes. I’ve got a few surprises I’m going to place around this place to give us fair warning of anything dangerous as well,” Delphina said as she trotted out of the room.

“She’s your responsibility now, but if she gets out of that room, next time I find her, it won’t be the flat end of the sword she feels on her head.”

Balefren nodded although Derpy was already out of sight. He stood silent for a moment just looking at the pony laying bound on the middle of the floor. He wasn’t sure what to do; he had never kidnapped or restrained anyone against their will before.

Slowly he approached Earren, she watched through frightened eyes as the stallion loomed over her.

“It’s alright, just sit tight and it will be over before you know it,” he comforted as he carefully wrapped the blindfold around her head and covered her eyes. The response to his statement was a soft and muffled weeping.

“No it’s not like that!” he said surprised. “We’re not going to hurt you… Anymore…”

“I’m not a stupid filly, I know how it goes when your enemy has you bound down, it’s only a matter of time,” she sobbed.

Balefren thought about his own experience just the other night with being bound by an enemy and the all too clear understanding of the impending doom it means.

“Look we are not your enemy though, so it will be alright.”

“Then why are you doing this to me?” she cried. “I’m sorry I took your food!”

“It’s not that, we just can’t risk you telling anyone about seeing us here, or that you may work for someone who sent you here."

“I don’t understand."

“Look it’s been a really long day, the sun is gone let’s try to sleep ok?”

“Easy for you to say,” the mare said as she sniffled.

“Ok hold on,” he said moving closer, bending over and picking the mare up by her front hooves. “Do you trust me?”

“Are you kidding?”

“Well you have no choice,” Balefren said grinning as he began to slowly drag the girl across the room. He moved her around to the far side of the table, where Derpy had suggested sleeping out of sight. It was also where all their gear was piled. Once he had the tan unicorn into place, he used his magic to drag over some of the discarded clothes and rags that were in the pile. Skillfully he used his magic to create a makeshift pillow against the side of the table.

With a slow and gentle movement he laid his captive down onto the padding.

“There a little bit of bedding for you,” he said proudly.

“Why are you acting nice?” she asked cautiously trying to peer through the cloth that covered her face.

“I told you I’m not your enemy,” he said. “Try to rest, we will be gone in the morning and you will be free.”

No sooner had he laid the mare down, and then he started to feel just as tired. He poked his head up over the edge of the table and looked across at the door. The solid base of the table fully blocked the view of anyone lying behind it. It was a pretty good spot for anyone that might casually look into the room. The darkness of the night was now filling the room making it very hard to see anyway. Soon it would be near pitch black without any light sources.

Balefren lay down on the hard stone floor, I’ll just rest for a minute, he thought.

***

There was a soft thud as something bumped against him. Balefren woke quickly. His eyes blinked, but everything remained dark. For a split second he wondered where he was, but it only took a moment for him to realize in the dark that he was lying on the stone floor in the ruins of the ancient castle of the royal sisters.

Than something bumped against him again, straining his eyes he tried to identify the shape, but quickly he realized that it had to be the bound pony on the ground next to him.

“Earren, you aren’t trying to escape are you?” he whispered softly. The movement next to him stopped immediately and everything fell silent. He laughed to himself quietly as he had caught her in the act.

“Just try to go to sleep, in a few hours it will be morning.”

After a moment of silence the young mare’s voice replied.

“Easy to sleep when you’re not bound, captive by deranged ponies,” she said cynically. “Who knows what evil things you’re doing or preparing in the dark?”

“I’m not doing anything look,” He responded as he slid himself closer in the dark until he was touching her back.

“Why were you making all those noises then?”

“I wasn’t making any noises, I was asleep,” he replied. “Look what will it take to get you to sleep?”

“Normally I just talk myself to sleep, but I can’t do that with you laying nearby.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’ll hear me,” she snorted.

“We’ll talk to me about something than,” Balefren suggested. “Why are you all alone?”

Earren hesitated for a moment; she had never really talked to anyone about something, let alone told them about herself. Balefren sensed her apprehension and responded.

“If you tell me about yourself, I will tell you about myself, how about that?” he offered.

After another moment of quite, Earren spoke.

“Alright,” she agreed. “What do you want to know?”

“Why are you out here alone? Where are you from?”

“Well…” Earren paused to clear her throat a little before starting to tell her story.

The Invisible Mare

CHAPTER 7: The Invisible Mare – Earren’s story

My earliest memories of my family were living in a small house on the edge of Fillydelpha. Six of us shared the two bedroom home, my siblings and myself shared the same room while our parents shared the other. I never really wanted anything to do with my family, or other ponies for that matter. I used to wonder into the hillsides through our backyard and spend hours by myself just pondering the world.

My first year of school was not easy. I spent most of my time trying to avoid the other ponies. I would sit quiet and wait for the time to end so that I could go home. Once I got home I would just sit out back and play with my dolls for hours.

My parents became worried; they were hearing back from the school that their daughter was antisocial, ungifted and unkempt. This was very alarming to them, our family was living beyond its means and everyone needed to put their special talents to use.

Worried that I also could not use magic, my father hired special magic tutors to try to teach me. It didn’t work; I never understood what they were talking about and how to visualize spells. All they did was make me want to crawl into a hole even more.

It got so bad I stopped talking to even my family. I quickly became the black sheep. Once I turned old enough my father and mother sat me down and gave me an ultimatum. Either I start to contribute to the family, or I leave the family. They knew my cutie mark was a rolling rock, and neither of them understood what my talent was, but both feared it was not something that could help the family.

They were a bit shocked, but not surprised when I choose to leave. I was naturally an outcast, and I was old enough that I was ready to head out on my own. So I did, I gathered the few things I owned and went out into the world.

Quickly I learned that things outside are much harder than I thought. The simple act of finding food suddenly became an impossible task. Despite not having any discernible skills I had one thing going for me. Although I did not understand magic, I had learned one spell. It was something that came naturally to me after years of being teased and embarrassed by other ponies. You could call it a defense mechanism.

I could make myself undetectable to others, invisible to sight and sound. I started using my only spell, and I used it so much that I practically lived invisible for two years in Fillydelphia. I got around, snuck food and supplies for myself and lived in the woods. To this day you will hear stories of the Fillydelphia ghost and how it stole baked goods especially cupcakes from the Mamoth bakery.

While hiding in plain sight, I would observe all the other ponies, how they talked to each other, how they interacted and how they acted when they thought no one was looking. While roaming free, I began to feel free and less threatened. Able to disappear at will allowed me some room to start interacting with others, but only when I needed to do so. As I opened up, I started to return home.

I would often stop by and visit the family, just to show them I was doing alright on my own. I would tell tales of finding treasure in the woods and such to keep myself sustained. My brothers and sisters thought it was great, but I know my father never believed any of it.

The more time that passed and the more adventurous I got, I wanted to go farther and explore more of the world. So I did, I left one spring morning and never looked back.

I heard that soon after my father came into a business venture and the family moved to Canterlot. Meanwhile I was roaming the lands as a ghost. I watched how normal ponies went about their daily lives. I wished I could be like them, but I wasn’t. Instead I would lay awake at night and talk to the stars imagining I was having real conversations. I didn’t need anypony in my life, I was alone and happy about it with no one to stop me.

I started to view myself as a friendly pony ghost. I did lots of things that helped ponies and they never knew it. I would secretly come in, and go out without anyone knowing, taking what I needed, but also giving something back where I could.

I’ve been roaming for a few years, and then I came to the Everfree forest. I heard there was real lost treasures in the woods. I hoped I could find some things of value so I wouldn’t have to steal anymore. But instead I found myself cursed and trapped in this place. All my food gone, I was living on foul tasting black berries before you showed up.

That’s my short and dull story. I’m sure you think I’m a freak too.

Balefren stayed silent for a moment to ensure Earren had finished her tale. “Why would I think you’re a freak? Everyone is special in their own way and for some it just takes more time to come into things. It sounds to me like you are on the right track,” Balefren encouraged.

“Really?” Earren said her voice cracking.

“If you think your parents were tough and demanding on you, wait until I tell you about mine,” Balefren said grinning.

“I’ve never told a living soul about myself like that,” Earren admitted. “Even paraphrasing things, its…” she paused.

Balefren used his horn to admit a small amount of light. To his surprise there was no one in front of him on the ground. He panicked at first, but realized she had made herself invisible. He reached a hoof around to confirm her body was still there.

“It’s good to have someone to talk to,” he said. “The only sad thing in your story is that you’ve spent your life avoiding one of life’s greatest treasures.”

“What’s that?” the tan unicorn said as her ears perked up with interest.

“I won’t tell you unless you show yourself,” Balefren instructed. He waited only a moment before Earren reappeared. She was looking at him with great interest. “Life’s greatest treasure is having good friends,” he explained.

Earren frowned and rolled around so her back was to the white unicorn. “Yes being friendly with other ponies is working great for me right now,” she said sarcastically.

“I will be your friend if you let me,” Balefren offered. “Your story moved me, I want you to come with us,” he spoke before he even realized what he was saying. What would Derpy think?

“Don’t lie,” Earren sniffled.

“We’re leaving the forest first thing tomorrow, I promise I will take you out of here, at least that far,” Balefren added.

“Really?” Earren said as she rolled back over to face the white unicorn. She looked at his face and at his brown eyes that appeared black in the glow of his orange light.

“Yes, I can get you out of the forest let do that much,” he pleaded.

“Alright, I will trust you,” she agreed. “What about?” she added as she tried to hold up a hoof that was bound in ropes.

“Ropes will come off in the morning, I need to talk to Derpy first,” Balefren said, now feeling a pit in his gut growing as the thought of trying to explain his decision occurred to him. “Try to rest now.” As he spoke the young mare had already closed her eyes and appeared to be sleeping. Balefren smiled and dimmed his light until none remained.

Laying down his head Balefren felt like everything was going to be alright. Unseen in the dark a cunning grin crossed Earren’s face as she tried to sleep.

A loud bang woke Balefren this time. He sat upright immediately at the sound. Bright sunlight was all around him, and he had to rub his eyes in order to focus. As things came into focus he saw Derpy sitting on the stone table in front of him.

The grey mare had the handle of a pot in her mouth and had just banged it on the side of the table. She flipped her head and threw the metal cooking pot across the room where it clanged in the corner.

“Time to pack up, let’s go!” she announced. Balefren looked around still a little disoriented, he saw most of their saddle bags were already packed now and sitting next to him.

As he became more aware, he realized that the pony that had been sleeping on the floor in front of him was gone. “Where’s Earren?” he questioned looking up at the grey pony above him.

“She’s been dealt with,” Delphina said coldly.

Balefren’s eyes went wide with shock. Could she have done what he was thinking she did?

“Calm down,” Delphina warned. “I used your method and had a talk with her this morning,”

Balefren breathed a sigh of relief at hearing this. “After talking to her I decided she is not a threat to us, and she may even hold some value, so I invited her along with us.”

The white unicorn was a little put off, as it was his idea and intentions to do that already, but he held is tongue and kept quiet.

“Grab the bags and let’s get going, we can be out of this forest in an hour,” she said. Balefren turned on the two sets of bags left on the floor. Using his magic he lifted them with ease and placed them gently on his back. It was going to be much easier carrying them using magic.

Derpy turned and jumped off the table with her wings spread, she glided to the floor in front of the doorway. Balefren walked around the table and followed. As they exited the room into the crumbling hallway, Earren was standing there waiting.

Balefren smiled as he saw the red haired unicorn standing and in one piece. She had the set of green saddle bags on her back, the ones that had previously carried their food. She also had something around her neck.

Balefren shot a glance at Derpy, who looked back at him and winked. He turned his attention back to Earren and the black and gold necklace she wore.

“Derpy says if I follow you the curse should be broken allowing me to leave the forest,” Earren said happily. Her entire demeanor and tone had changed from the previous night.

“You seem awfully chipper,” Balefren commented.

“I had a talk with Derpy this morning and we cleared up this whole misunderstanding. She explained everything and gave me this cool necklace,” Earren said still smiling. Smiling wide she flipped her mane back to make sure the amulet was in full view.

He looked at the all too familiar magic amulet that blocked magic. “That’s awfully nice of her,” Balefren remarked trying to hide his sarcasm.

“Alright ponies, let’s get going,” Derpy said as she took the lead down the spiral stairs. Balefren motioned with his head for Earren to go next.

The trio of ponies made their way out of the castle ruins and down the path back into the depths of the Everfree forest. Soon they would be out of the forest and their ordeal would be left far behind.

As they headed down the trail Balefren watched the blonde pegasus as she walked alongside him. He couldn’t help but wonder what Delphina had talked to Earren about; he wondered if the pegasus had been listening to her story in the night too. Perhaps she was moved by the young mare’s plight as well.

“I hear you still owe a story about yourself to Earren,” she said winking. Balefren just nodded in response trying to hide his surprise.

She did know! He thought. Maybe she cares more then she lets on.

The morning sun was taking its place high in the sky signaling that noon was coming quickly. The trio of ponies walked down the final stretch of overgrowth path as it opened into grasslands. Earren’s eyes went wide as she saw the endless rows of dark trees suddenly stopping and bright light shining through.

“I’m going to make it,” she said to herself.

“We’re going to make it,” Balefren added.

All three began to run eager to break free of the magic forest and leave it behind them. As they left the tree line the edge the path seemed to expand and become wider, although it was still very overgrown with tall grass. Ahead lay what looked like an endless sea of green glass waving to and fro in the summer breeze.

Suddenly Earren stopped, and crouched down in the grass remaining still. Balefren narrowed his eyes confused, but Delphina gave him a nudge to keep him going forward.

“She thinks she is invisible,” Delphina whispered.

Balefren grinned as he realized she didn’t know that her magic was not working. Suddenly he stopped and looked around as if trying to find something.

“Where did Earren go? Where could she be?” he feigned concern.

“She wouldn’t have just turned invisible; we just helped her through the forest, something bad must have happened!” Derpy said sounded alarmed.

“Maybe she was really cursed and she was sucked back into the forest!” Balefren cried as he began to nonchalantly make his way toward where Earren was sitting in the grass.

“Let’s go back and find her, I don’t want anything bad to happen to her,” Derpy said trying to add guilt.

Balefren was about to leap at Earren to scare her, when the young mare suddenly rolled over and stood up in the tall grass on her hind legs.

“Sorry!” she called out. “I stumbled into this tall grass and was lost for a moment.”

Balefren locked eyes with Derpy quickly and watched her nod in approval, her ploy seemed to have worked, Earren had chosen to reappear instead of trying to run off.

“You had us worried there,” Balefren said as he watched the tan unicorn make her way back onto the dirt road. “We’d hate for something bad to happen to our new friend.”

“Friend?” Earren said to herself quietly. “How can you call me friend when you’ve only known me for a night?”

“Don’t you believe in friendship at first sight?” Balefren said smiling.

“I don’t really believe in friendship at all,” she responded. “To be honest I was just playing along until I had a chance to escape.”

“I know,” Balefren said softly. “But you didn’t, and we’ll be your friends if you give us a chance.”

As Balefren spoke Derpy glanced back and gave him a disgusted looked.

“We’ll, I will be your friend if you give me a chance,” he corrected. “She’s another story,” he added pointing a hoof towards the grey pegasus.

“Ok,” Earren said as her voice wavered. She felt strangely moved by the stallion’s words, friendship was something she had only watched other ponies experience, and it was not something she had ever felt herself before.

“Come on you two, quit slagging behind,” Derpy called as she sped up her pace. “If we can get down this road there should be a river where we can get water, and should be some food as well.”

“Let’s go,” Balefren said to the tan unicorn encouraging her as he sped up. Earren followed suit feeling a strange new happiness in her heart for the first time.

Road of Ruins

CHAPTER 8: Road of Ruins

The flat grasslands were something new to all three ponies. None of them were used to the wide open space with nothing in the distance. As far as their eyes could see there was only sea of green and yellow grass all the way to the horizon.

The ponies walked into the late afternoon when Balefren noticed something. Looking across the empty fields he could make out strange black objects. They appeared to be only a few feet across and had verifying heights, he guess anywhere from ten to thirty feet.

“Are those some kind of monoliths?” he asked Derpy as he pointed at the closet one.

“No, just the remains of old homes and such,” she replied. “Mostly what are left are the chimneys.”

“Who lived out here?” Earren said as she started to look at the structures in the distance.

“They say this was an earth pony settlement a long long time ago, but now all that is left are a few ruins and this old
road,” Derpy explained. “They story goes something like the land became too weathered and infertile so they had to move on.”

“Looks plenty fertile to me,” Balefren commented as he looked at the green grass that was taller than him.

“Growing grass isn’t the problem, it's growing the better crops,” Derpy said.

“Maybe things are more fertile now since it’s been left alone for so long,” Earren thought out loud.

“Good enough for me, as long as we’re not going to have crazy earth ponies to hassle us,” Balefren commented.

“You elitist unicorn,” Derpy remarked as she nudged the white stallion.

“Hey!” Balefren exclaimed. “I’m not like that, it’s just… Farmer types tend to be stubborn and protective of their lands.”

“Sounds like something an elitist unicorn would say,” Derpy jested.

“Well I agree with Balefren,” Earren said. “But I also don’t really like pegasus or unicorns either.”

“Is there anypony you like?” Balefren asked.

“Well I like…” Earren paused with her eyes wide looking at something ahead on the road.

“Hold!” Derpy commanded as she crouched down. Balefren and Earren followed suit sitting down and looking ahead intently.

Up ahead there was the shape of someone, or something on the road. “I’ll check it out,” Earren said pointing to her horn.

“Ok,” Balefren whispered, before realizing that the mare couldn’t use her magic to turn invisible. As she moved forward Derpy stuck out a hoof and tripped her. With a squeak Earren fell to the ground.

“You can’t turn invisible, I’ll check it out,” she said as she slowly crept forward taking her dagger and placing it between her teeth.

“What?” Earren said confused as she picked herself up. Balefren moved in quickly placing his arms around the unicorn holding her back.

“Your magic doesn’t work,” he cautioned. “I’ll explain later.”

The pair watched with intrigue as the blonde Pegasus slowly made her way up the road. There was an intense moment when Derpy disappeared from sight for a moment and everything went quite.

“It’s safe,” Delphina called out breaking the silence. Balefren and Earren both got up and began to approach Derpy and the mystery figure.

Quickly they saw it was indeed a pony on the ground. The next thing they realized was that it was a dead pony. Earren squeaked again and jumped back, keeping her distance. Balefren continued to move closer trying to put the uneasy feeling of it, out of his mind.

His eyes went over the corpse looking for telltale signs of how the pony had died. It was a yellow earth pony with a black mane. It was a mare, and she had on a tunic of some sort that was torn in two. Where the shirt had been ripped there was a trail of gashes across her chest. Four gashes of equal length stretched across the front part of her body just below her neck.

Balefren looked at Derpy with concern in his eyes as he thought about what it looked like. “Claw marks,” he said.

Delphina nodded as she bent down and removed something from a bag lying alongside the yellow pony.

“Dragon?” Balefren asked.

“Yes,” Derpy replied.

“What dragon?” Earren said from a distance.

“Our dragon?” Balefren said ignoring Earren.

“The very same,” Delphina said as she opened a letter and spread it on the ground.

“What dragon?” Earren repeated louder.

“I thought dragon’s ate ponies?” Balefren pondered.

“Only when they’re hungry; this one was sending a message,” Delphina said as she held up the letter so Balefren could see it.

He looked at the letter, but it didn’t seem to make sense, none of the words were laid out in a coherent sentence. At the top, he recognized a symbol that was a black silhouette of two mare’s heads back to back. “She was a Dark Mare…” he said.

“Yes, her name was Conny Beal,” Delphina said. “She must have been sent out here to meet us, or for recon.”

“It’s a shame we got delayed,” Balefren said. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright Vivid, it was her fate,” Delphina said coldly.

“What dragon!” Earren yelled as she paced around keeping her distance.

“You don’t care that she is dead?” Balefren said in disbelief.

“Of course I care, but there is nothing we could have done to save her,” Delphina explained. “We have to focus on finding the dragon and making sure this can never happen again.”

“What…” Earren started to say again but as soon as she opened her mouth Derpy leapt into the air and flew straight at her.

“We heard you!” she snarled as she stopped and hovered in front of the tan unicorn so quickly that it made her flinch in surprise.

Balefren turned around and walked over to the young mare. “I’ll handle it Derpy,” he offered. Derpy nodded as she spun around and flew back over in the direction of the deceased pony. Balefren came up alongside Earren before continuing. “The reason we are traveling so far south, is to confront a dragon.”

He watched as he girls eyes gleamed at his mention of a dragon. “Don’t be scared, I know the thought can be frightening,” he said. “But you are in good hands, Derpy Hooves over there is an expert dragon slayer.”

Earren’s mouth stammered as if she was about to say something a few times, but she didn’t. Slowly a grin started to wash across her face. “A dragon, that’s so cool,” she exclaimed.

Balefren took a step back in shock at the excitement on the girl’s face. He had thought the mare would be frightened by the thought of a dragon. “What? You are ok with this?”

“Not with the dead body, but a dragon? That’s so cool,” she said. “You know when I was a little filly my parents took me to see a dragon migration, I’ve always wanted to meet one ever since!”

“What?” Balefren exclaimed.

“What is his name? What kind of dragon is he?” Earren asked getting more excited.

“I don’t know,” Balefren thought for a moment, before redirecting himself. “Look, point is this is going to be really dangerous from here on out, this dragon is a pony killer and not to be taken lightly.”

“Oh I bet he has a great name,” Earren fantasized. “Like Stormkiller or Flameclaw.”

“No he doesn’t,” Balefren said dismissing the idea and trying to calm the mare down. “Derpy can you help me?” he said turning around.

“She’s your problem, remember?” Delphina reminded as she hid a smile.

“Look Earren if you want to meet the dragon, I need you to calm down and do as I say,” Balefren said. Immediately the tan unicorn stopped prancing in place and gave her full attention to him. “Ok, first thing we have to do is be careful not to catch his unwanted attention. Can you do this?”

Earren nodded agreeing. “Alright Vivy,” she said happily.

“You are far too excited to meet a dragon,” Balefren commented. “You have to be careful or you’ll end up like…” he pointed a hoof towards the yellow pony on the ground. He watched as Earren winched as she looked in the direction.

“Alright let’s get out of here,” Derpy said. “He could be scanning from above and I don’t want him to spot us.”

“Agreed,” Balefren said. “Should we bury Conny?” he added as she looked at the poor dead mare.

“No time,” Derpy said coldly as she started to run down the road ahead. Balefren opened his mouth to protest, but held his tongue. “Also if we move her, the dragon could be tipped off someone is out here, we can’t risk it.”

Logically it made sense, but Balefren still felt uneasy morally about leaving a pony’s remains to the elements. “We can come back after,” he said thinking out loud. Derpy said something in response but he couldn’t hear it from the distance she had pulled ahead. He hoped she was just agreeing with him.

Evening was starting to set in as the sun slowly began its descent. Balefren took note that the daylight was going to last longer than normal as there were no longer any mountains or forests in the distance to block the sun.

As the sun got lower, a cool breeze began to pick up as the pony trio walked along the worn road. In the distance they could make out the faint sound of rushing water. With their goal close, Derpy started to pick up the pace.

“The rivers close, we’re ahead of schedule,” she said.

“Great we can make camp and have time to scrounge up some food before nightfall,” Balefren commented.

“Food,” Earren said licking her lips.

“May I remind you the reason why we have to search for food?” Derpy said glancing back over her shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” Earren said hanging her head low in shame.

“Not you,” Derpy corrected as she turned and pointed a hoof back at Balefren. “Him,” she accused.

“Me?” Balefren said baffled pointing a hoof at himself.

“You let a ghost talk you out of our food,” Derpy joked with a grin on her face.

“Ha, look at this Derpy Hooves showing a sense of humor,” he replied.

“I thought, you thought I was the ghost?” Earren said confused.

“Yes he did, there was no real ghost,” Derpy said as she caught a glimpse of the river up ahead.

“Ok then,” Earren smiled. “It is his fault.”

“What?!” Balefren exclaimed.

“And he should find us food to make up for it,” Derpy added.

“What?!” Balefren continued.

“And put up the tents,” Earren added grinning.

“What?” Balefren said more confused.

“We have tents right?” the tan unicorn questioned.

“Nope,” Derpy said.

“You know, I’m not going to let you two pick on me, either in jest or for real,” Balefren said sternly not finding it as amusing.

“He can make tents though right?” Earren asked then turned to face Balefren. “You can make tents right?”

“What makes you think I can make tents?” he asked, and continued speaking before she could respond. “What makes you think we even need tents?”

“Gaze your eyes upon the river Sticks,” Derpy said as she took the final few steps up to the riverbank. The water passed by swiftly a few feet below her vantage point.

“Did you say Styx?” Balefren asked not sure what he heard over the sound of the water.

“Sticks,” Derpy said again. Balefren slowly moved closer as he still was not sure what she said.

“Stick, sss?” he asked. “Not S-t-y-x.”

“What sticks? No trees around here,” Earren commented not sure what either of them were talking about.

“Vivid you’re not living up to your name again,” Derpy said.

“Hows that?” Earren asked looking very interested as she moved up alongside the pegasus.

“Nothing,” Balefren said quickly, but not quick enough.

“He’s not very bright,” Derpy said. Earren began to laugh at the pun uncontrollable as she sat down on the ground.

“I’ve never heard of the river Sticks before,” Balefren commented ignoring the laughter.

“Well River Styx is the river to the underworld. River Sticks is this river in the plains of Hayin.

“He’s not bright,” Earren said as she continued to laugh to herself.

“It’s not that funny,” Balefren muttered as his train of thought was interrupted.

“Easy there girl,” Derpy said to Earren, who was now rolling on the grass giggling to herself. After another moment the giggles turned into snickers before the unicorn got control of herself.

“Too funny,” she said as she got up off the ground.

“Glad you were entertained at my expense,” Balefren said sarcastically.

“Don’t worry, more to come I’m sure,” Derpy said grinning. Balefren couldn’t hide a grin anymore. He wasn’t sure what had gotten into Delphina, but she was almost acting like a normal happy pony.

Earren covered her mouth to stifle another quick laugh. “I didn’t know other ponies could be so amusing, do you two always squabble like this?”

“Not really,” Balefren responded. “Normally she just strikes somepony dead in one blow, or kicks you in the stomach.”

Derpy’s grin faded for a moment as she turned and glared at the white unicorn.

“You two are so funny,” Earren commented as she started into another fit of laughter.

“You have no idea,” Derpy said as she turned around to face the riverbank.

“Are we friends now?” Earren asked as she calmed back down.

Balefren faced the younger unicorn unable to hide a smile. “Being able to joke around is something friends do, but it’s really more of something you feel inside as you share experiences.”

“Back to matters at hand,” Derpy interrupted. “Let’s not get too chummy here.”

Balefren tossed his head up and looked around the area really quick as he was reminded of their goal. “Alright, let’s go see if we can find something good to eat growing around here,” he said as he unloaded the saddle bags that contained Delphina’s other things. “Derpy can set up camp,” he added as he watched the grey Pegasus already unloading things from her bag on a clear spot along the river bank.

“What about me?” Earren asked looking at Balefren for guidance.

“I said ‘we’ can look for food,” he replied pointing a hoof at her.

“Me?” she said unsure.

“Yes, you’ve spent plenty of time in the wilds and woods, you can spot food just as well or better than me,” he explained.

“Alright let’s find some food,” she said excitedly. With that the pair of unicorns turned and began to follow the edge of the riverbank scanning the area for edibles.

“Plus you ate all our food to start with,” Balefren added as they walked off.

Delphina paused her campsite preparation for a moment as she watched the two unicorns walking side by side into the distance. She smiled thinking about the outcast girl who was beginning to find she could fit in someplace. At the same time she couldn’t help but worry where things were going.

Always cautious there was a reason Delphina Ray worked alone, and knew she couldn’t afford to have friends herself.

The River Sticks

CHAPTER 9: The River Sticks

Balefren was the first to make it back to the camp. The sun was just starting to disappear when he arrived. He had arranged with Earren that they would split up for better foraging chances and meet back once the sun started to fade over the horizon.

Delphina meanwhile had arranged stones so that they could make a campfire. She also had packed down and bundle nearby tall grass into three straw beds. Balefren admired the handy work as he approached. He watched as she placed a small vile next to a stack of her other potions.

“You find food?” she said not turning around to look at the unicorn as he neared.

“I did, plenty of potato roots,” he said cheerfully.

Delphina sat silent for a moment before replying, “They’ll do.”

Using his magic Balefren opened his bag and the white spiral roots floated down into a neat pile next to the pegasus.

“Where’s the other one?” she asked as she turned her head taking notice that Earren was not there.

“She should be back in a minute, we agreed to get back here as first dark started,” Balefren explained.

Derpy grinned for a moment before replying. “First dark, huh?” You are afraid of the dark aren’t you?”

Balefren felt his face slightly turn red as his fear was called out. “I wouldn’t say that,” he said with hesitation in his voice. “But let’s say that me and the dark don’t get along.”

“Alright then,” Delphina said as she stood up and moved in closer to the colt. “Balefren, there is something I need to tell you,” she added in a very serious tone.

Balefren felt a cold sweat begin to form as the pit in his stomach flared up. He stood silent waiting for her next words.

“It’s about Earren Tangle,” she continued. Balefren breathed a sigh of relief, as he thought it couldn’t be anything bad. “Balefren, she has taken quite a liking to you.”

“Sure,” he said simply.

“I mean a strong liking,” Delphina corrected.

“She needed somepony to reach out and share their friendship,” Balefren said not sure if he was defending his new friendship.

“You have opened her eyes to friendship, and you are probably the first pony to every do so, I think she is quickly taking it beyond that,” Delphina said concerned.

Balefren gave a light laugh at the suggestion. “It’s only been like one day.”

“Foolish colt,” Delphina scoffed. “You don’t even realize the way she’s been looking at you, what you think is ‘friendship at first sight’ is more like love in her eyes.”

Balefren paused for a moment thinking about things. “Well what would be so bad about that? Love is just the next level of friendship.”

“What is our mission? What are the dangers? What are you letting her get into?” Delphina began to lecture. Balefren knew full well what she was implying. He knew from his time with her, that her choice was to keep herself distanced from all ponies due to the dangers of her occupation.

“Just because you force yourself away from others, doesn’t mean that you can’t become close with someone and…” Balefren started to reply before a scolding look from Delphina made him pause.

“It’s not always about them being in danger, what about you?” she asked. Balefren just stood silent not sure how to respond. “She is smitten with you now, she will follow you to her death… how will you feel if that happens?”

“I didn’t…” Balefren muttered as he started to think about losing anyone close to him.

“Remember how you felt when you were responsible for the deaths of those Imps? How do you think it would feel if it was someone who was a friend, or someone you loved whose death you were responsible for?” Delphina lectured.

“Don’t start this, just because you chose to force others way to protect yourself, doesn’t mean I will do the same,” Balefrend defended as his voice cracked.

“I’m not saying you need to be like me Vivid, you just need to be aware,” Derpy said.

“Friendship and love aren’t those worth the risk?” he asked.

Derpy remained silent for a moment before responding. “Let’s hope you never have to find out, but you better be sure those feelings go in both directions before anyone’s put at risk.”

“Hey ponies, look what I got!” Earren’s voice called out from a distance. Derpy and Balefren turned and began to act like they were doing other tasks as the tan unicorn approached. “Moss mushrooms!”

“Those will go great with the potato roots I got,” Balefren said with a smile as he used his magic to lift the white roots into the air.

Earren trotted happily as she came the rest of the way into the camp. “This is exciting; I’ve never eaten a meal with friends.”

Derpy turned her back and began to walk a short distance away seemly to focus on some task at hand. Balefren pointed a hoof at the circle of rocks that created a fire pit for cooking.

“Once its dark we can light up the fire, no one will see the smoke in the night,” Balefren explained.

“What about the light from the fire?” Earren said as she looked at the nicely crafted cooking pit.

“It will be blocked,” Derpy said as she flew back towards the unicorns. Tucked under her arm was a bundle of something. Stopping in the air just above them she dropped the bundle and swiftly flew back to where she came from.

The bundle of grass hit the ground with a soft crunch sound. Slowly it began to unroll. Balefren looked at the grass as it unfolded in what seemed like a thick row. It looked like a blanket of grass.

“Is this to cover our campsite?” he asked as he started to put things together. Derpy flew back over and as she hovered above Balefren she dropped another bundle.

“Yes, we can make a little circle around ourselves that should obscure the light of the fire,” she said as she flew off once more.

“She was really busy,” Earren commented once the grey mare was out of view. Balefren nodded as he used his magic to straighten out the woven wall of glass and prop it up along the side of where the fire would be.

“She is very cautious, I’ll give you that,” he said.

“I could just use my magic to hide us,” Earren offered.

“That would be great but remember,” Balefren said as she pointed at the amulet the girl wore.

“Well you could take it off,” she suggested as she made a motion of lifting something up over her head.

“I would if I could, but the one who put it on you, is the only one who can take it off,” The colt explained.

“Well I’ll ask Derpy to take it off then,” she reasoned. “I’m sure she would understand that I can help.”

“I’m sure she would understand, but…” Balefren said as he lifted another bale and moved it into place.

“But what?” Earren said getting impatient.

“Well let’s just say Derpy is far less trusting then I am,” Balefren said as he turned his attention back to the tan mare. Earren hung her head down in shame. “Don’t feel like that, how about I ask her when she gets back over here just to see?” he offered feeling bad for the mare.

“Would you?” Earren said lifting her head. “I’m beginning to think she doesn’t really like me.”

“She’s distant like that, I’m not used to it either, but she’ll come around someday,” Balefren said smiling.

Derpy came flying back into view with a bundle under each arm and landed between the two unicorns. “Let’s get these up, it will be dark soon, and I’m sure we’re all plenty hungry.”

Earren reached out for one of the bales, but Balefren’s magic grabbed both of them and quickly moved them through the air and into position. “Say Derpy,” he spoke while working. “Couldn’t we have Earren here use her spell to make us undetectable?”

Derpy shook her head quickly as she picked up a cooking pot. “Nope, we can’t trust her yet,” she said as she placed the pot onto stones in the middle of the fire pit. Balefren caught a glimpse of Earren who put her head down again and kicked at the dirt softly.

“Come on Del,” Balfren said. “I think she proved herself.”

In a flash Derpy spun around and charged at Balefren. Using her wings to stop her movement she paused inches from his face. Her eyes glared at him with an intense seriousness. Shocked by the aggressive display Balefren took a step backwards and stumbled a bit. Derpy’s soft yellow eyes had turned into Delphina’s narrow glare.

“I’m not going to have this discussion now and in front of her,” she whispered forcefully. “Don’t be fooled.”

Earren watched from her spot a short distance away as the grey pegasus and white unicorn seemed to argue. She was baffled and couldn’t hear what they were saying to each other, but she knew they were talking about her. After a moment she called out meekly, “I’m sorry.”

Balefren and Delphina stopped immediately and slowly turned to face the girl.

“I’m sorry, it was my fault, I thought that I could help if you took the necklace off,” she explained as she fought back tears. Balefren took a step towards her and opened his mouth to speak, but Delphina spoke first.

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Delphina said. “I should have been honest with you earlier, you need to understand that I cannot chance you being here as a coincidence, my mission is far more important than I can not afford to put in jeopardy.”

“Derpy,” Balefren said trying to think of a response.

“I’m the one to be sorry, but I cannot make any more mistakes or unnecessary chances, we are very close to the end.” Delphina paused as she finished explaining. She looked at the tan unicorn and as she backed away with fear in her eyes. The happy excited mare had reverted to her aloof and tormented self. “I will tell you what, tomorrow I will take the necklance off you,” she offered extending her hoof.

Earren’s ears perked up as she lifted her head at the offer. Balefren’s ears also perked as he watched Delphina’s expressions. No, it was Derpy again now. The grey mare stood with a simple smile as she held out her hoof in friendship.

“Are you sure?” Balefren whispered as he watched Earren move closer.

“You said I can trust her,” Derpy whispered back. “Right?”

Balefren nodded and smiled happily knowing that she had listened to him after all. Earren closed the rest of the distance and reached out her hoof to meet with mare’s.

“Tomorrow? You mean it?” she said cautiously.

“Yes, I do,” Derpy responded as their hooves meet and shook for a brief moment. “Now let’s eat!” she added as she quickly broke her stance and trotted over to the fire pit.

The magic fire was small but burned very hot. Balefren was pleased as how easily he had made the fire. His magic combined with some strange alchemic ingredients Delphina added made the fire seem to burn from nothing, but it worked well.

Before long the trio of ponies were eating well toasted roots and mushrooms. Enclosed in the grass barrier they ate without interruption and silently.

Once the scrounged up food was gone, Earren looked up at the grey Pegasus who was sitting farthest from the fire. Done eating Derpy had retrieved her silver sword and was inspecting it carefully. Earren watched with great interest as she had never been around a weapon before.

“How does it work?” she asked coyly.

“You’re kidding right?” Derpy said glancing up with her eyes, but keeping her head tilted down.

“I mean,” Earren corrected quickly realizing she had sounded dumb. “I know you stab, but how do you wield it?”

Derpy smiled slightly at the unicorn’s interest. “Well,” she said as she tilted the sword upright. “The hilt has custom grip here, where I can grip with my teeth, but the sides are also notched to allow it to be easily balanced on a tucked in hoof,” Derpy demonstrate by taking the blade in her mouth and giving it a swing, then tossing the blade up in the air. She raised her front hoof and caught it as it came down. Moving her hoof around expertly the blade stayed in place as she swung it again. Earren stomped her hoof in approval at the display.

Balefren ducked his head and scooted himself a little farther away as the deadly weapon made him nervous. “Small space here, careful Derpy,” he cautioned.

“Settle down Vivid, I’ve been swinging swords longer then you’ve been using magic,” Derpy responded as she swung the sword around her hoof and laid it gently on the stones by the fire.

“When can I get one?” Earran asked as she watched the firelight reflected in the metal.

“When you learn what it means to take a life,” Delphina responded. “Weilding a weapon is a big responsibility, and the price that comes with it is a heavy toll.”

“I guess so, I’ve never thought about killing any pony,” Earren said thoughtfully.

“Even though you’re aloof and fickle, you are very pure at heart Earren,” Depy said as she began to run a brown rag across the sword blade. “Balefren on the other hand…”

“Don’t even start pegasus,” Balefren said joining the conversation.

“Oh,” Derpy said suddenly has she looked up from her work. “Doesn’t Balefren owe you a story Earren?”

The young unicorn’s eyes lit up with excitement as she remembered. She nodded vigorously and looked over to Balefren. He sat uninterested and even rolled over so that his back was to the mares.

“Please, I told you about me,” Earren pleaded.

“That was different,” Balefren said not turning around. “I was just trying to ease your mind and get you to sleep.”

Earren got up from where she was and jumped to where the white unicorn was laying. “I’m not letting you sleep until you tell me,”

Balefren groaned feeling annoyed. He didn’t mind sharing with Earren, but he was not keen on having Delphina listen in. “Look I promised you a story, not her,” he said as he rolled over and pointed a hoof at the grey pegasus.

“Nothing you can say will surprise me,” Derpy said as she continued to polish her blade.

“I’ll make you a deal, if I tell you my story, you have to share yours next,” he offered.

“Nope,” Derpy replied quickly without looking up.

“Please,” Earren asked as she turned her attention to Delphina. “I bet your story is so much more fun than Balefren’s anyway.”

“I won’t tell either of you, my story stays with me until the end of the world,” she added.

“Alright settle in then,” Balefren said as he sat up. “I’ve got nothing special to share, but if you really want to know, here it is.”

Of Water and Dragons

CHAPTER 12: Of Water and Dragons

“Balefren!” Derpy’s voice boomed. “BALEFREN!” her voice repeated louder.

Balefren opened his eyes slowly, his ears ringing from the yelling above him. Something wet was rubbing against his face. As he lifted his head he realized it was strings of grass that were now covering him. He thought it was odd, then he felt something cold and wet surrounding his hooves and body.

“What in Hades,” he mumbled as he pushed himself up. It was still dark out and he could not see what was going on, but as he sat up a splash of water pushed up against his side. He put a hoof down and felt around. To his surprise there was a few inches of water around him.

“BALEFREN!” Derpy’s voice bellowed from high above.

“What’s going on!” he called back looking up at the night sky.

“RUN!” Derpy’s voice said alarmed. A shiver went down Balefren’s spine as he looked around franticly instilled by fear.
He saw the ground moving like a snake as water flowed around the tall grass in all directions. The rush of the river seemed much louder than it had been before. Standing up quickly he used his horn to light up the night. The orange glow of his light exposed the river, but the lumpy river bank that had been there before was now nothing but water flowing by rapidly.

“It’s a flood!” Derpy’s voice shouted again. “GO NOW!” She screamed from somewhere above.

“What’s going on?” Earren said groggily as she sat up. Balefren pushed his magic as hard as he could to really light things up. Looking into the distance he saw something large and black coming quickly. Eye’s wide with horror, he grabbed Earren up and began to pull her with him.

“RUN!” he cried in sheer panic.

“What’s?” Earren mumbled as she found herself being forced along. She managed to look back over her shoulder just in time to see a giant wall of water come sweeping in. “Balefr” she started to say as the water struck.

Both unicorns were instantly swept up as the wall of water blanketed the ground. The whole world went black as the smothering wetness engulfed them.

Balefren kicked and fought hard against the water trying to force himself to the surface, but something was clinging around his waist tightly. Even in the confusion it only took him a moment to realize it was Earren who had grabbed him at the last second. In the darkness of the water the best he could do was to reach down and wrap his hooves around her as they were swept along.

Both ponies held their breath as they tumbled roughly around like paper in the wind. With fear and anderline flowing through him, Balefren suddenly felt a moment of clarity as he floated along. Using his horn to provide light he opened his eyes and looked through the cold water.

The torrent swirled around in all directions as far as his light could penetrate. Balefren could not even make out what direction the surface was as he continued to tumble with Earren clinging tightly to his legs.

The need for air was approaching quickly, frantically the unicorn looked about trying to get a bearing on his position, but he knew that without kicking Earren free he would not be able to swim anywhere.

It’s her or me, he thought as he looked at the tan mare clinging to him, her red mane sweeping around in all directions in the water. What am I thinking, he thought suddenly as he stopped himself from kicking. Can I really toss her away?

Before he had to make the decision he suddenly found his head breaking free of the water. Balefren gasped for breath quickly as instinct took over. Unconsciously he laid himself out straight lifting Earren’s head up above the water as well.

Floating on his back he caught a glimpse of the stars as they spun above him. He heard Earren gasping for breath, as she pulled herself up using him as a floatation device. As she lifted herself up and put weight on him, he broke the surface and began to sink again.

Earren grabbed on tightly again as her white support sank. Balefren thrashed his limps trying to regain bouncy.

“Easy,” he cried out as water splashed his face. Earren continued to cling to him for dear life having not heard him over the sound of rushing water.

After a few more moments of struggling to stay afloat the rush of water started to slow down quickly. Just as the two unicorns began to find the balance to stay above water, their feet touched down on the rocky river bottom and the momentum of the water slowed to a crawl.

Balefren planted his hooves and found himself standing in place as only about a foot of water remained slowly floating by. He shook his mane to get out excess water, as the shock of things started to wear off.

“I can’t believe that just happened,” he commented in disbelief. “That water was cold though wasn’t it?” he looked around for Earren. Not far off he saw the tan ponie’s backside sticking out of the water. Increasing his light spell to get a better view, he watched as the tan pony seemed to be laying down in the water still and kicking her legs.

“It’s not deep now, you can get up,” he said confused watching her. “What are you doing?” Balefren took a few steps towards her trying to understand what she was doing. Bending down he shined his light directly over her.

Earren’s front end and head were under the shallow water, and around her head there was a strange yellow glow. Balefren’s eyes went wide as a realization hit him. “The necklance!” he cried as he suddenly thought about how far they must be from Derpy. The necklace has activated itself to paralyze and prevent its wearer from getting too far away.

“DERPY!” Balefren screamed up into the night air, “WHERE ARE YOU!” Quickly he reached down into the water gripping the unicorn around the midsection and began to lift. Her body began to rise easily, her hind legs came up instantly and her torso, but then his progress stopped as her head seemed to be pinned down as if held in place.

He pulled harder as her hind legs trashed in the air. What the hell? He thought as her head would not budge. The glow of magic under the water seemed to be getting brighter. The necklace was holding her down!

Balefren knew she did not have long left before she would start to drown. He glanced through the shimmering water at the gold chain, and knew what he had to do.

Taking a deep breath and gritting his teeth, Balefren plunged both of his front hooves into the water and wrapped them around the chain. Not bothering to count or prepare himself, he started to lift the amulet off of the mare’s neck.

Immediately burning pain began to resonate up both of his hooves. The pain began to reach an intolerable threshold quickly, crying out in pain he was about to let go, when he saw the girl’s legs suddenly go limp.

The Shock and fear of what that meant, caused him to wrap his hooves around the necklace tighter and he continued to pull. Balefren mentally cursed himself for even thinking of letting her drown earlier, now that it was happening he would give anything to make it stop.

The burning pain began to slowly spread up his arms. In his mind he could visualize his flesh being melted to the bone. Bubbles began to rise from the water around him as he continued to pull. He began to wail in pain and frustration as the necklace moved so slowly, it was resisting every amount of effort he was putting in.

“Not like this,” he cried with tears of pain and emotion in his eyes. Gasping for another breath, he planted both of his hind legs and put all his force into lifting. When things were still not moving, he plunged his head into the water and focused his magic on lifting the chain as well.

Balefren’s light spread across the river floor as he pulled with every ounce of muscle and magic he had to free his friend from her fate. As he pulled his horn started to burn with pain as well, his arms now had no feeling in them at all, but the necklace was starting to come loose.

Bubbles rushed out of his mouth and he roared in agony under the water. Balefren Vivid felt his arms suddenly come free as he flew backwards. With a splash the unicorn landed on his back as the gold and black chain flew through the air free of Earren’s neck.

Still in shock and fueled by adrenaline, he leapt to his feet rushed forward. He his light had faded but he spared no time as he stumbled over Earren’s body. In a panic he reached down and grabbed what he could hoisting the mare out of the water and over his shoulder.

Standing on his rear hooves he sprinted through the water towards what seemed like the shore. With one last effort he tossed the girl towards solid ground. He was pleased when he heard a soft thud as she landed. Not sparing anytime he reached up and pulled himself up onto the river bank as well.

Balefren tried to use his horn to bring light back, but nothing but a dull pain in his head happened. Not worrying about whether he could see of not, he quickly felt around for the mare. His hooves came into contact with her soaked back.

“Earren!” he cried as she rocked against her. Please don’t be dead, he thought as he started to feel sick. “Earren!” he repeated as she pressed on her chest. He had never seen anypony drown before, but he had heard they often shallow lots of water. He pushed again rolling her over so that she was face down on the ground.

Tears were starting to form in his eyes as the panic was fading and the seriousness of things were setting in. Balefren began to sob as he squeezed the tan unicorn almost in hugging motions. After a few squeezes nothing happened. She remained cold and lifeless.

Balefren wished he could see her face, but it was cloaked in the darkness now. “You can’t leave me alone in the dark,” he said worried. “You said you wouldn’t.” he as he began to sob.

Balefren began to press on her stomach a few more times, when suddenly a faint belch sound came from her mouth. His ears perked up and his eyes gleamed up with renewed hope.

“Hang on, spit or breath or whatever!” he exclaimed with tearful joy. He lifted the mare in his arms hugging her around her waist and squeezing her few more times. His efforts were rewarded by a slight gurgling sound as water began to pour from the unicorn’s mouth.

In the next second she began to cough as more water exited, and she began to breathe again. Balefren gently let go of Earren allowing her to sit on her own as she continued to cough between breaths. He leaned back feeling exhaustion overtaking his entire body, he was shaking uncontrollably and he still had no feeling his arms, they had gone completely numb. He felt like he was going to be sick, but before he could think anymore everything went black as he lost consciousness.

The sound of a bird repeating the same chirp over and over woke Balefren from his sleep. The morning sun was shining on his face making his checks feel hot. He rolled his head to the side to shield his eyes from the bright light. His face felt hot, but the rest of him felt cold as ice. Thinking about the night before, he tried to speak, but only a soft groan escaped his lips.

“There you are,” Earren said in response from somewhere near. The white unicorn turned his head again slowly to the other side trying to spot her, but she was nowhere to be seen. “I let you sleep, I guess you were really tired,” she said as her face came into view right over the top of him.

“You,” Balefren muttered looking up.

“Yes, me,” Earren said.

“I’m so glad,” he said weakly. “Go find Derpy, you’ll have to go on without me.”

Earren’s faced changed to a look of confusion as she batted her eyelids. “Why would I leave you?”

“Because my front hooves are gone, melted by that magic,” Balfren said as he was not able to feel, or move his limbs.

Earren just looked at him for a moment as she thought. Her eyes turned to look at his sides, then off in the direction of the river, then back to his face. “You…pulled the necklace off me,” she said as she began to figure things out. “It was drowning me and you…”

“Yes,” Balefren said. “It burned me beyond repair; you’ll have to go one without me,”

“You’re so cute,” she said with a smile suddenly. “I can’t believe you did that, I thought you couldn’t take it off by force.”

“You can’t, didn’t you hear what I said?” Balefren said starting to feel cross.

“Don’t be so melodramatic,” Earren said as she grasp his hoof and lifted it to his face. Balefren winched and closed his eyes as he imagined the gory horror that his hooves must be. “Look silly.”

Slowly he opened his eyes. To his surprise he saw his white hoof before him. No scares, no burns, his fur and hide were perfectly intact. “An illusion,” he said profoundly.

“No its real,” Earren said as she moved his hoof closer to his face, but misjudged the distance causing him to hit himself. “Ops.”

“No, the necklace used some kind of illusion to create the pain. It looked and felt like it was burning my arms off, but it was all just an illusion in my head,” he explained.

“So you’ll be fine then,” Earren said happily.

“I just hope I get feeling back in them soon then,” Balefren said. “Can you help me up?”

Earren nodded as her head disappeared from his vision, and was quickly replaced by the feeling of hooves under his shoulders.

“One…two…three,” Earren said as she began to lift and help Balefren into a sitting position.

Balefren looked around slowly trying to gage where they were. But all he could see was the same green tall grass in all directions.

“How far do you think we went?” he asked looking at Earren. The girl just shrugged.

“I don’t know, I woke up suddenly coughing on water last night, and this morning I didn’t wonder much before you woke up.

She doesn’t know she almost drowned, Balefren thought. “Well let’s see if we can find Derpy, I’m sure she will be flying overhead along the river.” He said thinking it best not to let her know how close she came to death.

“It’s hard to see in all this wild grass,” Earren observed as she kicked at a patch of it.

“Might be best to try to clear a patch,” Balefren thought out loud.

“What if we burn it?” Earren said suddenly thinking about the smoke it would make.

“Not bad,” Balefren agreed. “Grass smoke is bright white; it will be able to be seen from the air really easy.”

“Let’s smoke some grass then!” Earren exclaimed.

“Clear the area around us and we’ll pile it next to the river so it won’t catch anything else on fire,” Balefren instructed. He leaned forward and tried to stand up, but found himself too unstable. “You can start without me; give me a few minutes here.”

Earren smiled at the ailing unicorn as she began to lay sections of grass down to in preparation to burn. With a fire going Derpy would be able to find them in no time flat, she thought.

After a while Balefren started to get feeling back in his front hooves. Able to stand and move around again he began to assist Earren who had been very busy uprooting big patches of the tall grass and pilling it along the riverbank.

It only took the pair a few more minutes before the pile they had seemed to be big enough. The mound of grass was roughly head height and about five feet around. Balefren nodded approvingly as the signal fire.

“No way will she miss us now,” he commented. “Nice work Earren.”

“Lite it,” the tan unicorn responded.

A small glow started to shine on the tip of Balefren’s horn and small sparks began to leap into the air. “Here we go,” he said as he leaned his head forward touching the end of his horn to the grass.

A small puff of smoke started to rise slowly, then a second later bright orange flames overtook the smoke and began to spread quickly through the grass. Balefren leapt back to avoid being burned. Earren clopped her hooves on the ground in approval as the fire and smoke began to rise into the air quickly.

The grass burned with soft crackling sounds as the white plume of smoke sailed off into the sky. “Now we can sit tight until Derpy gets here, I think I’m going to lay down and try to rest a little more,” Balefren said as he took a few steps back from the fire and sat down.

Earren stood watching the flame dance through the grass for a few more moments. “It’s going to burn out in a few minutes, should I get more grass to put on it?”

“No need, the smoke from this will be drifting around for an hours. That’s plenty of time for Derpy to see it and follow it back here.”

Earren nodded understanding. “Well I’m not tired so, I think I’ll look around for some food,” she said as she began to trot off.

“Alright just don’t go too far, I’ll be resting here,” The white unicorn said as he lay down on his back and closed his eyes.

The strong smell of smoke brought Balefren to open his eyes. He knew he had fallen asleep and wasn’t sure how long it had been. He sat up and looked at the signal fire. It was not just a black smoldering heap. The long flames that had danced so eager before were nowhere to be seen and only small trails of smoke were left drifting into the open air.

“Derpy?” he called out as he looked around. “Earren?” When no response came he got to his feet and slowly walked around the remains of the fire as he looked around in the distance for either of his companion.

Looking across the open fields of grass he could not see the tan unicorn anywhere, dismissing her, his thoughts turned to the grey pegasus, surely she would have seen the trail of smoke. His eyes looked off into the distance following the white trail of smoke that seemed to go off to the end of the horizon.

“No way she could miss that,” he said a loud as his eyes scanned the sky.

Then he saw something in the sky off in the distance. Somepony was flying in from far away. There she is, he thought as he lifted a hoof to shield his eyes from the sun. With a better view he focused on the shape in the distance. Its motion was bobbing up and down slightly, so it was something flying, but it was very dark in shape. Watching it for another moment, he realized it was too dark to be Derpy.

Balefren stood unsure at what he was watching. He kept his eyes focused on the suspicious object for a few more minutes. It was getting closer, more of its shape and details started to appear. He stood silent and continued to watch until something caught his attention; the thing had a very long tail that was whipping back and forth as it moved through the air.

Balefren felt the all too familiar shiver go up his spine as he realized he had been watching a dragon and it was coming right towards him!

“Sorry Vivid, I was trying to dig up these great little roots, I think they’re radishes or something,” Earren suddenly said as she came into view. She stopped and looked at the white unicorn who’s eyes were transfixed on the sky. “What’s wrong?” she asked seeing the worried look on his face.

“We made a terrible mistake,” Balefren said as his eyes did not leave the sky.

“What do you mean?” Earren asked confused as she turned her head to look into the sky. The black shape of the dragon was now very obvious as it was getting close quickly. Earren’s eyes went wide and she dropped the roots she was holding.

“We run,” Balefren said as he preemptively answered Earren’s question before she asked. “I know you wanted to meet a dragon, but now isn’t the time.”

Earren nodded as she watched the dreadful black imagine approaching. Despite her enthusiasm towards dragons, seeing one for real, was a much more fearful thing then she had imagined.

“Now!” Balefren cried out as he began to run along the riverbank. He slowed his pace a little at first to make sure Earren could catch up. The mare spared no time breaking into a sprint and passing him.

“Do you think it sees us?” she yelled as she ran.

“I sure hope not, but we can’t take that chance,” Balefren said. “Try to get away from our camp, and then we can hide in the thicket up ahead.”

“Ok,” Earren responded as she ran.

Both ponies moved as fast as they could not daring to look behind as they ran along the river bank. They had made pretty good distance when suddenly a great roar sounded out from behind them. Balefren leapt forward pushing Earren down and into the thicket.

The unicorns rolled to a stop in the dense growth. Balefren ignored weeds and dirt that covered his face. “Lay as flat as you can, and don’t make a sound,” he instructed. Earren was already cowering in the grass unmoving and silent. Her blue eyes shimmered with fear as she looked back in the direction they had come.

Balefren slowly turned himself around being careful not to disturb the plants around him or make noise. Once he was facing the right direction he focused his eyes carefully for any sign of the dragon.

The grass that was now towering over the unicorns swayed gently in the breeze. As it moved it allowed them to see quick snippets through the field. Minutes passed and there was no sight or sound of a dragon.

A few more minutes passed and their adrenaline driven hearts began to slow down as calmness returned. Balefren breathed a sigh of relief as he lifted his head up a little higher for a better view.

“Thank Celestia, it didn’t see us,” he said.

“Was that really a dragon?” Earren whispered as she started to slowly rise too. “It seemed much more horrible then I remember.”

“It was, are you rethinking your thoughts of trying to make friends with one?” Balefren said poking fun.

“I didn’t think it would be so big… That thing was bigger than a house, or three!”

“Yeah, it was really big wasn’t it,” Balefren grinned thinking about it. “At least we’re safe here, now we have to…”

Before he could finish his statement an enormous wind suddenly blew through the grass. The gust was so strong Balefren found himself being pushed back down to the ground. The sun suddenly disappeared for a second as a dark cloud flashed by.

Balefren looked back over his should towards Earren, and in horror he watched as the tan mare was sitting there one moment, and then gone the next.

Craning his neck he followed the shadow that speed off into the distance, it only took a second for him to realize that the dragon had just flown right over his head. Focusing his eyes he confirmed his worst fear, the dragon was now flying a ways quickly, and wrapped between its closed claws he could make out patches of red hair.

The dragon had taken Earren.

When Dealing with Dragons

CHAPTER 13: When Dealing with Dragons

“She’ll follow you to her death,” Balefren repeated as he remembered Derpy’s words. He was pacing back and forth along the riverbank nervously as concern for Earren and fear for himself filled his thoughts.

“What do I do? What do I do?” he mumbled. “It’s all my fault, I shouldn’t have told her to follow me, now she’s gone, everyone’s gone.” He looked up at the sky searching around for any signs of the pegasus, or the dragon. The endless blue sea was all that he could see in all directions.

“Nothing I can do now, she’s gone,” he reasoned. “But you saw where he flew off, you could go save her.”

“And get myself killed too?” he argued with himself.

“She was your friend; she may still be alive if you hurry.”

“She wasn’t my friend for very long though.”

“Don’t think like that, that’s how Delphina would respond.”

“No she would be all in favor to hunt down the dragon, that’s what we came here to do.”

“That’s what she came here to do, I can’t fight a dragon.”

“It’s your fault she’s gone, you have to do something, you have to find her.”

“I just… don’t think I can.”

“It’s that or stay here alone.”

“Alright, I’ll do it,” Balefren said finishing the conversation with himself.

With no supplies or gear the unicorn looked back up in the direction the dragon had flown off. His eyes moved slowly downward as he mentally plotted the direction through the field that he would need to take in order to come to the dragon’s lair.

Delphina had said something about the lair being about a day away. Hopefully the dragon was flying straight to it, he thought, or else his plan would fail and he would be hopelessly lost in the field.

Without another moment to spare Balefren Vivid began to run through the tall grass. With his horn glowing bright he used his magic to push down the growth in front of him, allowing himself a temporary path so he could run at run at full speed.

He thought about the tan pony and hoped he would find her still alive. The thoughts of the dead mare they had found earlier went through his mind. That being Earren’s fate disturbed him, but also gave him hope. That pony had been killed elsewhere then dumped on the road, meaning that Earren was likely to be alive for now.

With renewed effort he ran as fast as he could, skillfully dodging rocks and holes as they appeared from behind the fallen grass.

“I’m coming Earren, you just stay alive,” he huffed.

The white unicorn ran through the field for over an hour before the grass in front of him ended. Balefren slid to a stop as the plant growth that he had been clearing turned into a wide open clearing.

He took a moment to catch his breath as he looked across the barren area. The space before him was littered with rocks and gravel, as if it had once been a river or lake bed. But now there was no water and no plant life within the entire area.

In the distance he could see where the grass resumed growing, it was pretty far off, and he considered how exposed he would be running through the rocky plain. The dragon could easily pick him out running in the open and swoop down and snatch him up too. Then Balefren thought of the girls face as he rested. Earren smiling as she looked over him and pointing out that he was not injured. The look on her face as slept, so peaceful.

He could not let petty fears hold him back anymore if he was going to save her. Casting his caution aside he resumed running.

It was almost mid-day when Derpy Hooves came trotting up to what looked like a hastily created campsite along the riverbank. She glanced around quickly taking in the signs to confirm her assumptions.

Two impressions in the grass, some dug up roots confirmed that the two ponies she was looking for had spent some time here. The next thing she saw was the large pile of ash along the riverside. Frowning she examined the burned remains of the grass pile that once burned brightly.

“You fools,” she cursed as she realized that the smoke she had seen earlier was in fact a fire created by the unicorns.

Next her eyes followed a set of tracks that traveled along the bank. The hoof prints where spread out at a pace that told Derpy they had been running. She followed the trail to the point where they stopped. More impressions in the thick growth gave away the fact that they had hidden there.

“No…” Derpy said softly to herself. She had seen the dragon in the skies earlier and started to put things together.

She looked around more intently trying to find anymore traces of the pair of unicorns. To her frustration she could not find signs of where they went from there. The good news was she also did not see any blood or signs anyone had been killed there.

Frowning she knew that there was only one way she was going to pick up on their trail. Taking a deep breath and preparing herself, she unfurled her wings and leapt into the air. With a few strong flaps she reached a height high enough that she had a clear view in all directions.

Looking down she quickly spotted a narrow path cutting straight through the grass. Following it with her eyes, she watched the almost perfectly straight line go across the landscape until it reached a large grey patch far in the distance.

Taking a quick moment to look around to ensure she was the only thing in the skies. Delphina straightened out her hooves as she began to fly at top speed towards the distant clearing. With any luck she could catch them before anyone saw her out here.

“I’m going to wring your neck Vivid,” she said as she thought about how stupid making a signal fire was. “And you too Errant or whoever you are.”

Balefren had slowed his pace a little as he ran across the rocky ground. He wanted to cross the clearing quickly, but he was being careful not to slip or stick his hoof in a hole as he crossed the gravel pit.

His focused quickly switched from watching the ground in front of him and up to the skies. He was still very nervous about being so in the open, considering who his foe was. A quick scan of the sky brought silent relief to him as he saw no signs of anything hovering above.

He redirected his focus on the ground in front of him. He carefully watched for anything that could trip him up as he began to speed up. At a good pace he would be back into the thicket in no time.

Balefren counted his steps in his head as he moved his hooves from one patch of rocks to another, only deviating his rhythm to side step or hop over larger rocks and pits in his way. He was so focused on navigating he did not notice the shadow that crossed his path.

Looking up for a moment to check his progress, the unicorn grinned happily as he saw the edge of the clearing approaching quickly. He would be there in another minute. As he moved his eyes back down he caught a glimpse of something dark that flashed by. Slowing down, he looked back and forth across the ground around him.

“Please be nothing,” he muttered as he looked around franticly. The sun was shining directly overhead and it blocked much of his view as he looked into the sky. Balefren squinted his eyes as the direct sunlight left white splotches in his vision. “All clear,” he continued as he looked back down at the ground. He began to start running again, but stopped abruptly.

Balefren just stood for a moment his eyes wide as they watched a large black shadow slowly moving along the ground just feet from him. He took particular notice of the very distant wing shapes that the shadow had. It was the dragon.

Frozen in fear for a moment, Balefren just stood trying to keep himself calm. As the seconds past, his heart started beating rapidly as he expected to feel sharp claws dig into his back.

No, he thought, I won’t sit and let it take me. Balefren looked ahead at the tall grass that was but a hundred yards away, and then down at the gravel and rocks on the ground. A plan of action started to form, with no time to spare, Balefren’s horn came to life as his magic surrounded a large number of the bigger rocks on the ground.

The rocks sprang up into the air carried by the cloud of orange magic. Balefren spun around to face the direction the shadow was coming from. The sun still observed his view, but he could see something in the air now. Roaring loudly he used his magic to throw the cloud of rocks through the air.

Not waiting to see the effect of his missiles, Balefren turned back around and began to sprint towards cover. Small rocks and dust were kicked up by his hooves and he ran recklessly as fast as he could. Behind him he heard the crash of his rocks as they fell to the ground. He looked back over his shoulder hopeful to see the monster at least stunned by his assault.

Before his eyes could catch sight of anything, he felt one of his front hooves snag on something. With a gasp, he found himself being tilted forward and upside down as he tripped. The white unicorn began to tumble head first into the rocky ground. Balefren winched and gritted his teeth as he watched a rather large and pointed rock coming right at his face as he fell.

Something suddenly lashed out striking his back and sides, his descent into the ground stopped inches from the sharp rock, and he began to be lifted into the air.

“No!” he screamed as the beast behind him gripped his sides and held him under his shoulders. He twisted and fought trying to break free of the grip that held him.

“Stop that or I’ll drop you,” came Derpy’s calm voice from above him.

Balefren’s eyes went wide as he stopped struggling. Slowly he lifted his head up to see who was holding him. To his relief it was the grey pegasus who was carrying him to safety. All at once he felt great relief wash over him. Delphina had finally come.

“I’m so happy to see you,” Balefren said choking up as overwhelming emotions started to catch up to him. He was so glad she was here, he was so glad he wasn’t being killed by a dragon, he was so glad he wasn’t alone anymore. All these thoughts filled him at once and began overflowing.

“I’m putting you down,” Delphina said with a grunt as she readjusted her grip on the white unicorn. He replied with a simple nod. Delphina let her altitude drop as she slowly brought herself down toward the ground, until she was low enough that the unicorn’s feet could touch the ground.

Balefren sniffled and blinked his eyes trying to fight back tears as he stood on solid ground again. “I thought…” he started to say but couldn’t finish his sentence.

“Sorry if I surprised you,” Derpy said. “I was in a hurry and didn’t really have time to try to explain.” She continued to look around as she landed on the ground next to Balefren. “Where’s the other one?”

Balefren closed his eyes and turned around as he fought his emotions back. “She’s gone,” he managed to blurt out.

“What do you mean she’s gone?” Derpy questioned.

Balefren turned around to face the Pegasus, looking into her eyes he repeated, “She’s gone,” tears began to roll down his checks at the realization of the situation began to sink in. Derpy hung her head down. From the look on Balefren’s face she understood what had happened.

“I hope it was quick at least,” Delphina said softly.

“The fastest I’ve ever seen,” Balefren said as he cleared his throught. “She was there one moment, and gone the next.”

Delphina let a small sigh as she reflected on things. Balefren watched her as she looked up at the sky. He could tell she was shaken up by it.

“I don’t understand,” she said turning her focus back to Balefren. “I didn’t see any signs, there was no blood anywhere around.”

“What?” Balefren asked confused.

“If she died that fast, there would have to be signs,” Delphina said.

Balefren hopped in place slightly as he realized they were both talking about Earren’s disipearence in different ways. Delphina was thinking she was ‘gone’ as in dead. He was trying to explain she was gone as in taken.

“No, no, no,” Balefren corrected. “The dragon swooped from the sky and carried her away.”

“What!” Delphina said alarmed. “Why didn’t you tell me that? There is not time to waste!”

“I said she was gone,” Balefren defened.

“No time to loose, she may still be alive,” Delphina said with urgency as she flew up into the air a few feet.

“How far are we?” Balefren began to ask. Delphina looked out into the distance for a moment before landing back on the ground.

“His lair should be straight that way, about half a day if we run,” she estimate

“And if we flew?” Balefren asked.

“Much quicker, but too dangerous,” Delphina cautioned. “Let’s hoof it.”

“You can leave me,” Balefren offered.

“No time to argue, let’s go,” Delphina said ignoring him as she started to run towards the tall grass.

Keeping his mouth shut, Balefren began to follow. Renewed hope filled him as he watched the powerful pegasus running ahead. Rays from the sun reflected off an exposed side of the sword she had strapped to her back.

That dragon is going to pay, he thought. Hang on Earren Tangle.

Earren opened her eyes slowly. Everything was very dim and she was not sure where she was. The smell of moist dirt filled her nostrils and made her uneasy. Slowly she looked around and tried to gage where she was. Rubbing a hoof across the ground in front of her, she confirmed that she was laying in dirt.

Sensing no danger around, she slowly stood and began to carefully explore. She brushed against a wall of some type. Sliding her hoof around his surface she discovered it was also dirt. Now curious she reached up over her head. Standing on her hind legs, she felt around towards the ceiling. She did not make any contact with anything solid, but she felt small strings hanging from up above.

“I’m underground,” she whispered to herself as she realized that the strings were roots from plants above.

Slowly she moved around in the dark, up ahead she saw the dim light seemed to be coming through some kind of opening. As she walked she tried to remember how she got here. The last thing the young unicorn remembered was being outside with Balefren and hiding in the grass, from… The dragon…

Earren kept a hoof on the wall as she made her way to the opening. Sliding her hoof along the smooth dirt wall, it suddenly came to a stop as the wall turned and went into another camber. She stood for a moment looking into a hallway of sorts. Not far away there was another entrance that had much more light emanating from it.

If there is a way out, it must be through there, she thought. Cautiously she took a few steps into the hallway like passage. Looking from side to side, she did not see anyone or anything. This place made her uneasy. Perhaps it was due to ponies were not underground dwellers or perhaps it was the abandoned feeling to the place.

Taking a few deep breaths she approached the light filled room. Just before she was about to turn the corner into the light, a nagging thought crossed her mind, “turn invisible,” it said. It was a voice of habit and insecurity, and she obeyed. The unicorn suddenly disappeared by magic as she stepped into the light.

“Wow,” Earren whispered as she stood in the doorway of a much larger chamber. This room was no mere hole in the ground, it was an ennourmas room lined with blue stones carefully crafted and carved to serve as support to hold up the chamber. The celling was very high above and small windows in the shape of little circles allowed in beams of light in.

The sides of the room went on for hundreds of feet. Along the walls rested many different shelves and objects. Earren recognized some things as parts of machinery, armor, and other items ponies might carry around with them. In a far corner in the distance her eyes caught glimpse of silver and gold glinting in the light.

“Treasure,” she said feeling excitement come over her. This place was some kind of storage vault, she thought. Excited she trotted out into the middle of the chamber, he eyes darting from side to side taking in all of the things lying around. She wasn’t sure how to handle this as she had not come prepared to loot anything.

Before she could think about it more, she stopped as she ran into a large black structure in the middle of the room.

“What’s this?” she said aloud. It was black, jagged and seemed to be in a large circle shape. At first she thought it was a large pillar of some sort, but looking up, she noticed it was not attached to the roof or any other support beams.

She poked the mound with her hoof a few times. It was stolid and felt almost like poking steel. Unable to determine what it was, her attention began to shift to a different pile of items in the other back corner.

Across from the file of gold, it was a pile of white shapes, that seemed to have cloth and other fashioned goods scattered around. The thing that caught her eye was a saddle bag sitting in front. Grinning she trotted over to the pile, she knew if she could get some bags, she could at least get a good amount of the gold loaded up.

Earren reached down and picked the old bag up off the floor. It was very dusty so it must have been there for some time. More evidence of this place being abandoned and forgotten, she thought. Taking the bag she opened it up and dumped it upside down. She watched as a few skinny black chunks fell to the ground.

Must have been food, she thought as she watched one of the round decayed objects roll across the ground and up to the base of the pile. Earren’s eyes moved up as she started to look closer at the pile.

The tan unicorn let out a loud gasp, as she dropped the bag she was holding. She found herself standing feet from skeletal remains. Earren realized that the shiny white from the corner was from a great assortment of bones, and the other objects see saw, were personal items that the owners of the bones had left behind.

Earren was about to scream as the sight of the remains unnerved her greatly, but suddenly there was a loud rustle from behind.

Holding her breath, she turned around quickly. With fear in her eyes from her discovery a second before, she watched as the black pillar, began to swirl and come alive. The floor vibrated slightly as the massive mound spun and untwisted.

“No way,” Earren muttered as she watched the dragon’s shape begin to appear. Her grim discovery was quickly forgotten as her eyes locked on the entryway all the way back on the other end of the room.

With adrenaline flowing through her, she raced along the wall towards the exit. She jumped and avoided flag stands and other things that rested along the wall as she ran.

The black dragon having woken from his rest seemed to sense something was amiss. Quickly he took a few steps through the middle of the room, and with his tail he lashed out towards the doorway.

Earren was running at full speed and was almost to the exit, when the dargon’s large spiked tail flew past her head, missing her by inches. She fell flat and slid to the stop as the tail continued on his way.

From her prone position she watched in horror as the tail struck the top of the entrance. It flicked back and forth for a moment and then a large iron gate came crashing down sealing the way out.

“Noo!” she squeaked. Realizing what she did, she covered her mouth regrettably. Her magic, covered up her sight and natural sound, but it did not cloak her speech.

Instantly the dragon spun around taking into account the entire room. He left out a roar as he blew a stream of fire around into the air. His flame lit a number of torches that were placed midway up to the ceiling.

“Aren’t we an eager pony?” He spoke with a booming voice. “Most find their way in here eventually, you seem to have come in right away.”

Earren lay still not daring to move. Her back was to the dragon, but she could feel his eyes scanning the room trying to spot her. She did not dare more or make a sound.

“I know you’re here, I can smell you,” the dragon said. “Your magic can not save you. I can stay in here for months without food or water, how long can you?”

Earren reminded quite, but his words rang true.

“Show yourself pony,” the dragon demanded again. Earren slowly got to her feet as she thought, what would Derpy do?

Derpy was so brave and confident and strong. She would never be afraid of long dead skeletons or a great intimidating dragon. She would stand up and face it and never back down.

“I am here,” Earren said out loud, but still kept her invisibility spell going. The dragon’s head turned quickly facing the spot where the mare was standing.

“Well, well, well,” the dragon pondered. “Is this how you treat your host? Sneaking around invisible, trying to steal things.”

“I wasn’t stealing anything,” Earren said as she slowly began to walk across the room. Newly found confidence filled her as she knew the dragon was not able to track her movements.

“They all try to steal something,” the dragon retorted as his eyes remained locked on where Earren had been standing a few moments before.

“Why even bring me here then?” she asked. As she spoke the dragon’s head moved locking on to her new position.

“Long story, but you need not concern yourself,” he said. “Now show yourself,”

“Are you going to kill me?” Earren asked as she looked up at the dragon’s narrow green eyes.

“I will not lie,” the dragon responded as he tried to focus hard to catch a glimpse of the magic pony. “You will not be leaving this place alive.”

Earren felt a spark of angry go through her at the threat. “How dare you do such an evil thing,” she scolded.

“The amount of time you stay alive is up to you,” the dragon continued. “I’m in no rush to kill you.”

He isn’t? Earren thought to herself as she slowly moved to a different corner of the room. Why would he keep me around so long? She continued to reason. It’s not like he wants my company…

“What are you doing?” the dragon said breaking the silence. Earren stood next to the pile of gold as she looked at the dragon from behind. He was so large, his black scales were like iron plates that covered him completely. Along his back they changed to a red color as they formed sharp spikes that run from his head to trail. He was a fearsome monster, but he was all alone.

Suddenly Earren was struck by a wave of unexplainable empathy as she watched the creature search for her.

“I can make this room very hot,” the dragons threatened as he looked around more.

“I’m right here,” Earren said as she appeared directly in front of the dragon.

The dragon whipped his head forward locking his eyes onto the tan unicorn. He moved his tail slowly around the room behind him lining up his target so he could strike.

“Nice of you to show yourself,” he said with an evil grin. “That power of yours seems quite useful.” He added as his tail began to slowly snake towards the unicorn from behind.

“Thank you,” Earren said smiling. The dragon towering before her was very intimidating and she still felt incredibly nervous, but she knew what she had to do. The dragon’s eyes narrowed as his tail began to whip at the unsuspecting mare.

“Will you be my friend?” Earren asked looking up into the dragon’s eyes. His eyes went wide as his tail stopped in midair just feet from the pony.

“What do you mean?” the dragon asked shocked.

“Do you believe in friendship at first sight?” Earren asked.

“I don’t think I believe in friendship at all,” he responded as his tail slowly retreated and slid back around behind him.

Earren giggled slightly, “I said that same thing once,” she explained. “Let me tell you a story about myself.”

Lair by Lair

Chapter 14: Lair by Lair

Night had fallen over the plains of Hayen and a pair of ponies continued to run through the darkened field. Balefren lagged a bit behind Derpy. He watched the grey mare push onwards with a glow of fire in her eyes. He hadn’t even dared to ask about stopping to rest, he was just waiting and hoping at some point she would give in.

“Now is not the time to slow down,” she called back as if she knew what he had been thinking.

“What good will we be if we arrive all tired,” Belafren replied.

“I’ve got it covered,” Derpy explained, “The stars light our path, we can push through the night and make it there just before dawn I suspect.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing, I’ll be lucky if I can stand by morning at this rate,” Balefren said concerned. “I know you want to save Earren, but…”

“It’s not about saving her,” Delphina corrected coldly. “Well it kind of is; the longer we wait the more odds there are of her tipping the dragon off that we are coming, and I doubt the dragon would even need to torture her to find out what he wants.”

“You only care about your mission?” Balefren exclaimed surprised. Although deep down he expected her view to be like this.

“That is the reason we have come this far,” Delphina said. “Don’t start bringing emotions into this; she more than likely will be dead before we get there.”

“How can you say that!” Balefren said shocked. “She’s your friend too.”

Delphina shook her head as she looked back at Balefren, “I have no friends, you know that.”

“Don’t lie,” Balefren snorted feeling talked down to. “You came back for us along the river; I saw the concern you had in your eyes. I see the concern you have now.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself unicorn,” Delphina warned.

Increasing his speed Balefren closed the gap with the pegasus. “Then why did you come back for us?”

Delphina looked away from Balefren as she answered, “Because I still have a use for you.”

Balefren, wanted to stop running as the words hit him like a club. He thought about how from the start she had picked him because she had a ‘use’ for him. Is that all she really thinks of me; a tool that will serve her purpose?

Balefren was a second from stopping and turning around when he thought of Earren. He imagined the tan unicorn back in the river. He pictured how her bright red mane had been sweeping around freely in the water, as they fought the current. I have to do this for her, he thought.

Picking up his pace he gave one last look at Delphina. “I miss Derpy,” he commented as he began to pull ahead and take the lead.

The two ponies continued to run through the night. Time passed slowly as Balefren and Delphina traveled without speaking a further word to each other. Balefren lead the way as endless rows of tall grass fell before his magic. Fatigue, hunger and thirst were all blocked out of his mind as he focused on the task at hand.

Delphina followed close behind the unicorn. In her head she focused on the forthcoming battle. She imagined each step she would take, each possible strike or circumstance she could think of, anything that would give her the advantage over the dragon.

After hours of running the tall grass began to get shorter until it was only knee high. The shorter grassed created a clearing that circled the surrounding area. In the dark the clearing seemed ominous and the ponies both slowed their pace a little bit.

“Why is the grass so short here?” Balefren whispered as he slowed to a stop. Looking around he spied the orange glow of the sun as it was starting to rise in the distance.

“It’s been cut,” Delphina responded as she also looked around the area carefully.

“What good is it to cut grass in the middle of a huge field of it?” Balefren questioned. “Its not like you can see it from a distance.”

“Not unless…” Delphina said as she spread her wings and flew up a few feet into the air. “You’re in the air. This is it.”

“This is what?” Balefren said as he looked up at the pegasus.

“The dragon’s lair,” she replied as she quickly returned to the ground.

“A grassy field?” Balefren said surprised. “I would have thought it would be a cave or something.”

“I’m not sure, but I can smell it,” Delphina replied as she sniffed the air. Balefren looked at the mare curiously as he took several loud sniffs himself. “It’s hard to tell in the dark, but I think there is some kind of entrance not far from here.”

“I smell dirt and grass,” Balefren commented. Delphina gave him a slight smile as she turned and began to trot in the direction of the entrance. Balefren followed as he wondered what a dragon smelled like.

With the aid of the rising sun, and a few minutes of searching Delphina stood proudly in front of a dark tunnel that was dug into the earth. It looked like someone had a storage cellar and forgot to close the door. Or perhaps in this case the door had been ripped away long ago.

The pathway inside was slanted steeply as it quickly disappeared into the dark. Delphina took a step inside and tested the slope for footing. “It’s a good incline but we shouldn’t have any problem making our way down,” she said.

Balefren looked at the entryway suspiciously. “How could a dragon fit down there? It’s just wide enough for us to walk down.” He observed.

“I’m sure the dragon has another way in, this looks like it’s an air shaft or old remains of what was here before the dragon moved in.” Delphina explained as she stepped back outside.

Balefren took a few steps forward and suddenly felt his legs start to feel limp. The fatigue of their journey was starting to catch up to him quick. Delphina eyed him as he staggered slightly, and then sat down.

“One minute, I’m barely hanging on here,” Balefren muttered as he suddenly felt light headed.

“Sit tight for a sec,” Delphina said as she was feeling about the same as the unicorn. Carefully she flipped over her red saddle bag and reached inside.

Balefren watched curiously as the grey mare produced a small vile and tossed it to him. Balefren reached out with his hoofs and clumsily batted the vile away in a miss attempt at catching it. It bounced off his hoof and made a soft thud as it landed in the dirt near him.

“It’s ok,” he remarked as he sluggishly bent down and searched for the vile. Meanwhile Delphina retrieved a second vile for herself.

As Balefren picked up his vile, he watched the pegasus pull the small cork from the one she held. Spitting the topper out on the ground she looked at the red liquid inside for a moment, before opening her mouth and drinking it down in one gulp.

Following suit Balefren used his magic to open his vile. He looked at the strange liquid and gave it a sniff. He wrinkled up his nose as he held the vile away in disgust. “Eww smells like rotten vegetables,” he said.

“It will give you your strength back,” Delphina explained.

“But it smells awful, what does it taste like?” Balefren said not sold on the idea.

“It tastes like sweet honey,” Delphina said.

Balefren nodded slowly and held his breath so he didn’t have to smell it again. Opening his mouth wide the unicorn lifted the vile up and poured the liquid into his mouth. Instantly me made a frown as the bitter and abhorrent tasting substance crossed his tongue.

“Swallow it quick!” Delphina commanded as she watched the look of great discomfort on Balefren’s face. She could tell he was a moment from spitting it out.

Holding his breath and closing his eyes Balefren forced his throat to retract and swallow. The substance felt like oil as it slid down his esophagus leaving a cold sensation as it traveled through his body.

“Yuck,” he gasped sticking his tongue out. “That didn’t taste like honey at all!”

“Sorry I couldn’t let it go to waste,” Delphina said grinning. Balefren frowned and was about to speak his mind but Delphina cut him off. “How do you feel?” she asked.

“I can’t believe you, just lying like…” Balefren started to say, but stopped as he started to feel a strong refreshing feeling spreading through his body.

The unicorn’s facial expression changed from anger to a confused look as his fatigue was being lifted from his body as if by magic.

“What?” Balefren started to ask.

“It’s a special rejuvenation elixir. It takes years to produce one dose of it,” Delphina explained. “But it makes up for a weeks worth of food.”

“Wow, thank you,” Balefren said as he pranced in place feeling his new energy. “I feel better then when we started.”

“Alright, time to go down the rabbit hole,” Delphina commented as she turned towards the dark tunnel.

“Dragon hole,” Balefren corrected with a grin. Delphina suddenly turned and looked at the unicorn with a stern face.

“This is it Vivid, down that hole waits a dragon, one that is ready to fight and very dangerous. Its time I gave you an idea of your role here,” She said seriously.

“Alright…” Balefren said softly as his grin left his face quickly.

“I want you to be ready to cast your light spell as hard as possible. The moment we come across the dragon, it’s your job to hit him in the face with it. The longer you can blind him, the quicker I can strike and end this,” Delphina said striking her face with her hoof to mimic the dragon being struck with magic.

“That’s all?” Balefren said feeling let down. “You wanted me to come along just for that?”

“You keep hitting the dragon as fast as you can, but the first strike will be the most important,” Delphin continued to explain ignoring the unicorn’s protests. “Can you do this?”

Balefren nodded giving up his complaints. “Yes,” he said.

“Good, let’s do this,” Delphina said as she turned back around and started to walk down the ramp into the dark. “Oh and Balefren.”

“Yeah?” he replied as he started to follow the mare.

“Try not to die either, ok?” Derpy said as she looked back and gave him a wink.

Balefren nodded as he felt a shiver go down his spine again. The seriousness of what was about to take place was starting to set in. The magic elixir had refreshed his body making it feel strong and energized, but it did nothing to quell his mind and the fears that lingered in the back of his thoughts.

Without saying another word the pair of ponies began the descent into the dragon’s lair.

Earren sat in the heart of the lair face to face with the beast. She had a good feeling about the direction things were going as the dragon seemed to be very absorbed by her story. He didn’t interrupt and listened quietly to the whole thing. She was also still alive which she considered to also be a good sign.

“So what do you think?” Earren said once she had finished.

The dragon sat still and unmoving for a moment, before he blew a small puff of smoke. “Quite the story my little pony,” he said. Earren grinned happily in response as the dragon continued. “But I don’t know why you are telling me it, or why you think we could be friends.”

“Well, I’m like you,” Earren said as her grin faded.

The dragon gave a hardy laugh as he lowered his head closer to the unicorn. “I just listened to your little story… What makes you think you’re anything like me?”

“Well, we’re both loners who’ve spent most of their lives all alone,” Earren said thoughtfully.

The dragon laughed again as the pony’s statement. “Little one, all dragons are loners, it is our nature,” the dragon explained.

“But, when I saw you here, I knew you wanted company, that’s why you didn’t kill me!” Earren protested. “I see a creature that’s suffered like me, someone who’s been astray from the rest of the world, and someone who needs a friend, like I did.”

“You are mistaken pony,” the dragon said. “Although your words of friendship did intrigue me, we are nothing alike.”

Earren began to frown as she felt hurt. Had she misjudged things so much? Was she just wishing to meet a dragon and a kindred spirit so much she rationalized something that was not there?

The unicorn's mouth began to quiver as she fought back tears as a wave of strong emotions began to get the better of her. The dragon eyed the little creature skeptically at first, but began to feel a strange empathy for the foolish girl.

“Alright, listen to my story and you can see for yourself,” the dragon offered.

Earren sniffled and cleared her throat before replying. “Really?”

“Yes,” the dragon said sighing slightly.

Earren’s demeanor changed instantly as she hopped up and down in place happily. “A dragon story, I can’t wait,” she exclaimed.

“First off, my name isn’t dragon… It’s Rouw,” the dragon said. “Second off, I will tell you my story, but understand that I am likely to kill you when it’s over.”

Earren sat down in place and nodded agreeing. The dragon crooked one eye as the pony seemed to be fine with his proposal. He had never seen a pony as strange as this melodramatic mare.

“My story starts well over a thousand years ago,” Rouw began.

The Dragon's tale

CHAPTER 14: Dragon’s tale

I never knew who my father was, with dragons being solitary creatures it’s quite common that the father never even sees any of the children he sires. Things were not much better with my mother, as she abandoned me as soon as I was old enough to stand on my own.

She took me to a migration where she left me with many other juvenile dragons. I never saw her again; I can’t even remember what her face looks like now trying to look back. I like to think that she loved me in some way.

Left alone to fend for ourselves, I banded together with several of the other young dragons. For a number of years we lived in the nearby forests, scavenging and hunting what we could to survive. When times grew tough our numbers started to dwindle. As we grew older we moved on, and those who didn’t ended up dead.

Eventually it was my time to go. When I set off on my own, it had to have been about a thousand years ago. I was just coming into my own. I was about half my current height and build, but I was no pushover.

After several years of wondering the lands, I came to a lush and beautiful land. It was the land you call Equestria. It was the first time I would encounter ponies. They were very fearful and suspicious of dragons and they made a point to always avoid me. I had no qualms with them either as I found my nourishment in the great river that crossed the land. It was packed with the most amazing rainbow trout that you’ve ever seen. I kept to myself and the ponies kept away as well.

I still remember that day that I met her. Grey clouds were so thick in the morning, but were parted perfectly as the sun came up. Morning rain showers had left the river muddy and stirred up, which disrupted my attempts at catching fish for breakfast.

I was searching for food along the riverbank or waiting out the rainwater to clear up when I came across the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. In the river before me was the grandest golden dragon. Her golden scales glimmered in the sunlight so perfectly.

I spared no time introducing myself and getting to know her. Aruo was her name, the most perfect and majestic creature in the entire world. There was a touch of magic in the air, or fate, or whatever you want to call it. Something happened that day greater than anything that could ever happen to me. We both fell in love. Not just some lustful fling, but true love. Nothing else in the world matched her, I loved her with every fiber of my being, and we were truly kindred spirits who wanted only to be together forever.

I spent the next few years with her, the most wonderful years of my life along that river. But it was not to be.

One day without warning we were set upon by unicorns. Using their magic they quickly subdued Aruo and me. Without explanation they took us captive and locked us away in the depths of some dungeon.

For years they studied us; for years they humiliated us; for years they tortured us. There were only two things that got me through the hell that was that place. One the thought of revenge I would someday bring back on these ponies and the other was to survive to see her again.

Aruo was kept down the hall from me in another cage. I could make our her golden scales in the distance, but we were too far to ever talk. The torment seemed to go on without end. A great blue pony commanded the others in their duties. She was their leader and was so focused on breaking our wills and bodies. The greatest horror to me was that no explanation of why this kind of treatment was brought down on us. Nothing short of pure evil was my determination.

It was another fateful day, when the caretaker of my cell left a chain restraint loose. I spared not time in freeing myself and breaking out of the prison. I left a trail of destruction as I fled the castle. I made it deep into the surrounding woods.

Too weak at the time, I pledged I would return to free Aruo the moment I had my strength back. I rested and a few weeks later I returned.

When I arrived the castle was abandoned and in ruins. Far more damage had befallen it, than what I had done when I was escaped. A quick search turned up my worst fear. My golden dragon was gone. I could not find any trace of her.

Not giving up hope I spent the next five hundred years searching the world for her. But everywhere I went she was never there, and there was never any sign of a gold dragon anywhere. Sorrow filled my heart over the centuries as the reality set in that I would never see Aruo again.

My two reasons to live were now narrowed down to one. Revenge…

During this time the immortal pony god had sent forth word that she wanted to live in peace with all dragons. Many of the elders agreed and even championed the idea. But I knew better, I knew what evil lay in the hearts of pony kind and what horrors they were capable of. It was then I began to place together a plan of revenge.

I lingered around the lands of Equestria, laying waste of any ponies who crossed my path or dared to wonder outside their lands. A hundred years ago I found the ruins of this place and turned it into my new lair. Now so close I began to slowly turn other dragons to my side. Over the years while the immortal princess has preached peace and love, there has been a shadow movement of her ponies who are striking out at dragons driving them off and even killing them.

My plans are coming full circle. It won’t be long before we return to Equestria and destroy it. I will have my revenge.

Earren lay on the floor with her head in her hooves as she wept softly as the dragon finished speaking. “I’m so sorry,” she said feeling moved by the dragon’s story.

“So little pony, do you think we are alike now?” Rouw said baring his teeth. Earren slowly looked up as she got to her feet.

“Yes,” she replied. The black dragon opened his mouth speechless not sure how to respond, but Earren didn’t wait as she explained. “You were so alone for so long with no one to talk to, with nothing but sorrow and hate in your heart. A friend is what you long for so much, you’re just like me.”

“I think you missed the main narrative of my story,” Rouw said as he shifted his large body around.

“You just don’t know it yet, like I did,” Earren continued to speak. “Having a friend is a far greater thing then revenge; it’s as great as the love you felt.”

“Don’t speak of love!” Rouw cried angrily as he thrust the backside of his claw at the unicorn. Earren didn’t have time to respond as the black claw struck her across the chest and knocked her to the floor. “Are you not concerned about my plans to destroy your home? Are you not concerned about the ponies who have met their end at my claws?” Rouw roared as he spread his open palm before the stunned ponies face brandishing his razor sharp claws.

“I’ll still be your friend,” Earren said softly as she reached out and touched the tip of one of his claws.

The dragon’s eyes twitched with a mixture of rage and a feeling he did not understand. Shaking his fist once, he withdraws it back leaving the pony to get up on her own. Rouw turned his back to the unicorn as he fought to get control of his emotions again. He was not acting like the cold calculating dragon that he thought he was. But then again this pony is not acting how a cowering pony should act either.

“You should forgive them,” Earren said as she slowly took a few steps closer to the dragon.

“What!” Rouw roared losing control again at the thought.

“What they did to you was very wrong and sad, but those ponies died a thousand years ago, all ponies now days are very kind and loving and whish no harm on anyone,” Earren explained.

“Do you see that pile in the back there?” Rouw said pointing a claw towards the mound of bones. “Many of those were ponies, can they forgive me?”

“We can’t change the past, we can only make sure the future stays bright,” Earren said simplifying things, as she tried hard not to think about the pony remains. “If you can forgive them, they will forgive you, you’ll see,” she said smiling.

Rouw stood for a moment thinking over what pony was trying to tell him. He understood what she was trying to say, but he knew the rage within him was far too strong for such a gesture as to forgive and forget. Taking a deep breath he began to get control of himself once more.

“What was done to me, cannot be forgiven, I’m sorry little Earren,” he said calmly.

A great big smile beamed on the unicorns face as she trotted right up to the dragon’s feet. Looking straight up she spoke excitedly. “You called me by my name!”

“What of it?” Rouw said looking down confused.

“That makes us friends,” she replied.

“No it doesn’t,”Rouw disputed as he reached out and picked the unicorn up with his claw.

“Mmmhmm,” Earren mouthed as she nodded.

“I see,” the dragon said as a slight grin crossed his face. He looked at the pony who got to her feet and stood on the palm of his hand. “You are just a crazy pony, an outcast because you are a fool,” he added.

“I’m not!” Earren protested. “And I’m telling you, you need to let this revenge business go and forgive. Even the evil Nightmare Moon repented and is good now; she lives in peace with her sister.”

Rouw’s eyes went wide and his grin was suddenly replaced with a snarled lip.

“What did you say?” he said through clenched teeth.

“I’m not crazy,” Earren said not sure why the dragon’s mood was changing. She was sure she was making a break through.

“After that,” Rouw said coldly.

“You have to forgive?” Earren said unconfident.

“Nightmare Moon,” Rour muttered as he stifled a growl.

“Oh!” Earren said obviously as she was reminded of her story. “Well Nightmare Moon was forgiven by her sister and she is nice and full of…”

“SHE LIVES?” Rouw roared into the face of the unicorn. Earren clapped her hooves to her eyes as the dragon’s shout shook her to the core. The wind from his breath ruffled her mane as she fought to keep her balance in his paw.

“Yes…” Earren said puzzled as she covered her head. The black dragon clasped his claw tightly around the pony as he shook with rage.

“Nightmare Moon, was the name of the blue pony who held me captive. Nightmare Moon is the name of the pony that killed my true love!” Rouw bellowed loudly as he blew a stream of fire towards the ceiling.

“You don’t know that!” Earren cried hoping to calm the dragon. “In fact she might know where Aruo is!”

Rouw froze in place at the unicorn’s words. His anger halted as the hope of seeing Aruo again started to rise inside.

“We could…Go to Canterlot and ask Princess Luna about her!” Earren suggested as she struggled to pull more of herself up out of the dragon’s claw.

“Don’t give me false hope,” Rouw said calmly as he bent down and laid his claw open on the ground to let the unicorn girl free. Earren spared no time in hoping off of the dragon’s paw. Looking up she continued to inspire him.

“Not false hope, real hope! She would have to remember what happened to the golden dragon.” Earren suggested.

“After all these years… I still can not forgive…” Rouw stuttered.

“Let me take you to Canterlot, we can ask her!” Earren offered.

“You would do that for me?” Rouw said lowering his head to be level with the mare.

“Of course, I’m your friend,” Earren said smiling warmly.

“Alright Earren, I don’t know the way, guide me,” Rouw said as he motioned for the girl to climb up onto his head.

“Right now?” Earren asked nervously, not sure if she was making a smart choice.

“What else are you going to do?” Rouw said.

“Ok…” Earren admitted thinking about the underground lair she was in. Quickly she jumped up and made her way up to the top of the dragon’s head. She found a nice spot above the crown of his head that seemed to be almost a nature spot to stand between his two red horns.

“Hold on tight,” the dragon said as he stood up. Turning around he whipped out his tail to levers hidden along the walls. Earren watched in amazement as the sound of chains and wiring gears began to fill the room. The chamber started to shake and dirt began to fall from the ceiling as a large crack began split the roof a part.

After another moment the clear sky above began to show as the roof was slowly peeled away.

“The roof opens,” Earren said to herself astonished.

“How else would a dragon as big as me get in,” Rouw said grinning. “Lead me to this Canterlot.”

Earren nodded as she made sure she had a good grip on the dragon so that she wouldn’t fall.

It will be this day that I finally have my revenge, Rouw thought as imagines of the cruel Nightmare Moon flashed in his mind. He didn’t care if she had been forgiven by others; she could never be forgiven by him.

Despite what his little pony thought, he knew that tonight, Canterlot would burn.

An Evening with Derpy

Derpy Hooves: Dragon Slayer

By YellowCardPony

Chapter 1: An Evening with Derpy

It was the night of the summer’s first food festival in the quite town of Ponyville. All the colt and mares from miles around had come into town to celebrate the start of another summer. It was a grand party by the quaint town’s standards, with your regular singing, dancing, merriment and of course the Four Corners eating contest.

As Daylight was now lasting much longer into the night the sun still shown over the mountain tops clearing lighting things up as the festivities were just starting to kick off. The heart of the festival was setup around the base of town hall. Where normally there would be a few street venders and plenty of trotting room, now was dozens of tables and stands setup for ponies to gather and mingle.

Along the edge of the celebration, sitting at a table together were three long time friends. Amber, Tangerine and Cinimus. All three were earth ponies who all worked together on a fruit farm to the south. They normally only made the trip to Ponyville when they were ready to sell the harvest, but they always set aside special time to come for the summer food festival.

They sat together watching the crowd of gathering ponies intently. Each of them hardly talked as they were carefully watching everypony who showed up. It was then that Amber the light orange pony with a smooth blue mane spotted what they were looking for.

“Here she comes girls.”

“I told you she was back in town,” said Tangerine a yellow pony with a black curly mane.

“Amber, Tangerine shhhh,” said Cinimus a light pink pony with a spiked tan colored mane.

“Is it really her?” Amber asked looking into the distance. “She’s the right color but I can’t tell.”

“I’d know that blonde mane anywhere,” Tangerine said.

“A grey Pegasus with wild blonde mane,” Cinimus added. As the mare in the distance was moving closer. All three farm ponies watched eagerly as the mystery pony drew closer until they could see the look on her face clearly.

“Crossed eyes,” Amber said softly. All three friends looked at each other nodding in agreement.

“Derpy Hooves!” All three spoke in unison giggling.

***

The grey mare trotted into the square unaware of the attention she was getting. Derpy trotted with her head held high and a giant smile on her face. Celebrations were a great chance for her to get out in the crowd where she loved to be.

“I can’t wait to see what she does this year,” Amber said to her friends.

“Come on Amber that sounds mean expecting her to do something silly,” Cinimus scolded.

“That being said, something crazy always seems to happen every year she is here,” Tangerine said to her light pink friend.

“No harm meant, it just makes things exciting,” Amber explained. “Watch this,” she added as she raised a hoof and waived it in the air.

“Hey Derpy!”

Hearing her name Derpy looked around quickly. Her eyes straightened for a moment and allowed her to get a quick view of the orange pony waving to her. Taking a moment to stand on her back hooves she waved back enthusiastically. She recognized her old friend Amber.

“Come over!” Amber called again.

“Oky!” Derpy shouted causing a nearby colt to cringe at the volume. In excitement Derpy leapt into the air and began to take flight. She did not take into account the growing crowd and her wings swiped a few ponies on the way by. Disgruntled cries rang out in Derpy’s wake. “Sorry!” she called out looking behind her at the fallen ponies as she continued to fly forward.

“Watch out!” An alarmed voice rang out. Turning her head forward Derpy barely had time to maneuver herself out of the way of a waiter who was carrying a serving tray of punch glasses on his head. Derpy began to spin out of control from the last second evasion. Amber, Tangerine and Ciniumus watched in amusement as Derpy came to a rolling stop in the dirt in front of them.

“You always know how to make an entrance Derpy,” Amber joked as she took a sip of fruit punch that had just been delivered.

“You alright?” Cinimus asked getting up from the table to help the grey mare.

“I’m ok,” Derpy said as if nothing had happened. She took a moment to dust herself off and pick her travel bag up.

“And how you are doing tonight Derpy Hooves?” Cinimus asked as she took her seat at the table again.

“I’m good, it's fun to be at the festival,” Derpy said with a giant smile on her face. All the while her eyes seemed to be looking in different directions.

“Have a seat Derpy, we just got punch, there is a glass for you as well,” Tangerine offered pointing out the four glasses of fruit drink on the table.

“Thank you,” Derpy said looking at the table through crossed eyes. “But I’m looking for someone tonight.”

Amber smirked and bit her lip to stifle a laugh.

“Who are you looking for?”

“I'm expecting a letter,” Derpy replied finally focusing on the orange pony.

“Don’t you deliver the mail around here?” asked Cinnimus.

“Only on the weekends, and they don’t let me deliver to myself either,” Derpy said.

“What’s so important you would rather go looking for a mailmare then spend time with your friends?” Tangerine asked.

“Oh this is a special letter from out of town,” Derpy replied.

“Sounds interesting,” Amber said taking a drink of punch.

“Yes, I’m looking forward to getting it as soon as possible,” Derpy said as she flapped her wings lightly lifting herself off the ground.

“Who’s it from?” Cinimus inquired.

Derpy hovered for a moment taking a quick look around the square, before softly landed back on the ground. She leaned forward slowly in order to whisper.

“I don’t know.”

Amber couldn’t hold back a laugh this time. Tangerine kicked her promptly under the table, as she tried to control laughter herself. Cinimus held her composure.

“What do you mean dear? How can you be so sure you are getting mail when you don’t even know who it’s from?”

Derpy stood in place for a moment as if thinking to herself. After an awkward minute passed she spoke up. “Oh I get a special delivery everyone month.”

Amber who had just gotten her giggling fit under control burst out laughing again. Tangerine couldn't help herself anymore and joined in the laughter. Cinimus still held her composure wincing as she watched the grey mane spin around putting her back to the table.

“I have to go,” Derpy proclaimed oblivious to the laughter.

“Are you sure you don’t want a quick drink?” Cinimus offered, still feeling bewildered by the blonde pony.

“No time, I don’t want to be late” Derpy replied as she started to trot away.

Cinimus leaned in close to Amber and Tangerine to whisper, “Was she using some kind of metaphor there, or is she just really confused?”

“By Celestia I hope she wasn’t using a metaphor for anything,” Tangerine said.

“I told you, she is a complete flake,” Amber laughed. “Let’s keep an eye on her, I bet she does something funny.”

“You had your fun Amber,” Cinimus said. “No reason to be mean.”

“Chill Cini,” Amber replied. “I can’t help it if somepony is really clumsy and crazy, it’s just funny.”

“It is pretty funny,” said Tangerine nodding in agreement.

All three farm ponies watched with renewed interest as the grey mare made her way away from them.

Derpy had not gotten but ten yards away when she suddenly hopped up on her hind legs. She moved her head from side to side quickly looking through the crowd. She took a few steps on her hind legs one after another and quickly began losing her balance. Unable to keep herself upright any long she began to bring her front hooves back down.

Derpy had been so focused on looking around she had not noticed the young filly standing in front of her until it was almost too late. Her front hooves were bearing down on the unsuspecting child. In a panicked move Derpy hopped back upon her hind legs, her wings spreading out to assist her balance.

As she dodged she spun around in a circle on her hind legs, with her front hooves waving up in the air like someone calling for help. In what seemed like a perfectly timed movement she spun around missing a waiter pony by inches.

Amber, Tangerine and Cinimus watched in awe as the spectacle unfolded just feet away from them. Derpy spun in a perfect circle as if she was a seasoned ballerina. At the last moment as she came to a rest her out stretched fore hoof made contact with one of the punch glasses on the waiter’s tray.

The blow was not strong enough to break the glass, but it was strong enough to send the drink flying through the air. The glass of punch flew in a perfect arch remaining upright and not spilling a drop.

Amber’s eyes locked on to the flying drink as it sailed through the air almost gracefully. Everything was moving so fast she only had time to raise a hoof to cover her head before the drink landed.

With a thud and the sound of glass cracking the punch splashed all over Amber. The red liquid quickly covered her and soaked into her white blouse.

There was a moment of silence all around as everypony took account of what just happened. Derpy now sat on the ground facing the trio of ponies. “My bad,” She said loud enough for everyone around to hear. The crowd erupted into laughter looking at the drenched earth pony.

Amber lost her temper and leapt up from her seat. She started to yell something but tripped over the tablecloth and fell forward knocking the table over as she went down.

The remaining glasses of punch, including the full glass meant for Derpy came crashing down on top of her. The uproar from the crowd grew intensely louder at the scene.

Lying on the ground Amber was now in a state of shock at what was going on. She looked down at her punch soaked body and noticed that a small corner of the table cloth seemed to have been tucked into her tail that had caused her to trip. Tuning out all the noise from the crowd and her friends, Amber looked across the dirty ground and at the blonde mare still sitting ten yards away.

Derpy’s innocent and confused face looked back, but then for a split second her eyes seemed to straighten out and a grin flashed across her face. As quickly has it happened her face returned to that of simple and bewildered mare.

As the laughter died down the ponies from Ponyville began to disperse and continue on with the food festival. Tangerine and Cinimus helped Amber back to her feet and did their best to console her.

As Amber got to her feet she felt herself shacking with rage.

“She did that on purpose!”

Tangerine and Cinimus looked across the crowd at Derpy as she began to fly off, and then looked back at each other.

“Did you see that look she gave me? She did this on purpose!” Amber continued.

“Not so funny when her antics are on you,” said Cinimus as she lectured her friend.

“It’s still plenty funny though,” Tangerine said grinning. “Right Amber?”

“Are you two not listening to me, Derpy isn’t what she seems,” Amber said still shaking.

“Oh, than what is she?” Cinimus asked as she began to push the table back upright.

“Evil incarnate!” Amber said through gritted teeth.

“Let’s get you to the spa and cleaned up,” Tangerine said. “Everything will be better,”

“And look on the bright side,” Cinimus said. “You said that Derpy always does one big blunder each year, and I think it-”

“Shut up, both of you,” Amber sighed as she began to let her anger go. Her friends standing on each side began to steer her away towards the Ponyville spa. As they went Amber took one last look over her shoulder. She could see the blonde pegasus flying off in the distance. “Who are you Derpy Hooves?” she said softly to herself.

As the trio headed off in their own direction, another set of eyes were locked onto the grey Pegasus as she flew. A white unicorn, unknown to Ponyville studied the grey mare intently. He made mental notes of her air speed and direction as he troted through the town square.

“She has to be the one,” He said to himself as he glanced at the thick saddle bag he wore. “Delphina Ray,”

Balefren's Story

CHAPTER 10: Balefren’s story

I grew up in Canterlot. My family owned a villa on the Cliffside in the nice part of town. The Vivid family used to be the ones who would ensure the city was lit at night, it was a great honor to uphold. It’s been over a hundred years since those days, street lights have been updated with self sustaining magic versions now days, but my family still has some standing in unicorn society and my father was always sure to let me know of it.

My oldest memories of my father were him telling about the important legacy of the Vivid name. When I was just a young colt he would come home and make me practice using magic and understanding, when all I wanted to do was to go out and play with friends.

Once I was school age, it didn’t get any better. Every day when I would get home from magic school, he would be there ready to quiz me on what I had learned and eager to find my special gifts to ensure the family name would live on.

I always tried my hardest, but nothing seemed to ever be enough for him. I was the first in my class to learn to levitate and manipulate objects, he didn’t care, he wanted my special talent to be something that would reignite the family name.

Through his studies he had come up with a concept that would bring the Vivid name back. All his effort and might was put into shaping me to do this. He knew if the circumstances were right, my special talent could be in the form of a new light. The light he was looking for was a great glow that would be a beacon for all in the night. A night light that would outshine Luna’s moon.

As time went on and I was not achieving anything special with my magic, he took me out of class determined to train me himself. Twenty five different types of light magic he taught me. At first he kept me bathed in bright light, hoping to inspire or trigger more powerful effects. When that failed, he turned to a darker method.

All I wanted was to go home and be with mother, he would have none of it. He took me deep into the caves beneath Canterlot. If keeping me in the light was not working, he would put me in the dark.

I still remember that horrible day. He took me to the caves, much like as we had done many times before. He tried to encourage me and inspire me along the way. He was also sure to inform me that failure was not an option and the family could not tolerate failure.

On this day, he took me farther into the caves then we had ever gone before. A new area that had no reflective surfaces or gems, back to a place where the rock turned black, and there I stood facing an abyss of darkness.

I’d never seen something so void of light. A hole in the ground with no features of anything. “Learn or fail,” were his words as he lowered me into the pit. Down I went and as soon as my hooves touched the ground everything disappeared into a perfect dark. Looking up I could not longer see my father or the rest of the cave. There was something strange and magic about this pit that created its darkness.

Quickly I used my magic to create a lite, but nothing happened. The normal warm glow of light would not work. I tried another spell and another before starting to panic. I called for my father but there was no response.

There I was, a young colt, left in pitch black by his father, unable to use his light to break through. After an hour or so and not having been able to do anything, I felt terrible despair. I had never felt so alone then I did there.

They say if you’re left alone long enough with nothing to do or think about, you tend to reach a certain natural meditative state. I’m not sure how long it was and how many tears I shed before that happened to me.

Weeping in the dark, I suddenly knew that I did not want the same thing my father did. I knew that his methods were wrong; I knew that I could never live up to his vision. I knew I could never make him proud. And I knew I had to get away.

It had to have been about a day later that he returned for me. A torch was dropped into the pit exposing a simple set of stairs not far from where I had been laying. If I had been able to create light, I would have found the way out right away.

Once I reached the top of the stairs, there was my father. He couldn’t even look me in the eyes. He had no concern for my wellbeing, he was only disappointed that I had not found the way out, and had not earned my mark.

It was on that day I swore I would finish my studies then leave Canterlot forever. Years later I completed my school and did just that. I remember on my final day before I left for Trottingham, he didn’t even see me off. It was my mother I hugged and wished farewell too.

“He is proud of you,” she had whispered to me. “He’ll just never say it.”

I didn’t want to hear it; the wound in my heart was too great. Before I left, I wrote a simple letter addressed to my father. I left it in his room as I departed for the last time. I never planned on returning.

I traveled to Trottingham, where I got a job as a delivery pony. I spent the next several years wondering all around Equestria, learning and broadening my horizons. The spirit of adventure had overtaken me, the hopes and dreams of my father were laid to rest as I roamed free, not caring about lighting cities or what others thought of me.

Then I had the chance to deliver a message to the notorious Delphina Ray. I had to jump at the chance to meet this mysterious pony. So here I am.

“That’s sad,” Earren commented. “It’s not what I was expecting.”

“It’s about what I was expecting,” Delphina said as she held up her polished sword and inspected it.

“Well it is what it is,” Balefren said smiling reluctantly. He had just poured out years of pent up emotion and it felt good to get it out, even if it wasn’t pleasant.

“I agree with your mom, I think your father did care for you,” Earren said as she held a hoof to her chin thinking. “My father didn’t love me and I can say he never even put a small percent of focus on me compared to what yours did.”

Balefren let out a huff in disbelief. “You know the day I got my cutie mark… He just took a glance at it then went back to reading. Once he saw my flame he knew it was not the sign he was looking for.”

“What did you write him in that letter?” Delphina asked suddenly interested. Balefren turned his head and watched the grey mare sheath her sword into an almost hidden holder behind her bags.

“Something, I’ll only tell just before the end of the world,” he said imitating Delphina’s words from earlier.

“Touching,” Delphina replied sarcastically.

Earren suddenly stood up and moved into the middle of the camp standing over the spent fire pit. Her eyes were wide as a great big smile crossed her face.

“What now?” Delphina said turning her attaching away from Belfren.

“Are we all better friends now?” she questioned. Balefren and Derpy both gave each other a confused look before looking back at the tan unicorn for an explanation. “We all have very troubled pasts and now that we know that it’s a common bond we share, that makes us closer right?”

Balefren blinked awkwardly as he tried to think of a response, but Delphina beat him to it.

“Of course we all have troubled pasts, normal ponies live happily with each other, with no reason to go on crazy adventures,” she explained.

“And there has to be some reason why anypony would leave their loved ones and family behind as well,” Balefren added.

Their explanations did not faze Earren as her smile grew wider. Standing up on her hind legs she reached out in a hug motion towards the pair. “Friends,” she declared as she reached a hoof around Balefren’s neck and the other towards Derpy.

“I guess she’s right, it gives us a more common bond,” Balefren admitted as the hoof around his neck pulled him closer.

“For somepony who’s never known friendship before you’re taking it awfully fast,” Derpy commented as she found herself embraced as well.

“It’s just so nice to know not everyone is smiles and laughter, like me,” Earren said smiling and laughing.

Balefren could not hide his own smile as it grew across his face at the irony he was involved in. “Definitely not Derpy,” he commented. “Or is the reason she won’t share her past, is that’s its actually very happy and nice?”

The response to his question was a kick from the grey pegasus as she broke the group hug. “You are not very bright Vivid,” she muttered as the unicorn staggered and fell to the ground gripping his shin.

Earren laughed as she considered it to be playful antics. Balefren lay in the ground silent at first, he had thought it was playful ribbing, but he caught a glimpse of Delphina’s eyes and she not happy about his implication one bit.

After a moment, of Earren laughing, Balefren joined in laughing nervously as he rocked himself back upright.

“Alright we can be better friends now,” he agreed talking mostly to Earren. “First rule is we never talk about our pasts anymore.”

“Deal!” Earren exclaimed. “Derpy how about you?” But the pegasus had quietly slipped out of the grass shelter and disappeared into the night.

“She does that,” Balefren remarked as he reached for a grass bundle that serve as bedding.

“Is she mad?” Earren asked concerned.

“I’m not sure, she’s hard to read,” Balefren lied as he wanted to say, ‘yes she’s mad.’

“Should we go after her?”

“You’ll never find her in the dark, let’s just get some sleep.”

“Ok,” Earren said as she took a few steps closer to where Balefren was laying down.

Balefren continued to move the makeshift bedding around until he was satisfied. Once he was happy he lay down and closed his eyes. Earren stood over him just watching him for a few moments. He knew she was still standing there since he did not hear her move any.

“What is it?” he said not taking the time to look up.

“Can I put my bedding next to you?” Earren asked timidly.

“Sure whatever,” Balefren said not really hearing her question. Earren sqee’d happily as she grabbed her bundle of grass and tossed it down next to the white unicorn. She took a moment to stomp it down and flat before rolling onto it.

Balefren cringed at all the noise the grass made as it was bent and pushed around. “What are you doing?” he asked feeling annoyed as he rolled over.

Earren was now lying facing him, just inches from his face. “What?” Balefren said surprised.

“I don’t want you to feel alone in the dark,” Earren said kindly. “Like last night.”

Balefren felt his heart race for a second as if he had been caught doing something wrong. She didn’t really know, he thought. She couldn’t really know how the dark made him feel. “I was trying to comfort you last night, that’s all; I’m not scared of being alone.” Balefren explained trying to sound tough.

“I’ll leave them if you want,” Earren offered. “I’m used to being all alone, it’s ok.”

“No no,” Balefren corrected quickly. “You’re already over here and all set, no need to move around again.”

Earren smiled to herself as she felt confirmed that Balefren Vivid was afraid of being alone in the dark. “I’ll stay then, sweet dreams,” she said.

Balefren nodded slightly as he rolled himself around so that he was facing away again. “Good night.”

“Real friends,” Earren said to herself softly as she began to close her eyes to rest.

“What?” Balefren remarked as hearing her say something.

“Good night,” Earren said.