Mitch POV<<<<<<

Have you ever seen those movies where people scale mountains and it seems like they did it with no sweat and little effort?

Yeah, those movies are utter bullshit. We were about an hour into hiking down the mountain range and Piper had, thank goodness, noticed how bad I was shivering and called for us to set up camp on a small flat area next to a slightly wooded area. She sent Zephyr and Reks to find some wood while I stayed back and watched her begin to light up some twigs we found nearby.

"So, what exactly is the North Wind?" I asked the currently squatting Piper as she pulled out two rocks and smashed them together over a small stack of wood, making the cold timber catch fire and slowly begin to burn over time.

"That's a...complicated question." She answered as she sat down on a patch of rubble she had cleared snow from. "But in a simple term we are our tribe leaders core military unit, his elite guard per say."

"So, like his secret service?" I stated, wondering who their tribe leader was and, more importantly, what he looked like.

Is he a husky too? Or will he be a different breed? I thought, shivering slightly as I clung to the soft blanket as a cold breeze chilled my bones.

"What is a secret service?" She asked me before shaking her head. "Nevermind that, the main idea is that the North Wind is comprised of the most highly trained and trusted dogs the tribe chief knows."

Looking into the small flame we had lit, I couldn't help but rub my crystal arm, the cool touch of the gemstone chilling my fingers as I thought over everything that had happened to me.

Well, I made a deal with a random magic man, somehow managed to both lose AND gain an arm, and now I'm being escorted to an underground society by some armour wearing dogs on a snowy mountain...Damn, my life has gotten weird. I thought to myself, glancing up at the now night sky, though I could've swore the sun was up a minute ago.

It couldnt lowered that fast, right?

Shaking off that thought, I sat down next to Piper and found two azure eyes staring back at me.

"Um...what?" I said nervously as Pipers gaze went from the bit of my arm poking out of the blanket to my face repeatedly.

"Why did it choose you?" She asked plainly, catching me off guard.

"Excuse me?"

She leaned in close, her face inches from mine as I could feel her hot breath tickle my nose.

"The pool in the cave we found you in, that arm is a result of getting Duisternis' blessing...but why you?" She stated as I shrugged, leaning away from her as I looked towards the flames.

"Your asking the wrong person, Captain. I don't even really know why I'M here, let alone having this magic core thing." I chuckled softly, waving my crystaI arm around as I talked. "But, I need it to find my way back home...at least, if there is a way home." I said, my voice lower than a whisper as Piper gasped slightly

"You...were seperated from your family?" She asked me as I nodded, refusing to turn my gaze away from the fire.

"Made a deal without thinking, and was magically sent into that cave you found us in...but, to be honest, I'm not sure how long I've been here." I said weakly, the realization of me possibly had being here for longer than I thought quite scary and made my heart skip a beat.

How much time has passed. Ive blacked out twice so far, and each time coukdve been from minutes to hours! What if it's been days?!

Piper looked into the crackling flames as a rumbling sigh left her throat, followed by minutes of an almost eerie silence before she spoke up again.

"We were seperated too..." She said quietly, so much so that I almost missed it entirely.

"Huh? What do you mean?" I asked, wondering where she was going with this.

"Several years ago, Reks and I weren't even soldiers. We worked in a gold mine in the southeast.." She chuckled softly, but it felt hollow on the ears as she continued her tale. "One day, a dragon came to our family mine. He stated that a pony had scared him away from his gold horde back in Equestria, and he was going to take whatever we had to replace it." She shuddered slightly, rubbing her palms together over the fire. "Pa tried his best to distract the dragon while Ma hid my brother and I in a small box, but in the end no dog can stand to the might of those demonic lizards, and our parents..." She took a deep breath, clenching her paws as she growled slightly. "Just because your in a box doesnt mean you cant hear whats happening outside of it, and what I heard that night has haunted me for all these years."

Sighing again, she said nothing else and simply sat there motionless while I struggled to find something to say.

What do I even say to that? And why the hell did she bring that up now?

"W-Why are you telling me this? I barely even know you and your brother, and you just come out and tell me your parents died?" I pointed out as she turned to me, her eyes holding the same empty look as any dog from home.

Only here, it wasn't due to having small beady eyes that don't convey much emotion...here it was as if the life that her eyes could show was dimmed out long ago.

"Because you have the choice we don't. You CAN go back to your home and those you love, you just have to use that core, right?" She pointed out as she put her paws closer to the fire.

"Yeah...I guess." I said, looking into the fire as the conversation died off and my thoughts drifted back home.

What was my family thinking right now? I was supposed to be in Cincinnati by now arriving at their house...but thats not happening anytime soon. Hell, what if they think I'm dead? I looked into the fire, a sad smile on my face as a single tear burned my right cheek.

Is Samantha doing alright? Did that D guy actually help her?

Zephyr POV<<<<<<

"Ugh, You'd think being in a forest would make wood gathering easier." I scoffed as I picked up the third twig I had found after almost an hour of searching.

Why Mitch decided for me to go and get firewood is beyond me. A pony would think that something that looks like a primate wouldn't find foraging in the forest, but nooooooo. Let the pegasus do it!

Hearing a grunt from behind me, I turned around just to see the big dog (I think is name was Reks) had managed to get several logs more than me and held them on his shoulders.

"How? We've been on the same path this whole time! There weren't any logs sitting around!" I exclaimed as he pointed behind him at a couple of smaller trees that looked chopped up and diced into smaller pieces. "Oh, like thats fair. Your able to chop down trees while I settle for grabbing twigs of the ground."

The dog rolled his eyes and turned around, walking the way back to the camp.

"Bucking Showoff." I muttered to myself, shuddering slightly as I walked after him, tucking the twigs I found under my right wing as I followed behind the dog as we walked by the stumps Reks had cut...which looked eerily like a sharp weapon had chopped them in half.

Wait a second...howd he chop the trees down without an axe or blade? I thought in shock as I noticed he had no weapons or tools on him. Unless hes hiding it...which might only makes the situation worse for me and Mitch.

Thankfully, after a fair bit of walking, we mafe it back to the camp...though Mitch seemed to be laughing up a storm with the Captain when we arrived.

"Your telling me, that your tribe leader let a loud one rip during a meeting, and didn't care?" He exclaimed, laughing so hard he was holding his sides while Piper wasn't faring much better, her own wheezing laugh coming out in droves as she wiped a tear from her eyes.

"He really did! It drove the other three chiefs mad!" The Captain wheezed out while Reks placed the wood in a pile near the fire. "So, the wood hunting went well?"

Reks simply grunted and pointed at the twigs in my wing and to his before letting out a quiet wheeze as he sat down across from Captain Piper, giving me a squinted stare as my left eye twitched.

He did NOT just make fun of me...He did! That stupid Mutt thinks he can just get one over me and laugh about it!

I dropped the twigs in the fire and gave Mitch a curt glare.

"Can I talk to you, Mitch? In private?" I said, turning and walking away from the fire as he stood with a groan and followed me until we were well away from the campfire.

"What is it, Zephyr? It's cold and I'd rather be by the fire right now." Mitch stated, swaddling himself in the blanket he had as I pointed a wing at Reks.

"Listen, somethings not right about that dog. All that wood he collected? He did it without any tools, and the wood was cut perfectly from the stumps!" I explained as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"So what? Reks is massive, perhaps even more muscular than Bertha...AND he's a soldier, so the guy obviously would has some precision in his strikes." He said as I shook my head.

"We don't even know if their story is true, Mitch! They could be lying about helping us and were originally after that core of yours! How else do you explain them knowing about it?"

Mitch stared at me for a long moment, simply not moving as he seemed to zone out.

"Uh...Mitch?" I asked him, slightly agitated at him not paying attention as he shook his head.

Sorry, I was thinking about some things." He glanced at Piper and Reks briefly before returning his gaze to me. "Could you repeat whatever you just said?"

"I said that the dogs could be lying about their reasons for escorting us! What if we get captured again!" I restated as Mitch rubbed his chin slightly, the blanket he was holding drooping slightly at the motion.

"Honestly, you could be right. Piper went on about this sob story with their parents earlier when I mentioned my home, and it just felt...weird." He shook his head, beginning to step in place as he continued. "Then again, it's far too cold right now to worry about that. Let's just get to the empire, then we can ditch them there if they try something, how's that sound?"

Well, at least the guy isn't flat out trusting them. And with two of us we will have a better chance at escaping if the dogs do turn on us.

"Sounds like a plan then. Though I'm still not going anywhere near their pack if they happen to be telling the truth." I stated, shuddering slightly as I recalled the chains from before mixed with the dark cavern I had been forced to work in. Now that wasn't an experience I planned on reliving. "Though, if Piper brought up such a sad story, why were you guys laughing when we got back?"

Mitch smiled down at me, his mood seeming to brighten. "Well, after she brought up her parents 'deaths' I decided to try and lighten the mood by telling her about a friend of mine back home." He explained. "He was a heavy eater, and was prone to embarrassing us in public by...releasing gas loudly."

"Really? I leave you alone with a female for about ten minutes and you reduce conversation to simply fart gags?" I deadpanned as he shrugged.

"I mean, she liked it, and I got a story it of her too involving her boss." He said before turning around and walking towards the fire. "Cmon, last thing we need is them being suspicious of us talking in the dark for so long."

Following Mitch back to the fire, I took a seat next to him while he sat in the four hoof space between the dogs. Reks seemed to be watching Mitch carefully while Piper gave me a sidelong glance.

"So, what was that about?" Piper asked as I flinched slightly.

Buck, we didn't think of a cover story! I thought in a panic as I stammered slightly, trying to come up with something believable.

"Breeze here was butt hurt about Reks being more of a man than he is, and needed someone to cry about it to." Mitch stated, causing said dog to wheeze loudly while I glared straight at Mitch, which only caused him to smile wider. "Ain't that right, Zephyr?"

I swear to by Lunas flanks I will murder this guy and hide the body.

"Yeah...right." I grumbled as Piper held a paw to her mouth, barely concealing her laughter as I covered my face with my hooves, absolutely done with today as a whole.

"I swear, all you stallions are the same." She said, making me look up at her in confusion.

"You say that like you have experience with us...have you dated a pony before?" I asked her as she crossed her arms, the Captain suddenly looking flustered for a military officer as her cheeks reddened slightly.

"I'm kinda...dating one." She said as Reks huffed, making Piper glare at him. "I am too! He visits the Empire twice a year, and we hang out then! Just because you havent seen him doesn't make him not real!"

Mitch snorts, not believing the story either. "What does this guy do for a living then?"

Piper turns to him, her glare being replaced by a dreamy smile. "He's a unicorn explorer who charts out the unknown, and he's so good with a sword too!" Her eyes light up as she walks over to Reks. "Let me show them the rapier he gave me."

Reks rolls his eyes as Piper plunges her hand into his chest plate, the armour separating like water as she pulls out a silver rapier with a golden handle.

Im sorry, what? I thought as my eyes widened to the size of dinner plate.

"Whoa what the fuck?!" Mitch yells as he gets to his feet, his eyes on Reks' chest plate. "How'd you do that?"

Piper turns to Mitch with a smile and points at Reks' chest. "You thought you were the only one with a magic core? Reks got one from the pool in the chiefs room, though his gives him the ability to bend metal to his will, making him a walking armory." She says as Reks grins broadly and flexes his right arm, the metal on it disappearing instantly and revealing more black fur on him, though the fur by his hand was as white as Pipers before he flexes his arm again, making the metal return.

Piper smiled big, showing off her sword to Mitch. "See! I told you I was right!"

Mitch looked between the blade in her hands and Reks for a couple seconds before shrugging. "That only proves two things: One, your brother has magic...and two, you own a fancy sword that was probably robbed from a pony instead of gifted to you."

Reks sighed and face-pawed while Piper growled at Mitch, her left paw tightening around the blade she held as her left eye twitched slightly.

"Excuse me?! I know you did not just accuse me of theft!" She exclaimed, getting Mitchs face. "I will not be accused of petty crimes by some random monkey with a crystal arm!" She looked she was about to say more, but huffed instead and turned away from us, sprawling out on the ground across from the fire with her back facing Mitch. "That's enough talk for tonight. You and the pegasus get some rest while Reks takes the first watch.

Mitch frowned at her for a second before turning to me.

Was it something I said? He mouthed as I rolled my eyes and nodded before walking over to my duffel and laying my head on it, making sure to face Reks where he was sitting.

Great, Mitch made Piper mad and Reks is actually a magic weilding diamond dog...what else could go wrong today? I thought as I went to close my eyes for the night.

Then the howling began.

Author's Note

Hey! Look! A wild chapter has appeared!

So, this got delayed due to college/laziness on my part. Don't worry, this week isn't going to be HALF as packed, so the next chapter should be longer and be more than just filler (though said filler is kinda necessary sometimes.)

Leave a comment below if ya want, or if ya notice a typo or three.

(p.s: I'm on the fence about the whole Zephyr POV. If it's good, I might do it again soon. If not, then I'll just do Mitch.)

P.P.S: There was originally another human that was revealed here, but I decided to pull him from the chapter and story for now, since the plot line he was following was scrapped for something better.