<<<<<>>>>>

"Hey! Wake up!"

I opened my eyes and uncrossed my arms and legs as I turned to the bars just to see one of the lackey dogs staring at me with black, beady eyes as he opened my cell door.

"What?" I asked, my voice suprisingly hoarse already from lack of liquid sustenance, for there was no way I was drinking from that puddle of water in my cell.

But if my voice is hoarse...then I've already been here for at least several hours. I thought with a shudder. On that note, how much time has passed? I shouldn't have passed out, now I have no way of knoing the time!

I was jolted from my thoughts as the dog walked forward and brought me to my feet as he 'guided' me out of the cage by almost dragging me until I got good enough footing to walk besides him.

"It is time for slave to work. I take you to Kogan, and he will give you job." The dog explained as I raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

Kogan, huh? Must be the tall dogs name. I wonder if I could learn more about these guys somehow...maybe I could get the dumber ones to spill enough beans for me to escape.

"So, if Kogan is your boss, what's your name?" I asked him as he paused momentarily at an intersection before turning down a leftwards path, but not before I saw some sort of light coming from the right path.

The dog tightened his grip on my arm, as if knowing what I had saw and was making sure I didn't go anywhere near it.

An exit, perhaps? Or maybe something else?

"I have no name. Only important dogs get names...I never earned one." He said as I couldn't help but feel slightly bad for the guy, I mean who gets told they can't have a name because they aren't important?!

Two lefts and a right turn later, and I found myself being dragged into a decently lit room stock full of gems and crystals that made me quiver in excitement.

"Whoa...are those real?" I asked eagerly as I eyed a patch of diamonds that were jutting out of the roof above us. The dog nodded and brought me over to the tall dog from before, presenting me like a trophy while he lowered his head.

"Alpha Kogan, I've brought the prisoner." He said as he let go of me and backed away while Kogan smiled at me and tapped his stick on the ground, eyeing me with silver colored eyes as I couldn't help but feel nervous.

"You...do you have magic?" He asked me. which made me shake my head, confused as to why I was even asked such a thing.

"Not unless you count parlor tricks." I told him, earning a sigh from the dog as he pointed at a tunnel nearby.

"Go down that path and grab a pickaxe then, and start mining with the others." He said, surprising me with the level of freedom I had with walking there by myself. He must've seen my questioning look because he put a paw on my shoulder, looking me directly in the eyes with a stare cold as ice.

"You have nothing to worry about...no one leaves the Yaket Range cliffs without losing a few fingers to the cold." Kogan stated with a barking laugh that his subordinate wheezed alongside with as I turned and walked down the cave pointed out for me, now even more on my mind than before as I kept my gaze to the ground.

Cold? Then we must be somewhere up north...in wherever the hell we are. And Yaket Range? I found myself slowly panicking as one of my fears were being confirmed, especially since that name rung zero bells in my mind.

I'm no longer anywhere near home...am I?

Walking into a new room, I couldn't help but notice I wasn't alone as I noticed two shadows bleeding from the lamplight that was in the room. Looking up, I noticed two figures, both of which only added on to the stress I was feeling.

To my left, there was another biped like me swinging a huge pickaxe into a rock orifice. The yellow furred thing had hooves on its hind legs that were shackled by heavy weights, but had fingers that could grip the wooden base of the pickaxe firmly as it swung into the rock wall with ease, each strike sensing several rubies and various other gems to the ground where it stood.

The being on my right was...less impressive. It looked like a small horse, but it had one of those weird hairdos you'd see on some fashion designer, as if it was deciding between a bun and curls as its yellow mane had several strands going down its head. It also sported similar shackles to the biped, but they hung off its wings instead.

What caught me the most off guard though was that it had wings! A horse...with wings! And it was swinging its pickaxe (Or attempting to anyway) into his own part of the rock wall, with much less jewels on his end.

I landed on my rear with a hand on my forehead as I found myself attempting processing all of this information.

That thing with wings...wasn't that a pegasus? I think I saw one in a greek history book somewhere, maybe even that hercules movie a while back...and if we are following the same mindset, then the other thing has to be a minotaur...right?

Ignoring the fact that I was shaking slightly at the sight of ancient Greek beings, I looked around and spotted several pickaxes next to the other stocky dog from before, who was giving me a sidelong glance as I approached and grabbed the tool, having to use both hands due to its unfamiliar weight.

"You fell...are you ok?" He asked, surprising me as I turned to him.

"Yeah...just letting everything sink in is all." I stated, ignoring the urge to hurl from the swirl of emotions in my mind as the dog shrugged.

"As long as you stay awake, is what matters. Can't work if you sleep." He said as I nodded before I walked over to where the minotaur was and looked from the open part of the wall to my pickaxe, watching it swing into the wall a few times before readying myself.

How hard can this be? I thought as I reared the pickaxe behind my head...

...only to underestimate the weight of it and fall backwards with it, which both of my fellow prisoners noticed as the minotaur spoke up first and turned to me, laughing as she pointed a finger at me.

"Ha! Bertha hasn't seen such a idiotic display since Mr. Frou Frou over there arrived!" The apparently female minotaur stated as I looked up at her...before averting my gaze to the pegasus due to realizing the minotaur had cleavage and was wearing what had to be some sort of combination between a shirt and a bra that barely fit her and was veeeeery seeable from underneath.

"Hey hey! I am not Frou frouey!" The pegasus stated in a scratchy male voice that made me want to cover my ears permanently from how annoying it sounded. He put a hoof to his chest as he looked away as he raised his nose in the air slightly. "I am simply more enlightened than you in the art of looks."

Bertha grumbled some rather nasty words, but decided to drop it before she turned back to me, a more playful look dancing across her eyes as she noticed my refusal to look her in the eyes.

"Ignore Breeze. He's an insult to males everywhere." She raised her pickaxe and faced the wall as I stood up, my red face clearing away quickly. "Now, since your new and all Bertha will show you how to swing the pickaxe." She slowly reared the axe back before swinging it directly onto the rock wall, sending a handful of emeralds to the ground.

She turned back to me and smiled. "See, control is the key here." She tilted her head slightly as she looked me over. "Who...and what are you? Bertha has never seen something like you before."

I smiled sheepishly as I ran my fingers along the wooden handle of the pickaxe, choosing to ignore the cries of frustration from the pegasus as he attempted to untangle his pickaxe from his chains as he had somehow managed to get them jumbled up.

"I'm Mitch...and I'm not from around here." I said solemnly as I turned and reared back the pickaxe, slowly this time like Bertha had showed me, and slammed it into the rock wall, producing a diamond or two from the rubble.

Bertha turned to her part of the wall and chuckled, doing the same as me as she nearly took out half the wall with a big swing. "Sounds like a strong name...and I could tell your something different. I haven't seen many species wear full sets of clothes other than Minotaur noblemen."

I looked myself over at that, from my black sweats and my dirt-stained shirt to the once was white jordans I was wearing that were now a solid brown.

"Yeah...I'm one of a kind." I said grimly, mostly to myself as I realized I may be the only human wherever I was now...and I didn't know how to feel about that just yet.

Shaking that thought away though, I continued to work away at the wall until while keeping up conversation with my fellow inmates.

"So, how'd someone as strong as you get imprisoned?" I asked the minotaur, causing her to swing into the rock face much harder than before, nearly causing the wall to collapse as she faced me with a glint of rage in her eye.

"Kogan, their Alpha, took my calf, and he only way to get him back is to work for them." She said as Breeze finally untangled his pickaxe and turned to me.

"I was simply looking for a new school to go to in the empire, but then the dogs dragged me straight into the ground!" Breeze kicked a small Boulder across the room as he turned away with a groan. "A stallion rests his wings for one second and BOOM! Slave labor for life!"

Bertha gave me a sidelong glance while she looked at the wall for any more openings. "What's your story, Mitch? why are you here?"

I sighed, putting down the pickaxe and stretching out my back.

"I signed a contract with the wrong guy to help someone close to me, and now I'm stuck who knows where being forced to work for fucking DOGS!" I started quietly, but ended up yelling at the end as I grabbed the pickaxe and slammed it into the wall, right next to where Bertha had slammed hers earlier.

The reaction was immediate. The wall crumbled apart, sending up a trail of dust that both blinded everyone and sent (mostly me) into a coughing fit for a couple seconds afterwards.

When the dust settled though, there was a smaller cavern entrance left behind, about the size for one of the dogs to go through, although it had these weird rune like symbols lining the edges of the caverns entrance.

"HEY!" The guard dog ran over to us before noticing the mini cave, making his eyes light up as he gave us a smile. "You found it! The boss will be proud!"

He turned and ran out of our part of the cave, yelling "Stay there!" over his shoulder, while we all just looked at each other in confusion.

"What was that all about?" I asked Bertha while Breeze walked over to us.

"Who cares! As long as I don't have to swing that axe anymore I'm ok with anything." He said as he crumpled to the ground in a heap while Bertha rolled her eyes.

"Stupid stallion." She grumbled before turning to face the newly found cave. "Why did that dog react to this archway like that?"

I looked up at her for a second before returning my gaze to the wall, looking closely as I noticed there were five different symbols lining the wall in a pattern...though what the meant was beyond me.

"Not sure...perhaps it's what they were looking for though?" I pointed out as Breeze looked up at me in shock.

"Your telling me they had us digging for who knows how long just to find ANOTHER cave?!" He exclaimed as I shrugged, running a hand through my hair and noticing it was getting kinda long in the front.

Can't do much about that right now. I thought to myself with a chuckle as I looked to the pegasus, who seemed on the verge of another fit.

"Maybe, how much of the gems did they actually keep after you guys mined them?" I asked, causing Bertha to growl.

"They put them in some room down the hall that's locked up...that's where my calf is supposed to be as well." She stated angrily as I frowned, rubbing my chin in thought as I thought about what she said.

Down the hall? Ah! that cavern that had the light at the end of the tunnel! I remembered just as the guard dog came back with Kogan.

Before any of us could say a thing, Kogan raised his staff and pointed down the hall where he had came from.

"Go. We have prepared food for you in thanks of finding the Duisternis gate." Kogan said as he pointed to the dog that was with him. "Take them to their meals."

Breeze cheered in delight. "Yes! Finally we get to eat!" He exclaimed in joy as I looked at him in slight horror.

How long has it been since his last meal?! I thought, noticing he did kinda look skinny...but then again I knew next to nothing about dietary needs of pegasi, so that could just be normal.

Bertha looked happy as well, but seemed more focused on something else as she stared the dog straight on, allowing me to see that she was easily two to three feet bigger than both me and Kogan.

"When will I get my son back?" She demanded, shocking me as that's the first time she's used first person.

Kogan smiled and waved her off, turning and facing the new cave. "Your son will be returned to you after your done with your meal, for I have no need of you three anymore."

Bertha growled, but her eyes shined with relief. "He better not be harmed in any way or else!"

Kogan didn't respond as we turned and walked out of the room, thought before I got out of earshot I hear him mutter something under his breath.

"With this, even I could stand against the Grandmaster and his disciples."

<<<<<>>>>>

"Man, flower sandwiches never tasted so good!" Breeze stated aloud as he dug into his meal.

When we were brought into that area in the cave where it spit off multiple ways, we had found a blanket laid out in the middle of the room with a lot of food on it. The two guard dogs themselves had their own food with them (both seemed to be eating drumsticks, but the meat had a weird color to it.) and it was clear we were able to simply dig in whenever we wanted.

So of course the fucking pegasus nearly tackled the picnic and it took Bertha to restrain him until he calmed down and we were able to distribute the food evenly so everyone could eat enough to be satisfied. Bertha got a sandwiche or two, though most of those went to Breeze, and even had what looked like hay sitting next to her.

I, however, immediately claimed all the meat products as soon as I saw them, much to the shock of Breeze and suprise of Bertha when I had nearly destroyed five drumsticks in under a minute. Thankfully, after a quick minute of explanation on me being an omnivore, they seemed to understand...even if Breeze looked at me warily every now and then.

"Flower Sandwiches? What the hell?" I commented as Breeze opened his with one of his wings, showing me the daisy inside.

"Yup! These things are amazing!" He said, taking a glorified bite out of his sandwich as Bertha was pulling off the daisies from hers.

"Bertha isn't a fan of daisies, too chewy." She said as she flicked them at Breeze, snapping him in the face and covering his eyes with the flowers.

As we cracked up at the sight, Breeze huffed and looked away, taking an angry yet small bite out of his sandwich.

I turned to Bertha as I reached for an apple. "So, what did you do for a living before getting jailhoused?"

Bertha smiled and puffed out her chest in pride, to the embarrasent of both me and Breeze as we looked anywhere but up at her.

"Bertha was a blacksmith for the minotaurs of her city! I spent day and night shaping weapons and armour from the sleek steel that my fellow lower class citizens brought to me." She explained as I smiled.

A blacksmith? Maybe that's why she was so natural at mining for gems...who knows how many times shes worked with tools and ore before?

"Damn, that's awesome." I stated, making her smile back as I turned to Breeze just as he finished off his six sandwich. "What about you, Breeze? What was your calling?" I asked him, taking a huge bite out of my apple.

Breeze looked at me with a smile as he stood to his hooves. "That, my friend, is something I was on a journey to find out myself! I had heard of a nice manestyling school in the north and had decided to check ot out." He sighed and sat back down. "And...you know what happened there."

I raised an eyebrow at him as I threw the fully eaten apple core behind me. "Manestyling? Like a barber or something?"

He went to shake his head before putting a hoof to his chin. "Well...it's more complicated than that." He said as he eyed my head carefully. "If you want, I could touch up that mane of yours, orange manes were so last year, and Ive heard lavender manes are the way to go!"

I placed my hands on my hair defensively as I shook my head. "Nope Nope Nope! I am NOT changing to lavender! You know how non-manly that is?!"

Bertha snorted. "You two talking about manes like teenage cows is unmanly as it is, so don't worry about that now." She stated with a smirk, making me glare at her while Breeze snorted out a huff.

"Whatever ya say, D-Cup." I stated before I could realize what I was saying and clamped my right hand on my mouth, but it was too late.

Breezes' jaw dropped and he quickly got to his hooves and started backing away just as Bertha gave me the "women's glare."

If ya don't know about that glare or haven't pissed off a female enough to make them do use it, your one absolutely lucky guy. The "women's glare" is what happens when a woman glares at you in a way that let's you know she's going to kill you, feast on your innards, and burn your body in the name of her Amazon brethren...

...And I was on the receiving end of it.

"What did you just say?" She growled as I found myself slowly crawling backwards as she got to her feet and began to walk towards me.

"I-I didn't mean anything by it, Bertha!" I hurriedly explained as I soon felt my back hit a wall. Gotta get out of this quick! "Your...chest is perfectly normal size-"

"QUIET!!!" She yelled as she hoisted me up by shirt and brought me up to her eye level as she was inches from my face. (Which didn't help the whole 'cleavage' issue due to said objects literally being pressed up against my chest.)

This is it, I am going to die by the hands of a hairy woman...hey! That oracle at the fair last year was right!

She kept glaring at me for several seconds before she bursted out laughing, dropping me to the ground as I slowly began to get control of my rapidly-beating heart.

"You should've seen your face!" She exclaimed as I looked up at her while Breeze, who had hidden behind one of the dogs, came out from hiding and let out a sigh of relief.

"So, your not going to kill me?" I asked as she looked down at me and shook her head.

"Of course not! In my country, opposite sex taking notice of one's parts is something to take pride in." She helped me to my feet as we walked back to the picnic area and sat down. "It shows we are desirable for mating and shouldn't be ashamed of our bodies."

My face was now a volcano of red as I turned to the two guard dogs who had watched the whole thing without lifting a finger.

"Why the hell didn't you two do anything? Aren't you supposed to stop fights or something?" I asked them as the one that had waken me up earlier shook his head.

"Your no longer needed for mining, so why should we care if you hurt each other." He said as the other wheezed out a laugh and gave me a wicked smile.

"Besides, it's free show!" He exclaimed as they and even Bertha laughed, making me face-palm as Breeze shook his head and took a bite out of another sandwich.

"I'm surrounded by crazy folk." He muttered to himself.

Author's Note

Boom! Chapter 2 is released, and Mitch has found himself in the company of a bulked up Minotaur and everybody's least favorite pegasus.

To be honest, I almost didn't put him in this story due to my own self loathing of the character that is Zephyr. However, after looking him over and rewatching the episodes he is in, I realized he does have potential for ~~Greatness~~ okness. That, and he's a suprise tool that will come in handy later.

Oh, and I do not apologize for giving a minotaur that sort of...arsenal. I just barely see minotaurs used and decided add her in and just rolled with it.

Next chapter, things will begin to get a bit more serious though, so watch out!

And as always, comments are always appreciated! See yall next time!