The Exiled

Chapters

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter four

Chapter One

Sil opened his eyes, around him was a vast, beautiful field filled with flowers of every color, a pleasant breeze whisked through his hair carrying with it the smell of spring, and the sun warmed his skin. He smiled and closed his eyes, taking a moment to soak in the atmosphere.

His vision shifted. The ground grew dark and torn, the air now carried the scent of ash and smoke and a deep-seated fatigue ached throughout his body as he felt himself topple to the ground.

A cold, black sky loomed silent and unmoving above him as tears flowed down his face mixing with the blood and sweat that stained his form.

Sil felt regret, sorrow, loss, and the stinging wisps of a cold rage. He was keenly aware of several other people around him, each watching him silently with their own emotions racing through their minds.

The tears continued to flow silently as the ruined sky passed by.

Why was he here? Where was he even?

He couldn’t remember.

Who were those that watched him with such sad eyes?

No names; not even their faces came to mind. The only thing Sil could name was his guilt, and even then. He couldn’t. Remember… Why?

Sils eyes shot open scanning the unfamiliar night sky that rested above him, his throat was patched and an ache came from his head.

“W-what?” His voice came, it was dry and cracked.

He stood up and took in the surrounding landscape, not that there was much to take in aside from the dry, cracked ground and occasional shrub.

His eyes came upon a large gathering of tents in the distance lit up by a large fire coming from the center. Sil frowned at the sight of the flames and began to walk toward the display.

As he got closer he was able to recognize the source of the flame was an impressively large bonfire, deep voices and cheers could be heard as he made his way through the camp. When he got close to the large fire he found himself peeking around the side of a tent.

He was caught off guard by the large figures celebrating around the fire, heads of bulls, bodies similar to his own, and animalistic legs. ‘Minotaurs’ the name came to his mind as he ducked back into cover. Suddenly, he wasn't feeling so safe walking into this camp.

Sil began to think about how he was meant to get back out when a thundering roar of a horn bellowed in the distance, the Minotaur that were celebrating previously began to scramble around the camp at once. Sil did his best to hide in the shadow of the tent and by some incredible luck he went unseen as a large group ran past him shouting something about cats and an ambush.

As Sil cowered in the shade of his tent the sound of fighting grew closer. Slowly shaking himself out of his panic at the sudden events Sil stood up and began to make his way back the way he had entered, only to be stopped by the scene of a group of three Minotaurs engaged in a fight with a small group of what could only be described as cat people.

All but a single cat had some sort of light-metal armor covering their body as they weaved weightlessly around the three beasts, the Minotaur on the other hand had only pelts of animals hung over their bodies as they used their mass to rip their weapons through the air in brutal arcs.

The single cat in the back wore what looked to be a lab coat and was writing something down with a wicked smile as she watched the fight. Slowly the Minotaur began to fall to their wounds and her eyes traveled around for a new enemy, only to find Sil instead.

Her eyes took on a look of shock which was immediately suppressed by an unhinged curiosity and glee, Sil took a step back as she shouted orders to the other cats who all locked onto him at once. He only managed to run a few feet before he was tackled to the ground by one of the cats.

Sil managed to throw the cat off and he scrambled to his feet, he spared a glance at his assailant, and a shock shot through him. The cat, or cats for that matter weren't wearing armor, it looked more like metal plates had replaced sections of their skin, he took a step back as he met its eyes which held a tortured but dull consciousness, It held a jagged blade and a small chuckle came from behind it as the rest of them caught up.

“Oh don't be scared~ he isn't going to kill you, yet” the calm voice came from the cat in a lab coat who held a much more natural appearance than her allies, “after all I haven't seen anything like you before…” she trailed off as she scanned his body and an excited smile came to her lips.

“Tay!” A booming voice shouted from behind Sil and he wheeled around to see a giant Minotaur clad in heavy armor and wielding a giant axe heading a group of several others. His eyes scanned over Sil and he shot Tay a look, “Have you finally lost yourself? I do not remember you cats ridding one another of fur”

Tay tsked and her gaze turned venomous, “that is no cat, Sekera. And I'll have you know I have better things to do than shave my drones” She shot Sil an innocent smile, “now why don't you just stay right there while I deal with this filth” she directed the insult towards the Minotaur who simply smiled at the challenge and readied his axe.

At once the ‘drones’ as Tay called them shot past Sil with an unnatural speed and charged at Sekera’s group, the large Minotaur let out a roar and charged forward to meet them with a smile on his face.

Sil once again turned to run only to be stopped by a cold gloved paw gripping his arm, he looked to see Tay shooting him an annoyed look, “I’m not about to let you go” she glanced back at the fight as one of the drones met a grisly end, “especially when it's costing me good subjects”

“L-let go!” Sill shouted and shoved her away with his free hand, she gave him a surprised look which once again grew into a giddy smile.

“Sapient, and stronger than steel!” her sleeve shifted and a slight glint of metal caught Sills's eye, she giggled “oh you’re definitely worth the cost” Sil watched her carefully as she pulled out a small vial.

“Just… let me go” he said in a shaky tone, he flinched as a loud roar came from behind him.

Sil turned to see Sekera standing over the final drone with several wounds along his toned body, his allies had fallen to their own leaving the giant alone with a bloody smile on his face, he didn't say a word as he began to walk towards them, his axe leaving a heavy trail in the ground behind him.

His attention turned back to Tay as a spurt of pink mist caught him in the face, he took a step back as a heavy wave of nausea hit him rendering him unable to resist as Tay, with surprising strength for her size, threw him under her arm and took off with a speed similar to the drones before.
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Sil woke up looking at a white ceiling, the room was well lit and there was a faint smell in the air that caused his stomach to turn. He tried to sit up only to be stopped by straps holding his arms and legs to the table.

His rapidly growing panic was broken when he heard the door open, he turned his head to see Tay looking at him with the same excited grin she had before.

“Oh good, you’re awake! I was starting to worry that the pheromones had caused some form of brain damage” she chuckled to herself and walked over to his body, which he began to realize was completely exposed.

She let out a curious hum and tapped his chin with a paw, “open up”

Sil grunted his refusal and gave her a suspicious glare instead.

“Oh don’t be a little kit”- she placed her paw over his nose and pushed up while also grabbing his jaw and prying down he relented and opened his mouth.

“not so hard now, is it?” She asked with a satisfied smile, he kept his mouth open as she retrieved a swab and swiped the inside of his mouth, “there, just a simple sample see?”

He worked his jaw, “then will you let me go?”

She snorted as she made her way to a table, she swiped the swab on something and began interacting with a machine, “of course not! Once I find out what you are, and get you to tell me where you came from, I’ll have you replace one of the drones that I lost to that filth” she spoke casually.

Sil swallowed, “w-why?”

“Well it’s not every day you come across a never-before-seen species, especially one in a Minotaur camp”- she spared a glance at him -“I’m still not sure how you managed to go without being killed or turned into some toy by the beasts”

Sil didn’t respond, instead, he tested the restraints, which much to his dismay held him down secure.

She seemed to notice as she walked back over to him and flicked his nose, “now now, I’ve still got you under the influence of the pheromones. while they may not render you susceptible they do seem to keep you down well enough”

Tay smiled when he met her eyes, “interested, are you?”

‘Not in the slightest’

She took his silence as an affirmative and pulled out a small vial similar to what she used on him before, “this here is a homogeneous mixture of cat and changeling pheromones, from a queen nonetheless” he gave her a clueless look and she sighed, “essentially they render any cat who comes into sustained contact completely subservient to myself~”

“I’m not… a cat?,” he said looking at what he could see of his own body questioningly

Tay rolled her eyes, “you don’t say” she tapped him on the head, “you are no cat, but your body is certainly similar. And not only are you stronger, but you also seem to be built for dexterity and durability unlike us, who are built for speed and grace”

She let out a hum and her eyes went down his body, “you also have some other differences, which seem to be… more than what our males are given”

He gave her a confused look and she waved him away, “I’ve spent enough time talking for today, I still have to set up more drones for our next raid after that filth despatched my last troop”

Tay didn’t elaborate on whatever these ‘raids’ were, instead taking her leave and letting Sil sit in silence.

“Shit”

Sil spoke to himself as he stared at the ceiling.

‘I’ve been wherever this place is for a single day, and I’ve managed to get captured by a crazy cat-thing that likes mind control’

A part of him was just slightly amused by the chaos, but mostly he was just annoyed, angry, and pretty scared.

‘I haven’t even started trying to find my way back…’ he thought back to the strange dream. The tears, the blood, and the surrounding land had felt so real. And the people who had surrounded him… he felt as if he should know who they were, maybe even apologize, and at the very least figure out why he had been in that place.

‘Who even am I?’

His thoughts ended when he once again heard the door open, instead of seeing the doctor and her familiar green eyes he listened to the sound of… hooves tapping against the tile floor.

He tried to see what was approaching him but it was apparently just under his line of sight as it stopped beside his bed.

“Canth youh hearth me?” A voice that sounded like it was talking with something in its mouth spoke up quietly beside him.

“Yes?” He whispered back, he swore he heard whatever it was prancing its hooves in excitement before it began to fiddle with his straps from under the table.

“What are you-“ he stopped talking when the strap holding his arm suddenly loosened and he freed it from its position, he smiled as the others came soon after and sat up letting him get a look at his apparent savior.

For the third time that day, Sil was surprised by what he saw. Simply put, it was a pony. She had a dark blue coat that was nearing the point of black and a dark purple mane, what stood out the most was the pair of bat-like wings on her sides, the two small fangs peeking out from her mouth, and her scarlet-red eyes.

She watched him with a nervous smile, “h-hello, you aren't going to try and eat me… right?”

Sil stared at her for a moment, “...you- you let me go before asking that?”

The pony frowned, “that would’ve been rude!”

He continued to stare at her until she started to fidget under his gaze, “I’m not going to eat you”

She smiled and bounced on her hooves in excitement, “Thank you!” she looked towards the door, “now we just need to…” she looked to Sill, “escape… by…”

“You don't have a plan do you?”

She opened her mouth, then closed it and gave him another smile.

Sil sighed, “of course, you don't” he ignored her frown, “what's your name horse?”

“Moon Dust, and I’m a thestral, not a horse!”

Sil nodded and pointed to the door, “can you open the door again?”

She nodded and walked over to the door, she opened her wing and a small card fell to the ground. She then picked up the card with her hoof somehow and pressed it against the door, after a moment it swung open.

Sil stood up and walked toward her, he felt sluggish but whatever was causing it felt like it was wearing off quickly, “Now do you think you could point out the direction of the exit while I run?”

“sure!” She gave him a confused look, “…run?”

“LEFT, GO LEFT!” Moon shouted into Sil’s ear as they darted through the complex.

“I HEARD YOU” He shouted back as he took a sharp left into another long corridor. The sound of several guards making chase was audible from behind them.

Moon giggled as she shifted around on his back, “THIS IS JUST LIKE MY BOOKS!”

Sil ignored his companion’s excitement and continued down the long hall, as they neared the end a set of steel doors came into view.

“That’s the exit!” Her hoof pointed over his shoulder towards the doors.

Sil nodded in confirmation and continued to charge towards their exit.

As they got close Sil shouted, “Hold on!” with a grunt he slammed through the doors narrowly avoiding running into a small group of cats that had been walking along the street outside.

The group didn’t hesitate to start running when they got a clear look at Sil’s completely nude form, he felt Moon hop off his back and he turned to her as she started to wave him forward, “Sil! Follow me”

Sil glanced back and saw one of the guards make their way out of the building as he and Moon disappeared into an alleyway.

Chapter Two

Sil rubbed his eyes as the retreating light of the moon gave way to a warming sky, he sat up with a light sigh and took a breath of the salty air. One thing he had discovered, much to Moon's delight, is that the city they were in was bordered by an ocean. A map he found labeled it ‘the ocean of Equis’ due to strong ties with ancient equestrian expansion, a topic he hadn’t found the time to research yet.

He stood up with a stretch feeling his joints pop and crack, Moon's ear flicked as she shifted, mumbling something under her breath.

‘She’s been sleeping more during the day, probably something to do with being half bat’ he mused as he slipped through the small room they currently called home.

He threw his cloak over his shoulders with a small flourish, they had managed to steal clothing from market stalls that had left their goods out during the nights when Tay was less likely to catch wind of them.

Once he was dressed he spared one last glance at Moon who was still curled up under a few pieces of fabric as she slept, a small smile made its way onto his face as he slipped out the door into the warming desert air.

The area they had found themselves in was a poorer district of the large city, trash and tumbleweed scattered down the roads, and slim alleys cut through the crowded district casting shadows over the homeless and sick that called the slums home.

Sil sighed as he kicked a small piece of paper out of his way, it had been nearly two weeks since they had escaped Tay and he still hadn’t managed to find any secure way out of the city. Any ships asked for too much and the only thing outside the city was miles of desert they had no means of traversing.

Sil was lost in his thoughts as he climbed up a rusty ladder leading to the roof of their shack, he walked towards the edge of the roof and sat down watching as the sun rose over the horizon casting the city in a warm orange glow.

“Hope I’m not interrupting anything”

Sil jumped from his spot and turned to face the voice. Behind him was a cat concealed under a mix of leather and dark cloth, a belt ran from its shoulder to its waist and a small satchel along with two knives sat on its hips.

It took a step back and watched him cautiously, “you certainly meet the description, still I expected more from the ‘monster’ that got away from the ripper” it’s voice was lighter and he assumed it was a she.

Sil glanced around while she spoke, his back was to the road, if he needed to he knew a jump wouldn’t hurt him. The roof behind her was empty and he couldn’t spot anyone else.

“… The ripper?” He asked cautiously, he heard the faintest creak of a door opening below them.

She blinked from behind her mask, “the ripper, Tay, the second princess, crazy scientist with a penchant for ripping cats apart and replacing them with steel?”

He paused, “princess?” He spotted Moon slipping onto the roof, a surprisingly violent look coming over the pony’s face as she spotted the cat.

Her head tilted, “you don’t know?” She went silent and her body tensed as Moon lowered herself to the ground and prepared to pounce. The moment Moon left the ground the cat was turned around, she reached up while stepping to the side and grabbed her by the barrel mid-flight before flinging Moon back towards Sil. He raised his arms to try and stop Moon from colliding with him, but her wings flared out before it happened and in another instant she was beside Sil watching the cat with a glare.

The cat straightened her posture and looked back at them, even without her face visible Sil could see a shine of amusement in her eyes.

“And there’s the red eyed thestral! you for one live up to the description” she chuckled to herself as they both watched her from their position.

“What, no questions? For all you know I could be one of the princesses goons” the tone in her voice was teasing as she spoke.

“Fine,” Sil started, “who are you?”

She clapped her hands together enthusiastically, “look at you! That was almost a complete sentence!” Sil frowned at her.

“To answer your question; you can call me Bliss, I enjoy watching the sunrise and long walks on the beach” she looked between Moon and Sil, “and I’m your recruiter so I’d advise against trying to kill me. I don’t think that’d look great on your report”

“What recruiter?!” Moon spoke up sharply and looked to Sil, “she’s probably just one of Tays drones, look at how she’s all covered up!”

For once the amusement left the cats eyes and she managed to look insulted, “I’ll have you know, little red eye, I am neither a drone nor am I with the ripper” Bliss pointed to her blue eyes, “do I look like some lifeless abomination to you?”

“-don’t, don’t answer that” the cat said sharply, cutting off Moon's response.

“You may not be one of her… things, but how can we know you aren’t with her? She had normal guards when we escaped” Sil spoke up, drawing the cat's glare.

“for the two monsters who escaped from the ripper you’re pretty slow”- she rubbed her head and sighed, “-if I was with the ripper, or Tay as you prefer to say, don’t you think she would be here by now? With an army of her groupies and drones behind her?”

“Then you could just be a distraction!”

She gave Moon a deadpan stare before shaking her head, “by the sun, you two are morons.” she fell silent for a moment before looking back at them, “listen, I understand I may have surprised you, and I may have been ever so slightly rude

“But, I am NOT one of those damned drones”- she shot Moon a look, “-and I am certainly not working with the ripper, or any of the royalty for that matter”

Sil shook his head, “regardless of what you are or who you’re with, you don’t come across as someone to trust”

Bliss chuckled at that, “never heard of a trustworthy thief, I’m certainly not one of them.”

Sil frowned, “so you’re a thief? There’s nothing to take from us, so what do you want?”

She sighed, “Remember when I said ‘re-cru-ter’?” she spelled out the word with her paws for emphasis, “do I really need to spell it out?”

“Didn't she just do that?” Moon whispered to Sil who decided to ignore her for the moment.

“Fine, so you're a thief who wants to recruit us into… what? A gang?”

“Guild” Bliss corrected. “we've been hired to get something from your buddy, Princess Tay. You two have escaped before so you are reasonable assets to have. Easy ”

“Y-you want us to go back there?!” Moon hissed, “why would we do that? What if she got us again!?” Her ears flattened against her head.

Bliss took a step back at Moons rising panic, Sil looked to her, “Moon, I need you to breathe”

Moon shook her head and stepped back towards him, “b-but she sai-“

“-If your issue is going inside that won’t be needed” Bliss interrupted regaining their attention, “we just need one of you to give directions and another to be there with us” Sil looked at Moon who was pressed against his leg, she was still nervous but at least appeared to be calming down.

“So then what’s in it for us? Why should we help you when it only puts us at risk” He asked as he stood back up.

A smile reappeared in her eyes, “as it is we assume you two have been looking for a way outside the city?”

Sil nodded hesitantly.

“Good, in that case we can arrange for transportation alongside a decent sum of money to keep you alive wherever you want to end up”

Sil frowned “And that’s it? We help you and then you just… let us go?”

“Mhm, after all sending you two off is also a good way of throwing Tay off our tails, she’s been pretty upset over the loss of you two” she gave him a playful wink, “makes a lady wonder what kind of ‘experiments’ she was so excited to run”

Sil ignored the comment and thought to himself for a moment, “Can we discuss this? Alone preferably”

Bliss nodded without hesitation, “I can give you today to make up your minds” she gave Sil and Moon one more look, “…I’ll leave you two to it then, expect me back by midnight” With that she turned around and walked to the edge of the roof opposite to Sil and Moon, she hesitated for a moment before shaking her head and stepping off the ledge.

They sat in silence for a moment before moving to the ledge and peering over, “she’s gone”

Moon sniffed and shook her head, “I can't even smell her anymore, how’d she do that?!” Moon exclaimed forgetting her previous anxiety.

Sil shrugged, “She’s a thief, guess they have their ways.” he paused, “So what do you think?”

She looked up at him, “You’re asking me?”

“Of course, I’m not going to decide for you”

She went silent for a moment, “I-I’m not sure…” she frowned at the rough floor before looking back up at him, “Is… Is there any other way?”

He turned and looked back to the Sun which had risen over the horizon, “I’m not sure, We can't risk wandering the desert and last I checked the few ships giving us a way out are to heavily guarded and asking for money we don't have”

“What if we look one more time?” Moon asked hesitantly, “Maybe we can find something today!”

Sil ran his fingers over his knuckles as he thought, after a moment he nodded, “We have until midnight to find something, if not…”

“If we can't find anything we have to, right?”

He nodded as Moon took up position beside him, she bumped his leg and he glanced down at her, “Don't worry, we’ve got this! We can't let any thieves get in our way!”

Sil smiled and nodded towards the sun, “then let's go, we can check the docks first”

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Moon peeked over Sil’s shoulder as he walked through the crowd that filled the docks, the smell of saltwater and sweat drifted through the air and the area was filled with shouting as the workers loaded and unloaded crated from various ships. His face covered by a mask and hood Sil was able to make his way through unnoticed as Moon sat on his back looking around with excited eyes from under her own hood.

“It’s so cool!” she exclaimed under her breath looking towards the ocean that stretched out over the horizon, “do you think it ever ends?” she asked Sil who was focused on making his way towards one of the buildings marked ‘Customs’

He paused at her question and looked over the Sea, he got several grumbles from cats trying to make their way around them as they stopped, “From what I know Equestria sits over the horizon” he pointed straight out over the Sea.

Moon gasped, “Equestria!? You mean the land of friendship and magic?!”

Sil chuckled, “Not sure if I’d describe it like that, but sure, it's also where the ponies and such live”- he gave her a pointed glance, “and they are ruled by-”

“Celestia and Luna! Twin sisters who move the sun and moon!” Moon exclaimed.

He hummed in affirmative, “I don't know much else though, they keep to themselves quite strictly, The Cats and Griffons are the only nations they maintain relations with which is surprising”

He felt Moon tilt her head as he resumed walking towards the customs office, “Why’s that?”

“From what little I’ve read ponies aren't fond of other creatures” he paused and glanced at Moon, “usually, that is”

“Huh” Was all Moon said in response, she kept silent as they arrived at the building. The door closed behind them muffling the noise from the docks, Moon hopped off his back and started to wander around the room which was empty except for a few cats checking in their ships and goods at the desk.

“So what's here?” Moon asked after looking around.

Sil pointed to a large board on one of the walls littered with papers, “That, it tracks ships coming in and out of the docks. We just have to look for any taking passengers”

They got a curious glance from one of the cats as it left the building.

“Is it that easy? I was expecting more… sneaking” Moon sounded slightly let down as she looked at the board.

“Their customs keep imports and exports public. Probably just makes it easier to navigate the docks that way” He glanced back at her with a small smile, “It may not be a thrilling adventure, but-”

With a crash the window farthest from them burst, a familiar figure flew through it with a shout and scrambled to her feet brushing glass off her leather shoulder pads. Her blue eyes met Sil’s gray eyes and she blinked

“What are y-”

The door getting kicked in cut her off and several cats poured in, they all wore what the typical civilian wore aside from a piece of red fabric hanging from the side of their trousers. Most of them held a normal appearance, but the thud of hooves cut that assumption aside as a Minotaur walked in with a feral glare letting out a huff of air as he spotted Bliss.

“Bliss, you know what you owe” He growled as the gang circled her, a golden ring pierced through his nostrils glinted in the light.

She coughed and averted her eyes from Sil back to the Minotaur, “George, was it?”

His eyes narrowed, “It is Gorn” he said with a huff, his body was covered by a roughly sewn tunic but it was easy to tell he had seen his share of fights.

Her hands fell to the knives at her hips and in a single movement they were unsheathed, “Yes well I’m afraid I don't have the time to be talking with you George. Maybe speak with Tabby?” her eyes twinkled and she grinned, “oh that's right she left you, what was it… ‘An inept fool who can't even get his dick up for his wife’?”

Gorn took a moment to process what she had said before his eyes widened and he let out an roar that made Sil and Moon take a step back, the giant Minotaur charged forward with thundering steps and sent a savage swipe towards Bliss but she was already gone.

Her eyes lit up with amusement, she ducked under the swipe and dashed to his side embedding a dagger into his leg, Gorn let out a shout and fell to a knee, her hand vanished into her pouch as she continued to move using his leg as a stepping stool to slam a ball into his face. A large cloud of gray dust exploded directly on his nose and he let out another shout and fell onto his back trying to cover his face.

Gorn’s group seemed to realize their leader was in danger and began to move in towards Bliss unsheathing their own weapons, an assortment of daggers, swords, and blunt weapons.

Bliss didn't stop moving as she ripped the dagger from Gorns leg causing him to scream out in pain, using him as a stepping stool again Bliss launched herself off Gorns body and vaulted in a clear arc over the head of one of the gang members as they took a swing towards her. She moved back towards Sil and Moon as Gorn slowly rose back onto his legs.

“Get that bitch!” He roared and tried to take a step forwards, instead he stumbled and nearly fell. He held a hand to his head and shook it causing Bliss to snicker.

“Don't worry George! You’ve got a few hours of high with that dose” She turned to Sil and Moon and tossed a dagger to Sil who caught it as he shook himself out of his shock.

“I-I don't know how to use this!” he hissed as Bliss backed up to them, the gang was advancing cautiously as they took note of her new friends.

“It’s enchanted, just cut them once and they’ll be out of the fight in a minute” she replied hastily and looked at Moon who was watching the gang members with a mix of fear and shock, “And red-eye, if you’re hungry now is the time to get some food! You have your own daggers for that”

Sil gave her a confused look and Moon stared at her with wide eyes shaking her head, “No- I don't- W…what are you talking about!?” She half shouted pressing her flank against the wall.

Bliss shook her head and turned back to the approaching group, “Then its just me and the idiot!” she flashed him a smile, “You take three I’ll get five?”

Sil didn't have time to respond as she darted forward in a blur and slugged one of the goons in the face earning a shout of pain, Not allowing himself to think about it Sil charged forward and tackled another one who was distracted by Bliss’ movements.

The cat let out a shout and tried to throw Sil off only to stop as the dagger was stabbed into his shoulder causing him to let out a cry of pain, Sil didn't have any time to think as a kick to his stomach caused him to grunt, he looked up as a blade swung towards his head only to be stopped as its owner got tackled by a mass of black and purple.

Sil watched as Moon grappled onto the cat and sunk her fangs into its throat with a growl, the cat fell to the ground with a shout and tried to pull her off only to fall limp a few moments later. Moon pulled back with a breath and a line of blood followed her splattering over the ground, the incapacitated cat didn't seem to be bleeding from its wound as Moon caught Sil’s eye.

“There you go red-eye!” came a shout from his left, Sil looked over to see Bliss slamming a cat into the ground, a dagger shoved into its throat down to the hilt with amusement written in her eyes.

He looked back at Moon as a chair slammed into her side and sent her flying into a far wall with a grunt, Gorn stumbled forwards with a growl his eyes locked onto Moon as she stumbled back to her hooves.

With the cat below him now staring blankly at the ceiling and mumbling incoherently Sil launched forwards in a blur and slammed the dagger into Gorns ribs, he felt something break as the blade pierced through his lungs and the Minotaur let out another scream of pain sending his hand across Sil’s body and sending him flying back along with the dagger. Gorn stumbled as his eyes fell on Sil he let out a low growl that turned into a bloody cough, “Fucking Cats and their poison” he grumbled as he fell to a knee and stared at the floor, his gaze was unfocused as he began to mumble to himself before finally falling to the ground.

Sil blinked away the stars and stood up with a grunt, he didn't feel injured just a pain from the impact of the strike. His eyes went to Moon who was still leaned up against the wall, one of her wings hung limp at her side and her eyes were staring at nothing with a silly grin on her face.

“Moon?!” He shouted as he walked over to her, the fight seemed to be over as the remaining cats fled the scene.

Moon looked over to him lazily, “Sil! Whysre you on the roofs?!” She giggled and stumbled forwards just to be caught by Sil who had knelt down to steady her.

“She’s fine, must’ve gotten a whiff of that silver dust from Gorn” Bliss spoke up behind him.

He looked at her with a glare and she stopped, “Silver dust?”

“Its harmless, not called Bliss for nothing” she chuckled as Moon muttered something about flying Minotaur. “Just give her an hour and she’ll be fine, aside from the headache”

Sil looked around at the ruined building, “do we have an hour? Your little scene wasn't exactly quiet” Moon giggled and leaned her head against him closing her eyes.

Bliss blinked and looked around as if she had forgotten the fight, “Suppose you have a point”- She looked at Moon who had all but fallen asleep against Sil, -“can you carry red-eye?”

“It’s Moon, and yes I can” He twisted from where he was kneeling and gently wrapped Moon in his arms before standing, she nestled closer to him with a hum lost in her high.

Bliss smiled, her face having been exposed sometime in the fight, “I’d almost call it cute, if I hadn't just seen her drinking from a cat” a small shudder crawled up her spine as she looked at Moon’s previous victim who was still unconscious.

“Was that something to do with her eyes?” Sil asked after a moment of hesitation.

She looked up at him, “something like that-” The distant sound of bells along with a clamoring of boots and shouting came closer, “-But she can explain later, follow me”

With that she ducked through the doorway and down the street with Sil in tow carrying Moon.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Moon nestled her snout under Sils chin as they walked through the slums of the docks, The smell of smoke and chatter of distant voices echoed through the alleys as they moved.

“Ysh mell’ good” she hummed, Sil gently pushed her head away for the fourth time, she let out a disappointed whine but relented choosing to rest her head against his shoulder.

“This… drinking thing, what is it?” He asked Bliss as she led them past the various sketchy vendors who sat in the alcoves in the wall opposite to the sea.

Bliss spared him a glance over her shoulder, “I’m surprised you don’t know, you’ve been with her two weeks now yeah?”

He nodded, sparing a glance at the sleeping pony.

She opened her mouth to continue but stopped with a shake of her head, “in that case I’ll leave it to her to explain, not my secret to tell”

“I wouldn’t take you for the type to care”

Her ear flicked but she didn’t respond, once again falling into silence as they walked down slim roads.

Not much longer they came to a stop infront of a grate built into the ground.

“These are the slums”- Bliss turned to Sil, a serious look on her face, “-the real slums. Stay close to me and keep your head down, a dagger to the back isn’t something you can walk off”

Sil frowned but nodded nonetheless, Bliss turned back to the grate and grabbed the edges, with a grunt she pried it open and laid it beside the entrance of the hole giving them access to what smelled like the sewers.

They made their way down and onto the ground level, Sil doing his best to keep up with Bliss. After a while of walking down the empty tunnel it began to split off into branching paths, and occasionally he’d catch a glimpse of a cat or what looked to be bipedal dogs with large arms and gnarled faces.

Eventually they made it to the end of the tunnel, the area opened up into a surprisingly big cavern filled with creatures of all sorts, shabby building made out of wood and cloth were leaned against the stone walls and the stench of sweat and sewage made him cough.

Bliss gave him a smile, “get used to the smell, if you really want to avoid the ripper that is”

“She hasn’t found us yet” Sil responded as he looked over what he could see from their position, “and I thought our place was rundown”

Bliss chuckled, “I wouldn’t go around saying that, for most creatures this is the best they can do, even if it does smell like shit and piss”

Sil sighed which only caused the smell to get worse, “I don’t see any of you around here” he coughed and shook his head.

“Even in the underground thieves can’t be public, wouldn't do much good if anyone could just rat us out to the guards.”

Moon shifted in his arms her own nose scrunched up in response to the smell, Sil looked to Bliss, “then let’s get to wherever you are, I think Moon would be a bit to excited at the idea of an ‘underground’ and I don’t want to deal with that at the moment”

She shot him a bemused look before nodding leading them onwards into the slums.

Chapter Three

Sil opened his eyes and found himself in a familiar landscape, a pleasant breeze shifted his hair and he watched the sky from his spot at the base of a tree.

His gaze shifted at the sound of gentle footsteps, his eyes met the figure of a woman wearing a simple dress that took inspiration from the natural beauty that surrounded them.

He stood up as a smile grew on his face, he felt… content, happy in the simplicity around them. He looked to the woman’s face and his peace was broken.

Her form held a gracefulness only possible through a lifetime of practice, pure white hair flowed gently with the breeze, and pale fair skin seemed to glow in the light, and yet, he couldn’t see her face.

A sudden panic came with the realization, the breeze stopped blowing and the rustle of leaves fell quiet. A strong wave of desire struck through him as he stepped forward, he couldn’t see her, but why? An ache echoed through his chest as the woman simply stood in place, her arms hung limp at her sides like a doll that had been cut from its strings.

She was so close, and yet… he didn’t know who she was, he couldn’t remember her face. He held his breath as he reached his hand out towards her. The moment his hand would’ve made contact her form broke and faded into the wind leaving him alone.

He remembered he could breath as the world around him shifted once again, except instead of the war torn landscape from before he was now surrounded by a vast empty void, he looked around trying to spot anything, anyone, but nothing was there. He opened his mouth to shout but nothing came, he pushed forwards intent on finding something but the scene remained still.

He was alone.

“EEEEE!” a piercing screech ripped Sil from the isolation. He shot up from his bed and spotted Moon looking around with wide eyes.

She spotted him and her wings unfurled before she flew into him wrapping Sil in a hug, “Sil! Where are we? D-Did Tay get us? Was it a trap?! What happened to the Minotaur-” she gasped, “Is Bliss dead? Am I- are y-?”

She was cut off by Sil clamping her snout closed with a hand, “We’re fine, Moon, Tay led me here after you got a whiff of that powder she used on the Minotaur” he shifted her off of himself and placed her back on the ground.

She attempted to continue speaking but he pressed a finger to her snout before she could start again earning a glare, “And before we start on anything else we need to talk, about your…” he trailed off and removed his finger.

Moon's head tilted, “about wh… oh”- she took a step away from him, watching him with frightened eyes, her body tensed up as if she was preparing to take off.

Sil paused confused over the sudden change of mood, “Moon? Are you okay?”

“N…n-no! you can't… why?” her eyes were glazed over with panic and she looked through Sil as she pressed her back against the wall, “I-I’mnot a m-monster” Her eyes flicked to the door and back to Sil.

“Moon, I’m no-“ He was cut off by a paw landing on his shoulder.

“Leave her be” Bliss spoke softly, “she needs a second”

Moon's eyes were darting between Sil and Bliss. Her body was tense and she moved so little it was as if she was hardly breathing.

Sil opened his mouth to protest but was cut off, “Listen to me. You’ll only do more harm if you press her, step outside with me” her tone didn’t leave room for argument and she avoided looking at Moon.

Sil hesitated before relenting and took a step back alongside Tay, they left the room silently, Moon watching them on the way out.

“What was that?”

Bliss stared at him for a moment before sighing, “you two really know how to keep the mood somber don’t you?”

Sil rubbed his head and gave an aggravated sigh, “Damnit Bliss, I’m not playing around with you right now”

“You really are stupid aren’t you?” She shot back, her tone didn’t hold the usual tease.

He glared at her, “how was-“

“She’s been with the ripper for twenty years” Bliss was looking over her paw as she spoke but her voice kept its edge.

“Twenty?” He stared at her, “how could you know?”

Bliss gave him a look, “we have resources, but that’s not important.” She hesitated, “what do you think Tay would do with a bloodsucking pony over the course of twenty years, hm?”

He opened his mouth to speak but stopped himself.

“There you go, tell me. What would a scientist who rips her own kind apart do with something that’s rumored to have only been seen nearly ten decades ago?”

She stopped looking at her paw and looked to him, “experiment, Sil. And I know that look, it wasn’t light.”

“shit” he leaned against the wall, “your right, why wouldn’t I… fuck”

She chuckled dryly, “give her time, let her start, not you. And hope you didn’t mess up to big”

Bliss pressed off the wall and started down the narrow hallway of the two story house they were in, “I’ve got some marks to do today, feel free to greet anycreature that’s here just don’t leave the house”

Sil gave her a blank nod but she didn't look back, a short while later he heard the front door open and close behind her.

‘Twenty years’ He bit the inside of his cheek, ‘what am I supposed to do?’

He looked to the door to their room and fought the urge to just walk in, ‘Bliss is right, thats not something you can just talk through, I need to give her time’

He ran his fingers over his knuckle and stepped away before turning to the hall, ‘let’s meet the guild, specially if I’m going to be working with them’ he spared one last glance at the door before making his way down the hall towards what smelled like food.

It didn’t take long for him to find the shabby kitchen, a cat cooking what smelled like bacon and toast glanced up at him with a blank expression.

“Is the Thestral with you?” They asked.

Sil found himself staring at them, “are you wearing… a maids gown?” He asked with a hint of confusion at the strange apparel, especially considering the quality of the dress.

They nodded, “Yes, is the Thestral coming? The food is nearly ready.”

“I…” he shook his head, “n-no, I’ll be bringing it to her, uh?”

“Ignorance, you can call me Ancy for short”

He found a small smile on his face, “well it’s nice to meet you, Ancy” he paused and looked over their dress once again, “do you mind if I ask why you’re wearing that?”

Their face kept its neutral appearance as they began to place the meat onto a plate, “Bliss told me to wear it while cooking and cleaning”

“… and that’s it?”

They placed the plate with bacon to the side and a few slices of bread found themselves nearby soon after, “Yes”

“I’m assuming you are a thief, right?” He grabbed the plate that was handed to him as Ancy moved around the counter and started getting food for themselves.

Once again the answer was simple, “I am”

He waited for them to continue but nothing came, “well I’ll just… get Moon's plate” he said awkwardly, moving after her and getting a place for himself and Moon.

“There will be a debrief this afternoon, will the thestral be able to make it?” They spoke up before Sil could leave the kitchen.

He looked back over his shoulder, “I think so, she just needs time”

Ancy nodded, “very well, you can go now”

Sil took his leave then with a nod, ‘not sure if that went good or bad’ he sighed, biting into a piece of toast as he walked back towards the room.

Once he arrived at the door he hesitated and listened for any noise, he couldn’t hear anything moving around inside. He closed his eyes before knocking lightly on the door, “Moon? I’ve got some food for you so I’m coming in”

He slowly pressed the handle down and slid the door open before stepping in, he found Moon curled up on her bed, her body tensed at his presence but she kept her back to him silently staring at the wall.

Sil didn’t say anything as he took her plate from under his own and set it on the chair that served as a nightstand to her bed. He opened his mouth to talk but decided against it, instead moving to the dusty bookshelf that took up part of the room.

He scanned the titles and to his surprise they seemed to cover more magical topics from ‘The Realm of dreams’ to ‘categorizations of magical energy written by starswirl the bearded’

He was silent as he looked eventually landing on one labeled ‘the mysteries of dimensional travel written by Celestia’

‘Celestia, isn’t that the princess of Equestria?’ He slid the book from its place and brushed the dust off the large tome, ‘a book written by a foreign ruler, I’m surprised something like that would be down here’

He walked back to his own bed and laid back, the window that sat over it provided a dim light coming from the cavern the underground city was in, he blinked, ‘now that I think about it, where’s that coming from?’

He glanced out his window and followed the light to the far-off ceiling of the cavern, the entire thing was lit up by a gentle blue glow and on the ground level he realized the lamp posts held the same light. ‘How did I not notice that before?’

He chuckled to himself and shook his head before returning to the book, ‘I’ll have to look into it later, maybe Bliss or Ancy knows what’s making the light’

He opened up the book to the first page skimming over the introduction.

“The mysteries of interdimensional travel, which I will be referring to as Dimension hopping, are something which I have studied since my time under my mentor, Starswirl the Bearded. This tome will serve as an introductory lesson for the advanced course of theories of magic.

As dimension hopping is still a topic that remains mysterious even to myself do not be afraid to conduct your own experiments under the supervision of an instructor-“

Sil readjusted his position on the bed as he fell into the book, ‘This was written for a course? Strange that a princess would write something for a school, I’d think they’d be more focused on other things’

He read through the book at a steady pace, eventually he came to a chapter titled ‘catalysts and portals’.

“- The only way I myself have witnessed dimension hopping is through the use of a portal in the form of a mirror to serve as a way line between realities, sadly the subject I witnessed using such means vanished and the portal was destroyed from the other side, thus I have no way of confirming if it was truly successful or not-“

Sil sighed, “not much help there, but I don’t think I came through a mirror anyway” his mind wandered to the nightmares he had been experiencing and he felt a sense of isolation creeping into his chest before he pushed the thought away.

He closed the book and let it lay on his chest, “Not a mirror, I was sent away… right?” He stared at the ceiling.

“Did I do something? Or was It something else?” He ran his fingers over his knuckles, “then my memories…”

He sighed and a movement caught his eye. Moon at some point had slipped out of her bed and was stealing a piece of his food he had forgotten about, not realizing she had been caught she returned back to her bed silently.

“You know I could get you another plate” He spoke up, looking to Moon who had returned to her position on the bed.

She remained silent and Sil stopped himself from pressing, instead just letting his eyes wander back to the ceiling in thought.

“You hate me” she said finally in a low tone, more as a statement than a question.

“That’s not true, Moon” he looked back to her as she sat up onto her haunches.

“I can smell it you know” she whispered narrowing her eyes at him, “your blood”

He hummed, ignoring the implication, “Is that how you knew Bliss was there that morning?”

She ignored him and jumped off the bed, her eyes were angry, “I’m still hungry too, I always am I j-just…”

She trailed off, her voice breaking before she shook her head and returned her eyes to him, “It just happens, one second I’m scared then I’m-“

She looked down at her hooves in disgust, “I’m a monster” she whispered, “Tay knew it too, she’d lock me in a room with creatures, cats, Minotaurs… ponies” she muttered the last word, “she’d starve me, forcing me to stay close to them. Then once I got sick, she’d tell them.”

She scoffed, “‘She needs blood to survive’. They were always confused, then once they realized-“ she paused and looked at him, “Monster, beast, psycho”

Her hoof trailed to her throat, “some of them would try and kill me, but it didn’t work” a tear was in her eyes, “every time I’d wake up in a pool of blood, and the worst thing”

Her eyes grew sharp, “I enjoyed it. The taste in my mouth was the most amazing thing… and the more I had it the harder it was to not just-“ she gestured aimlessly and fell silent for a moment, “some of them were my friends” she continued “they trusted me, offered themselves and I couldn’t stop.

Then every time, Tay would come in and congratulate me. Tell me how interesting it was to see how the blood affected me, how I fed on them was so efficient”

She choked as a tear trailed down her face her snarl returned as she looked at her hoof, “I’m a monster, and you hate me”

Sil was silent for a moment, watching her as she looked at her own body in disgust, “Moon…”

She met his eyes despite the tears, “You aren’t a monster, and I don’t hate you”- He sat up on his bed and watched her as her eyes grew annoyed, -“You’re my friend”

“SO WHAT?!” She shouted, “It’s only a matter of time before I need to…” she shook her head, “even if you don’t hate me, I’m a monster.”

“You didn’t kill that cat” he said catching her eye once again, “you aren’t a monster, it’s just who you are”

“Just who I am!?” She hissed, “I drink blood, Sil, I need it to survive, I can hear your heartbeat and smell you from here-“

“And?” He shot back, “not once during these last two weeks did you hurt me, in fact you saved my life, twice!” He shook his head, “I can’t understand what you went through with Tay, but I can tell you that you are not a monster, and no matter what you need to survive you are still my friend”

She faltered, her eyes falling, “then what will you do when I need blood?” She whispered.

“How often do you need it?” He asked.

She gave him a hesitant look, her ears hanging low by her head, the tears had stopped but still threatened to start again “every three weeks, then I get sick” her voice was still a whisper.

Sil thought for a moment before nodding, “then that settles it, you can use me, we can make sure you stay healthy and you don’t have to worry about anyone else knowing”

She gave him an incredulous look, “b-but I can’t… what if I go too far?”

“You won’t”- she started to talk again but he cut her off, -“and I’m able to help you stop if you need to, if I can walk off a Minotaur that shouldn’t be a problem”

She went silent and sat down staring at the floor, “you don’t hate me?”

He smiled and stood up walking over to her, he kneeled down and wrapped her in a hug, she tensed but didn't go against it “of course I don’t Moon”

It was silent for a moment before she returned his hug, at some point she had started to cry again.

His mind wandered to the image of Tay, the table he had been strapped on, and her casual voice as she told him what she had planned. ‘Next time… I wont let her walk away’

————————————————————————————————————————

Sil and Moon looked up from the bed they were sat on as a knocking came from the door.

“The briefing is starting soon, come when you are ready” the monotone voice of Ancy spoke from the other side.

“Alright, we’ll be there” Sil said in a raised voice, a few moments later he heard padded footsteps walking away.

“Was that… Ignorance?” Moon asked, it had taken a while for her to regain her cool but she was mostly back to her normal self.

“Mhm, just call them Ancy”

“Them? Are they a boy or a girl?” Moon asked, glancing at the door as Sil stood up, she stood on the bed and hopped off with a flap of her wings.

“No clue, they were wearing a maids dress when I saw them at first though”

Moon nodded and went silent, she hesitated following Sil to the door, “do you think Bliss…”

“No” he stated, “she’s an ass and even if it was in her favour she’s kept us safe, even knowing about your…” he trailed off trying to find a good was to put it, “...needs”

She watched him for a moment before giving him a trusting smile, following him out the door and to what they assumed was the living room. Bliss was lounged across on of the seats, she stopped talking with Ancy who was standing nearby as she caught sight of them.

“Good to see you didnt break red-eye” she quipped sitting up on the sofa, she gestured to another sitting across the table from her, “take a seat, we need to make sure you understand the plan for tomorrow”

Sil coughed and stared at her, “T-tommorow?! We just got here! He-”

He was waved off, “yeah yeah, but a deals a deal, plus-” she gave him an innocent smile, “I helped you two out, only fair you return the favor right?”

“Thats not fair at all!” Moon exclaimed, “Its not like we had a choice!”

“I fail to see your point” Ancy spoke up, regarding Moon and Sil with her blank gaze, “You are here, Bliss helped you, and as far as we are concerned you being here means you’ve agreed to the deal provided, yes?”

Moon frowned, “N- I mean, ugh Sil!” she gave him a pleading look.

He gave Bliss and Ancy his own annoyed look, “They’re right, we cant just walk out of here anyways even if we wanted to” he sighed and focused on Bliss, “But still, why so soon? You cant be telling me you banked your entire operation on us agreeing”

She gave him a coy smile, “Oh but I did, its just my thing. Feel free to ask Ancy if you want, she was just as confused as you two are” Ancy nodded in confirmation after getting a look from Sil and Moon.

Not sure how to continue Sil walked over to the opposite sofa and sat down with Moon, “fine, whats the plan?”

______________________________________________________________________________________________

“It is safe right?” Moon asked nervously, regarding the bottle holding a dark purple fluid with a cautious stare.

“Of course! I’m the resident drug expert around here, my word is as good as you’ll get!”

Sil gave Bliss a look, “I’m not sure drugs and magical potions are the same thing Bliss”

She rolled her eyes, “Listen, I got this from a trusted source who’s never failed me in the past”- she looked to Ancy, -”Isnt that right?”

“You are correct, the source is also of zebrican descent and has experience in making such potions” she looked to Moon, “We have also tested the potion ourselves and can confirm it is harmless aside from a sense of fatigue and confusion once it wears off”

Moon looked to Bliss, “Why didnt you say that in the first place?!”

Bliss grinned, “It’s less fun that way” her blue eyes flicked to Sil, “The potion should keep you two linked for three hours”- she sat up and leaned over the table between them that had a layout of Tay’s lab, -”And if this map is correct, we should have more than enough time to get in and out before it wears”

“Remind me again why you need directions if you have a map?” Sil spoke up as he looked it over himself.

“Reassurance mostly, and we may find ourselves in a situation where pulling a map out to decide left or right could lead to us captured, killed, and turned into lifeless drones”

“Which would not be good” Ancy offered earning a glance from Moon and Sil.

Bliss spoke up again before either of them could speak, “And once we’re out we’ll be meeting at the docks, luckily for you two I was able to find a nice Pegasus captain willing to smuggle two creatures into Equestria”

At that Moon stared at her with wide eyes, “D-did you say Equestria?” Bliss blinked as a giant grin grew on the Thestral’s face, “omigosh! SIL! WERE GOING TO EQUESTRIA!?” She had began to frantically shake Sil back and forth by the shoulders.

Ancy frowned, “Is the location a problem?”

Moon gasped and rapidly shook her head, “nononono its great! ama-”

She was cut off as Sil wrangled her and held her mouth closed, “It wont be a problem Ancy, thank you” he couldnt help the smile that had grown on his own face from Moons reaction.

Ancy just nodded and returned to scanning the other papers that were scattered around the table for the fith time that night.

Bliss was giving them a bemused smile, “Well I suppose that means the only thing thats left to do is to start!” She stood up with a stretch and exaggerated yawn, “Sil, I recommend going to bed now, especially if you’re going to be keeping up with me tomorrow” she looked to Ancy, “And you, run the plan by Red-Eye one more time before heading to bed, dont try and pull an all nighter or I’ll drag you back myself”

“Yes Bliss” she responded simply before turning to Moon, “Are you ready to go over the material again?”

Sil and Bliss walked out of the room, once they were out of earshot Bliss faced him, “How did your talk with Moon go?”

“It went… well”- he hesitated, -“if I’m being honest though, I’m not sure how I’m supposed to help”

She rolled her eyes, “let me give you some advice, you don’t need to ‘help’ just be there. That’s more than enough”

He met her eyes, “I’m not trying to come off as rude-“

“But why am I helping?” Sil nodded and her gaze wandered the hall, “…I’m not sure” her voice was more… open than usual she didn’t seem as guarded as she had before, but in an instant her smile was back.

“I heard you talked with Ancy, How’d you like the dress?”

He watched her for a moment before shaking his head, “they said you told them to wear it, not sure I understand why but I don’t think I’ll get an answer” he glanced back down the hall from where they had came, “though I did realize you don’t have much of a ‘guild’ here, specially seeing that there’s only you two”

She nodded, “this job was… less popular with the rest of the guild, could say us two are taking a little break to do this”

Sil frowned, “Why would you take a job that gets you kicked from your ‘thieves guild’? From the gear I’ve seen you use I’m assuming there’s benefits to sticking with them”

She opened her mouth to reply but stopped herself, her smile faded once again, “…Y'know I really shouldn’t be this trusting should I?”

Sil gave her a confused look, “what do you mean?”

“You two of course, I picked you up from the street, led you to our home, all while not even knowing what you even are.” She looked at him with a curious expression, “you’ve got this strange draw to you”

Sil watched her carefully, “If you think I’m doing something, I can tell you I’m not.”

She was facing him more directly, “and how am I supposed to know for sure, hm?”

He felt himself growing tense before her face broke into a grin, “don’t worry, I may not know what the hell you are but I’ve got enough experience to know when I’m being manipulated” she shrugged to herself, “or maybe I just have a death wish”

She watched him in silence for a few moments before turning back down the hall, “and to give you an answer… suppose I’d just rather go out being helpful than going out a thief” she stated over her shoulder.

He watched her silently as she rounded a corner, listening as her paws walked up the stairs and into what he assumed was her room.

Sil let out a small breath he didn’t know he was holding, “she can be scary sometimes” he wandered down the hall where Bliss had gone and came to his own room toward the base of the stairs.

He stepped in and found his bed, laying down with a sigh he looked out of the window to the light blue glow breaking through the cavern outside, “those lights really are pretty” he said aloud to himself as his mind began to wander.

Chapter four

“I said it yesterday but really, what are you?” Bliss asked as they walked through the winding alleys leading towards Tay’s lab. She was wearing her outfit from the day prior, wrapped in leather and fabric that hugged her form, giving her a suspicious look that Sil thought was contradictory to being inconspicuous.

Sil shrugged, “all I have is that I’m human, my name is Silas,”- his eyes wandered over the rooftops idly -“and I have weird nightmares”

Bliss hummed, “nightmares huh? I’ve heard one of the sisters in Equestria can mess with them, scary if you ask me”

“Scared of dreams?” Sil asked with a smile.

She shook her head, “dreams are a private thing, secrets, fears, fantasies-“ she glanced back at him, “you’d be smart to be cautious around something that can get inside your head”

“Suppose you have a point, though from what Moon says it’s a land of”- he cleared his throat -“friendship and magic!” They turned a corner and he started to recognize the area more.

“Friendship and magic, for ponies” she snorted, “I’m sure you’ve done some reading, ponies are isolationist, unless you look something like them they aren’t very… accepting”

Sil sighed, “yeah, that’s what I’m worried about-” he recognized the alley him and Moon had escaped into when they had escaped, “-we’re close”

They came to a stop at the corner leading to the road, Bliss glanced around and spotted the metal doors that stuck out against the brick wall,“since you two escaped Tay’s been hiring more”- she looked to Sil, -“that means they’re either busy searching the city or inside, so be ready”

He nodded and they slipped across the road, just as before it was completely empty leaving the two in the open as they walked over the sandy road up to the doors.

“There isn’t a handle?” Sil asked aloud, the doors were completely smoothed over, essentially just tall slabs of metal.

“Magically locked, they have enchanted items”- she reached into her satchel with an exaggerated movement and brought out a key that appeared to be made of bone, -“but luckily for us, we don’t have to worry about that” she pressed the key against the door and it passed through the metal effortlessly giving off a dim green glow as Bliss twisted it and the doors swung open.

She shot Sil a grin as she slipped the key back into the bag, “something I got a while back, neat isn’t it?”

Sil gave a smile, “kind of defeats the purpose of locks if you can just magic your way in”

“Oh so you're complaining about how easy it is to get inside a secret base owned by a crazy princess?” She gave an exaggerated sigh, “This guy just can’t be pleased”

Sil rolled his eyes and stepped through the doors behind her.

————————————————————————————————————————

Moon sighed, watching Ancy as she paced around the table, “Are they in yettt?” She groaned.

Ancy stopped and stared at her, “they should be arriving shortly, have you prepared yourself?” They were dressed in tight fitting black and white clothes this morning that hugged her form in a very… interesting way, and despite Moons questions neither of the cats had explained why.

“Mhm!” Moon hummed with a nod, looking to the table with a map laid across it, “do you think Tays going to be there?”

“Unlikely, the ripper has been called out for negotiations with the Minotaurs” despite their expressionless exterior Moon could hear the cats heart beating faster than usual.

Moon gave them a curious look, “the Minotaurs? That doesn’t make sense, they hate the cats”

Ancy looked back to her once again, “with the recent tensions caused by the rebellion the queen is wary of continuing the war”

“Rebellio-“ she stopped as her vision shifted, she was still seeing the room they were in but she was also… aware of another point of view.

“Moon, can you hear me?”

The voice that filtered through her mind was muffled and distant but she could still make it out if she concentrated.

“Good”- Moon's brow furrowed, she hadn’t said anything, -“mental potion, remember?” Sils' voice reminded.

“Oh” she spoke aloud, her own voice was also distant but much clearer than Sils.

Ancy at some point had made their way beside her, “has the potion activated?”

Moon nodded still fighting to keep focused in the confusing state her mind was in, “Focus on Sil, you do not need to remain aware of me” Ancy said, she felt a paw placed on her back reassuringly.

She nodded numbly and let her mind drift, her vision continued to shift until she was looking out of Sils eyes.
————————————————————————————————————————

Sil felt a presence linger behind his eyes, Bliss smiled and took a step back, “alright, she should be looking now. Can you see me?” Her blue eyes twinkled under the magical lights hanging from the ceiling

He nodded as a wispy voice spoke in his mind, ‘y-yes’

“She said yes” Sil repeated as he got used to the strange sensation.

‘Sil?’ Moons voice whispered.

‘you okay?’ He thought back, Bliss had stood up and was glancing down the hall.

“Alright let’s get moving, Red-eyes if you see anything off say something”

‘I’m… okay, your eyes are weird’

Sil nodded for Moon and followed behind Bliss as they began to make their way through the halls.

‘Ponies have wider eyes, and you’re closer to the ground, I’ll try not to move to fast’

‘Thanks’

He nodded and caught up to Bliss who was checking corners.

Now that he was inside Tay’s lab once again he was able to take note of the interior. The halls themselves were made out of a clean white material he couldn’t place, on the ceiling dim colorless lights sat inside of glass squares lighting the hall up nicely. Periodically as they walked they would pass a door sitting beside a thick window, most of the rooms seemed like labs of sorts but for what exactly he couldn’t tell.

Sil caught a look at himself as they passed one of the windows, ‘I’ve got your eyes’ he thought. Noting his eyes were mixed between his gray and Moon's red, Moon just offered a quiet hum in response and he kept moving.

“Shouldn’t there be guards?” Sil spoke up as they stopped at another corner.

Bliss stood up and gave him a look, “I was thinking the same, Is Red-eye saying anything?”

Sil paused, ‘Moon? Any idea where the guards are?’

There was a moment of silence, ‘I- I think there’s a room they stay in when they’re not… guarding’

‘Are we close to it?’

Another pause, ‘I don’t think so, Ancy said Tay was doing negotiations, maybe she brought them with’

Sil nodded and looked to Bliss, “she said Tay might have brought her guard with her for the negotiations?”

Bliss shook her head with a frown, “It’s still not like her to leave this place open…” She looked around the hall with obvious anxiety, “something isn’t right, let’s be quick”

Abandoning most of their stealth the two began to quickly navigate through the base, every now and then Moon would offer redirection and after what felt like an hour they came to a stop at another room.

“This should be it, we don’t need much just follow my lead” Bliss said before once again pulling out the skeleton key, a quick twist and the door clicked open.

————————————————————————————————————————

Moon jerked up as a cool liquid was poured into her mouth, she heard a shout coming from Sil as she was jerked back into her own mind.

“Moon, we have to leave” Ancy spoke in a hushed tone while gently shaking Moon.

“Wha-“ she blinked repeatedly and squinted at the cat, “what’s… happening?”

“Something, I am not sure what, the military has moved into the city”

“T-the military? W…w-why?”

Ancy shook their head, “I do not know, but Tay may have told them our faces. It is not safe here now”

Moon carefully stood up and hopped off the couch using her wings to steady herself, “what about Sil? And Bliss?”

“They will be fine, we’ve planned for this”

She gave Ancy a hesitant nod, “o-okay, what do we do?”

“We will move to the ship, Sil and Bliss should be heading in that direction now” they moved to the window and peeked out before looking back to Moon, “have you prepared?”

Moon started to nod but paused, “one second!” She bolted out of the room and down the hall making her way to the bedroom that her and Sil had been using.

She trotted over to Sils bed and flipped over his pillow revealing the large book he had been reading the day before “‘the mysteries of dimensional travel'’” she read the title aloud and her eyes widened, “is Sil an alie-'' she covered her muzzle with a hoof and looked around suspiciously. Once she was sure no one was listening in she returned to the hall and back to the living room where Ancy was waiting with a small pack draped over their shoulder.

“Is that all you need?” She asked simply looking at the book Moon was balancing on her back between her wings.

Moon nodded, “yep, All ready!”

“Then follow behind me, there is a tunnel connected to the house that leads to the surface”

“Really?! That’s cool!” Moon bounced on her hooves as she followed behind Ancy.

Her enthusiasm died down when the tunnel revealed itself to be made out of mud, dirt, and rickety support beams, “how’s this supposed to bring us up?” She whispered to Ancy who had taken the lead.

“The tunnel will bring us to one of the walls of the undercity, from there it angles up until we reach a ladder-“

“Okay, okay” Moon cut them off with a bored sigh, Ancy’s tail flicked and they walked in silence for a while before she spoke up again, “So, you and Bliss are thieves right?”

“Yes”

Moon smiled, “what kind of jobs do you do?”

She glanced at Moon over her shoulder before continuing forward, “Bliss and myself perform high profile operations”

“Soooo?”

“We take jobs involving Nobility, one’s that are in active war zones, and occasionally we perform recovery missions outside of the city”

“Ooh! Like treasure hunting?!” Moon's ear flicked as a distant rumble quaked through the ground.

Ancy paused once again but continued forwards, “Similar yes, though our last job involving… ‘treasure’ failed”- Moon opened her mouth to ask a question but Ancy was ahead, -“A pegasi named ‘daring do’ managed to steal the item from us, and the client has not contacted us since”

“A Pegasus? Was it in Equestria?” Moon asked with obvious excitement.

They shook their head, “no, it was in Zebrican lands, an old artifact that could supposedly create thriving rivers in the desert”

Moon hummed, “that sounds cool!”

Ancy only nodded in agreement and they fell into silence once more. It didn’t take them much longer to reach the end of the tunnel where a rusty ladder led up through the muddy soil to a distant beam of light that broke through whatever was covering the exit.

Moon looked up the ladder with obvious doubt, also catching a wide view of the cat's bottom, which she ignored with a slight blush, “do we really have to climb that?”

Ancy looked back down the best they could, “it is the only way up, do you need to be carried?” Their tone was expressionless as usual, but Moon felt their question was more of a threat.

“Nooo, I can do it” she groaned, maneuvering to hold onto the ladder the best she could with her equine body, the position was awkward to say the least but manageable. Moon did her best to avoid staring up as they climbed.

After about fifteen minutes the smell of sweat was distinctly coming from the two, Moons legs ached due to being stuck in the unnatural position and she groaned, “how much longer?”

“Just a bit more and we will be there, are you able to keep going?” Ancy questioned pausing with Moon and once again trying to look down.

Moon gulped and nodded “I- y-yeah just kinda tired” she swallowed and looked to the side hiding her blush that had grown considerably in the last few moments.

‘Why do I have to smell everything?!’ She shouted at herself internally as they continued to climb, from her position looking up she was still given a view of the cat's lower half. with the tight clothing Moon felt her eyes tracing the smooth curves of their body, the gentle sway of hips as they climbed with their tail swinging freely through the air, and the slightest scent of-

Moon shook her head and cursed herself internally as they continued to climb, her wings threatened to unfurl as she pushed the suggestive thoughts away and she forced her tail to stay tucked against her flank. Luckily for her the cramped tunnel helped to keep her embarrassment disguised.

“Just a bit further Moon” she murmured to herself, Ancy’s ear flicked but they didn’t respond to the Thestrals muttering.

A short while later they broke away to the surface, Moon stretched her wings and legs with a happy coo.

“Did you see enough?” Ancy’s voice cut through Moons relief and she met their green eyes with her own red eyes.

“W-what do y-you mean?” She stampered, her blush returned as fast as it had disappeared.

“You're looking at the sky, did you see enough?” Their voice remained uninterested and their tail swayed behind them.

Moon scanned their face for a moment and let out an awkward chuckle, “oh! Y-yeah I’m ready”- she cleared her throat and looked around the alley they had stepped into after leaving the hole behind, “do you know how to get to the boat from here?”

“Of course, We use this route often to get to the docks” Ancy turned and scanned the alley as well, “it won’t be far, do you need to be carried now?”

Moon pouted, “No! I can walk” she trotted up beside them as they began to walk, “Actually, I have a question”

Ancy glanced down at her as they walked, “yes?”

“Are you a boy or a girl?” Moon paused, “n-not to be rude, jus-“

“Is it important?” They asked, not sounding offended, though that was normal for them anyway.

Moon frowned and thought for a moment before shaking her head, “I guess not, just curious” she tilted her head, “so then, why does Bliss tell you to dress up?”

Ancy actually seemed to contemplate the answer for a moment before responding, “She finds it… cute”

Moon giggled, “well it is cute, but why do you wear them?”

Ancy’s tail flicked through the air idly, “because Bliss tells me to”

Moon rolled her eyes and bumped the cat's leg with her flank, “that can’t be the only reason”- her grin grew -“you think it’s cute to don't you?”

Their tail flicked again, “No, I simply do as instructed”

Moon raised a brow, “uh-huh, c’mon admit it! You think it’s cute too, that’s why you always listen!”

Ancy’s tail flicked a few more times before they shifted, “…perhaps I find it, slightly, endearing”

She giggled, “oooh I’m so telling Bliss”

“I don’t think Bliss would care” Ancy’s eyes were looking straight ahead and their face kept its emotionless mask, all while their tail flicked more erratically through the air, barely noticeable unless you had been staring at it for a worrying amount of time while climbing up a ladder in a dark tunnel.

Moon gave an amused hum, “if you say so~”

They just nodded and kept their pace. Eventually the smell of the sea neared and the familiar sight of the ocean beyond the wooden docks greeted their eyes.

Ancy peered through the street calmly, scanning over the entire crowd in a single pass, “they should be approachin-“

“BOOM!” A giant crack echoed over the loud street followed by a monstrous roar, the street immediately fell into chaos as Moon was suddenly grabbed and pulled up a set of stairs conveniently leading to the roof of a building.

Farther down the road another quake occured, Moon eyes tracked a body fly into the rapidly emptying roads and her eyes widened, “SIL!”

Even with the crowd below them they could hear the distant thud of footsteps as a colossal Minotaur limped forward. It’s movements were jerky and unnatural, as if it was still learning how to walk, Moon narrowed her eyes at the worrying sight, “I-Is that-“

“It’s a drone” Ancy whispered from beside her. The beast was ragged and torn, its flesh from afar simply looked scarred and rough but Moon knew from previous encounters that a gory mix of steel, skin, and muscle would be visible once within eyesight.

“we have to help!” On key a small object shot out from where the Minotaur had been previously, it collided with the monster's head and a plume of dark dust mushroomed out.

The Monster jerked around and let out a twisted screech, some horrible conflict between a roar and a scream of pain, Moon flinched despite herself and a hand being placed on her back caught her attention.

“You get its attention from above, use your wings but do not bite it. The blood may be polluted” their voice was steady but Moon was acutely aware of how fast their heart was beating.

“What about you?” Moons voice was more focused than she had expected, on the roar the beast had returned its attention to Bliss and they could see Sils form rising from where he had landed before.

“I will assist Bliss and Sil” her paw fell to the satchel at her side, “I have more tools for Bliss as well, she did not bring her full kit. Now go”
————————————————————————————————————————

Sil stared up at the blue sky, his vision swimming. A piercing pain numbed his leg as he slowly regained his bearings and sat up, only to fall back onto his arm with a gasp.

“Oh shit” he muttered as he caught sight of his leg. disfigured, twisted and bloody where the clear white of jagged bone could be seen tearing out from under his skin. “Fuck fuck fuck-“ he groaned, fighting back the urge to scream.

A piercing screech had him back on the ground, he curled up his body only causing more pain as his leg dragged across the cobbled ground.

“OVER HERE YOU GIANT COW!” Moon's voice stuck through his shock, he shifted enough to catch sight of her flying over the battlefield.

Another screech rang out causing Sil to cringe again at the grating sound, the giants tortured eyes tracked Moon through the air coming to a stop with her as she spotted Sil.

“Sil?! Your leg!” She shouted down to him, a look of worry and disgust at the sight of his injuries flashed in her eyes.

“J-just go!” He shouted between gasping breaths, even speaking alone caused new spikes of pain to ache throughout his body, making it harder and harder to fight off the tears forming in his eyes.

The Minotaur, seemingly realizing Moon was not going to come into reach, brought its attention back to the crippled form of Sil with a strained whine as it began to approach him once again.

“Shit, s-stop!” He shouted at the beast, attempting to drag himself back and away from it despite his pain.

Moon continued to fly above the beast, throwing objects she could reach safely and shouting various insults to no avail.

It only took a few long strides before it was on him, the smell of sweat at rot stung his nose as it stared down at him with its tortured eyes. Its fist raised into the air, Moon dove forward.

“Crack!”

Her head snapped around violently twisting far further than it should have, the Minotaur had faced her at the last moment connecting his fist to the much smaller ponies head with force it wasn’t made to handle.

Moon's body flew through the air landing limply on the road some feet away.

Sil stopped breathing, watching her still form. Just a moment, that’s all it had taken.

“Moon!” He choked out, he felt something straining in his mind, rising.

His eyes darted back to the Minotaur as it let out another scream ‘shut up, shut up, shut up-‘ his mind screamed out as he watched the beast with a broken hatred.

Its attention turned back to him and the sensation inside of him only rose, “die, die, die-“ he was whispering out loud now. The Minotaurs fist rose into the air. And everything turned black.

His arms were bound to his side and his vision covered, he tried to strain against the binds but he wasn’t allowed any movement in the suffocating wrap.

Something jostled his form and he could hear tearing, whatever was covering his head was gently peeled away revealing a dark sky glittering with an uncountable amount of stars, each one it’s own unique color.

“Calm” a voice whispered into his ear, he jerked his head trying to spot his captor. He only saw the void which surrounded him, blackness stretching out in all directions.

A scuttling noise came from his other side, he looked but could only catch a slight movement in the darkness.

“Who’s there?!” He shouted, his binding stayed tight against him and he could see it was almost weblike in its makeup.

“Calm” the voice repeated, this time it’s voice was less human, more of a chitter of noise roughly making out words.

He jerked again desperately trying to find whatever had him bound. He froze as a cold pair of hands grabbed the sides of his head.

It stared at him.

He stared back.

Vision flooded back to his eyes, he was standing, dirt under his ruined shoes. The sun warmed his back through his torn clothes, the smell of salt, sweat, blood, and rot stung his nose. His entire body was stained with sweat and gore, a tired weight throughout his body made it hard to stand.

The Minotaur was in front of him looking at him with dead eyes, it was limp on its knees, its arms hanging uselessly by its sides.

Sil tried to take a step back but his arm was stuck, he looked down and gagged. His arm was stuck inside of the Minotaurs chest, blood coating his entire arm up to his elbow.

He slowly managed to pull his arm back, fighting through the fatigue and sickening sound of flesh. Just as he pulled it free something slammed into the corpse of the Minotaur.

A dull black coat, dark purple wings, Moon slammed into the beast, ripping into its throat savagely. Sil stared in shock as she continued to bite and tear into its flesh, blood pooling around where it had fallen as she lapped up everything she could.

“M-moon?” He whispered hesitantly, her body froze up before she jerked her head towards him with a low growl, her eyes a darker blood red with two cat-like pupils.

She took a slow step towards him, any familiarity in her eyes long gone. Sil tensed getting ready to push himself to run before her head jerked to the side.

“You- don’t!” She shouted out in a warped voice.

Another step forward and another jerk to the side, he watched as her coat started to retake its normal color, her wings and eyes slowly following suit as she fell to the ground struggling against something he couldn’t see.

Before long she had returned to her normal form, her neck seemed to have been fixed as she lay still on the ground. Sil stumbled forward and knelt next to her holding his hand in front of her muzzle, when a soft breath tickled his skin he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

He let himself fall down next to Moon with a relieved smile not caring about his approaching sleep.

————————————————————————————————————————

Sil woke up with a shout, sputtering and trying to cover his head as icy water dumped over him.

“Ey! The thing’s awake!” A rough voice barked in front of him, his eyes cracked open, spotting the form of a stallion with a tan coat and dirty-blonde mane.

With his head turned away from Sil he moved to jerk towards the pony only to find himself frozen still, a white shimmer over his body.

“You can’t be looking away from him” a voice scolded from beside him.

The pony he had tried to get at turned and gave a sheepish smile before trotting off, the shimmer faded from around him and he looked over to the unicorn who had stopped him.

Without skipping a beat he spoke up, “Who are you?”

She gave him a crooked smile, “names’ Drift, I’m the minor captain here. Your thestral friend is sleeping below deck” her eyes shot over him, “Bliss said to wake you first, something about things getting ‘bloody’ if we didn’t”

She opened her mouth to continue but Sil raised a hand cutting her off, “you said Bliss?” He finally took a moment to realize where he was; sitting on the deck of a ship, “that means- is this?”

A hum from Drift, “there ya are, this here’s ‘the lady’”- she tapped a hoof against the wooden floor, -“and where you lot’ll be til’ we get to The princesses lands”

He took a moment before slowly nodding, “and Moon is downstairs?” He stood up looking over the white unicorn, she had an auburn-orange mane and tail with green eyes and stood just slightly taller than Moon, she wasn’t what he would think a sailor would look like by any means, but the way the other pony had reacted to her spoke measures.

“Aye, we’ve got her in the brig for safety, Bliss had us thinking she was the giant here” she chuckled, watching him with an amused smile, “just follow me, and I’ll bring you to her”

Sil nodded and followed her as she led him under the deck. As they walked the crew continued to work, occasionally shooting curious looks at Sil and Drift.

As they got to the ‘brig’ , a small cell built towards the back of the ship, Sil spotted Moon sleeping on a matted pile of hay. Drift levitated a small set of keys hanging from the wall and unlocked the gate letting it swing open.

He moved inside and knelt next to her, “hey, moon?” He whispered softly, shaking her body.

She snorted and batted away his hand weakly with a hoof, “five more minutes Sil”

“I’d love to but we need to catch up on what’s going on”

One red eye cracked open scanning the room lazily, when she noticed the inside of the ship her eyes opened fully and she sat up, “where…”

“We’re on a boat, I think Bliss and Ancy dumped us here after the fight” he looked to her neck, “how are you feeling?”

She glanced at Drift before giving him a soft smile, “Fine, just sleepy and a little hungry”

he nodded, “I’ll help you with that later, for now”- he looked at Drift -“mind telling us where we’ll be staying?”

“Aye” she jerked her head for them to follow, Moon hopped onto Sils back and they went behind Drift, “You two will have two places, one for the trip another for entry”

She stopped at a small room tucked away on the ship, two cots were suspended from the roof, “this’ll be your sleeping quarts, mine is straight above so don’t be making to much noise”

she shot Sil a coy look and he shook his head, “it’s not like that, just friends” Moon hummed an agreement, moving into the room and finding her own cot.

She laid down as Drift gave him a curious look, “so, that mean’s you’re open?”

Sil paused before shaking his head, “no offense, but I don’t think I’m really… attracted to other species, I’m still new to the concept”

She shrugged, a strange gesture for a pony,“ah, don’t worry ‘bout it, I get plenty of pickings to keep myself sane” she gave him a friendly smile, “but if you ever change that mind of yours, don’t be scared to ask”- she bumped him playfully with her flank before continuing to the doorway where she waited, ”now come on, let me show you where to go when we hit shore” .

Sil spared a glance to Moon who had promptly fallen asleep on her cot before following after Drift.