Man of Magic

Chapters

Man of Magic: Prologue
Chapter 1: Start of a new life
Chapter 2: The Edge of Sanity
Chapter 3: The Start of The End
Chapter 4: New friends and a new life
Chapter 5: To a New Place
Chapter 6: Shopping, and the Hard truth
Chapter 8: New Friends and New Adventures
Chapter 7: The Nightmare, and The Prophecy

Man of Magic: Prologue

Walking home from a day's work on the all-too-familiar streets. Looking up, unable to see any stars, I frown, the lights of the city polluting the sky. Pulling out my phone a look at the time, it's 11:30 pm, I sigh putting an earbud in, I listen to some music.

Not paying attention to where I am going, I see a bright light approaching up ahead, squinting unable to see. I stop walking, shielding my eyes, a loud piercing sound starts to emanate from the light, getting closer and closer, with each second the sound gets louder and louder. Unable to think of what to do, I feel a weight in my head, getting heavier each second, until I knew no more.

I awake to the sound of birds, chirping above me, I try and lift a hand to my face, only for my arm to not respond, feeling something on my wrist, I conclude that I am bound to something. I struggle to open my eyes, when I do a piercing light blinds me for a second, blinking the spots away. I look around, seeing that I am in a cell of some sort, and chained to the wall.

I look up to see the light is coming from a grate in the ceiling, I 'sigh' not knowing how I got here. I try and see if I can stand up, reluctantly my limbs start to move, steadying myself against the wall. Slowly but surely I stand, my body aches and groans, flexing my fingers. Looking at myself, I'm not in my clothes, just a simple loincloth. Moving my gaze to what's on my wrist, around it is an old-looking, rusted shackle, around my neck is the same thing just with a loop in the front.

I pull on the shackle attempting to snap it, but it holds though it is so rusted. Giving up, I look at the door it's wooden with a hole with metal bars, walking to the door, but stopped by the chain from the shackle.
Seeing that I'm halfway to the door, I glans through the door seeing if I can spot anything. With no luck, I walk back to the wall, with the wall for leverage, I try and stretch the stiffness out of my body, knowing that I'm in here for some reason, I sit back down trying to get comfy on the stone floor.

Jolted awake by something pounding on the door, not knowing I fell asleep, I look up to see a figure in the doorway looking at me, what stands in front of me is a dog? I think a Dobermann but their standing on their back legs and have hands. Then they spoke.

"you, up." It said to me, looking confused, I rub my eyes, not believing what I'm seeing. I get to my feet, seeing that the sun is still out, I look back to the door. My throat is to dry to talk, I stand there, with a defiant look, looking down at them, they must only be 5 ft tall, with me being a head taller. I see a bit of hesitation in their eyes, now that I'm standing seeing that this thing is a female.

With her eyes open wide with fear, "In." When she said that another one comes in, looking like an English Springier Spaniel, female to, standing at 4 ft 8 in, coming up to my chest, she stares at me for a moment. Hesitantly she started to walk forward with her tail between her legs, not looking me in the eye when they get to me and reaches for my arm, seeing that she has a set of keys with her, I give her my hand. With my arm freed, rubbing my wrist, I stand there to confused on what to do, then the first one speaks again. "Come." I walk up to her, standing in her face, I say one word with a deep and raspy voice that made her jump, "Water."

The one with the keys yelps then runs past me. With the first one still in front of me. I look at her in the eyes again, keeping the stare for a bit but she looks away, I smirk moving back to the center of the room.

After some time the one that ran comes back with a cup of water the cup seems to be stone, I look at the Springer then hold out my hand, nervously she hands me the cup, with a small smile I sniff the water, it's a bit fausty, but I take a sip. It's cold but has an odd taste, finishing the drink, I 'sigh' wiping my mouth with my arm, I hand her back the cup. Before she can step back, I grab her wrist and pull her a bit closer to me, fighting back a bit I cup her chin. She freezes not looking me in my eyes, "look at me," I say softly, she looks at me with tears threatening to come out, I soften my look and give her a soft smile, moving my hand from her chin to her neck seeing she has a collar, I lift the tag it says Lily on one side and Slave on the other.

My look hardens when I see Slave on her collar, she must have seen the look in my eyes because now she is shaking and crying, I pull her to my chest and hug her rocking her side to side, "shush, shush, it's ok, it's ok, I'm not going to hurt you." Letting her cry in my chest, I look over to the Dobermann, seeing that she is still looking away I say in a soft tone, "come here please," she starts to walk to me, her tail now between her legs. When she gets to me, "show me your collar please," shyly she lifts her head showing her neck and collar, I reach out to see what it says, Nala and Slave.

"Nala," when I say her name she flinches then she looks at me, I can see fear and a bit of hope in her eyes, "I'm going to help you and your pack, to be free again, but I need time, whatever they have told you to do, do it." She comes over to me and hugs me, Lily is hugging me too they both start to cry softly, a "thanks, you" comes from Nala, and I hold them until they let go, Lily with a small smile, pulls out and long rusted change and some manacles.

Will I'm walking to where ever they're leading me I think to my self about's what to come.

Author's Note

Please feedback is more then helpful, and i world love to see all how this goes.

Chapter 1: Start of a new life

So there I am, walking down a hall. Bound by manacles, lead with a chain attached to the collar around my neck. In front of me are two anthro dogs, named Nala and Lily. With my head downcast, with anger and hatred on my face. As we walk, doors and corridors pass us ether side. Occasionally we passed by other dogs, all wearing vests of all different colours. The saddest thing is that they all have bandages on their various limbs.

Alone in my thoughts, I think of how to get out of here. I thought of taking a hostage, but knowing that the pack leader punishes them. That might not work. 'I just need time, and now I have all the time I need.' While thinking to myself, I didn't realise we made it to the destination. A sudden jerk from the chain got my attention. Coming back to reality, I see before me a Cane Corso a hulking mass of muscles. Sitting upon a chair, Made from a collection of gems, of all different shapes, sizes and colours. You can tell that the chair is a new edition to this room. Since the gems adorning it, are a lot more vibrant than the ones in the walls.

I look back at the Cane Corso, shivering at the site of his malicious grin. I glance into his eyes, feeling the fire in them. Like daggers piercing into my skull. Makes me question my plan of escape, second-guessing my predicament. 'I'm fucked.'

I Look over to Nala and Lily, seeing that they are terrified of him. Steeling myself, I look back at the Cane Corso. Trying not to show any fear, I await what comes next. "Closer!" he points at me, hesitantly I proceed forward. Nala behind me holding the chain.

I keep an eye on him, seeing what his next move will be. He stops me as I get to the base of the chair. He looks me up and down, planning something. Then it happened, "send him to the mine." He snaps his fingers then two new dogs appear from an adjacent corridor. Grabbing the chain off Nala, they push me forward to my new life.

I'm lead by the two new dogs either side of me, walking I notice something different. they seem to be the same breed, I think a Pointer with mirrored faces. Their vests seem to be the same burgundy colour, and the collars are the same design. Since I don't know how long we will be walking, I start a conversation. "so... are you afraid of your pack leader too?"

They look at me for a second, look at each other then they spoke. "We serve the pack leader," the one on the right said. I reply "that doesn't answer my question." They look at me again, then at each other than focus on the path ahead. "Yes and no, some of us are, but we are not." 'Well, that's interesting. Some are not afraid of the leader, but I need some more info.'

I look to the one on the right, "how long has the pack leader been in charge?" She looks up at me, not saying anything for a moment. Then she replies. "3 seasons." I furrow an eyebrow, "and how long is a season?" The one on the light reply, "30 sun cycles." Ok so he hasn't been in charge for long, I would either need to defeat or kill him.

After some time we arrive at another opening, this one is different. There are other people, not dogs or humans. There are some horses, or maybe their ponies. In a kaleidoscope of colours, some with horns, wings and some nothing. They were not the only creatures, but what I can only describe as griffins.

The Pointers lead me to a cluster of rocks, then attach the chain to a pillar off to the side. "Dig," one of them said behind me. I look around seeing a pickaxe next to me, and I pick it up and get to work. Now I'm not the strongest man in the world, but I'm not the weakest. I worked at a wood workshop, but this will be more work than that.

I don't know how long I was there for, but ever sins the two dogs left. The other 'workers' wouldn't stop steering at me. I could hear them talking about me, but I paid them no mind. Often dogs would come in and whipped the ones not working. They didn't bother me because I was working. I filled A crate near me with gems, Wiping the sweat off my forehead. My body is glistening, from the light flickering off the torches. I propped the pick against the wall and sat down to catch my breath.

As I sat there and I looked up from my hands, to see Lily poking her head in from the entrance. She looks around her gaze stopped on me and walks over to me, with a cup in her hands. I stand on shaky legs, my head spinning. I slump back down to the floor, looking up at Lily, with a tired smile.

When Lily got closer, she stopped at my feet then hands me the cup. With a thank you, I reach out for the cup. Before I could get it, it's smacked out of Lily's hands by another dog. I look at the cup on the floor with a frown, then look at the new dog. This one was male, which was odd, sins all I've seen were female dogs.

The new dog looks like a German Shepherd, though he must be younger than Lily since he's smaller than her. He is staring at Lily growling a bit, "No, water not for slaves." He yapped at Lily. "You should know, place, bitch!" When he said that. Eye twitching, my vision filled with red. I stand, his back to me. I stare daggers into the back of his head. Lily must have seen my face, for she started to shiver. The German Shepherd, stands there smug, thinking that he was the cause of Lily's shivering.

I lift a hand and place it on his shoulder. I spin him around, facing me. Before he was about to do anything, I grab him around his neck and start lifting him. He is struggling, scratching my arm. I squeeze his neck a bit tighter, to make him stop. He holds my arm, attempting to relieve pressure on his neck. When he gets to my eye level, I bare my teeth and growl at him.

He goes stiff as a board his eyes lock on mine. "What is your name?" I say with a demanding tone. "D... Duke," he replies. Lily is pulling on my other arm. Looking at her, I see tears coming down her face. " Please, d... don't kill him. You get in trouble." Looking from Lily to Duke, and pull him closer to my face. "You do that ever again, and you will not last the night. You got that?" Duke nods furiously, quaking in my hand. I let go of him he lands on his rear. He yelps and runs away, tail tucked away.

I look back at Lily, "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me." I stand there waiting for what comes next. "Th... thank you for helping me, you will be punished for that, by leader now," Lily replied sadly. "I guessed as much, but there is nothing I can do about that now." I walk over to the cart full of gems and push it out the way. Looking around, Lily is gone, and the other slaves are looking at me. I can see that some of the looks are of admiration, horror, and fear. I 'sigh' moving one of the empty carts over to where I'm mining, And get back to work.

'Well, I wonder what will happen now. What will the leader do to me, injure me, Lock me up, or would he hurt Lily? I hope it doesn't come to that.'

Author's Note

Sorry for the long wait, and for the short chapter. Thank to all of you that favorited this story, I know there are better out there. Yet you are reading mine, so thank you. As always please tell me if there is any grammatical errors you can see.

Chapter 2: The Edge of Sanity

After filling two more carts with gems, the twins come back and unhook the chain from the pole. With hunger and dehydration racking my mind, I stumble along behind them, not knowing where we are going. Trying not to collapse from fatigue, We get to a familiar room, my new home. As I was about to walk in, that little mutt Duke comes up to us. "Leader want, Thing." As before the twins look at each other then back at Duke. "You take," the one on the right said, Duke growls at her, then and grabs the chain out of her hand. He Yanks the chain hard, causing me to fall to my hands and knees. I shakily stand, anger dripping off my face along with the sweat. Duke gulps then pulls me along.

As we walk, I get a good look at Duke. He comes to my hips, with a vest that's a bit too big for him. We walk past more dogs as a Thought runs through my mind. "Why are there more female dogs than males?" Duke looks up at me, a bit of fear evident in his eyes. I sent him a look that made him look back. Going back to my thoughts, wondering what's going to happen to me.

When we get to the main chamber, I can see the Cane Corso sitting on his chair. With a murderous intention clear on his face. I walk with my head held high, As a last act of defiance. I get to the base of the chair, Forced down to my knees. I Look around the room there are not many people in here. There's Lily, Nala, Duke and some more I haven't met yet. I Look at the Cane Corso, I meat his eyes. I thought I saw flames in them. I couldn't help but swallow the lump in my throat. My fatigue replaced with my fight or flight response.

I kneel there, waiting for what comes next. I hear a sound of metal scraping the floor. I look to see where the sound is coming from, and what I see makes me brake out in a cold sweat. I see, what looks like a hearth with smoke billowing out the top. The dog dragging it stops beside me and steps back. I can feel the heat emanating from it, with a rod poking out from the fire. My eyes widen at the realization of what this is. 'He is going to brand me!' I hear the heavy footfalls from the Cane Corso, as he walks to the hearth. Pulling out the branding iron, he turns to me. The brand is a letter B. He snaps his fingers and two dogs from the side walking over and holds me still. The Cane Corso walks over to my left side and lines the iron with my shoulder. I can feel the heat coming off it. Then it happens, the pain came first. My flesh burning, feeling the fat bubble under my skin, Forever scarring me for my transgression. Then the smell, burning muscle tissue giving off an aroma similar to beef in a frying pan, and my body fat smelling like a side of fatty pork on the grill. That smell will never leave my mind the sent of my flesh cooking.

Panting, still hearing and feeling the sizzling of my skin. I look up at the Cane Corso, who moved in front of me. Anger and pain plastered on my face, 'you will die, and I will be the one to do it.' He gets in my face. "That punishment, next time, not be so nice." I spit in his face as my response. Gasps come from the surrounding dogs. Growling at me, he strikes the right side of my face with his claws. My head hits the floor, feeling the blood run down my face. With all of the pain and the fatigue from the mine, I pass out.

The first thing I felt as I stirred is the cold floor beneath me, then the pain. Pain rushing through my face and shoulder. Struggling to open my eyes, I lye there piecing my thoughts together. The mining, the fatigue, the leader and what he did. Trying to open my eyes once more, I'm only able to open my left one. I Look around seeing my cell, dull light shining down from the grate. Picking myself up into a sitting position, I look over to my shoulder. 'Sighing' at the brand and knowing it will never leave me, looking up seeing that it is night time. Seeing the moon in the distance, but something was off about it. They're on the face of the moon, is a silhouette of a unicorn.

'Will that's new, but knowing that isn't going to help me.' Just then a small flicker of light appeared from the moon. It slowly passes through the grate, coming closer to me. Stopping at my chest, I lift a hand under it. With the light flickering above my hand, it slowly descends. I can feel it passing through my skin, feeling nervous and unsure I closed my hand around it. For a brief moment, there was nothing. Suddenly there was pain again, pain like I never felt before. Feeling an icy wind pass over me, yet my body feels like it's heating up. I start to sweat uncontrollably. Lying back down, I toss and turn. I don't know how long it lasted, but at the end of it, I was freezing yet comfortably warm at the same time. Staring at the moon gazing at the unicorn, believing it's looking back at me.

I hear something coming from above, I try and concentrate on the sound. Making out that it's someone talking, it gets clearer and louder. Then I can make out what they're saying, "Can thee heareth me, young one?" I look up, hoping to see someone that can help me. There is no one, then the voice spoke again. "doth not feareth I wisheth to holp thee, all thee needeth to doth is hark." It's hard to understand them they are speaking in mediaeval English. "I'm sorry, but it's hard to understand what your saying," I reply to the voice. "w'rry not, this shall only beest a second," they said.
I sat there in silence looking down, pondering what's happening. 'Right, what the fuck is going on. First, a weird light appears and lands on my hand. Then it gets absorbed by my hand. Now I hear a voice, and I don't know where it's come from.' I look around the room, spotting a cup and a bowl. I stand and walk over to where they are, crouching down at the bowl its contents a slop of some sort. The stone cup is full of water. I Look back at the bowl my stomach reminds me how long it's been since I've had something to eat. My stomach growling like a tiger, I grab the bowl and lift it to my mouth. I scoffed down the contents of the bowl, forcing myself not to throw up from the taste. I grab the cup and guzzle the water down.

When I put the cub down the voice started to talk again. "Can you understand me now?" I look around, still unable to see who's talking. "Who are you, and where are you?" I respond. "Where I am is none of your concern. I am Nightmare Moon!" Nightmare replied. "Ok then, what do you want with me?" I questioned. "I want you to help me, but first you need to kill the leader of your captors." She answered. "How would I do that in here, I have nothing to kill him with, he will kill me if I try and do it with just my hands," I retort back. "I will give you magic, I've seen your kind before, and their ways." She said. "What there are more humans, where are they?" I demanded. "I'm sorry to say but, your kind is dead, they died over 500 years ago," she said sadly. My face drops, 'so I'm alone.' "What magic are you talking about?" I said sadly. "Unicorns use their horns for magic, but humans use words. If I remember correctly, they called it Latin." She stated. 'Latin wait, wasn't it said that Latin was full of magic?' "So how do you plan on me using magic, I know nothing about it" I inquired. "I have already done that, the ball of light unlocked your use of magic." She responded. 'I think I know some Latin from history class,' I think back to those days, I remember some words. I hold out my hand and focusing, and I say the word. "Lux." A ball of light forms in the palm of my hand, Lighting up the room.

I stand there, dumbfounded of what I've just done. I did magic for the first time, and I loved it. Smiling from ear to ear, I say to Nightmare Moon. "I know some words, but I need more tell me what you know so that I can kill the leader," I demanded. I could not see it, but I could feel the smile on Nightmare Moon face as she talked. "Good I will give you more words in time, but for now you need to practice what you do know. Practice well, and kill the leader as you see fit." I closed my hand, and the light died out. I focused on as many words I could remember. 'Aer, Aqua, Ignis, Ordo, Perditio, Terra, Lux and Telum.'

I practised through the night, fine-tuning what I could. With a plan formed, I smiled, awaiting my next audience with the leader.

Author's Note

"Can thee heareth me, young one?" = "Can you hear me, young one?"
"doth not feareth I wisheth to holp thee, all thee needeth to doth is hark." = "do not fear I wish to help you, all you need to do is listen."
"w'rry not, this shall only beest a second," = "worry not this shall only be a second"

Chapter 3: The Start of The End

I'm awoken, by the sound of banging on the door. Opening my eye to see it's day time not knowing I fell asleep. I stand and stretch, seeing my right hand covered in soot. I hide it behind my back, hoping they don't see it. I shift my gaze over to the door, opened by Nala, following behind is Lily. I give a soft smile as they get closer, Nala comes up to me and slaps me. "What you thinking! Alpha could of kill you," Nala demanded. "I'm sorry Nala, I didn't think of the repercussions." I look over to Lily, "are you ok, is Duke bothering you anymore?" I asked.

"N-no h-he no mean now," she walks over to me and reaches for my head. I lean down her hands on either side of my face, eye to eye. She looks over me, moving her gaze to the bandage over my eye. Her face drops a bit. Then she hugs me, a mixture of shock and surprise washes over me.

With a bit of trepidation, I lean down more and hug her back. I feel another set of arms around me, looking over I see Nala hugging me too. I move them around, so they are in front of me their arms still around me. My right shoulder is getting a bit wet from Lily's tears. I pat her head softly, assuring her I'm ok. She looks up at me with tear-filled eyes. Then she sees my hand, blackened from soot. She pushes me back, Nala yelping in surprise from the sudden movement. Lily grabs my arm, with fear plastered on her face. "What happen, you no have this when brought in?" Lily said in alarm. "It's nothing just some soot, I'm fine Lily," I said calmly. At this point, Nala comes over to see what the fuss is all about. She looks at my hand her head leans down then she starts to sniff, I can feel my face warm up a bit. When she's finished, she looks at me with anger-filled voice. "how you made fire?" I lower my head and answer truthfully, "with magic." I said.

When I said that the two girls step back, Nala in front of Lily growling at me. "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise," I reassured. Nala's still growling, but not so harshly, Lily steps in front of Nala and comes up to me. "Y-you u-use magic, you use it free us?" Lily said expectantly, her tail wagging slowly. "Yes I will, I'll free all of you," I said, smiling. What happens next was a surprise, Lily jumped up then licks my cheek. I stand shocked a hand comes up, and I place a finger on the wet patch on my face. I look down, Lily's blushing so hard that I can see red through her fur. I look to the side blushing, "S-so I think it's time that I head to the mine." I said shyly. Lily just nodded, Nala facepalmed.

As we entered the mine, I see the same ponies and griffons as last time. All of them looks over to me, grimacing at the sight of me. 'The word must have gotten around,' I look stone face and just walked to where a pickaxe is and starts mining. Absentmindedly hearing the chain attaching to a pole, I hit the wall with the pickaxe revealing more gems.

When I get a rhythm going, I hear steps behind me getting closer. It's of a quadruped, I look over my shoulder and see one of the griffons behind me. I stare at them for a moment, but I get back to work. The griffon taps me on the leg, looking down at the griffon next to me. "What?" I coldly said. The griffon flinches then looks up at my face, "What happened to you? We all are curious, and they chose me to talk to you," they inquired. I gaze over to the rest of the people in here they all turned away and getting back to work. Looking back at the griffon next to me and scoffed, "None of your concern, but remember this, don't piss them off." I leaned down to the griffon, "what's your name?" They stammered for a second, then replied, "F-Frost-beak." I got back to my full height, "well Frost-beak, you better get back to work." As I finished saying that, I start mining again.

After some time passes, I've half-filled a cart of gems. I wipe my brow and look around, not seeing any dogs I cast a spell. After practising all through the night, I learned that my magic is to do with intention. With the intent in mind, "Aqua," saying it under my breath so no one could hear. The water on my body starts slowly floating off, with a hand extended the water begins to collect above it. A small ball of water starts to spin, And in my palm salt and small stone starts to be collected. When that stopped, the water floats over to my mouth. I drink it greedily. I pick up the pickaxe and get to work again, not caring if anybody saw.

Some more time passes before Nala and Lily, come and get me leading me to my cell before that happens I grab a gem from the cart. I lean over to Nala's ear and whisper, "lead me to the leader I can kill him now." Nala looks up at me and nods, Lily grabs my hand and holds it the rest of the way. With the gem in my hand, I clench it tight. After some time, I'm standing in the main hall with the leader sitting on his chair. No one is in here bar me, Nala, Lily and the leader. He looks confused and annoyed, "why thing here, should be in cell." My hand grabbed the chain by my neck, and with the intent, I say the word. "Ignis," when I say that the chain starts to melt. When the chain falls, I don't give the leader a chance to react. With an image in my head, I say the word "Telum." The rube in my hand turns into a knife, Throwing it at the leader it sinks into his right shoulder.

(The handle of the knife is ruby two)

The Cane Corso howls in pain and anger as he pulls the knife out, I close the gap readying another spell. I hold out a hand and say "Terra." The chair started to crack, and the Cane Corso's limbs get clamped down to it. Still walking to the chair, I stand in front of the Cane Corso. "today you will face justice for your transgressions," I place a hand on the centre of his chest. "Ignis," The smell of burning fur and flesh is instant. The pained wails of the dog bounce off the walls. I turn back to Nala and Lily, seeing that they were not expecting this outcome. Lily is crying with a smile on her face, and Nala is just shocked. "Would you like a crack at him, he can't go anywhere or hurt you anymore," I asked them.

When I finish that sentence, Dogs rushed through from entrances. Summoned by the howls of pain. They are all brandishing weapons of some sort, "Lily, Nala gets by me!" I shouted. they jumped then runs up to my side, looking over to the rest of the dogs. "Lay down your weapons I don't wish to harm any of you," I demanded. They looked at each other, then at me and then to the leader. One of the dogs stepped forward and said, "You new leader now?" "What made you come to that conclusion?" I questioned. She points to the leader, "Alpha defeated, you knew Alpha," she replied. Feeling a tap on my arm, I look down to see Lily. "She right, you new alpha now," Lily said. Looking around at my new 'pack', "if that is the case, then you all are no longer slaves. free the ponies and griffons from our capture, and let them go home." All of them cheered, happy to no longer be slaves.

I hear the Cane Corso behind me still groaning in pain, turning to look at him seeing his pained face. "So are you going to play nice, or do I need to put you down?" I demand. He weakly looks up at me, growls then spat at me. I wiped the spit off my chest, turning back to my 'pack' I look over them all, "what do you decide before you is the one that caused you pain. You decide his fate. Should I let him go to never return to this place, or should I kill him, so he never hurts anyone again?" I await a reply from the gathered dogs. A hand grabs mine looking down, Nala is holding my hand tightly. I hold her hand back to reassure her. Then a voice calls out from the crowd, "we want him dead." Looking at the dog, "then he shall die."

Turning back to the Cane Corso, "may you rot in hell." I lift a hand hovering it over his face, "Ignis." A torrent of flame erupts from my hand, engulfing his head. He howls a blood-curdling scream, not letting up until he howls die with him. Nala's hand clenches tightly on mine. Lily then embraces me from behind. When the howls died down, I drop my hand finishing the spell. Seeing the result of the flames is the body of the Cane Corso, with his face and head burned to a crisp. A brand of a hand on his chest, I turn to everyone, holding Lily in my arm. Looking at their expressions, I see happiness, sorrow, anger, and some with a hint of fear.

"We are free if you want to stay you are more then welcome to, and you may leave whenever you like. I may be your Alpha, but I'm kind. Now let us celebrate our freedom!" The dog all howled in unison, 'I need to know more about this place and the people. I need to tell Nightmare Moon tonight about the news, but first I need to sit down. I'm exhausted." Looking at Lily and Nala, " catch me." When I say that I lose all feeling in my legs and I drop. Lily is still hugging me, so I don't fall. Nala helps Lily to keep me up, with an arm wrapped around their shoulder. I went limp darkness invaded my vision. I pass out the last thing I saw was Lily and Nala's worried faces, and the sound of the rest of the dog shuffling around me.

Author's Note

Thanks to all of you that I liking my story, and sorry for the short chapters. For the person that left a dislike. Please tell me what you didn't like about the story, so I may improve to become a better writer.

Chapter 4: New friends and a new life

I open my eyes, not knowing what happened. I Look around to see stars glittering around me in a void, standing in an unknown place once more. I look down still in my loincloth, not standing on anything. I begin to panic from the fear of falling, but I don't feel the drop or the sensation of wind. Puzzled at my location, I start to walk in a direction not knowing my destination.

Looking around as I walk, the only thing I see are the stars around me all various sizes. Wondering how I got here or who brought me here, I think back to what may have done this. I remember Nala and Lily leading me to the alpha, seeing the look on his face when I through the knife was priceless. The shock, fear, and pain showed on his face, brought a smile to my own. Feeling the energy course through my arm as I cast the spell, was exhilarating. Then I killed him, seeing all the dogs in my new pack. "I will need to get used to being called alpha by them," I think out loud.

Not knowing how far I've been walking, I call out to the void, "Hello, is anyone there?" I shouted. To my right, I heard a faint voice. I change my course and heading in that direction, all the time wondering who they could be. As I walk for some time, I can hear crying ahead of me. Peering through the void, I can see a figure huddled on the floor.

Getting closer, I can see that they are a pony. This one, however, is bigger than the ones I've seen before. Their coat is a shade of bluish-purple, with a light-blue mane and tail. The mane cut short, with a dark coloured crown. I'm right next to them, and they don't notice me. I slowly place a hand on their shoulder when I touch them, they gasp loudly. Their head spins around to face me, with a look of shock and fear on her face. "whoa, it's ok I'm not going to hurt you," I reassuringly said. They looked at me with a hint of fear in Their eyes. "How didst thee receiveth h're, and who is't art thee," she shakily said. By the pitch in the voice, they are a girl. "Sorry I didn't understand you, one moment," I said. Thinking back to my lessons, I try and remember the words needed to translate. After some time and strange looks from the pony. I remember what I need to say, "anglis in transferendum." "Can you understand me better?" I ask. Her eyes widen in shock at my spell, "how do you know the human tongue?" She asked. "Well, I am a human and someone called Nightmare Moon gav..." "What, y-you are an a-agent of N-Nightmare Moon?" She said, starting to backpedal. "Hay, hay it's ok I'm not going to hurt you," I reassured. "I don't even know where I am," I said.

Her eyes are puffy from crying a lot, "are you ok, why were you crying?" I ask. She looks away embarrassed, hiding her face sniffling a bit, "I-I don't know what you're talking about," she shyly said. "Ok, let's start again what's your name?" I ask. "M-my name is L-Luna," she said, looking away. "Well Luna, it's nice to meet you," I say, holding out a hand. She looks at my hand unsure, with trepidation she reaches out her forearm placing her fetlock in my hand. I slowly move my hand up and down, letting go of her leg and stand to my full height. She stands up on her own and looks at me then looking away with a bit of a blush, "w-what's your name human?" she asked. "My name is Sam," I answered.

While Luna stands there, I look around again see if there is anything new. There isn't, "so where are we exactly?" I ask her. "Y-You are in my mind, more accurately you are in my dream," She said. Knowing now that this is a dream, I imagine some more fitting clothes on me. I look down I'm in some leather boots, blue jeans, black shirt and a Brown duster. Luna looks at me, shocked at what I just did. "how do you have such control over the dream realm?" She asked, amazed. "I've always been able to control my dreams," I answered casually.

"Ok then, so how do I get back to my head?" I inquired. "You will go back to your mind when you wake up." She said sadly. "Is something wrong, are you ok?" I asked. "W-Well I've been locked away on the moon, in my mind while Nightmare Moon watches the planet below," she said dejectedly. I rest a hand on her withers, stroking her fur softly. "how long have you been here?" I asked. "In 3 months, it will be 1000 years, and Nightmare Moon will be free at that time. She will cause havoc to the planet," she informed. "Well when that happens, I hope you can get some help in bringing you back," I said. She looked down sadly, "y-you wouldn't help me?" She said. When she said that, my heart sank into my stomach from guilt. I shook my head softly. "I'm sorry no, there are others that need my help right now," I explained. I can feel something in the back of my head, putting a hand on the back of my head and felt nothing. "I think I'm waking up, goodbye Luna I hope to see you again," I said giving a small bow, seeing my vision going dark I close my eyes and await what happens next.

--- Luna's POV ---

I see the human called Sam put a hand on the back of his head, knowing what this means. "I think I'm waking up, goodbye Luna I hope to see you again," said Sam. I look at the human bowing to me, giving a small bow back. Knowing this will not be the last time we see each other, seeing Sam start to fade then disappear into the void. I sigh lying back down once again alone, thinking on what's to come when Nightmare Moon's return and what part the human will play in.

--- Sam's POV ---

As I returned to a state of consciousness, I can feel a warm presence on either side of me. I'm lying on my back, two figures wrapping their arms around me either side. My arms are under them, wrapped around in a loving embrace. I shift my arms feeling the sensation of fur coursing through my fingers, as my hand passes through their coats. I can hear their slow and soft breathing, lulling me back to sleep. I open my eyes slowly looking down I'm on a bed, it's soft yet firm as well. I look to the two figures in my arms, on my left is Nala, and the right is Lily. Both sleeping peacefully with a content smile, Nala's head is on my chest, while Lily's is on my shoulder. My moving must have disturbed Lily, for she began to lift her head. When her eyes open, seeing me looking back at her. A happy smile forms on her face leaning over she licks my cheek. I blush lightly unknowing the reason for this action, in a hush and quiet tone so not to disturb Nala. "What was that for?" I say with a smile. She looks down at Nala, then back up to me. "For freeing us, and for being kind," She replies. I look down to Nala, then back to Lily. "How long have I been out?" I ask. "I think, a day," she said.

I move my hand to her head and start petting her, As I begin her head leans into my hand. Her eyes close as her tail starts wagging. As Lily's wagging tail hits the bed, it disturbed Nala and starts to wake up. I hear a quiet yawn from Nala, looking over I smile at her. She gives one back snuggles to me tighter, and I start to pat her head too. When I do this, a blush begins to show on her face. She tries to hide her face, but with my hand on her head, she doesn't do a good job. I chuckle at her attempt, but she doesn't stop my petting. Lily must be getting a bit jealous for she starts to whimper. I Look back to Lily, and I can see that she is pouting. "Now, Now there are enough pats for both of you," I said playfully. She looks at Nala then back at me. "Who you like more?" She asked. "What do you mean?" I ask inquisitively looking at her puzzled. "Now, you alpha, you need a mate." Said Nala. I looked ever to her more puzzled then it dawns on me. 'I need a lover?' "What?" I said in surprise. "Ok, ok so, now that I'm the alpha I need a mate?" Nala and Lily both nod at the same time, all this time I'm still patting there head. I look over Lily and Nala, and I could feel something in my heart, but I don't remember what this feeling is. "I need to think about this before I choose," I said. "I think it's time to get up." Both Nala and Lily hug me tighter as a response. I sigh, knowing I would not win. "I guess we could stay here a bit more," Hugging them back, I close my eyes and relax in their warm embrace.

Some time has passed sins we got up, and now I'm sitting on the large gem throne. Shifting trying to get comfortable, while feeling nervous being up here. I look over the main hall to see all the dogs standing in a group. 'they must be awaiting some orders or something.' I look over to Nala and Lily standing together, smiling at me. I smile back then face the crowd and start to talk. "Before I say what you need to do, I need you all to answer some of my questions." They all look to one another, then gave a collection of affirmatives. "Good, first what is your dietary habits?" They look at me puzzled. One raised their hand. "yes?" I said. "What di-e-tar-y?" She said confusingly. I sighed, once more than said it differently. "What do you eat?" I asked calmly. A, "oh," courses from the group, then one spoke up, "gems." 'Seriously, they eat gems?' "Is that it, or do you eat something else?" One lifted their hand and said, "no, we just eat gems." 'Ok so, while they can eat gems, I need to get a food source of my own.' "Ok then while you all can eat the gems we collected, I, however, can not eat gems." I sigh and dismiss the group, telling them to start stockpiling the gems they collect.

When they leave, I lean on my arm and rest my head in my hand and sigh again. Lily and Nala walk up to me, concerned evident on their face. "you, ok," Nala said. Lily comes over and sits to my right and rests her head on my arm. I smile softly and start petting her head once more, seeing mirth appear on her face. I look up at Nala and say, "ya, I'm ok just need to figure out some food for me." When I say that, my stomach then announces its presence with a loud guttural Roar. "Nala, can you bring some of that slop please?" I asked her. She starts to look perplexed. "why you want slop?" "It's the only thing we have that I can eat right now," I said. Still confound, she nods and heads to where ever they keep it.

When Nala leaves, it's just me, and Lily alone in the chamber. I keep petting Lily's head, hearing her tail hit the floor. I look over to see a griffin is making their way to me. It's Frost-beak, 'why is he still here?' I stop petting Lily, focusing all my attention on Frost-beak as he gets to the base of the chair. "Hello Frost-beak, why are you still here I thought you would be on your way home?" I ask him. He smiled and said, "I thought I would say goodbye to the one who freed me." "I'm glad to see you better off,". He looked to the grand and rubbing his arm. "Is something wrong, did anyone of my pack do anything?" I asked him. He looks up at me with shocked, "N-no, nothing like that happened, it's just. I don't have anywhere to go." I can see tears forming in his eyes. I look to Lily, and she shrugs at my look. I smile softly and start to pet her again. I look back to Frost-beak, smiling at him, "I will get a room set up for you, and you can stay here for the time being," He looks up at me shocked. "But you need to do something for me as a form of rent," I said. He frantically nods his head, "y-yes, of course, what do you need me to do?" He's starting to cry now. "Can you hunt?" I ask him. He blinks for a second, then nods. "Good, so as your rent, you will go out and hunt for are food, sins I eat meat too." He looks at me shocked, not expecting what I said. Frost-beak and Lily said in unison, "you eat meat!" Lily pulls back from my hand. I sigh and say, "yes, I eat meat," I look at Lily. "Don't worry, I don't eat anything that can talk back." When I said that both Frost-beak and Lily sighed. Lily moves back to my hand, and I start petting her smiling seeing her tail go again. "Ok, Frost-beak if you can search for some food for us, I'll get your room situated." He smiles, nods then leaves.

I look down at Lily once more. I move my hand to the back of one of her ears, and she loved it. At that time, Nala comes back with a bowl in her hands. I smile as she hands me the bowl, I wave my hand in a come hither motion. I place the bowl in my lap when she gets closer I start patting her head too. "Thank you for the food Nala," I say, smiling. A blush forms on her face again, and then she sits down her head resting on my lap. 'They are so cute I could just pet them all-day.'

Author's Note

"How didst thee receiveth h're, and who is't art thee," = "how did you get here, and who are you"

Chapter 5: To a New Place

I'm walking down one of the many halls, this one leading to the sleeping quarters. Nala and Lily leading the way while talking to themselves, 'I need to memorize the layout of this place.' Thinking about what to do next, I didn't notice that we made it to the quarters. I step into the room, some of the dogs still in here. I look around seeing that they are not sleeping in the best conditions. The beds are just carved stone from when they made this room. I walk over to one of the girls that are still sitting on the 'bed.' She notices me walking towards her, and promptly stands up. She is about the same hight as Lily. She is wearing a green vest, with the same colour for the collar. I stop beside her bed and ask, "What's your name?" She looks at me confused then said, "Bitsy." "Hello Bitsy, do you have time to answer some of my questions?" I ask her. She nods and sits back down on the 'bed.' I sit down next to her, looking over to Nala and Lily. "You two can do what needs doing I'll find my way back," I say. Nala nods and walks off, but Lily's ears drop slightly then she leaves too.

I turn back to Bitsy and start to ask her some questions. "So, first off, are these beds comfy or not?" She looks down at the bed then back up to me, "bad, stone, not comfy, huts back." She said. I nod at that answer and say my next one, "Is there a settlement near here on the surface?" She nods again, "yes, pony town west not far." I lift my hand. She then flinches, thinking I'm going to strike her. I rest my hand on her head and start to pet her. She freezes for a moment, then starts to relax and lean into my hand. "Thank you for answering the questions I just have one more." She nods under my hand, and I then say, "who was the one to find me and bring me here?" She looks up at me and says, "Zoe, she, in mine." I smile and pet her for a bit more then I bring my hand back. She whines a bit that I stopped, I stand and thank her again. I leave and head to the mine, hoping she knows where my clothes are.

After some time and some wrong turns, I made it to the mine. There are many turns in the mining sector. There are some dogs outside in the hall with me. The dogs notice me then look away, and start to walk over to me. I meat them halfway and ask, "how are you all doing, is everything ok?" The one on the right looks down, and the other begins to speak. "We have problem, one hurt in mine, please no punish her." She falls to her knees, and start's to beg, her hands are on my legs. I hold her hands in mine and stand her up, "I not going to punish anyone for getting hurt." I say to her. She looks shocked at what I just said, then started to cry a bit. "Where is she?" I ask. They nod and lead me to them.

In one of the little rooms to the side, is the girl lying on a bed. I walk up to her and stand beside the bed. She's smaller than the rest of them. I Lean over to see that her right arm, is what's damaged. She is sleeping, so I turn to the other dogs. "Is she a pup? What happened?" I ask softly. The one that talked before said, "Yes she pup, a rock fell, on top arm," she looks like she is about to cry again. I sigh, looking back at the bed to ask, "I'm looking for Zoe, do you know where she is?" The one that has her head down the whole time looks up at me then said, "I'm Zoe." I nod to her, "ok, do you remember when you brought me here?" She nods. "Good, were you the one to take my clothes?" She nods again. "Good, where did you put them?" She tilts her head a bit. "Do you want them?" She asked. I nod and ask her to lead me to them. She turns and starts to walk, as I walk past the other one I put a hand on her shoulder and say, "she will be ok, I promise." I walk out of the room, 'I just need to get to the nearby settlement.'

As I don my clothes, containing simple black boots, jeans, a black shirt and a duster. I thanked Zoe with a head pat and headed back to the main chamber. I got there, Nala and Lily are waiting for me. They look at me with a glint in their eyes, coughing lightly in my hand to get their attention. They look back at me with a blush not looking me in the eye. "So, How far is the settlement from here?" I ask them. "hour?" Nala says, looking at Lily. Lily nods confirming that's true. I nod back. "Ok, can you lead me there?" I ask them. They nod in confirmation. "Good I need you to get some of the gems and put it in a bag ready for us to leave." I turn and head back to the mine. When I get there, I see more dogs outside the room with the injured dog. I walk in and stand next to the bed. I pick her up in a princess hold, being mindful of her arm. 'She's light, really light.' I look to one of the girls, "what's her name?" I ask her. "O, Opal," she said."Are you all getting enough to eat?" She looks sheepish at that question. I sigh, making a mental note for that later. I start to walk back to the main chamber.

When I get there, Nala and Lily are waiting for me with a bag full of gems. They look at Opal confused, "Her arm was under a rock, we need to get to the settlement to see if they have someone who could help. They both come up to me and look at Opal with saddened eyes. "You two ready to leave?" I ask them, They both say yes and we head off to the entrance.

When we walk out of the den, I close my eyes, the sun's rays above the trees blinding me. When my eyes adjust to the light, I start to blink away the bubbles. I look at Nala and Lily, seeing that they have the same effect from the sun. I look down to Opal, seeing that she is still asleep. "Which way?" I ask them. "Follow me, alpha," said Nala. I do so, following behind her with Lily behind me. We start to head into the forest, the canopy blocking the sun. A strong feeling of dread passes over me, 'there's something wrong with this forest, I need to keep an eye out.' As we walk a bit deeper in the forest, I ask, "Is there anything I should know about this forest?" Lily pipes up, "Y-yes, manticores, cockatrices, timber-wolves, and Dragons." I thank Lily, I start to keep my head on a swivel, looking for any trouble.

After some time walking, I start to feel the sensation of something watching me. I look around, unable to see anything. I say in a hushed tone, "Nala, Lily, keep your eyes open somethings following us." At my words, their ears pop up listening for anything suspicious. Then I heard it, the sound of wood, branches and leaves rustling together to my right. I look and what I see shakes me to the core, eyes of a sickly green peering through the brush. A shiver runs up my spine ever sight of those eyes, 'Fuck I can't fight with Opal in my arms.' I look ahead to see a clearing is approaching. A smile appears on my face as I hatch a plan.

When we enter the clearing, I tell Nala and Lily to stand in the centre. They do so, and I lay Opal on the ground by them. "Stay here. You will be safe." I turn and walk away a bit, standing 10ft away. I think of what I want and say, "Ignis." A few embers start to crackle and circle around the dogs, then a rush of flames erupt from the embers. Protecting them from the outside, and from what they are about to see. I turn around to face into the forest, seeing multiple pairs of these glowing eyes. Then they step out of the brush, wolves bigger than the dogs coming up to eye level. I Look around seeing 5 of them, not knowing if there's more in the tree line.

I reach into my pocket, grabbing the ruby from before, "Telum." The ruby knife forms in my hand. Aiming at the one closest to me, I throw it. It jumps out the way, but not fast enough. The knife hits one of its legs. A howl of pain erupts from it, a cacophony of growls erupt from the rest. As two begin to charge forward, I hold my hand out and close my eyes. "Lux!" a light as bright as the sun emanates from my hand, I can hear pained whimpers from the wolves. Grinning I open my eyes once more, seeing that are all blinded. I start to feel sweat dripping down my face, 'I need more practice with my magic.' I raise my hand into the sky, yelling "Terra!" I can feel the ground starting to shake, hearing cracks and groans from underneath the wolves. The Earth begins to crack open, a ravine appearing ups underneath them. Like a mouth opening up to swallow them whole, hearing the panic howls and whimpers emanating from the opening. Then it closes, leaving nothing to remain not even a scar in the Earth.

I fall to my knees dispelling the firewall, Nala and lily stand there frozen in shock. Then they see me on the ground panting hard they run to my side. I'm breathing heavily, and a thin line of blood runs from my nose. I wipe away the blood with my sleeve, standing my breathing under control. I look around finding no trace of the wolves, sighing I walk back over to Opal and pick her up again. "Let's get a move on," I say. I start to walk off, with noticeable trouble standing up straight. I readjust Opal in my arms, Nala and Lily stand either side of me as we walk. Nala puts the ruby back in a pocket, 'she must have grabbed it when I walked to opal.' I look over to her and thank her. We head back into the treeline, the feeling of dread I felt earlier was gone.

Some time passed, and the edge of the forest came into view. I started to walk fine again. When we leave the forest, the sun blinds us once again. When my eyes clear, I can see the settlement yet it's more of a town. Ahead of us is a warn cobblestone road, leading to it. There is a sign not too far from where we are. Walking up to it, I can see that it says, "Ponyville." Looking back to the town, I can see colourful figures walking around. I look to Nala and Lily, "Let's get going, I have some things to do here as well." I start to walk to the town, with Nala and Lily walking close behind.

We make it to a bridge that goes over a stream that seems to border the town. When we cross it, a chorus of screens and wales erupts from the nearby people. All of them running and screaming away from us. It wasn't long until the streets are empty, not a trace of anyone insight. Sighing, I venture forward into the town. I Look around for any signs that would lead to a hospital, yet I couldn't find any. With my head hung low, we walk to the nearby fountain. I sit on the rim of it, looking at Opal seeing she's sleeping peacefully. I look up and almost jumped out of my skin. In front of me are five ponies, looking at me with anger, confusion and suspicion. I look at them puzzled, not knowing what's going to transpire. I lightly place Opal on the ground, leaning her up against the fountain. I look back to the ponies and take a step towards them.

"I'm not here for any trouble, so whatever quarry you have with me save it. This little one is injured, and I have come here to seek medical attention," I say in a demanding tone. "So, can you please lead me to the Hospital?" now that I'm staring at them, I can get a good look at them.

The ponies are mares to hazard a guess. All of variant different colours, going from right to left. There is one with an orange coat with a yellow mane with a stetson. The next one is just pink all over, 'this one can't seem to stay still perpetually bouncing in place.' Next, has a pristine white coat and a purple mane with a horn. Next is a pegasus, light blue with a rainbow mane. Behind her is another pegasus cowering, this one is of a yellow coat with a pink mane.

They all turned and huddled together, probably to figure out what to do with me since. My kind hasn't been seen, for over 200 years. 'I'll wait and see how this plays out.' With a stoic face, I wave Nala and lily making shore they are behind me. The ponies aligned backup from the huddle, the yellow one still behind the blue one. Then the orange one speaks, "Wayul Ah guess thet'll bay fahn, but don't cause no trouble now yawl hear." She said, pointing her hoof at me. I know and thank her for her understanding. Turning and picking Opal back up, I ask them, "so, can you lead me to the hospital?" I ask. They nod and start to walk. I follow behind them, with Nala and Lily behind me still. As we walk, the ponies are talking to themselves about whatever I don't listen.

Up ahead I see a large white building, with a cartoonish red cross above the door. The ponies step inside, and I do as well. Nala and Lily still close behind me lightly resting on my back, I'm able to feel them shivering lightly. I walk up to the counter a light green pony is behind the desk. They look up at me, with a startled squeak they jump a bit. After they get their breath back, I ask "hello, can you help my friend? A rock landed on her arm. I fear it's broken." The pony stands and walks over to me, I kneel to allow the pony to see Opal. The pony Looks over Opal and agrees that her arm, is broken. Calling for a doctor, they hand her over and looks up at me. 'This pony is a girl too?' "how much to fix a broken arm?" The pony looks down for a second, then says, "about 200 bits." "How much is a bit?" I ask. She looks at me confused, at my question. "What have you got to pay?" She asks.

I hold a hand out to Nala, and she hands me that bag. "This," I say. I open the bag to show the pony the gems. She thinks for a bit, looking at the bag. The white pony from the group wanders over to see what's in the bag. When she sore the gems, a shine comes over her eyes, and a bit of drool starts to form. I look down to the white pony, Nala and Lily snarling lightly. "Nala, Lily, down," I say in a harsh tone. They stop and whimper lightly. I close the bag from the white one and move it away. She blinks a couple of times then turns away flustered. "So, you like gems? Very well, how much is this bag worth? and don't lie to me, I can tell when someone is." She scoffs with her nose in the air, indignant at my words. "Well I never I am a dignified lady, and I would never stoop to such levels, about the worth of gems," she said with a snobby attitude. I raise an eyebrow with an unimpressed look. "Just say what price and we'll see," I say unamused. She scoffs again, "well I need to look to see the worth, don't I." She said, looking at the bag. I open it and show her the gems, that look in her eyes comes back.

One of the gems starts to float out of the bag with a light blue glow around it. The pony's horn is glowing the same colour. I grab the gem as Nala and Lily start to growl again. The pony stepped back a step, not knowing what she did wrong. I calm Nala and Lily down again, anger on my face as I look at the pony. "What do you think you are doing?" I ask. she looks confused at my question. "I need to see them, to know the worth so I can give you the right amount," She said smugly. With narrowed eyes, I hand her the gem. She holds it in her magic, pulling it closer to her face. Turning it around for a bit, she smiles and nods with that glint in her eyes. "This is a right good looking gem if the rest of your gems in that bag is as good as this one, then that is quite a lot of bits you will get," she said, smiling at the bag.

'Good, then that means I can start fixing up the cave.' I turn to the pony that has now gone back to the desk, "I will get you the money, I just need to find a place to sell these gems." She nods with a smile, and I walk out with Nala and Lily still hiding behind me. The 5 Ponies that lead me to the hospital started to follow me too. I walk back the way we came, remembering a sign on the buildings. I look to the sigh it has a picture of a ring and a necklace on it, guessing that it is a jeweller of some sort I head inside.

Author's Note

"Wayul Ah guess thet'll bay fahn, but don't cause no trouble now yawl hear" =" well I guess that will be ok, but don't cause no trouble now you hear."

Chapter 6: Shopping, and the Hard truth

As I push open the door to the shop, a small bell chimes, announcing my entrance. I look around seeing all manner of jewellery in showcases, arranging from necklaces to earrings, rings and bands. All made of various metals, encrusted with a cacophony of colourful gems. I see a counter close to the back wall, with a tail poking up from behind. I 'sigh' and start to walk to the counter. I lean over it to see a pony cowering in fear. Their head is on the floor under their forelegs, with their ass in the air. I lightly cough in my hand, which get their attention. They slowly look up from the floor, 'Why are all these ponies mares? I haven't seen one stallion in this town.' As her eyes gaze up to mine, she stops frozen, terrified to move an inch. She is a cream coloured pegasus with a lavender mane. I give her a small smile, not showing my teeth to try and reassure her. She gives a small one back and slowly stands up.

"Hello there, I've got some gems here for sale. I was hoping if you would like to buy them." I ask the pony. She nods shyly, embarrassed by how I found her. "Y-yes, I would like to see what you have," She asks me. I place the bag of gems on the counter and open it. She leans over to the bag seeing the contents. Her eyes widen at the sight of the colourful stones in the bag, her mouth agape. Shaking her head, she coughs lightly and says, "that is a lot of gems. May I ask, how did you get so many?" I point a thumb over my shoulder at Lily and Nala. "I'm their alpha, so this is some they had," I answered her. She nods and looks at the girls behind me with a shy smile. "So, how much do you think these are worth?" I ask the clerk. She smiles and says, "about 2500 bits, but I can't afford all of them at the moment." I nod and start to empty half the bag, with the gems split in half. I strap the bag on my belt, now that it's lighter. We finish the transaction, walking out of the shop with a half bag of gems and a bag of 1250 bits.

I look around, see that the streets are still void of any life. Except for the five mares, 'that are still here, they must not trust me yet.' I look over to Nala, "hay Nala how many are in my pack?" I ask her. She thinks then said, "12, all of us, even you." 'Ok, that's good, now I just need to find the right shop.' I look back over to the five ponies, "do you know where I can buy some mattresses?" I ask them. They look at each other confused, not expecting that sort of question. I blink, and the pink one is right in my face, fear and panic clear on my face. 'How did she get in front of me so fast? We were at least 3 metres apart.' Then she said, "oh oh oh, I know the perfect place to go. I can show you there if you want?" Still looking at her confused, I can hear Nala and Lily starting to growl again. I ease their nerves and answer, "yes, please, that would be most appreciative." The smile I gat was just scary, 'her mouth shouldn't be able to get that wide. She turns and starts to hop away. I look over to her friends with confusion on my face. They just shrugged.

I start to walk after the pink pony. I Look around, seeing that some ponies are looking through their windows at me. They seem to be less scared of me, sins I'm with these ponies. 'Well, that's a relief. let's hope they don't fear me as much.' The pink one stops in front of a shop called 'quills and sofas,' 'what a weird combination?' She starts to hop inside, and I follow suit. I walk in to see that the name doesn't lie. There are loads of quills and sofas. Looking over to the counter, I can see a stallion with combed brown mane, wearing a white dress shirt and a blue vest with a nameplate on his right side reading Davenport. Oddly enough, he is not scared of me. I walk up to him and ask, "Hello, do you sell mattresses?" He nods and says, "just over here, if you would follow me." I follow him to where they are. I look around, not able to see the pink one. Nala and Lily didn't follow me in, 'they must be outside. I hope they are ok.' Davenport stops in front of some mattresses, "are these to your liking?" He asks. The mattress's are lining the wall in different sizes. I see one the right size for a Diamond dog. Walking up to it, I look over to Davenport and ask, "ya, this one looks good. How many do you have?" "How many are you wanting?" He asks me. "how much would 11 cost?" I inquired. He thinks for a minute and says, "750 bits." I look back to the mattress, "do you take gems?" I look back to Davenport. He looks down in thought, then says, "yes, I take gems. How many do you have?" I reach in the bag of gems at my hip, opening it to show them. His eyes open up, and he says, "let's make a deal." I smile.

I walk out of the shop with a smile. The mattresses will arrive in the next few days, allowing me to start on some more projects. I look around, seeing something that makes my blood boil. There in front of me is Nala and Lily tied up by a rope. The sounds of sniffing and whining coming from them. The end of it leads to the orange mare wearing the stetson. The others are surrounding Nala and Lily. The pink one is looking sad at them, with her hear now flat instead of curls. I start to feel a warm sensation pass over me, and as I take a step forward, the heat keeps rising in my body. The heat starts to become painful. By the time I reach the ponies. My breath laboured, steam blowing out of my nose. The blue one is flying at eye level to me with her back facing me. I strike.

I rushed forward, my hand gripping hard at the back of her neck. Slamming her down with as much force as I can muster, her head hits the ground knocking her out. By the time I stand back up, the others have noticed what I just did. They are shocked at the state of the blue one. Before they can act, I strike again. Not wanting to kill these ponies, I do the same thing to the orange one. Her head hits the ground with an oof before passing out. I look over to the rest. The yellow one is cowering under her legs, the pink one is still looking sad at Nala and Lily, and the white one is looking at me in shock. Seeing that they are not going to fight me, I walk over to Nala and Lily, untying them. With the heat still coursing through me, I look over to the three conscious ponies. "If you do anything like this again, then I will make your life a living hell," I say that with as much venom as I can muster. The yellow one eeps and passes out, the white one is frozen, and the pink one still looks sad. I huff and help Nala and Lily to there feet, "are you ok?" I ask them. They hug me at my waist, and I pat their heads and scratch their ears. They released me after some time, turning to the ponies a wet patch on my shirt. They are still in the same positions. The heat dying down a bit, "What did they do to cause such a response?" I ask them. The pink one looks up, the white one blinks, and the yellow one is on the floor. The pink one slowly walks up to me and says, "Rainbow Dash and Applejack was suspicious, and we wanted to get some answers."

I look over to the ones I knocked out, seeing that there some apples on the ass of the orange one, 'that must be Applejack, so the other one is Rainbow Dash.' "What did you ask?" I asked her. "Th-they didn't get to that point when you arrived." She said. looking down at her, I say, "did you three have anything to do with this?" She shook her head and said, "no, it was just them. We tried to stop them, but by that time, it was too late. I'm sorry." The heat subsides completely. I kneel to her level and say, "If you didn't do anything to hurt them, then you have nothing to fear from me." I stand back up. "I need to do some things. Then we will be out of your hair," I say

I walk over to Nala and Lily and wrap my arms around them, leading them down the road. Tears still slowly falling from their eyes. After moving out of sight of the ponies. I stop in an alley, hold their heads to my chest as I lean against the wall, patting them softly until they stop crying. I look up to see a discarded mirror in front of me. My eyes are flickering black and white. The right is flickering erratically, from hazel to complete darkness, like light is absent. The left is flicking rhythmically, from natural to sheer white, appearing to emanate light. I blink, and the flickering ends. My eyes are back to normal. 'Sighing' I look down at Lily and Nala. Their crying turned to sniffles and just snuggling into my chest. A small smile appears on my face, looking back to the mirror peering into my own eyes, 'I wonder what ramifications that could cause in the future.' 'Sighing' ones more, I tell Nala and Lily it's time to head back to the hospital, they nod, and we make our way there.

Walking through the hospital doors, I walk up to the reception desk again. Talking to the receptionist to pay for the treatment, the receptionist tells me the room number, and I start making my way there. Walking down the hallway, being past by doctors and nurses, all of them looking at me with fear and trepidation. Coming up to the door, we walk in and see Opal is on a medical bed sleeping peacefully. Beside her is a nurse checking over her chart. They look up to the door opening and see us walk in. They smile nervously and say, "are you the one that brought her to the hospital?" I nod as I walk up to Opal, seeing the arm isn't in a cast, 'they must have used some manner of healing magic.' I look to the nurse and ask, "how long till she wakes?" The nurse looks down at her clipboard and says, "in a few hours." I nod and look to see three chairs around the bed. I sit in one, intending to wait until she wakes. "You two go and sit in those chairs. We are waiting here until she wakes up." They nod, then they each take a seat. The nurse finishes her checks and leaves with a nod. I look to Nala and Lily, seeing the sad looks on their faces. They are looking at Opal. She is sleeping peacefully, pulling my chair closer to the bed. Looking her over, I can see that they cleaned her up. Her fur looks smooth and seems to shine in the sunlight. I place a hand on her head, slowly petting her. Her fur soft to the touch.

I pause, my hand still resting upon Opal's head. The events of the past few days, all hitting me at once. I wince at the memory of me killing the old Alpha, the realisation that I have blood on my hands. I rummage through my pocket, pulling out the same ruby that I used to do the deed. I look down to the ruby, light shining off its surface. With a flash of light, I can see the same ruby in my hand. Its appearance has changed. The shape of the knife is back, with blood dripping off the blade. I look up to see the old Alpha sitting dead on his throne. His eyes staring into my soul, that look of fear, surprise, and anger, will never leave my mind. I look back down at the ruby, seeing that it's back to normal. I can feel wetness coming down my cheeks. Realisation dawns on me, 'I'm crying?' I begin to shake uncontrollably. Knowing what's about to happen, I stand up and walk out of the room. Telling Nala and Lily to stay with Opal, I leave.

I look up and down the corridor, my breathing becoming laboured. My heart feels like it's beating out of my chest. I call out to the nurse down the hall for help, my legs giving out from under me. Hitting my head hard on the floor, I'm forced back into unconsciousness.

Author's Note

I'm very sorry for the long wait. Hopefully, this won't happen again. Life never really goes the way that you planned.

Chapter 8: New Friends and New Adventures

The next day arrives, and I'm sitting on the crystal chair. I think about some things that need to be changed. For starters: the sleeping quarters need to change. They should have individual rooms. Then a work schedule. So we can keep collecting gems making sure they don't work themselves out. I rest my elbow on the arm of the chair, resting my head in my hand. I sigh in frustration as I contemplate my actions moving forward. 'I need to go back into town. I need to get a plan for the layout of this place. Then I'll be able to make the necessary adjustments.' I run my hand through my hair as I sigh again. "But first, I need to practise my magic more. Then I can strengthen the mine." I begin to make my way out of the main chamber and try and remember the way to the entrance. After some time and almost getting lost twice, I found my way out.

The sun blinds me for a moment when I leave the cave. I look around and see the clearing around the mouth of the cave. Remembering what happened in the woods, I think of ideas to defend our home. But first, training. I reach into my pocket and pull out the ruby, thinking about when I turned it into a knife. "I wonder what other weapons I can turn this into." I close my eyes and say, "Telum." When I open my eyes, the ruby is a knife again. I Twirl it in my hand and think about what else I could do. I cover my blade with my hand and close my eyes again. "Ignis." I move my hand and open my eyes to see the blade engulf in flame. "Hmm, so the magic is controlled by my Intent. I wonder what combinations I could combine."

I kneel and place my hand on the ground, "Perditio, Terra." The ground shakes slightly, with spikes appearing up from the ground in an unorganised pattern. I stand and walk around them, fascinated by the potential of my magic. I touch one of the spikes and say, "Ordo, Terra." The ground shakes again as the spicks slide back from where they came, with it being level and with a fresh layer of grass. I look at the tree line surrounding the clearing. 'The clearing is large. It's possible to have some buildings out here.' I place my hand back on the ground and close my eyes. "Ordo, Terra." The ground shakes once more as stones arrive from the ground. I start to sweat and grit my teeth. After some time, I stop to look at my work.

At the edges of the clearing is a 20 ft tall wall made from solid stone 4 ft thick, with an archway 12 ft tall and 9 ft wide. "That should be enough for a cart to get through. If not, I can always make it bigger." As I look over my work, some dogs come outside, looking at the wall. Stunned and speechless, they looked at the stone wall and then at me. I look back at them and give them a small wave, "Just thought we could use some defences." I smile as I walk past them back into our home. Lily and Nala ran over to me, "how you make high wall?" Nala asks me. "Why you make high wall?" Lily asks. I look at Lily and Nala as I walk. "Do you remember the wooden wolfs I fought?" They both nod their heads. "Well, I thought, what's stopping them from coming here and attacking us." I smile, "and with how I used my magic since I need more practice with it. So why not kill two birds with one stone." They look at each other Lily asks, "Why you kill birds with stones?" I chuckle lightly and say, "I didn't. It's a figure of speech. It means to achieve two things by doing a single action."

They look at me, puzzled. Lily's puzzled face looks cute, and Nala is scratching her head. I make it back to the main chamber. I rub my chin in thought. My fingers run over the stubble that's formed on it. I stand in the middle of the room. Thinking, I run my hand through my hair again as I sigh. My hair is a bit damp from the strain of using my magic. I turn to Lily and Nala and ask, "So, do you dig all day?" Nala replied, "Yes, nothing else to do." "And who among you knows how to fight?" I ask Nala. She shakes her head, "Not know fight." 'Hmm, so I need to get some of my dogs trained to defend themself and each other. I know a bit about fighting, but nothing impressive.' I make my way to my room. I sore a desk, 'maybe there's some paper in it. If not, I'll need to head back to town.'

I walk in and look at the old rotten desk. Sighing, I walk over and look through the drawers. I check one by one, unable to see any paper. 'The old Alpha must have been illiterate. I look at Nala and Lilly and ask. "Do you two want to join me back to the town?" They look hesitant and shake their heads. Nala pipes up and says. "Ponys no like us. We stay here." I nod and say, "Understood, I won't be long." I grab the bag of coins, and when I walk past them, I give each a head pat. Their heads lean into my hands. I begin to make my way down the hall. I stepped outside, looking around the grounds and the freshly built wall. I See Some of my dogs looking at it, some touching it, and others afraid of it. I walk over and make my way out of the closed area. When I leave the safety of the walls, I see the trees are too close to the wall. "A lot of these trees need to be chopped down. So we can see if something is coming." I sigh once more, making my way to the town again. This time a bit more prepared for what may be in this forest.

I walk through the forest, moving aside branches and brush. Now mindful of what could be in this place, keeping my eyes open and my head on a swivel. I see nothing but trees and thick brush, the wind softly shaking the leaves and branches. 'When I've set up the pack to be sustainable, I'll make a road to the town. Then maybe we might be able to make some trades.' After walking for some time, I feel the sense of someone or something watching me. I look around without making it obvious, seeing if I can find them. I can see the bushes behind me on the right move against the wind, indicating that something else is moving them. I keep walking so as not to give it away so that I know where they are. We keep playing this little game of cat and mouse until I get to the clearing. The same one where I killed those Timber Wolfs. The ground, still scarred by my spell. I move to stand in the middle of the clearing. I turn to look where I came from to see if the thing followed me into the clearing. It didn't. The bushes still moved against the wind at the edge of the clearing. 'Is it another Timber Wolf or something more dangerous?"

I stand ready to either run or fight. I reach into my pocket and pull out the ruby. With it in my hand, I think of the word Telum as the ruby forms the knife once more. Then it emerges, revealing itself to be a Timber wolf. Yet it's smaller than the ones before. 'This must be a pup, but it's smaller than I imagine a pup to be. I'm guessing this one is a runt. Even though it's small, it's still a wild animal. I need to be cautious.' I slowly go down to a knee and softly reach my hand out. "It's ok, little one. I'm not going to hurt you."

The Timber Wolf pup. Its tail between its back legs slowly starts making its way over to me. I give it a soft smile as it gets closer. It stops a foot away from me and sniffs me. As it's about to take another step toward me, I hear growling from the forest. The little Timber Wolf runs and hides behind me, looking at the Timber Wolf behind me as it shivers. I look back at the forest seeing more Timber Wolfs moving into the clearing, 'these are the same size as the others'. I stand, raising my hand over the pup behind me. "Terra, Tutamen." The earth under it starts moving, encapsulating the Timber pup in a stone dome. I look at the new Timber Wolfs as they growl at me. I smirk, knowing how this will play out.

They start to circle me, 'so they do act as normal wolfs'. But before they can make the first move. I hold out my hand as a stream of fire erupts from it, engulfing the two in front of me. The others seeing their pack mates on fire leep at me. I dive forward, dodging the attack as I spin on my heels. Ramming the knife into the back of the neck of one of the wolfs. Looking to see three left, I grin. Rolling to the side to avoid another lunging wolf, I raise my hand as stone spikes thrust up into the belly of the wolf. The two remaining wolfs hesitant as they slowly move back. I raise my hand, and they bolt back into the forest.

I look to see the first two wolfs still on fire. I snuff the fire with a wave of my hand. I make my way back to the pup as I now hear whimpering. I rest my hands on the top as it slowly returns to the ground. I see the Timber pup in a ball cowering. "It's ok, little one. They're not going to hurt you anymore." It slowly lifts its head to look at me. I see its tail softly wag. I give it a soft smile as I hold my hand out, and without hesitation, it lunges. Its head is under my hand as it pets itself on my hand. I scratch it behind their ear as I stand up. It yaps as it jumps up its front paws on my leg. "Ok, little buddy. Let's go." I start walking as it follows me, staying close to my leg.

We walk with no more interruptions until I see smoke above the canopy. Fearing a forest fire, I pick up the Timber pup and start running to the source of the smoke. When I get closer, I begin to hear voices. I crouch down in the brush as I get closer. I look at the Timber pup and place a finger over my lips. What I saw next shocked me. The timber pup nodded! I kneel there, frozen for a second. But the sound of shouting snapped me out of my stupor. I look through the brush to see four ponies around a fire, with a wagon off to the side. What I sore shocked me a second time. The wagon is a cage, and inside are people. All of them are wearing collars. In it is; one minotaur, two gryphons, and a Pony. 'Wait, are these slaves? Why would they enslave their kind?" I look at the pony, seeing it doesn't have a mark on its flank like the others. 'Figures that racist to their kind.' One of the gryphons catches my eye. Taking a closer look, I can see that it's Frost-beek. 'That's why I haven't seen him lately.' I motion to the Timber pup to stay as they sit. 'I wonder if all animals are intelligent in this place.' I see one of the ponies stand and move into a bush, planning to relieve themself. By their facial structure, I can see their three stallions and one mare, two regular ponies, one pegasus, and one unicorn. I look to see the stallion disappear into the bush. I think of how to be silent, and I remember a word, Thinking focusing on my Intent. 'Sonus.' (Sound, Noise.) I take a step, but even with the sensation of the leads crushing underneath my foot. Not a sound is heard. I smile as I make my way to the stallion.

I walk around to see the stallion doing what can only be a ponies representation of a squat. 'This will be easy as they're a regular pony.' I slowly walk over to the stallion, standing over him as he sighs in relief. When he stands back up, I grab him, my hand going over his muzzle. 'Sonus.' with him unable to make any sound, I release his muzzle. I press him down into the floor to avoid the new paddle. He tries to scream for help, but no sound leaves his mouth. 'Terra.' Stone begins to wrap around his hooves as he's attached to the floor. He looks up at me with terror in his eyes. I lean down and whisper in his ear. "be a good little pony and stay there, and maybe I'll let you live." He nods his head, unable to give a verbal agreement.

I stand off him and head to the bush where he came from. Seeing the other ponies are none the wiser of their partner's predicament. I stare intensely at the fire, 'Ignis.' As it suddenly increases into an uproar, scaring the three around it. In their panic, I run out, holding my hand up. 'Lux.' A bright flash of light blinds the ponies. I run up to the unicorn, grabbing her horn. I slam her face down into the dirt, knocking her out cold. 'These ponies are so weak.' I move to the pegasus. He tries to rub the vision back in his eye. But before he can, I grab him by his neck. I lift him and slam him back down, winded. He tries to catch his breath. The last pony regains his vision and pulls out a sword. I pull out the ruby knife as we stand-off. 'Terra.' Stone starts to wrap around the pegasus's limbs. The regular pony looks over at the pegasus. 'Wide open.' I move forward, closing the distance. And before he knew it, I was right in front of him. I nock the sword aside with my knife. I punch him in the side of his head. He falls like a sack of rocks.

I look over my handy work, hearing movement in the cage behind me. I start to think of how I can restrain the slavers. I look around and see rope by the wagon. I pick it up and tie up the ponies. I tie all the ponies back to back my the wagon as I make sure the unicorn doesn't wake up anytime soon. While tying up the ponies, I found the key, walking to the cage door. I look over the slaves as they cower in fear, except Frost-beek. "So this is where you got to, hmm," I say while unlocking the door. Frost-beek rubs the back of his neck. "Ya, they snuck up on me as I was hunting." I open the door as Frost-beek steps out. I look into the cage seeing the others in a corner. "It's ok now. I'm here to help." The minotaur steps forward as I step to the side. She stands a little over my head, and how can I tell she's a girl? By her voice, "Thank you." she says in an elegant, feminine voice. The rest in the cage seeing the minotaur and gryphons not in any danger, the others leave the wagon one by one.

With the collars removed and the slavers now in the wagon. 'I was lucky to find an inhibitor ring in the wagon.' That's what the ponies called it. With the slavers locked up, I look over the freed slaves. "I'm heading to the nearby town. Do you want me to lead the way? With different variations of yes, I call over my Timber wolf. Surprise sounds fill the air, and the rest of the group sees my new friend. "Is that a Timber wolf pup?" asked one of the ponies. I know, "Ya, I saved them from being killed by the rest of its kind for being a runt." The minotaur frowned and looked visibly saddened, by the word runt. 'I'll need to ask her about that later.' "Frost-beek," I call out. He looks at me, "Ya." you think you can lead up to the town as I help... Sorry, I never got your name." looking over at the minotaur. She looks at me and says, "Duurin, Duurin Truthhide." I offer a hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you miss Truthhide." She chuckles, "Please call me Duurin." I nod and look back at Front-been, "While I help Duurin with the wagon." looking back at Duurin, "If you don't mind." She shakes her head, "Not at all. I'm happy to help the one who saved me." The way she said 'saved' what's more flirtatious than anything else. I cough a little bit, caught off guard. "Alright them." I start to head to the wagon. Duurin and I begin to push the wagon as Front-beek lead all of us back to town.

On our walk to the town, the ponies in the wagon woke up and started hurling insults at us. Sighing in irritation, I look back. "If you don't shut up, I'll climb in there and knock you out again." They stayed quiet after that as Duurin gave me a small smile. We got into town, and all the townsfolk was staring at us. So without wasting time headed to the town hall since this town doesn't have any law enforcement. After a long and convoluted conversation with the mayor. Who was called Mayor Mare. 'Fucking really, what the hell is with these pony names.' With confirmation that the ponies and gryphons will go back to their families. I asked about the minotaur. It turns out she's a runt herself. And she was disowned by her family. With nowhere else to go, I offer a place in my pack. So I informed her that. I'm the alpha of a diamond dog pack. With shock and disbelief on her face, Frost-beek vouched for me. We told her how we were slaves of them and that I killed the old alpha. Then I heard the sound of my Timber wolf barking. I turn to see what got them riled up, and there before me are the same five ponies from before. I sigh, knowing how this will play out. But what shocked me with their faces. They all had a look of sadness on them. I was confused. Didn't these ponies hate me? One by one. They gave their apologies seeing I'm not an evil monster. I accepted their apologies, and they started to smile. The pink one precludes that she should throw a party, though I respectfully decline. I Inform her that I have a lot to do. She looked sad at first, but after saying, I will when I'm free, her smile Returned. I asked for their names, and they responded one by one. "Pinkie Pie." said the pink one. "Applejack." The orange one nodded. "Rainbow Dash." Blue flew up and gave a chest bump. "Rarity." The white one raised her head high. "F-Fluttershy." The Yellow one stammered. But the second she saw my Timber wolf, her hesitation vanished.

"Where did you find him?" She asked me. "I saved him from his pack since they were going to kill him... Wait, him? How can you tell?" I look at Fluttershy, confused. "oh, I-I can talk to animals." She said sheepishly. I stood there stunned. "ok, then. Well, we best be off. I have a lot of work ahead of me." I look at the mare, "Is it ok if I keep the wagon?" She nods, "Yes, it's the least we can do as thanks." I thank Mayor Mare. Duurin, Frost-beek and I say goodbye to our new friends. I start to pick up my supplies. I look down at the Timber wolf, 'I wonder what I should call you?' He looked up at me, and his tail started to wag as he gave a short bark.

Author's Note

I'm sorry for the long wait, I hope this makes up for it

Chapter 7: The Nightmare, and The Prophecy

My eyes flicker open, a fog clouding my mind. "ah, what happened." I think out loud. I'm on the floor, my head hurting. I place a hand where it hurts, and I look around. Before me is the same place where I met Luna. Looking around, I'm unable to find her. I try and get to my feet, my legs wobbly at the start. I get my legs under me and start stretching them, the feeling of pins and needles flowing through them. The fog in my mind clears slightly, remembering what happened. I had a panic attack from the realization. That I'm not in my world, and t-that I k-killed someone. I get my breathing under control before I have another one.

I start aimlessly walking, looking around for Luna. After a while, I start hearing crying from up ahead. Knowing who it is, I make my way to her. Luna starts to appear in the distance, heading towards her. When I get there, I see a horrible sight. Her fur's matted with blood, and one of her legs is bent the wrong way. I kneel beside her and ask, "Luna, who did this to you?" She jumps and turns suddenly. Seeing it's me, she calms down slightly. "oh, it's you. How have you been?" She asks me. She's trying to be strong, but her voice betrays her.

I look at her wounds, trying to figure out any way to help her. Then I got an idea, "Luna, do you know any words from my people's magic?" She tilts her head, "what do you mean." She asks me. "I can use my species magic. I was hoping you know some words," I say to her. Her eyes widen in realization. She says, "I do, but I don't know much. Come closer. I need to touch you with my horn." I lean in my head close to hers, seeing a slight red tint through her furred cheeks. As soon as her horn touches my forehead, a flash of light passes. A kaleidoscope of words flashes through my mind. As fast at it appeared, it vanished. I lean back, hands clutching my head.

The words and their meanings, filling my mind. Sano, (Heal, cure), Cognitio, (Mind, Memory, Cognition), Messis, (Crop), Tutamen, (Armor, Protection) and Volatus, (Flight). I stumble back from Luna, unable to see. I blink my eyes rapidly and rub them, trying to get my vision back.

Then my eyesight comes back. I see that Luna looks worried at me. I shake my head and start walking back to Luna. As I walk up to her side, looking over the wounds. I kneel beside her, "I'm going to try and heel you," I say. She looks at me skeptically, "Did a word come to you when I used the spell?" She asked. I nodded and placed my hands on her withers. I close my eyes and think about the wounds, picturing them closing back up and the leg moving back into place. "Sano." My hands start glowing a soft golden shine.

My eyes, glowing white and black again. A quiet gasp comes from Luna as the wounds begin to heal themselves. The leg moves back into place. I start to sweat, and it's getting harder to breathe. At the last wound closes, my hands and eyes stop glowing. I look over at Luna's face. Her eyes are wide looking at me. "Your eyes... No, it can't be." She says hesitantly. I look at her confused, not understanding what she means. "There's a prophecy about a human, whose power of the magic words knows no bounds. The eyes of the human are light and dark, who would start the chain of events to change the world." She said with her eyes filled with shock and horror.

"What are you talking about?" "I don't even know 20 words of power," I say, looking confused. I go over some thoughts that I've been keeping to the back of my mind: How I got here, why I'm here in the first place, who or what sent me here, and now with what Luna just told me, the one to change the world? What does she even mean by that? I'll need to think about these another time. There are some more pressing matters to fix.

"Luna, if I'm the one you are talking about, then what am I..." I was interrupted when a low-sounding echo came from the nothingness around us. I hear laughter coming from all around. Luna start's shaking and begins to push me away. "you need to go. you can't stay here." I look at her, puzzled. I look around, not seeing what the issue is. Then I hear it, the laughter again. This time it's right behind me. I turn around and see a large pony, bigger than Luna. They smile at the sight of me, "so. I finally get to see you in person." She circles me, Looking me up and down. "you are not what I was expecting. You seem different than the other humans I've met before." I look at her, confused. "Who are you, and how do you know me?" She looks at me, annoyed, and says, "why I'm Nightmare Moon, the princess of the night, and the one who unlocked your magical abilities."

I look at her with a puzzled look, and I say, "so you are the one who was talking to me." Nightmare Moon nods. "What do you want with me?" I ask her. She stops walking and stands in front of me. She leans down, so we are face to face. "Why I want you to fight for me, as I said. I'll be returning soon. So I need your help to keep me alive." She smiles at me. I look into her eyes. "And what if I refuse?" I ask. Her horn lit up, and I couldn't breathe. I put my hands to my neck, but nothing was there. Yet the feeling of something wrapped around my neck was there. I start to be lifted off the ground, my vision going dark. Then it stops. I fall to the ground, hacking, and coughing, trying to get my breath back. "If you say no, you will not see the next day." She growled at me.

When my coughing stopped, and I got my breath back. I lay on the floor, at I look up at Nightmare Moon. I look over to Luna, her face filled with worry and pity. I whisper under my breath, "Cognitio Tutamen." (Mind, Protection). I begin to try and stand, with shaky legs, I stand up straight. I close my eyes and say, "Lux." (Light). A flash of light appears in front of me, which blinds Nightmare moon and lights the darkness around us. I hear her scream in pain as she staggers back, blinded. "Ignis," I thrust my hand out towards Nightmare moon, setting her on fire. I hear her screams of agony as she disappears. I keep the light suspended overhead as I walk over to Luna. I kneel again, and she rubs her eyes.

"So, what happens now?" I ask. Luna looks up at me when her vision comes back, "now, we wait and see what her next move is. You hurt her, which is surprising." She looks at me with surprise, "no matter. Right now, you need to wake up and plan for her arrival, do what you can, and stop her from turning the world into complete darkness." She pulls me in for a hug and wraps her forelegs around me. "now go, and win." My vision goes back, and I wake up.

I awake with a start, and I look around me. I'm in a medical bed. On my left are Lily and Nala, and to my right is a doctor sitting on the floor. 'must have scared them when I woke up.' I sigh and say to the pony, "sorry for scaring you." They look up at me and say, "y-you scared u-us more w-when you collapsed." 'Why are all these ponies so scared of me?' I get out of bed and look over to Lily and Nala, "you two ok?" I ask them. They nod and hug me, their eyes watering. "It's ok. It's ok. I'm right here." They pull back, and each kisses my cheek. I blush slightly and politely cough. "Well, should we get back to Opal? So we can take her home." They both nod, turning to the doctor and ask, "can you lead me to Opal's room, please." They give a sheepish nod and leave the room as we begin to follow them.

As we walk, I go back into my mind again, thinking of what Luna said. The next thing I know is, we are walking into Opal's room. I look at Opal, and She's awake. She looked at me, and fear filled her eyes. I lift my hands and slowly get to the side of the bed. "Hay, hay. It's ok. You're safe now. Nothing is going to hurt you." Opal slowly starts calming down and looks at me. "W-what new alpha going, do to Opal?" I looked at her with sadness in my eyes, "I'm going to take you home, and we are going to make sure what happened to you will never happen again." I give her a soft smile.

She smiles lightly, and I reach out and lightly pick her up, still shocked at how light she is. With Opal in my arms, she wraps her arms around my neck. I nod to the doctor and start making my way out of the hospital. We walked out of the mane doors. I look to see the sun is near its end. I start making my way down and through the town. "We need to get back. I fear the forest isn't safe at night." 'With what already attacked me in there, I'm scared of what comes out at night.

Ponies still run from me, my face drops. We pass through the town and start heading towards the forest. In the road are the five ponies from before. The blue and orange ones look like they're about to charge me. The white one looks sad at me, with the yellow one hiding behind them all, but the pink one, the pink one for some reason, hit me harder. The sadness in her eye, I can't explain it. I look at her, and I feel my heart hit the ground.

I keep my head up and look ahead, and start walking again. They all stand in my way, and I look down at them. "What do you want." Blue and orange still want to fight, whites face drops, yellow hides more, and pink does nothing. Nala and Lily hide behind me and start to growl lightly, and Opal tries to hide in my arms. "Why are you here" askes blue. "Dashy," says pink. I look at blue and say, "The little one in my arms got hurt. We came to the hospital to heal her." I retorted back. Blues' ears splayed back, looking saddened. The same happened to orange' ones.

"Next time, when someone or something comes to your town. Ether let them be, or say hello and get to know them. Not everyone you meet has a scheme." They all look at the floor. I sigh and say. "Look, I'll say it. I'm sorry for what I did to you too, but what I said still stands. Got it" They nod and step aside. "Thank you, and you." I look to the pink one, "the next time we meet, I would love to get to know you all." It was odd when I said that. Her hair got puffy again, and she said, "Okie Dokie Loki." Then she started hopping away. The other four looked at me with knowing smiles, and they all said in sync, "pinkie being, pinkie." Still being confused, I start to walk back to the forest.

My thoughts go back to what needs to be done, with everything, and how to make the caves safe. We're getting close to the mouth of the cave as we pass through the last thicket. We entered the clearing. Thankfully nothing happened on the way back. When we entered our home, we were met by the pack in the main hall, waiting for us. When they saw us, they jumped up and ran over to us. I passed Opal to one of the girls, who wanted to hold her, then I got bombarded with questions. I got asked how we were? What happened? Is Opal ok? Other questions along with them. I answered all of them. "We are all good and well, Everything went fine, and Opal is doing a lot better."

When everyone calmed down, we all headed to our beds. I lie in my bed, 'hopefully, the mattresses I ordered will arrive soon. Tomorrow I will need to sort out the supports for the mines. I don't want something like that happening again.' I hear a knock on my door, and I say, "Come in." The door opened, and Nala and Lily walked in. "You want to sleep in my arms again?" They both nod, and I chuckle. I pull back the sheets and say, "come on then." They smile widely and clime into bed with me, they hug into my sides, and it's not long before they're asleep. I close my eyes, planning my next moves to make their lives safer.

Author's Note

Sorry for the wait for this chapter, with everything what is happening in the world, and my family issues. I haven't had the time to just sit and wright. hopefully the next chapters won't take as long. Thank you, to the ones who liked, favorited, and commented, They help a lot, and to the ones who disliked. Please contact me, I want to be a better writer, and everything helps.

Thanks you all again for saying with me for all this time, and i hope the story is enjoyable, and I look forward to see how everyone will like what the story becomes. I hope everyone has das a good holiday, and I wish you all a good new year.