Hatching in Equestria as a Silver Dragon

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter 4 Meeting my adoptive mom
Chapter 24 Wolf gone wild, Learning forbidden magic
Chapter 46 Multicolor dream sky
Chapter 50 Celestial Sea Part 2
Chapter 66 Laws Can Be Annoying
Chapter 2 Hatching
Chapter 3 First Hunt
Chapter 5 The Spider Forest Part 1
Chapter 6 The Spider Forest Part 2
Chapter 7 First Contact
Chapter 8 Inner thoughts
Chapter 9 Meeting the Princess, and her deal
Chapter 10 Don't be an idiot!
Chapter 11 House tour
Chapter 12 Trading and making friends
Chapter 13 First day of Preschool
Chapter 14 Sylf's Royal Guard training
Chapter 15 Manehattan group vacation
Chapter 16 Sylf's unusually uncomfortable morning
Chapter 17 Like Manticores and Timberwolves
Chapter 18 Preparations
Chapter 19 Echoes of the past
Chapter 20 Strip to win
Chapter 21 Small respite
Chapter 22 Victory or Death
Chapter 23 The way home
Chapter 25 Heart to heart
Chapter 26 Princess bully visits Onyx
Chapter 27 Back to school and new friend
Chapter 28 Teaching and Playing
Chapter 29 Items Shop and Heart's Warming
Chapter 30 Polar vacation
Chapter 31 Exploring the station and meeting it's crew
Chapter 32 Visit to the doc and Q&A
Chapter 33 Quiet before the storm
Chapter 34 Capture
Chapter 35 Containment Breach
Chapter 36 Escape plan
Chapter 37 Misdirection tactics
Chapter 38 Family Reunited
Chapter 39 Canterlot Market
Chapter 40 Back Alley Fight
Chapter 41 Express Wedding
Chapter 42 Glow and Strike
Chapter 43 Cleric of Harmony
Chapter 44 Learning to wield a sword
Chapter 45 Ghost Town
Chapter 47 Sleepover with friends
Chapter 48 Ten years and counting
Chapter 49 Celestial Sea Part 1
Chapter 51 Griffonstone
Chapter 52 Idol of Boreas
Chapter 53 Mind Sanctuary
Chapter 54 Non-democratic election
Chapter 55 Planning Defenses
Chapter 56 Windstream's Throne Room
Chapter 57 Exchange of information
Chapter 58 Cultural Differences
Chapter 59 Don't bring a spider to a bird fight.
Chapter 60 How NOT to negotiate
Chapter 61 Back home
Chapter 62 Trial by combat
Chapter 63 Friends and Enemies
Chapter 64 Unpreparedness and Overconfidence
Chapter 65 Morning run
Chapter 67 Sparring and new ideas
Chapter 68 First Kiss
Chapter 69 Highschool's first incident
Chapter 70 Truth and Reconciliation
Chapter 71 Lunch and playing
Character stats, perks, and bestiary

Prologue

Author's Note

I had a random idea to write into a fanfic on a whim, also to clarify 'hello nerds' this means someone is speaking to someone else directly into their minds, using telepathy, and "hello nerds" means that the person is using their actual voice, out loud, just to clarify, But I may mess up somewhere and use the wrong ' or " so, sorry, I wrote most from my cellphone

Prologue

At the sun set, i was walking home next to a lonely road, happily singing along with a song on my headset, i was pretty happy to finally have been hired by a good paying job, and my first day had gone well, life was looking up.

Maybe I should have taken the bus.

I was walking on the sidewalk, without any worries, some car slowed down next to me on the road but I didn't pay much attention to it, they lowered the window and took aim at me, without me realizing.
I heard many loud bangs, but it was too late to react, and before i could get down, I got shot right on the chest, many times, I was pushed back and onto the ground from the impact, I didn't feel any pain but I couldn't breathe, I felt my vision going dark quickly, and heard the car from where I was shot speed away, no one was around to help as I slowly lost consciousness, the last thoughts going thru my mind were of why, why me? Right as I was getting my life together, it was so unfair!

Alone, in the dark, I could see nothing, hear or feel nothing, I did not feel any emotions, not at first, who… was I?

I couldn't remember more than fragments, broken memories but… I did remember my most important memories, birthday parties, growing up, school, graduation and meeting friends, I was not a full introvert but I did enjoy my alone time.
I was really into science and fantasy so those memories were easy to recall, along with all my favorite videogames, animes and other shows I watched many times, but I had trouble remembering names, it was like all the names were deleted from my memory but I knew I had a name before.

My mind was adrift but I now remembered what happened: i was trying to get a stable job to move by myself, right as I had managed to get my life together, and was about to move to my apartment, my life was cut short, was I mistaken for someone else? Was it just some random murder? Or did they target me for some reason? I thought about that day, I had my pride pins and a t-shirt with pride colors, pansexual pride colors, was that why? I guess I'll never know, I'm dead, there is no way I could have survived that with no immediate medical assistance, I will probably be found, the next day.

What will happen to me now?
Is endless void of nothing but my tormented thoughts the final place for my soul?
Maybe this was my punishment for my orientation.

I was never a very religious person but I do believe in a higher power, maybe not the same belief my family had but I still held some belief in life after death, I just mentally tried to calm down, it seemed to work as there was not a real way to get a panic attack without having your body to produce adrenaline, as just a disembodied consciousness.
After what felt like hours, or minutes, I couldn't be sure as there was no way of counting time here, I felt, not heard, I felt a voice in my mind, it was like my inner voice, but those were clearly not my thoughts, it had a different ‘tone’ inside my mind.

'Greetings, I have brought here your soul and mind right as you lost consciousness, I am the Overseer of Fate, I have been given a task that requires a willing volunteer, you are chosen for this and will be reborn, in a new body, with the memories of your past life, something that usually is strictly not allowed, because so many memories would damage your mind, but there's a way to fix that.
You will gain the ability to grow, not just in body but in mind, might and magic, you will grow as long as you keep improving and there will be no limit, this also means you will be able to travel between dimensions eventually, as well as share with others your powers within some limits of course, you will always be able to cut off others from your power, the rest of your powers I will left to you to discover on your own.

The reason for such generosity from my employer is simple, we need an agent for this particular dimension, you will become a demigod, weak compared to myself and my employer, but you will be able to achieve full godhood with time and improvement.

The task you will have is to do as you want, you will be a free being and won't be subjected to the laws of magic most other beings here follow, you can do whatever you want, my employer and I are sure you will shake things up and bring the change that is so needed, either good or bad, that is not my employers concern.
The dimension you are going to be reborn in is quite different from your old one, but you will find it somewhat familiar, the local demigods that have arisen are too obsessed with control and have caused great imbalance, you will learn more as you explore this world.
You will start off as a mortal, you must earn all your powers by improving, practice, trial and error.'

My mind reeled at all this new information, I took a few minutes processing it all, I started to have hope, and quickly I realized this was the better option, to accept and be reborn with my memories.
I felt that my life had been too short, I didn't even get the chance to find love!

'I accept, if it means I get to live again I will do anything! When do I start?' I said mentally with conviction and eagerness, felt the presence in my mind approved of my decision, it was pleased, but also felt it already knew I would accept.

'I have no doubt, it's been decided, there is something else I have not told you, but you will find out soon on your own.' I felt comforted and hopeful, my fear completely gone, now I was starting to wonder, and feel curious, even excited, what world would await me?

Chapter 4 Meeting my adoptive mom

Sleeping next to a fluffy and soft creature, even if she was warm, was quite the upgrade from laying on the ground, I had lovely dreams of cuddling and being held and loved, it made me sleep much better than the previous nights.

I started to slowly wake up, blinking my eyes until I got used to the sunlight, I was curled into a ball with Sylf around me curled protectively too, it seems she decided to adopt me, she was looking at me as I stretched and yawned with a small smile.

"G-good morning, did you sleep well?" I ask with my sleepy voice, she nods, I remember that I should tell her about the new ability she has now.

"I forgot to mention, now, because you are my friend, you can talk to me directly with telepathy, you just think something like if you were saying it to me and I will hear it, don't worry any of your private thoughts are not going to be heard, only your ones directed to me that you intend to tell me" She looks surprised for a minute and I wait for her to talk to me.

'Little pup, are you sure? If you can hear me... I am sorry for scaring you last night, I wasn't thinking about hunting you, I just saw a small lost creature and felt the need to check up on you'

"Oh yes I can hear you, I-i understand, you are just so big and it was getting dark, I panicked... But now only thing that matters is that we are friends!" I smiled and hugged her tightly, nuzzling my little head against her side.

'Oh this is amazing! I have never been able to directly talk with someone, we usually communicate with body language, scent and some noises, but I can feel my thoughts are transmitted to you directly, I think its very beautiful! You can use it too, and by the way, my name is Sylf, I'm a black wolf, and just turned 20 years old, and you little pup?' Sylf excitedly talks in my mind, she has the excitement and exuberance of a young adult or a teen, that strikes me as odd since she is 20 years old... I'm gonna have to ask about that, since I thought wolves and dogs lived to about 20 or so years, but she seems very healthy and lively!

'Im glad to meet you miss Sylf, my name is Onyx, I'm a silver dragon and I'm 3 days old!' She looks at me with confusion and raises a brow, seems like she doesn't believe my age, and who would? I'm talking like I'm her same age, even mentally, a newborn hatchling wouldn't be able to talk like me, of course my voice still sounds baby like when I actually speak, but my mental voice sounds more adult like than it should, which seems to have confused her a lot.

'Im sorry but you don't exactly sound like a 3 day old, probably not a 3 year old, so what is going on with that? I won't try to force it out of you but I'd appreciate if you told me the truth... And Onyx is a beautiful name, I never met a dragon before, let alone a silver dragon! You look more like grayish with some blue tones, but maybe it has to do with the fact that you're a newborn pup... Or whatever are dragon pups called...?' At least she was nice about it, I decided I may as well trust her, she seems like a trustworthy creature and it's not like she can talk, so who is she gonna tell?

'Youre right Sylf, you've got quite a sharp mind, how old do black wolves can get anyway? You look like you're in your prime... Well back to topic, I wasn't always a dragon, I hatched 3 days ago but I had lived for about 19 years before that, I was pretty much an adult, and I was reincarnated after I died, I used to be another creature called a human, which probably doesn't exist here, either way I have abilities now, and the mind of an adult, I wasn't lying when I said I could catch fish for you, I have knowledge how fish think and how to catch them, and... From your last question, dragon pups are called hatchlings, About my body? Well I'm not sure either, maybe my scales haven't hardened all the way yet from being inside the egg, but they're definitively harder than the first day, I feel a few more days and they'll become fully solid'

'That would explain the way you speak... I helped raise pups before and they only wanted to play, or cry when they were hungry or thirsty, they never tried to communicate beyond that, or could.
I never heard of humans no, but you have been honest with me, I can tell, and that makes me very happy with you little hatchling!' She smiled widely and started to lick my face like a happy dog, I giggled and squirmed as her licks tickled my snout, I held her until her licks stopped, panting from laughing so hard.

'But to answer your question, black wolves live for about 80 to a hundred years, we are magical creatures and the magic prolongs our lifespans, and also empowers us physically, as for your skill at fishing, I'm impressed, a pup your age able to catch a fish as large as the one you shared with me... But its dangerous! maybe don't try to catch fish without me watching over you from now on, you may be swept up by the current and drown...' She looked at me with concern, her ears lowering.

'Oh don't worry about that, with you by my side I'm sure I will be safe, plus despite being so tiny, I can swim pretty well, I'm a much stronger swimmer than I was back as an adult human, and I can hold my breath far longer too, which means im pretty well adapted to water, look at my body, my paws and tail are perfect for swimming' I show her my paws and slowly move my tail for emphasis, she didn't seem to realize how long it was until now.

'I see... Say little one, I know you have a mind of an adult, but you're still very small and defenseless, what do you say about... Me being your guardian? You wouldn't have to live alone and sleep defenseless like I found you, I... Want a pup if my own to raise after helping raise other pups all this years, and you are just as adorable as them, I feel like you would be better behaved than most of them... Maybe, but now I want to protect you, even if that means I get in trouble.' Sylf looked at me hopefully, her words reassuring me, I had come clean with her and she still wanted to be there for me, and even adopt me, I knew I would have to behave if I were to be her son, but I was much safer and she give off a sense of kindness and honesty that I rarely saw in people, she was loyal and honest, I could tell she wanted to be a mother so badly, so I was happy to accept.

'Dear Sylf, I accept, from now on you will be my mom, and I will be your son' I smiled warmly and gave her snout a little friendly lick, which she returned in kind, with her much bigger canine tongue, which made me giggle and squirm as she seemed to enjoy tickling me.

'Your party has now been upgraded to family, meaning you both have immunity to being charmed into attacking each other, and have increased charisma when interacting together, making other beings more likely to show compassion and/or kindness, but your bond may also raise questions when confronted by black wolves or dragons. Your ability to grow in power is now shared with Sylf.'

I smiled at that, having advantages when together was a wonderful thing indeed, now I could hopefully explain to her how this all worked, and maybe we could both grow to become powerful enough to not fear any creature!

'Oh Onyx thank you thank you thank you! Finally I have a pup of my own, I will look after you and protect you, and play with you, and feed you, and... We will be the best pack! Is it... A pack if there's only two of us? It doesn't matter, you're my little one~'
She cooed with an excited and happy voice, talking softly to me as if I was a... What I am, a hatchling, a baby dragon, I smiled and enjoyed her happy mood, her emotions I started to feel them, maybe this family thing from the system had secret perks or features...

I giggled as she rolled on her back and started to roll around on the ground like an excited dog, her large body was majestic with the black color, her eyes were golden and beautiful too, and she was my big wolf mom, I moved next to her and started to roll on the ground too, enjoying the fluffynes and basking in the morning sun, I cuddled her and she nuzzled the top of my head.

'Thank you, I am happy to have a mom once again... But now it's time to get breakfast, do you have any more of that frozen fish? Now that I mention it, I'm pretty sure you pulled that fish out of your back, I mean, literally, I could swear I saw nothing and then suddenly a fish appeared behind you, how?' I looked away and tried to look innocent, I suppose I wasn't that good at tricking others after all.

'Well... This is something else important I have to tell you, you see... I have a magic power, that lets me store things in a pocket dimension, it's limited but the food there doesn't spoil, frozen food remains frozen, and cooked food remains warm, I think, I actually haven't tried that yet... Either way it's only able to hold 12kg now, maybe more if I become stronger, but I can take out anything out of that space instantly with my thoughts and make it appear on my claws, I can store anything in it too, at least something light enough to fit' She looks intrigued by my explanation, but she just nods, seemingly satisfied with the explanation.

'I don't know a whole lot about magic... But even I can tell that this is pretty impressive for such a small pup to be able to do, you can keep food well preserved and that alone is amazing! Sometimes our biggest problem is keeping our hunts from spoiling, spoiled meat while edible, tastes gross and can get us sick, I enjoy the frozen snacks you gave me, now we should definitively go get more food!'
She was right, I had only 2kg of fish left, which for such a large wolf as mom, was very little, she probably needed like 10kg a day for her large body.

We slowly got up, and ate our last pieces of fish from yesterday, each one of us ate a kg, I was honestly sated but she seemed still hungry.

'Stay here and I'll catch some fish and bring them to you, since you seem to know how to prepare them and store them' I nodded, and she took off towards the nearby river, I moved a bit closer and just watched as she walked into the strong current, seemingly it was nothing to such a big wolf, she just stood still until the fish were used to her and then using her snout, she dived in after a large fish, quickly grabbing it and pulling it out of the water, her bite was strong enough to crush it's scales and it bled out quickly in her jaws, I was lucky she was on my side... But I smiled at that, she threw the fish towards me, making it land at my feet and I quickly got to work, killing the fish and bleeding it out by the gills, cutting of its head with my claws and slicing it, meanwhile the threw another one, which I killed too and we repeated the process until there was a moderately large pile of fish, about 6 large fish butchered and sliced, stacked over rocks around the river, I was panting after all that, my body was getting hot from working under the strong midday sun, mom was sitting next to me, watching me with while her tail wagged excitedly, she was like an adorable giant black labrador, just... Way more cute and smart.

'I-i can't do this any longer, I can barely feel my forelegs and I never did this much work since I hatched!' She looked at me with concern and kindness, and simply moved closer and pulled me into a hug with a paw, letting me rest my tired body against her strong fluffy belly, her body was muscular under all that fur, i closed my eyes and sighed tiredly, but in relief.

'Take a break little one, you did amazing! I wouldn't have been able to do all this, but watching you work helped me learn, I don't think I could do this because my claws are not flexible like yours, and my legs don't bend that way like yours do... Sorry, I know it's a lot to ask for such a small pup...' she said with a sad voice, she seemed to be genuinely sad that she couldn't help prepare the fish, but I shook my head.

'Do not be sorry, I enjoy doing this, it's good practice, and I need to do work to get stronger, plus even if all this doesn't fit in my magic space, we can eat it together, or find a way for you to carry it somehow! Now I've rested enough, I'm gonna freeze them now,, behold mother, the power of a silver dragon!' I smiled smugly and stood up once again, a bit rested and regaining my confidence, I aimed at the stacked fish and charged my breath, a light blue glow coming from my maw as I opened and then a cone of frost shot forward, freezing the big pile after about 5 seconds of using my attack, I was left panting afterwards as my stamina was now depleted, mom held me up.

'Ohhhh!~ so beautiful and amazing! I'm proud of my little one, you'll become a powerful sorcerer one day!'

'Having prepared and frozen the rations for a week, by your team effort and your preservation method, you earn the skill Survival, one point in DEX and one point in WIS.' I smile widely at the happy at the news, having more dexterity would be very useful to use my claws more efficiently and precise.

'Thank you so much mom! I need to practice magic more, but now I need a break for real... Let me quickly... Grab what I can fit in storage and then lets have a nap together.' I said tiredly, even my mental voice sounded tired, mom picked up on it and handed me the fish one by one, which I promptly stored and once I was full, gestured for her to stop, she left them in a pile, I had about half of the fish a bit less, and my inventory was already full, as soon i was done I went back under the tree, laid down and started to nap, meanwhile the black wolf looked around for a way to store the remaining frozen fish.

An idea formed in her wolfish mind, what if she could tie the fish with some long grasses or flexible branches, it was not uncommon for her to make toys out of said items for the pups she helped raise to play with, usually they played together but rarely, she would be given a single pup to look over, and to help entertain them, she would make cord out of grass and play tug, of course she would let the little ones win, but with now she could make this and tie around the frozen food, and then maybe tie to herself?

Unknowingly, she earned 2 points into intelligence from this deduction, which it was not noticeable and she didn't have a notifications or a HUD, but Onyx instead was able to see this, even as he slept, he smiled a bit as he laid there sleeping, his dreams were happy and hopeful, things had taken a good turn and he was much safer now, he could relax.

Sylf had been slowly but surely making rope out of grass, it was crude as she has to use her maw and her paws weren't as flexible as his son, but she managed to make enough, if only she had such flexible paws as his little son... He really was an amazing creature, she wondered how her fellow wolves would react if they found out she had adopted a dragon hatchling as a son, well it didn't matter, she would protect him if they tried anything, she didn't know but soon she would have to protect him from something far worse than fellow wolves.

Chapter 24 Wolf gone wild, Learning forbidden magic

Winter is my favorite season, I can go outside any time and feel the cold breeze, the crispness of cold air, and the comfort it brings to my body, i was not just a cold blooded creature like a crocodile or a monitor lizard, I was a creature that needed to have a cold core in order to live.

This didn't mean that I couldn't enjoy some warmth now and then, specially body heat, that was fine, as my body was able to adjust my temperature accordingly, I just really hated hot days.

I had several ways to mitigate the heat, panting was the more mundane method, then there was my draconic power was attuned naturally to cold, I could cover myself in my own ice breath, release it as a mist instead of a cone, so it would surround me and cool the air around me, I also could use prestidigitation on the air around me, and cast it once every few minutes to keep myself cool, there also spells used by ponies to explore areas near the volcanoes to the south, ice shield, weather manipulation, and some others I was probably forgetting.

"Heeey Onyx did you slept well? Because you certainly slept a lot, it's almost noon... Aren't you hungry?" I had been awake for a bit but I was just thinking to myself.

"Yes... Morning mom! I'm going, just let me go to the bathroom first, then I'll be there."

"While you were asleep, I took all of the camping supplies, and all of the things weighting us down from the inventory, except the money, I stored the armor sets in the closet, I also stored the extra weapons in the basement dear son." Oh this was a relief, all that heavy gear was filling our inventory to the brim already, momma must have been busy, the armor is heavy, and she spent all morning doing this? I was surprised I had not woken up from!

"Thank youuu! the inventory was just too full, now without all of that we can store anything we need again in an emergency, I love you mom!" And I meant it

"That's really sweet, i love you too! By the way my lovely son, I just made you breakfast, is ready on the table, don't take too long or it will get cold." I nodded with a smile and got up from bed, walked to the bathroom.

Five minutes later I was at the table, eating my breakfast that was sort of lunch too, sunny side egg over toasted brioche with cheese and turkey slices, those griffin were the best butchers this side of Equestria, I suppose farms did raise animals to sell for meat then, since there are many meats sold in the market, except cow of course.

"Mmmhhhm! This is the best! Thank you so much for this food momma, come heeere~" I jumped off the chair and went to hug her after finishing the food, I loved smooching the side of her snout.

"Oh it's nothing son, I think a bit of normalcy and peace is what you and I need right now, I also took those used plates and the empty pot of food from the inventory, washed it all and dried it, and put it back in, not to mention I packaged everything like it should be, when we left the dungeon yesterday, you left singing so fast I had to pick up all the camping gear in my inventory, it came out the same as it went in, so I disassembled the tent and put it on its bag, and did the same with the mat, the bags, everything is packed and stored back, so relax."

"Wow... That was sweet of you! Thank you, I totally forgot, I felt like I was in a trance, full of energy and magic, it was very spontaneous, I felt like I wanted to let everyone know how happy, and how alive I was, and that song just came to me naturally, I mean I did know that song, from before, it's a pretty good song but this version was a bit different, either way now I wish I had a phone, a good set of speakers, maybe... Solar panels to charge all of that, maybe a big travel battery so I could plug the speakers and play music whenever I wanted." Would be really cool, but without access to the internet here, I would have very little music, I'd need to download each song manually and that would take forever, I had explained human tech to mom before, she understood some but not all of it.

"Ponies do have music Onyx, you just haven't really been to any musicals yet, there are even concerts, but I've heard those are more popular in Manehattan and Las Pegasus, here ponies prefer more classical music and orchestra, but some concerts are done from time to time."

"Maybe next time we should go to one, I like the orchestra, I suppose there is also opera singers too, right?" Mom nods at my question.

"Figures, I... Do like them both, specially live, it's wonderful to listen, I haven't been in so long... Makes me remember my... human family you know? I know I haven't told you much about them, but it's just painful to think about that for them I died so long ago now, but I know they still miss me, from time to time, I still miss them too." I close my eyes, remembering the little I could of their faces, a few tears run down my cheeks, mom pulls me into her embrace and I stay on her for a few more minutes, silently crying until I feel better.

"Dragons are supposed to be though, but I'm the complete opposite... Well, no other dragons to judge me here, is there?" I let out a small humorless laugh, but still feeling better emotionally.

"You are much tougher than you think, despite everything thrown at you, you endure and keep growing in power, the more you grow that power, the better you'll have to learn to use it, you are just starting to learn, if it makes you feel better, we could go out today and do some fun things! Do you wanna go somewhere?" She does her best to cheer me up.

"Oh as matter of fact, I do! I wanna buy another chest to store the gold we got back there, better than letting it sit on the basement loosely, also ideal for storing the gemstones I got, but other than that I want some ice cream, and maybe more than some... Let's go!" I levitated the dirty plate to the sink and opened the faucet for a few seconds, soaking it so it's easier to clean later, then closed, all from the living room, I could feel around with my telekinesis after all.

"Well done son! Thank will make washing easier."

"I'm gonna wash them when we get back too, so don't worry! Now get your saddlebags on, time for a shopping spree! I-i mean to buy some things!"

Mom gave me the stink eye, but then smirked and shook her head "Hatchling, you're lucky you're so adorable, or I'd have to ground you for even suggesting that, however... I haven't exactly gone shopping for just the fun of it in a while, so I accept, but we aren't going over 15 thousand bits, you hear?"

"Ow... Fine I suppose that should be enough for some things, it's not like I intend to spend too much anyways, lets go, I'm riding on your back, and don't worry Ill be careful with your flank, I know you're still... That." She glares at me a bit harder, but I just smile and go to jump on her back, on top of her saddlebag that was full of bits, being small and agile had its perks.

We headed out, locking the door behind us, the day was chilly and there were some clouds, but it was still not snowing, it was mid December, technically not winter but close enough. "Ohh, what a lovely weather we're having today, don't you agree?"

"I find it quite cozy, but ponies don't seem to like it as much, they're all wearing clothes, normally ponies don't wear clothes, but for me its fine, this chilly weather reminds me of my tribe, maybe sometime we could go visit... Maybe help them on a hunt, I don't mind having left them because I honestly I was more concerned about you, they can fend for themselves, but it never hurts to check up on family... Sorry." She seems to realize what she said out loud in the end, and apologizes.

'It's fine, I died back home, they know I died, it's been years, they have grieved and they have healed by now, going back and telling them that I'm just fine and that I didn't really die, first would be a lie, I did die, and second it would be extremely confusing and probably hurtful.' I decided to say this telepathically because there were a few ponies around, going about their business.

'Yeah, I imagine how that would feel, they would think you are lying, they won't believe it and will feel horrible that someone was pretending to be you, to trick them, that's what you think right?' She hit the nail in the head, we walked on the streets, some ponies were always outside in this city, always walking somewhere, sometimes even carriages would be pulled carrying some noble of some kind, dignitaries, etc.

'You know me well my dear mother, I know it's best for my mind to just think of them as just gone, but I will come back to my world to visit eventually when I have the right spell and equipment.' I knew our latest for has a spell capable of traveling to other dimensions, and I will learn it in time, maybe from the spirit gem itself.

She looks at me with some concern and doubt, probably unsure of my idea to travel there, but that was for the future, now we arrived at the ice cream parlor, it was old school looking, maybe that was... Modern looking for here? But I wasn't sure because some things looked modern in Manehattan, maybe this city had to keep a theme probably by law so no building would look too out of place.

Inside there were was a bored looking young unicorn stallion with light brown coat and two tone white and brown mane, when the door bell rang, he looked up at us and his eyes widened in recognition, I suppose he did remember us when we last came for ice cream, I never really talked much with him before because usually it was much busier during summer when we come here.

"Good day dear costumers, welcome to Coconut Cream's ice cream parlor, the tastiest ice cream in all of Canterlot! It's good to see you two again, glad you stopped by in winter, not many ponies enjoy a cold cone when it's cold outside... Honestly I probably should just close in winter from the lack of costumers, but the occasional pony or other creature who comes during off season make my day!" Its nice to see him being so friendly, I approach and stand on my hind legs, reaching the top of the counter with my snout.

"Hello mister! You are Coconut Cream right? So this means you own this store?"

"Hey little colt, yes I am the owner, Coconut Cream, I inherited this business from my pa, now I'm the owner and since my talent is making ice cream I enjoy working here a whole lot, seeing the smiles of my costumers and the enjoyment is the best!" He says dreamily, smiling and gently patting my snout.

"Hello mister Cream, I'm Sylf, this little dragon's mother, nice to meet you formally, we have seen each other before but usually just to order and pay for the ice cream, how do you do today?" Sylf seemed chipper today, she was happy to make conversation with the stallion, approaching the counter, but he seemed to not mind and smiled seemingly happy with her.

"You can just call me Coco, ms. Sylf, it's good to meet you in a more relaxed moment, I'm doing well today, but I'm a bit bored from sitting here waiting for costumers that rarely come, but seeing you two made my day!" His happiness is genuine and I am tempted to go there and nuzzle him, but the counter is between us, so I just give him a genuine and happy smile in return, mom however does something unexpected and moves closer and nuzzles him which makes him blush a bit, but slowly return the gesture.

"O-oh... you are really sweet Sylf! I only make a small amount of ice cream during the winter because there is no need for larger amounts, so I may not have as many flavors as you remember, but which one do you want? I have... Of course, Coconut Cream flavor, Tiramisu flavor, dark chocolate and natural vanilla, and wildberries with cream flavor.

"I... I think I w-" I start before Sylf interrupts me, her tail is wagging excitedly and she is staring at the stallion intently, a predatory look to her, i was slightly worried.

"I want you Coconut Cream, you think you can give me that?~" What?! Did she just... I could tell she serious now, she was blushing slightly but did not backing down, the stallion on the other hand, was blushing a lot more, speechless, swallowing audibly, he looked at her, then at me, then back at her. She gave him a hungry and very lustful look.

"B-but w-what about your son? He still wants his ice cream, I'll... Get it ready for him a-and then we will... see what happens?" His voice was shaky as he spoke to the large wolf, there was a hint of excitement in his voice too, she nodded with a happy smile.

"I just want half a kilo of natural vanilla" I try to sound as casual as possible, the stallion nods with a red face still, but goes to work and quickly I have a crunchy wafer and a good amount of ice cream on a big glass cup, he asks if I want chocolate sauce and I nod, then he puts the plate on the counter, I go and retrieve it.

"I'll be outside on the benches, take your time and have fun!" I give them both a wink and thumbs up, mom hands me the home keys then I leave out the door and go sit outside, honestly while I was shocked at first, I was happy mom decided to get the help she needed with her heat.

'Sorry son, I just cannot resist, this heat, it feels like I'm going to go crazy and with everything that happened, I can't help myself! I-i hope you aren't upset...'

'Oh mom don't worry about me! Honestly when I was human I was going through the same, more or less, just... Have fun, contact me when you two are done okay? Over and out!' and with that, I relaxed and started eating my ice cream in peace, the sign on the door was flipped to closed.

Nothing like enjoying a homemade ice cream during winter, while you waited for your mom to get laid.

That day the she wolf and the stallion both realized what they had been missing out on, and that realization would change their lives forever.

less than an hour later

Mom was really going at it, I could feel it, her emotions through our psychic link, despite myself I was blushing, I may not have been showing it down there but this intense emotions were the closest I could feel to arousal, I shook my head, trying to not focus on them.

It was getting overwhelming and as happy was I was for mom I didn't want feel something that was private, as soon as the sensation intensified I ran to the nearest alley and hid behind something, then used the menu quickly and escaped to the second dungeon.

Thank goodness, the connection was severed by switching dimensions, the link only worked within a certain radius of my companions, about 5 or so kilometers, I could turn it off but that would mean I would not know what was happening to my party, what was good about this link was that it did not send things that would cause me to be crippled, like extreme pain, just enough to know something was happening, I had it set up in a way only i could feel this emotions to not scare the others.

I was still blushing somewhat, but I was calming down, now that I was here I decided to deal with the corpse of that pony we killed here, I grabbed it with telekinesis and moved it to the outside, and decided to use Cone of Cold to freeze it into a two piece statue, and stored in my inventory, this spell waranteed a complete freeze of a body instantly and completely all the way, but other spells probably would do the same.

Once that was done I was free to try some other things I had in mind, I pulled out from my inventory the legendary item that I had obtained from the necromancer, his spirit gem. It had a dark blue color, similar to the deep sea, I held it in my hand and used my telepathy on it.

'Post Mortem, are you here?'

'Oh, so this is what awaits me after death, being the hatchling's toy, how ironic, I said I was going to make you my toy, if I recall correctly.' I rolled my eyes, his words were menacing but his tone was different, he sounded... Defeated.

'I did not want to fight you, Post Mortem, but I had to in order to survive, do you know what happened to you?'

'I died, killed by that bitch, but she made me the biggest bitch in the end, I died humiliated beyond belief, begging and screaming, I had a pathetic death and now I'm trapped in here in a project of my own creation, have you come to gloat? Were you not satisfied and wanted to 'punish' me as well?'

'No, I think you already had enough of that from my mother, and if it makes any difference, I don't like the way she ended you, I would have simply used a spell to destroy to destroy you and give you a quick death, or cut off your head in one strike, in her place, the latter.'

'Your mother, I see, so that bitch is your mother, well you have the ugliest and filthiest mother ever, I can't say that I approve, but then again, only a disgrace of a dragon like you would get adopted by the lowest of the low, a wolf bitch who can't even find one of his own to make her own offspring.' His tone was dry and hateful, I growled in anger at his words, no one spoke of my mom like that!

'You know I can just extract your spells and knowledge from you and make your consciousness disappear right? I also know a lot of spells and I'm able to cast magic thanks to her, she taught me most of what I know, she's a smart and powerful creature, more than any pony I've seen perhaps except the princess!'

'You lie, why haven't you done so yet if you can?
You may think yourself unique as a dragon mage? The truth is that dragons used to wield magic as much as ponies, and before ponies did, until the downfall of their civilization.'

'That I did not know, who taught you this, mister Post Mortem?' I tried to be respectful, maybe it I showed him some good manners he would tell me more.

'You think I don't see what you are trying to do, whelp? You won't get me to tell you my knowledge by just asking nicely, I propose a deal, you answer my questions and I will teach you what I know.'

'I... Hope you aren't planning anything bad to me or those I care about, so I won't tell you information that may put me or them in danger, anything else I will answer.'

'In this condition, I have no choice but to accept those terms, I will go first. What are your plans with me?'

'I want to obtain your knowledge, and maybe have someone to talk to that is neither another foal or my mother, someone who is... More experienced.'

'Are you delusional or stupid, hatchling? I am the most feared mage of my generation, and with good reason, I have tortured and killed hundreds, I ravaged both the ponies and the griffons for decades, I have traveled the world and done as I pleased to those who got in my way, yet you want to have me as a role model?'

'Welll, not exactly a role model but someone to share my thoughts or exchange ideas, does that sounds so bad? If you don't want to cooperate I will have to do something bad to you, but I think your memories will be useful to me.

'What will you do if I don't want to cooperate? The gem has no way of being destroyed, you cannot do anything to me here, not even magically, probably not even Celestia herself could do anything to me here.'

'I can absorb all of your arcane knowledge, in turn deleting your memories and sending your soul to the afterlife, as a blank slate, I can do this, but I can not prove it to you, as proving it would mean doing it and I don't really want that, I want more than your arcane knowledge, I want your knowledge of the world, of distant lands, untapped resources or places that could have something of use, like artifacts, I want power, and yes, obtaining your spells and knowing much more about magic would be perfect, I feel I would miss out on other interesting things, so what do you think?'

'Its hard to believe you, but I don't have a choice, I want to keep existing as I am for now. But why do you seek this power then? What is your ultimate goal?'

'I want to become more powerful than the one who still sits on the throne of Equestria, after almost a thousand years, I want to be unopposed and have Celestia bowing to me, she is a tyrant and deserves to be put in her place after all that she did.' I said with total sincerity, I couldn't like Celestia after what the Overseer told me, she was never wrong before.

'Hahahahaahaha you innocent and delusional hatchling! Who do you think you are? If you think you can even stand up to her you are absolutely retarded, even I would not stand a chance against her, not even for five minutes, the only thing I could do was stall her, and manage to cast a spell to teleport away, she had blocked teleportation to another location inside the plane so I switched to another plane and ended up in the worst place, one sealed and with no escape.'

'You were in the dream realm over 900 years.'

'Are you serious? That actually explains a lot why everything was always the same. I must have gone crazy there, I also couldn't really control myself, I felt like something was constantly making me emotional, I couldn't think more than just want to kill you once you interrupted me. Do you know what happened?'

'Yes I do, while in the dream realm you contracted a parasite, and it had been feeding inside your brain for years, or centuries, it's impossible to tell, we cut off your head then from inside a pitch black centipede appeared, covered in slime, it tried to use magic but I stopped it and with my companions help, we killed it, it's called a Nightmare parasite, they originate in the dream realm, or are attracted to it by negative emotions.'

'That... Is most concerning whelp, I can't exactly tell if you're honest or not, but it would explain my absent mindedness, my lack of intellect and critical thinking during that battle, I was not in control, I had every advantage and I wasted it, as if the parasite was holding the reigns.'

'I think it just was not as smart as you normally would be in combat, it just took whatever you had and tried to use it instead of thinking outside the box, the nightmare just forced you to act out your impulses and not fight to your full potential because of that, that I theorize.'

'I use subtler, less combat oriented spells in battle, mind control, illusions, I can see why i lost that fight if the creature controlling me was so unrefined, very well, I will tell you about what I have learned, but it will take months for you to learn my spells, some are even impossible for you to use, if don't you have the necessary power.'

'Thank you, maybe someday I will give you a body of your own to control again, if you teach me useful spells that is.' I could probably do this, make an artificial body where his spirit gem would be the core, but i had to make it weaker than me, and easy to disable by me, I was not as dumb as to trust blindly.

'Well aren't you generous, you little lizard, I'm sure you already are thinking of ways to keep me in check and give me a body you can easily override control over, but... Despite that, it is better than being trapped here, with only my own thoughts as company.'

'Good to see you are already accepting your new situation, well let's start, I'm interested in learning this subtler spells, have in mind I don't have a formal magical education so I may be slow to learn at first.'

'Wow, I could not have guessed that, youre an uneducated idiot!' Okay now that was just rude.

'Hey! It's not my fault! I'm trying to learn as much as I can at age 8, you can insult me as much as you want, but at least make it fair, that damned Celestia only teaches offensive magic to her most trusted guards, it was a pain to get access to the combat magic spells I know, only mom was my teacher and she is not even a mage, she has limited magical ability, so... Give me some credit at least, Im not lazy when it comes to learning and practicing my magic...' I said with a mental huff, he was getting me a bit upset, I calmed down and sighed.

'I... See, well that is Celestia for you, she was also a student of Starswirl, but he taught her more than anyone as he knew she would ascend, that old bastard, he was a good teacher, I will admit, with him I learned fast and increased my potential quickly, I suppose for not having any good teachers, you did... Adequately.'

'Enough talk then, let's start, teach me what you know and I will keep you around, I will even entertain your questions.' I impatiently said, then we started, he gave me the formulas and mentally shared runic symbols with me for the different spells, I checked them over and with my knowledge, many I did not know, but slowly we pieced together one spell, it was difficult as he could only transmit limited information though our link, only small mental images, not full complex patterns, meaning I had to piece together the runes and tell him how I was ordering them and connecting them one by one, let's just say for just one spell it took over 6 hours to figure out the formula this way, as I had to be explained every step.

We stayed like this all day, I learned two spells, I needed someone to practice them on, at least the ones that are safe to try, I wouldn't cast hurtful spells on those I cared about of course.

The imprisoned consciousness was more helpful as he realized he was at my full mercy and he had no way of harming me, the spells he gave me were checked and double checked by me, and all of them were correct, the math checked out, the runes were in order, when it came to magic usually a spell would fail to cast if the runes were in the wrong order and it would have negative side effects if the runes were incorrect, the incorrect runes however, could be identified by using a small amount of energy to make them resonate, and the effect of that rune would become apparent for the caster as mental representation of what it symbolizes but some types were much harder than others to understand.

This meant that I could check any rune I was not sure of, and see what it's effect would be by itself, and by connecting them and their order I would know what their combination would do, while this were complex it was almost like speaking a language, with all it's complexities and nuances.

A language I had learned since I first had access to the book about runes I found at the book store, very useful and oddly publicly available.

The difficult part was designing new runes and make them actually represent something, it not only required an extremely deep understanding of magic, but also the height of magical might and also the knowledge of the topic the rune represented, for example if I wanted to create a rune for a specific type of mind manipulation, I would need to know not only how the mind worked on a scientific level, but also generally how intelligent creatures think, and imbue all of this knowledge, compressing it into a single symbol, and make it "stick" to reality, even then it was not waranteed to work, that is why it was easier to rediscover and use ancient runes, rather than come up with new ones, because anyone could rediscover them and just figure out what they meant by running a bit of magic until they resonated, then interpret those results to the best of their ability.

At the end of the day I had come out of this exchange knowing the following new spells: Vicious Mockery and Crown of Madness.

I memorized the spell matrixes and knew how to cast them, knew the theory, but I had no practice, also they were forbidden spells in Equestria, as they were considered dark magic, attacked the mind directly, or controlled it, this spells were much more frightening than mere elemental magic spells for me, as they could directly affect the being's psyche by controlling the mind, or hurting it directly.

Still its good to know them and have more ways to protect myself, I planned on traveling after school and I wanted to be ready to face anything the world could throw at me.

I explained my teacher our lessons would happen once in a while, but not every day probably, he was okay with this, and he was of course always snarky and sarcastic and honestly pretty disrespectful to me, dismissing me as stupid or insane, but I just ignored this jabs, i know I wouldn't get fully on his good side no matter what I did, only time would tell if he ever would be less of a dick, but I really doubted it.

Author's Note

I decided to omit the sex part just because the story I have made has no sex tag

Chapter 46 Multicolor dream sky

Meanwhile, back at home Sylf was playing with her little pups.

She taught them how to climb upstairs and downstairs safely, always careful to catch them in case they fell, down the stairs, which she had to do a few times already, despite them being only a few months old they could already mostly walk, so she helped teach them.

The twins were very playful and always wanted attention, thankfully they did play mostly amongst themselves, sometimes they would play tug of war on their canine toys, ending up breaking a few, or they would try to hide from each other, the house had plenty of places to hide in for someone as small as they are.

The only place off limits was the security vault and the closets with the weapons, all under lock and key. Every other spots were however available to play hide and seek, now after getting to the middle of the house, they stopped and she turned to the two little wolf-ponies.

"Okay my sweet little pups, ready to go and hide?" She asked in a soft soothing voice to the two, they didn't understand her but they knew this game, they played against themselves usually, and were happy to play against mom.

Sylf usually was the one who tried to teach them words and what they meant with books of drawings for foals, they usually know words only related to games, but slowly they learn more.

"Okay, go now, I'll count to 10." She said and sat down, covering her snout with her paws.

Both of them knew, even if they didn't understand all of her words, they knew this was their queue to run and hide from her when they saw her cover her eyes.

"One" Sylf counted very very slowly, giving them about a full minute to hide.

The foals walked around, going trying to find places to hide, Wander decided to go upstairs to the top floor, she went and hid inside an basket for herbs on the greenhouse, throwing around some of the plants to fit inside.

Lightning instead decided to go to his mom's bed and hide under the pillow, only poking his snout out to breathe, he giggled, hoping his sister was found first.

"Aaand 10! Ready or not, here I go!" They both heard her, but they had no idea what she meant, they wondered if she was going to try finding them now.

Sylf looked around, a smile on her face, and started to check corners and nooks of the second floor first, going around the entire corridor where the rooms where, then going into the twins room, her ears perked for any noises, moving side to side like radar dishes.

She saw nothing that would hind they were here, she couldn't hear anything either so she left the room.

She quickly ran over to the other room, checking around Onyx's room, checking the closet, there was a few articles of clothing thay Onyx rarely wears like a raincoat, several different color hoodies he bought because he said it reminded him of the clothes he used to wear back then, also books he is reading at the moment from the local library and other small trinkets.

She smiled at that, the hoodies were all too big for him but he said he wanted them anyways because of their cool designs, and he may wear them in the future.

Clearly no pup was hiding around here, but she checked under the bed just in case, and in the bathroom.

Now only one room to check on this floor, she smirked and walked over there, a skip in her step as she looked over the room for anything out of the ordinary.

She checked under the bed, then the closet and bathroom, no one was here in her room either.
She was about to leave when she heard a small giggle from the direction of the bed, her head turned quickly in that direction.

"You're here, aren't you little precious Lightning?" The small happy giggles intensified, the little wolf was clearly having fun, not realizing it was giving him away. She sneakily approached the bed and started to look over it, noting that the pillow was not covered by the blanket, and was slowly moving.

Then the pillow was lifted and under it was an adorable winged wolf pony hybrid with black color coat and white belly, who Sylf quickly started to nuzzle affectionately.

"Oh my precious little pup, I found you! Come on, let's go find your sister! She must be on the upper floors, ready?" He nuzzled back and giggled as he was tickled by the snout of the larger wolf, but it was time to get up and continue the game, this time it was a two versus one.

They both headed out the room and climbed the stairs the fourth floor, the greenhouse.

"I think she will be here, we already checked everywhere else." Lightning started to look around and approached anything that could hide his sister.

Sylf just sat and watched with a smile, her whole point of this game was to help develop their thinking ability, and it worked.

Lightning was a smart colt, he figured the only place for her to hide was inside the basket and jumped into it, making the filly inside to gasp in surprise, soon both inside the basket and the plants inside were thrown out to the floor.

Sylf sighed at this and collected them again, dusting them off and placing them bath on their basket once they were both out.

"Please you two... Don't be destructive. This plants are important for Onyx and i, okay?" She said in a soft tone, but looked a bit sternly towards her daughter and son.

Both of them looked at the plants and the basked and seemed to understand, she wasn't sure, they probably were too young to know they did anything wrong.

"Good, you're both wonderful and I love you both! Come here to momma." She smiled warmly and they both knew what she meant, cuddles and milk.

They both went to her and started nuzzling, eventually they also searched for her nipples and drank from her, playing for a while made them hungry and they still were in the age they needed to drink their mother's milk, but slowly they were moving to solid food.

A few minutes passed, they drank their fill and burped adorably, then Sylf knew it was time to take them to their beds.

They were getting sleepy now, she laid both of them on her back and took them to their respective cribs where they went to sleep quickly.

Meanwhile, Onyx's POV Back in the Adept Dungeon

I pushed the monsters away with a wave of telekinesis, the spell around us dealing damage to any who got close, but this weren't the weak Shadows that had been attacking us nonstop before, this were Ghosts, and they had terrified dad to the point he couldn't move, thankfully that didn't matter as his concentration on the spell held, his Guardian Spirits were burning the ghosts. But it wasn't fast enough to prevent him from being attacked, I had to use shields to hold them back. -30 mp 72/182

Onyx has taken 16 necrotic damage! 212/246
Onyx has taken 20 necrotic damage! 192/246

I cried out in pain as two of them teleported right next to me and sliced at me from both sides, giving me no chance to dodge, my magic was focused on keeping them off him, I couldn't focus on defending myself!

Ghost has taken 33 damage! 47/100
Ghost has taken 30 damage! 46/100

And they were hit by my orbiting spell in return, making terrifying ghostly screeches as the golden mote impacted them in a small flash of light.

I sent a chain lightning that arced across 3 of the ghosts near dad, but they were resistant so they didn't take much damage from it, this was getting really dire! -30 mp 123/288

Ghost has taken 17 damage! 63/100
Ghost has taken 18 damage! 62/100
Ghost has taken 16 damage! 58/100

Coconut wasn't just standing there, he sent out a glowing bolt of radiant energy hurling towards one of the ghosts I had already hit with my chain lightning, the ghost became more visible and easier to see, even when my light from Crown of Stars was dimming as the spell was consumed, I had already hit 2 of them with it, and I was looking for the right target to hit. -10 mp 62/182

Ghost has taken 21 damage! 41/100

Onyx has taken 21 necrotic damage! 171/246

A ghostly set of claws harshly stabbed into my throat, I felt agonizing pain as my scales, skin and muscle started to wither and die quickly, I blinked away from the grasp of the creature. It
was different from the other ones, it was not pony shaped, it was a cat like creature made of black smoke, with wicked claws and yellow glowing eyes, I held it in my telekinesis and inspected it.

Lvl 25 Wraith
150 HP
Undead

Accumulation of negative energy that coalesced into a deadly specter that drains the life of the living.

Incorporeal movement: the wraith can move through other creatures, walls, floors, ceilings and objects at half it's regular speed, but it takes force damage if it stays too long inside a solid object. It can not move through magical barriers.

Sunlight Sensitivity: while in sunlight, the wraith is half as strong in its attack and defense, it also becomes blinded.

Life drain: its melee attacks with necrotic infused claws are life draining, if the target's constitution is not high enough, each attack drains the maximum health points by as much as the damage the attack causes. The reduction effect lasts until the target gets a full night's sleep. The target dies if the draining effect reduces it's health points to 0.

Create Wraith: the Wraith targets a recently killed creature that has died no longer than a minute ago, and transforms it's soul into another of its kind. The only way to free the soul is to kill the newly risen Wraith.

Damage resistances: Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning, Thunder, Bludgeoning, Piercing and Slash from non magical attacks.

Damage immunities: Necrotic, Poison.

Condition immunities:Charmed, Exhaustion, Grappled, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned, Prone, Restrained.

Senses: Darkvision 20m

The situation was worsening by the second. I had to deal with all of this before something worse came along! I needed to get them away from us for at least a little while.

'Father! Grab the Amulet the goddess blessed please! Use Turn Undead on them! It should get them away from us for at least a minute, we can plan from there what to do!'

By now he had been using his guardians for more than a few minutes and I could tell he was barely keeping it up as ghost after ghost clawed at the shield, I had to constantly reform it and the strain was getting worse.

'Y-yes! I need to rest for a bit, I can't keep my spell any longer.' he answered mentally and pulled from the inventory the Amulet of Vitality, lifting him high and making a short prayer, right as his Guardian Spirits vanished.

"By the power of the Goddess, back away you foul beings!" Then a brief white glow spread from the Amulet and struck all of the nearby negative energy beings, causing them to release haunting ghostly cries and run away, they stayed away and I ran over to my father, checking him over for any damage to his armor.

"Are you hurt dad?! Please tell me they didn't get through the shields somehow! I'm here, I'll keep you safe, I promise." I held him gently, but winced as my wounds came into contact with him, the areas where the ghosts had slashed with their necrotic claws hurt horribly as if I had many long burning needles digging in, the neck was the worst.

I had to let go of him as soon as I hugged him since it hurt badly when my neck touched his chainmail.

"Aghhh! My neck!!" Coconut looked at me with concern at my sudden pained cry, then he looked at my neck and his face went a bit pale.

"Don't worry about me. What happened to you?! Your neck! It's... The scales and skin is sloughing right off! Oh my goddess... It looks horrible! I'll take care of it right away, please do not move until I'm done." He looked at my wound from various angles, examining it and also checking the rest of my body to see how to most effectively use his divine spells.

"You also have nasty wounds like this on both of your sides, but I'm most worried about your neck, hopefully there is no damage to the blood vessels there, let's start." He then gently presses the side of his horn to my neck and before I have time to cry out in pain, a glowing energy washes over my neck and the wound is completely healed, the pain vanishing completely, then he uses one more spell on each side. -60 mp 2/182 mp

Onyx has regained +60 hp! 231/246

I exhaled with relief, the pain was almost fully gone, just soreness remained from the previous fights, but the most painful necrotic wounds were dealt with. "Thank you! now... Let's try to finish them off one by one, shall we?" I ask, feeling ready to kill more of this things, they are a pain to deal with to be honest but worth the risk.

"I'm all out of mana now Onyx, it's going to be up to you now, sorry..." He admits with a sigh, clearly concerned about himself too.

"I'll heal you if you get hurt, but there is not much else I can do at this point, I can try using my sword, but this ghosts can teleport and become intangible, magic seems to be the most useful thing against them, and sorry but I am... Developing a headache from magic exhaustion." He admitted with a tired look, he clearly was out of juice and I wouldn't ask more of him.

I ran over to the vaguely feline looking ghost that attacked me last, the Wraith, and I sneered at it with disdain. Preparing one of the deadliest spells I know, a spell that was effective even against ghosts, in this case it was just as good as my radiant attack, but with them combined, I had a much better chance.

"I don't want you to exist anymore and threaten us. Disappear!" A thin green ray shot forward from my pointed claw, hitting the Wraith right in the center of mass, but I wasn't enough, I didn't falter, I didn't miss. -30 mp 93/288

Critical hit! Wraith has taken 124 damage! 26/150

The ghostly Wraith recoiled from the attack, a large hole from where black smoke billowed was the result.

It lunged at me as soon as the impact ended, it was not slowed down at all, it had no care for its wounds, of course it didn't seem to feel pain as it were, but approaching me was a mistake it paid for dearly.

As it got closer and it's arms extended towards me, two motes of deadly radiance flew right at it, and my telekinesis grabbed a hold of it, even if I could only stop it for a few seconds, it was more than enough for the projectiles to impact against it's already half destroyed form.

Wraith has taken 20 damage! 6/150
Wraith has taken 6 damage and is destroyed!

I turned towards the nearest ghost, now that the main threat was dead, and used another disintegrate spell, the attack hit it right in the middle of its shadowy form, where it instantly consumed the entirety of the entity and turned it into nothingness, not even smoke remained as the spell encompassed the Ghost and removed it from existence. -30 MP 63/288

Ghost has taken 78 damage and is destroyed!

I was starting to feel my magic running low, having no real chance to fully rest didn't allow me to recover any of my mana, and still there were four damn ghosts left!

The turn undead seems to have stopped working, as all the four ghosts that remained rushed at me, I quickly prepared

A more spells, this time from the paws as I rushed the two nearest ghosts, grabbing them by the head with my claws, and as they were attacking, they became solid for a few seconds, that's where I unleashed the spell point blank into their bodies, even as both of their ghostly claws grabbed a hold of my chest, they died quickly enough to prevent them from tearing me apart, but multicasting the spell consumed almost all of my mana. -60 mp 3/288

Onyx has taken 14 necrotic damage! 217/246
Onyx has taken 16 necrotic damage! 201/246

Ghost has taken 70 damage and is destroyed!
Ghost has taken 80 damage and is destroyed!

I winced at the painful sting of the necrotizing claws before they died, but the last two ghosts had decided to attack from behind while I was busy dealing with the first two.

I used my tail as a weapon, coiling it to the side and then extending it as hard as I could while swinging it to the other side like a whip, I wasn't exactly very strong but my tail was big and would as powerful as a large wooden club if anything, I felt it impact them both, sensing them aside but one of them managed to grab onto my tail, the ghostly claws coming out of their hooves was a painful reminder that I wasn't safe at all, if I got careless they would tear me apart, my scales were falling off where I have been struck, and the skin underneath blackened and dried up.
It was extremely painful every time.

Ghost has taken 10 damage! 31/100
Ghost has taken 10 damage! 48/100
Onyx has taken 10 necrotic damage! 191/246

I started slamming my tail desperately on the ground until the ghost let go of me.

Ghost has taken 10 damage! 38/100!
Onyx has taken 10 necrotic damage! 181/246

Finally dad ran over to help me, I heard his hoof steps approaching, he had his sword held in his telekinesis but he clearly was struggling, a tired look on his eyes.

'I'll help you son! You fight one of them and I'll get the last, we can do it! Just this last two and we can go back!' his muzzle was covered in sweat, and he was panting as his mana was all but drained, even then he held the sword in a fighting stance, but I could tell he was not in a condition to fight.

'No! Please stay back, your magic is too exhausted to fight now! You'll pass out if you try using telekinesis to fight, please just try to keep away and dodge any of them that come close okay? Trust me please.' I begged in a soft tone of voice.

He slowed down and backed away, thankfully the ghosts still were focused on me and not him.

'Yes but please be careful, if you are in serious trouble I'm gonna help you, like it or not!' His tone left no room for argument, and I could agree with him on that, I didn't want to die after all.

I immediately lunged at one of the vaguely pony shaped ghosts, biting it right on the head with all my strength, it tasted nasty, but I didn't let go and kept crushing, dealing as much damage as I could before the ghost forced me to let go by stabbing at my neck with its claws, my scales protected me from most of it but they soon started to slough off as well as the skin underneath, leaving exposed muscle to the air, I finally felt the ghost dissolve into nothingness, my claws digging into its sides too for extra damage.

Ghost has taken 14 damage! 17/100
Onyx has taken 20 necrotic damage! 161/246
Ghost has taken 17 damage and is destroyed!

I know the other ghost is closing in, having recovered by being pushed back earlier by my tail, it appears behind me from the shadows and swings at my backside, earning itself a swift kick of my hind legs, pushing it away.

But this monsters can't be knocked prone, they always float.

I turn to face it, my last target and the only thing keeping us from going back, I realized I couldn't just escape back with dad unless I wasn't in combat, or at least far enough from this things.

The horrifying face of the ghosts was nothing to be underestimated, they had hollow sockets and their maw was like a nightmarish mish mash of needle fangs going in all directions, but thankfully they didn't bite, their muzzle couldn't open as it was partially sewn closed, the fangs and the visage was meant only to strike terror into the hearth of living creatures like us, but I was capable of rationalizing it all as a simple tactic to immobilize their prey to be able to kill it easier.

Coconut now too could see that they, as dangerous as they were, couldn't posses us anymore, we were too strong after he had leveled up to past level 20.

Their main weapon were the hooves, intimidating claws infused with negative energy, necromantic energy that would render flesh from bone on any weaker creatures, even on myself if they overwhelmed me.

I winced at the multiple nasty wounds I had on my neck and body, including my tail. I wouldn't let it get a hold of me again! I growled and stood on two legs, pulling out my sword and holding it in a defense stance, lifted at my eye level and waited for it to attack.

When it did I dodged to the side, jumping and using my tail to stabilize myself, the pain was barely tolerable, but the adrenaline helped lessed it as my wounded tail served me to stabilize myself.

I thrusted the sword forward and right into the ghost before it could move away or go into its intangible state.

Ghost has taken 10 damage! 28/100

It instantly turned intangible to reposition, but I could see it clearly thanks to the light of the Crown of Stars, I only had 3 out of 7 orbiting motes of light left and I was reluctant to use them all because we would be in the dark again.

The ghost even when intangible absorbed the light around it like a void, it was noticeable when near light like this.

It finally appeared to my side, I didn't even turn to defend and instead sent all remaining motes but one, causing it to explode into black smoke with a ghostly cry that send shivers down my spine.

5 Ghosts and 1 Wraith defeated! 8750 EXP earned by the party! (7000EXP+1750 bonus)
Onyx has leveled up to lvl 31! 5934/28470
Sylf Has leveled up to lvl 31! 311/28470
Kari 19295/23725
Coconut has leveled up to lvl 23! 3860/6621

Side mission: Ghost Village is 30% complete, 50 Ghosts and 10 Wraiths remaining.
Alternative path available: ancient earth pony burial practices.

Both of us were back to full power and energized again, after leveling up. But mentally we were exhausted, I read the last part carefully, was the system for real?! How the fuck were we going to deal with all 50 of those things?! And more Wraiths on top of that!

I groaned in frustration, I wanted a break, just half a dozen ghosts were a scary threat, even if all my wounds were gone I felt a bit weary from the fight but... What was this about alternative path? I read it carefully, it mentioned ancient earth pony burial practices... Oh!

I immediately knew what this was talking about when I remembered what happened to the ponies here. This was a way to atone for that, a symbolic way at the very least, but symbolism was a powerful thing in this realm, maybe enough to dissipate the Ghosts at least.

I wasn't sure what we needed to do, but I knew someone who may know or at least had an idea.

"Hey, do you know something about ancient earth pony burial practices father? I know it's a long shot but you probably know some pony history right?"

"Hmmm I don't know for sure about ancient, but I know earth ponies have always had a philosophy about burying their dead with a sapling from a three, that way they say that their bodies would nurture new life even after they are long gone, and the tree would be a reminder to those who remain that she or he who passed away is protecting and watching over them from the next life, while also giving them shade to relax and play in the hot days of summer."
I smiled warmly at such a wonderful tradition, it was wonderful honestly, and I knew what to do now... We would need a lot of saplings, and a VERY strong stomach, something I wasn't sure I had.

And definitively I was sure Coconut did not have, he was not made for this. I could somewhat disconnect myself from the emotional side of handling a dead body from another species but I really doubted Coconut would find it easy to do, he has been a pony all his life, and I know he has past trauma with the passing of his father, on top of that maybe he feels guilty about what happened to his mother too.

"I know what we have to do, I think we will need to go back home, we will need to grab many tree seeds and come back, in fact I think I will go do this alone dad. I don't want you to be exposed to such sights as this." I gave him a look that told him I meant that, he really didn't.

"You're going to do that with all the bodies here, aren't you? I want to help... But you're right, I don't know if I'm really going to be able to do something like this with so many dead ponies, I don't think I'm ready to see them like this, I'm sorry." He avoids my gaze in shame of his perceived failure, but I move in front of him and hold his muzzle, forcing to look at me.

"Do not be sorry, I don't even think I'm myself, but someone's gotta do it, in no other way this place will get better, i don't think we can just fight all the ghosts and be done, if i don't fix this, more and worse things will come nest here, I don't want to deal with this ghosts anymore, they are extremely annoying to fight with their resistances to almost everything." I sighed, dreading the idea of fighting enemies like this more, they could disappeared and reappear, becoming intangible and then attacking from the back, they were very sneaky and the amount of resistances and immunities to every possible condition made it much harder to fight them in large numbers.

"I... I agree with you, I hate fighting ghosts too, they are really hard to get rid off, the first ones were weak but hard to kill off, and they kept attacking from all angles, thanks to you I didn't get hurt more than once during all of this, I thank you for that, you've been extremely protective and... Really empathic with me during this, even when sometimes I was acting a bit loopy or dumb, even when I became overwhelmed with fear you protected me perfectly." He smiled softly and nuzzled his forehead to mine, then hugged me.

"Mom is not going to like the fact you even got hurt a single time, but I did my best, let's go back?
I'll go and grab some seeds from a nice forest I can see from the top floor, then come back and put them to rest. Ready? I know going to the actual village where this happened in the real world and burying the dead there would have far more effect, but I don't have those memories, the only memories I have from the guy I sort of absorbed are mostly magic theory and spells, and information about unicorns."

"Let's go back, I'll ask any questions I have at home, I already feel sick of being in here, the smell is horrendous." I nodded and held onto him, and then we appeared right where we left in an instant.

We were in Sylf and Coconut's room, seems like she isn't here, we looked around, I headed straight to my room just stopped at the door of their room and spoke to him.

"I'm gonna go shower, despite being healed I still have that nasty rotten smell from those necrotic attacks and my own flesh rotting away, you can take your armor off yourself right? If you can't I'll help you after I'm done showering, 'kay? I just can't stand to smell so bad..." I pinched my nose as best as I could with my claw.

He nodded and gestured for me to leave, telling me he had it under control.
"I'll be fine, I recovered all of my energy and now I know how the pieces are on so I can take them off too with my magic, and yes you definitively need a shower, and so do I."

I left after that with a nod, and headed straight to the shower, turning it on and grabbing my sponge, plenty of soap and started to scrub myself all over until I was clean of that filthy, then a second time just in case.
My scales were shiny and I sniffed myself, I smelled good again, what a relief! I will need to be much more careful when I go deal with the bodies, I will need a shovel and a lot of tree seeds.

Maybe pinecones would be ideal, or any I can find... A shovel or two, maybe five shovels, all digging at the same time would be much faster than only one.

I decided to stop thinking to myself and get out of the shower, I was clean by now.

Heading out of my room I came across Coconut who was also going downstairs so we walked together.

There in first floor's the sofa with my little sister and brother cuddling next to her, was mom, sleeping comfortably in a relaxed posture, on her side with her legs hanging from the side of the long sofa.

Despite what we just went through, dad and I shared a look, a smile on our faces as we watched them sleep peacefully, then we both decided to let them sleep and slowly went back up the stairs.

I gestured for him to follow me and after grabbing some money from my room, a few hundred bits in a pouch, I handed it to him.

"Can you go and buy a few shovels for me? Doesn't matter if they're made of cheap iron or carbon steel or anything, I just need them to be somewhat decently wide, and I need 5 of them, you know where we can buy that, right?" I asked because honestly I didn't know exactly where, but he nodded as if was obvious.

"Of course, the blacksmiths don't only make weapons and armor you know? They make most of the tools, in fact that is their main source of income, metal tools can be a bit expensive, depending on the material, and I'd say five shovels will cost you like 100 bits, give or take if you get the cheapest possible quality, it will still be good and work fine of course."

"So... How do you know all of this? I didn't take you for the hard working type of pony who would use such tools, no offense intended of course." He just gave me an offended look but smiled.

"Hey! Don't judge a book by its cover, but you're right... it wasn't me, my father was a hard working stallion, during his youth he worked as a blacksmith, at least as an apprentice of one when he was short on bits, we ponies dont only work on our special talent related jobs you know?" He had a distant look about him as he seemed to remember something from a long time ago.

"He didn't teach me how to forge, but he told me stories about his job, and what they did, like making nails, making tools and even made parts for machines and nails for the railways, but that was back in the day when they were expanding the various train tracks across the country." That helped put things into perspective a bit, if anything it was nice to learn more about his late family.

"So he was a very hard working pony clearly, kinda like you! Well at least now you're more or less in a financially stable situation, which I'm glad for! So... To the blacksmith?" Mentally I was preparing a spell to teleport us right to the area.

"To the blacksmith." He answers and we are both enveloped in the familiar energy I have come to associate with teleportation, to then blink into existence in an alley not far from our destination.

The smell of trash is the first thing that greeted us as we arrived in the side alley, the both of us scrunched our nose in disgust and quickly walked out, taking a deep breath from the fresh and clean air in the street itself.

Using alleys to travel in less attention catching fashion was still worth it in my opinion, I was a bit paranoid after being the target of a large manhunt, but I still preferred the convenience of teleportation more just walking everywhere.

"And we're here! Sorry about that, I didn't expect the trash to stink as much as it did, tho I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, it's summer after all."

"Don't sweat it, it was just next to the trash cans, here it's fine, now let's go before the stores are closed for the day, it's at most half an hour before they do." I did as he asked and followed him, shortly after we got to the store he was looking for, and spent about 150 bits in 5 cheap shovels.

An hour later, back at home.

After getting the shovels, I decided to go on my own and teleported him home to his wife and children while I gathered the necessary seeds from nearby parks, I figured instead of traveling far and using more magic I could walk around a few parks and in about an hour I had everything ready.

Returning home with everything in my inventory I woke up mom and dad, and explained everything to them, the twins were already asleep so we prepared briefly and teleported into the dungeon, this was only going to take a few hours, I hope.

"You'll owe us after this Onyx, but I understand why it so important and urgent, I think we should get it done right now, do you need our help?" Sylf asked me gently and I shook my head at her right away.

"No, I need to do this alone, I don't want him to have to see this, I mean you dad." He looked down in shame.

"I'm not ready either, I think watching something like that will stay with me forever and... I'd rather be spared that sight, I'll make it up to you someday okay? Please take care of them and give them a proper rest, after you're done take me there and offer a prayer for them, both of us will." He answered me, gesturing to Sylf next to him. He was clearly really tired.

I nodded and held them both, transporting the three of us into the castle where we fought the necromancer many months ago. "We are here, I should do this as quickly as possible so we can finally get some rest, I know we are all exhausted, so am I... Sorry about dragging you both into this, but I have a good reason, and you'll see." I truly hope they won't be too mad.

"I'll get going now, see you in a few hours, I promise to stay safe, love you mom, dad!" They both waved as I walked down the stairs heading for the exit to the castle.

"We love you too! If anything dangerous tries to attack you, teleport here right away!" After that I was out of earshot and ran outside, heading for the edge of town where we have cleared all the specters.

I had to assume the rest of the ghosts and the new things were inside the houses, hopefully we had gotten rid of all the wandering monsters around.

The smell of death was stronger but I kept running until I reached one of the doors, which I opened and headed outside.

Almost gagging in disgust at the smell and the sight of dozens upon dozens of mutilated headless bodies, my eyes were watering from the smell alone, I had seen this before but looking at the corpses up close was something different, I tried to not look too much, to not feel, this was no time to feel emotions, it was time to get to work.

I started to count them, all in all there were almost a hundred of them, all missing their heads, I wondered where their heads went.

I changed my mind, I don't want to find out where they were.

I started to look for a proper place to bury them, and decided that the dead grass around the village was a good spot, I started to dig and dig, took about 2 hours to dig all hundred graves using all five shovels at the same time, and lifting the dirt off, used much less magic this way than if I just didn't use shovels, the hard part was now, bringing all of them here.

I had to do several trips back and forth, carrying a two dozen at a time, but eventually all of them were put to rest, now I started to grab the seeds and break off one by one, dropping them in, one in each and pushing the dirt back in, covering the corpses.

A few more hours have passed since then, but I was done.

At last, I grabbed a nearby large rock and placed it in the edge, using my claws I inscribed some words in it as a memorial, my stone carving skills weren't stellar to say the least but I could understand it.

'Here lay to rest the residents of the nearby village, may their souls find peace in the next life.'

I hoped that the ponies who lived in the real version of this place were had long ago moved on to the next life, but this is all I could go with, I didn't even know the name of this place.

After I was done I returned to the castle and found mom and dad there.

The two of them were asleep in a wooden bench by the time I arrived, I nudged them awake slowly, I felt bad enough having to drag them all the way here now and this didn't help at all with my guilt, I definitively would need to make it up to them later.

"Hmmm huh? Oh is it time? How long has it been?" He said with a yawn and Sylf joined him too, looking grumpy but slowly they got up and stretched.

"It's been a few hours, sorry but there were just so many... It has been slow even with my magic, I also had to be careful carrying them, believe me, you don't want to know the details. But I'll take you there now, ready?" Sleepy slow nods were my only answer.

In a few seconds we were all on that field with a flash of teleportation. They looked around in astonishment at the high number of graves I prepared. But Coconut didn't hesitate, and pulled out the amulet his goddess blessed and held it in his hoof as he began praying.

"Please Goddess Faust, give peace and calm to the souls of this ponies who suffered so much for no fault of their own, I know you care for them as you do for all of us, thank you." With that he smiled a much happier smile, then a soft and gentle voice in our mind spoke to us all.

'I hear you Coconut.
its done my champion, the ponies who you honored with this, they have been watching you all this time, we know what you have done for them, they appreciate your gesture and your actions. Onyx, you and your companions have brought justice to them too, all of them pooled their powers together to send you this gift.' that voice, it didn't command authority or fear, but kindness and compassion, I wanted to meet her.

After that, the dark sky lit up as a light started to descend into the village, a large pillar of white light started in the castle, then spread slowly outwards and washed over the entire village, washing away all of the darkness and returning the colour to it, everything seemed somehow less muted, the sky became filled with all sort of different colors like a rainbow, it all felt magical as it happened.

The light spread more and more, eventually reaching outside of the village and washing over the dead and rotting plants, it restored them to life, the poles where the ponies had been hung from dissolved into dust and were blown by the wind into the fields and grass around.

The graves around us became a forest, with small trees coming out from the ground, growing taller and larger with every second until they became mature trees.

Plenty of time for us to get out of the way, as we moved outside the area of the former cemetery, now turned small expanse of forest.

The sky itself was beautiful to look at, unlike before when looking at it made you feel uneasy, now it felt like a nice dream... A dream! Of course! This was the dream realm, now that the negative emotions weren't flooding this place and it was purged of them, it went back to just being the dream realm as it was meant to be.

This was supposed to be like this, a place where creatures dreamed and where things were nonsensical but still plausible, or at least somewhat based on real life.

This looked exactly like a lovely dream now, the castle now had colorful banners with new symbols.
An outline of an unicorn, a wolf, a dragon and a lion.
It was us!

I stayed wide eyed and looking around in wonder for several minutes, unable to speak, as I took in every detail I could see from here.

Then I was taken out of my reverie by the HUD notifying me of something.

Area of dream realm purified can safely be traversed, now no negative energy entities can form here, this area is returned to the natural state of the dream realm, and the seal holding it enclosed has been moved back.

Other creatures capable of dream walking can now enter here too, as long as they aren't evil in alignment.

Second dungeon has been purified and all negative energy beings have been vanquished, your party earns 122500 experience (70000+52500 bonus)
Onyx has leveled up to lvl 34! 24804/49196
Sylf has leveled up to lvl 34! 19181/49196
Kari has leveled up to lvl 34! 14440/49196
Coconut has leveled up to lvl 31! 17117/28470
Coconut has obtained various spells and the knowledge to use them from his goddess.

The somewhat familiar sensation of growing in power hits me like a truck, it's intense and extremely pleasurable, in a way it's both physical and mental, i haven't felt such large jump in power in a long time.

I felt as if I was getting the best massage ever all across my body, it was really pleasurable and I felt a bit embarrassed to make little whimpers like that, but the sensation didn't last too long, only a minute at most, I uncovered my face, I had been too lost in the moment to notice what the others were doing.

Mom was fine, seemingly just a bit flustered, if her face was any indication, I turned to check if dad was okay, he was passed out on the floor on his side, facing away from me, I was about to run over and check on him but she was faster.

Sylf ran over to him in worry and checked up on the poor stallion, she gently pressed her snout oh his neck to check for a pulse, thankfully her face relaxed, becoming a bit flustered as she looked at me.

"Don't worry Onyx, he's fine... Just don't come to look on this side, he's just... overwhelmed." Sylf reassured me but her words made me confused, I shrugged and just stayed there, laid on the ground and relaxed, looking up at the colorful sky.

The sight filled me with hope, it makes me feel like I could save them, my friends and my family would be okay, and every single issue would be solved.

The sky was beautiful, pastel pinks, oranges, reds and yellows, along with the blue and white.
It was akin to the sky at dusk, just way more colorful.

All the clouds were constantly changing in shape and color and I loved the unpredictability of it all.

I bet this place would be something even Discord would appreciate.

It seemed like Sylf managed to wake Coconut up, he is yawning and stretching like a sleepy cat now, laying on his back too.

Ah, I see why she told me not to go check up on him, I quickly averted my gaze, I suppose I can't blame him for that, he had increased like 10 levels in an instant, he must have felt so much in that moment that he was overwhelmed in ever way.

I would have probably reacted just the same had I been older.

"Morning dad! We may want to go back now, we left the twins alone for too many hours, ready to go back?" I asked, not caring about his current state, I am feeling very sleepy myself, we all were, but we had to check on the little ones first.

"Wha? What happened? I- oh gosh! S-sorry!" He quickly turned around and covered himself with his hooves. Probably had not realized what just happened to him, I could empathize with such an embarrassing situation, but a sleepy giggle still escaped me at the absurdity of it all.

"Heheh Calm down, I don't care about that, let's go back before I fall asleep, we have to check up on them, I'm worried because we left them alone for hours." He seemed to snap out of his stupor and nodded firmly, walking over, where the three of us touched our heads together and teleported back to the place where we left.

Immediately I ran to their room, followed by them, Coconut being the slowest.

I checked on the two foals and found them to be sleeping peacefully.

'Relax you two, they're fine, now I'm going to sleep, goodnight!' I smiled and informed both of them before running back to my room and jumping on the bed.

I had not felt this good to get something done in a long while, but there was still much to do if I wanted things to go right, I needed to go out there and help, but I couldn't do this alone.

The next day I will explain to dad how to allocate his new points to make himself much stronger, those were my last thoughts right as I drifted into my dreams.

Author's Note

Thank you for reading! hope you liked this chapter, it closes up the combat encounters in the second dungeon, turning it into a dream hub of sorts, technically it could count as divine intervention, but it was actually the real souls of the ponies who passed away here that were responsible for helping, for obvious reasons.

Chapter 50 Celestial Sea Part 2

The next morning.

After sleeping in late I was woken up by shouting on the upper deck, I quickly came back to full consciousness, thankfully my head was not hurting anymore and it was already noon, I blinked the sleepiness away and stretched my legs and tail, yawning wide.

Seems whatever happened last night was either a bad dream or completely went away with a full night's sleep.

My parents were awake too it seems, I could tell because they both poked their heads out the door, looking alarmed, and my 'room' is just open and has no walls.

"Heeey! Morning you two, hope you slept well, did the noise woke you two up too?"

Coconut is the first to answer in a sleepy voice. "Morning Onyx, we slept pretty good, and yes that woke us up too, but it seems mostly me, your mother still looks half asleep." He nuzzled the sleepier looking Sylf who was yawning wide, blinking herself fully awake, seems they got even less sleep than me somehow.

"I-im fine, just... You know, forget it, let's go find out what's going on and I'll ask them to let me wash myself in the sea, I need a good bath." She seems slightly flustered when she said that, both of them walk outside and we head for the disturbance, I move beside them to go together.

My nose twitches as I inhale their scent by proximity, I could tell immediately the reason they got little sleep last night.

"You two definitively need to wash up in the sea, I hope you at least used Prestidigitation to clean the room after..." I kept a bit more distance from then on, I wish I could tune down my sense of smell, it gives way too much details sometimes, even when I don't need them.

"You two may get us in trouble if the Captain finds out, or maybe he doesn't care...
Well at least I didn't get woken up, good on you two for using the silence spell, but next time a warning about that scent?" I gave them a little glare but just chuckled at their slightly embarrassed expressions, they just look adorable together, I couldn't be mad at them.

"You two are really unable to contain yourselves hmm? Well I hope you had fun, now let's go up there, something may be going on." I try to get them to focus on what's happening but they seem to have a different idea.

They shared a loving look, nuzzling again and kissing in front of me, slowly and clearly with desire for each other.

"Very funny you two... As much as I find you two the most adorable couple ever, this is just not the time.
Hmph... Let's go you up to figure out what's happening, and get you two a bath in ice cold water before you get any more affectionate."

Well I'm glad they love each other so much... But I miss my human sense of smell, it was so much more numb and simple that I probably would never realize anything happened, instead of the detailed layers upon layers of sensory information my new nose was able to produce just by breathing in.

At this point we were climbing the stairs going to the deck, once there we came across an interesting sight, around us there were many sailors armed with swords standing in a protective ring around the end of the stairs on the upper deck, basically as if to keep someone from going in here. What was happening?

My question was answered sooner than I expected.
The flapping of wings approaching pulled my attention up towards the sky.

A group of griffons came in for landing near the back of the ship, aiming their crossbows at the armed sailors. There were 10 of them, and our ship only had six sailors including the captain.

The leading griffon stepped forward and spoke loudly. "Drop your weapons right now! We are the Griffon Isles armed forces and you have entered our waters, now you will allow us to inspect your cargo for any dangerous contraband and you will surrender yourself to us or face death!" He was wearing a specially fancy decorated light armor with a helmet with a red plume on his head and red highlights, his armor didn't cover his back as to not get on the way of his wings.

The air was so tense that it could be cut with a butter knife, for a few seconds everyone was silent.

"We are the Blue Sail company, in cooperation with the Equestrian Railway and tasked with transporting cargo and passengers, why would we submit to you? We have not entered any different waters, this is all part of the Griffonian Empire!" Warbler stepped forward too and walked towards the invading griffons bravely, angry at their entitled attitude and completely ignoring all the weapons pointed at him. Me and my family stepped out of the protective ring of armed sailors, who encouraged us to stay back, but Sylf gently asked for them to let us pass, and insisted until they reluctantly agreed, moving aside to make way.

"You dare to say this is Empire territory? Why, we should just fucking kill you on the spot! Fuckin' loyalist piece of garbage, your run down nation is going to fall very soon." And that was our cue, the three of us stepped forward, standing beside Warbler who looked shocked and worried to see us there, my dad calmed him down and reassured him while mom stepped up to the threat with me next to her but a step behind.

Every griffon on that group was staring at us now, some showed worry but most directed their anger and hate towards us, the newcomers who dared to get in their way, and some confusion at seeing a big wolf and a dragon just being buddies with an unicorn.

"Please gentlegriffs, I ask you to stand down and leave our ship, we are passengers traveling on this vessel and we have no intention of having you ruining our vacation, you hear? I am sure you have the wrong ship, we are just passing through." Sylf voice was polite but her tone left no room for argument, she didn't want to deal with their attitude.

"What the fuck Even are you? A talking bitch? Do you think you are entitled to your vacation while we are at war!? We are arresting you after we deal with the dragon there first! Kill him lads!" He approached with his sword ready, pointing it aggressively at me, causing me to look amused at him.

Was he really asking them to just kill me without even asking me to leave? How uncouth.

However before I could reply to him, mom got angry, really really angry, her friendly expression replaced by something that would make me piss myself in fear if it was directed towards me.

Yellow eyes glowing faintly with arcane energy, her fangs bared, hackles raised and a deep growl that made the air tremble, good thing it was not directed at me.

He stopped approaching us, becoming paralyzed by fear and shaking visibly, his previously angry face quickly morphing into terror, mom did not let up until he pissed himself on the spot, the cloth padding he was wearing soaking it and darkening. She looks much bigger when she has her hackles raised, she truly looked like a monster now.

"You dare? You fucking dare?! coming here with your pathetic and poorly trained good for nothing trash to threaten my son and the rest of us? You think I will allow you to disrespect my precious family!?" She asked him, growling in anger at the same time, which seems to terrify him further, she looked ready to pounce, but didn't move.

"Kill her!" He shrieked at the top of his lungs in panic, not knowing what else to do and wanting her gone away, his scream pulling the soldiers out of their shock, they probably had little training and didn't expect to see such a scary monster, and most of them hesitated and were too scared to move until that moment.

Some crossbow bolts fired at us and bounced off my weakest shield spell with almost no feedback, their crossbows were really weak compared to the ones I've faced before, they would probably bounce off my scales like rubber bands.

Some tried to charge but a quick thunderwave spell from her sent them all flying back, throwing some of them off the ship and into the cold sea or slamming them against the edge of the ship.

"Go back to your island and don't ever come back! last warning before I lose my patience, attack again against my family or myself, and the last thing you'll see is your own headless body when I cut off your heads one by one." Sylf announced loud and clear for everyone to hear, those that fell in the sea quickly took to the air and left back to their ship after hearing those words, none of them soldiers wanted to face such a fate and they had a good sense of danger.

The sailors were too stunned to even speak amongst themselves, they just stared at the black wolf in concern and apprehension, thinking they should never anger her, including Warbler, he was wide eyed and had to close his own beak shut after that exchange. It wasn't often that a being faces on 10 to one odds and manages to intimidate them in such an efficient way.

It was completely silent other than the cries and groans of pain of those who were painfully slammed against the wooden railing, good thing they had helmets or there would have been severe wounds.

"Well, what are you waiting for? You're thinking of facing me with larger numbers?" She asked while approaching the lead griffon, most of the soldiers were males, unlike pony soldiers who were mostly female.

She smirked and stepped over his head with her paw in a show of dominance, squeezing his beak painfully to the wooden deck of the ship while other griffons watched on in shock, the few remaining that hadn't fled back to their ship, clearly they were braver and weren't willing to leave their commanding officer behind.

"If you come back again, even if you bring an army, I will destroy them, no mercy this time, no asking politely, I'll cut them into pieces and throw them overboard to serve as fish bait, do you understand? The only reason your head is still attached to your neck, is that I care about my family too much to show them the harsher side of combat, but that won't save you again." Watching his ego and confidence vanish and be replaced with fear was if anything, a bit entertaining. I still was very closely paying attention in case anyone of them somehow got the jump on her, my magic ready and primed to shield her from harm, but most of them lost their weapons to the sea when they were flung back.

He then fell into a bowing position and started to beg for his life. "P-please great wolf mistress! Let us go and we will never bother your ship again, I beg you! P-please, I have a family too, I just wasn't thinking!" I couldn't help the snort of laughter that came out, mistress? I suppose he just wanted to be extra respectful to remain alive.

Sylf also seems to find him funny as she laughs adorably, he tenses a bit at first but relaxed as she moves her paw away from him, letting him get up.

"You're really funny little bird! Hahaha mistress? No one ever called me that, and because you have a family, I'll let it slide this time, it helps that my husband has gotten me in a pretty good mood today." She turned dismissively, shooing him away with a gesture of her paw.

"You and your soldiers may go, but remember what I said, I will not be so merciful next time, understand?" At this the griffon nods meekly and bows his head again, turning to his soldiers who are also recovered and quickly ushers them back to their ship.

"T-thank you mistress, I will make sure to tell my superiors in the Isles army that they are not to approach your caravel again under any circumstances, farewell!" And with that he gives her one last fearful bow and with a running start, takes off towards his ship flying as fast as he can to catch up with his group.

"Phew... How rude! do they not teach griffons to respect their superior officers in those islands? Well now that's taken care of, is everyone okay? I hope no stray crossbow bolts hit any of you?" Her voice is now devoid of that commanding presence, and filled with genuine concern for everyone here, as she went back to normal.

Everyone shook their heads checking themselves for injuries, the captain stepped forward. "Where did you learn to do that? You definitively have the mettle of an officer, you are as powerful as you are fierce, I have never seen anything as scary as that look you gave em!" Captain Warble said in awe.

"I'm Commander Sylf, of the Equestrian Royal Guards, but I'm trained for combat just as much as the regular Equestrian Army, sorry i didn't mention it before because it didn't come up in conversation, I'm trained for dealing with situations like this, and I'm also not about to submit to anyone other than my superiors, and only if their orders are lawful." Mom is definitively awe inspiring and imposing when she wants to be. And her ability to paralyze others with her fear was certainly effective.

"Oh wow... And to think I would be transporting such a high ranking foreign soldier! That's... A big, but not unwelcome surprise! I've served in the Griffonian armed forces before, but you're clearly not a mere soldier, I saw you use combat spells, but how? You're no unicorn." Warbler was curious now after seeing her casting magic, the shockwave of energy was visible to everyone, and they probably though her shield was also cast by herself.

"Oh, magic casting? it's an ability that I found out I could use, but I'm not very good at it, i'm a novice at best, I learned most of it at training and the academy. The real magical prodigy in my family is my darling son, he puts any of my spells and magic to shame! He is truly amazing." She smiled wide and gestured her head in my direction, throwing me under the bus and focusing everyone's attention on me.

I waved at them all shyly, blushing like an idiot as the eyes of mostly everyone shifted to me, and worst of all tripping over my own words. "Uhmm.. Hi everyone? Im just... Well she's exaggerating! She can do magic pretty well, I'm just... Specialized in magic, but she can really use a sword, she's an expert, I don't know anyone else as good as her! She's able to use even a greatsword with her maw like its nothing!" They were still staring, some even started asking me to do some magic, as if I had not just praised Sylf, I felt unsure but both my parents nodded.

I gave up they seem to go crazy over magic, maybe because they lack magic users? I sighed and gave up. "You really want me to use a spell? Fine, but... Don't go around telling others that I can do it." I knew what to cast that would be cool for them. Literally, I really like this spell because it has an use other than dealing damage.

I formed the spell matrix in my mind's eye, pumping mana into it and checking the area for any living being, not wanting to cause unnecessary death.

Once I made sure it was clear of life, I point my claw towards the ocean away from the ship, and release the finished spell I have been preparing, sending a small crystalline sphere flying from my extended finger in a straight line.

It flies fast until it impacts the surface of the sea, where it disappears into an explosion of frost and instantly freezes the surface of the water, forming a floating thick sheet of ice, about 10 meters in diameter and thick enough to hold the weight of a few creatures I hope.

Then I gently tugged the disk of ice closer with telekinesis, slowly to not make it crash with the ship, it floated gently on top of the water.

"This is one of my spells, Freezing Sphere! It's actually very powerful and it can be used to create solid ice on top of the water that you can walk upon, they shouldn't break because the ice is thick enough, but I haven't tested this too much so be ready to fly up in case it does break, I'm going in first." I slowly climbed the ships stairs and walked on the floating ice disk, it tilted to my side slightly a bit but once I moved to the center, it stabilized.

Other griffons flew over and landed near the center too, and it held the weight of about 5 in total before it started to crack audibly, it separated in two and started to drift, and tilt in as most of us were near the middle, the griffons of course flew up and away and I fell into the sea. Thankfully this time it was during daytime and there was much more light, I could see a few fish swimming around, the spell seems to have scared them away but they were still visible and getting away from the area.

I swan to the side of the caravel and climbed up the rope stairs, shaking myself dry once I reached the deck, where I found the sailors excitedly chatting and pointing at me, they seem to have liked the magic trick, judging by their smiles.

Warbler approached me and smiled, slapping my back with his wing. "That was incredible lad! Your mother is right, you really are a prodigy with magic, I just can't imagine what other spells you have if you showed us this one, you could take on whole armies with your magic and win!" His tone was excited, even hopeful, but he shook his head and stopped his daydreams.

"We will be mindful of not telling anyone else, it would be an issue if all of Griffonstone knows you have powerful magic, some nobles may try to force you to join their clans to increase their power, or even join in the war, which I doubt you'll ever want to do." I not to him, I indeed don't have any intention of joining a war, I just wanted to help the nation that was going through difficult times.

"But here on this ship we are all like brothers, and I promise you, we will keep our word, and keep your power a secret, only yours to reveal." I smile at that and nod, hoping he is truthful, but I seriously doubt anyone can force me into anything at this point unless they are a demigod like Celestia, I'm adept at escaping capture.

"I'll take your word for it mister Warbler, now I've got a favor to ask you, can you slow the ship down or stop it completely so me and my family can take a bath in the sea? We all need it after being traveling for a full day." He nods and I smile, moving back to my parents and standing between them on two legs, pulling them in a hug with one of my foreleg around each and me in the middle.

"Hey Onyx, really awesome spell, that looked like fun! What's it called?" Coconut always the curious one, asked me as he nuzzled me gently on the side of my face.

"Oh that's a Freezing Sphere, a sixth tier spell that is quite complex and difficult to pull off correctly, it's nothing like your Divine spells tho, you have to learn it yourself if you want to use it, by the way, I got the captain to stop the boat for a while so we can all go and shower, get ready you two!"

"Oh thank you son! You're always mindful and lovely to your mother, see dear? You could have done that too, after all you're the reason I'm like this!" Mom nuzzled me lovingly and gave her husband a playful glare, making him blush and laugh nervously.

I nuzzled her back and realized why she was acting all shy and asking for a shower, but it wasn't her fault that this primitive ships don't have showers, I could tell the moment we boarded that this griffons rarely showered, let me tell you I'd rather smell my parents than have to smell any more of the sailors.

"Well... im a bit shy, to be honest, sorry hun, you're better at talking, you even asked me out in the first place remember? Our first date~"

"What am I going to do with you two? Let's just get down into the water, but use the ladder on the side, the water is cold and if you jump right in, you'll get a real shock to your system that you really dont want." I say meaningfully looking at both of them, with a serious expression.

"Okie, don't worry I am taking you seriously, I know that look and I'm not going to just jump in! I'm just not very good at climbing ladders, so can you help me? You can lower me with telekinesis, right?" I don't see why not, while he climbs down the ladder I lift mom by her entire body, holding her in the air and moving her to hover above the water, then slowly I dip her hind paws in the cold sea.

She shivers and I lower her more until her entire rear, hind legs and up to her middle is fully submerged, she gasps as the cold water seeps into her fur and touches her skin underneath, I hold her there so she can get used to the cold, and she slowly calms down in her breathing.

"Ready for me to let go?" I asked from above, looking at her in the eyes, she took a deep breath but nodded, and I dropped her, her body sunk into the water for a while before she emerged and gasped in the surface, completely soaked in the sea, having to doggy paddle constantly to keep herself afloat.

"Fuuck, it's freezing! You were right! But it's bearable, for now." She constantly moved her paws to keep herself afloat.

"Come on my love, you can get in slowly too, just hold onto that ladder until you get used to it.
Go slowly okay?" She regained her breath and got used to the cold temperature, now encouraging the reluctant unicorn to get into the water.

I grabbed my soap and held it in the air in front of her so she could grab it in her own mage hand spell, which she promptly did.

Finally the timid stallion seemed to gather his courage and after steeling himself he dipped his hind legs in, quickly withdrawing them and cursing.

"Ponyfeathers! Didn't expect it to be so cold, I'll... Slowly go down, if I don't get back up, can you pull me up?" He asked while looking at me, I nodded and he slowly let himself sink into the sea, until only his head was out of the water, his ears were pinned back as he gasped at the shock to his system, his legs weren't able to hold him so i used telekinesis to keep his head out of the water.

"G-goddess, t-this is the coldest water I've ever touched! Please p-pass me the soap? My legs can barely move, please keep holding me!" I nodded and grabbed another bar of soap from our bathing kit I had brought with me earlier when we came out, I have one for each of us.

I jumped into the water a bit away from them so they wouldn't get too splashed, and swam around underwater, checking to make sure we weren't about to become some creature's meal, I knew orcas were usually friendly but that was back home, maybe here they really love to eat ponies for all I know.

Nothing but small fish and curiously a distant beluga whale that was swimming closer at a relaxed pace, those at least weren't big enough to bite any of us in half so I paid it no mind for now and surfaced behind Coconut, holding him in a hug and surprising him, he was adorable when he got scared, but my hug calmed him down once he realized it was just me, he seemed to be trying to scrub himself with soap but his telekinesis is blinking in and out and he is struggling to even hold the soap.

I feel bad for him, he clearly can't withstand this water so I decide to intervene and quickly wash him myself.

"I'm going to help you wash up with my paws because I see you struggling with your magic, you can't even keep yourself swimming like mom is... Now relax, I'll be gentle." I said softly in his ear, making his eyes widen for a second, then a thankful smile formed on his face.

I started scrubbing him with my paws my fingers spreading soap over his coat and getting deep into his mane that normally was hard to wash, let alone in this freezing cold water, where his magic was too shaky to work well.

"Y-yes please! I can't... For some reason my magic doesn't want to cooperate here, it's too cold! You know what you're doing, right?" He accepted my help but asked with some doubt.

"Of course dad! I've read a book on pony care and I know what to do and what not to do when handling a pony, it went into detail in how to wash both genders and subspecies of ponies, but I don't think your horn needs washing so I'll just do the usual earth pony cleaning technique, just gentler, have some faith in me sir!" He giggled at me calling him sir and nodded, feeling more at ease now that he knew I had some knowledge.

I made sure to get soap only on his coat and not on any areas where it doesn't belong, it was important to be gentle with ponies, specially when it came to washing them, as they had very sensitive skin in certain areas, and soap or other products would irritate them. All those books on pony care and hygiene I read at the Canterlot library were being put to use now. Sure they mostly applied for foals but all of this also applied for adult ponies too, the book said it clearly.

I nuzzled him affectionately so he wouldn't be so nervous, noticing he was shivering from the cold so I had to be quick or he would get hypothermia.

"T-this is embarrassing... but it's not like I can scrub myself, m-my magic is useless! thank you for the gentle treatment Onyx" He returns my nuzzles and doesn't resist when I clean him, taking special care to clean his ears and head with less water, the book says to not use more than a wet towel to clean a pony's ears as they can get sick if water gets inside their ear canal, so I wetted the sponge and squeezed the water off and used that, trying to not drip much water inside. I also washed his head gently, careful to not use soap near his eyes or nose.

"Shush it's not embarrassing, you know I'd help you with anything, anytime! you're a big pony and need to admit when you need help, I saw you were shaking from the cold and your magic wasn't working, now give me a few minutes and I'll go dry you off, I gotta give your wife the same treatment until she is smelling fresh again, and not like a certain somepony's foal batter!" I chuckle at the look on his face.

"Onyx! Just you wait and I'll get you back for this, also Sylf will not be happy you said that, she can hear you, dummy, she's over there! You're in big trouble now~" I looked in her direction, and said wolf was looking at me with an evil smirk that promised I would pay for my little comment about her scent, I felt a lump form on my throat and swallowed loudly, knowing I messed up, if I learned something is to never mess with mom, like all those griffons who threatened us learned the hard way.

"Soon when you got yourself your special somepony it will be our turn to tease you, and we will see if you like it, you're not too far away from becoming a teen, you'll know then!" He says with a still embarrassed but more confident face, I need to keep my damn mouth shut sometimes, I'm looking for it at this point.

"You have the right to get me for this, but please if you and mom go at it and you have to be close to me before showering, gimme a little warning so i dont get so surprised, is that understandable?" I asked in a pleading tone, trying to be polite.

He sighed and nodded, embarrassed at discussing this topic with me. "I can see... Why you would be a bit put off, I'm sorry I didn't realize you have such a sharp sense of smell, in my defense... There are no showers in this ship and we always shower at home every morning, but I still could have warned you, and I didn't because I felt it was not appropriate at your age, turns out not warning you is the wrong thing to do, because you'll know anyways, right?" I nod and smile at him, he finally understands!

"Of course I would know dad, I don't know how to turn off my nose, if I could i would unless I needed it, I could try to explain my senses to you, if you want? So you know what I'm talking about." He nodded and perked his ears, his hearing was probably better than mine to be honest, with those big ol' pony ears.

"I can see even with my eyes closed, in a circle around me up to a certain distance, I can hear pretty good around me, unless I'm deeply asleep, I can see in the dark up to a certain distance, but I see better during the day, I can see objects far away, very small objects, like a pony in the valley from the top of the mountain, as long as they are colorful and not blending in with the background. But my smell is even better than my other senses, I can tell who was were, when and mostly what they did, as long as it was recent, i am specially good at picking up the scent of those Ive met before."

"For example if I go into a house, I can smell where a person walked through up to a few hours ago, or where they stayed for longer than a few seconds, I can tell if they ate something and most likely what it was, hours after they did, and a bunch of other things. I prefer not to rely on scent much in combat because it doesn't work for beings made of negative energy, as they all smell the same, like negative emotion, that is to say all of the beings un dungeons smell awful and the dungeons themselves smell like death.

He seemed to understand, and was about to speak when I simply levitated him up and back into the ship, he was shaking too much without realizing, and his body was going into hypothermia, as much as I like teasing him and pranking him I don't want him to actually suffer.

I teleport back up to the ship and focus my magic around him, warming the air and making a bubble of telekinetic pressure to trap the hot air inside, holding it like that for a while and then letting it go, and repeating this often so the air doesn't get too hot.

"Ohh that's wonderful Onyx! I feel much warmer, can you do that again a few more times please?" His tone was pleading and he clearly needed more heat, so I recasted the warming spell and compressed the air slightly around him again, holding it for slightly longer until I saw his coat and mane begin to dry and get frazzled, then I let the air out.

"You should be fully dry now, right?" I ask, while looking down at Sylf who is doing a decent job cleaning herself, her cold resistance making her not struggle as much with the cold, and her mage hand going to work on her coat, she probably doesn't even need my help.

"Y-yes thank you son, I'm fine! But... Im still a bit embarrassed about all that, was it really necessary? Never expected my own son to give me a sponge bath." I was confused now, what was that I did exactly? Wash him?

"I won't have smelly parents so yeah it was necessary to help scrub you clean, you silly pony! you were struggling with your magic, shaking too much to use telekinesis and risking yourself drowning, you ponies don't swim very well I've realized, to be fair neither does mom..." I looked at Sylf who was... Laying on her belly on top of a beluga whale. WAIT WHAT!?

I calmed down quickly, it seems like it's okay, she is just laying comfortably and washing herself, the beluga is vocalizing, making odd noises and looks... worried? but it's seemingly not doing anything else, Sylf is answering to the animal with a kind smile, as if holding a conversation. Oh right i taught her the animal speaking spell! of course she would put it to good use, she's pretty clever.

"I... I guess you're right, I couldn't control my telekinesis for some reason, and I struggled to stay afloat. Wait, what's going on?" Coconut asks as I stop paying attention to him and look down at her wife in the sea atop the big white animal. It's not that big but seems bouyant enough to lift the large wolf and hold her above water.

"Stay here dad, imma go check up on them and find out what's going on." I start climbing down the ladder quickly down into the water, casting my animal speaking spell as I jump the last few steps into the cold sea, it was at least less cold than yesterday when we were further north.

"Hello? Who do we have here?" Both of them turn to look at me, Sylf with a happy smile and the whale creature with a curious but reserved expression, it's... Very expressive for an animal, but wasn't that the case for all animals I've met so far in Equestria? Kari was technically just a magical beast when I met her, so was her son, what defines sapience here? Were animals just as sapient but just unable to form the right sounds to speak like other races? I shook my head, overthinking is never a good idea.

"Hello! You must be Onyx, the dragon that miss Sylf mentioned, my name is Aurora, I'm a beluga from the Moon Glow tribe." She said politely, the voice the spell formed is female, sounds to be around her thirties.

"Oh nice to meet you! I'm glad you made friends with mom so quickly, you must be really awesome if my momma took a liking to you, so why are you here?" I asked, smiling at her, bowing my head politely before approaching more and gently offering my paw to the sea creature.

She looked at my offered paw and smiled, approaching and nuzzling gently, which I returned by caressing her face very gently she closed her eyes and relaxed.
"I... I made my mission in life to try to save those in need, and when I saw you three here I thought something bad must have happened, for land dwellers to be in the water, I saw the other one, Coconut? Sylf's mate who struggled to keep himself afloat, and... Miss Sylf who is struggling somewhat too." Aurora explained but, still having Sylf on top, who by now looked fully clean.

"Oh, it was... I asked them to get cleaned up, and mom here in fact wanted to get clean, but the pony is now dry and safe on the ship, up there." I explained pointing up towards the ship.

"Is he really your mate, miss Sylf? You two look really different, he was much shorter and a completely different color, and how about you Onyx? You're not a land creature, not... Not like them, are you?" Curious how she could tell just at a glance, or maybe she has better senses than what it seems.

"I can swim, look!" As always wanting to show off, I dive into the water, her gaze following me close as I propel myself in circles around the area, my tail going side to side like a sharks, while I don't have as much control one I can go pretty fast, then I propel myself up and jump outside the water, my heath filled with joy, as if I had been lacking this for a long time, swimming in the open seas, i felt free.

"Yeesss! Look at me" I yell in midair and dive back underwater, turning around and going back to where the two were, getting a big smile and a happy cheer from mom.

For some reason I don't feel fear now, during the day the scary open water that terrified me before seems almost inviting, like I would be fine, maybe being alone and if being dark was the main issue, but I felt safe now like I am. "Woow! Onyx you're really fast and agile in the water, maybe we should go more often to the lake! You clearly love the water, I'll make sure next time we go to the lake so you put those skills to use."

"That was exactly what I thought, I could tell because of your tail, it's long like mine, and looks strong, and very beautiful!" I blushed at the compliment, not sure how to take it, I have never been told my tail looks beautiful but it certainly made my hearts beat faster.

"Y-you mean that? Thank you miss Aurora! I think you're adorable... And you're very kind for helping my mom stay afloat, she's not the best swimmer but I didn't help her earlier because she didn't seem to be having too much trouble, sorry mom!"

"It's fine my dear, but you can put me up now? I can dry myself with magic, don't worry, first let me say goodbye to this dear who helped me." Sylf then started to give the beluga a bunch of licks on the head and face, it was adorable, and Aurora seemed to find it fun too because she giggled and seemed to get very happy.

"Its been a pleasure to get to meet you miss Sylf!
Ohh~ that feels really nice! I could do this to others now and maybe they'll like it?" She looks at me, and I nod in acceptance, it couldn't hurt to let her try out something new, she approaches and sticks her tongue out, but it seems it's not designed to go out very far, still it's enough to lick me on the side of the snout once, making me giggle and return the affection by petting her underside of her head, it works wonders because she closes her eyes and makes happy squeals.

"I am having a very happy day new land friends, thanks to you! So good, soft touch from you, and I... I am heard by you two, like if you were of my tribe, of my kind, I'm never going to forget this day, or you friends from land, even after saving many of you from drowning, you're the first ones that ever answered to my words." Aurora's genuine smile was contagious, she shook her flippers slightly.

There is loneliness in her voice, but also genuine happiness at having someone to interact and talk to.

"I also am happy that we met and to talk to you, but I must get out of the water now, I'm not made to be wet for so long, and I'm getting colder and colder, I can't withstand it anymore, so we must go back to the ship, I hope you stay safe and continue helping." Sylf said in a shaky voice, the cold was getting to her, this was my cue to leave too, I need to make sure she is warmed up, and I don't know if she can even use magic in her state.

"I-i understand, I suppose you must go as well, Onyx? She is your mother right? You must go help her, I'll be around here for a while in case any of you need help, then I will leave back to the north, to my tribe." I felt sad to leave her but mom had priority.

"Sorry miss Aurora, I need to warm her up and get her dry, they are not well adapted to water, less so in this cold, stay a little while longer and I may show you something!" I gave the beluga a gentle pat on the head, the wobbly jello like organ for echolocation they have there is funny, but I don't disturb it, just a few pats and I stop.

I lift mom in the indigo glow of my magic, then a short blink later I'm up with her, warming the air near her to recover her temperature. It works as the vitality returns to her, she smiles at me and enjoys the warm air drying her for a few minutes until I'm done, takes longer with her because her coat is much thicker and denser than dad's relatively not very dense coat.

Wolves having two layer coat makes them harder to get wet, but also harder to dry once they get wet, thankfully she is fully dry now and nicely warmed up, I pull the brush out of storage and start to brush her, because her fur looks ridiculous in this state, I spend the next half an hour brushing her, even with her help, to get her fluff back to normal. I give her a sniff to check if she is clean, and nod in approval, she smells like her soap and slightly of seawater, it smells somewhat salty but pretty nice, I think she did a good job of washing herself.

"Good to see you two got back, I heard you talking with the dolphin, but I couldn't understand a word it was saying, I guess I lack the proper spell, but... I think you two made a good friend hmm?" We both smiled as Coconut approached us, just having finished brushing himself too, his mane and coat looking pretty neat, shiny and silky white mane.

"Hey love! You look really good, nice job brushing your mane and tail, yes we did make friends with a wonderful sea creature, do you know about her species more Onyx? You seemed to have some idea what she was, just a hunch, I'm not sure."

"Good to see you got your coat and mane all brushed nicely, dear father! And yes our new friend is a beluga whale, a type of marine mammal like you two, she may look like a giant fish but shes closer to both of you in the tree of life than even I am, from what I remember from my studies in biology, beluga whales live in pods, this one must refer to hed pod as her tribe, and probably they get separated to do what they like, in this case, dear Aurora is basically trying to save as many lives as she can, which is incredibly noble and altruistic." I am honestly unsure about the whole tree of life thing here, because if dragons and ponies can mate it's either by magic or they are somehow closely related, despite being extremely different.

"Incredible! So... She is more like me than you are? Despite being from the sea and looking so different... How does that work?"

"Im honestly not sure, from what I remember correctly from the things I've read, it was a type of bear who ventured into the sea and gradually started hunting for fish, and with every generation the bears who were better adapted to life in the sea were more likely to survive, so they reproduced and passed on their genes of being the most aquatic bear, until they just became mostly aquatic animals, but if you see closely she still breathes air, she has a hole on top where she breathes in and out of, she needs air to survive and so do all other marine mammals like large whales, dolphins and orcas."

"I probably butchered the explanation of the theory of evolution, simplifying it too much but that's what I remember, and this happened across millions of years, it's not like it happened overnight so don't take it too literal, maybe magic played a part here that I didn't account for, who knows?" They went quiet and thought about it for a few minutes.

"I guess that makes sense, still sounds really much like you made it simple for us, so thank you." After that I got approached by them and given headpats by both of them, which I was happy to receive.

"I think still think we are more alike than you think, my precious and beautiful dragon." Mom said softly in my ear, before gently kissing me on the neck, making me smile and blush slightly, my tail wagging fast.

"M-mom! Haahh not the neck!" I protest weakly with a giggle as that was a ticklish area, and it seems that activated her trap card, because immediately after I get jumped by the two.

They decide to team up on me and tickle me in the places they know that actually are ticklish to me, i try to resist but they aren't having it, as Sylf pins me down with ease with her superior strength, and Coconut uses his hooves to tickle me, I laugh helplessly and realize that the griffon sailors have gathered around to see, some are laughing their ass off while others just talk amongst themselves and point at us, I feel extremely embarrassed at this, I feel my face glowing from blushing so hard.

"Ghahahha nooh! Stop it! Hhaha! Everyone is watching us!" They look around, shrug and continue the relentless assault, they change spots often so I can't protect my ticklish areas, eventually I succumb to the assault, and stop resisting, panting as my belly hurts from laughing so much, and thats when they stop, I open my eyes and I'm greeted with their smug smiles.

"Now I think we are even~ what do you say love?" Dad asked mom, who nodded and smiled conspiratorially, I make a tired whine, not wanting to move but still sitting down with a lot of effort.

"Definitively, look at him, he's blushing so much he looks like a blueberry! I think he has learned not to do that anymore, right my precious Onyx?" Mom asked me with a smirk that made me shudder, I knew that if I said no I would get subjected to more, and my body couldn't take anymore of being tickled.

"Y-yes ma'am! I've learned my lesson, I promise to... Never again... Wait what exactly should I never do?" I asked in a joking tone.

Both of them gave me a playful glare, with Sylf explaining.

"Don't say such naughty things young dragon! Even if they're true, have some tact or you may get us in trouble, try to act more your age please?" I nod lowering my ears, I must say I went a bit off the rails today because I felt it was justified, but it definitively wasn't.

"Don't worry I'm not saying you don't speak your mind, but at least don't do it when others can hear you, the griffons have good hearing you know?"

"Yes mom, I promise to try and keep my trap shut. Being tickled and then scolded in front of so many is really embarrassing... I don't want a repeat of this either." I look around at the various sailors pretending not to look at us or listen in, but it's clear they're paying attention, some laughing at my misfortune, at by now I was getting used to it, getting up and stretching to release the tension in my body.

"That's fair, if you keep your promise then I promise to not embarrass you again in public, deal?" She offered me her paw and I held it in my claw right away.

"Deal!" I kissed her paw gently like a commoner would kiss a queen's hand in greeting. "Mistress Sylf." a few snorts of laugther are heard as we all remember the silly leader of the griffons who attacked us, this also gets a laugh out of mom and dad, it was pretty funny that he called her that then fled for his life.

The rest of the day was fun, we talked a bit more with the friendly whale who I showed what it was like being a land dweller, with her consent of course, I turned her into one of the animals I know well, a Jaguar, she was extremely excited to be able to walk, of course I explained to the sailors she was friendly, so there was no issue.

"I cant believe you have this powers! I must tell my tribe about this! and you say this transformation is only temporary?! Still, to enjoy the land even if just for a moment, its fun and unique, thank you Onyx." I pat the excitable feline and show her around the ship, getting permission to go into the cargo area and show all the pretty things to Aurora, sure they aren't pretty, its just a bunch of things that the griffons are transporting but for her its all like a new world, and I even show her our rooms, thankfully they are clean, she approaches and sniffs around like a curious cat would, getting used to her senses and her limbs, and walking took a little while, but with my help she had not too much trouble.

"Don't mention it, I've used this power so much in the past, it takes no effort for me to maintain it, I could transform myself into one of your species too if I wanted, But I cant do both at the same time, and the longer I maintain the spell active, the harder it gets to hold it. As long as I don't get scared or hurt or do something that will require me to concentrate on something else, I can keep the spell on you, either way I don't recommend you to stay too long in here in case something happens." After exploring for a bit she seems satisfied and slowly walks back to the deck, still not used to walk on four legs, but I stay next to her and keep her steady with my body and magic, in case she trips over her steps and falls.

It seems that the transformations are mostly instinctive as she is rapidly learning to walk, we are back outside and she looks at me with a big smile, approaching and giving me a friendly lick across the face. "I'm ready to go back into the sea, can i try swimming in this form for a little bit? I'm really curious as to what its like, what its like for Sylf and the other land dwellers."

I nod and lift her up gently, she cheers in excitement at being floated in the air, wiggling side to side happily then she gets lowered into the water, as soon as she goes in, she lets out a yelp of surprise and shock, at how cold it feels, in reality it sounds more like a jaguar's pained roar, but the spell translates it as a voice.

"Yeouch! its SOOO cold it hurts!" She recoils in the air trying to get away from the water.

"No wonder you poor land dwellers don't usually go into the water, if this is what you feel every time you go in!" I let her go into the water and she seems to instinctively know how to swim even in her new form, but she is clumsier than mom. Then she seems to get too shocked to move, and starts to panic "P-please Onyx t-too cold! turn me back, d-don't think I can withstand the cold anymore! G-gods I cant move..." She looks desperate and I quickly stop the Polymorph spell, allowing her to go back into her natural form.

"Ooh, I-I still feel a bit cold, but this is much better, I thank you, for showing me what its like, you made me even more sure of my mission, I'll try to save all, i must inform my tribe of what I learned!" She turned to leave, moving her flippers quickly as if to get the blood flowing in them, even her tail wagged side to side for a bit.

"Its been wonderful to meet you, land friends, you three are friends of Aurora, that means you also now are friends to Moon Glow tribe, farewell and may we meet again!" She turned to the three of us now watching her, my parents waved and smiled, saying their farewells as well as me, who was on the rope ladder, giving her a last headpat before I wished her safe travels, then she turned and, heading north. We watcher until she was lost in the night.

Your path has given you the chance to befriend various animals, and have taken the chance, spreading kindness in both land and sea, you have earned the hidden perk Animal Form.

You can only change into species of animals that you have personally touched, you become an equivalent of that animal of your gender and age, you maintain all of your stats, including health and stamina, perks and abilities, except magic casting, you can still use weapons you are proficient with if the creature is able to hold and swing said weapon properly.

You obtain an animals natural abilities as long as you are in their form, but you lose your original ones, in your case it's frost breath and blind sense.

You can speak to animals without a spell, but only to those who you want to, you cannot understand every animal noise as if it were a creature speaking unless you are actively willing yourself to understand.

In your animal form, you understand animals perfectly unless they are too young for their species, or have no brain.

You maintain your ability to use your telepathy as it's provided by the System.

Interesting ability, if I remember correctly this is one of the essential requirements for the Druid, I need to befriend creatures both from land and sea, but I also need to restore balance and save a natural environment from harm and other various requirements that im not sure how i can complete, its not impossible, not at all but it's still not something I think I have time to do now, nor the least idea how to do.

I cannot wait to try out this perk! I wonder in which animal I should transform into? Oh, I need to touch the animal first, that's going to be an issue with some of them... Not all animals are friendly after all.

After that we decided to go eat together in their room, on the floor as it was clean, we shared prepackaged meals of salad for dad and fish and chips for the two of us, it was amazing, the freshly fried fish and delicious double cooked potato with a good amount of sauce to dip, all packed into a homemade 'bento box', which was a jewelery wooden box, repurposed because we had too many of them, and i came up with the idea of using them for packing food.

The inventory was perhaps the most convenient thing you can imagine, while it had many limitations like not storing living animals inside, it could store plants or other simpler life forms, but the best use of course was for food prep, the dream of any soldier in the field, or hiker in the trail, or camper in their camp, to have homemade, freshly cooked and absolutely delicious meals, all packed and ready to open and enjoy without any sort of cooking or effort.

Bento boxes didn't really exist here, as far as I know, so improvisation, also using wood just makes it all feel much more fancy when you go to eat, I even went as far as to make chopsticks from branches of oak I got in the park, they weren't perfect but they were useful, and all slightly different.

I suck even worse at using chopsticks now than I did back then, having one less finger than a human made a few tasks harder, yet my new form more than made up for it in terms of strength, having more power in one finger than i did in my entire hand back then.

After dinner we headed to sleep right away, as I drifted off I felt like I was forgetting something important, but I couldn't remember what, that kept me up for a little longer until I just couldn't be bothered and fell asleep.

Author's Note

Good day I hope you enjoy this little chapter too!

Chapter 66 Laws Can Be Annoying

Year 983 July 29

Today I woke up at around 8am having slept most of the previous day, I woke up because I was starving, getting out of the water and drying myself was the first thing I did, then I brushed my teeth, I headed outside getting everything from my room that I will need later.

Mostly parchment paper and writing implements, art kit and other small things and storing them away, then went downstairs where surprisingly, only Sylf was awake, sitting on the table and sipping a cup of tea and having fruit salad.

"Hey, good to see you're awake, want some tea?" I sit down in the table next to her and give her a small hug from the side and she returns it with a nuzzle.

"Yes please, no sugar, morning by the way my sweet big fluffy wolf, did those two stay at the sofa all day and night? They must be really tired, better to let their bodies rest so they're back to normal by the time they wake up." I levitated over my cup from the kitchen, and placed it on the table where the teapot was, and I got a cup poured, red tea is a really nice morning beverage.

"They slept there and they're still there, but they switched positions and are laying sideways now, how are you though, you were very tired too last night, I could tell by the way your legs were shaking. Are you in any pain?" She asked, genuine care on her expression.

"I'm pretty good, my legs feel a bit sore but not too much, I feel like sleeping in the bathtub with ice really helped me, and you mom?" I give her a reassuring smile and pat her back, while taking a careful sip of the tea, finding it barely lukewarm, perfect, I didn't mind warm tea but I prefer to not burn my sensitive tongue.

"I was tired yesterday, but my legs didn't get wobbly, nothing hurts right now, I feel normal if im honest, I did get hungry though, there's fruit salad on the fridge that I made, if you want to eat, I headed to the market earlier and I got plenty of fresh fruits and veggies, as well as meat, fish and cheese that I know you love, I even got one of those fuzzy white cheeses you prefer." She explained while I sipped more tea, I she went on about cheese my tail started wagging, slapping the wall behind me by accident so I forced the unruly appendage to keep still.

"Oh yesss! I love some good ol' fuzzy Brie cheese, thank you so much! You know what? I should probably make some fruit jam to go along with that cheese, well I don't know if I'll even have time, I have to start today, I've procrastinated enough." I say with a determined expression.

"What are you going to be doing then? Have in mind next month you start school again, and it's going to be more advanced than what you did earlier, you'll need to have that in mind before you dedicate yourself to something completely new." I took a long sip of tea, until the cup was empty, then grabbed the fruit salad from the fridge and served myself a decently big portion, then added whipped cream to it and sprinkled a good amount of gem dust and fragments from the jar in the kitchen.

I came back to the table and sat down with my large portion, looking at it hungrily before answering.
"Enchantment, I have to practice, I want to get some books on it too, I have to take the ore to the blacksmith and I would be happy if you could go with me and help me make the request, because it would be weird for a minor to carry over a hundred and fifty kilograms of rare metal." I gestured to the vault on the living room.

"All that fancy ore I obtained, I want to make it into ingots and have them in the vault, because then I will be able to get them made into some armor or even weapons, maybe they would be very useful." I concluded my explanation and gave her a pleading look that usually worked.

"Sure, I'll go with you, but also starting next month I have to go back to work you know? So we will have less time to train, but don't worry I will leave you a complete guide to exercising that you will follow through with, you and all of us, we are all different from most ponies, we need specialized training because what a normal pony may find challenging... Well it just won't even warm us up, I still remember my first time when I was learning how to fight, my instructor was extremely surprised when I overpowered her easily, and now... We are all so much stronger, don't forget that son." She agreed to help me, I felt so happy I could dance!

"Thank youuu! I promise I won't.
Now, after breakfast, shall we go to the blacksmith? Any one you recommend? Remember this metal disrupts spells that come into contact with it, so we can't get a unicorn blacksmith, usually they would just heat the metal with magic, but we need an old school one, traditional method with no magic involved." I explain, and start eating with gusto, grabbing both a good portion of fruit and cream in a spoonful.

"What about that nice minotaur you bought my sword from? He used a regular forge, but he was a bit on the pricey side, we need to bring a lot of bits, let's go deliver the ore and ask for a price estimate, then I'll go and get the bits, don't worry I know you can pay too, but let me do this okay? I have more than I'll never know what to do with." She offers with a kind tone to pay for the refining.

"I... I don't want to have you spend your money on me, but it's fine maybe I'll make it up to you later, it's more convenient than carrying the bits from here and hang to restock the bits we keep here for when it's needed."

"Mhm, just enjoy breakfast and then let's go take up that chest full of ore, I can carry it on my back but you'll need to get down there and bring it up." I nodded eagerly and kept eating, having my fill with a grin on my face, the flavor of everything mixed in each bite felt perfect.

In a few more minutes I was done, I got up and brought out all the dishes I got dirty, including mom's own empty bowl for fruit salad and took them to the sink to wash.

Five minutes later I was ready, while mom waited by the couch where she looked at the two ponies sleeping peacefully, the look she gave them was of pure love and adoration.

It was clear to me that she is happy now, that loneliness and frustration she felt before, that I knew she felt, it was gone after she met dad, and while I couldn't feel her emotions anymore though the link because I disabled that function, it still was clear just by seeing her face that she definitively loved this two ponies.

Despite the jokes and teasing, I'm happy that she is getting laid so much now, was it weird? My childish side would be grossed out or annoyed and that's what I pretended to be when I they were too open about it, but deep down I knew that sex is one of the requirements for an adult's happiness and both mental and physical health.

'You know? I'm very glad you found a herd momma, I'm glad you now have what I can't give you, a full happy family and not just a little lizard son, a husband, a... wife? I don't even know what she would be called but you two are definitively not straight~' I giggled and winked at her, deciding to speak to her telekinetically instead of directly, because this topic was sort of private.

She raised her eyebrows at me first, confused by my sudden telepathic words, before it turned into a warm expression then she stared chuckling at my last comment. 'Thank you! You aren't just a lizard, you're my special lizard, and yes I admit I'm definitely not a heterosexual lady now, I think I'm pansexual, or bisexual, I've read on this topic before, when you told me you believed you were too, I guess... We have that in common too, huh?'

'I guess I never thought about it before but that's very true! However im not sure because I lack experience, you however..." I answered with a unsure frown, but then changed the subject, my slight smile came back.

'Either way, you have your very own pups too, brought to this world by you and dad, it's honestly a wonderful life you've made for yourself, I couldn't be more proud of you, a commander of the Royal Guard on top of that, you've really gone places, haven't you mum?' I praised, her eyes looked at me with love and she looked proud of herself too, but she had a slight blush on her face at the praise, bit used to being told how much of a good girl she is, or maybe it's not often used in this context...

'You're the best mom I could have ever hoped to get found and rescued by, just wanted to remind you again, how much I love you and how much I appreciate everything you do, I really like you."
I walked over in front of her, looked up to her eyes and moved forward, giving her entire snout a long lick with my snake like tongue, it started with one small playful lick and turned into a game of who can cover the other's face in saliva first, this making both of us laugh while we fought for the first place, she returned the gesture and quickly she was winning because of her unfairly large tongue and even tho out tongues did touch, I didn't care, it was a game and I lost fair and square.

I love her so much, under much different circumstances maybe we would have been something different, of course that was just a what if, I was just a small pre teen while she was over twice my age.

It was nothing but a passing thought, and yet I will always love her unconditionally, my beautiful wolf mom, she kept me grounded and kept me from doing anything too stupid.

I owed her my life for what she did for me many times, all she did and does for me everyday.

'You will always have me, Onyx, your scales shine like moonlight reflecting off a lake in a clear starry sky, you also remind me of home, you feel like home, with your frosty and cold powers and body, even if I'm traveling to another country it feels like I always bring a portion of the boreal forests I spent most of my life in, thank you for what you said, and I really do like you back, my precious silver knight!' She spoke telepathically and nuzzled the top of my head, I closed my eyes and sighed contently, enjoying her words in my mind, the honest and kind compliments.

'And when I say that I mean it as serious as I've ever been, your scales shine like pristine silver made into a very beautiful set of armor, not to mention your eyes and face that give you a charming and adorable look that would melt even the coldest heart with just a single pout or one of those hurt looks you give me when you want something, such an adorable young dragon you are!' She continued and pulled me into a hug, sitting down in front of me, I didn't expect a hug now, but I gladly took it.

'It makes me want to snug you and keep you safe and happy, but I know you're not the same hatchling you were when we met, you've grown quite a bit and I do my best to respect that, to try to use a more appropriate way to show affection without embarrassing you in front of your friends and potential mates, you'll keep growing too I bet, and I'll definitively make a big party for you when you become an adult.' I could say the same for her, an adorable and smoochable snout and very strong and muscular body, I admit that the thought of being with a lady who could protect me from anything was really appealing, I hope she thought that me blushing was because of her compliments, and not my own thoughts.

'I can't wait to see what you will look like in five or so years, but even if you look the same, you know how I feel now, don't forget Onyx! Now we better get going before they wake up, I'll wait for you by the door.' She concluded, before she pointed me towards where my hoard was stored.

She gestured me to go into the vault, and I headed to it and opened the locked door using the key, then opened it carefully, making sure to not drop the heavy door, and once it was open, and the door was locked to the open position, I went down the ladder and looked into the basement, where all the armor was haphazardly stacked in a corner, and the large chest of ore was, next to the fancy enchanted golden chest that had all my bits.

I decided to levitate it, very carefully after me, of course I was not such a big of an idiot to lift the chest above my head, i lifted it once I was up the ladder at ground level.

I kept the chest closed with my telekinetic field, having to lift it sideways to make it fit through the door, it was pretty heavy, but for me it was pretty much nothing, I could levitate about at least 7 more chests, maybe more, by my estimations, it was after all, much easier to lift inanimate objects than it was to pin down struggling soldiers during battle.

After coming out and the chest being free, I unlocked, lowered and closed the vault door slowly with my paws, then locked it right up.

The chest weights 200 kilograms, I could tell instinctively, the weight of the ore combined with the thick and sturdy wooden chest.

I could easily lift it off the ground but the problem was how large the chest is, leverage when you are smaller than the average adult pony, is very important, no matter how strong you are, if the weight of something is going to overcome your weight and just pull you down and make you fall on your head or sideways... It was very annoying.

'You want to try carrying it on your back? Have in mind it's going to be a bit rough to keep it balanced, I'll keep my telekinesis on it to keep it centered and keep any of the ore from falling off.' I walked to the door with the chest levitating next to me, I gave her a concerned look, waiting for her answer.

'Yeah that's a good plan, don't be afraid of helping me balance, I'm not used to carry something so heavy and that could spill over if we aren't careful, okay let's go, I'll lock the doors, did you close the vault?' I nod, giving her a thumbs up.

'Yes I did ma'am, wouldn't want anyone to fall down there by accident. Well, lead the way and let's go, it's on the same district the market is at, right?' I asked while we walked outside, closing and licking the door behind us.

"That's right, now that we are outside we can go back to talking out loud, but yes we are going to the artisans district, right next to the markets."

A 10 minute walk later.

I made sure to keep the chest held aloft as if it was laying fully on her back, but of course she was taking none of the weight, at least almost none, and while the indigo glow around it was somewhat telling, during the day it wasn't as easy to spot.

We came up to the blacksmith, a middle aged minotaur with black and white fur, with a body that certainly fit the profile of a hard working blacksmith, he was clearly not forging at the moment, instead he was sitting behind the desk, sharpening a blade with a whetstone.

It was a large knife, looking more like kitchen knife.

We walked over to him and entered his shop, the door's bell ringed, causing him to leave his knife to the side and get up to look at us, smile appeared on his face, it was small but it was there.

"Welcome to Blacksteel Forge dear costumers, ah, I recognize the two of you, you bought one of my steel longswords before, haven't you? Its good to see you again, you must be Commander Sylf, I've heard of your promotion, you are well known amongst the guard, and they are usually my costumers too, after all many ponies enjoy the thrill of owning extra weapons and armor once they get a taste of it at their jobs." He politely greet us, as we approach to the desk, mom gets close and greets the minotaur with a polite nod, while I approach and offer my claw in greeting, standing on two legs, making me reach a bit closer to his height, although not very close.

"And you must be the young dragon who was with her, you've grown well, nice to meet you, what's your name little one?" I smile back at him, not minding he calling me little, I was after all small compared to him.

He shakes my paw gently and gives mom a polite nod in return.

"I'm Onyx, how are you mister? And what was your name again? I forgot since last time was years ago, and to answer your question, we did buy a longsword from here, very good quality I must say." I answer in a neutral voice, trying to get the pleasantries out of the way.

"I'm Black Hammer, this place, I honestly am not very creative with names, so I just named it after myself, im very happy that my sword survived so well, but alright you two, tell me what can this taur help you both with? Does it perhaps have to do with that huge chest in your back, miss Sylf?" The minotaur asked with a curious and friendly tone, clearly not wanting to rush us, just very curious himself.

I knew that feeling all too well, getting impatient was annoying when you wanted something soon and it couldn't happen.

"Indeed, this chest is full of a metal I would really love for you to smelt and purify it the best you can, I want as close as possible to 100% purity, you will be working with Mithral ore, I need to get an estimate price for the 193 kilograms of ore on the chest." She spoke with confidence, looking expectantly at the minotaur.

"You really have Mithral ore?! Yes of course I'll work on it, it's an amazing metal, rarely found on large amounts, can I see? Drop it on the desk, it's sturdy enough to hold, trust me." A smile formed on the minotaurs face, his eyes transfixed on the chest.

Sylf gave me a look, so I moved the chest on my indigo telekinesis and placed it carefully on the desk, it held as promised, seems it was made very sturdy like he mentioned.

The minotaur smile widened as he opened the chest, taking off a few of the ores and examining them carefully. "Definitively Mithral ore, good quality too, I can tell it's mostly pure... But I will need to do more tests before I can determine its purity, do you want me to work with this? You want me to turn it into Mithril ingots right?"

"I want that yes, do you have a price estimate for me, mister Hammer?"

"For this amount... I think 10 thousand bits would be fair, I'm charging you slightly over 50 bits per kilogram, and this metal is worth around twenty times that amount, so you would be making a large profit, do we have a deal?" He finally asks after doing some calculations in his mind, from the looks of it, if he was right, he was charging us a decent amount of bits, but not too much.

It was about the monthly salary of a citizen of Canterlot, in other places like Ponyville, the salary was around 3000 bits, but here it was much higher because everything was just more expensive.

'Thats a good price, if the metal is worth as much as he says, then its amazing, we should take the deal, don't you agree?' I say telepathically to her, i didn't want to make it seem like i was giving mom orders in public, even if it was my recommendation.

"I'll take it, thank you for the deal sir, do I have to give any extra information up?"

"You will need to sign some papers declaring where you got the ore from, the permits for mining it and all that." Uh oh... I'm pretty sure we don't have any licenses to mine, but it was outside of Equestrian so, it shouldn't be an issue.

"The mineral was obtained outside of Equestria mister, in another nation where I mined it from, with the permission of the locals, of course, I don't need a permission to mine outside the nation, do I?" Sylf asked with a raised eyebrow, giving the minotaur an unsure look.

"Hmm... if you have obtained it outside of Equestria, then you will need a written permission by government officials that you mined it with their knowledge, you need to have someone there verify that you did not illegally mine the ore after all, stealing is a crime in every nation, and mining from somewhere even outside Equestria is surely a crime on that place, I can process the ore, and I can wait for you to get said paperwork, but you will need the paperwork signed and stamped from said nation, before I can give you the Mithril Ingots, if you wish to take the chest, I won't stop you however, I will need to report you to the guard, but I definitively won't be in a rush about it." I snorted angrily, huffing out frost breath from my nose, I was tempted to curse him out and take my stuff back.

But the rational part of my mind stopped me, I know king Treble, i could just go back and have him sign a permit for me, and one also signed by the Captain, in case the transfer of power was not formalized or news about the new king had not reached Equestria just yet.

'Just... let him do it, ill talk to Treble and get the permit by the time its ready, I can teleport to Griffonstone, no sense in getting in trouble with the guard, its important for you to keep your job after all, if you lose it, you'll lose the house, and it will take us back to square one... its definitively worth keeping all of that, I got used to the cozy city life.' I mentally asked her, giving her a look of worry with a frown.

"I will get those permits, I wasn't aware this was a problem, but rest assured Mr. Hammer, that I will come back with the necessary documents, how long do you predict it will take for you to complete this order?" I sighed, at least she realized the trouble we would be in if we took off.

"Come back in about a week, by then everything will be ready, it's a lot of metal to smelt and form, and this is similar to steel so it takes a lot of heat to get just right, I'm glad you decided to do the right thing, I know it sounds harsh to report you, but it's the law and if I am caught not following the law, my store will be closed, there is a zero tolerance policy for jobs that deal with making of weapons and armor, we aren't supposed to even process metal without a clear and concise source of those metals, i can't take illegally mined ore or anything like that, it would get me in huge trouble with the Crown, sorry." He gives us an apologetic look, before lifting the chest full of ore with almost no effort, carrying it over one shoulder because of his large size, it's like nothing to him.

"I understand perfectly, don't worry, by next week we will have those documents ready, do you have anything to add son?" She turns to me, giving me a questioning look.

"No, not really, let's just go home, bye mister Hammer! I hope the ingots fit nicely on the chest. We will be back with the permit." And with that I teleported both of us home, leaving a dumfounded minotaur behind, who after a few seconds just shrugged and went to work.

Once back home, I got a small glare from mom. "A little warning would have been nice, but I don't blame you, I was pretty pissed off too, having to get a permit to mine? Having to declare and get permission from another country? This is just a way to keep those opposing Celestia in check, to keep them from having too much power, that way only the royal guard has weapons and armor."

"While everyone else has regular weapons and all registered so the government can keep track of who owns what, and therefore how dangerous they are if they suddenly aren't on the side of the law... I think I deserve to have whatever I want, there is no way I'll ever register any of my weapons or pay stupid taxes and permits to anything I do." I continue her sentence, growling angrily and stomping my paw in the ground, of course outside the teleportation circle, I would want to scuff the paint.

I puff out frost from my nose, then calm down.

"And I can keep anything I don't want found out in my inventory, and no matter how strong Celestia or any of they are, they can't access my inventory at least... Not while I'm alive, if I die I have no idea what would happen to it, and I'm not exactly thrilled to find out." I shake my head, blowing out a cloud of supercooled air to the ceiling.

"I refuse to follow this ridiculous laws, fuck the Crown and it's laws, and if they want to force me to register my gu- swords, and keep me from getting my armor and weapons made, I'll just move to a different country with different laws, even if temporarily, and have it done there, then I can keep all of my things on my inventory, and no mom you should not quit the guard, you're making a lot of bits there and you are getting promoted, you may even get the rank of Captain or even General, wouldn't that be amazing?" It feels great to speak up about my feelings, but I wanted to make sure mom knew it was only behind closed doors, and I didn't want her to get into trouble.

I didn't really hate Celestia, it was more of a 'fuck the law's kind of way, I would actually like to meet with her and have another talk, to thank her and motivate her to do better, still that didn't meant that I liked every law of her.

I would gladly break the law, if y means I get to live however I want, if I couldn't break it then I would bend it as far as it goes.

"You can do whatever you want son, as long as you don't get caught! With exceptions of course... But I know you wouldn't go be cruel for no reason, just... don't do anything too bad in view of anyone and it should be fine. For the sake of the twins if anything, do you really want to leave them without an older brother?" She asked in soft but serious tone.

I blinked, not having realized that breaking the law and getting in trouble would mean I would be separated of my adorable little siblings, as well as my friends and it would surely taint the view my friends had of me.

I was being a bit stupid, I should definitively keep anything not legal I do, strictly secret.

I had already broken the law in a very serious way by stealing books from the restricted section of the library, reading them and not to mention using a highly forbidden necromantic spell, I mean all necromancy was forbidden, but that spell was specially powerful and nasty, thankfully nobody saw me fighting that monster except for dad of course.

"Fiiiine mom I will try to keep out of trouble, for the twins and my future in school, I want to get a degree in magical theory and enchanting if I can, but for now I need to learn to apply enchantments, I know theory well enough but I really lack practice and skill..." I sigh and walk to the desk in the corner of the room, sitting down and preparing to do some enchanting.

"Good pup, now relax, focus on learning as much as you can from Equestrian schools and academies, and then, once you're old enough, you're free to do whatever you want, go wherever you want to and follow whatever rules you believe in, now I'll let you get to practicing what you wanted, I'll go make lunch meanwhile, I'll come give you a portion when it's done, okay?" She answered and a warm smile and moved beside me to nuzzle my neck, before leaving for the kitchen.

After that I could concentrate fully on the task at hand, enchantment.

Enchanting was a very meticulous process, it took precision both in terms of the engravings, as well as the use of specific runes, each rune did some action associated with it, usually spells were a combination of more than one rune, but it was possible to have a short spell, usually a cantrip with one rune or two.

Enchantments were usually one rune to represent each concept you wanted to imprint magically on the item you were enchanting, Sylf's sword was around my fifth attempt at enchanting, her sword, was the first successful enchanting experiment, it was a rune of toughness for the metal, making the blade sharper and less likely to bend or break, it was, all in all a very simple enchantment job that I was able to just copy from the book and do, I feel like anyone who tried and had decent pulse and basic knowledge of runic magic could enchant one rune.

Now I was trying to do two runes, something a bit more complicated when it came to engraving and powering the enchantment, I decided to use something simple at first, a ceramic cup.

My ceramic cup, I engraved two runes upon it, the first one was to make the contents inside the cup colder, the other to make them hotter, within a certain range of temperature, I have a small diamond tipped pen to engrave very gently on the ceramic, being very gentle to not accidentally press too hard on the cup and break it.

The runes for this are easy, both commonly used runes for everyday magical devices in the kitchen, but usually devices like this only did one thing, either heat something or cool something, like a fridge.

Fridges here of course were magical, but they still were very well insulated to make the magical consumption extremely minimal, I knew how to make a fridge, at least the magical theory behind it, and how to make almost any every day object at this point.

Once the engraving was done, I painted over the runes with the gem paste using a tiny and very fine brush, once the two runes were done, I smiled and left the cup on its side so the paste would dry, I waited a few minutes and then started to pour energy into the runes, empowering enough to finish the enchantment, and also charging it.

It did not explode or crack, the runes started to glow faintly, it's a success! "Yaay! I'm not as bad as I though I would be! Now... To try it." I smiled and headed down to my room and into the bathroom where I filled the cup with water.

I headed back to the third floor, and touched the rune, it lit up bright for a second, I chose the heating option.

In a few seconds, the simple rune did it's job, quickly heating up the water to the desired temperature and not even a degree warmer or colder, then the light turned off. I submerged one of my fingers slightly into the cup, wincing at the very hot water before pulling it out. "Ow, it definitively works to warm water up... now to test the cold." I spoke softly to myself, then pressed the other button.

This was why enchantments were so amazing, you could be anyone and still use them, even a creature unable to use magic or cast a spell could use them as long as the enchantment had charge. As touching the rune like a touchscreen made it activate because it reacted to the creature's natural magical signature, and everything in this universe had a magical signature, sort of an aura or identifying energy, that's how some spells were even able to work, like the spell to locate someone.

It was always better to enchant something that had a gem embedded in it, than enchanting something using engraving, and if not a gem, then a material able to store and release large amounts of mana, gems and to some extent, metals were able to do this, but gems were objectively superior, and both could be used in conjunction to improve enchantments of various things.

The water was cold, but not frozen, as I stuck my tongue into it to test it, yes I risked it because I trust my abilities, to a degree.

I smiled as my ideas for enchantment were expanded, what if I could make the couch automatically cool down or warm up too? Or... Animated armor that could guard my treasure! Animated armor... Thinking about it again, it sounds like a terrible idea, I have no idea how to make runes that recognize friend or foe, usually that part works on a spell by simple intent and power of will, but enchantments lack that, they simply do what they are enchanted to do.

I theorized the armor would recognize the creator thanks to my magical signature being the same of what makes it, but how to make it recognize anyone else? That I couldn't answer yet.

Would I set a possibly deadly contraption that is a risk to everyone, even my own family or friends? Hell no!

Unless I learn more about how this branch of magic, but for now I'd rather not risk killing someone.
Animated armor was a possibility to try in the future, if anything as a proof of concept once I had obtained enough knowledge and skill in the field.

Getting back to the present, I had a few things to practice on, things like glasses and cups, plates, even kitchen knives and everyday things that were cheap and easy to replace if they broke during the process, and if I managed to improve to the point I could do super tiny engravings, I will definitively make enchanted jewelery, something that was extremely useful to have on, it made for both stylish fashion and a powerful protective or offensive increase in power.

I smirked to myself, its time to get good at it, and nothing makes one better at something than practice and more practice.

So I started to practice, using everyday objects until I got the hang of things, I spent the rest of the day practicing, spending a lot of gem paste, but using only low quality stuff, just to test if enchantments worked, some did and some didn't, by the end I had gained a lot of knowledge about many aspects of enchanting, as well as practice engraving smaller and smaller runes.

It was a very productive day.

Author's Note

Thank you for reading! And sorry for the delays lately.

Chapter 2 Hatching

As soon as I felt the presence of the Overseer leave my mind, I started to lose the sense of time and I felt my mind go into a sort of hibernation, while I dreamed of my past memories and wondered about the future.

Slowly I started to feel my body again, I could not move it, not even attempt to, I just knew I had a body, I could feel the slight movement around me, then came temperature, it was cold outside, just how I liked it… I knew that wasn't right, but the cold felt comforting, it felt like a cold shower in a hot summer day, refreshing, sometimes after that I started to… see, if you could call it that, there was light only during a small part of the day, and it was faint, I could barely see color, and everything was purple with blue veins across like branches of a tree painted on a canvas of purple sky.

I slept most of the night, the cold made me feel relaxed and sleepy during the days I tried to move, now I had an idea of what was happening until sense of direction started to function, I was floating, yet I was curled up into as small a shape as I could curl into.

I slept the days away inside my egg, I wasn't sure how many, but sometimes I would feel the cold got more intense, I heard the muted roar of wind during those times, they always brought me happiness, then there were some somewhat hotter days, they didn't feel as nice, but didn't really bother me.

At some point I felt a bit stronger and tried to move again, to my surprise I felt my body respond to my commands, my legs and arms started to move without any direction or sense, I could feel something else moving, I suppose it was… my lower back? It felt usually long, I still knew I used to be human but I had only the strongest of memories, most of them were locked, only the driving ones moving me to action, i felt a strong urge to get into action then, I felt unusually awake, I had not felt this aware since I was a person I think.

I started to move and felt my egg moving in return, I was floating inside, I wanted out, I felt ready, I wanted to move.
I started thrashing inside my egg, making it shake from side to side, I felt something akin to frustration, as I started scratching the egg from the inside, the goop that was around me making it slippery but slowly I was starting to cut into it, it was like using swiss knife to cut your way out of a brick wall, but my claws grew day by day, they grew not only larger but harder, until eventually I made a dent and then a crack on the shell, a crack big enough to stick my claw into, using it as leverage to crack a bigger and bigger hole, using my arms, that now I start to think are more like an extra set of legs, i make a hole big enough to get my snout out, and start to nibble with my only two fangs I have.

After hours of nibbling and clawing, I finally make it! The egg is open enough to easily crawl out, and outside it's confines its cold and wet.
It's clearly dark, but I can see decently well, there are some crystals on the ceiling, and the walls, some on the floor… it is a cave, an icy cave, there is ice around in pointy jagged stalactites and stalagmites all over, I breathe out deeply, clearing my maw and nose of the egg fluids, coughing a bit as suddenly those fluids that kept me alive make me feel like I'm choking, I spit out all the gunk from my airways and finally I can breathe properly, I turn around and look upon my eggshell, it has gray color, it looks like metal on the outside, blue dots across it and it has a smooth texture, I get close and start to sniff at it, then on instinct I start to bite and chew on the shell.

It somehow tastes delicious, sweet, savory, filling, the hunger I didn't realize I had been feeling is slightly sated.

After about an hour of eating the oddly delicious eggshell, slowly chewing and breaking into bite sized pieces.
I feel like my mind is clearer and then I hear a voice once again, it has a slight robot like tone, but i can tell its happy.
‘You have successfully hatched from the egg and consumed it's shell, an action that has activated guide system, congratulations!
This system is the intelligence assistant provided to you as a boon by the Overseer to help guide you in this new world, you have to name me, and yourself to start’
The voice was cheerful but not overly so, I was imagining her, since the voice was feminine, as a robotic fairy, so the name Jade quickly came to mind, as for myself, I had to think for a minute, I wanted to become a powerful being, and my name should be imposing and simple, Onyx was a quick decision as my claws were black like onyx gems.

'Welcome Onyx!
You have unlocked the System, this will provide you with many benefits in a way you are familiar with, a storage space, that will depend on both your strength, perks and equipment, you will be able to gain experience and improve, gaining points to allocate to your different attributes, your attributes will affect how you look, and all aspects of your life, to increase an attribute you must do something related to it, and improve at it, or discover something that would make you better at something, you have now access to your inventory, your stats screen, your map, your missions, and your bestiary, all of them are simply constructs by the system using information you already know, in a more organized way.'

I smiled in excitement, starting to walk slowly at first, the balance with four legs is different, but once I got used to the rhythm it was not too hard, I only stumbled and fell a few dozen times, nothing serious, but now I could see on my own field of view, a semi transparent interface, I could see a few things, like my health point bar, my mana bar and my stamina bar, along with a thermometer symbol that had a light blue symbol next to it, probably meaning that here it was quite cold in temperature, this was just like a game, but it was as real as it gets.

I felt my body and looked at my front paws and claws, and my legs, for the first time taking in my appearance, I was gray in colour, with a cobalt blue tone showing at the edge of my soft scales, probably still soft from being for so long inside the egg, I probably just needed to wait a few hours or days for them to dry and harden fully.

I was a stubby little thing, my claws were sharp but still quite small, my long tongue felt around in my maw, my fangs were not too big either, i was a baby lizard, but my colors were odd for a lizard, my claws black, I had webbed feet-paws? The webs were a purplish blue, and seemed to have a slight luminescence to them, I looked myself over, I couldn't look at my face but my body was clearly a reptile of some kind, my tail was long and dragged on the ground, which made balancing on four legs quite easy, as my tail served as a sort of snake like extra appendage, even if I fell down from clumsiness, my tail would just keep my body from hitting the ground on instinct.
'Open stat window' I thought and instantly, a silvery Holo screen appeared on my field of view, with black font, easy to read, it didn't tire my eyes or emit any light, it was as it was only inside my mind.
I could see a cartoony version of my silhouette showing all the individual limbs and their health, I couldn't use this to see my face because it was basically a cartoonist silhouette only.
Sighing but not deterred I read the information there:

Species: Silver Dragon
Age: one day old, Hatchling stage
Perks:
Former Human: human ingenuity and adaptability means you can make tools of one higher tier, you also can get used to and adapt to warm weather much faster than a regular Ice Dragon, suffering no discomfort until the temperature starts to become hot.
Newborn: attacks are weaker, natural armor is lowered by 5, hit points lowered by 10
Giant Tail: your tail is abnormally long, you have more hp, and you swim faster and can turn faster while running, your tail can be used as a powerful bludgeoning weapon if trained correctly, but your tail dragging on the ground makes noise, making you easier to detect.
Blessing of The Overseer: You are naturally gifted with the ability to cast affinity spells, but any spell above level 1 needs to be learned, you can acquire new elemental affinities, but how is yet a mystery, you have no limit to your elemental affinities.
Dragon Claws: your claws are strong enough to cut into stone, this ability improves with use and your STR and CON.
Skills: Persuasion, Arcana, Athletics.
Stats
STR 19
DEX 10
CON 17
INT 12
WIS 11
CHA 16

A Silver Dragon! This is the best possible creature I could have been reborn as! I have... Quite a bit of strength, makes sense if I was able to break out of the egg, and eat it, I suspect it's harder than regular stone, but my claws and teeth are harder than even that, if I remember correctly silver dragon is supposed to be a lawful good subspecies of dragon, and have bite and breath attacks, I would need to practice those, but I feel they would not be too difficult to actually use.
I close and open my front paws, then extended and retracted my claws, I was glad they were retractable, another useful thing my body has, for now I needed to explore the cave and practice my powers, it would be wonderful to go outside and explore but I am pretty much defenseless if I can't use my powers or at least some of them!

I walk around some more, then just try to feel around inside of me to see if I could find how to activate my breath attacks, I willed myself to breathe ice but it didn't work, I had to focus my energy and shape it into what I wanted to do first, before used the power, I tried to form a cone of energy in my mind, pouring more of my energy into it, until I felt I needed to release the attack, and as I did, a cone of white frost spewed forward, coating and freezing partially the opposite wall of the cave, leaving a white snow residue over a cone shape, after that I started to feel sleepy, just one attack and I needed to rest, maybe opening my way out was too exhausting!
I curled into a ball on the floor and almost instantly fell asleep as my first day in this new world came to and end, I was satisfied full and tired, and my tiny body needed sleep.

Chapter 3 First Hunt

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 5 The Spider Forest Part 1

While the country of Equestria was peaceful and safe, or at least most of it, the other countries were not so lucky, the reign of a thousand years of princess Celestia had empowered Equestria economically, at the cost of other nations, the power of an alicorn was so great that it served as a deterrent for other nations, and they many times had to concede territories as a way to stay in good terms with the crown, most nations had little love for the alicorn monarchy, but they were forced into poor trade deals, were either they sold their resources for cheap or those lands full of resources were embargoed by Equestria, this did not always happen, but to her rivals, the princess was quick to resort to economic sanctions.

Usually the equestrian military did not conquer other lands, they just ruined their economy with economic sanctions and then offered to buy land and reduce those sanctions if they accepted to sell, this earned them many enemies in the shadows, but none really openly opposed, and those who did learned the hard way that magic was... very overpowered.

Magic was a counter against melee combatants and magic shields would deflect crossbow bolts so they had to go into melee, in which case unicorns would not allow them to get close, and earth ponies had high levels of strength to defend them if the opponents did get close.

Then you had specialized pegasi units that would dive bomb using blades or simply ramming unaware enemy combatants, or sometimes carry and use storm clouds to send lighting down on enemy formations, causing massive casualties.

This combination was a winning strategy against most nations, and against those that even this didn't work, like dragons and changelings, the princess herself would go and use her overwhelming magical and physical might to overpower and even kill her opponents, her fire and plasma affinity meant that she could use devastating attacks, way stronger than most dragonfire, using the power of the sun temporarily in a very small scale, but it was devastating nonetheless, but she only used it on truly desperate situations, where she did not see any other way to victory, as it risked great collateral damage.

Today princess Celestia was in the conference room, organizing an expedition to the north, she wanted to find if anything of use for her nation, learn more about lands outside, and maybe another nation or two who would form an alliance with Equestria to empower her nation, but the main reason was scientific, she wanted to better map the continent and what lived in it.

"I want a team of 6 ponies, one pegasi guard on duty to scout, and one unicorn that can use shields for protection, the rest will be experts on the terrain and creatures, a biologist, a geologist, archeologist and an earth pony that can haul the necessary equipment for an expedition, any of them but at least somepony has to know how to draw maps and have some survival skills, they will need to camp out in the cold many days, so it's very important" The princess explained to the assembled ponies, officers of the Royal Guard, along with it's captain, Steel Shield.

"As you command your majesty!" They all saluted, and marched out after stepping from the conference table and headed out of the room, each one had a task, supplies to order and organize, and ponies to get in contact with, this expeditions were the first step towards the growth of the nation economically, and sometimes would bring great news of untapped resources, and the names of the ponies who formed part of great discoveries would gain fame and fortune, so there was no shortage of volunteers.

Outskirts of the frozen north.

Onyx and Sylf had spend the last week hunting and surviving, Onyx's scales had fully hardened and he had earned enough experience to level up, had learned to use his first actual spell, he just has to remember to use it instead of using his breath attack, the spell took less mana but it took him trial and error to actually be able to cast, it was not as natural as his innate breath, but it wasn't that hard, while weaker and with less area of effect, it was an amazing addition to his arsenal, Sylf instead had still ways to go before leveling up, as she needs way more experience per level than the baby dragon.

Onyx: +2 INT from having used a spell for the first time, feeling the flow of magic throughout your body and successfully casting, you will struggle less when casting future spells, but you still have to learn them.
Onyx: +1 to all stats from leveling up, your Newborn condition is removed and you gain Blindsight with a range of 5 meters.

Mother and son were falling asleep huddled together, Onyx having his scales now fully hardened and starting to gain a slight silver tinge and losing his blue tones, Sylf as black as ever, when suddenly an alert popped up on their senses, both do them could hear this time.

'Starter Dungeon commencing in 30 seconds, please wake up and ready yourself for battle'.

'W-what?!' I jumped awake as I heard that, a dungeon? Right as I was falling asleep?! I felt Sylf jump up in surprise at my psychic scream, which she and Jade heard, she looked at me in panic and confusion, I looked back at her.

'Mom, there's no time to explain, I know what a dungeon is, it's gonna be dangerous, make sure to stay next to me and prepare to fight to the death, hopefully we will be able to keep each other alive and win...' She didn't take this well, growing upset and slightly angry, but I smiled sadly at her.

'Im sure Jade will explain what's happening, I'm sorry for keeping Jade hidden from you, I just honestly forgot to mention her... It never came up, she is basically a little fairy that serves as a guide in this world, seems the beings I made a deal with to be reborn have... Played a trick on me.' I said while growling in anger and gritting my teeth, I was furious but I couldn't lose focus now, I would have to use the anger to fight, and protect mom, even tho she probably would be protecting me.

Before anyone else could say anything, reality began to distort around us and we were teleported, I immediately felt dizzy and a bit sick, teleporting didn't feel good, it has to keep down the bile rising up my throat, swallowing hard, Sylf seemed to have the same issue, then it hit us, a strong and disgusting stench, and a strong feeling of dread, we were inside a dark forest, the sky was black and it was nighttime, but I could see perfectly well, the scent of rotting meat mixed with the scent of the trees and plants, which looked twisted and sickly.

'Stay close next to me mom, and make sure to above and behind us , I will keep a look on the sides and front, we cant anything sneak up on us'. I watched her nod and ocasionally look behind and above as we walked, she had probably good night vision, and could hear what she couldn't see with her large wolf ears.

Suddenly she commanded me to stop, and pointed up, where I saw large cobwebs, and a spider the size of my body, who was slowly lowering down to the ground on a thread, I almost peed myself in fear there and, feeling a full body shiver, i jumped away and charged my ice breath, my mom followed me and moved away from the terrifying creature.
It was pitch black in color with green streaks along the abdomen.
Once it was not right under me anymore, I let loose my frost breath, and the spider reacted too late, it tried to climb up its web but it got partially frozen halfway, it was still alive but the frozen solid web became brittle and cut off, the large spider fell on the ground several meters, because it was frozen, it couldn't land on its legs and landed on its large abdomen, which cracked open, weakened by ice, and spilled the pus yellow guts over the stone ground, it still tried to crawl towards us, crippled and with missing legs that froze and broke off, but a ray of frost hit it right in the face, instantly killing it.

'You have defeated a baby darkling spider, your party has earned 100 EXP Onyx (lvl1):100/120 Sylf (lvl15):1030/1540

'WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE SPIDERS?! I really hate spiders, they creep me out so much! And I won't have enough mana to kill them all from a distance! W-WAIT A SECOND, BABY?! So there are even larger, probably gigantic...' I emptied my bladder in fear, shaking as I struggled to stay standing, giant spiders that wanted to eat me? Now I felt like this was a real betrayal, why did the Overseer did this to me? I-i couldn't beat a gigantic spider... Ugh, I need to get myself together!

'Calm down dear son, I will be by your side to protect you, no matter what, I promise!' I didn't realize my mom was next to me holding me until she spoke, I hugged her and tried to not cry, but a few years and sniffles were inevitable, I was too young for this, even if I could use magic and attacks, I was not strong enough for this horrors...

'T-thank you mom, thank you so much, but I... I should get myself together, we have to complete this, we have to kill all the spiders and probably the big one to escape, c-could you check the dead spider for any loot? I'd rather not have to do it myself, you probably need to cut it open, maybe it has a gem or some... Coins? Uhh I know it doesn't make sense but this place follows a logic from... Fantasy stories from my old life, and in those stories, sometimes dead enemies had in them, coins and gems and even weapons, even if the enemies were monsters and clearly didn't have pockets.' I say awkwardly, shrugging to her.

'I will, I understand, maybe it will have som-' as soon as she touched the spider with intent of looting it, the spider broke into pieces as if sliced, and a notification appeared on Sylf's view, she realized now that she had a HUD too, she thought she was too focused to notice before.

'You have obtained 1 Darkness gem fragment and 4 gold'

'Oh mom, I think we share an inventory, now if you loot something like you just did, it goes to our shared inventory or I think so, I would need to check later' Sylf nodded at this, then suddenly she started to growl towards the stone path that headed deeper into the forest, I looked towards where she was looking, seeing many eyes staring back and slowly approaching, I felt my legs shaking a bit, but I shook my head and focused on the fight, I couldn't let my fear take over again, mom and I walked towards the advancing enemies, there were half a dozen, and their fangs glimmering as they approached, I took aim with my head and prepared the spell, waiting for the spider to be close enough, then cast it directly aimed at the eyes, which blinded one of the spiders, but it didn't die instantly, I stopped, thinking how to attack, did I want to get close and personal with them? Hell no, but I wasn't sure if I recover my mana if I used it, were they going to have mana recovery potions as loot? Hopefully, mom saw my hesitation and stepped forward, gesturing me back with her snout.

'Stay back son, I will crush them with my maw, you cover me with your magic, and if I give the order, hit me with your ice breath, I'll be able take it, but the spiders won't, so don't worry!' Mom smiled at me confidently, raising my spirits, I was gonna try to be careful and not hit her, but when she moved forward the darkling spiders rushed her, they didn't seem to care who they attacked, and they were slow and disorganized, but they had the numbers advantage.

Mom started to run towards them and when they lunged at her, she swiftly jumped over them and landed on all fours on top of one, crushing it's thorax and making it try to turn over and bite her but it died from its wounds before it could, but the other spiders were upon her, I sniped one of them on the abdomen with Ray of Frost before it could attack, slowing it down and causing it to turn towards me and screech, and mom dodged a lunge and bit into one of the spiders legs, easily ripping it off, the yellow blood of the disgusting arachnids was starting to cover her black coat, I growled in anger at the spiders, but I knew I couldn't get in melee, my claws were not long enough to kill, and I definitively didn't want to bite into a disgusting spider.

She moved fast, breaking their bodies and tearing off legs, one spider had only 2 legs but it still tried to crawl and attack, another spider had lost half it's legs and had its abdomen open and was leaving a trail of guts, but mom had also taken hits, a spider leg stabbed her on the side, drawing a bit of blood, and another slashed across her front leg, making a cut that bled slightly but thankfully none of them had managed to bite her, suddenly 4 more spiders came out of the path, probably lured here by all of the fighting and the death screeches of its fellow spiders, she grabbed one of the damaged spiders by the face and crushed it completely off, killing it instantly, quickly spitting out the disgusting gunk and jumping back from a slashing spider leg.

The remaining spiders seemed to sense something and attacked all together at once, mom looked panicked for an instant 'USE IT NOW!'
And I did, as I had started charging it when they all gathered together, mom leaped to the side slightly, giving me a good angle to hit all the spiders with the cone, she was caught in it too, but there was no other way, I released my charged ice breath, outright killing half the spiders and freezing the ones that were fully healthy, mom had a face of pain and discomfort but she didn't get frozen and instantly went to town on the spiders that were still alive, grabbing them by the middle and shaking in her maw until they broke in two, some tearing the heads right off, until all spiders were dead, she spit off the guts and yellow blood of with a disgusted face. I moved closer to her and bumped my forehead against hers, the only part where she wasn't covered in spider blood, I moved away after that to give her space to shake off the blood, which she did, she also kept constantly spitting until her maw was clean mostly.

'Your party killed 10 baby darkling spiders, 1000 EXP earned.
Onyx has reached level 6! Sylf has reached level 16!'

The sudden increase in power didn't go unnoticed specially by me, I felt my whole body become stronger, It was like a sudden growth spurt, I felt like pure energy was flowing thru my whole body, I didn't feel painful, it very good, in fact it was the best sensation I felt in my life, I felt the increase before when I reached level 1 but this was different, it was way faster and more sudden, and much more intense, Sylf looked like she was glowing too, but her improvement was only one level, I thought to myself that I will probably never feel this many levels increased at once, so I closed my eyes and savored the moment, i knew the higher the level the more EXP I would need to reach it, I hadn't had time to check the stat screen but it worked like that in every RPG game, why wouldn't it work the same here? It seems the creatures here are made of pure negative energy, but if killed by me or Sylf, they just become neutral energy for me to gather, like... Experience points, huh... It made sense in a really fucked up kind of way, I let out a mental mirthless chuckle at my own realization.

'You have deducted the nature of the Dream World correctly, and have earned 2 points in Wisdom and 2 Points in Intelligence, the knowledge you deducted is only available to someone with conscious access to the DW and there has not been a dream walker for centuries'

I blinked as my stats increased again, maybe thinking to myself wasn't such a bad thing after all, but I really needed to look this spiders, hopefully they have something useful.

'M-mom? Would you... Loot them again? You have more space in your inventory than me, I seem to have some... Limit on my own inventory, I think the system considers me too small to carry much, despite feeling strong, no idea why...'

'Sure little one, but you'll have to give me a massage when all of this is over!' I smile at her, nodding, she smiles back and gets to looting, I start getting notifications on my HUD, smiling I start to check thru the inventory, it's mostly gold and gem fragments, most of them small, and of the darkness type, but there is also a mana restoration potion and thee healing potions, my hp was full, mom's was 100/110 so it was not worth drinking it but I would quickly administer the potion to her when she needed it, since she couldn't exactly hold a potion and couldn't fight if she held it in her maw, and how would she open it without magic or opposable thumbs?.

'The loot is a big disappointment, the loot must be either hidden somewhere or at the end of the dungeon... Hmm what do you think?' She seemed to think about it for a while, then spoke up mentally.

'Spiders usually wrap their prey in webs once it's paralyzed, what if the treasure or loot is inside a webbed up corpse? That may also be the reason there is a scent of rotting meat, the corpses could be rotting if the spiders didn't eat them fast enough, maybe this spiders don't eat corpses or something? We wolves prefer not to prey on corpses unless we have nothing else to eat, we either hunt or forage.'
I smiled at her answer and nodded, it made total sense!.

'Sylf has made a correct deduction and earned 2 points of Wisdom' Jade announced helpfully, I felt happy for her, 2 extra points, honestly having someone with more knowledge of nature and animals was amazing, I loved those topics too.

'Seems you are right, thanks mom~ now let's start looking around, maybe guide me with your nose to the bad smell, and let's get see what this nasty spiders were keeping to themselves.' she nodded and started walking towards a side path, where the forest was denser, the trees were dense and the spiderwebs were everywhere, but I pushed forward and wiped the cobwebs away from my face, my scales thankfully weren't as sensitive as skin to the feeling of sticky web, so it was like being covered in armor, I felt just fine but it didn't feel like I was being tickled every time a web touched my body.
After a short walk, we reached an opening in the trees, I would say I was glad we got out of that forest, but the opening wasn't empty, it was full of more fucking webs and about a dozen spider eggs, along with bodies hanging above them, the horrible scent was coming from the bodies, they were unrecognizable, but clearly none of them were human.

'Ugghhh... I want to puke, it smells horrible! And we need to get those bodies down, and also crush this spider eggs and not even leave a single one alive'. I gagged as I tried to ignore the nasty stench.

'My little dragon, you are doing more than enough, let me handle this nasty business, stay back and watch over me, warm me if any nasty spiders try to sneak up on us'. I nod to her and she smiles at me despite the situation, I return a small smile, then going back to disgusted expression, pinching my nose with my claws.

Chapter 6 The Spider Forest Part 2

Author's Note

Things get a bit heavier in this chapter, contains violence and gore, and graphic descriptions of wounds.

Chapter 6 The Spider Forest Part 2

Sylf's powerful stomps exploded the eggs like if they were overfilled balloons, the spider inside dying instantly, now mom was a bit stronger than before, and against this spiders she could land the full force of her body, she is adept at jumping too, her legs are very strong, now the dozen eggs got reduced to a puddle of spider juice, and mom was wiping off the nasty fluid on the spiderwebs around the nest.

'The 12 unhatched spiders killed, your party gets 120 EXP LvL 6 Onyx: 259/298. LvL 17 Sylf: 42/2217.'

After she was done she looked at me and I nodded, next up was pulling down the bodies to loot, she simply jumped high enough and grabbed the string of web holding the body and ripped it off the tall branch it was attached to, one by one the bodies fell to the ground below, usually also fell on the nasty spider flavored jello covering the floor, but... I guess beggars can't be choosers, and we are sort of looting long dead bodies, I wonder who are this creatures, they're either rotten or their bodies have liquefied by the spiders eating them that they look just unrecognizable, I think I saw a wing, and most of them have four legs, a few have beaks, another one has horns, huh... I wonder how many races there are in this place, I have no idea what any of this are.

After she gets all of them down we start looking, or more precisely, she does, touching the bodies and the loot being stored in her inventory, which I can reach into from my menu, this time the finds are a lot... Juicier and in a good way!

'Sylf has found 300 gold, 1 darkness gems, 2 fire gems, 2 electricity gems, a level 5 spell book, a level 10 spell book, a level 15 bronze short sword, a large leather saddlebag, and a level 5 stone knife, a "Introduction to blacksmithing weapons and tools" book, and a small polished amethyst' Sylf and I smiled widely while looking at each other.

'Oh my goodness! I can't believe it, mom! We have gotten amazing loot, now I have an actual weapon! Finally, even tho I have no idea how to use it... Huh, maybe you can? Or you want to try to learn magic, wait, you could use magic! You have a level 10 spell book, imagine which amazing spells you can learn from it!' I say in excitement as I take the level 15 sword out of the inventory, and try to use it, but immediately a warning pops up. 'You cannot use a weapon of a level higher than your own without proper training and a skill, you would end up hurting yourself' aw dangit! Well that sucks... I would need to learn with a weaker weapon probably, or a wooden training weapon which I can probably make myself with a branch!

'Yes son I saw, it looks like an amazing set of tools and books, I honestly don't know if I can learn magic, I never tried before but I enjoy seeing your powerful magic being used, it makes me proud and I do want to learn.' She smiled at me and nuzzled my side as she said that, I purred as the affection she gave me made me feel much better, and handed her the level 10 spell book, she opened it with her maw, but as soon as she started reading a bright flash blinded me for a second, when my sight returned a notification appeared on my HUD.

'Sylf has learned Elemental Weapon, spellbook has disappeared'

Sylf had an excited expression on her face, but also looked at me with curiosity. 'what does elemental weapon do? How do I use it?' I giggled a bit and she fake pouted at me then laughed along with me.

'Hahah sorry I just find that excitement without any idea of what you learned, to be quite funny, but elemental weapon is a spell that gives your sword any elemental damage you want when cased, it makes your regular weapon deal elemental damage, and that means more damage! Which is honestly amazing and I'm a bit jealous... But I see, that is how this spell books from the dungeon work, you only learn one spell at random from that level and it disappears after use. Now it's my turn to use a spellbook!

I grab the level 5 spellbook and open it, I try to start reading but I get the information transfered directly to my brain, making the book disappear.

'Onyx has learned Acid Arrow!'

I eagerly nodded to myself, now I had a good spell to use against this spiders, that would be a good combination with my other spells, and Sylf had an awesome one too, I think we were ready, nothing else to do than move to the end of the path we diverted from, so we did, we walked all the way back and kept following the path where the spiders came from, along the way we found spiders, but with our increase in power, and Sylf holding the sword in her maw, she quickly took to it, clumsy and dropping the sword at times, but eventually being able to cut enemy limbs without dropping it and with increased precision.
I was impressed, my mommy was becoming more and more like the other legendary wolf who wielded a sword, you know who I speak of. Maybe someday she will be as big, and wield a massive sword too...

'Sylf has increased her affinity with the sword to apprentice rank, increasing damage dealt and lowering the chance of being disarmed'.

I did not stay behind, using ray of frost I sniped as many spiders as I could hit right in the eyes, saving my mana by using only my weakest spell while occasionally having to back away from a lunging spider.

'Your affinity with magic has increased, you earn the rank of apprentice mage, your spells deal more damage and are easier to aim.'

'6 Baby Darkling spiders killed, 600 EXP gained. Onyx reached level 8: 203/429. Sylf LvL 17: 642/2217'

The increase in level revitalized me and filled me with energy, i was less scared as I got more confident in my ranged ability, simply staying back and taking potshots at the flanks of enemies, I stopped and sneaked behind some bushes, signaling mom to do the same, i used inspect on the enemies ahead.

'Inspect leveled to level 2 up, now you can learn weaknesses about creatures you use it on.'

'LvL 10 Juvenile darkling spider, HP 45/45 Perfect Dark vision, Bladed Legs, Multihit to knocked down targets, Lunge.
Weakness to acid, fire and ice, resistance to poison and psychic damage.' I shivered, this bigger spider had more health points and bigger blades legs, probably would be more dangerous to get hit by it, I need to be careful and protect mom.

'Mommm! Use fire on your weapon, they are weak to fire, and make sure they never knock you down or they can use a devastating attack!.' I felt her confirm mentally, and scanned another of the smaller spiders.

'LvL 5 Baby darkling spider, HP 20/20 Dark Vision, Dagger Legs, Small Lunge.
Weakness to acid, fire, ice, resistance to poison.'

At this point I was less scared of the smaller spiders, but they were still about my size, just weaker, and pretty dumb, I was unsure about the juvenile ones, they clearly were stronger, i took aim and fired from cover, the beam of ice took the spiders by surprise, giving us time to charge in.

Sylf rushed forward, her sword alight with fire, and started to slice thru the smaller spiders with ease, killing them in one swing each, but the larger Juvenile spiders were not so easily defeated, one managed to slash at Sylf when she was dispatching the smaller spider, leaving a long cut on her side, they also parried her strikes with their clawed limbs, but they were damaged and burned in the process by the flaming sword, i moved to flank and used acid arrow at the joint of the legs with the spider's thorax, causing half of them to to melt and break off, and my mom took swift advantage, moving out of the way of another attack and bringing her sword down on the head of the spider, cleaving it in half and killing it, now with only 2 other Juveniles, the fight was more one sided, mom was bleeding from her side, but she didn't falter for more than a few seconds, she kept bringing her sword to bear despite the pained expression on her face, and i stayed behind or to the side, seeking weakpoints and blindspots to attack from, the spiders could probably see me, but they couldn't deal with me without turning their backs to my much more deadly companion.

After a few more minutes, our enemies were thinned out to the point only one juvenile darkling was left, it was cornered from both sides, and with a coordinated attack, it was felled easily by spell and blade, the combination of an acid arrow to the face and fire sword to the legs wielded by a large wolf was very strong, being frozen, melted by acid and burned by fire was devastating, I wouldn't to be on the receiving end of this combo.

'3 Juvenile Darkling Spiders slain 1200 EXP, 4 Baby Darkling Spiders 400EXP, total earned 1600 EXP, Onyx has leveled up 3 times, to LvL 11 240/743! Sylf has leveled up to LvL18 25/2661' I felt my mana returning to me instantly after leveling up, and looking at Sylf she also had all her wounds healed, and her energy returned, leveling up was, for now, the best way to obtain both mana, get healed and recover energy.

The path forward widened into a large clearing, the trees were more space and a large circular ruin was in the middle, it was a wide structure, maybe a temple or church of some kind, judging by the large dome, with stone bricks forming the walls and the door was metal, there were holes on the building but they were covered in cobwebs, this was clearly the boss room, despite being stronger now I felt terrified of going in, but mom's strength reassured me and I slowly reached for the rusted door, but it got stuck halfway opened with said rust, mom moved forward and pushed it open all the way for me, inside it was pitch black, I could see but even with my dark vision, I couldn't see the whole interior.

'Wait, I'll go first and burn the cobwebs with my sword, it will keep them from grabbing onto us and slowing us down.' I nodded in response and she headed in first, using her flaming sword to set fire to the thick spiderweb along the floor and walls, I watched with glee as the spiderwebs were burned, leaving behind just slightly dusty purple carpets over stone brick and some wooden furniture, probably seats of the old temple, and some cabinets, after the fire cleared away from the entrance room, I opened cabinets, finding 10 gold coins and 3 holy water bottles, as well as a bag of 5 (100gp each) assortment of gemstones, all while mom kept burning away the spiderwebs until the whole first room was clear.

After grouping up together we headed into the main room, where the altar was, the spiderwebs were covering everything here, and a much stronger sense of foreboding and dread filled the air, I felt like I was being watched, and Sylf clearly felt it too, but still she cleared a path for us using her elemental weapon, the fire consuming the webs very efficiently, and now about a quarter of the room was cleared and we could walk without getting stuck and covered in sticky spidersilk.

A very large spider was slowly walking the domed roof and the wall on the other side of the temple, as we were distracted burning away the lair of the boss, the being was extremely stealthy for something so big and terrifying, it made no noise as it skittered down the wall and silently approached us, but soon it was close enough to be inside my dark vision range, and I yelled out.

"Spider! BIG, ITS THE BOSS, GET READY MOM!." i screamed in panic but I kept my cool, backing away instinctively, I used inspect at the same time, mom moved to my side and held the sword at a ready position. The spider was as tall as mom, the legs were much longer, the body was pitch black with green markings around the legs, thorax and abdomen, forming strange patterns.

'Broodmother Darkling Spider, Dungeon Boss, LvL18
Skills: Perfect Dark Vision, Soundless Step, Webweaver, Poisonous bite, Multi attack on targets stuck on webs, Psychic screech.
Weaknesses and resistances: Weak to Acid, Weak to fire, Weak to Ice, resistant to Psychic, Immune to poison.
HP: 150/150
MP:cannot use magic.
Stamina: 200

'Mom! I hate to ask this, but you should take charge and while it focuses you, I will attack from the side or the back, please make sure you don't get bitten, we don't have antidotes for it's poison...' she can feel the worry in my voice through our mental link, and I can feel her fear, but the strongest emotion is determination, she is determined to fight to the death to protect both of us, and I will make sure that it never gets to that point, I will protect her even if it means I have to go face to face and bite the spider right in the... Ass? Oh that gave me an idea.

While Sylf headed straight at the spider, growling angrily and brandishing her flaming sword, I sneakily approached the spider from behind, once it locked into melee with mom, spider legs parrying and slashing, and my mom barely able to parry the spider's attacks, I ran directly while charging my frost breath, and bit into the spinnerets, releasing the full power of my ice in it's web making organs, completely destroying them, the spider screeched a piercing and terrible scream.
'Broodmother takes 25 points of damage, critical hit!, Webweaver skill neutralized' 125/150
'Onyx and Sylf take 4 points of Psychic damage.'
Onyx: 92/96
Sylf: 116/120.'

'It... It worked! Ugh, I didn't expect that nasty scream, I felt pain in my brain directly, somehow, W-WAIT WHA-'. I didn't finish my sentence as one of the back spider legs came quite hard from above and stomped on the middle of my body, making my head smack directly against the stone floor, the impact was so strong I felt my ribs crack, and blood instantly rushed to my mouth, and the only reason my spine wasn't severed was that It came at an angle, I now felt what those spiders felt when mom stomped on them, I cried out in a choked gasp of agony, the spider then started to turn to face me, i let out a mental cry for help.
'Onyx has taken 58 points of damage. 34/96'
'Warning, internal bleeding detected, you will take periodic damage until your health is restored'

Mom heard my cry and came to the rescue as I limped away from the monster, my limbs were not broken but walking made my ribs stab into my organs, not sure which but even with the adrenaline, the pain was unbearable, I could barely stay conscious, mom jumped and landed on top of the spider, and with a loud battle cry that sounded like a howl, stabbed the giant spider right on the middle, the wound sizzling as the fire cooked the inside of the arachnid, but she has to take the sword out as the spider began to jump around trying to dislodge her, and she risked losing her sword by leaving it stabbed there.
She then slashed another leg off at the second join, making it useless, and reducing the ability of jumping and running of the boss.
'Broodmother boss has taken 30 damage, critical hit! 95/150.'
'Broodmother has taken 15 damage, leg destroyed, speed and jumping ability reduced by 12%! 80/150.'
The monster let out another horrible screech, a much louder one, this time I felt as if my brain had needles piercing from all sides, my purple bioluminescent blood poured from my ears and eyes, as well as my mouth from the internal bleeding, I let out a choked sob, then spit the blood in my throat and maw, I had never tasted my blood before, it brought very old memory of those fizzy sour candies I used to enjoy as a human child.

'Onyx and Sylf take 10 psychic damage! Onyx is in critical condition! 24/96. Sylf 106/120'.

With my barely conscious mind I mentally pulled a health potion of my inventory and opened, chugging it clumsily, at least my maw, throat and stomach were intact, I downed the potion as fast as I could, before I would start choking with blood again, I felt my insides quickly repairing themselves, it felt amazing, having my fully intact internal organs again, the pain in my head also stopped, and i felt fully able to fight again.
'Onyx has regained 60 health points. 84/96'
Meanwhile the spider dueled against my raging wolf mother, both hitting and parrying, dodging and stabbing each other with powerful slashes and blows.

'Mom, I'm fine, I drank a health potion, I'll go back to helping, sorry for letting you down!' I said mentally as I sniped the spider on one of its legs that was using to parry Sylf's blows, which caused the limb to slow down and not be able to parry the flaming sword, which connected with the second joint, slicing the leg off in one hit, I smirked at this, revenge was ice cream, and I really was enjoying this one, the spider was outmatched, but we couldn't let our guard down.

'Broodmother took 15 damage, leg destroyed, speed reduced by 12%. 65/150.'

'Stay back son, keep using your spells, it's working, don't risk your life again, you are far too small for melee combat, despite you being far stronger than a normal pup, you have very short reach!' Mom Sylf mentally told me, I knew she was right, what I did before was stupid, I was no melee fighter, I was a caster, and despite my breath attack working better at short distances, i couldn't fight physically against this giant monster.

I mentally acknowledged her words and focused fully, I saw another opening, and fired an acid arrow at the top of the thorax, acid splashed on the spiders eyes.

'Broodmother Darkling took 12 damage 53/150, critical hit, target is blinded.'

Causing it to recoil and try to wipe it's eyes with its legs, which was a really bad idea when you're fighting a pissed off wolf the size of a large pony, mom moved sideways and her sword to stab into the base of a fang, cutting the mandible of the spider, and breaking off one of the fangs, stabbing deep into the venom sack and causing the venom to spill out on the ground, the burning effect cauterizing the wound and causing the spider to back off, now it would have a much harder time biting, but the vapours of the venom coating the sword flew into Sylf's mouth and eyes, causing her great pain too, yet she only blinked her eyes clean, the damage was minimal, but still hurt.

'Broodmother Darkling took 20 damage and has lost its ability to inflict deadly poisoning 33/150'
'Sylf has taken 10 damage. 96/120.'
'Warning, boss has entered berserker mode.'

My eyes widened in terror, but before I could start to form a mental command, the boss glowed a bright red, and seemed to recover it's full speed, it lunged at mom much faster than it had before, and grabbed her with all it's remaining legs, then bit down on her with it's remaining fang right on mom's neck, in return, mom stabbed it multiple times directly in its delicate underside, but mom was crushed under the weight of the giant spider.

'Sylf has been poisoned severely! Sylf has taken
78 points of damage 18/120 Warning, Sylf is in critical condition, internal bleeding detected, severe poisoning and internal bleeding make a deadly combination, target takes 20 damage per minute.'

There was blood, not only spider blood, angrily used ray of frost many times until the spider stopped twitching, mom was crying out in agony under the spider, if I pushed the spider off, I risked dealing more damage to her, and at her current health she would die, but then a desperate idea came to mind.

'Broodmother Darkling has taken 33 damage and has been slain'.

I thought about storing the boss in my inventory, and it just barely, I calculated it weighted about 130kg, after I did that, I got a closer look Sylf's broken body, the smell of blood was strong, her ribcage was crushed and flattened, with organs coming falling out, and her legs were broken, her neck had a deep puncture wound that leaked blood and a green fluid, blood was flowing out of her maw and ears, her eyes were half closed and she was on the verge of death, i desperately took the potion out of my inventory, but right as i did, she instantly was fine, it was as if i had imagined her on the verge of death, she just got up like she had been having a nap, i blinked, my eyes full of tears that ran down my face and i sobbed against her now restored chest and body, crying like the baby i was, the adrenaline was wearing off and my adult mind was not able to take control, so i let my toddler mind take control.

'Your party has killed the Broodmother Darkling Spider Boss, and earned 5000 EXP, Onyx has leveled up 4 times LvL15 1254/1540. Sylf has leveled up to LvL 19 2364/3194'.

'Son? a-are you okay? h-how am I alive? I was... sure I would die, I could feel my life slipping away... I-im sorry I couldn't react in time, my legs were feeling heavy already, that monster was much stronger than it seemed, I let my guard down and you almost lost your new mom... I-im so sorry!' Sylf couldn't hold it anymore and cried along with me, we embraced and stayed sobbing and crying loudly together, trying to bring comfort to each other, this was a horrible nightmare, far more painful and realistic than any nightmare neither of us had, we did our best, and yet we both were so close to dying, after feeling a bit better in mother's embrace, I fell asleep, and so did she, our bodies were not tired, but the mental strain of fighting to the death, and almost dying were worse than many days without sleep.

'Congratulations! your party has completed the Starter Dungeon and survived, you have unclaimed rewards, you have gained the Spell Sniper feat and can learn an extra cantrip, Sylf has gained proficiency with longswords, and has gained the Grappler feat.
Your Party will be now transported to your previous location in the material plane.'

Chapter 7 First Contact

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 8 Inner thoughts

Traveling by wagon was slow, but comfortable, I hadn't had this experience since back when I was a human, I simply loafed like a cat on the corner of the vehicle, while mom laid next to me, and sometimes she left to pull the wagon, since she was the strongest and biggest of us, I asked her to volunteer her help, and she agreed with me, in return, I gave her massages when she rested.

'Ohhh dear Onyx your massages truly are amazing! I've never felt this way before, it's like my muscles are melting under your claws, in a very good way~ the tension I had since that horrible dungeon incident is going away each time you massage my neck and back, please keep going for a little more?' she asks pleadingly, now her own puppy face is used against me, and as a former human, I gotta say it's extremely effective...

I kept massaging her for half an hour more, she eventually fell asleep, and I had a nap myself, when I woke up, the ponies were playing card games, and honestly the only game I remembered from my previous life was uno, and this didn't look like uno, so I just sat and watched, hoping to learn at least one of the games, once that got old and i still had no idea, i started to check my menus and inventory, i had some items we weren't using, but taking items out here would for sure bring unnecessary attention to myself, I liked this saddlebags made of leather, I suppose they could provide some protection while allowing one of us to carry items physically, without having to worry about someone discovering our inventory ability.

We would definitively need saddlebags once we could buy them, but to buy them we needed... Money, and I have several ideas on how to get money, first of all of course is to sell the gems I have stockpiled in my inventory, there is the gems at the cave walls and floor I broke off after hatching, and then there's the other gems, that we found at the abandoned temple where the... Horrible spider, damn those memories, I feel like breaking down crying, i-in front of all these ponies...? My mind is a mess, I couldn't help myself, tears started to run down my face as I went and hid my head against mom's side, silently crying and trying to calm down, something was wrong with me, I felt really really bad emotionally about what happened, was I... Yeah I probably was suffering from ptsd, at least I had mom with me, and we were going to be safe now!

Oh right, once we arrive and have a place to stay, we will need to take all the valuable stuff out of your inventory, and have a real way to store it, so that we can sell it and earn equestrian money, then we will be able to buy food, saddlebags, maybe even some armor for mom, I wonder if they also sell spellbooks, but considering it would be weird for a nation to sell offensive spells to civilians,I doubt the spells they would sell are more than utility, practical spells for everyday use.

I need to go back, despite my fear, I have to go back and get rid of the spider's corpse, it's too heavy and it takes like 95% of our inventory, it's nasty to even imagine! I wish I could burn it to ashes, but there is no way to do that, I would need to go there, after browsing the menus I found a way to travel back to completed dungeons, but I can't do it here with everyone looking... I'll just have to wait, plus if I were to leave now, when I teleported back, I would be in the middle of nowhere.

A week has passed, occasionally we stop to go to the bathroom, drink water and wash ourselves in the river, of course the... Going to the bathroom part is not done in the river, and yes even if washing us is technically contaminating the water, the grime and dirt is just dissolved and filtered by the rocks and plants in the river quickly, and we always drink upstream from where we shower, common sense really, the ponies are also not used to see someone eat fish, we have to hunt fish and gut it in front of them so they don't ask too many questions as to why we make frozen pre portioned and pre processed fish appear out of nowhere, I don't want them to know about my powers, after all I would prefer if they don't put me in a cage and experiment on me until I either die or they get bored.

The ponies talk to us often and share their food and tell us about Equestria, and how peaceful and beautiful it is, and how the princess is so kind and good looking, I simply smile and nod, to be fair, they are probably completely right, the ponies are kind, but they seem to have a bit too much faith in their princess, I would never say that out loud, but it's like they worship her, more than respect her, and they also tell me how adorable of a foal i am, and I found out that colts and stallions, are about a 20% of the population, which is crazy, how do they even find a partner, it feels like as a human, it was the other way around sometimes.

As we traveled south, the land became more green and warmer, large coniferous forest extended in front of us the first few days, but now there are plenty of birch and oak forests, and some variety of trees I don't recognize, I'm not a tree scientist, sorry.

We also started to see much more animals, mostly common animals you would see back on earth on the wilderness, but it was oddly... Less diverse, much less diverse, and there was a disturbing lack of predatory species, which only one grizzly bear at a distance, which was munching on berries from a bush, didn't even turn to look at us.

I even used my inspect skill a whole lot, and leveled it up to level 5, now I can see even their stats, their likes and dislikes,the spells they have ready, their elemental affinities and how dangerous they are, all of the ponies in the expedition are harmless to us, except for the guard ponies, they have more levels than the rest, as well as having more skills in combat, like proficiencies with sword, knowing some lethal spells and Azure specially has many nonlethal spells to stun and restrain.

Seems like earth ponies naturally have higher STR and CON stats, pegasi have high DEX and CON, and unicorns have high INT and WIS, all of the races seem to have somewhat high CHA, which makes sense, ponies are social creatures and charisma is very important from an evolutionary point of view, there is also non combat skills and the other ponies that arent guards, all have non combat skills, mostly related to their field of interest, I didn't care to remember them all, only Soft Hoof, who offered to even house me and mom, so i had to make sure i did right by her, as well as mom who I owe my life to, if it wasn't for mom, id be a sour candy flavored purple slurpee for that nasty monster. Heh seems humor is a decent way to cope with truma.

After much traveling and thinking to myself every day, I decided I wasn't going to just rage and swear revenge on the gods that gave me new life, even if the surprise death dungeon was kind of a dick move, I will forgive and NOT forget, I have to be ready because knowing now what I know, it's inevitable that there will be more...

For now I hoped there would be time to prepare, grow stronger and learn magic, my biggest limitation now was my age, holding a blade with my stubby arms is gonna be next to impossible, a dagger at most I could learn to use, so i must focus on magic, magic doesn't requiere proper body height, tho it does help to aim but it's not a deal breaker, armor as well would be useless, I'm already naturally armored, and having armor on top wouldn't work, because I'm bloody tiny, I'm like, a border collie sized lizard, i may be a cool lizard, and adorable to the extreme, but im just a lizard until i reach adolescence.

I saw a beautiful mountain city in the distance, far far away, but in view, it looked like someone built the city to give people with anxiety a heart attack, yes, it was Canterlot, I recognized it, despite it being so beautiful it's placement is just as anxiety inducing as in the show, I wouldn't want to fall of the edge... Oh come on stupid brain don't go there! Agh... Nevermind, the city is very pretty, and we are on a road now, not just across unmarked path, the road is made of dirt and a bit muddy, but it's a road, I gently shake mom awake, with a genuine smile as I point to the distant city.

'Look mom! That is the city of Canterlot, it's built right on the side of a mountain, and it's made of the most expensive rock they could find, that castle is where the biggest pony to ever live, resides, and a few other rich and probably unpleasant ponies live!'
I say cheerfully in her mind, making happy baby noises while pointing at the city, gesturing to the other ponies, who smile at my reaction with pride, while mom rolls her eyes good naturedly at my shameless act.

'Little Onyx, you have to give this ponies a chance, even the... Rich ones, maybe they're nice ponies and you haven't met them yet, so please don't ever say that out loud, remember we aren't ponies, and giving them reason to hate us is just going to come back to bite us on the tail, and your tail, unlike mine, is far easier to bite, remember that...' I giggled at her literal expression, seems my mannerisms are rubbing off on her, even if literally.

'Thats not how that goes mooom... But yeah I see your point, and yes you are right about my tail, I could even nom on it if I really wanted to, but I still haven't ran out of fish!' I stuck my tongue out at her and she gave me a little slap to the top of the head with her paw, of course in a playful manner.

Two hours later, Canterlot gate.

Captain Azure was walking forward from the wagon, and announcing the arrival of the expedition, the guards at the gate allowed them in, and one went to inform their higher ups while the wagon was pulled up the path, an earth pony guard has joined them to help pull them up, the streets were wide and ponies of all colors walked back and forth, a few carriages as well went by.

I was inside the closed vehicle, laying down and half asleep, I would have to look at the city another day, as I didn't have energy for that, all this traveling left me exhausted, and mom was in the same boat, we eventually stopped at what seemed like a college, and that's where the professor explained to us.

"This is the Canterlot university of Biological studies, where I have my own extra quarters and accomodations, I will guide you both there, we have a bed for each, a bathroom with hot water and many facilities for you to explore at your leisure, I will guide you there and then go explain to the chancellor that you two are guests and to have the staff and students informed as soon as possible, so for a while stay here, until I can come back, by then you will be free to go where you want okay?." She explains as we walk inside and go into the building, up the stairs into a room that has a large bed and an adjacent bathroom, the ponies who saw us coming in seemed concerned at first but Soft Hoof made a reassuring gesture and everyone seemed to calm down.

Sylf nods and smiles warmly at Soft Hoof, then approaches and nuzzles the older pony on the neck affectionately, who nuzzles back and after a few seconds we part ways, and we are left alone in the room, the door closing behind us, I go straight to the bathroom to freshen up and empty my bladder, and then wash my hands and head to bed, Sylf does the same and soon after, we both fall asleep cuddling together, feeling safe and warm in a bed, i dont care if it's too soft, i feel safe, and i know a day, likely adventure awaits us tomorrow.

Chapter 9 Meeting the Princess, and her deal

Soft Hoof explained to the university chancellor about the foreign visitors, how they were mother and son, and how both were sapient, one unable to speak, but she could clearly understand equestrian, the explanation was satisfactory and as long as they behaved, they would have no trouble from the staff, chancellor Decisive Note assured her, the older stallion was strict until you got to know him, he was a kind only pony who loved science but had a talent for administrative work, so he worked hard to be the head of the university, the only Biology institution of higher education on this side of the world.

After that was taken care of, Soft had to reunite with the expeditionary group at the castle, and together they had to explain what they accomplished in detail to the commissioner, who of course was the princess herself, Soft was slightly nervous if she was honest with herself, the expedition had been a success in the scientific aspect, but they had not found a single thing in the economic aspect, just endless forests, prairies and then the mountains, which they couldn't just venture into, the beings they found would probably have to be studied and maybe another expedition to find the wolf tribe, which was most likely a tribe, would have to be formed.

The walk to the castle happened fairly quickly while she was busy with her thoughts, she had her notes and she was sure, she would stand up for the unlikely pair, they were good creatures, she could tell they had a hard time surviving out by themselves, there was a certain air of sadness to them when they weren't playing or giving each other affection, she was observant and didn't miss the time that the hatchling was just staring at a game of cards and then became misty eyed and a painful expression took over, he went to his mom and cried silently against her side.

It must be though, living alone in the wild, even going hungry and for the little one, maybe he had lost his biological parents and had trauma regarding that...

Without realizing, she had arrived to the castle entrance, where two guards stood watch.

"State your business" they said in unison in a neutral voice.

"Soft Hoof, biology specialist of the expeditionary team, here to join the rest for the report" One guard seemed to nod at that, and they let her pass. A few meters inside another guard joined her and escorted her to the lobby, where many ponies were standing around, chatting amongst themselves, her expeditionary group was to one side and when some turned to look at the newcomer, they smiled and waved at her, she was left with them and the guard went back to his post.

"Hiya Soft, hope your guests are settling in well, soon the princess will see us, you made it just in time, not that we would have been able to go in without you." Azure Spark greeted and explained, she was not a true captain, but the captain of the expedition, and since the expedition was over, she went back to being a regular lieutenant, but if things went well, she could earn a promotion from the expedition.

A door to a side room opened and a guard waved them towards it "Expedition group, come this way please" the mare exclaimed calmly.

"And... That's our queue, come on everypony" they all followed the unicorn, heading into a hallway
The carpet was luxurious and the decorations were beautiful art, statues and flowers. After a bit of a walk they reached a conference room, where the princess stood, once they all walked in, they bowed deeply.

"Rise, my little ponies, and come take a seat around the table." As she said this, she led by example and sat down on the chair made for her which was bigger and wider to accommodate her big cake loving rear. Everyone followed her example and all were seated soon.

"First of all, I would like to congratulate you on returning safe and sound, an expedition outside Equestria is never easy, or safe, even having guards is not a warrantee of safety my little ponies, the fact you returned brings me great joy" she smiled kindly and everyone nodded in agreement.

"Thank you princess, that is true and when you're ready, Soft Hoof gas made a report to you detailing our curious discovery" Azure answered politely.

"Soft Hoof... So this means you found a new species perhaps? I'm really interested in hearing about it professor." The princess said in a curious tone, encouraging the professor to give her report.

"Yes your highness, you see, we have found a pair of creatures most perplexing, one of which I'm sure is a newly discovered sapient species, and the other is a very unique looking dragon, at first we couldn't believe what we were seeing, a dragon and a giant wolf the size of a large stallion, seemingly acting like a mare and her foal, but then we interacted more, I will read you the detailed report now, or if you would prefer, I can let you read it yourself. This report has every other expedition pony as witness." The princess was giving her full attention now, ears perked in interest and curiosity.

"Please let me read the report myself, I am going to ask anything I may need clarification in, thank you for this, it may be a great discovery." Soft Hoof nodded and handed her the stack of notes, hoping the princess find it satisfactory, which a golden aura enveloped and lifted to her eye height, she began to read, and everything was quiet for several minutes.

The princess eyebrows arched and her mouth opened a few times, she smiled and had a soft and kind expression at other times, she ended up nodding and placing the notes on the table.

"My little ponies, I consider this a successful expedition, in the scientific sense at least, the economic sense may have to wait until we find the tribe this black wolf is part of, and I may need to have an interview with her at some point soon, while she can not speak I have a way to speak to her magically, I find the appearance of a dragon so far north very intriguing and confusing, dragons usually stay near their lava pools and volcanos, they love to soak in the molten stone, and a dragon so far north and so young would probably not survive on its own because of the extreme cold." The princess stopped herself before she could go into tangents, knowing her little ponies were tired and didn't have time to rest and relax after their trip. "You will all have 80 thousand bits deposited in your bank accounts by this time tomorrow as payment, and your names will be recognized in your fields, specially you Soft Hoof, I will now head to attend day court, thank you all for your effort and... You're dismissed, have a wonderful rest of your day!" With that, she stood up and left the room, followed by the other ponies, some hugged each other and left, others stayed to make conversation, Soft Hoof headed to her home after saying goodbye and giving her well wishes to everypony.

Traveling was tiresome for all, not too much but it made sleeping extra enjoyable, both Sylf and her son Onyx slept through the day and into early morning of the next, This time the wolf awoke first and shook her scaly son awake, he mumbled something first but then opened his eyes, blinking and looked at her, she gestured at him to get up.

'Move a bit my precious Onyx, I really have to use the bathroom!' I giggled and moved aside, getting up himself, as Sylf rushed to the bathroom, closing the door behind, i waited until she was out and then also relieved myself, then washed my face and brushed my teeth with a brush someone left in the bathroom, it was better than nothing, which was what I was doing before, once I was out, mom was stretching and yawning which was honestly both cute and funny.

'Mooom you know we have to do something about the gigantic monster spider that is in the inventory? It's occupying almost all of it, do you mind if I go to the empty dungeon and toss the body out, loot it, and come back? I already transfered all my items to your inventory so I can get the loot from it, even tho I think that isn't necessary, because the heavy things automatically go to your inventory...' And mom did not like it, she got a bit pale when I mentioned the spider and the dungeon.

'Son... What happened there, it made me feel broken, I still feel apprehension at the thought of you going there but right now I couldn't go, so yes even tho I hate the thought of you going there and something nasty attacking you, I trust you, you say it's empty of enemies right?.' I nodded.

'Yes mom if it wasn't empty, we wouldn't have been able to escape, it would have not been completed, now... I'll head into the bathroom, in case someone comes looking for us, just tell them I am in the bathroom and to not go in, I wont take more than five minutes.' She nodded and gave me a loving nuzzle, which I of course returned eagerly.

'Just... Stay safe son, I will be waiting for you and if you don't come back in 10, I will head in myself to look for you!'. I agreed with her and headed in the bathroom, closing the door behind me, where I opened the menu and the dungeon section, then clicked on it and selected 'visit'. A second later I teleported there, it didn't feel as jarring as the first time and the ominous sense of dread and danger had disappeared, it felt peaceful now, I moved to the outside of the temple, and walked towards the forest, in a corner of it I opened the inventory and selected the corpse of the Broodmother, clicked on drop, and the corpse appeared and crushed some bushes, i winced at the disgusting smell but shook my head, no time to focus on that, I closed the menu and approached the spider, intending to loot it, and touched it with a claw, it broke apart and I the loot flowed into my inventory, a level 20 steel dagger with poison damage, not bad, I needed to see if I could use it, the design was very beautiful, the handle was black stained wood, the guard was what seemed gold plated and had a spiral pattern, the pommel was gold plated too and had the shape of a coin with a human skull design, the sheath was black stained leather with a small strap.

I also obtained 500gp, a large electric gem, and a set of leather armor and saddlebag staining kit, it included 7 colors which was honestly amazing, I smiled and opened the menu, heading back to the material plane, now teleporting didn't feel as horrible and I felt like a huge weight has lifted from... Our inventory, I can forget about that monster and move on, now I am in Equestria, and I can colour mom's saddlebags when I'm bored, maybe a rainbow theme would go great with her black fur?

While checking through my menu, I realized I didn't have selected my second cantrip from the spell sniper feat, and I went with firebolt, who knew when I would need to set something on fire, and it would be perfect for when a spider got near me, I could burn the house down! But seriously, fire was... A very good element to have, even a weak cantrip would make a difference in a battle.

I opened the door and casually walked out, mom was laying in bed comfortably and looked at me with a smile, which I returned and ran towards her and started petting her head after climbing on the bed

'Oh mom... You're so adorable and kind! Who's a good mommy? Huh? Do you want a treat?' I playfully asked while pulling out a frozen slice of fish, and petting her between the ears, her tail wagged in excitement despite her offended expression.

'Onyx! You know I'm not a silly puppy like you, right? But... Hmphf... I am a good momma, and yes I do want a treat, it's been a week since I last ate meat and I'm starving!' She announced with a whine, she was acting like a pampered puppy, and she gladly ate the frozen fish, easily chewing into it and not bothered by the cold, I smiled and pet her while she devoured her food, pulling one out and starting to eat as well, I was just as hungry as her, and despite my young age, I needed a lot of food, I finished my slice a few minutes later and we both decided to head outside, after a quick mouth rinse to get the fish flavor out.

As we went out, a few ponies waved at us and continued with their work, some were professors heading to their clases, others were cleaning staff and all of them politely nodded and waved as we waved at them, as we headed down the stairs we saw a lot of ponies walking about, and many stares turned out way, most filled with curiosity but some had fearful expressions as well, I simply waved and smiled and that seemed to calm the fearful ones, specially when Sylf sat on her haunches and nuzzled me, she seemed to get the idea that acting more like a puppy and less like the imposing wolf she was, would earn us sympathy.

We headed towards the main hallway and followed it, there was a sign with an artistic rendition of a plate of salad, I assumed it was the cantina, it was to the side and further in front of us it seemed to open up, there were many other corridors probably heading to different classrooms and auditoriums, I thought about going to the cantina, but we had no bits, and they probably wouldn't want to give us free food, so we headed towards the back exit, which led to a enclosed park, there was a large pond with an artificial small waterfall, where turtles and fish of various types swam about, there were many very tall and large trees dotted around in different areas which were separated by stone slab pathways , many bushes, flower patches, and different grasses in each little "biome" which attracted a variety of small animals, butterflies, bumblebees and other pollinators, ponies were walking around, some tending to the plants, others seemingly studying some insects or flowers, the song of birds was plentiful and beautiful, some ponies were also sitting on the wooden benches dotted across the botanical garden, cuddling or just sitting and relaxing, enjoying the pleasant scent of flowers, some were reading books, and some where even getting a bit romantic.

I was curious about the pond, where the turtles were, they seemed to be basking in the morning sun, warming up their bodies, I playfully poked one, it turned around and when it saw me, it seemed to let out a small, silent yelp, then ran quickly and dove underwater, splashing around a bit, the other turtles didn't pay any mind to it, I giggled and decided to just look at them, I remember seeing this same turtles back when I was human, at a pond I visited some years back.
Mom was behind me, always protecting me while also amusing herself with my antics.

I ran and headed for the stone path, following along it to see how long it was, mom walked behind me at a speedy pace, easily keeping up with me thanks to her long legs, the ponies in the path were a bit scared when they saw a wolf a head taller than them briskly walk right next past them, chasing after a baby dragon, but once the shock passed, they seemed mostly curious, everyone here was a biology student, and seeing a large wolf they never read about or heard off following an unusually colored dragon was like the most interesting thing they had stumbled upon all day, many gathered to talk about the very odd pair, some even went to ask their professors, eventually a group of students approached the dragon, who had seemingly gotten tired of running and was just trying to climb a tree now.

"Hello little one, are you having fun?." A yellow earth pony stallion asked as he sat down in front of the hatchling, who had somehow succeeded on grabbing onto the trunk of the tree and was off the ground, the student had a group of about 5 mares close behind him, watching curiously and waiting for an answer.

"Yeeess I cliiimb, look momma!". The students aren't sure who is he referring to until she looms over them, the large intimidating size and color makes the ponies pale slightly, but once she just smiles at them, they calm down somewhat biology couldn't explain why this hatchling called the oversized wolf his mom, but they were friendly, so the stallion and his group stayed, just backed away a bit and relaxed as the wolf just stood behind the little one and gently helped him climb my pushing from the back, and that worked wonders, his claws helping him push.

"Thank mamma, uppies now?" She approaches and grabs the dragon with her maw around his back, lifted him up and places him on her back, and he relaxes, spreading his legs, all the running around seem to have sapped the poor foal's energy, the earth pony thought.

"B-big wolf lady, can you talk? The pony asks, she shakes her head no, this seems to sadden the stallion and he sighs.

"Are you the foreign guests that professor Soft Hoof said were staying over? It's good to meet you!" He greeted with a smile. "My name is Banana Cream and this ponies behind me are my herd, I study here because I am fascinated by animal life, and you are very fascinating, both of you, I can see why professor Soft let you stay here, maybe you will allow us to learn more about you on the lab?."

'Say no mom, I am still too young to protect myself if they see something in me they deem dangerous, You are also not strong enough to fight out of a city while keeping me safe, let's just pretend we are scared of tests, I'm unsure which kind of testing they will do on us, and I don't want to give them too much information.'

'I agree Onyx, we should keep a low profile for now, as nice as this pony seems, we don't know what kind of tests he has in mind...'

Sylf shook her head at the pony's offer after seemingly quite a bit of internal debate, this made the pony look sad and disappointed, but he understood.

"Its okay, the test were going to be non invasive, but you are within your right to refuse anyone asking, you are sapient clearly, trying to force you into a procedure you don't want is a severe crime here." Sylf seemed calmer at the words, and smiled a bit at the pony, trying to cheer him up about this, and it kind of worked, while the pony was not as excited, he smiled politely, and along with his group, they left.

'Mom... We have to find a way to solve the issue of communication, really soon, it's very annoying to speak like a toddler, and while I can use telepathy, you cannot! This really is going to slow us down a lot, we can't even explain ourselves if someone thinks you're a wild wolf let loose! No offense meant mom, but you are a wolf, and ponies are prey species by nature...' Mom nodded in understanding, thankfully for us, or if you want to be pessimistic, unfortunately, a pony in royal guard armor came towards us, carrying a scroll held in... her? Telekinesis hold, she cleared her throat, and announced, to us.

"Greetings guests, who have been brought here by Soft Hoof, I am Corporal Flash Beam, from her majesty's Royal Guard, and I have here a summons from Princess Celestia herself to meet with both of you, on the present day, you are to be transported to the royal palace, you are free to reject the offer, but doing so is not recommended. The letter reads: I Princess Celestia of Equestria, graciously invite in the present day, the unnamed guests from the edge of the frozen north expedition to share an afternoon together with me at the palace's dinner hall, where we can have tea, snacks and a wonderful conversation. Best regards Princess Celestia."

I sighed, knowing that sooner or later this would happen, expecting the princess to not know what happens on her capital city is foolish.

'We have no choice mom, we're gonna have to nod and follow her to the castle, maybe the princess will help you find a way to speak to other ponies?'

"Well, do you accept?" She asked looking at Sylf in the eyes, to which she nodded, and the guard turned around and we followed, I was comfortable on top of mom, but attentive to our environments, we headed outside the university, the streets were beautiful, they resembled European architecture, some houses were modest dark wood and pastel pinks, other were more luxurious painted white and with purple roofs, with lots of arches and rounded corners, tall windows and doors, made to look like sculptures, there were many cafes and restaurants that had served tables on the side of the street, similar to France.

The city was quite vertical, we walked up stairs often, the houses were more and more luxurious as we climbed up the mountain, tall towers of white marble with gold or purple roofs signaled the approach to the castle, the roofs of this towers had swirl patterns or spirals, and many had balcones and spires that ended in a gold decorative figure at the tip, usually a pony of some sort, the city didn't lack in plants either, having plenty of small plant pots in almost every house, or having some trees planted on the side of the road for shade, sometimes small parks were in corners where streets crossed, we ended up climbing about 6 sets of stairs to reach the castle, and we were just at the bottom, but my trusted steed didn't falter, seems like mom has pretty good stamina, I probably do too, Im just lazy, and supposed to be a baby so I stay on her back.

The whole way no one started conversation, since I was a toddler and mom was mute, I would ocasionally say things like "Soo pretty!" Or "wooow" and I wasn't feigning any of it, I was actually in awe at the beauty and splendor of this city, it made Paris or any other European city look like the ghetto, this was, pure, unadulterated and undiluted luxury, buildings made partially of gold, statues of silver and gold, the height of the palace and the shaped and colorful banners that hung from it, it's like if the United States spent all the money they do on their military each year, on building and maintaining 1 beautiful city, with the best sense of beauty, not gray and lifeless skyscrapers, but towers of marble and gold that made this place feel more like a dream than reality.

'Its beautiful, isn't it?' Sylf said in wonder in my mind.

'I wholeheartedly agree mom, its the pinnacle of excess, but it was excess with class. I aspired to be rich enough one day to live in one of those towers, and feel like a wizard of legend! Wouldn't it be awesome? This must be what the princess feels like, in her alabaster tower at the castle.' we both were in open mouthed awe as we headed for one of the many of the castle's entrances, a guard Immediately let us in, after seeing the seal on the letter we were shown earlier, if the exterior of the palace was beautiful the interior was a step above that, pristine clean, the walls were decorated with tasteful art of distant landscapes, cities, ponies, animals and nature, there were statues of white marble in every corner of the room, there were crystal lanterns lining the walls that used magical light that was warm and inviting, the floor had red carpet that was very soft and velvety on my claws, with patterns of roses and leaves embroided in gold thread, there were also decorations of distant cultures, like middle eastern style carpets on the walls in places, and banners of silk on the roof that gave even the hallways an ethereal aura, royal purple and gold were the main themes for this silks.

Eventually after more walking and more marble stairs, we reached a large banquet hall, with windows made of stained glass, seemingly depicting a story of some kind, I was looking around still gaping like a fish out of water, same as Sylf, when the guard guiding us whispered rather loudly, pulling the both of us out of our own little world, we looked towards the front, where the guard was bowing to, and I could tell, by our mental link, both of us had to pick our jaws out of the floor, as we stared wide eyed at the largest pony we have ever seen, this was princess Celestia that I had been told so much about, and she was a head taller than mom!

She walked towards us, I couldn't help but stare in wonder, at her multicolor mane that hovered from excess magical energy, it was ethereal too, it seemed like magic radiated out of her like the sun, the magic was warm like morning sunlight, and there was an aura of power and pressure around her, but it was suppressed, I mentally used 'inspect'

'Target is unable to be inspected, target level difference is too high to read, target approximate level 500, with a margin of error of 250 levels.'

I after that, I immediately bowed, my movement made Sylf stop gaping and bow as well, this caused the princess to laugh softly, she was just staring back at us in curiosity until we decided to bow.

"Raise my little pony, and kind guests, you are welcome to take a seat, I'm honestly in much awe of you as you two are of me, even if it doesn't appear so, I can't wait to talk you more, please come take a seat next to me, I promise it will be fine, now, dear guards, bring a booster chair for the little one, he has right to sit at the table too." The guard Immediately left and came back a few minutes later with a booster seat for me, while mom was already seated right next to the princess, mom was nervous but she tried to look polite and not look away too much, the princess however wasn't blind.

"It's such a shame that you can't talk, I would like to get to know your name, miss wolf, I have a way to talk to you, but it will feel somewhat strange at first, I can use telepathy, and I can talk to both of you at once, and you can both talk to me as well, this does not let me read your mind or anything, it's just communicates what you intend to say out loud, to me directly, I'm this case to both of us, nod if you consent to the spell." Sylf nodded, Celestia's horn lit up in a golden aura, both of us heard her voice in our minds now.

'testing, testing, Celestia to wolf and dragon, do you hear me?' I laughed out loud at that, making the princess smile, Sylf also smiled.

'I hear you princess Celestia, I'm sorry for not being able to talk, my neck doesn't produce noises the same as neither of you, none of my species does, we talk using our body and our scent, by the way princess, my name is Sylf'

'And my name is Onyx, pretty princess!' I exclaimed cheerfully with my mind, making Sylf' laugh and the princess raise an eyebrow in curiosity.

'Curious, Sylf and Onyx, what an interesting and unlikely pair you two are, also Onyx, your voice sounds very clear, you must be a really smart little dragon hmm?' Celestia said while smiling at me, I blushed and rubbed my neck.

'I... I have been always been able to use telepathy too, princess, that is how I met mom, she saved me, and helped me grow and learn to speak, our minds are connected, when I came out of my egg, I cried, but my voice didn't reach far, but I cried with my mind, and when I went outside to find food and water, mom found me as I was falling asleep, she took care of me every since, she protects me, and teaches me to speak, i know... words thanks to her, she also taught me how to catch fish and prepare them to eat, I love her so much!' I hugged mom tightly around her chest, nuzzling and softly purring, it was something apparently my throat could do when i was happy.

'My son, little Onyx, is everything to me, I would do anything to keep him safe' Sylf nuzzled me back lovingly.

'You are really unique, little Onyx, I have never heard of a single dragon who could use telepathy, and very rarely they can use magic at all other than their breath, but it can happen, sometimes ponies are born with a innate talent for something, sometimes that something is incredible, like what you posses, I suspect that your egg may have been stolen, abandoned or something like that, its again, very rare but it does happen, lady Sylf, your son is a prodigy, he looks very young and already has the mental ability to speak, I will give you and him the chance to live in this city, and for him to get an education, but you must work for me, I can see you would make a fine royal guard, in exchange, you two will have housing, and a large salary for yourself lady Sylf, accept this and you will help warrantee your son an educated and prosperous future in the best schools in the nation.' I thought about this, it was a seriously good offer, the princess has already probably deduced that Sylf has great potential as a royal guard, it's not hard to see how strong she is under her armor, and she probably knows I have great potential as well, so she is hoping have me raised in this city with the best available education, and for me to become loyal as I grow, but she didn't know I was already an adult mentally, I was only loyal to myself and Sylf, yet, the offer of a formal education was too good to pass up, I nodded, but mom was already nodding too, seems we both came to the same conclusion.

'I accept, princess, I will work for you as your guard, I will fight for you if it means my son will have a bright future ahead of himself, I'm sure I will not disappoint you!' Sylf said with conviction, the princess smiled warmly and nodded.

'I can already tell, you are strong and you'll only get stronger with the training you will have to go though to join, you will have short shifts until your son is old enough to look after himself, which with how smart he is, probably will be by his 15th or 16th birthday, he looks about half a year old, so let's say that's his official age, I only need an approximate month and then I can have his official birthday be on a day that is convenient for you, like right before a weekend so you have an extra free day.' This made the princess laugh at her own joke, but i just smiled, not wanting to show i got the joke, since a toddler would have no concept of how good an extra day free from work felt.

'thank you princess! You are very kind and pretty, thank you!' I said smiling, wishing I could nuzzle the princess, but even if my adorableness worked on others, I think me and princess Celestia weren't close enough yet for that, plus with her level, maybe my charisma didn't reach her?

'Youre welcome young Onyx, you and your mom will be given a vacant room in the castle until your house in the city is picked, there are many houses that are vacant, the prices here are high, and so are taxes, but... Royal guard don't pay taxes on their houses, unless they own more than one of course.'
She had a sweet smile on her face, the carrot she dangled for us had been too juicy to pass up indeed, even if it meant we were indebted to her somewhat, at least we wouldn't be in the same palace under her guard's watch constantly, so a win in my book.

After that the conversation switched mostly to our preferences, what we thought of the city, she told us a bit about the interesting places to visit across the city, the museums, the parks, several stores that has anything and everything, there was even an amusement park and a cinema, which was, supposedly the first of its class in Equestria, not to mention fancy restaurants, tea places (apparently coffee has not been discovered yet) while she explained the maids brought in the food, many pastries, tea, milk and other drinks, I ended up having a mixed fruit juice, and ate about 6 different pastries, mom had the milk, with fruits and 3 pastries which she really liked, and I honestly was a bit... Envious of whoever has made this pastries, they were better than what I used to make as a human, but despite that I really enjoyed myself, Celestia gave us a map of the city, and before we left, she had a collar brought to the room, and offered it to Sylf.
It was a collar with a magically enchanted gem, the gem allowed mom to speak her thoughts into it and synthesized a recreation of her mental voice with sound, making it speak for her, it was able to determine the volume of her mental voice to the point it could even yell if she wanted, and it would only work when she wanted to actually say something out loud.

'Thank you so much princess! And it looks so cute too!' I exclaimed and she giggled, the fact it looked like a dog collar may have been a coincidence but it was a funny one, i made effort not to giggle too, and Sylf smiled totally unaware.

'Youre welcome, it's only natural that I want my future guard to be able to answer and talk, it's not easy to be a guard if you're mute, so we have designed enchantment to help mute ponies who want to become part of the guard, go ahead Sylf, use it.'

"H-hello? Oh, oh wow! It feels really weird to hear my own thoughts out loud, you are very kind princess! Thank you so much, now I can go outside without fear of being unable to talk to ponies, I will need to get used to this, but... It works perfectly!.' Sylf had the same voice she had in my mind, but out loud, it was lovely to hear her now she could be a more assertive mom in public, which would help my image as a baby dragon much better...

After that we said goodbye and were escorted to a guest room, with a single large bed, the interior was very well decorated and luxurious without being too much, it felt minimalist and had lots of wood which looked wonderful, we just decided to end the day early, and relieved ourselves taking turns, then showered together and finally went to sleep.

Chapter 10 Don't be an idiot!

Author's Note

Sometimes going stupid has a bright side.

Chapter 10 Don't be an idiot!

The next day I woke up late at night, having gone to bed so early made me unable to sleep for longer, so I got up from bed, pulling away from the fluffy wolf cuddling me, this time she remained asleep, I enjoyed watching her sleep, peacefully and thought about the things that happened to us, the bad, the good, despite it being not even a month since I came to this world, I had gone through more here than basically all my life, sure I had a fun vacation before starting highschool and I visited another continent to go visit an uncle, and I hiked wonderful wilderness trails, but this was different, the sensations my body had were different, my senses were sharper, and my body was tougher than I was as an almost adult human, and I was not even one year old.

I moved to the side of the bed and jumped down, my paws made soft thuds on the carpet, but we're almost silent, I headed towards the balcony and silent as I could be, I opened the door, it was well oiled and didn't make much noise, and I could stand on my hind legs to reach it, once open I felt a pleasant breeze flow in from outside, and as I entered the balcony itself I took in the view, the moon high in the sky, the stars shining and twinkling, they were nothing like back home, I couldn't recognize them but they had had their own charm, I walked closer to the edge, the railing was at about my neck height, but I wasn't dumb enough to try to put my weight on it, I was fairly afraid of heights, so I kept a good 20 centimeters from the railing, and sat down on my rump, looking over the city below.

The view was magnificent, the lamps were lit and a pleasant warm lighting illuminated all the main streets, a sudden feeling of nostalgia hit me, it reminded me of my early childhood, when there were those yellow lights in my neighborhood, before sodium and led street lights. I gazed at the houses, it was peaceful at this hour, the only ponies I saw outside were guards, only a handful it seems, they walked in groups of 2, going around in a figure eight, following the outer streets, then converging in the middle and then separating again towards the other side, there were only 3 groups in total I could see from my height and angle, on the castle there was a couple of guards in every hallway and door, it seemed, or at least one per corridor and a couple per exit.

I decided since I had nothing better to do, I would...
Oh wait a second, I have that book I found in the dungeon, the introduction to blacksmithing, it would be the perfect time to read now, and with a thought, it appeared on my open hands, it was heavy, but I was strong for my size, and could hold it even in one hand, the problem was my balance was terrible and I would tip over forward if I tried, because I was so small, I decided to set the book on the ground in front of me, and began to read with the light from the moon.

3 hours passed, I had gone through about a quarter of the book, it was very detailed for a introduction, it explained the processes for everything from smithing weapons and tools made from copper, to how to make different alloys with it and other metals, bronze was the one I was interested in the most, it explained what materials i would need to use in the process, it was not only heating the metal, i could add different properties to it by folding it, by adding various chemicals.

I had just finished reading about how to make a forge, and what I needed to get it hot enough to melt iron ore.
I decided to stop reading for now.

'You have advanced your knowledge of blacksmithing, progression in this path will unlock the job of blacksmith upon reaching a certain level of progress.' Oh, this book is really helping, and its an interesting read, i want to be able to forge my own weapons, specially ones for Sylf, i will need to read and memorize this book if i want to make a single dagger, let alone proper plate armor.

I closed the book and stored it back in my inventory, taking out my dagger and unsheathing it, looking as it glowed in the moonlight, it was very beautifully done, would i someday be able to make anything even close to this? I wanted to see how sharp it was, and, as my tail was long enough, I brought it in front of me, and started poking the dagger, at first it felt like trying to stab a stone, nothing happened, but i pushed harder down, testing the limits of how much force i would need to go though my natural armour, I pulled back and then stabbed down with force, and this time it went through, but I should have maybe stopped because now I realized I did feel pain in my tail, and not like... A little pain, but a lot, of course it was not nearly as bad as getting crushed, but it made me let out a gasp, and a soft whimper of pain.

'You have taken taken 5 points of damage. 115/120.
You have been mildly poisoned, you will take 5 damage per minute for 15 minutes.
Warning, the system encourages having healing spells before resorting to self damaging techniques, you are risking your life Onyx, please have a health potion ready if your gets down from the halfway point'

I decided maybe I would keep the dagger with its sheath on for now, and I stored it back in my inventory, ill admit, I didn't expect the dagger to go through, I also... Kinda forgot it had a poisoning effect, now I was glad I had just stabbed my tail, which I am still coming to terms with the concept of having one, I felt my body was shaking slightly, and the pain was increasing slowly coming from my tail up, the poison was starting to take effect, a minute passed.

'You have taken 5 points of damage from poisoning. 110/120'

I could feel that damage, it felt like having needles stabbing from inside, I stayed still, I felt like if I moved my tail would drip blood on the floor and I didn't want the castle staff to wonder or put together what happened here, I simply covered my tail wound with my hand and kept the blood from leaking, wincing at the pain, I was an idiot, why did I do that?

'You have taken 5 points of damage from poisoning. 105/120'

'Your body is developing a resistance to poison, but it will take time, estimated time to develop a 20% resistance: 10 minutes of being poisoned, after this period of time, the damage is reduced by 20% and the time you are poisoned is reduced by 20%' Oh it did something good! Sort of... So this is what Jade meant by... Self damage technique, I can gain resistances to poison by being poisoned, it's slow and 20% isn't a lot, but if I were to get poisoned once in a while, I could eventually become immune to it, would this work for other things? Like fire or electricity? Well now I have more things to experiment, but Jade is right, I need to find a good healing spells to use on myself first, that way I can save myself and mom much faster from damaging attacks and even poison!

Yay, poison is great after all! 'You have taken 5 damage 100/120' Ow, no matter how many times it happens, it feels BAD bad, if mom found out I did this dumbass thing, she would ground me until I was an adult, this is not exactly microdosing poison, it's injecting yourself with cyanide and expect to become immune to it. I remember reading somewhere that humans did microdose to become immune to certain poisons, but someone tried with bullets and it didn't work, so maybe no microdosing fire or anything else until I have my healing spells!

7 minutes later, I was at 65/120 HP, my insides felt like they were falling apart apart, I could taste blood and my body ached and hurt like hell, imagine feeling your internal organs struggling to keep working, each breath and each heartbeat felt painful, but not near as bad as the dungeon incident with the giant spider, thank goodness.
I decided I had enough and grabbed a health potion and downed it in a few gulps, the bottle disappeared into nothing and I recovering 60 HP and back to full.

'You have received minor poison resistance (20%), it will become true resistance at 50%, high resistance at 75% and immunity at 100%.
You take 4 damage from poisoning. 116/120 HP'

I smirked despite the pain, it was milder and now if my calculations were correct, I would only have 2 more minutes.

'You take 4 damage from poisoning. 112/120 HP'

Maybe this would need to be a daily thing, at least until I gain immunity, it would be quite something to not have to worry about some assassin shooting poisoned darts or needles and die in my sleep because of it...

'You take 4 damage from poisoning. 108/120 HP.
Poisoning has ended'

It all worked out in the end, just as I had planned, someday I would obtain all resistances or even immunities! But... What I really want to have is other element affinities, I am specially interested in one in particular, plasma. And for that I need to first be able to learn electricity and fire, a complicated goal to achieve, but I've read from a dragon who had the same mission, what motivates me is that if I can use all the elemental powers, i will become able to fight almost any foe with advantage.

Heading back to bed, I was pleased to see my tail cut had closed fully when I drank the potion, and the poison damage was only internal, not showing on my body, it would probably heal by itself by the time I woke up again.

POV shift Princess Celestia, the day before right after meeting Sylf and Onyx.

Those two are unbelievable, I could feel it when they walked in, the potential they had was unheard of, I could tell they weren't exactly the strongest beings I ever met, not by a long shot, but they had so much room to grow, specially the hatchling, despite being a dragon, not a new species for me, he had a completely different feel, smell and even energy, he was so different I couldn't begin to know where he came from, to start, dragons tend to have bright colors like ponies, and rarely they can be black, but silver or other metallic colors is unheard of, his body was not as pudgy as other baby dragons, but he has the look of a baby of his species, whatever species that is, either a newly discovered subspecies to the dragons, or I'm not sure, the best way I could think of to convince them to stay and grow to view me and Equestria in a positive light, was to offer Sylf a position in the royal guard, along with a house and education for both of them.

This didn't guarantee they would stay and live all their lives here, I knew that, specially young Onyx, he had the spark in his eye of an adventurer, even at such a young age.

I hoped he would play a part on my future plans, but I couldn't tell until he was older if he would be a bearer, maybe I could convince him to help when the time was right, but he was too young still.

What I really wanted was to learn more about them, but that could wait, for now Sylf and Onyx needed a real home, as nice as the castle was, it could be rather lacking in terms of allowing a young foal to develop social skills, I knew from experience, foals who were raised in this level of luxury tended to be rather unpleasant to others as adults.

I will be placing Sylf in the earth pony training, because of course she has no wings or a horn, and she looks physically strong, she will have an earth pony instructor and teachers to teach her to read and write, and any other topics she needed to be a guard, like law and rights in Equestria, I would also need to fill in paperwork to grant them both Equestrian citizenship and for the house, all will come from the crown, I will even give them a salary so they can shop around. I want to make them feel like they earned their money, but with nothing to their name, they'll feel like they can't go out or do anything, this city isn't cheap to live in, that's why so many ponies move away and sell their houses, because if they don't earn enough money they can't afford to pay for their rent or taxes sometimes it's better to sell, and the crown owns most of the houses, as buying property to rent is illegal in Canterlot.

Only the crown can rent out properties, this helps keep the royal coffers full, and to prevent homelessness, those who can't afford it here are relocated to cheaper places to live and put on welfare programs.

POV Sylf

Waking up early once again, the sun was just rising, I looked to my side and Onyx was curled up into a circle, his head resting over his tail, as he slept peacefully, how had he freed himself from my cuddles I wasn't sure of, I shrugged and moved to the other side, getting the covers off and landing on all fours on the ground as I rolled off the bed intentionally, I headed to the bathroom and relieved myself, then I opened the shower on medium, and once the water started to come out I stepped in and started to get soaked, I stood under the water stream and let it wash me, not exactly able to do more without my son, he had very good paws to massage, and help me clean my hair, but I wouldn't wake him for this, I simply grabbed some shampoo with my paw, and rubbed my other leg and my chest with it, once i was more or less clean I turned off the water and shook myself clean.

My son's future is assured here, there are no wild animals or monsters in this city, I'm sure he will grow strong and smart one day, and probably very attractive too, but he needs to grow, he needs a peaceful environment now more than anything and this is why becoming the princess loyal pet wolf, even, would be worth the safety of my son, and also we will get a place to live together in, with a bit more privacy than here, having guards everywhere is good for security but not for when you want to be relaxed.

But I'm starving, and I bet my baby dragon is too...
I should wake him up, seems he had some fun last night, since the balcony is open and I'm sure it was closed before we went to bed last night.

As I thought about what could have happened, and about where I could go find food, a knock was heard at the door, I approached and opened it, looking at a pony dressed in a black and white outfit, and carrying a fancy metal tray with what smelled like delicious food on top, my stomach growled loudly as I smelled the food I shyly looked away.

"Hello miss Sylf, I have brought you and young Onyx your breakfast, Princess Celestia sends her regards, and wishes you two a lovely day, in about an hour she will send a guard to pick both of you up and show you to your new home." I blinked, but smiled at the news, Onyx will be do excited! I let her pass and she left the tray in front of the bed, then left with a polite nod towards me, closing the door behind her.

"Thank you so much! The food looks delicious!" I exclaimed as she nodded with a smile and left us to eat.

'M-mom? Good morning, is that breakfast I smell? Ohhh yes breakfast is exactly what I need right now!'
He exclaimed in my mind, I nodded in agreement.

'Me too, I'm starving, look we have a good variety of fruit and tea with milk, scrambled eggs and buttered sauteed mushrooms and other veggies.'
I licked my lips and drooled a bit as I stared at the food.

'Oh momm can I have some mushrooms with the veggies? Mushrooms are my favorite when well caramelized~ they taste so much like meat and also have a nutty flavor that I love, and goes amazing with both veggies and meats, I would never get tired of butter fried mushroom with chicken or in a sauce... Mmhhrr.' Onyx purred, he then seated and started to eat along with me on the edge of the bed, I sat on my haunches on the ground, it was easier to reach the cart like this than sitting on the bed.

The food didn't last even 15 minutes as we devoured everything, and left the food cart next to the door, then just sat there enjoying our time together.

One hour later, Onyx POV

The guard arrived, knocking the door and entering, he gave a polite nod and explained us he was here to escort us to our new home, we smiled at each other and then followed him out of the castle, I was happy to be out of here, as much as I liked the view, I wanted time to try things and explain to mom a few of the things I had discovered, we walked now down many sets of stairs, it was not too far away, the house was one of the modest ones, not the overly fancy ones, which suited me just fine, and mom seemed to agree as she nodded with an appreciative expression.

The house is halfway between the gates of the city and the castle, it has wooden single door on the first floor, most of the house is brick like stone, with a nice coat of pastel cream color, the second floor has a large rectangular window with wood edges, that used about 3/4 of the wall facing the street, but the window is made in a way that doesn't show what's inside the house, the third floor has a balcony and a greenhouse on the roof, we entered and were very happy with it, it had all the creature comforts expected of a fancy house, like warm water and a fridge.

Chapter 11 House tour

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 12 Trading and making friends

Six months later

Sylf had been going to school once a day for 4 hours each day, learning the topics she would need to pass the royal guard test, it had of course many other topics like how to write and read, which she didn't know, the days for her were spent learning, reading books about the topics she would need, which of course she let me read as well, I helped her when she didn't understand something, I had long ago finished reading the blacksmithing book, but to get the blacksmith job I needed to actually forge a tool or weapon, so Id have to wait longer.

Also mom had gotten me some seeds for my own garden herbs, and some natural compost made from the clippings of veggies we ate every day, thanks to that I was able to make my own compost and now I had a good supply of cooking herbs that we used for making food taste better, the princess sends us money every month, enough to eat and some extra to spend in things we want.

Mom used her now fully painted and decorated saddlebags, she wore them to school to carry all her books, notebook and pencils, I had decided to go for a colorful flower pattern instead of a rainbow, which looked good on her, and the kit still has enough paint for a bunch more, I could probably give color to a whole set of armor with each single color.

During this time I did lots of reading, drawing and meditating on the knowledge I had obtained from this world, it was basic, I had only gotten the same books mom has been given to study topics related to her future job, but it was enough to know about how magic worked on a basic level, how pony society worked and a basic understanding of history, the laws and rights of the citizens, which the both of us were officially after one month, the princess had sent us our citizenship papers, birth certificates along with our second paycheck, it was a sort of basic income that would be paid to us until mom got in her job, since the princess herself was asking her to work as a guard and not something else.

I had gained during this time 4 points of intelligence, which were a moderate boost to my magic power, along with 2 wisdom and 2 charisma, Sylf had gained 4 points into strength, 2 on charisma, 2 on constitution and 2 on wisdom. From all of her training by going out running, and the dungeon, where she trained using her new wooden longsword, I didn't really do physical training and focused on my magical training, casting spells as further and fast as I could, practicing my aim and even trying to cast two spells at once, which didn't work at first, but after months and months of training I was able to do it, now I could easily cast twin spells, for now I could only do the same spell at the same time, but I was trying to do more.

Mom and I went to the abandoned dungeon to practice, we had cleared out all the cobwebs and looted and burned all the spider carcasses to ash by now, there was about 50gp and 2 shards of darkness gem, not much, but not bad either, now we had our own separate real to practice without fear of scratching, burning or breaking the floor, walls or roof of the house, we even had set up wooden targets painted to resemble enemies and made a sort of shooting gallery for me to practice my spells at different ranges, while I didn't gain any perks or EXP from fighting imaginary enemies, I did gain affinity with magic and learned the first metamagic, after shortening my casting time as much as possible, what I had a large advantage was when casting I used my maw as a focus point, and just like unicorn's horns and other creatures that were able to use magic naturally, I didn't need a verbal component for my spells.

Dragon breath was the natural way dragons used their magic, and it was innate and instinctual, they didn't need to learn it, or think of a spell matrix, unlike all other spells required, unicorns had this same ability with telekinesis, all this abilities were there from birth, but the foal or hatchling mind was usually unable to properly use it, it occurred randomly and when they grew to a certain age, magic creatures had their magical core grow, making them experience a brief period of wild and unfocused magical outbursts that lasted only until their magic was exhausted and their core naturally stabilized once again.

I was able to use magic from basically birth because my memories from my past life, stabilized my brain structure enough, sure I still had the mind of a hatchling, I slept randomly and felt very clingy to mother, and I cried sometimes when I had bad memories or dreams, but I still had an adult and logical way of thinking that was inherited from my past life, knowledge about the elements I wielded also increased the chances of success and the potency of the spells themselves, so I was not a bumbling hatchling accidentally using my breath every time I got scared or grumpy.

My first birthday, from what Celestia calculated when she made my birth certificate, had passed as well, we just shared a simple meal with mom at the house by ourselves, I didn't want any gifts at the time.

This six months of peace and serenity, of sharing a house with my mom and cuddling every night to sleep, of talking, teaching and learning were exactly what my mind and soul needed to heal, I now could think back to what happened to mom and I, not with overwhelming sadness and fear but with acceptance, it had passed, and I had learned from it, the spiders while still scary to me, I have now made that terror into a strong sense of resolve, to kill them and wipe them out, no fear but a sense of duty to destroy those monsters, all of the monsters that polluted the dream realm, and spiders in real life too, if they tried to take residency in my home, a weakened cast of ray of frost usually made even the nastiest house spider crumble to tiny shards of ice, along with it's spiderweb without damaging the house itself, this could be considered a type of metamagic, Minimize spell if you would, a very effective pest control.

Mother and I have done what I recommended with the poison inoculation, we took months, stabbing ourselves and wanting for the poison to go away, only once every 3 days, as we didn't want to waste our healing potions on this, we only had 2 left after all, and sleeping all night would recover about half of our HP and remove any negative side effects, the extra day was just to recover mentally from the poison, it was scary honestly, losing so much hp, it felt like you were dying, but to cope with this sensation we embraced each other and whispered words of comfort and love to each other, helping us endure, honestly this was mostly for me, as I had the weaker mind of both, my baby mind couldn't just take this constant punishment and I would feel overwhelmed and cry and even refuse to do it, and mom would comfort me and wait until the next time I regained my courage, yes the first time I was pretty cocky when I did it myself and I didn't really feel much scared, but it was because I drank the health potion and healed instantly, so I didn't have to endure for more than a few minutes.

When your HP is less than 100% you feel discomfort at first, then pain and some dread, then full on agony and terror when the closer to death you are, and you can get used to and even learn to resist the terror of death, but the pain, you can not get rid of, not without sedatives and other strong medicine that probably only hospitals had, and for this pain you would need to be put under to not feel, poison hurt the whole body, not at first but it quickly spreads until from the tip of the tail to even my ears hurt, not to mention the insides.

During this time I had not grown very much, just about 3 inches taller, but my legs were still short and I was tiny, I could at least jump higher, and run faster, but that's about it, the only thing that grew is my skill with spellcasting and my use of the dagger, mom was still a year and a half from finishing her studies.

In the end the idea of gaining immunity to poison was a success, now mom and I wouldn't be able to get poisoned as far as I knew, and if any poison that was somehow magically stronger, it wouldn't be strong enough to kill us, maybe... This worked for venom, that was simply poison injected directly into the bloodstream, so venomous animals were also rendered a non threat too, not that there were any in the city, the closest one would find were either at the University that studied this creatures, or the dense forests at the outskirts of Equestria, and the infamous Everfree forest that was barely visible down below on the distance from the edge of the city.

We decided to not try and gain immunity to other sources for now, since I was absolutely opposed to it, mom agreed it was good enough for now, and pointed out we still didn't have a reliable way to heal ourselves quickly if something went wrong, we were still nervous and scared of having a dungeon take us away at any time, but none seemed to be coming for now.

Today was an exciting day, we went for a walk around the city, I usually stayed home studying, sleeping or just practicing magic in the first dungeon, going outside meant usually you wanted money to spend, and we didn't want to use too much of what Celestia gave us so we kept it stored for emergencies, but today was time to take our money and exchange it, along with figuring out the price of the valuable gems we had, in bits, I opened the map while riding on Sylf's back, and looked around, I found the artisan's district and we headed there looking for a jeweler or someone who knew about gems, and maybe gold, since we had pure gold coins to exchange.

By checking the weight of 864gp, our money that was exactly 7862 grams, I calculated a single one would weight 9.1 grams, and how much was each gram of gold worth in bits? I had to find that out, and then give the coins, in exchange I would obtain the bits, and then I would ask for the valuation of the gems once I had the bits, quite simple in theory.

With this all communicated telepathically to dear mother, we headed towards the street where the most stores that worked with gold and gems were located, among the way many ponies stared at us, some had seeing my mom around and they either waved or nodded to her, and I waved at them since my mom could really do that, some smiled when they saw me riding a top of her waving at them, others just stared confused, and a few just made a face of irritation, lifted their noses in disdain and walked away.

Probably one of those rich nobles that think themselves better than the average pony or creature, but despite the fact some were like that, most ponies even here in Canterlot seemed decent and kind, or they just adored foals or in this case hatchlings? mom seems to have made a few acquaintances during her occasional runs around the city, now that she could talk, I wouldn't be surprised or even offended if she made friends or even something more, but that didn't happen yet, and from how little stallions there were, it was harder for even an attractive mare to find one.

It was no wonder that mares seemed to work in the "manliest" types of jobs around like construction workers or trash collectors, pulling chariots and other such things, while stallions were often the ones working in offices, as store attendants or on management positions around the city.

It didn't take long for us to find the right street, it was full of ponies walking around in fancy clothes, jewels and some wore monocles and top hats even, and walked in and out of stores and looking around the front displays, it was a lovely sight for me, and ponies in top hats were very cute, I still kept my human thought process, of ponies being super cute, it was different, as a child myself but the cuteness factor didn't go away, and in real life they were even more adorable.

We found a nice store that offered their services in gold exchange, and that bought and sold gemstones as well, and headed inside, as we pushed the door open, a little bell sounded above us, and i held the door open as we entered so mom could fully enter without having to scrape her body against it, and it closed by itself behind us.

"Welcome to Gold and Wealth Exchange, dear c-" The young green unicorn mare with orange eyes behind the counter began on autopilot before she looked at us, and froze for a few seconds, blinking with wide eyes, seemingly not expecting a huge wolf with a dragon on top to enter, her face went a bit pale, but she swallowed audibly, and tried to regain her composure, mom decided to talk to diffuse the situation.

"Oh gosh, sorry to scare you miss, I didn't meant to scare you, Im Sylf and my son here is Onyx, we have come to do an exchange." This seemed to calm down the mare, who shook herself a bit and regained her smile, if a bit of a forced one, she was clearly still a bit nervous, but was calming down.

"Oh yes, you're welcome in our shop then, I apologize, I have never seen somepony... someone quite like you, and while I know what dragons are, I have never seen such a small one, my name is Gold Leaf." She said with a small smile, now a genuine one, feeling calm now.

"Please take a seat and tell me what you are looking for miss Sylf. I will see if we can make a deal." Gold said gesturing towards a pony chair, which thankfully was big enough for mom's ample rear, while I stayed on top of her, hugging her neck and basically perched on her head, this made Gold Leaf giggle a bit despite her previous nerves.

"He's a really adorable little hatchling, isn't he? well, what I want to know first, is the price of the gram of gold." Mom said with a smile, then gained a bit of a serious expression.

"Oh, that's easy, its 21 bits per gram if you want to sell, and 24 bits per gram if you want to buy, the price is decided by the market, it cannot be haggled." Oh that sounds... extremely good actually, seems like gold is very valuable here, just like back on earth, probably even more valuable than back on Earth, I immediately tell mom its a good deal, and she nods, towards the mare, but i know she's acknowledging me.

"I want to sell about... 7.8 kilos worth of gold, its in the forms of old coins, but they are pure gold, do you have a way to test for purity right?" Gold Leaf nodded, not even raising a brow, seems like this isn't an uncommon sum to exchange here, and it makes sense, the city is extremely rich and wealthy, and ponies who live here are probably stupidly rich.

"That can be done, but to transport all those bits you will need more than a saddlebag, do you want to arrange transportation to your domicile? this can be done for an additional fee of 1000 bits, and you get to keep the wooden chest for storing them." I mentally affirmed, having it transported in a chest, and a legitimate way was a much better look and I wanted to keep the existence of my abilities and mom's hidden from the world for now.

"Yes that is reasonable, I also have some gemstones I want valuated, but I don't want to sell them for now, but it would be nice to know their value for the future".

"Come, follow me, we will go and count the gold, and take a look at those gemstones in the other room, where our expert will give you an estimate." Mom nodded and Gold Leaf opened the counter door for us and then we followed her to an adjacent room, as we followed I took a look at her cutie mark, and it was a few leaves seemingly made of gold, it was quite pretty.
A brown coated and black maned old earth pony stallion was napping, his cutiemark had a beautiful and perfectly cut ruby, Gold moved and shook him awake.

"huhh? wha- oh, I'm awake, i'm awake! Good day everypony! I mean... every creature, my name is Sharp Stone, are you here to sell or evaluate some gemstones? if you want to have their quality checked, it will cost ya, depends on how many there are." announced the old stallion, he was quick to get to business, it seems, despite just having woke up he was in full business tone.

"My name is Sylf, pleased to meet you mister! dear son, please hand me the bag of gemstones please." I did as she commanded, opening the saddlebag pocket where we kept the gems, and handing the bag to the stallion, who smiled at me and took it with his hoof.

"The pleasure is mine miss Sylf, you and your son are quite adorable together, congratulations, what is his name?" He asked with curiosity, I couldn't help but smile, being called adorable clearly pleased my baby brain.

"His name is Onyx, he is a baby dragon, and a very well behaved little one." I nodded at her words, playing along, we both knew i was far from well behaved, but not everyone had to know.

"Hah! i can tell he's quite a hooffull, but well behaved, like every other foal, my daughter here is a good example, foals will be foals, I'm surprised he hasn't eaten your gems as soon as he knew where they were, ive read that dragons eat gems and that's why they love collecting hoards, they actually just use it to feed themselves and trade for gems and other things they like, dragons are very interesting, but there is not much ponies know."
I definitively did not remember that, so... I could just eat the gems, instead of selling them? should I? well, for now I would just rather have their price checked, so i mentally told mom to thank him for the information and then let him do his job.

"Oh thank you, he can get a bit playful sometimes but thankfully he is really well behaved, i will have in mind what you said about gems, maybe he needs to eat them more often... Well, i need to get some gold exchanged, i hope the gems are worth something." This seemed to be the queue the old pony needed to get to work, so he nodded and then headed to a desk with a few instruments, sat down, emptied the bag and got to examine them, making thoughtful noises to himself.

"Miss Sylf? here, bring the gold and we will have it weighted and examined, but first of all, before I do this, I will need to make a few questions, this is just a formality we have to do, in order to not get in trouble ourselves with the crown, please state where you obtained this money from, and show me your identifying paper." I expected this, but we had sort of a failproof story and we already had been granted citizenship and ID by the princess, so we were covered.

"Of course, baby, please pass me the papers, and as for where we got this gold? We are originally from the far north, there, an expedition sent by Princess Celestia found us on the wilderness, me and my son, of course, adopted son, were offered a place to stay here by the members of the expedition, as at the time we were living in the wilderness, and struggling to survive every day, well, my son here, is of course adopted as you see, and where I found him, it was a cave on a mountain, it was clear his biological mother or father, or both, had either abandoned or died, as he was there, helpless and recently hatched from his egg, I helped him survive and and kept him company, I became his adoptive mother, and... I think his dragon parents actually must have died, because the hoard was left in his cave, before we left with the expedition, we took as much gold as our saddlebags could carry and we left, this is part of that gold and gems, but the rest is in our new house and back in that cave, so if we can find a way in the future, we will go back and collect what is rightfully his, by right." As the story went on, Gold Leaf was in the verge of tears, imagining what mom and specially I, went through, she actually had a few tears running down her cute muzzle by the end, the conviction in my mom's voice got to her, success! I made a sad face as well during the story, to really tug at the heartstrings, It was partially true after all, except for like... all the important stuff.

"I-im so sorry you two, for what you went through, specially you little Onyx, you are a precious little foal and you are safe now, and you will never lack anything here, rest assured lady Sylf, my family will always do business with you, ill write the source of the money as inheritance, all done, now the gold?" mom nodded and gestured to me, i jumped down from her back and she lowered herself to the ground, i untied the saddlebags and pulled them off her, then grabbed the offered basked and emptied the golden pieces there, they had 2 curved sides and were rectangular shape, and had symbols of dragons on both sides, this was really convenient for me, it would be harder to explain if dragon money had faces of humans or something. i shook the saddlebag until no more coins were inside, and mom nodded towards Gold Leaf, she grabbed the basket and lifted it with her magic, and placed it over a scale.

"Seven thousand eight hundred and sixty two grams... that will last you a while, even here in Canterlot! now we check the gold, give me a minute, casting this spell is slow, but better than doing this the old fashioned way, and its my special talent." mom nodded but looked confused, and so did I, then Gold's horn lit up in a bright yellow light, and a beam of blue light slowly moved back and forth across the inside of the basket, it looked like a sci-fi scanner, but the beam only moved up and down, and only within the circle of the inside of the basked, Gold's face was scrunched in concentration and her horn was lighting up the room intensely, seems this spell was not easy to cast, even if it was her special talent, after about a full two minutes, she stopped the beam, and panting a bit, but she caught her breath quickly, and nodded with a smile, seemingly satisfied with the results.

"Everything is in order, congratulations you two! your payment of will be sent to the addres provided in your ID, and only delivered to you, so if for some reason we get the wrong house, your money will be safe." I smiled and hugged my mom tightly.

"Thanks a lot miss Gold Leaf, I will make sure to always come to your family business in the future, now im going to see mister Sharp for the gems, and we will be on our way." After that Gold nodded and left to other room, while we walked and sat next to Sharp, who was examining the last of the gems, after a minute, he gave a nod as he seemed to have finished, and turned to us.

"This is very interesting young lass, here, you have some well known gems, and others that are very rare, so the value varies for some of this, the gems that are more common here are Amethyst, Jade and Amber, I can give you 10 thousand bits for each, as for the pearl, its quite rare in Equestria, because we don't have many ponies who would risk their lives to collect them, and this one is particularly good quality, large, and beautiful color, I'd give you 25 thousand, As for this, I have no idea what it actually is, seems like some little plant inside a gem, and the texture is odd, not quite gem like, you know what? because its unique and very pretty, I'd pay 15 thousand, no idea if ponies will buy it, but if anything it will make a pretty thing to collect, and for the last one, This... is amber right? quite an exquisite find, a stone of this caliber would make for a fine centerpiece on a crown, it is said that this gemstone can be used to empower enchantments in armor and swords, but i'm not a mage, I'm just a gem fanatic, Amber is very rare, it only can be obtained in very very old forests, and all of them are outside of Equestria, except for the Everfree forest, but no one that goes there comes back, so id pay 100 thousand for this, without a doubt, and I'm probably lowballing you, if I were you, I would keep this gem to yourself, as the centerpiece of your collection, specially for you little one, one day you may want to start a hoard of your own, and this could be a lovely addition to it." He smiled at me, I blinked in confusion, not expecting that, and smiled back, looking at the admittedly beautiful amber, now... the more he spoke about gems, the more i got interested in them, his excitement was contagious!

"This is awesome mister Stone, I'm going to go home with my son and celebrate! ill also be selling only the unknown gem to you, the rest I'm gonna take back, how much do I owe you?" Sharp Stone shook his head with a small laugh.

"Nothing miss, you selling the stone to me is good enough reward, plus getting to see such stones was a reward on its own, I'm sure the stone you are selling me is worth something, if it was part of a hoard of dragons, i couldn't help but overhear, I'm sorry both of you went through such a mess, but as my daughter said you are safe now, if you ever need something, or just want to talk, come to us and let me daughter know you're looking for me, same goes for you too, Onyx, don't forget old Stone hahah!" He handed us the stones minus the coral, and we said our goodbyes, mom went in and nuzzled him, she seemed to have taken a liking to this old pony, and so did I, hugged his foreleg and nuzzled his chest, he smiled warmly and wrapped a hoof around mom and i. "You are both really sweet, I can feel you went through a lot together, this is making me get emotional too..." he said in a soft voice to us, seemed like ponies were very empathic, I could tell he was holding his emotions back a bit, after a few more seconds, we pulled back, i felt a lot better, this ponies were truly good people.

"Thank... mister Stone" i said softly, surprising him a bit and making him smile again, and we waved goodbye.

"Come again anytime you two, your payment will be added to your delivery tomorrow!" he exclaimed as we were about to leave, i waved at him and we left, on the way we waved again to Gold Leaf, heading home with thoughts and emotions swirling in our minds, what a cute family, those two have, truly i felt like i was about to cry, when they got emotional for us, I wish we could have told them the truth, but the lies were, sort of, true too, I had lost my parents when I died, while I wasn't close to them, i did care and lived with them most of my life, and we had survived in the wilderness alone for a time.

On the way home, i hugged and nuzzled mom, happy to have made friends this day, and now we wouldn't have money problems or depend on Celestia.

Author's Note

There ocassionally be some time skips, but dont worry, it wont be something crazy like ten or twenty years.

Chapter 13 First day of Preschool

I yawned and stretched in bed, the summer was approaching and the days were becoming warmer and longer, did the princess raise the sun every day like in the show? I didn't know for sure, but I wondered how the entire thing worked.

I was honestly pretty lucky that Equestria used English as their written language, despite calling it Equestrian it was clearly English, i could read books and understand everything there just fine, without having to learn from scratch, of course some differences like somepony and everypony were evident.

Mother had already woken up earlier, I walked to the bathroom, did my business and washed my face, good thing there was a chair I could climb to reach the faucet, I honestly couldn't wait to get tall enough to do everyday things like a normal pony, I didn't have telekinesis, if I had that I would have much easier time doing anything and everything, if there was a way to gain telekinesis I would obtain it in the future for sure.

I walked down the stairs and headed to the kitchen, where mom was making an omelette with cheese and broccoli for us, she had improved a lot since moving here, at first she could only make steamed veggies by just putting everything in a pan and letting it cook but she learned to use her maw as a hand, and can now use it to handle a spatula, and even can grab pans and pots with her teeth, they are so strong they can hold a heavy pot by just her front teeth and they hold on just fine, the small downside is that lots of things have bite marks on them, and may or may not be covered in wolf saliva, but honestly it doesn't bother me, we kiss eachother like how canines do.

My mind doesn't work the same was as my old mind did, I don't feel embarrassed or shy about sharing affection with mom, even kissing her in the maw, like a mother dog kisses their puppies, and the puppies kiss her back, there is no shame of her body either, I don't think it's weird accidentally laying on her and without realizing touching her intimate areas, of course this doesn't mean I go looking for it, my mind, at least as of now, has lost all sense of sexual desire and it makes complete sense, babies don't have a libido.

This got off the rails, I hug and nuzzle mom, wish her good morning and go sit, I have to use a booster seat, honestly this is what sucks the most about being so young, and now I remember when I was a child as human and had the same problem, not fun!

My belly grumbles in hunger, and I let out a little whine, I stayed in bed too long and now I'm very hungry, its probably around noon. I'm honestly excited about getting my grubby paws on that money, I wanna go buy magic books of spells, of theory and materials for enchantment, but I need books on that first so I can learn to enchant...

While I was thinking to myself mom came in with a plate in her maw, and gently handed it to me, I grabbed it and smiled.

"Thank you so much mom! This looks very delicious~ I was starving haha" I blow at it for a bit and grabbing with my claws I start to eat with gusto, the eggs here are delicious, but expensive, unlike large scale farms here all eggs come from free range chickens who live in the outdoors, the cheese is sold by ponies who work alongside cows, the cows are sapient and just like to stay with ponies because they get protected and given a job, even fed well, they mostly use their money to buy accessories and hats, but some do own property too, bulls work usually as farm hands, they're strong as an earth pony and hard working from what I've read, this from mom's books on pony society that the princess sent over.

I finished breakfast before mom could even start eating hers, but she being so big as she was, and eating from the plate, didn't take long either.

"Tasty huh? I've been practicing and using the correct amount of salt and pepper like you told me, and I gotta say its a big improvement!" I licked my lips and relaxed, a small belch escaped my maw as I ate so quickly.

"Manners mister, we are at the table!" She scolded me playfully, and belched herself and much louder, I laughed and she laughed too, we both knew it was basically impossible to have table manners when you were a big wolf that had no opposable thumbs and a dragon that was too short to reach the table without a booster seat, I mean I could... But why would I? Maybe when I'm older I'll use better manners.

After breakfast we headed to the living room to read some by the sofa, as always we laid cuddling together, my back against her belly and my tail between her hind legs, I had a book about magic and she had a book on law, as much as I was a fan of gaining knowledge, I wouldn't touch that book with a ten foot pole, law was suuuper boring and dense to read.

My book was very informative, explaining how cutie marks affect spells, it was fact that cutie marks made talented related spells easier to cast, requiere less mana, less focus while also being more potent by orders of magnitude, all this was because cutie marks seemed to be a sort of cheat.

Cheat because it allowed a pony with low affinity with spells to cast spells far beyond their level, like for example a pony with a fire for a cutie mark could cast large area spell fire attacks like fireball, without even being able to cast a weak spell like acid arrow, which was a second tier spell, so they could just cast way beyond their ability, and if they trained enough as mages, they could reach incredible heights, some talents were easier to train than others.

Talents were not applicable to me or Sylf, but in exchange we had better natural abilities, like resistance to magic, natural toughness, sharp claws and fangs, in my case a breath weapon, etc. But learning about ponies talents was useful if i ever had to face against them in battle.

A sudden knocking pulled me out of my inner machinations, I got up and moved aside so mom could head and open the door, outside was a group of unicorns wearing fancy clothing, carrying a large chest in their magic.

"Good morning miss, I'm Bright Step from Gold and Wealth to deliver a package, where do you want it placed?" The mare at the door asked politely.

"Good morning miss Bright, please follow me, we would like to have it in our room." The mare nodded and stepped inside, with two other ponies who were carrying the chest in their combined auras. They were struggling a bit so we didn't bother them and we headed up the stairs, and into the bedroom were we slept, mom opened the closet and they placed it there, the chest was locked, and mom got the key, she thanked the ponies and then accompanied them outside, we waved goodbye as they left.

"Wonderful son now we actually have money, I hope it will last us a while! Do you think we should buy something with it today? What do you think?". I thought for a minute about it, there were many things I wanted, I just wasn't sure, but I thought books were a safe idea, and I could sell them back once I red them, for close to the original sale price, if they were pristine upon returning.

Then there was the possibility of buying weapons, but after reading on the topic, I was disappointed to find out only someone who has a permit could buy actual swords and armor, they also required to pass a certification, all of this costs a lot, so only usually guardponies had easy access to weapons and didn't need a permit more than their guard badge. Making your own weapon was legal, and even encouraged as some ponies had blacksmithing cutie marks and not allowing them to do their destiny was considered highly cruel for pony society, same as for ponies practicing sports like dueling, a pony with a dueling or sword used cutie mark had the right to practice and participate in simulated battles and tournament, so those were a thing.

But to go and buy a weapon as a random pony, it wasn't as easy, the system wasn't bad it just had some red tape for the common non specialized pony, or creature.

Mom rolled her eyes as she looked at me for a while while I had my inner dialogue, she was probably used to it at this point. "You think too much colt, you want books on magic, don't you? Let's go get them"

Mom knew me too well, I sighed and followed back to the room, where I helped fill up bags with bits, then put them inside the saddlebags neatly organized, and removed the gems from the saddlebags and put them in the chest, then closing everything carefully, I got on my steed, and we walked out, I loved having this height at top of her, I could see so much more, but on the other hand if I didn't walk more I would start to become fat...

Ten minutes later, we got to a library, the librarian didn't get as scared as some other ponies but he did had his eyes widen a bit when he saw us, ponies it seems weren't used to other creatures, after some seconds he waved us in and politely asked what we were looking for.

"I want books on enchanting, rune magic, and... What spell books do you have?"

"We have what you need on enchanting and rune magic, when it comes to spells we have the most sought after, of course only those that are allowed, no combat spells are sold here, neither those you can cast on others without their permission, we are one of the few libraries outside the palace that has the teleport spell book, but its extremely hard to learn, we also have a lesser version that works only with visual range, we have the Enlarge/reduce spell, dimension door, waterbreathing, prestidigitation and minor illusion, among others." I almost cheered in excitement but I had to contain myself, and instead I did it mentally.

'Yeesss mom you have to get them for me, they are all very useful! Pleaseeee?' I hugged her tighter hoping she would accept.

'hmm okay okay but you should not practice then without my supervision, understood?' I accepted mentally, she smiled and then looked at the librarian.

"We will be taking one book on enchanting you recommend, another recommendation on rune magic, the teleport spell book, the lesser version, and the other spells you mentioned, all of them please." The pony nodded and headed to collect the books, we sat at the waiting area and stayed there for a while, just me sitting against Sylf.

The librarian stallion came back and had a pile of books on his back balanced neatly, it was incredible they didn't fall down.

He placed the books on the desk and looked at a notebook he had, before writing something on it.

"The total will be 24 thousand bits, the main reason is the price of the Teleport book, it's a very high tier spell, the rest all cost much less, we offer a three month payment plan, with no extra charge, if you return the book in pristine condition you can get back 90% of your bits, but only if you return it within a year of having bought it. What do you say miss?"

"Yes I accept, I'll pay all in one payment, how does that sound?"

"Its perfect, now we just need your address and your ID, that way we file our taxes, thank you for your purchase, come this way and we will do the paperwork and payment" we followed him to a separate room where I helped mom get the bag of money, I don't know how many bits we had here, but it was a heavy amount of coin, thankfully there were coins of 1 bit, 5 bit, 10, 50, 100 bits and we had the 100 bits coins, so we handed the bag and ask for then when it wasn't enough we brought another similar bag, then it was plenty, in total we paid with 240 coins of 100 bit each. Mom filled her paperwork and handed it to the library's clerk, he signed everything and it was all ready to take home withing a few minutes, the books were carried in mom's saddlebags, and the ones she couldn't fit there were carried in a canvas bag held by me on her back, now i had plenty of learning material to occupy me for months and months!.

After that we went into the market district and got a paper bag of produce, cheeses, fresh pasta, bottles of milk, cream and some chicken at the butcher, who was a lovely old lady griffin that was often visited by non pony residents for the meat they needed, of course cow meat wasn't sold, it was mostly chicken and other non sapient animals like fish, boar and some other bird creatures like dove and even some monster meat, usually when a monster approached or attacked a village or city, it was death with quickly by the guard or specialized units, then it's meat was sold to butchers right away, and while Canterlot doesn't get many monsters showing up, rarely something comes up from the forests below, mainly small ones like cockatrices.

Mother made chicken Alfredo today, for the first time, I helped her by grating the cheese and chopping the chicken, but she did most of everything else, in the end we both enjoyed it a ton, and she was excited to make more delicious recipes, we may have to get a cookbook next because she is very very happy with her progress and wants more.

'Next time son we should do something with this... Seafood you mentioned, I bet it will taste very delicious of this recipe of yours is so good~'

'I have a bunch more recipes right here, but we may need to get you a cookbook to refresh my memory, I can't remember all the steps or ingredients of everything you know?' she nodded and after washing the dishes, we went to shower and then loaf around.

I started to read the book she got me, excited on the prospect of learning new spells, this books unlike the ones from the dungeon weren't instant touch and learn, while removing the book, this were actual real books and I had to read and comprehend everything, including the spell matrixes and the components to form the spell.

With the spellbooks from the dungeons, just by touching it, the matrixes and components were in my mind like if I had read and practiced them for months, but I would say... That wasn't as fun as learning normally, and practicing on my own, and while the shortcut was useful in the heat of the moment, learning the old fashioned way had its benefits, I gained affinity and even bonus stats by learning and practicing.

Our peaceful and relaxing life went on for another year and a half, my second birthday was pretty fun, we invited Stone and Gold, and they actually showed up!

We had a three layer cake that mom baked and I helped with, and I got a few toys as gifts, some wooden toy shield and a sword fit for my size from the old stallion, and a blue dragon plushie from Gold Leaf, along with a wolf/dog plush, that was gray, mom got me a couple of small gems for me and told me I should try eating them, she told me to not worry because small gems were cheap, only larger more clear gems were considered jewelry level and therefore they were much more expensive, and rare gems like amber also were expensive.

I tried the gems, curious at first but once my tongue came into contact with them, I started salivating, they tasted like the most delicious fruits! Somehow tangy, sweet, and savory or spicy depending on the color, and all had a satisfying crunch, and a very pleasant aftertaste that made me feel like it was condensed exotic fruit into crystals, I wanted more, but I kept my desire under control, maybe I could get mom to buy me more once in a while!

The months went by and I learned the spells, one by one, some were very easy to learn and master, just requiring barely any focus like Prestidigitation, minor illusion, and water breathing, but others required my full concentration, and I couldn't even speak or think at all while casting them I needed to fully focus or the spell would wear off, enlarge and reduce fell into that category, they were hard to pull of and hard to keep up, but with practice and discipline, it was not a big issue.

Now when it came to the teleportation spells, two of them were specially difficult, the theory was much more complex, the spell matrix was also longer, it took a few months to even understand fully, the first one, short, single target line of sight teleport was easier, I had it learned within a month.

The problems started from there, the matrix of the other two spells were much more complicated, the safety components were very extensive, many safeguards, redundancies and precautions were clearing built into it, and learning all of them was the only way to make sure this spell would work, the spells would fail if anything was too close to the destination, or in the same space, it would also fail if the area was under an anti teleportation field like dimensional lock.

If the area couldn't be located exactly but an approximation was close, the user would be teleported there, but the complicated part was the runes built into it to dampen the backlash of a failed or miscast spell, this was because this were spells available to civilians, so they were made to be as safe as possible, with no risk to the user other than a strong headache and passing out from magical exhaustion after wasting all your mana on a failed teleport.

There was a little shortcut to this spell, if you got your hands on an item from a certain place, like a jar of sand from a specific beach or a chunk of some building, you could use far less mana to get the same result, in an order of magnitude lower, for example traveling one 1000 kilometers normally would cost 1000 mp, but with an item from the location you wanted to teleport, you could reduce that number to the base number of a 6th level spell, 60 mp per every 1000km

I managed to learn dimension door, where I could transport myself and another being towards a point I could see clearly, within 200m it was pretty good still, but Teleport, I still couldn't get it right, the spell matrix and theory was too much for me at this stage to understand, I needed to learn advanced magic theory in general, I theorized my affinity with magic, my level of power was not high enough yet for a tier 6 spell.

We also were invited sometimes over to our friend's houses, where we met their full family, the sweet old mare who was Sharp Stone's wife, Mrs. Butter Scotch was the headmare of his herd, as ponies tend to usually pair in herds of many mares and one stallion, due to the large number of mares per stallion.

She had a baking cutie mark, and my mom and her got along like bread and butter, talking about baking and food recipes and all the good things in life.
Mrs. Butter had much more skill and knowledge to share about baking than I did, I used to love baking as a human but I was... Well, dead before I could get very good at it, our friend group expanded.

Miss Gold Leaf was not part of a herd.

But she had friends and sisters who came to the birthday party, and we all got along well.

Some even brought their foals and we played on the backyard, we played tag, hide and seek, and passed a ball to eachother and whoever dropped it, was disqualified.

I was pretty good at this, thanks to my hand like paws, but i let the other foals win most of the time, they were all older than me but I was much stronger physically, I just lost on purpose and was careful to keep my claws retracted, they were starting to get longer and sharper, despite me trying to dull them on my a big sone mom had gotten me for that.

The third birthday was much more lively, with the foals bringing their friends, and more ponies showing up, we had made two cakes this time, one strawberry whipped cream and the other banana and vanilla pastry buttercream.

We had party games this time, a little idea that I came up with, and mostly copied from the show, pin the tail on the pony, and other silly things like throwing a small ball from a distance to land on paper cups, with only some cups giving prizes, and hide and seek competitions, the prizes were plush creatures, toys like soccer balls and other fun things foals and even adults liked like puzzles and card packs, for the adults we had card games with bets, supposedly it wasn't illegal unless large sums were used, above 10 thousand bits, and the games here had sums of at most 2 or 3 hundred, mostly for fun and bragging rights.

Everyone was having fun, I had participated but not won any game, on purpose, I wanted the other foals and fillies to get the prizes and I had more than enough gifts as it was, even got a box of small gems from mister Stone, which I thanked him profusely for, to his delight.

Mom was told by other ponies I should be starting preschool, some foals started at the age I was but usually at 3 or even 4, but maybe they assumed me being a dragon made me grow at a different rate so they recommend it.

I agreed, and while mom prepared for her royal guard exams, I prepared for preschool, I honestly didn't remember what I had learned during that age but it seems I didn't need to, most foals could barely speak and there were no tests or real expectations until the age of around 6.

Canterlot had a few different preschools and kindergartens, but since we were somewhat wealthy now, we decided to go to the most prestigious one, and lucky for us, it wasn't as expensive, it was compared to others, but 2000 thousand a month was hardly much.

Mom was more and more busy studying lately so she made meal prep for the week and left it in the fridge in plates inside paper bags for me.

Today was my first day of preschool, I was excited, and a bit nervous, I wanted to make a good first impression, so I brought some toys and coloring pencils and paper to hopefully play and draw with others, I was with my mom as the first day at least I was supposed to be accompanied by her, at least to the door, so I rode atop her and we entered the main door of the moderately large building, it was nowhere as large as the university campus we stayed at a few years ago, but it was about the size of a large house, and very fancy inside and out!

The pony at the door looked a bit shocked but then shook her head and greeted us, asking my mom for our ID and, after a quickly look at her own documents she nodded and I jumped down from mom's back, hugged and nuzzled her snout as she lowered it for me to reach, and then we parted ways, she waved as I went inside, the mare at the door seemed surprised but smiled warmly, maybe most foals are too scared to go in on their own, so they ask the first days to go with their parents.

I vaguely remember doing the same when I was a child, around 18 or so years ago when I started kindergarten, it was like an intense sense of deja-vu, I remember mom had come with me and even walked me to the classroom, I was getting emotional now, before I could break down crying from the intense nostalgia I shook my head clear of those thoughts, blinked my eyes fast and wiped the couple of tears that were starting to form in their corners, then steeled my mind with a deep breath and walked further down the corridor, I thought myself strong and mature but even as an adult human male in my old life, I was not immune to emotions, I did cry, just kept it mostly to when I was alone in my room.

Now once I went inside I was a bit lost, there were many rooms and corridors and even a large open space in the middle, I looked around for a bit until I found a pony in the corner, I walked over to her and she blinked in confusion for a second, probably not expecting a dragon, but smiled nonetheless, I put on a pitiful look of a lost foal.

"M-miss? I'm lost... Where I go now?" I asked with a shy voice, I was channeling my inner introvert, it worked, of course.

"Oh you little colt, how old are you? You seem like a preschooler, but I'm not sure" I made it seem I was giving the question some thought and then I used my fingers to count and lifted up 3 of my 4 fingers on one paw to her, it had the desired reaction and she smiled warmly.

"You're a very smart little one, three huh? come follow me, I know where it is". I nodded and she turned and headed to the right, we walked for about 30 meters and turned left, reaching a sunlit corridor that was open to one sides allowing natural light to come in from between the space from the wall and the roof, to the right of the corridor were 3 classrooms that were separate from the rest of the large building, and surrounded by garden of flowers and trees and open space, then another wall closed off the space from outside, making it into a walled park.

"Here we are little dragon, you can go and choose whichever room you want, the teacher pony inside will ask for your name and you can meet and play with the ponies, just be polite okay?" She asked nicely and I nodded with a smile, then she waved and left me there.

I walked in the further one from me, by just random choice, inside there were about 20 foals and fillies of all colors, all adorable and tiny, some were playing alone, others were sleeping, other playing in groups or just looking bored, and a few were drawing or reading.

I walked in and all the ponies who were awake and happens to see me sort of froze in place, the teacher was surprised but she didn't show it for long, I walked in and the ponies were very confused, a few scared and some curious, I didn't look at all of them, very well, I headed towards the teacher and she smiled warmly at me, she was an earth pony mare with a green coat and white mane, likely in her twenties.

"Hi there little one, my name is Ms. Green Apple, what is your name?" I raised a brow, Apple? Was she related to the Apple family from the show? Well who knows, from the show it's clear there are a LOT of Apple members, no surprise one would live here.

"I'm... Onyx, my mom is Sylf, I'm a dragon and I'm three!" I said softly and somewhat shyly, but smiled when she gave me headpats.

Legally I was 3 years old, in reality I was 2 and a half, but Celestia had decreed me being 3 years old so I didn't even wanna question it, better for me to be able to do more.

"Stay here, I'll introduce yourself to the class, at least the ones who are awake, I'm sure they'll be excited and fascinated to meet you!" She said cheerfully which in turn made me excited.

"Everypony! Please listen to me, we have a new friend that will be learning with us!" Everypony who wasn't asleep, and a few of those that were asleep raised their heads and looked at us attentively, it seems pony students even as small foals, were better behaved than human toddlers.

"This here is Onyx, he is a dragon, do any of you know what dragons are?" For a second none lifted their hoof, until a pony, which I took a little while to recognize, lifted their hoof.

"Yes, little Shining?" I felt my maw hang open in realization, I struggled to keep a neutral expression, Shining Armor? He was here??! And yes, it was indeed him, the three toned blue mane and white coat unicorn, he of course looked much smaller and was clearly around 3 years old.

"I've read on my comic books, they are super cool! They breathe fire and are stronger than earth ponies!" He said while making exaggerated gestures and whooshing noises, the teacher looked worried.

"They also fly and can resist almost any attack from unicorns, in my comic book they are considered a city level threat, because a single dragon can win against a whole city of ponies, Even guards have trouble with them!" He showed how two little action figures fought, and one who represented the pony guard fell and the dragon one stood victorious and he even made a roar of victory, for the dragon, I couldn't help but laugh at that, I could tell he loved his comics and his toys, maybe we would get along very well.

However Ms. Green Apple was not very happy with the explanation, while the other foals looked at me with a mixture of awe, fear and excitement, seems that Shining had contagious attitude to the other foals, now the class was divided between dragons are really cool, and dragons are scary.

"Shining, that is... A bit rude, but what my point was, is that Onyx is a baby dragon, he is a well behaved and friendly dragon, who just wants to be friends with all of you and play together, have fun and learn, is that right little Onyx?" She asked hopefully to me, I nodded and answered with a smile.

"Yes Ms. Green Apple, Im... Also a big fan of comics too!" This got the desired result, making Shining smile, he seemed like the nerdy type, just like me.

"Now since Shining Armor has an empty spot next to him, go sit there, and make friends with him, maybe he will think better of dragons then, sorry Onyx if that made you feel sad, he is just excited of seeing a dragon I think." She hugged me and nuzzled me softly as she tried to confort me, thinking the colt's words and the reaction of the other foals made me sad, but I was smiling, and I nuzzled back.

"Don't worry Ms. Green, I'm not sad, I think being a dragon is very cool too." She smiled at this, and nodded, gesturing me to go sit.

"Have fun little Onyx!" I nodded and went and sat next to the unicorn colt, he looked me over for a bit, then offered me his hoof, I bumped it and he smiled.

"Your really a dragon! I felt that hoof bump, most ponies our age barely touched it, but you are something else... Is it true that dragons have super thought scales? Yours look like they are made from metal, like armor!" He was definitively a future guard, I could tell by how he sees me, most ponies see an adorable little creature yet very exotic, but he thinks in terms of strengths and weaknesses.

"Yeah, I'm a dragon, but I'm a super special dragon, not a regular dragon, I'm gonna show you sometime how I am different than regular dragons, and yes my scales are very very hard to go through, you want to prove it? Here..."

I grab my canvas bag and open it, taking out a selection of coloring pencils, along with two regular pencils, and hand him one, he grabs it in his aura and lifts it with only a slight effort, usually ponies struggle to use even telekinesis until they get their cutie mark, but this pony seems to come from a strong bloodline of mages.

"Okay now... Stab me on the side of the body as hard as you can, make sure the teacher doesn't see you!" I whispered in his ear, he looked doubtful at me, but I nodded and when the teacher was distracted, I turned slightly so the pencil and magic were covered behind my body, he stabbed me against the side and broke the pencil top completely, but my scales didn't even bend, the pencil was extremely pointy before and now it would need to be sharpened again to use.

"He gaped at me and left the pencil on the table, then his open mouth turned into an excited expression, he had tested first hand the resilience of a dragon, and was understandably happy, I giggled and bopped him, which made his eyes cross to look at my paw, I showed off by extending and retracing my claws, which made him clap his hooves.

"Hahaha that was cool! And a bit scary haha to be honest, I'm glad you're so friendly, do you wanna read the comic I brought? It's about a series called From the Deep where giant monsters emerge from the ocean, and a group of brave ponies fight them back to where they came from to save Manehattan."

"Sounds awesome! Yeah let's also pretend we are the characters!".
I had honestly never read a physical real comic book in real life, even as a human, so I gladly accepted, and we spent a good chunk of hours reading and playing out the scenes on the comic, voice acting our favorite characters, I usually voiced the monsters, using the plushies as the sea creatures, and he used his action figures of ponies in armor as the brave defenders.

Other ponies sometime joined us and watched or even played with us by the end, then we went outside with the teacher and played in the garden.

We had games of hide and seek, where I always ended up losing usually first because my tail was spotted as it was too long to hide easily, we also played to being knights and and I, naturally, offered to be the evil monster they had to fight, to the joy of the other foals who stopped being afraid of me when i did that, it was ironic, playing as the monster made me seem more approachable.

Not all foals were friendly, some were neutral or just didn't seem to wanna get near, which was fine and understandable, maybe their parents taught them to be wary of anyone who was not a pony.

The teacher was always looking at us and making sure we didn't get hurt, of course, I also showed off by climbing a tree with my claws, but only about head height of an adult pony, I didn't wanna give Green Apple a heart attack.

She told me to be careful, and stayed near but didn't force me off, and told other foals to not try this as they had no claws to climb, it was sort of unnecessary as ponies were terrible climbers either way, it wasn't in their instincts to climb anything other than stairs, so no one tried to imitate me.

Even still they all had fun watching and some even clapped and cheered as I stood on only 3 paws, waving at them with one.

This was my first day of preschool, and all in all I will say it has been a success! I met one of the ponies of the show, which honestly had my inner fanboy wanting to do cartwheels and sing in the streets, I had not even bothered to remember the name of the other foals because without cutie marks, I probably wouldn't remember anyways.

When I came out, mom was waiting for me, and so we're Shining's parents.

I waved at him goodbye and he seemed somewhat confused by mom, but waved goodbye either way, and we left, they apparently lived closer to the castle, probably near the school, I didn't see any real sign of Twilight or anything but maybe she just wasn't conceived yet? No idea, but it was clear she was younger than Shining Armor.

Once at home I told mom about how preschool went, and how happy I was, she hugged me tight, making me squeak as the air was expelled from my lungs forcefully.

"Ack, a-aiir!" I gasped, mom let go and looked apologetic to me.

"Oh sorry dear, I just got so happy and excited! You are making friends and they seem like such good ponies~ I'm really glad for you, we made a good choice of school!" I nodded, catching my breath, then pressing my head against her chest like a cat.

"Oh believe me momma, I'm as happy as a... Well a happy person can be!" I think I was tired, all that playing and interacting with others made me a bit sleepy.

"Anyways I'm gonna shower and sleep, see ya later!" Waving goodbye and leaving her to her studies I headed to my room, leaving the canvas school bag next to the bed and hopped in the bathroom, relieved myself and then started the shower.

I didn't bother with shampoo because I had no hair follicles, and just used neutral soap to wash my scales and rubbed myself thoroughly with a vegetable sponge, I remember as a human this kind of sponges were a bit painful to use, but now I could even use sandpaper to clean myself if I wanted to.

After the shower I dried myself with my large black towel, and slid into bed, my scaly body feeling nice and relaxed now, as I close my eyes and drift into unconsciousness.

Author's Note

The timeline has been revealed! And Shining armor is one of my favorite characters, in a totally platonic and not at all homosexual way of course!

Chapter 14 Sylf's Royal Guard training

It has been a few weeks, and mom's final qualifications are going to be tested in a physical condition exercise, thankfully her written exams weren't hard for her, and she uses her mouth to write like earth ponies do, she's very skilled!

I now knew the way towards Sunny P&K yes that was the name, maybe some other Celestia type names were taken, the P and K stood for Preschool and kindergarten, apparently.

Along the way I saw many parents taking their foals there too, and other from different schools or from the older Kindergarten age.

Since the first day, many foals seem to have told their parents about me, after that, a good amount of foals stopped talking to me or playing with me, and I heard them talk behind my back all the nasty things their parents told them about dragons.

I was not surprised, this was a school for mostly noble ponies and the rich, and usually there were a rotten bunch when it came to anything not of their same social class or species.

I could only sigh as I approached school and many parents looked at me with disdain, and even hate in their eyes, there were a few who still, despite having told their parents about me, weren't told 'stories' about dragons, and who were still happy to talk to me.

Shining armor and small group were still friendly towards me, while there were some neutral ones, and the ones who seemed to hate me, I didn't resent any of them, it was clear that all of the ideas and hurtful words they were talking about me weren't their own, i didn't care more than just feeling bad for them, for having such terrible parents.

Shining's parents were from a long line of mages and scholars, or so he told me after we get to talk more, I told him I was adopted by my wolf mom, and that she was from a tribe of creatures from the far north, he seemed fascinated by the idea of intelligent wolves, all in all he was a great friend, and we played every day with all the ponies who wanted to join us.

I got in and headed for my classroom, and thankfully there weren't yet many ponies inside, so I went to my usual seat and waited there, some ponies looked at me and made faces of child like disgust or anger, some fear, I simply ignored them or just waved at them, causing them to look a bit embarrassed.

Green Apple was very upset at the parents over this, but she knew she couldn't do anything without probably losing her job, the school would be in the defense of the paying costumers after all, but she did talk to me sometimes to check up on me, and was always surprised by my happy smile and words of reassurance.

Still she wasn't happy, and it could clearly be seen.

A few minutes later my friend group arrived and we all sat close together, Shining next to me, and the rest to the right, we occupied a corner of the classroom, the ponies, names were sort of confusing for me at first, but I could now identify them by color, mane and eye color, there was Summer Sprout, an earth pony colt with two toned green and blue mane and green coat.
Ruby Ray, an unicorn fully with red mane and coat, both sat in front of us.
Calm Breeze was a pegasus mare with a pastel pink coat and curly light blue mane, and her close friend was a bright bright blue earth pony mare, Aquamarine, both sat our right right, then there were the last two friends, Silver Shield and Sweet orange, Silver was an earth pony colt and Sweet an earth pony mare.

I wanted to have a bit of fun, so I got all of our friends together and offered an idea, grabbing a an equestrian coin from my inventory, while my hand was hidden under my desk, then return it to an empty slot.

"Heyhey everypony, do any of you wanna see a magic trick? It's fun I promise" I smile confidently and wrap my arms around the nearest ponies pulling them in with my arms, they all look with various levels of interest, I show shining since and seems interested.

"Okay, watch, my paws are fully empty, see?" I show them my paws with claws retracted, from both sides, they all nod.

"Okay, Shining did you know there was a bit inside your ear?" I say reaching my hand and gently out the paw against his ear, and make the coin appear on the tip of my paw, making it seem like it came from inside his ear, everyone looks at me dumfounded.

"How? How did it appear there? I didn't hear anything, I just felt the cold of the coin after you says it was there and it touched my ear!" I smirked at that.

"It's magic! A... Magic trick, neat right? I can do even more, let me show you something even better, pass me your bag shining, and check it first to see if all is in order." He did, he checked his blue and black schoolpack, it was cute, with some comic character design sewn in or something, I had a simple one made of canvas that I just got for the utility and carrying toys.

"Thank you, you can confirm it didn't have anything other than your stuff in it right?" He nodded, everypony looked on in confusion but entertained enough, I showed them my hands and arms again, they were empty, also I had stored back the coin in my inventory with my hand under the desk.

"Okay you saw I had nothing, and the schoolbag is on the table, now I will cast a spell that will let me get... A toy sword and a toy shield!" With that I took my toys out of my inventory, the backpack expanded visibly and suddenly, but without breaking, thankfully because it looked expensive and id probably piss off my friend.

"No way, how? Is this a spell? But you are not an unicorn, how did you do it??" He asked loudly after I pulled out my toys from inside his bag, the other friends nodded and asked similar questions themselves, I raised my hand to interrupt.

"It's not aceptable for a showpony to reveal the secrets behind their tricks, if I did, how would I be able to amaze and intrigue you? But you will see more from me yet, once I start real school I will become the most powerful and prestigious magician you have ever heard of! And you will see my magic shows, and amaze at my power!" I said dramatically, but laughed afterwards.

"I can imagine, you could use magic and your dragon breath at the same time to make floating flaming hoops and then a daring pony jumps through one, or two, and they land in heroic pose, or a pegasus flying thought several in an aerial show!" Aquamarine explains with excitement, seems like she likes daredevil tricks.

"I will show you more tricks eventually, you'll see, I have big plans coming! I just need to gain a bit more experience first..." I tried to play it off as a sort of spell, everypony was convinced it was magic, so they just nodded, no one knew a lot about dragons except experts and maybe the princess, so im sure they could be convinced that dragons can cast like unicorns.

Shortly after we went outside and decided to play knight against monster, and this time shining armor was the knight, I was the monster naturally.

I gave him my toy shield and sword, he had the shield wrapped around his hoof with the elastic cloth it uses to hold around your leg, it fit him perfectly for his size, the sword was wielded by his telekinesis, I smiled and readied myself, the rest of the group watched in anticipation, I prowled, walking in circles around my prey, the brave knight following me with his eyes and having the shield at the ready and the sword above aimed at me at all times.

I simply waited a few seconds and pounced, the sword softly was brought down on me mid pounce but I easily deflected it with a swat of my paw sideways, throwing the sword away from his ti field and making him focus to try to get it back, while holding his shield bravely, I took advantage of my opponent's unarmed state and pounced on him, claws retracted, and he blocked me with the shield, but the weight of my pounce made him slide back and stumble, I pushed myself back against his shield, landing on all fours.

"Rawr!" I announced with a confident smirk. "It's over pony."

"it's not over until you are defeated!" He answered defiantly.

"Rooowrr" I announced my inability to be defeated and charged forward, unafraid of being stopped and ran in circles around until I was behind him, pounced and when he wanted to block, I stepped on top of the shield and jumped up, pushing shining down at the same time, while I landed behind him, ready to pin him down.

But right at that moment, before I could finish turning around and pin him to the floor, he grabs back his sword with his magic and it sends it at me fast, hitting me right on the side of the body, I pretend to fall over, letting out a gasp and coughs of supposed agony.

"Ouugh, you have... Proved yourself stronger than me, pony warrior, take care of my hoard from now on..." I then play dead with my tongue out and eyes closed, my arms and legs spread comically as I lay on my back.

"Hahah you are very funny Onyx, but there's no reason you couldn't have grabbed the sword for yourself and used it! I'm still nowhere near close as strong as you, but this is really fun, you made my day Onyx! I'm glad miss Apple is okay with it too." I smiled at the praise, getting up and patting Shining on the back.

Ms. Green Apple just waved at us, she had watched everything and was making sure we didn't go overboard, but since we were being careful, it was fine, she winced a bit at the sword hitting my side, but it was really like having a small stick thrown at your back from a few meters away, it wasn't as painful as it would be as a human.

"You are strong, My advice is to take advantage of your telekinesis and attack from where I cannot see it coming, like you just did, because if I can see it coming I can dodge or parry, and even disarm you from your sword, from what I read, telekinesis is easy to cast on inanimate objects, but if you cast it on a sword and somepony grabs it, it's much weaker and you will have trouble recovering your weapon from them." He looked at me with a questioning expression.

"But... How do you know all of this, and so much about fighting and magic? You are the same size as all of us and we just learning to read... So how?"

"Well that's easy, my mom is going to be a royal guard soon and she studies and practices fighting and has to read a lot about magic, I help her by reading the book and checking with the book if her answers are correct, I have to also watch her practice her swordplay, but most from what I know is from books for future guards, it's so cool! She's gonna get her own sword and armor and everything, it's exciting!" I jump in place, very excited to see Sylf become a full fledged royal guard, I see Shining have a sparkle in his eye from the idea of the royal guards, he clearly looks up to them, some other ponies also look excited or happy too, but some don't seem so thrilled.

"B-but... Isn't that a dangerous and scary job? I heard royal guards have to fight monsters and capture bad ponies and sometimes they can get hurt..." Summer Sprouts asks with a look of worry, I nod but still don't lose my smile.

"Yes it is, but it's worth it, to keep you all safe and happy we need the guard, for everypony to live in harmony and not have to fear monsters attacking them in their houses, we need to have guards and my mom is very capable, don't worry about her Sprout, she will have me to protect her too when I'm older." I say and puff out my chest, trying to look stronger, it does have some effect at least, as little Summer Sprout looks reassured.

The rest of the day goes on as normal, we chat about all sorts of topics and play some more games like usual, sometimes we even grab sticks and dig in the mud for fun, then the day is over and we all head home, I can see Shining's parents and mom, I waved at his parents and they wave back, surprisingly, and then run towards mom and jump her, wrapping my forelegs around her neck in a tight hug, she returns it with a big smile and nuzzles.

"Mooom! Hii, I'm really eager to know how it went, but I'll wait until we get home, don't wanna make a scene on the streets..." She nodded and I climbed around her neck and reached her back where I simply laid with my limbs splayed.

'Right you are, let's talk at home, don't want those nosy nobles and parents to hear our private affairs, they're not the nicest bunch' I nodded and we headed home, I happily cuddled her from above and she nuzzled back against my chin.

We reached home 15 minutes later, and headed straight for the sofa, where I laid cuddled with my back against her warm furry body.

'The final exam was pretty easy, I passed with top score my little dragon! Now I'm officially a Private Sylf of the Equestrian Royal Guard, Im no longer just a recruit in training, the physical test was a breeze, but they pushed be hard, I think the instructors were done at some point and didn't try to push me further, they said they would recommend me right away to a better rank that suits my abilities better, but I'm glad." I turned around and hugged her tightly very tightly, but it seems she was too strong for me to affect and just hugged me back with one leg, I purred in her embrace.

"I also will have training two times per day, one in the mornings and another at the evenings, so I'll pack you lunch and dinner. And will see you at night when I come back from the evening trainer, don't worry I will go pick you up from preschool! It's expected otherwise the school and the other parents will find something to complain about, I know how those ponies are, if they have something they can use against you, they do it without a doubt." I knew it well, they tried to get me expelled and a few even went to Celestia to request my removal from the classroom their precious foals went to, making up stories about how I was evil and and a bad influence, Celestia quickly shut them up and sent them on their way, and now the parents just look at me with hateful glares but dont try anything.

"Yeah momma, I know, I will not ever get to their level, I don't even let it ruin my fun with my friends, I prefer a smaller group of friends than an entire classroom anyway so I'm fine with the ponies I talk to.
By the way... We will be seeing each other less mom, i-i will miss you, but I know you will be safe, if anything happens remember I can always watch your health points... I will come to your aid even if it means blowing our cover, I don't care." I said with conviction, she nodded in understanding.

"If my health falls below half, it means something has gone terribly wrong, so maybe even going to me will put you in danger, but soon you'll grow strong enough to save me even then, I know it my precious dragon." I agreed but I would go to her even if there was danger, I didn't need to tell her that.

'I will learn and become strong enough to defend you from anything, but... Once you go to the guard, if they let you read about spells, specifically combat spells, please try and copy some for me, if you can find magic missile it would be a great one to learn. I will need the spell matrix and the name of the spell, maybe if you memorize them you can copy them here much more safely, I think.'

'Yes, memorizing then is the best way to do it, but only for simple spells, sadly I doubt they even let non unicorns read the books that contain those spells... It is what I fear, but I'll do my best if it doesn't mean losing my job or worse.' I thought about it, if I couldn't get access to the spells I would have to learn how the spell matrixes worked.

'Yeah don't worry if you can't, I may have an idea that could work, but it will requiere much more study and experimentation with runes, maybe there is a book you could get from the library that explains what each runic symbol means, if you did that I would be able to recreate or even design spells!'

'You can do that? That sounds very dangerous... But if you're sure... I'll get you the book, if it's not restricted.' we ended up napping for a bit after that.

POV shift Sylf later that day, royal guard barracks at the castle, training yard.

"Private Sylf, I'm Lt. Striker, welcome to your first weapon practice of your career, I must congratulate you for your physical score and mainly your endurance and speed, let's hope that translates well enough to your skill with the sword, but if it doesn't, don't worry, nopony is born wielded a sword, practice makes perfect." The middle aged earth pony mare greeted me, I saluted as best as I could with my not so flexible paws, but it looked more like I was covering my face with it, honestly I envied my son and even ponies, they had much better articulated legs.

"Are you unable to do a proper salute Private? I have never worked with someone of your species, as I remember from the dossier you are a newly discovered sapient species, but I don't know much if I'm honest." She said with confusion but not really a hostile tone.

"You are absolutely right Lt. Unlike you ponies, I cannot bend my legs from the shoulder joint in some directions, I am honestly not sure how I should salute and not look ridiculous doing it, I apologize..." I said with sadness in my voice, the Lt. Instructor had an understanding smile.

"Hey now....don't get upset about it, it's not a big deal, we will make an exception for you, maybe just a courteous nod will suffice, it looks more dignified and simple than trying to make a gesture that doesn't convey on your body, understood?" I nodded rapidly.

"Yes ma'am, I agree it looks better and simpler to try to do for me."

"Well said Private... Sylf right?"

"Yes lieutenant Striker."

"Ready for your practice? Let me help equip your training gear. We had this custom made once you passed the exams, training gear are essential to protect you from getting covered in bruises or worse during training, even if we use wooden swords, we are expected to hit with some force and it can cause damage, so better safe than sorry." I allowed her to equip me and tie around many protective equipment, made seemingly of some fabric with a dense yet compressible filling.

It covered every important part of my body, but had a visor with holes to see, the visor is made of metal, well I felt safe at the very least, after i was encased in it, i helped the Lt put on a similar suit, it took a bit longer because i didn't know what I was doing, but in the end both were suited up, we put on mouth guards as well, which allowed us better grip on the swords.

She grabbed a longsword with her teeth and I did the same with the other, the sword was wooden and light weight, had good balance too.

We both moved to our own side of the combat arena and prepared, I held my sword at a downard angle the mouth guard made it harder at first to hold but after I moved it and held it for a while, I got used to it, I was glad they made a design with holes for my fangs to fit into, it was more comfortable than just using my fangs fully to hold a sword.

"Now private, I want you to come at me with your best attacks, don't be afraid of using more than one, and don't be afraid of hurting me, the padded armor protects us." I nodded, lowering my stance.

I pushed forward with my powerful legs, instantly rushing the Lt. And when I was close enough I lunged and swung my sword at an angle, right at the center of mass, making it harder to dodge to any side, my strike had behind it the force of a charging bull, and when it struck the sword she was using to parry, it pushed her back a good distance, while she was sliding back I slashed again in quick succession, managing to grace her on the padding of her right foreleg, it was a decent hit, she clearly felt it as she let out a soft cry of shock, either from the first attack or the follow up.

"W-wait wait! Don't keep attacking, I wasn't prepared for such speed and power... I apologize, but wow! You not only managed to overpower me and almost send me flying in one hit, you followed up and landed good slash to my knee before I could parry, if it wasn't for my earth pony ability to stay grounded, I would have been sent flying much further..." I tilted my head, confused by what she meant, I didn't know of that ability.

"Fighting is my special talent, I can use any weapon, sort of equally good, I'm not a master at any specific weapon but I have years of practice, I honestly got a bit... Panicked when you rushed me, it's embarrassing to admit but, no offense, you're very big and fast for your size, a real opponent would be terrified." I nodded in understanding.

"Let me explain something important, attacking weak spots is only allowed in extreme emergencies, don't render a pony blind, or legless or disfigured and dont kill, ever, we are guards and we must protect, even those who commit crimes, we have to knock them out or pin then and arrest them."

"On unicorns, the weak point is to hit the horn, to get them to be unable to use magic, but do not try to cut their horn off, or break it with overwhelming force, pegasi wings, are also another no no, don't cut at them, but its okay to hit them a bit, as long as you don't cause a compound fracture, they should be fine. Try to just grab them and pin their wings to their body, once they are caught and their wings are in pain they won't try to fight back and will surrender, pegasi value their wings a whole lot, but broken pegasi wings can heal, if they are treated correctly, as for unicorns, if their horn is broken off from their body at the very base, they could die from brain trauma, since the horn has brain matter inside it, some unicorns can survive horn breakage but they lose their ability to use magic normally." I was surprised at this, I had read information on the various races, but such visceral details were left off the books.

"A few other things Private, when it comes to stallions, look I don't know how it is in where you live, maybe there is an equal amount of stallion wolves and mare wolves but here... We have one stallion for about 8 or so mares, its worse in some places. Do you know what this means? Well I'll explain it in detail anyways because you are a royal guard.

Do not, under any circumstances, attack a stallion's private areas, their testicles, or penis, or even near his lower area, in fact if you can get the stallion to surrender by pinning him down do so, even if he fights back, stallions may be stronger than mares sometimes if they are raised doing hard work, but most stallions are raised with cushy jobs that don't require much physical exercise, a good amount don't even participate in the work force, they stay at home and look after the foals, while the mares of the herd go to work, it keeps the stallions safer, and weaker. The reason is obvious, if you fight and render a stallion unable to procreate, there will be about 8 to 10 lonely mares and an equal or greater number of foals who won't be conceived, and since even older stallions can sire foals, you get the picture?"

"Oh, yes I understand, I read about the population unbalance and I know how important stallions are for the nation, and while some cities have more, some have little.
I promise I will always be gentle with the ponies I detain Lt Striker, I may not even need to fight. Ponies get very shocked when they see my happy everyday face, I don't usually show my angry face because i am almost never angry but... I can pretend!" The Lt smiled at that, and had an idea.

"Okay then Private, show me your war face!" I smiled and then thought of something that truly made me angry, the Broodmother, hurting my son and almost killing him, I felt my blood boil and my pupils contract, my gaze intensified and the fur on the back of my neck stand on end, making me look much bigger, a vicious snarl on my face, showing off my large fangs, a bit of drool falling from my maw I spit out the sword and maw guard and continued to snarl for better effect, then looked at Stiker, actually glared at her, her face grew pale and she took a few steps back, I took a step forward, she yelled.

'Your Intimidation skill has evolved into Terrify, your expression and the correct choice of words is enough to make even a hardened criminal's legs weak and their bladder empty, affected targets will surrender, only works with creatures of equal or lower level than yourself, higher level creatures may be unnerved or apprehensive, or even scared, but they won't be deterred or intimidated into obedience.'

"STOP please!" i blinked and relaxed my maw, going back to normal, the poor pony in front of me was shaking and had tears running down her face, looking at me like I had insulted her and then stepped on her birthday cake at her own party. "I... I asked for it, I know, but that was the scariest face I have ever seen, I feel like I peed myself a little! What did you go through to provide you with so much anger?" I made a 'you don't wanna know' face

"Maybe... I don't wanna know, but please only use this face when a pony is doing something real bad, don't intimidate teen ponies who are trespassing just to play a prank or even vandalism, I think they would be scarred for life and their parents could sue the crown, only... Use it when a pony life is in danger, or your own, okay? Of course it's much better than actually cutting down a pony, if just an angry look and some words can win the day, use it! Oh Celestia, I'm not going to sleep tonight after that..." I lowered my head and looked apologetic.

"I'm really sorry Lt. Striker, but to switch topics what about monsters? What do I do if a monster attacks the city and tried to eat ponies, do we have protocol for that?" She seems to welcome the distraction.

"Of course, it's very rare here in Canterlot, because we are outside the dense forests that monsters prefer, but occasionally from the valley below, some monster may come looking for food, we must try to knock it out using magic, if that fails we use large steel nets o trap it, and a squadron of pegasi to grab every corner and take it back to it's habitat, but rarely we have to actually hurt or kill a monster, there are even specialized groups that can be called upon to neutralize monsters who can resist both nets and magic, and they sometimes use paralyzing agents to knock them out, those never fail." Very interesting, didn't know about the last one.

"That makes sense, does the Royal Guard work as armed forces in case of conflicts right?"

"Yes and no, when there is a war, we have units specifically trained for that, usually unicorn mages with their support, our doctrine as you probably know already is overwhelm enemies with magic, either stun or lethal spells, but we tend to go for stun first and lethal if that doesn't work." Well, I think I gave you enough of a general summary of how our Guard operates, we are here first and foremost a peacekeeping force, so have that in mind, ponies and other creatures even if they are commiting a crime, do not deserve to be mutilated."

"I promise Lt. Striker, i will keep the attacks to disarming, pin down and at most, knock out!" I said with conviction and a respectful nod.

After that we trained some more, but instead of charges we focused on the various sword guards and how to parry an attack from each angle, specifically in cases like ours where we had the sword in our maws, what I couldn't parry I had to learn to dodge, and dodge even attacks I could only hear, coming from a blind angle.

At this, Lt. Striker was better than me, actual dueling, she clearly wasn't lying when she said she was caught unprepared, now she had an estimate of my ability and knew just how to counter me and put me in my place, but little by little I was learning, managing to parry more strikes and using faster attacks, but she didn't let it surprise her anymore, and deflected what she couldn't parry, returning slashes that i didn't parry well enough.

I needed to improve a lot if I wanted to become an expert, clearly, while I could overpower an experienced fighter with might, it wasn't good enough and as a guard I needed to be gentle with my opponents, so I order to do that I needed to be much more skilled.

A month later

As a guard now I patrolled the streets at night, it was, all in all, very boring but I met new ponies who were usually very friend and easy going outside of work hours, I finally had friends my age to look up to, I was promoted to private first class and now I could choose to either stand at the gates or patrol at night, and since there were less ponies at night giving me nasty looks.

I chose night duty, I had come to accept ponies would always look at me like I was some monster or a weird tamed wolf, rarely I was considered as a pony guard and even more rarely I was shown the respect the other guards had, but I stayed strong, and did my job, now the salary from the job was like ten times higher than the 'allowance' Princess Celestia used to send us.

But I'm no less thankful to her, she pays me fairly and the work is not so bad, the most trouble there is, a drunk mare or rarely stallion, going around causing issues like property damage, vandalism or even peeing on the street, vandalism was usually done by younger ponies who were feeling rebellious and would usually paint something on a wall, door or public sign, if caught they were arrested and spent a night in the dungeons to give them a scare, and had to pay a fine of a few hundred bits.

I had personally arrested two ponies, one trying to enter a rich pont's home to steal and the other was painting on private property, and yes by painting I mean they were out there with paintbrush and a few small jars of different color paint, just some drawing on somepony's white wall, it wasn't their wall. Both surrendered fast when I showed my badge and they saw how tall I was compared to them.

Onyx had been right, the magic library is limited to only the unicorn guards, at least the combat spells, I could however get the book he wanted, a guide to rune crafting and what each symbols represents.

They even let me take it home as a guard, as long as it was not combat spells I could take home pretty much anything, maybe... I could show them I can use magic and they would let me read those as well? It was a risk, if they found out they would see my species in another different light, maybe even as a threat, which worried me, my species usually didn't show a talent for magic, but they never tried to learn, maybe it had something to do with Onyx's powers that awoke that aspect of me?

There was no easy answer to any of this, everything was a calculated risk, question is, was I willing to take it?

Author's Note

Sorry for the lack of chapter yesterday, I wasn't feeling the best but hopefully today I'll have this and another chapter up, or at least the other chapter will be mostly written by the end of the day, there may be more time skips to advance the story in the next.

Chapter 15 Manehattan group vacation

The summer vacation was here, I was never exactly a big fan of it, but this year would be different.

Aquamarine had convinced the other ponies in our little group to convince our parents to go on vacation together, and... Let's just say, this really got everyone excited, in the end everyone decided to go, we are going to Manehattan, the biggest city in this world, I was a bit excited, but I dreaded the long trip by train.

Now mom and I were getting everything we would need in the suitcase, it wasn't much as ponies didn't really... Wear clothes, but I still needed a towel, sunglasses, a hat, my toothbrush, claw file, scale polishing oil, hydrating cream, and all the products need to keep myself clean and well groomed.

Mom had it worse, she had a ton more of products to keep her fur soft, shiny and knot free, plus she needed regular brushing, and she had to deal with fur shedding all the time, I was used to it by now. Basically if you brushed her you would make a sweater out of her fur like... Every day.

"dearest mother, would you fetch me the claw file please? I don't want to accidentally slice open a pony if I forget to retract my claws when I play with them."

"Hah! Let me go get it, be back in a minute little mister." Mother was really permissive with me, wasn't she? Well it was better than me being stuck with a strict parent and have to grow up alone and sheltered, I had friends now, real ones who would actually show me affection and play with me without hurting me in any way, I had never been even pranked, which I greatly appreciated, I really really hated pranks, and I told them the first day I met them, they always respected that.

"Here it is lazy rump, make sure you let your claws as dull as day shift at the castle gates~" we both had a chuckle at that, I suppose that must really be boring and suck, having to stand like a statue for 8 hours a day and ignore everypony's words unless they were trying to get in or started to touch you, I didn't envy mom, not in the least!

"Thanks, someday I'll return the favor! You got the suitcase ready? I wanna take the toys too, who knows, we could do more play fights or just somepony may wanna play with the plushies." I got a small nod in return, did we have everything? Oh!

"Did ya pack me some snacks in the forms of gems? You know I love them~ I could eat them by the handful."

"Yeah we have about 3kg of gems packed, that will be more than enough, and also we have a good of bits in the inventory for expenses, so don't worry about it, we are ready, let's go!"

"Okie dokie, let's go meet the others ar the station, hope nopony is late and misses the train, because they'll have to wait a day to take the next one." I was surprised the ponies had trains, even once a day to distant places, it was extremely convenient, back home in my country, trains were extremely unreliable.

The walk to the station was uneventful, I waved at ponies, some waved back and some I recognized from previous walks around town, mom seemed to know many more, she greeted about a dozen ponies on the way, man was she nice... I honestly would have just waved and moved on, I wasn't that social like her.

At the station I saw a group of many ponies, well they were there, all my friends, and their parents, some even brought their sisters or brothers, but I didn't really want to meet all of them, I just went near with mom, waved at the parents, and hugged every one of my friends one by one, making sure to show each my love, the parents smiled, they were glad I was so friendly, maybe I changed the opinions of many on dragons, who knows?

I knew it seemed mean, but I didn't really feel like learning the names of every one of their parents, I was bas with names and honestly I already had a hard time remembering my friend's.

A loud whistle sounded off, meaning it was time to board, mom had already taken the suitcase to the cargo hold, and we just walked to the pony who took our tickets and cut them in half, gave us one half and let us into an empty train car, once inside, I headed to the largest seat and laid down on my back, stretching my tail to it's full length, I casually looked to the side, all the ponies were giving me playful glares.

Suddenly, Shining smirked and just jumped on top of me, laying his back against my chest, other ponies followed suit and did the same, Ruby followed, and Summer, Calm Breeze tried but she couldn't reach that height, it seems 3 ponies and a dragon was the maximum stacking height without toppling over, the rest decided instead to lay against my head, and stack on top of Silver Shield, who laid down first, then Sweet Orange on top, Aquamarine on top of her, and finally Calm Breeze above the other ponies.

I was more comfortable than I expected, even 3 foals on top of me didn't feel heavy, but it was comforting, like a nice weighted blanket, I relaxed and closed my eyes, the warmth of everypony and their proximity bringing me a peaceful feeling I rarely experienced, it felt like i belonged here, i wanted to be happy with them... Their parents all sat around us, giggling and talking about how cute we were and how fun and carefree foalhood was, some even thought this looked like fun, but they didn't dare try that in public, maybe adults were much more reserved, and also laying belly up was very exposing for a pony, as all the bits were in full display.

"So comfy n' warm~ I really hope we stay friends for life... Mrrr." I couldn't help but make my happy purr like sound, making the other ponies giggle and say they also wanted to be friends for life, which made me excited for our future, maybe... We could form a herd out of it? I didn't really mind the concept of herds, but I was definitively too young to think about this, so I simply decided to have a nap, the train had departed while we were busy stacking on top of each other.

After a while we fell asleep, at least I did, the feeling of the train moving and the click claks of the metal wheels against the rails was better than a lullaby to sleep to.

My didn't remember fully what I dreamt of, but it was a nice dream, imagining a happy life with my friends and Sylf, every day being an adventure, visiting places I never visited and having fun, playing and exploring nature, I hoped it would happen.

I woke up at some point during the trip, everypony had stopped being stacked up as for most it would be uncomfortable to be at the bottom of a pony pile for long, instead we had two ponies, one next to the other, and spread out more, cuddling and sleeping, Shining was next to me, sleeping soundly, the adults were mostly asleep too, some were having whispered conversations, some playing card games together to pass the time.

My mom was sitting next to Twilight Velvet, both were looking out the window to the mountains around, if I wasn't mistaken, we were next to the Foal mountains, from what I had seen on a map of the known world.

We were, more or less halfway there. Manehattan, the largest city in Equestria and also the second richest, second to Canterlot, what would the ponies there be like to me? And most importantly to my big and sweet wolf mom? Maybe they would be used to new creatures from it being a big city and all... Who knows!

A few more hours passed, during that time I got up and started to walk around the train, going outside and enjoying the rushing air, the cold mountain air felt wonderful! I sometimes has that reminder that I was, physically a dragon that had cold blood and affinity to the cold element itself, I was probably an alien by all intents and purposes.

The train started to slow down as we pulled into the big city, it was sort of bizarre, I have only been to a big city back on earth once, and this place was, bigger and more developed than even that, the skyscrapers in the distance were huge, I was not really used to seeing them, I looked out the window, forelegs holding me up, my friends all were impressed as we, living in Canterlot had only ever seen the castle and some towers that were not even a fraction of the height of this skyscrapers.

We then moved to the other side of the train car and on the distance, in an island on the river, a large pony statue of liberty was standing with its signature blue-green hue, the size was impressive, I had never been to New York so this was breathtaking to see.

My wolf mother was also impressed, looking outside like the rest of the foals, with the same expression on her face, I could help but walk to her side and give her headpats, which she appreciated.

Most of the parents have already likely seen the city, and weren't impressed by it, or at least didn't show it, but we foals were only about 3 year old on average.

The train eventually slowed to a stop, the station was a very tall and fancy looking building, it actually it had many clocks with different hours, showing the name of a different city in each, this world's timezones? many ponies going around wearing clothes, it was quite similar to Canterlot in that sense, with top hats and suit jackets to only cover the forelegs and upper back, pony fashion was... Quite revealing, for some reason no one seemed to want to cover their butts and private regions, I wonder why.

Our group was large and attracted some attention, but other than looking at us for a few seconds, all the ponies, seemingly earth ponies almost all, just shrugged and kept walking, not even Sylf's height and species gave them pause. We all grabbed out suitcases and carried them on their little wheels, it was a bit harder as we were than for humans but it worked.

We had to walk a fairly long distance to the hotel, there were pony pulled taxis but we wanted to travel as a group, and we were too many, we would need several taxis, so we walked and at the same time got to see the beautiful city, there were many interesting stores we stoped at, jewelry, saddlebags, fashion stores, if only I was old enough to wear clothes and look all fancy... I bet i would look very elegant in a tuxedo or some of this suits!

Sighing, I continued to walk, maybe when I was older and... More fit I would buy a pair of them, I also liked the jewels on sale, they probably could be enchanted with awesome effects, I had some ideas in mind already.

"Mom, you find something you like? I did but I think I'm still too young to benefit from any of this, getting something for my size would be a waste of money when I grow up in a couple of years..." I said with a resigned face.

"Cheer up my baby, we will come back here when we are older and you'll be able to get anything that fits you, I promise you that!" I slightly lifted my head, eyes full of hope.

"Really? I don't want much, just a nice suit and some jewelry, it's all very pretty! But I have to wait, so... Let's just move on momma" I said and headed her way, jumping on her back, then letting her carry me around, this made other foals want to be carried too, which most parents found delightful, for now.

I think I remember some of this from the show, but it had been so long since I watched this episode about Manehattan that I didn't have the slight idea where we even were, we didn't have a hotel reservation, I didn't think those existed yet, as there was no internet or computers, not even phones, only magic was used for long distance communication.

"Don't worry everypony, we are going the right away, I know the best hotel to stay at in Manehattan, it's just a few blocks away from here, I've stayed there when I was on a business trip, along with my sweet Twi" Night Light said confidently, hugging Twilight Velvet from the side, which she returned along with a kiss on his cheek, making him blush.

"Oh you two are so cute together! Shining you're lucky to have two wonderful ponies like then as parents!" I said with a genuine smile to show I was being totally serious, Shining came over and hugged me tightly in thanks.

"Thank you little Onyx, you and your mom are a joy to be around, and I think you're lucky to have such a good mother, she taught you to be the best version of yourself, full of kindness and empathy, I know you'll do great things in the future!" Night Light approached me and said kindly while sitting down in front of me and caressing my head with his hoof, then gave me a gentle hug, Twilight Velvet smiled warmly at me, then couldn't resist and came over to nuzzle me and pet me.

I had my eyes closed and was just enjoying the double headpats then we kept walking and crossed a few stores and businesses along the way, but not everything was as interesting.

We would have explored more if most of the foals weren't tired from the long trip here, but we had a good reason to get to the hotel first, mainly that we had a place to sleep when we were back.

The large building in front of us was the Manefair hotel, I was enjoying the petting so much I didn't realize we had arrived already. Wow this was fancy, good thing we brought a lot of money!

Everypony was carrying their suitcases or saddlebags, and those who weren't, were carrying a foal on their back, a bellhop was there and put our luggage on her tray.

We all got adjacent rooms for convenience, our stay was gonna be two weeks, each day costs 200 bits, mom paid with the money I handed her from her saddlebag, that done, the bellhop got his instructions and each suitcase was carried to the respective room, the rooms were already prepared.

Our room was 438, thankfully in this hotel there were actual elevators, which I didn't expect as I was used to the overly long stairways of Canterlot. Mom was more scared than everything, as she hugged me tightly when we started to go up, but did calm down after we got out

"T-those elevators.. they're very scary, I felt like I was floating, like we may go down any second! and then started to go up, I don't feel safe in them... I could... Take the stairs next time, I think I'll do that if you don't mind..." Wow, I didn't expect such a strong reaction, but it was understandable, she's never been in one before.

"Ill go with you on the stairs too, don't want you to feel left out, but the stairs will be much longer than what you're used to, even by Canterlot standards... Either way I'm with you mamma!" I pounced on her like a leaping tiger to catch it's prey, I latched on her neck and hug her tightly, licking her chin like a puppy.

"You're okay miss Sylf, we are here, let's go see our rooms." Twilight Velvet smiled and nuzzled Sylf as well, guiding her towards the room we were staying at.

We waved her goodbye at the door and headed in, the room was large, had a big window and had one bed large enough for both of us, the floor was covered in blue carpet with stars on it, it was pretty soft too, I loved the feeling of carpet on my paws, but it did get me electrically charged sometimes.

After the long train ride, we decided to take a shower, we took our grooming kit to the bathroom, where I turned on the cold water, I loved a cold shower, mom got used to them too, as I prefer it very cold, but regular cold was okay, as the helpful son I am, I helped rub she shampoo on her whole body, the fur was dense and hard to get into without help, so I had to use my claws and everything, she let out a content sigh as I massaged her under the water, getting her fur completely soaked and covered in the special product, her eyes were closed so it didn't get in her eyes, I also kept slightly away from her private parts, not wanting to get them irritated with the hair product, i honestly was not sure if it was irritating because ponies usually make everything safe and non toxic, they have a better sense of moral than humans, when it comes to industrial manufacturing.

Where humans would use chemicals that are irritating over safer options if it means bigger profit margins then they would do it, ponies on the other hand would not be allowed to use anything that was irritating, and they had other ponies who volunteered to test, of course once the product was magically tested first for any hazardous materials.

I scratched her head and neck, rubbed behind her ears and massaged and caressed her entire back and rump, her leg kicked out a bit at the last part, she is very adorable when shes happy, I couldn't help but let my human side see her as a sort of giant, super friendly and very good dog, but no, she was a sapient being, probably just as smart as me, and she was also my superior, I had to respect her.

"Mom, now it's time to get your underside, please lay on your back, and I'll get you fully washed and all your fur soft and fluffy, like you always are!"

"You're the best dragon ever, and there's no doubt in my mind that you will one day make your mares very happy with those claws of yours... They're perfect for massages when they're dulled like now, thank youuu~" Mom said in a very soft and peaceful tone, she was very relaxed, the then slowly moved and laid on her back, her large body using up all the extra large bathtub.

"Mooom, that's embarrassing, I'm not even sure which gender I like yet, I feel pretty much the same for everypony, they all look adorable to me, sure they're all hopeless nudists but I'm used to it by now." I answer with a pout, I really wasn't sure, I had not gotten any of the old emotions I felt when I was a human, not even a little, but that made total sense, I was three, my new body probably had not even made a single nanogram of testosterone since I was reborn.

"Oh I know dear, Its just a... Saying I got from hanging out with the guardmares, don't think too much into it, and I really will be happy no matter which gender you like most, or even if you don't want to be in any relationship, either way i just want you happy..." I started to rub the shampoo on her chest and belly now, while she spoke softly in a serious tone, she meant every word and that made me feel better than any massage, or even cuddles, knowing she will accept me no matter what.

"Mom, I love you so much... Those words mean a lot to me, really!" I hugged her across her chest and laid the bathtub on top of her, not wanting to let go, enjoying the water splashing on my back and how it gently tickled my scales, cooling my body down.

I eventually went back to washing mom, she was a big wolf and needed her baths, she couldn't wash herself well, at least not without a bigger space, bathtubs were restrictive. It didn't take much longer and she was fully clean, I cleaned myself too, rubbing my scales with a sponge to remove any grime stuck to them, then closed the water and we both dried ourselves, shaking off the excess water inside the tub, with the curtains closed to not splash all the bathroom.

"Now, time for scale polishing! This is gonna take a while..." I sighed and grabbed the polishing stone, it had two sides, one rougher and one smoother, I started with the rougher side and removed and large scratches, then using the smooth side I polished my scales to a shine, allowing me to look truly silver and pretty, it was necessary to use this sharpening stones because most materials were too soft to even scratch me, other than literally using knives which was slower and would dull their edges, so using sharpening stones was the obvious answer.

In the end, after half an hour of fussing over my scales, they were back to their shiny and pristine condition, I had to do this every week, or so.

Mom was brushing her fur with her special brush, made of metal that wouldn't get stuck and break, her hair was very resistant and would break anything that got stuck in it if you tried to remove it by force, it was basically armored, yet soft and fluffy, but you couldn't easily cut or pull her individual hairs, she was not defenseless at any point really.

In the end we cleared out the bathroom and left the room, carrying only my backpack with all the things I'd need for the day, like coin pouch and snacking gems, as my dexterous arms allowed me to hand mom money whenever she needed it.

We met up with the group at the hotel's restaurant, we were all starving, but didn't want to stop to eat earlier so we could secure a hotel room before nightfall.

We all were seated in a long table, that had just enough chairs for all, the restaurant was not very full at this hour, but we were hungry anyways so we grabbed a manu each and looked it over.

The menu had a large vegetarian section, probably for ponies, but I really craved something with meat, which right before the desserts on the list, they had chicken parmesan with fresh pasta, boar slow roasted over coals served with caramelized cabbage and red wine reduction, crab ravioli with onion cream sauce, and fried shrimp with homemade barbecue sauce as an appetizer, my maw was salivating at this menu, whoever came up with it was a true culinary genius, my belly growled loudly, causing everypony to chuckle, while I blushed at the attention.

"I-im starving, and this food sounds so good! You're all meanies... Hmph!" I said loudly with an obvious playful tone, this got another chuckle from the ponies, then I turned to mom.

"What if we both order a different dish and then let the other try some?" Mom, seemingly reading my mind, offered, I eagerly nodded, and chose the slow roasted boar, mom chose the ravioli which I recommended, we also got the appetizer, which was the first to arrive.

I grabbed one of the fried shrimp, they were covered in panko crumbs and served on skewers for easier handling, I dipped it on the sauce, and slowly ate it, the flavor was magnificent, the crunch of the panko, the firm texture and freshness of the shrimp, the flavor of it, and the sweet and tangy, slightly spicy sauce making my mouth water, good thing I closed it, all this combination of flavor and texture made me let out a soft, pleased moan.

Its been so long since I had proper seafood... They only have frozen in Canterlot, not even close as the freshness of the seafood here near the coast, this was probably caught today! Next time I needed to go fish on the ocean, sure it may be more dangerous but this was totally worth it.

"Ohh mom I love this! This place may be pricey but it's worth every bit, for this food..." Mom raised an eyebrow at me and did the same, dipping the shrimp in the sauce and then eating it off the skewer, her eyes dilated and she looked completely perplexed, chewing slowly, then nodded dumbly at my words, seems she was out of it, a quick snap of my fingers broke her out of her trance, she blinked and looked at me with a confused expression.

"Oh? Oh, oh! Y-yes now I see what you mean... I have never tasted anything quite like this, it's much better than our home cooked food... Isn't it? Be honest dear." I nodded, but patted her reassuringly.

"There is a reason for that momma, we don't have the best ingredients, we also don't have a whole team cooking with us, and we don't have the necessary kitchen apparatuses, like a deep fryer, but we could make this recipe if we had at least fresh shrimp back at our city's markets, so it's not really because of lack of skill..." My explanation was taken well, as her tail wagged in response, good, because she has skills even if she has a hard time cooking because lacking hands or claws with good flexibility.

A while longer passed, we had already finished the appetizer, and were sipping on some water while they brought out the main courses, the smell was the first indication, both of us seemed to smell it at the same time the delicious aroma of slow cooked meat, the ponies were not seemingly bothered by it, maybe it was just odd for them, but they still had no interest in even trying the shrimp, despite us offering to the nearest ones.

The ravioli with sauce had a more subtle aroma, more noticeable was the onion on the sauce, the herbs and spices from the sauce, the raviolis were covered in it so it made sense.

The waiter served us and gave us a jar of apple juice to drink for free, which we thanked him for, the service was excellent too, we dug in, this time going slower and savoring the food, and what flavours! The savory, meaty and fatty boar, the sweet cabbage, and the slightly acidic red wine reduction sauce made for a balanced, if slightly heavy meal, but absolutely fucking delicious! I didn't finish it all, left a good quarter for mom, and she left a few raviolis covered in cream sauce.

We ate in silence, only noises that came out was soft happy moans of delight at the flavors, then we switched plates and tried each other's dishes, my maw had... Some good experience when it came to judge flavors and textures, as I used to cook a lot and loved trying new foods as a human, I've had something similar to this pasta before, and I gotta say, I liked the first one more, but this was a close second in terms of flavors, quality and overall enjoyment of a dish, the crab was tender, tasted amazing, and was perfectly cooked, the pasta itself was fresh, very well seasoned and had the right texture, the sauce combined with both, harmonized the plate in a beautiful way, but what was missing in this plate was an extra element, something to accompany the crab perhaps, I understand not wanting to bury the crab under another flavor, but adding extra texture to the ravioli would be a good compromise to make the whole dish more interesting.

Overall I'd give it a 9/10, the appetizer was perfect, nothing to improve, the boar was perfect too, good balance of flavors and textures, but the ravioli lacked something, so I deducted a point, all in all, I would eat here again any day of the week!

Mother was completely impressed with the food, seems like she had a whole new world open up for her, and she was pretty happy, and so was I to be honest, the ponies seemed also pretty satisfied with their vegetarian food, which I honestly didn't pay much attention to, I was... A very avid meat eater myself, whenever I could get my paws on some good... You know what, nevermind what I was going to say, i just wished they had this quality of seafood out there in Canterlot!

Once we were doing eating lunch, crunched on some tasty assorted gems, handed mom the money, and we paid and left, I left a pretty good tip for the delicious food.

Our group took the metro towards the coast, yes there is a metro in Manehattan, it looks oddly normal but has a more girlish appearance, and has magical engines instead of electrical like the ones in New York, also it's impossible to jump or fall into the rails as there are magical barriers that only go away when the train is stopped at the station.

I was not really surprised or even amazed by the metro, I had been to a city with one and stayed there for weeks, using the metro every day, but it did surprise me how clean everything was, and so many ponies too!

Once we got out of the station, we were at a street that was next to a large beach, finally there, and with our bellies full and feeling clean and content, we went down the slope that headed there, I had my sunglasses on, my sun hat was also on, I was ready, we stopped by a stand that rented umbrellas, long chairs and even surf boards and got one of each, all of which mom carried on her back, with no effort.
The ponies who had magic carried all this for the ones who couldn't and some earth ponies carried their umbrellas and chairs themselves too, they were heavy, for a normal pony to carry, a pegasus for example, as they were made of wood and fabric.

The sun was high in the sky, it was around 3pm, maybe 4, I wasn't sure, and the beach had a few ponies in it, but none wanted to get into the water for some reason, we set up our chairs a good 20 meters away from the waterline, the highest points the waves would reach, and stuck the umbrellas on the sand, I helped doing ours then we went and sat down for a while, looking over the distant horizon on the sea, the waves and the smell of salt water, it was quite nice, the air had a certain energy to it you usually don't feel inland.

Mom laid on her belly, her front paws out in front and her hind legs folded under her, she really looked like a dog now with her slightly open maw, and tongue partially out, while she looked at the horizon as well.

"I have never seen this... The sigh of the vast open sea, stretching into the distant horizon, the waves making it seem like it's all alive, it's beautiful isn't it Onyx?"

"Yes... I've seen it before... A couple of times, you know... Well, back then, it was not much different than now, I bet the water tastes just as salty as it did back then too... Do you ever wonder what's under the water? Living in the deep blue sea? I'm curious to find out here... Do you give me permission to go for a swim? I can hold my breath for a long long time... Plus I can use water breathing, you know... The spell, but maybe I should ask why nopony is out in the water.

"Sure son, but if you go in, I go in with you! Let's go ask the ponies who rented us this chairs." We both headed there, the pony waved at us and mom asked politely.

"Hello gentle colts, do you know why there is no..pony swimming in the sea? Seems like it's the ideal summer day to go for a swim and even surfing, right?" One of the two stallions that was an orange earth pony spoke up.

"Ohh that, it's nothing serious really, the water is just really, really cold here, Manehattan is close to the frozen north and most of the sea is pretty cold, that's why ponies just prefer to lay down and enjoy the view, and the breeze, even in summer the water is way too cold to swim, unless you're really into surf, ponies usually use special suits to surf here, then the water's bearable." Happy with the information, we nodded and waved goodbye, which both waved back, then left and went to the waterline, I ran in and stared splashing everywhere, running on the shallow water while mom followed, we grabbed our surf boards, mom used her maw and i used both arms, and we jumped into the water.

I had never tried surfing before, but with pretty much no risk of drowning, I had no fear, hugging my board with my forelimbs, I used my tail and hind legs to propel myself forward, but upon realizing mom had trouble following at my speed, I went around and stayed next to her, she had to doggie paddle slowly because wolves didn't exactly have any other way of swimming than doggy paddle, I could tell she felt frustrated by this.

"Mom... You're not gonna really be able to swim very well, are you sure you wanna stay? Or you can hang out around here if you wanna, don't try diving, I don't know if you'll be able to hold your breath for long, I'd rather not have you drown! In fact just..." I booked her on the snout.

'Water breathing' I mentally activated the spell on her, she saw my paw glow a dark blue, her eyes crossing and looking at it.

'Now you'll be able to breathe underwater for one hour, please, DO NOT go deeper than about 20 meters, if you go too deep you get very sick even with the spell, when you try to surface again, in short, going too deep underwater and then surfacing causes your body to suffer terrible damage from decompression sickness.' i mentally told her with a serious expression, she nodded and thanked me mentally in her usual soft, caring mental tone but with an edge of seriousness.

Good, mom was not dumb and she took my warnings seriously, while I had not exactly done the same before, she always takes my word as fact when I'm serious, and I'm glad she does, as much as I hope that the bends don't happen in Equestria for some weird magic reason, I'm going to take precautions.

'Now I'm going for a swim and even a dive, don't worry about me mom, I can basically breathe underwater, and swim much better than you, I won't go too deep too fast either, I know about the dangers!' I gave mom a brief nuzzle of reassurance.

'Okay son, but be careful, I'll be up here to check on you, and if you seem to be in trouble I'll go and help, but retreat if you can, okay?' My mental acknowledgment was her answer.

I left the board there, and jumped off it, diving headfirst into the clear waters, the cold completely enveloped me instantly, I feel as if I was not aligned with the element, it would have send a shock through my system that would have even caused me to drown, or at least gasp involuntarily, my old human self would have probably swallowed a good lungful of water, and be desperately trying to surface for air, but i felt energized, my long tail knew what to do.

I swam almost as if It was an instinct, my tail moving like a snake, side to side, propelling me forward while my hind legs kicked, propelling me faster, my forelegs gave me control to turn faster, the webbed toes being extremely efficient to move.

I looked around me, there were many fishes, most of them looked blue, and were around the size of sardines, swimming in tight groups and around them there were bigger fish that tried to eat them, at the bottom there was sand and some small clusters of coral, I guessed the depth was about 10 meters, but I wasn't sure, I slowly headed down towards the bottom, trying to keep in mind to not go too deep, I reached in and tried to walk around down there.

Crabs were walking around the sand here, grabbing particles from the water and putting them in their mouth, they didn't seem to care about my presence, a few larger fish approached me, seemingly out of curiosity, I wondered if they were just thinking I was some food, my shiny metallic colors attracted fish, slowly but more and more were closing in, mostly predatory fish that seemed to be enticed by the silver shine of my scales.

I simply stared at them as they approached, none were big enough to eat me, but they could probably try if I let them, for some reason one fish in particular seemed interested in my tail, it tried to eat it but the tail was... Not edible, it was just sucking on it like expecting it to go into his fish stomach, most fish had no teeth, so it didn't really hurt, I could barely feel it.

I shook my tail making it let go, and it got the hint and left, the rest of the fish gave up after a while, I knew not to offer then my paws or something that... Protruded because some did have teeth and they probably could... Maybe? Bite a toe/finger off.

A small shark approached me as the other fish left, I decided to risk it and gently patted it on the back, it's scales were sort of rough, like sandpaper, but it didn't bother me, it seemed to enjoy being petted and allowed me to do it for a little more, then swam off.

Now free from all the curious animals, I was free to explore once more, walking to the nearest patch of coral, there was a group of different coral, one was red and shaped like a tree, with many flower like leaves that stretched and had tiny tentacles to catch organic mater or plankton from the water, there were other that sort of looked like small colorful bushes made of feathers, there were orange, yellow, red, gray and other various colors, with colorful fish camouflaging inside the corals themselves, small shrimp like creatures were also walking around them, cleaning them or eating then, I wasn't sure.

I really wished I had a camera with me, one that worked underwater, this was beautiful! I could barely imagine all the coral reefs that would thrive in warmer areas where there was a more dense population of fish and marine animals, above me I could see some more animals, swimming around, even what seemed like a beluga whale and other small sharks, the seas it seems, were much more biodiverse than the land.

While down on the ocean floor, I caught a few animals that I seemed useful to keep around, at first I tried to store them in my inventory alive, but they just wouldn't go in, I had to kill them, so I used my claws to stab into them, even while dull, my claws would easily go into a crabs body and end it, same with a few clams, I sliced open their bodies with my claws and once I did that they just went in like normal, this was perfect because getting this animals back on Canterlot was a pain, they cost a lot and are very rarely even in stock, I went around looking for more, a few lobsters, any edible animals I knew were edible, i killed and stored in the inventory, they would not spoil there, as i had confirmed before by storing toast and it came out still as hot months later, almost burned my paws.

I hooked up, looking to where my surf table was floating, it had drifted closer to shore, so I slowly swam towards the shore, following the gentle slope up of the sandy sea floor, when I came across a fish camouflaging in the sand, it tried to run but I caught up to it and grabbed it with my superior speed, stabbing it with my claws and causing it to bleed out, right in the gills, it died shortly after and disappeared in my inventory, I knew this fish from a video I watched once about cooking, but now i had a fresh one, perfect!

I then headed up the last few meters, popped my head out the water and greeted mom, who was holding my surf board and sitting on hers, she heard me come out of course and her face showed relief.

"About time you came back Onyx, it's been a full hour of you diving, you worried me! I was gonna go look for you but I didn't wanna lose our boards, I was about to go anyway, let's go and hang out with the others, I'm sure they'll wanna know what you saw down there, and what it's like underwater." After that we swam to shore together, mom had to shake off the water clinging to her fur, but I just had the water slide off me quickly, my friends were playing around with a beach ball, some of the parents had joined in, I went near and they waved at me, telling me to join them.

We played for an hour longer, and had some ice cream too from a vendor who came by, I got vanilla and coconut, my favorite ice cream flavors, and sprinkled some gems on it before started eating.

"So how was underwater Onyx? Some of us saw you head ways away into the sea and dive in, how can you even... Stand that cold? It's basically ice cold!" Little Sprout asked, both curious but also very confused by my lack of even the slight sign of being bothered by the cold.

"Yeah Onyx how are you so... Calm after being underwater for an hour, in like... Freezing cold water?" Shining asked as well, everyone nodded in agreement, even the parents.

"Uhm... Well, I'm honestly not sure, I think it's what dragons do right? They can withstand very high temperatures, and even... Swim in lava, right? So why not some cold water? And I am very good at holding my breath... I have always been like this...?" I answer not very sure myself.

"If you're not even sure... Then I suppose it wouldn't be fair of us to want an explanation, you're fine and calm, so what did you see? Underwater I mean, any sea monsters? Or... Merponies? I've read stories about them in a book!" Red Ruby asked with an excited tone, I simply shook my head at her who seemed to make her a bit less happy, but still intrigued.

"Honestly? There is a bunch of fish, mostly small fish that swim together, and big fish that follow them and try to catch some, the big fishes came to see me, but they left after a while, some tried to eat me a little bit, but they weren't able to, most fish eat by just sucking other fish into their mouths, then just closing them fast to prevent them from escaping. One tried with my tail but... It didn't do anything for it heh~ it was very funny honestly!" I giggled at the thought of the fish trying to eat me by the tail and just getting the scaly appendage stuck in its mouth.

"Hahaha that would have been funny to see, they didn't try attacking you more? Fish don't seem to be so bad, then." Night Light answered this time, seems like he's also interested to know about my little adventure. "What else did you see? Anything bigger than a fish?"

"I saw... I think a dolphin like creature, but it was far away, much deeper and further than I dared to swim to, and it seemed to be going further out, so I didn't try to interact with it, it was white, and large, but not much bigger than my mom, just longer tail and body, I also went to the bottom of the sea, it's not too deep where I was, and I looked at corals and small fish there, they are veery beautiful!" This seemed to catch everypony's interest.

"Really? You went to the bottom? How deep do you think it is where you were?" Twilight Velvet asked this time.

"I think it may be around... 10 or so meters deep, definitively not very deep but also not that safe unless... You are very good at holding your breath."

"I think I can speak for everyone when I say... None of us are that good at resisting the cold and holding our breath that long, so let's relax and enjoy the beach." Everypony nodded at those words from Night Light.

We decided to make some sandcastles, sometimes a pony would volunteer and we would build it around then, and then have them emerge from the sand and destroy the castle, it was pretty fun and epic, I also got fully buried by the others, with only my head outside, it felt oddly comforting to be like this, I wasn't sure why, but it felt familiar, i ended up digging myself out and then we chased each other across the sand, we tried to do long distance jumping to see who would jump the furthest, I let the others win, and little Silver Shield was the highest score followed by Shining, pretty close all in all.

After all that playing, everypony was exhausted, we headed to our beach chairs, I laid down and closed my eyes, enjoying the shade and the fresh evening air, it was not as sunny now, the sky was slowly darkening as the sun approached the horizon, we had been a few hours here by now, and we arrived pretty late.

I was watching the sunset, already getting a bit sleepy and tired from all the swimming around and play, so I moved to the wolf lady next to me and slowly climbed on top, then went to sleep right on her fluffy chest.

The vacations continued like this, every day, something fun and every day we visited new places, had more lovely meals and even went to the famous Bridleway Theater, we watched some fun shows and musicals, I didn't expect to like them as much as I did.

Author's Note

The next Chapter may or may not be a large time skip, because I don't want this story to become a slice of life more than it already is :twilightsheepish: hopefully this doesn't piss off too many of you, but writing more with 3 year old Onyx & friends is getting a bit old

Chapter 16 Sylf's unusually uncomfortable morning

Author's Note

This chapter concludes act I of the story, and is the start of act II, from here on, things get a bit less peaceful and more scary, there will be more companions too, and soon, very soon, new dungeons, more deadly than before!

Chapter 16 Sylf's unusually uncomfortable morning

We hope this message finds you in good health, young Onyx, this will hopefully give you a clearer idea of your objectives, while you are free to do whatever you wish, we recommend you follow your mission, doing so will benefit you greatly.

The rot upon the world of dreams grows day by day, having been festering for generations from the negative emotions from the countless beings who suffered outside and within Equestria, trapped by a malicious spell.

This emotions, manifested in the dream realm in physical form, but unable to leave it, as they normally would: scary nightmares, harmless ghosts and apparitions, paranormal occurrences, and even fae and other woodland spirits that were often just mischievous or even bulgar, rarely they would manifest as dangerous monsters or this emotions would simply posses placid monsters, making them go into a frenzy and attack ponies, this manifestations were a normal part of life in this world, and usually were harmless or easily dealt with, but after they were sealed, they suddenly could not follow their natural cycle, positive emotions followed the same cycle, and manifested in good ways, but they were not affected by the spell.

This negative emotions, in essence, energy, grow in a limited space, the boundaries of an incomprehensibly strong spell, condensing and mutating horribly, they were a distorted and twisted reflection of the beings who birthed them, other times their forms morphed into aberrations that hurt to look at, some gained their own sentience, and desired to grow and obtain power by absorbing other beings of darkness inside the enclosed space.

Nightmare Moon designed and casted this terrible spell, her hate for her sister and sense of betrayal had caused her, at the height of her power to find a way to get revenge, even if she failed to defeat her sister, and concocted a terrifyingly powerful seal, that would bring doom to the whole world.

The spell was much worse at first, but a desperate last minute modification by Princess Luna, while still trapped inside her mind, went unnoticed before the Nightmare could cast the terrible spell, creating a flaw in it that possibly saved ponies and other creatures from being disconnected from dreams altogether and slowly losing their mind, this allowed ponies and other creatures to still sleep and dream safely, in the upper layers of the Dream World that she managed to keep outside of the spell's reach, and lessened the damage the possible rupture of the spell would cause in realspace.

Nightmare's intent was to make a time bomb, with the negative emotions stuck and growing infinitely inside a perfectly enclosed space, they would reach critical mass eventually and bring an end to the ponies who shunned her, and even her sister would be unable to stop it, she may survive, but she wouldn't be able to save her ponies and would feel what she felt all those years.

Thankfully, the process of growth of the negative energy was slower than she thought, the negative emotions were accumulating too slowly, much slower than when the spell was first cast, as the level of strife and misery inside Equestria had reduced considerably under Celestia's rule, and ponies were the most emotional and magically significant species by sheer number, the large majority of negative energy came from outside Equestria now, and those nations were not as large and full of people.

Princess Celestia herself was responsible for this, the growth of her nation and the stability and safety of the ponies came at the cost of the other rival nations becoming plagued by her unforgiving and harsh policies, she went out of her way to impede progress, place embargos on once rich nations, forced trade deals that benefited her only, under threat of using her control over the sun to ruin their crops or even kill their citizens, market manipulation and even going as military interventions in some areas in the past usually specifically with the purpose of destroying information that may lead progress of other nations, that could in theory surpass her nation.

Under Celestia's rule, Equestria prospered, but she was reluctant to allow her ponies too much creative freedom so she discouraged it in subtle ways.

She told herself she did this all for Equestria, but the world is not just her nation.

The reason you are sent into Dungeons is for your power to grow, by harvesting the accumulated negative emotions that birthed creatures, you in turn, purify them and turn them to energy that fuels your growth, and if you want to face Celestia, and eventually save the rest of nations from her continuous meddling, you need to be stronger than her, and any other who gets in your way.

The Elements of Harmony themselves have stopped responding to her, she does no longer represent any of the virtues, she no longer represents Harmony, without the elements, she can not save her sister from the Nightmare, the evil that controls her mind, and this Nightmare Moon, if left unchecked would bring misery unending to the entire world, you need to help the Elements of harmony find their bearers, you must prevent Celestia from meddling, and help each one become the representation of their virtue, you already know who they are, don't you Onyx?

Make Celestia see the error of her ways, even if you have to force her to see them, help save this world, destroy the negative energy accumulated, make it become your power, and make things right Onyx

I would never forget this dream, I had it when I turned five years old, every word was perfectly clear no matter how many years passed, and it helped really put things into perspective, now I knew what I had to do, Celestia was not really evil, but she was not a good pony either, she was corrupted with power in her sister's absence and went too far in order to make her little ponies live in the pinnacle of safety and comfort.

5 years later, 20 years before Nightmare Moon's return - Onyx's POV

The day was sunny with only a few clouds in the sky, team of pegasi were dispersing after having cleared out most of them, leaving a few for other pegasi to relax and sleep on, it was pretty common for the flying variety of ponies to enjoy clouds as beds, sometimes they even had cloud houses but around Canterlot they weren't allowed for security reasons.

My dreams last night were of what I imagined would happen in the future, would I keep staying and live alongside the ponies? Would I want to go out of the country and try to help other nations with their problems? I dreamt of mother, would she stay with me, to travel and explore if I left, or would she stay in Canterlot as a guard?

I was still unsure why Celestia offered mom a job, did she want to keep her in Canterlot, to gain her loyalty by hiring her as a guard? Maybe so. How would Celestia react if she knew what I could grow in power without limit, what if she found out I could use magic like i did? She would probably lock me away in a cell, to become an experiment and to keep me from fulfilling my destiny.

My dreams were very scary at times, other times they were peaceful, each dream didn't last very long, but what I could recall from that dream was that Celestia wasn't my friend, I needed to get stronger, gather allies, maybe confront her? But I would lose my friends if I did that, the ponies all saw Celestia as a goddess, infallible, it was not a nice thought as I really loved my friends.

That dream, 3 years ago, certainly made me worried about my life here, but I would have time to confront that issue later, I went back to my book, I needed to pay attention if I wanted to learn, magic was a complex subject.

I was laying on my back on a park bench, with a book held above my head, reading about metamagic, it was actually an illegal copy from the restricted section of the Royal Library, during the last five years I had been reading all about runic symbols, spell matrixes, thaumaturgical formulae, components for various rituals and spells, even a bit of enchantment, which was not as restricted but it was still easier to get the better version they used for the guard equipment.

Thanks to mom and that wonderful non restricted book about runes and their meaning, I was able to make my first spell, well make was the wrong word, modify, combine and improve, more like, it works as a magical version of a scanner and a printer, it didn't use ink, instead it used light to lightly burn the characters on the pages, I had to use thick paper sheets who wouldn't burn through when printing from both sides, and binding them using glue, wood and fabrics, since leather was only imported and it would cost much more to get.

After managing to develop that spell, mom spilled the secret she didn't want to tell, that she had the ability to use magic and even gave a demonstration, it raised a lot of questions, and she was studied by mages and scientists, who scanned her and did tests and came to the conclusion she had limited magical abilities and good growth potential, as it is mandatory for all magically able guards, she was given specialized training alongside ver regular training regiment, until she was considered ready to use her powers correctly by the doctrine of the royal guard.

During that time she was thought various combat spells, which of course she taught me as soon as she could, after that four years she was allowed to access the restricted wing of the royal library, were Royal Guards spell casters would go to learn and study restricted books, combat spells, counter spells, detect magic and anti magic, how to combat dark magic, and other topics that weren't available for the general public.

Mom had to go and grab the book she had to copy, then walk to the bathroom and head to an empty stall, go in and close the door, then pull out the blank book I made out of the inventory and place it next to the original, use the spell I had developed and it would start to scan the original book page by page, immediately she had to start to flip the pages of the blank book, each time a page was exposed and laying flat, the spell would instantly 'print' the exact copy of the original book on the right page using a modified light spell, the process was silent, and the air fresheners in the bathroom covered up the slight burnt paper scent. The only thing she had to do was cast the spell and flip the pages of the blank book until the spell was finished, once finished, she would store the blank book in the inventory, and go out and pretend to continue reading or just store the restricted book back in place.

This spell was two spells combined into one, the scanning part that penetrated the book like the spells used by banks were able to go through gold, instead, modified by me to detect ink. I had managed to convince old Sharp Stone to teach it to me, I promised to never show it to anypony, and since the spell was known to most banks, he seemed no harm on showing it to me, it was used to detect scams, so it just prevented business to lose money. The second part of the spell, shined an infrared, high intensity light in the exact same shape and size as the results the scan produced, at the same time.

The light produced was hot enough to scorch the characters without setting the page on fire, a sort of laser engraving, the brain worked as the computer during the spell, so that is why it needed to be cast from a creature, and couldn't be enchanted into a gem easily, not that I knew how to enchant yet at the time I made this spell.

The books of the restricted section had alarms in them, if somepony exited the library with them, they would go off and a locator spell was cast thanks to the runes in the books, they could find the one attempting to take the book, and the book quite easily and fast.

Ponies and... Creatures going into and out of the library were patted down and checked for any items with them, if they had a bag they would check it for any restricted books, even with the alarms in place, somepony could, in theory, smuggle a restricted book outside using an enchanted bag that blocked magic with an anti magic, and invisibility, but the pat downs prevented that, there was another layer of security yet, a unicorn guard that stood at the door and had enchanted eyewear that allowed them to see creatures casting invisibility.

For some reason ponies had not thought of using scanning spells like those used by banks to check metals and other minerals for purity, to create machines or devices that printed, all books were made manually with printing presses and sometimes by hand, which made books much more expensive than back on earth. Something seemed fishy with this, was progress artificially stopped?

The spells to make something like a scanner printer were not too difficult, but required thinking outside the box, two spells and a caster, maybe they also lacked a way of making a processor to replace the caster, but... wouldn't magic also help with that?

The banker spell to prevent scams, when modified to look for ink instead of gold, could scan even a closed book directly, the spell was crude at first, making it impossible to cast for mom, but after I switched some runes around, and shortened the range of the scanning beam and adjusted the wavelength for optimal clarity of the ink itself, taking into account the number of pages and their order, the spell became easier to cast, going from tier 4 spell to tier 3, which allowed mom to use it, since she was limited to tier 3 spells for now, while I was at tier 4.

Thanks to the, more or less, unrestricted access to spells, I had however realized something, to be able to use spells of tier 5, I needed to be able to reach level 20, and that was going to be a problem, the only way to gain EXP was to kill, and it couldn't be something insignificant like ants or worms, I needed to kill creatures that had one of this characteristics: sapience or enough intelligence, high levels of emotion, physical power, high levels of magic, or a combination of those. If I killed magical monsters I could level up, as they had high levels of magic and physical power, some even had high intelligence.

This was because EXP was a combination of a creatures life energies, I was a sort of... a fuel powered generator, more or less, but for those creatures to relinquish their "fuel" to me, they had to die first, otherwise their being would hold onto that energy, and I would get nothing.

Normally, from what my extensive pony inspecting indicated, ponies leveled with age, at a rate between 0.5 and one level per year until they reached their prime, and from there it stopped, sometimes, rarely, a pony with a rare quirk, or as some would call it, a blessing, would be born, this ponies were usually great historical figures or heroes, they would level up twice per year instead until they reached their prime. For immortal beings, the leveling up would continue past their prime, but drastically slow down then, this is what I assumed from my brief inspection of Celestia, because I was sure she was older than 500, or even 800 years, so her leveling must have slowed down dramatically, or fully stopped at some point.

As for my affinity with magic, I was now the Adept rank and my spells were much stronger because of it, while before I could make small holes and even break off chunks of wood of the practice targets, now they have deep holes in them from my spells, ice spells have a chance to freeze wider areas and penetrate deeper into the wood, causing cracks in it to appear.

Back to what happened during this last five years, my friendship with Shining and the others grew a lot, we visited each others homes and had fun sleepovers, we always invited eachother for our birthday parties, we even went on several camping trips together with the parents tagging along, mom got along with everypony, specially Night Light and Twilight Velvet, and some even looked up at her once she told them about her job, she is now an officer, First Lieutenant Sylf by the way, after having studied for 4 extra years in the military academy, and served as a Royal Guard during all that time, the only bad side to this is that she barely was at home, and well... I missed her a lot sometimes, but thanks to my friends I wasn't lonely, much.

Speaking of friends, Shining Amor had grown a lot this few years, while I had grown bit to a smaller degree, I was now a head shorter than him and he made sure to remind me often, I honestly felt a bit frustrated by this, but at least I could easily do everyday activities despite my height by using Enlarge on myself, the perks of being a skilled mage, now the concentration that was almost impossible to maintain before, felt at most like remembering to hold something on your hand while walking, it came natural.

But more about my pony friend, turns out... He is having a little sister! He told me his mom's pregnant and they magically checked and he is having a little sister! I wonder if she could be somepony important in the future... Who knows right? He is very happy and wants to learn to be a good big brother, so he is practicing with me, by doing what? Play fights to learn to protect his future little sister, I happily comply and we do a bit of friendly wrestling, and while he is much stronger now, I am still stronger because of my stats being higher than his, even if it doesn't look like it from my shorter stature.

This doesn't mean he doesn't sometimes win, his longer legs allow him better leverage and sometimes I get put into angles I can't easily escape from, all in all we have a lot of fun together often, the other ponies in the group are really fun too, even if they don't really like to wrestle and play fight, we still play, tell jokes and even tickle fight eachother until we get out of breath.

Who would have thought that pony bellies and sides are so ticklish? They don't stand a chance against me, the tickle monster made manifest. Or so they say, their parents seem to find it really funny and adorable so they let me tickle their foals, then even join in at times, some ponies are a lot friendlier than others, and thankfully my friends have lovely parents who see me as just one of their kind, I couldn't have wished for better friends!

I have started elementary school this year, and to my surprise all my friends have signed up too, we decided to organize with our parents so they let us stay together, we all signed up to the Upper Canterlot Elementary, but it's usually just called UC Elementary, Upper Canterlot is just the name of the neighbor that's right outside the castle, technically the castle is higher but the castle has its own neighbor name called Canterlot Castle. It contains the barracks and other buildings more than the castle.

Now we are actually learning, while it's still, pretty basic stuff it's actually somewhat fun, topics I haven't really paid much attention to like history, geography and biology are fun to learn more about, specially the latter as our biology and of other species is really different from humans, for example how wings and horns of ponies work, how are they attached, the way veins and arteries supply then with blood, and all of this is very new to me, of course we don't go into that amount of detail but I later read some on the topics that get my attention.

For example the way ponies control the weather to make it more beneficial for themselves.

The way some weather is manufactured in a factory in cloudsdale to be perfect every time and to follow a schedule.

Artificial shorter winters and longer springs and summers, causing the cycle of nature to completely break and animals to end up requiring specialized ponies to wake them up from hibernation, so they don't starve as the winter ends early.

The different festivities and how they are celebrated, it's very similar to the show I watched as a human, but with much more logistics and thought put into it, this artificially short winter prevents some animals from living in Equestria outright, as the cold weather they need lasts too little.

Some animals are just not even present here, most predatory animals are just... Extinct in Equestria, and most herbivores are overabundant, even fed by ponies at times, it's very bizarre, a completely disregard for the natural cycle. Only a few animals seem to remain on the higher food chain, mostly are magical creatures like timberwolves and manticores who only really live in the Everfree, but there is also bears, eagles, lynxes, snakes, and some other small animals who don't pose much of a threat to ponies.

Where they bigger predators killed by the ponies? It wouldn't surprise me, maybe early on in their history they purged them or they went extinct on their own, or maybe they never existed. This world's biodiversity was very confusingly small in some aspects, maybe only here.

By the time I was done reminiscing about the past and thinking to myself, and reading the book it was already about 7pm, the sun was about to set, i decided to talk to mom when i saw her.

Mom is 27 years old, and she, like any other creature, be it pony or dragon, liked companionship, care and love, and with her job, she didn't have as much time with me as before, she had also stayed without a mate for a long time, probably forever since she had adopted me as his own son when she was 20. And I never saw her bring anypony home.
I honestly wanted her to find someone who she wanted to be with.

Mom didn't really think like ponies did, she told me she didn't want to be part of a herd, having to share a male with a lot of other mares didn't seem to be her thing, there were some ponies who also practiced monogamy, but they were rare, yet not unheard of, like for example Shining Armor's parents, Twilight Velvet and Night Light, now that I think about it, they did get along quite well with mom... But... No, she didn't really want that, this was frustrating, I wanted to help mom find a stallion, but what stallion would want a monogamous relationship? This was... Frustrating to say the least.

I got up to head home, but on the way I went by a pastry store and bought some freshly made vanilla eclairs, and a few chocolate filled croissants from a local bakery that had excellent quality.
Once I got home, I unlocked the door and headed inside, locking it behind me, headed to the kitchen and grabbed the box of culinary gemstones and sprinkled them over the pastries, then made myself some tea and headed to the table to eat.

After the delicious tea with sweets I wanted to go lay down so I headed to my room and climbed in bed in the dark, not realizing mom was there, I wanted to scream happily in excitement at her being home today, it had been a week since I last shared the bed with her!

But she was in a deep sleep so she probably was super tired from work, so I simply nuzzled and cuddled with her, wrapping my arms around her body and caressing her softly, she was so adorable like always, so precious and loving, her muscles were much more pronounced and defined now, her fur was softer from the treatment of shampoos and creams that ponies used, now she uses them too, and her scent was comfortingly familiar, new cologne? she smells very good...

Pressed myself against her more, purring in the odd way I did since I was little when I'm happy, in no time I fell asleep with my head on her fluffy chest, feeling the comforting slow and calm heartbeats.

The next day, POV shift Sylf, mostly her inner thoughts.

I woke up early, like every day before the sun was up, I was used to it, but I realized I was in my bed, not on the barracks room... blinking off the sleepyness I felt something tightly pressing against my chest, belly and between my hind legs, it felt comforting yet oddly cooling, but I enjoyed it, after looking down I could clearly see my precious son, tightly embracing me and sleeping away with a content smile, he looks so happy to be with his mom, and honestly so adorable too, I wanted to hug him and give him lots of kisses but that would wake him up.
I had good news for him! They had given me a week free from work, specifically to spend time with my son, it seems they gave ponies without a herd extra free time to look after their child if they have one, but for some reason since im not a pony, they didn't bother to tell me until I casually mentioned being single and having a small son, doesn't the crown have my data on their files?.

Which honestly would have pissed me off more if I wasn't being cuddled by the most adorable dragon ever!
He is bigger now, I bet in a few years he will reach his growth spurt and become an adolescent dragon, then he will grow his wings from what I've read about, I also read... Adolescent dragons are completely hormone driven, much more so than ponies at that age, and male dragons specifically are very... Let's just say eager...

I'm honestly unsure how we will deal with that, maybe his older human mind can somehow manage all those hormones and strong emotions? I really hope so, because otherwise he will need a mate... Or several... I probably shouldn't be thinking about this sort of things about my son, he is still very young, I'll make sure he keeps enjoying his foalhood until that time comes.

I should focus on myself now, should I try to find a mate? Nopony wants me, I think the species difference is too great, stallions are too intimidated, sure I've seen some mares look me over, and show some interest, but I don't swing that way... Which honestly is quite sad because I bet mares would make great cuddle partners too... Maybe I... do swing both ways?
I should not be so closed minded!
Should I just swallow my pride and join a herd? It's honestly a difficult choice...
But I will spend every single day of this week with my little dragon, he deserves more time with me, I know he used to be an adult, and I used that excuse to tell myself that it's okay, that he can be a few weeks without seeing me even once, but... It hurts, not only for him, but for me to be without him.

I feel my eyes start to get misty, my vision blurry as I silently cry while trying to not make noise, I've missed him so much! Being a guard takes so much time, it pays well, but it's painful for our family, a family of two... I think he doesn't deserve such a small family.
I know he has his friends, but... I've been a bad mother, I will talk to him about, for now I'll make breakfast for him... But he's not letting go...

I blushed a bit at the situation, he was stuck to me, hugging me in a vice grip stronger than usual... Wait why am I blushing? Am I in heat?!
I think this is usually the time of the month I go into heat during the year, could the heat have affected him? But he's... Really young!
Oh I better get up now! I-i think it is affecting him somewhat... Focus Sylf, focus, he's your son, he is seven and a half!

I slowly pry him away from me, his forelegs are much stronger than they look, he even has his claws out, and his hind legs are grabbing my tail... I gently push him with my hind leg, the oddly pleasant coolness of his body is gone, and I am back to feeling that uncomfortable and constant... heat.

Once he is removed I look at him and sigh with relief, I feel glad he isn't actually... Physically affected by my heat, his part is stored away inside him like it should be, good.

After the very awkward moment passes, and he is no longer able to cuddle me, he curls into a ball and continues to sleep, while I get up go to the bathroom to freshen up and head downstairs to cook breakfast, I'll make it extra tasty for him today as an apology and I may need to explain to him what all mares and other creatures go through during spring.

One hour later, Onyx POV

I wake up with the sunset, as the covers in the room are open, I stretch and yawn, rolling a bit around in the comfy bed, the bed has an alluring scent, mom's scent and something I can't quite place, but I know I've smelled it before, I shrug and just get up from bed, yawning more as I go and do my business in the bathroom, then walk downstairs where I smell breakfast, right, mom is here! A bounce in my step as i go into the dinner room, and mom is there waiting for me, I run to her and wrap her head in a tight hug, nuzzling her excitedly.

"Moommy I missed you so much! I'm so happy you're here! I wanted to thank you for all the effort and risk you went through for me, I've learned a lot!"
I see she is also happy to see me, but there's something on her mind, despite all the time she is absent, I can tell when there's something eating away at her.

"I missed you so much too my precious baby dragon! But I honestly feel like a bad mother for doing this to you, leaving you without me for so long... At this point you're mostly home alone than with me, and it's my fault... Look there are some things we need to talk about, but first you have to eat breakfast, so... Give me a minute I'll reheat it." Mom says with sadness in her voice. Then heads to the kitchen and puts the breakfast to reheat on the pan.

"O-okay mom... I hope you don't feel too bad about it, remember..." I switch to telepathy, you never know when someone is listening.

'I was a human before, you know I used to be a loner and I would spend a lot of time by myself, I'm used to it and it doesn't bother me like it bothers ponies... But I admit I do miss you when I go to sleep and you're not there, or in the mornings, or just at random sometimes, but now you're here! So it's all good right now, plus we need the money, our savings are nice and all, but... If you quit the guard job, our money would dry up in a few years of living here.' I say reassuring her.

'I know son... But maybe sometime we may have to move, I also wanted to talk to you about some other things, once you finish eating' I mentally acknowledged and continued eating, the breakfast was eggs over waffles with some sauteed mushrooms and cheese sauce, a variety of pickled veggies and a glass of grapefruit juice, I enjoyed it a lot, mom has learned to cook and her skills have not degraded even while at the guards barracks, she probably made some of the meals there or something.

After I was done I took the plate and she put it in the sink, I smiled at her and thanked her for that and we headed for the sofa together.

'So mom, whatcha wanna talk about? By the way, every since I came home yesterday evening, almost night, I've felt a really odd, but nice scent, it's... Odd because I smell you, but I also feel another scent that is like a... Some new cologne? It smells very good! Ohh wait a minute mom.... Are you... Dating somepony?' I ask in excitement and curiosity, wondering who it may be and what they are like.

Mom blushed at that, visibly blushed despite her dark black fur, I giggled, but she looked a bit embarrassed, I just hugged her and poked her hips, which usually didn't make her even react, but she jumped and let out a weird mixture between a sqeak and a moan, I laughed at that, she never had made that noise, and she was blushing more now, like if I had caught her with her paw in the cookie jar.

'Mooom what was that?! Are you suddenly ticklish? Haha you're in trouble then, I'm known as the tickle monster in my circles, so better watch out~' I said teasingly and winked at her, she put her paws on her face and tried to cover her blushing, I raised an eyebrow, she wasn't answering my silly jokes or even laughing, something was up... Definitively!

'Olay what's going on? Im a bit worried now mom, why are you all red faced and shy and mopey and jumpy? Can't be because of the new coltfriend is he that good?' after that i decided not to tease further and wait for her response.

A few minutes passed, as Sylf seemed to recover her confidence and her cheeks returned to their usual dark black, she looked at me with a worried expression.

'Im... In heat, I have been since this morning, I'm even unsure how you can even smell it, that new scent you are feeling are my pheromones, and so far you have only... Become slightly clingy last night, but it didn't go further than that thankfully, I'm sorry for not having told you before, I just... Forgot you would come by to sleep at night, it was stupid of me I know, but being in heat is a lot worse than it seems, the reason for my different mood and shyness, and even being so sensitive is because of it, do you know what I'm talking about my son? I'm sure humans heard of going into heat too, right?' she answers with a soft voice.

'Oh
...
I...
That explains a lot.
Look mom... I apologize, I was being all playful and teasing you without knowing how you were feeling...
You must be going through a lot of intense emotions and ups and downs, I think I should stop with the cuddles near your... Lower region then, I'm just used to have my face against your fluffy and warm chest, but now it's not a good time...' I felt honestly quite shocked, I had even... Forgotten she was a wolf, and wolves do go into strong heats, I suppose ponies do too, but how was I able to smell those pheromones? And why was I... At least partially affected? A mystery I would need to have in mind in the future, definitively, oh now I remembered what I wanted to ask from mom.

'Thank you for understanding my precious son! Try to not poke my hind legs, or sides or lower back, just don't tickle me please that would... Be bad' I nodded, feeling a bit guilty for my words now, but my mood wasn't ruined, I was happy to be with mom anyways, nothing can change that.

'Sure mom, now I wanted to ask, I want us to finish leveling up to level 20, and I'd really like to go find somewhere we can level up, how does the Everfree forest sound? I think with you by my side we will be unstoppable! Unless you're gonna be busy with guard work again...' I gave her puppy eyes and lowered my ears to look sad.

'Hmmm I do have a whole week free of work, and since you are lower level than me, I think it's a good idea to raise your level, we need to become stronger, we never know... When it will happen again. Okay I'm, but we will fight as a team, I take vanguard and you take the rear with your magic, understood?' she didn't ask, she ordered and she was very serious.

'Yes ma'am! I will keep the targets suppressed while you go into melee and finish them off, shall we go pack?' we both smiled at each other, this was gonna be a fun expedition.

Chapter 17 Like Manticores and Timberwolves

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 18 Preparations

The wooden wolves begin to break apart and fuse into a much larger creature, I swallow loudly, then use inspect

'LvL 20 Alpha Timberwolf' 200HP
This large monster is a last desperate attempt by a timberwolf pack to defeat an enemy that they can't fight as a group, it's much stronger than a regular Timberwolf and much harder to destroy, but it lacks the ability to surround prey or use tactics, vulnerable to coordinated fighters in groups.

Skills:
Crushing bite: it can crush a wooden log in its maw, and bones too.
Poisonous fangs: it severely poisons targets who are bitten.
Large Splinterclaws: getting clawed by this can leave nasty splinters inside your flesh, which are hard to remove and barbed.
Stomping dash: this creature weights half a ton, just by running you over it can crush you, beware of charges!

Weaknesses and resistances: Weakness to fire, resistance to bludgeoning damage, resistance to slashing damage, resistance to piercing damage, resistance to every other elemental damage.'

While I was inspecting, it was glaring at me, mom to my side, preparing her sword with fire again, but there was no clearing here, if I attacked with a large fire spell, the forest would start to burn, I decided to use a less dangerous spell, but I had to get really close so I wouldn't miss most of it

'Scorching ray' I used it triple casting.

MP:-60 (65/125)

Alpha Timberwolf has taken 18 damage 182/200
Alpha Timberwolf has taken 18 damage 164/200
Alpha Timberwolf has taken 18 damage 146/200
Missed!
Missed!
Alpha Timberwolf has taken 18 damage 128/200
Alpha Timberwolf has taken 18 damage 110/200
Alpha Timberwolf has taken 18 damage 92/200
Alpha Timberwolf has taken 18 damage
74/200

The Timberwolf was shot three times per spell, and three spells, each dealing 50% more damage, it did pretty good damage even if I missed a few of the rays, they just went up into the air or clipped a tree branch.

Mom was right about to stab it, I had to get close to be able to hit it so many times while triple casting, but after it had taken all those spells, it surprised me by quickly pouncing on me, I managed to jump back but it grabbed me in its maw before I had time to dodge once again and bit into me, I had expected it to charge at me, or pounce on me, sure, but grabbing me and shaking me like a chew toy...

I clawed at it but my claws didn't do much, I felt it starting to squeeze my sensitive tail base really hard while shaking me side to side harshly, if I didn't do something soon, I may end up with a fang stabbing me in my no-no area, which I wasn't gonna let happen.

Onyx has taken 15 damage! 129/144
Onyx has taken 18 damage! 111/144

I winced at first, then yelped at the pain, seems I was not immune to being shaken around harshly, and the teeth were starting to sink into my scales, I managed to move just a bit from the shaking, keeping my privates from being harshly mauled by wooden fangs, and made it grab onto my hind leg instead, which didn't have any really vulnerable holes a fang could find its way into, instead having the Alpha Timberwolf bite the thick scaled legs was a much preferable outcome, I was stabbing my claws on its plant tongue, to try to not be shaken around but the pressure on my legs was doing some damage.

Onyx has taken 16 damage! 95/144

Squirming and yelling in pain as my legs start to bleed, the pressure digging holes in my scales, muscle and even reaching the bone as the Timberwolf's wooden fangs regrow even after completely breaking off trying to hurt me more.

I decide to use triple firebolts from inside its maw, directly into the back of it's throat to try and get it to spit me out.

Alpha Timberwolf takes 15 damage 59/200
Alpha Timberwolf takes 15 damage 44/200
Alpha Timberwolf has taken 15 damage 29/200

Mom delivered the killing blow, cutting the head off at the base and stabbing the body, making both parts set on fire.

Critical hit! Alpha Timberwolf takes 25 damage. 4/200
Critical hit! Alpha Timberwolf takes 4 damage and it's dead.

I shakily step out before the head starts to burn completely, I didn't want burns on top of my wounds.
I get away from the fire, letting the dead monster burn to make sure it won't regenerate.

Alpha Timberwolf has been slain, your party earns 5800 EXP! Onyx has reached level 21(463/4599) Sylf has reached level 22(5241/5517)

'W-we did it!' I said weakly until the level up kicked in and my body healed fully, the pain gone and a sigh of relief escaping me.

'Good job son! But be more mindful of getting caught next time please!' Mom said in a scolding tone while approaching me and hugging me tightly.

'We defeated the timber wolves tormenting the Everfree, and most importantly, we made this city a safer place, while also leveling up to level 20! I feel so much stronger now!'

Suddenly I felt like most of those spells that I knew, but couldn't use before, for some reason suddenly became unlocked for me. I knew I could now I also had a lot more options in my HUD now, I had... Points to allocate? And a lot of other things, new tier available?! That explains the sensation... Now I can actually... Use tier five spells?!

I also had a few more perks the one that seems the more important reads.

Before I could start to check and explore my new perks or anything, something popped in mine and mom's HUD

'Warning: level 20 reached, next level of Dungeon will start in 24 hours from now, Adept level dungeon, prepare yourself, you will not be able to exit the Dungeon until the area boss is slain.'

I felt my knees grow wobbly, my eyes unfocused and by excited smile morph into a worried frown, I looked up at mom, dreading her anger at having to risk her life for me again, but she was just looking worried, I didn't want to see her suffer for me, this time I will protect her better.

It was happening again.

'Sylf... This is my fault, my responsibility to bear, you don't deserve to suffer this again, do you want to leave my group? Disband our party until the dungeon is done? I will understand perfectly.' I said, simple and kindly to her. I didn't want to risk her life, but I knew I would probably not come back if I went by myself, if I fought by myself, at my age... I didn't have much of a chance, I was never the best fighter, I'm... A bit of a coward if I was honest with myself.

'No, not until you are old enough and strong enough to defend yourself, right now, even that Timberwolf almost ate you, had I not saved you, you would have gotten seriously hurt, I saw how it was squeezing your tail and what part of it, no way I'll let you go alone to die painfully, and you don't have any other ally than me for now son, once we do maybe... Maybe I'd let them go with you, but I would prefer if we all went together.' I felt immense relief at her words, honestly, if she decided she has had enough and left, I would have probably had no idea how to prepare, but as a group we had a chance.

'Then we most prepare mom, should we try to recruit Kari? But her cub has to have a home and someone to take care of first, even then I feel bad asking someone's else's mother to risk her life for us... Maybe we first try to find substitute parents?'

She looked very strong, but the risk of death was too great, yet no one else of our friends would be a good choice for helping us, our best bet was gearing up as much as we could, so we did that, but first we had a few ponies to talk to, I could see the farm from here, and my senses told me there were no more Timberwolves around, they had been wiped out of the western Everfree corner.

'Mom follow me, let's go talk to the Apples, maybe they'll want to think about our deal, specially after we explain the plight of Kari and Wishpaw.' I nodded and just jumped on the river, swimming across the strong current, Sylf swam as well. But it took her a lot more effort to cross and she had to swim for a lot longer to push past the current.

Once on the other side we were near Sweet Apple Acres, the river water had somewhat shook me out of my terrified stupor, I needed to get things done fast if I wanted to be ready for this Dungeon.

We reequipped our gear, saddlebags, we packed up the sword again to make it seem we still had everything with us, it would be inconsistent to have so much gear when we met them first and then suddenly have all of it disappear.

Knocking on the door thee times again, we heard a voice and not long after we saw the Apple Family approach the door, they smiled when they saw it was us, I waved and mom gave them a small bow.

"Hello everypony, we bring news! You see, we have managed to deal with the beasts that were stalking the edge of the forest, they will not get up again, but there may be more Timberwolves deep into the Everfree, we didn't venture very far, but rest assured we found the ones staying near the farm, they were death with." I let Sylf announce, while I nodded, but no smile was able to show on my face, I was still terrified, but I kept my face neutral.

"Oh that's great you two! We haven't been able to feel safe in our far for months now, always felt those green eyes looking at me while I picked apples, I feared they may just cross when I wasn't seen and ambush me in the fields, I gotta say, we as a family owe you a big one fer this!" Pear said with conviction and the whole family there nodded, smiling at us.

"Well... Now that you mention it, we may need you to do us a big favor, and help us foalsit somecreature... You'll probably freak out." They stared at me, confused, but unsure how to answer for a minute.

"And who is this critter we have to babysit for? Would ya just say it? We ain't no strangers to foals, we just need some specifics." Granny Smith wanted me to get to the point.

"It's... A manticore cub, the little one's name is Wishpaw, and she is very small, me and mom managed to save him and his mom from a huge pack of timberwolves, we pretty much exterminated the timberwolves, but the cub is small and vulnerable, I told the mother, her name is Kari, that maybe... We could come to a sort of deal, if she was to watch over your farm and protect you from any monsters, maybe you could help take care of the cub and keep the little one protected... But of course this is a lot to ask."

"A... Manticore?! You want us to have a manticore in our farm? Are you outta yer mind colt?! Manticores are more dangerous than Timberwolves! Absolutely not, sorry but that won't work, how can you even know the Manticore even wants this?" Granny Smith asked, furious and confused, it's like I expected, she was probably not gonna accept this, but I had to try... We may need this new ally, and if we could get the Apple family some more protection at the same time... It was not a bad deal.

"I'll be honest... I came up with the idea, you see, there is a spell that allows us to talk to animals, it's sort of not rare to find, but most ponies don't care to learn it, I talked with this manticore because we need her to help us with some dangerous mission, she is very strong and would give us an edge in it.
But because she has to take care of her cub, she can't help us, we need someone to look after the cub for a day or so, but who else would?"

"We never have seen a manticore before, but they being tame seems like a bit of a stretch, you know, I'm sorry but we will have to say no, I don't wanna risk my family having a wild Everfree monster here in our farm, and its final!"
Welp... I guess we are out of luck, we have no way of recruiting Kari... Damn, I shouldn't have trusted this ponies with my magic.

"Fine... But if you ever need us, don't count on our help, you have rejected to help us in our moment of need, I will not forget this, ponies." I sneered at then and turned around, walking out with Sylf next to me, the Apples were looking a me with concern, I had given them a look that promised nothing but suffering, even in my young and child like face, it was not mistaken for any other emotion than hate.

"W-WAIT! Onyx, please I'll do it!" Pear screamed as we were leaving the farm, Granny glared at her, but she didn't care, her husband joined by her side, and they approached us, running.

"I don't care what Granny says, I can tell this means the world to you, and you did as you had said and slain the Timberwolves, I can't see the eyes anymore and I can't smell them either, I've been near that area of the farm earlier today and I saw you and Sylf fighting them... I just can't let granny do this to you... And I really don't want you to hate us." She said with sincerity, I could tell she was not happy with her mother in law, my frown softened.

"Ah can't agree with my mom either, as much as I love her, she's a tad bit overprotective at times, ah apologise, she's as stubborn as a mule an' she doesn't see the bigger picture, she told us... That dragons live forever, compared to a pony, and even if ah didn't want to do this favour to you, would ah want mah family, mah descendants to have a mage dragon as an enemy forever? Heck naw! Ah want us to be friends, ah want our foals to smile and play together, I'll do this favor for you, but please don't hate us?" His words were filled with worry, he meant what he said, he clearly wasn't happy with my idea either but he didn't want me to become their enemy, I suppose if both of them look over the cub, at least for a few days, we could finish the dungeon and exit alive, my anger vanished completely when he said the words that came from his heart.

"I also have to apologize, you all are good, honest ponies, but this is a matter of life or death for me, and my beloved mother, you understand? I wouldn't be asking this of you if it was inconsequential, without Kari, we have a very high chance of dying horribly, and I really really don't want that... I really like being alive, but we can't escape this... It's hard to explain, and you'll have to take my word for it, but we will not be able to escape this confrontation, we just need more help to fight and survive." I said softly so only the two of them and mom could hear, my voice was shaky and I almost break down crying as I explained our situation, tears running down my snout and neck as I looked at them.

"Colt... You really mean that... Don't you? I can see it in your eyes, you are... really really scared, I've never seen somepony look so scared yet remain remotely calm." Bright Macintosh approached me and hugged me tightly, Pear joined in, then mom as well, I could help but start crying, sobbing and hugging the three of them as I let all my stress, terror and sadness at my situation out while holding them, I could hear mom and the others cry too, It was in a way... Very cathartic.

After all of this, I calmed down slowly and just cried for about half an hour, then I slowly blinked my eyes clear, looked up and smiled faintly at the ponies and Sylf, who had reassuring smiles of their own.

"I... Really needed that, thank you all, I'm so sorry for having gotten so angry at your family, Pear, Bright, even Granny didn't deserve my anger, I'm just... really desperate and trying to get any advantages I can get to survive."

"We understand, little one, you're going through something nopony your age should be facing, and you want more help to be able to make it, we want you to live too, let's go meet this miss Kari and her cub, shall we?" Bright nodded at Pear's words.

"Yeah we are ready colt, we could bring some toys from the foals but we should meet with them first and bring them here, I bet the towns ponies are gonna lose their minds!" I giggled a bit at that, the ponies of Ponyville really weren't very brave it seems.

Bright walked back to his mother, Smith Apple, and asked her to look over little Big and Applejack, she nodded

After our talk, we all headed towards the Everfree's edge, walking across the town once again, the ponies were definitively not happy to see us again, this time they just walked away instead of running in fear, for some reason us being with Pear and Bright made them calmer, if slightly put off by our presence, they did not dare to make eye contact however, choosing to look away when either me or mom looked at them in the eyes.

The walk was somewhat the same as from the train station to the Apple family farm, maybe slightly longer, but we got there
in about half an hour of relaxed walk, I stopped our group and approached the two ponies.

"Okay so, I will need to cast a spell on you to understand Kari, but you cannot understand the cub yet, he is very very little and probably doesn't know how to talk yet, even in manticore, understood? are you okay with me casting this spell? the effects will wear off by tomorrow, it allows you to talk to any animal unless its really really young." I explained to the ponies, they didn't show any signs of being worried about my spell, which was a relief.

"Sure sugarcube, we are ready, use your spell when ready, right honey?" Pear asked and her stallion nodded simply, I casted the spell twice, thankfully it didn't use any mana.

"I don't feel any different... but lets try it out, where is this Kari manticore?" I gestured with my paw for everyone to follow me, and I walked across the bridge, guiding us into the Everfree itself, and right after exiting the bridge, we were greeted by a very large feline, who I recognized right away, I ran to her and started to nuzzle her fluffy chest, she returned the nuzzles and licked the top of my head again like lions did with their cubs, the little cub also approached me and began nuzzling me, making happy little noises that made my heart want to melt from the cuteness.

The ponies were not immune to this cuteness either. "Awwwwww! they're so cute together! look at how adorable the cub is! I want to protect him and pet him!" I smiled at her, turning back and facing the ponies, they approached slowly, while i gently caressed the two manticores reassuring them.

"Greetings ponies, Onyx has spoken highly of you, but its nice to see that he being truthful, you have come all the way here, outside of your safe territory to talk to me, and I respect that." Kari said in a serious tone, but then relaxed.

"So i assume you will help protect my little Wishpaw from the dangers of the forest, right? In exchange I will protect those you hold dear and your territory too." I interrupted, I wanted to ask Kari something important.

"Sorry but I really need to ask something of you Kari... Something really really hard to ask." She looked at me with concern and a bit of suspicion, which was really, deserved.

"Tomorrow at this hour, I will have to fight for my life in an unknown place, much more deadly than this forest, I will have my mom with me, and we will fight together, but... If we had another companion that would help us fight and survive, we will have... A better possibility to win, and winning is the only way I can escape from that place, it's the only way to survive. What I'm asking you is to become my companion and help me fight for my life, we all will protect eachother and we will make sure everyone comes back safe, but without you, our chances are... Not very good." I explained honestly, lowering my head and not dating to look her in the eyes, she was thinking for a minute after I explained.

"You knew of this, didn't you ponies?" They nod to her, she looks thoughtful and then continues.

"You will look after Wishpaw, right ponies? Will you feed him? Will you clean him and protect him from danger?" Kari asked, in a very serious tone.

"Yes we will ma'am, ah promise, he will be raised like part of mah family, we have two cubs of our own, so he will even have siblings to play with." Answered Bright, to which Pear agreed.

"I know things will work out okay, but if something happens to you, we will not abandon your cub, we would never, as a mother myself, I promise to take well care of your foal... Or cub in this case." This seemed to satisfy the manticore, who nodded, smiling slightly.

"I will trust you, I owe my cub's life to Onyx and Sylf, and I will not let them go through this alone and risk death, I will risk my life like they risked theirs to help us, so yes Onyx, you are lucky you found this ponies, because as much as I am indebted to you, I can't risk my cub in such a dangerous fight." I felt immense relief, and I agreed fully with her on this.

"I know, I would not even have asked if I was not able to help look after your son, you have all the right in the world to refuse to help, yet you are risking your life for me, I will repay you for this... I promise!" I will need to keep this promise, it's the least I could do for her.

"All I ask is to return alive, I have no real need for more than that."

Mother answered this time before I could. "My son... He is going to protect us, and we will protect him, I will protect you, and you will protect me, that is how we will survive, no one is priority, we have to cover eachother's weaknesses with our strength." I slowly nodded, this was what I should have said before.

The ponies slowly approached the manticore more until they were in touching distance, then sat down next to me, each one to one side, then slowly starting petting Kari's fluffy chest, I did the same, while Wishpaw was shyly hiding behind his mom, peeking around and looking at the ponies, then approaching slowly, and sniffing them, a few minutes of this made him confident enough to get closer still and nuzzle each of them on their hooves, it seems they had formed a bond!

"This ponies are very good... They have proven to me that there is kindness and love for others not of their kind in their hearths, they are doing their best, I couldn't be more glad to have met them!" I gently held them both in a hug, pulling them together as well and nuzzling between both their necks, my grip was a bit strong it seems, but they returned the hug, both putting a hoof over each of my shoulders.

"Now I think it's time for us to depart, I will leave Wishpaw in your care, I will feed him and then you can take him to your territory, once we are back, safely we will visit you, and I'll check on my cub, he still needs his milk, so please feed him once a day, or twice." Kari gently pulled her cub close and pushed towards her mammaries, the cub approached and started looking, quickly finding a nipple and starting to drink, while his paws kneaded on his mother's teats.

While this happened I stared with curiosity, wondering what it would taste like... But I of course was not going to do something so innapropiate, I was not even a mamma.

"Feeling hungry, little Onyx? You... Could try some if you want, just don't bite." I shook my head, this was totally silly and wrong, I shouldn't be staring even, I guess I was transfixed, and unused to see something like this.

"No no, sorry I just feel... In awe of such a tender and sweet moment, acts like this make me think that life is wonderful and deserves to be protected at all costs." There was silence after that, as we all laid down and relaxed for a while the tiny manticore fed, after he was satisfied he stopped and let out a little burp.

"It's time to go with the ponies, my precious... They will be with you for a little while, I promise it will be safe..." Kari said softly to her cub, who seemed a bit confused, but he approached the ponies, obeying his mother and, as he had already lost his fear of them, he was able to interact with them more, including allowing them to pick him up and even allowing them to carry him around, he was very sleepy after drinking his mother's milk, so he quickly fell asleep on Pear's back.

"Good, he is asleep like he always does after eating, take advantage of that and carry him to your nest, he will be fine as long as he has someone to stay with and to care for him, he also needs someone to lay next to when sleeping, like he is right now, thank you ponies, I will come back to him soon and you won't have to worry, but if I don't, remember, he needs to eat meat to survive, like all manticores, fish or other animals work too."

After she finished explaining, we said our goodbyes and let the ponies go back to their farm, while we stayed in the forest, and started to set up camp for the day after finding a clearing that had good space, we had brought tents and even sleeping bags, pots and pans, even ingredients to cook food, some vegetables and even butter.

We had enough provisions to last us a week or even two if stretched, and I had lots of old meat and even vegetables stored in my inventory, wild animal meats, foraged animals from the rivers, and even some meat left from my distant vacation to the east coast, tho only one or two animals left from that, even after years and years it was fully fresh, fresher than meat from Canterlot's market.

It took about half an hour to set everything up, all the camping trips I had gone to with my friends helped me really know how to build a tent, even a few tents were no issue, we had one large tent instead, that was long enough to fit all of us inside, despite how large my two companions were.

We started to gather firewood, getting dry branches and dead grass, then simply dug two holes in the ground with my trusty garden shovel I kept around, it was useful for me since it's smaller size made it easier for me to use without having to balance it.

Once the holes were dug I made a small hole connecting both of them, for air to flow.
I added the dry grass and branches to one of them, and made a flame on my palm, then dropped it on the dry grass, setting the pile on fire, the fire grew naturally from that point, then I placed the pot over the hole with the fire, air was able to enter from the other hole next to it and flow into the flames, I placed a knob of butter in the pot, then added the various meats I had stored and prepared, letting them sizzle and develop a good crust, then added veggies cut into chunks and added salt and pepper, stirring so the meat and veggies all mixed together.

What remained was the add tomato sauce and water, then I covered the pot and let it cook while I went to lay down and relax for a while, I had two females next to me, a canine and a feline, both of them much bigger than me and just relaxing and probably asleep, it was late evening after all.

Kari the manticore has joined your party!

While they slept, and the food cooked, I took my time to look over my inventory, stats and information, the bestiary was more complete now with the new creatures I scanned, Manticore, Timberwolf and alpha Timberwolf were now added, but what interested me more was my own status window and attributes, I had gained a few new perks, and if I checked my list of known spells I could see now I had access to a few more!

I could access now the list of spells I had learned from the first dungeon, I had bought from publicly available spellbooks, and the vast majority I had copied and learned from the restricted section of the Canterlot Royal Library reserved for war mages and royal guards.

Telepathy: allowed to talk to others directly to their mind / Innate to companions.

Shield: blocks small proyectiles like bows and crossbows, as well as attack cantrips and magic missile / Cantrip

Prestidigitation: small temporary effect / cantrip.

Fire Bolt: small flame bolt that can set enemies and flammable objects on fire / cantrip

Ray of Frost: small, can slow or freeze enemies / cantrip

Produce Flame: tiny, can set flammable objects on fire / cantrip

Shocking Grasp: requires touch, effective against metal armor or wet enemies / cantrip

Slow falling: prevents falling damage by slowing the fall / cantrip

Detect Magic: magic items, objects or creatures are highlighted even when hiding behind walls / tier 1

Detect Good and Evil: fae, aberrations, demons and celestials are highlighted even when hiding behind walls / tier 1

Frost Paws: sends icy wind in a small cone in front of the user's paw / tier 1

Ice Knife: sends a freezing projectile that explodes on impact in a small area, can cause slowing or freezing of targets / tier 1

Magic Missile: sends 3 seeking projectiles that deal force damage, using more mana increases the number of missile / tier 1

Witch Bolt: electric bolt that deals extra damage to wet or metal targets / tier 1

Thunderwave: pushes back and deals thunder damage, any loose objects nearby will be pushed too / tier 1

Speak to Animals: allows speaking to animals unless they are newborn / tier 1

Blur: causes you to become blurry and harder to hit by attacks, requires concentration / tier 2

Heat Metal: heat targets armor or weapon to red hot, the target suffers penalty to attacks, requires concentration / tier 2

Enlarge/Reduce: changes your body size, requires concentration / tier 2

Hold pony: restrains a creature up to large pony size, requires concentration / tier 2

Knock: unlocks a simple lock, multi locking systems only have one of their locks affected / tier 2

Acid Arrow: fires a projectile that explodes in a shower of very strong acid / tier 2

Locate Object: locates an object you are familiar with, 10km range, works better with your own objects / tier 2

Misty Step: very short range teleport for beginners / tier 2

Scorching Ray: sends 3 flaming bolts at once, can burn targets, can be upcasted at higher mana cost / tier 2

See Invisibility: allows you to see invisible creatures nearby, requires concentration / tier 2

Silence: creates a 10m radius sphere where no sound inside can escape, size can be changed, requires concentration / tier 2

Copy Book: allows you to scan and copy a book at the same time, without using any ink and without opening the book you are scanning / tier 3

Scan Metal: you use your magic to detect the density and properties of the inside of a piece of metal, does not work on anti magic metals / tier 3

Counterspell: uses mana to stop a spell being cast, only works on the same tier of spell its used as, can be upcast. / tier 3

Dispel Magic: dispels a spell of the same tier already in effect / tier 3

Fireball: fires a flaming sphere that upon contact with a surface or target, explodes in a 6m radius dealing fire dmg / tier 3

Catnap: causes willing creatures to fall asleep, partially recovering their HP, stamina and mana upon waking up / tier 3

Flame Arrows: enchants a quiver so all the arrows inside it deal fire damage and set targets on fire / tier 3

Gaseous Form: turns you into a mist, able to fly and pass through the smallest of holes, requires concentration / tier 3

Glyph of Warding: creates a proximity trap on a flat surface, with different possible effects / tier 3

Haste: cast this spell on a willing creature, granting it super speed, when the spell ends the target becomes stunned, requires concentration / tier 3

Lightning Bolt: user fires a long range beam of electricity that goes in a straight line, hitting anything in its path / tier 3

Water Breathing: user or target can breathe underwater / tier 3

Dimension door: user and one target can teleport to a place they can see, within 30m / tier 4

Ice Shield: creates a shield of ice that makes you resistant to fire damage / tier 4

Greater Invisibility: allows you or a target to become invis. with their gear, and even attack while invis, concentration / tier 4
Ice Storm: creates freezing cold storm in a 6m radius circular area that deals bludgeoning and cold damage and freezes targets / tier 4

Wall of Fire: creates a wall of fire that is up to 20m long, it can be a straight line or can be a circle up to 6m in radius, with up to 30cm in thickness, enemies trying to go through take extra damage, requires concentration / tier 4

Resilient Sphere: encase a target in an almost indestructible sphere, where no attack or spell can reach them, but the target can breathe normally, requires concentration / tier 4

Cone of Cold: a 18m long cone of freezing air erupts from your paws/maw dealing cold damage and freezing targets, creatures killed by the spell will become ice statues / tier 5

Far step: medium range, can teleport you to a place you see within 50m / tier 5

Telekinesis: gives telekinesis equal to an unicorn the color of the telekinetic aura is the same as the color of your spirit, this spell uses no mana for smaller tasks, can be empowered with training / tier 5

Cloudkill: creates yellowish green cloud of deadly poison that is denser than air, and can be controlled by the user, targets inside this cloud get severely poisoned even if they don't breathe it / tier 5

Now I could use much stronger spells, even if it meant it would cost me a lot more mana, but the good thing was I had new perks too! And now, looking at them, this was really good!

Magic Blood: your unique blood's latent potential for conducting magical energy is begining to awake, but it's not fully realized yet, you add your Intelligence stat multiplied by 2 to your mana pool.

True Potential: Your Constitution is added to your HP and stamina.

Geophage: your addition of gemstones to your diet allowed your body to adapt to eating a larger variety of minerals, now you can consume different gemstones and even metals, thanks to your immunity to poison, you can now consume any heavy or radioactive metals, and not get any negative effects from them.

Dragon Bones: your bones are hardening as you grow in age and consume different minerals, your limbs are harder to break and your leverage is stronger, by you weight slightly more. To increase bone density, do more exercise. Current weight: 85kg

Dragon Scale: your scales begin to harden as you grow in age and consume different minerals, your scales are harder to cut and pierce, to increase your scales resilience, consume a higher variety of gemstones and minerals, different areas of the world will have different types of gemstones and other minerals that will provide different benefits.

Dragon Muscle: you have a big potential to grow muscle and that muscle is extremely dense and strong, but you must train yourself to be able to reach your potential, training will increase both your strength and constitution, while giving you extra power to your melee attacks.

Hybrid Mind: your preserve some human part in your brain that lets you see things from two different perspectives at once, that of a silver dragon and that of a human, you are not limited to being lawful good, you have potential for great good and great evil.
You still enjoy the same things other silver dragons do, like fine dining, socializing, protecting others comes as second nature to you and you, yet you also crave power, fortune and knowledge.

Multicast Adept: your accuracy with multicast spells improves by 20% and you can multicast from further away without missing... as much.

This was honestly amazing! All if this new skills were extremely promising, and they even hinted at how I would be able to grow stronger, and how I was just barely starting to develop, maybe this was just the start... But I wanted to see if Sylf and Kari had something similar, I needed to check their status window too.

Sylf known spells

Light / cantrip
Prestidigitation / cantrip
Ray of frost / cantrip
Firebolt / cantrip
Shocking bite /cantrip
Blade ward / cantrip
Absorb element / tier 1
Burning fangs / tier 1
Frost fangs / tier 1
Magic missile / tier 1
Protection from Evil and Good / tier 1
Shield / tier 1
Gust of Wind / tier 1
Scorching Ray / tier 2
Shatter / tier 2
Counterspell / tier 3
Dispel Magic / tier 3
Protection from Energy / tier 3
Elemental Weapon / tier 3
Remove Curse / tier 3
Fire/Ice shield / tier 3
Stone skin / tier 4
Ice Storm / tier 4
Wall of Fire / tier 4

Class Ability
Second wind: restores 40hp by sheer will.

Sylf knew a fair amount of combat spells, but the rarely used them, as she could not use offensive spells while holding her longsword, only self buffs, she could not cast using her paws either like I could, her spells also were much weaker compared to mine.

She had new perks it seems as well, which honestly I was really excited for too!

Black Wolf Soul: you stay strong in the face of overwhelming terror, you can no longer be paralyzed into inaction because of fear.

Fighter's Spirit: you add your Constitution multiplied by 2 to both your HP and your stamina.

Long Stride: your long legs and agile frame allow you to move at an exceptional speed, you are able to outrun most creatures and flee from most fights, your attacks are also 20% faster and you are harder to hit.

Multiattack Giant: you can attack faster in the same amount of time at enemies who are larger and slower than you, even imprecise stabs and slashes will not miss, unless the target has a weapon to parry them.

Her new perks were amazing, she was becoming an expert in armed combat... Maybe I should start using melee sometime, when I'm a bit older and I can actually reach further.

Now it was the time to check Kari and see what she could do.

Kari's Perks

Multiattack Prone: you are able to stab with your stinger continuously at targets that are on the floor, taking advantage of their vulnerable state.

Crushing Leap: you can jump high into the air and come down with your claws and weight, dealing high damage and knocking enemies you land onto prone, leaving them vulnerable.

Beast's Resilience: Your Constitution multiplied by 2 is added to your HP and your stamina.

Dense fur: resistance to bludgeoning, resistance to fire.

Feline Instincs: extremely resistant to fall damage, even if the wings are unusable, advanced darkvision.

Lion's Heart: immune to being charmed, fear or terror can't cause paralysis.

Class Abilities

Lion's Fury: you emit a loud roar that rallies your allies and demoralizes your enemies, you are overcome by fury and your melee attacks deal more damage, you also take less damage from all sources.

She was pretty impressive, from my understanding she seems more like a berserker type of fighter, which is awesome too, she will be a great addition to the team, I had to plan a battle strategy based on our team...

Mom would be at the front, using her sword to cut down foes, Kari would be on the middle, ready to defend either me or Sylf if either of us was overrun, and she would be attacking enemies that were left vulnerable either by mother or myself, while I would be in the backline, protecting both of them with precision spells, helping take enemies off balance and to distract them, not letting them focus on only one of us.

This seemed like the ideal plan, now it was time to allocate all of those points from the level ups, I felt once I did that, I would become much, much stronger in every way.

Points to allocate: 42 Points to allocate: 0
STR 19 / 0 / 19 STR 19 / 0 / 1 / 20
DEX 10 / 1 / 11 DEX 10 / 1 / 9 / 20
CON 17 / 0 / 17 CON 17 / 0 / 7 / 24
INT 12 / 10 / 22 INT 12 / 10 / 10 / 32
WIS 11 / 6 / 17 WIS 11 / 6 / 5 / 22
CHA 16 / 2 / 18 CHA 16 / 2 / 10 / 28
Total 85 / 19 / 104 Total 85 / 19 / 42 / 146

As soon as the process finished, I felt a surge of power flowing into me, my blood felt both hotter and colder at the same time somehow, energy was flowing through me like never before, I felt like I could freeze an entire lake with my magic and still have enough to reverse and even boil it until it was dry.

I became more aware of my surroundings, my perception became sharper, I felt like I could move much faster, and more precisely than before, my awareness of my own body, every muscle fiber, every nerve ending, every organ and bone, even every scale, all becoming somehow fresher, like I had woken up from the ideal nap and was craving some action and fun, every part of my being felt like it could take more punishment, I could even go longer without blinking, like... my eyes were less susceptible to drying out, or getting damaged.

What surprised me was the fact I felt more confident as well, like as if I was extremely used to talking to ponies, and even felt like conversations with royalty or nobility would be an everyday thing for me, it was hard to describe exactly how it felt, but it was like having more awareness of others enough to know exactly what to say.

I had a smile on my face, despite everything, now I felt like things would be okay in the end, I had a plan, and dinner was ready!

"Mom! Kari! dinner's ready, come and eat!" I announced loudly in the door of the tent, while i grabbed 3 plates from the bag of supplies, a metal ladle and I served each a big portion of stew meat and seafood stew, the smell was delicious and really my maw was drooling, but I knew I had to wait for it to cool down.

"Coming! we were having a little nap, oh? that smells wonderful son!" Mom said as he exited the tent, Kari exiting shortly after, with a face full of curiosity and hunger, she eyed the plate hungrily, her maw was drooling too and it looked pretty funny, and a bit terrifying.

'Hungry, aren't you Kari? but you must wait for it to cool down enough, or you're gonna burn your tongue!' I said placatingly, she gave me a look of slight indignation, like it was my fault the food was too hot.

'But cub... why did you heat the food on the fire? that is why it's hot, so what is the point of that? I'm really hungry... feeding my little one makes me get really hungry quicker, but I'd rather not get burnt so we will have to wait.' She sat on the ground in front of her bowl, that I had laid on top of a rock for her.

"Oh! I know a simple spell that would make the food cool enough to enjoy, here it goes." I snapped my paws, making a loud sound that sounded more like a gunshot, damn, were always my toes so strong? Kari and Sylf jumped at the noise, and stared at me with a small frown.

The spell did its job, cooling down the food to a point it would not hurt anyone, around the same temperature as body temperature for a mammal, that way it was warm but would not bother Kari, who was unfamiliar with cooked food clearly.

"Hey, you scared us! Please don't make such loud noises without warning son... but, the food is ready now? Oh, thank you, nevermind about that sound you made, lets just eat!" Then we ate, enjoyed the meal, it was not bad, not ideal, but it was tasty, filling and hearty, calming the three of us down enough so we could fully relax in the tent.

We laid 2 portable mattresses next to each other, I laid in the middle, completely surrounded by a giant cat and a giant wolf.

'Hey you two... you should check and allocate your points, uhh... Kari, I should explain some things first.' I then proceeded to explain to Kari exactly what the system was, I told her it was a magical power I had and could share with others that fought with me, that would empower them if they were my allies, I explained how she could choose what to make stronger, and explained what each stat meant, in the end she understood perfectly and I let her choose, but I explained she would need a lot of constitution to remain alive longer, and strength to be able to hurt our enemies more, more dexterity to be able to dodge and to be able to attack faster and more precisely, and the other stats increased some resistance to some magic, gave increased ability with magic and increased self awareness and the ability to convince others, all three which which for her, weren't that important, maybe with the exception of Wisdom that would allow her to know how to take care of her cub better.

Meanwhile, mom already had assigned the points she had, and she was asleep soon after, when I finished explaining everything to Kari, we both cuddled and soon after fell asleep as well, tomorrow would be the day that decides our fate, we either win, or we die, horribly.

Author's Note

If you wonder how Onyx managed to convince Kari and the Apples to do what he asks, he has high charisma for a reason, but even that was not enough to convince Granny Smith, she called him out on his shit immediately, she knew he was hiding something, and didn't want none of it, but the look he gave Bright and Pear made them realize they would be making an enemy out of him if they didn't help him there, and Kari was immensely indebted to him and Sylf, as they had saved her cub from the timberwolves, they could not have done much to Kari herself, but a single timberwolf can kill a manticore cub easily, if separated, this doesnt allow Kari to go and kill the timberwolves without losing her cub, which she REALLY didn't want to.

Chapter 19 Echoes of the past

We woke up late, it was almost noon, but we were feeling refreshed and full of energy, I stretched in the tent, letting out a big yawn, then blinking my eyes until my vision adjusted to the light, my stirring had woken up my two companions, a small yawn signifying their coming to the waking world, I nuzzled both of them fully awake and stood up, stretching my legs and arching my back.

"Morning everyone! You better be ready because we will have time for only a small snack, then it's time for peril and horrors beyond the veil of reality." I said without a hint of sarcasm in my tone, while I pulled out the pot of food and three clean plates, which I filled halfway, then triple cast prestidigitation to heat up the meals, and then handed to the two hungry ladies.

"Eat up, now it's half portions because we don't want to be overfilled during combat, we should be sated but just barely, that way we don't get weak in the stomach and lose our lunch, we don't know what awaits us in the other side." I mentioned before starting to eat, having prestidigitation was sort of like having a microwave oven that didn't requiere more than the slight bit of effort to use, probably about the same effort it would take to press the buttons on the real microwave as a human.

The food was just as tasty as yesterday, we were calm, we ate in peace and I decided to go and wash the plates, using telekinesis and pulling out all the dirty plates from my inventory, I lifted them all midair in my two toned blue/purple shimmering aura, I had never honestly tried it before, but it was amazing being able to lift objects with my mind... It was mesmerizing, the color of the aura, the floating plates, I could feel them as if I was touching them, my tiny barely growing horns were shining with the same glow, seems they are like antennas for telekinesis, my horns were no more than small nubs growing from the back of my skull, they were black in color, same as my claws.

I used some of our water to wash the plates, heating the water and then pouring it over the plates and wiping them with telekinesis like if it was a sponge, telekinesis was very useful, it could grab, pinch, rub, push, squeeze, pretty much anything, but the sensation was ghostly, it was very fun to experiment with it, but I didn't lose time, I had to hurry and get ready, so I dried the plates and put them in the camping supplies bag, then put everything away in my inventory.

We all got ready, I checked on my weapons, sharpened my claws with my claw file just in case, and mom checked on the sword and charged it's enchantment. Then we heard it.

Warning, Adept Dungeon starting in 20 seconds, prepare yourself for combat, you will not be able to exit the dungeon until the boss is defeated.

We all stood up and prepared ourselves, mom held the sword in her maw fully prepared to defend, I had my magic ready with a ray of frost charged, Kari had her claws extended too, looking anxiously around.

Without a sound of any kind, we were instantly somewhere new, going from a bright sunny day under the shade of the Everfree's trees, to a dark cloudy night with a blood red full moon as our only source of light, our eyes quickly adjusted to the reduced light thanks to our darkvision, and we could instantly see we were in the fields around a medieval looking village, in the center of this village stood a castle, it was a tall yet nowhere near as large as the Royal Canterlot Castle, it was also much simpler looking, made of dark gray stone rather than white marble and had no gold towers.

After sight came smell, most prominently the smell of mold and rotten vegetables, but then came other, even less pleasant smells, death, that's what it smelled like, I was not exactly an expert but I could say it smelled like whatever had died here had been rotting for a long time.

The fields were full of moldy decomposing veggies, all still mold covered and blackened, this area had pumpkins it seems, but despite how big they seemed to have been at some point, now they sunk into almost puddles of mold and mushiness, there were also potato around, I recognized that scent from rotting potato, its awful, but I stopped paying attention when mom poked my shoulder and pointed with her snout to the distance.

She pointed at the gates from the village, I had not really payed attention before, but there were many... That's... Deer bodies? No they were too colorful to be deer, and some had wings.

Bodies of various races of ponies, all in different states of decomposition, hanging by their hind legs and cut open on the belly, internal organs seemingly removed, we approached the grotesque display, they were hanging from wooden poles, the ponies also had their heads cut off, nowhere to be seen.

The wooden poles were like stakes, all along the outside of the wooden palisade that surrounded the village, they were easy to miss from our distance, as the eyes got drawn to the large foreboding castle on the middle, but once you saw what they were, it was hard to not keep looking, as we approached, we noticed there were no real way to identify the ponies, the dead apparently did not have cutie marks? I had never seen a dead pony before so I wasn't sure. Either way it was very disturbing but also hard to look away.

'Look out! They are on the top of the palisade!' mom said loudly in our heads, I quickly casted a shield to block, knowing that from that height we would be sniped by probably either bows, crossbows or magic, and a combination of arrows and crossbow bolts rained down on our personal shields, thankfully for this attacks my weak shield spell was enough to block, and the mana consumption was not really there unless the shields were destroyed.

I quickly narrowed my eyes and aimed a firebolt at one of the figures, but it dodged back inside, I growled, I wouldn't just let them continue shooting us with arrows, so I charged a fireball (-30MP 170/200) and simply made a hole in the palisade, causing the creatures near it to be tossed back inside the village.

??? Has taken 5 damage
??? Has taken 5 damage

The attack did some damage, but the enemies managed to dodge before they could get hit directly, they weren't mere beasts, they also probably had armor.

'Stay sharp, they're surely making an ambush, otherwise they would have already ran at us if they were mere monsters.' Sylf announced to which Kari and me nodded, I used telekinesis to move aside the burning logs and open a clear path, Sylf heads in first, followed by me and Kari at the back.

As soon as we entered the village proper, 9 feathery armored creatures jumped in front of us there were 3 on the front and 3 on each side, they had wings and beaks, I remember them, griffons?! But there was no shine, no life to their eyes, they were there, sure, but they were sunken, dry and cloudy, this creatures were not alive, immediately I knew they were undead, i dismissed the shields of my companions and I, getting ready to fight, the should would only get in our way.

They carried steel shortswords, or at least it looked like steel, and had chainmail armor, with some having steel helmets, a few had leather armor and carried steel longswords.

They stood partially upright, balanced on two legs and the feathery tail, their talons, grabbing the sword firmly, and as one, they rushed at us, using their wings to push forward and thanks to it they could use both arms while charging, they also did not make a sound, they were eerily silent other than the clinging sound of chainmail armor and the flap of wings, thinking quickly I used a fast 'misty step' to stand to their side, causing them to stop for a second, and that was the time i needed for my idea to come into fruition.

'Lightning Bolt' -30 MP 120/200
A powerful like of bright blue electricity shot forward in a straight line, connecting the 3 in an arc of sparking energy, it dug a hole right through them, and dissipated harmlessly against the wall of a house.

Zombie Griffon conscript has taken 30 damage! 115/150
Zombie Griffon conscript has taken 32 damage! 113/150
Zombie Griffon conscript has taken 29 damage! 119/150

As they spasmed I realized they would not be as easy to take down as a single attack.
'Inspect'

'LvL 15 Zombie Griffon conscript
HP 119/150
This creatures are the manifestations of the anger and desire for murder and violence that dying soldiers felt in their final moments of life, coalesced into beings who's sole purpose is to kill and cause pain.

They lack the ability to fly as their wings are partially rotten and the feathers have fallen off, the griffin flight magic is absent.

They posses just intelligence enough to understand military tactics, they however are not good at using them by themselves, they obey their officer's orders.

They have a total disregard for their own wellbeing and will mindlessly attack, while using basic rushing tactics unless an officer of higher rank gives them directions.

Weaknesses and resistances: immune to necrotic damage, resistance to slashing damage (on armored areas) resistance to cold, weakness to radiant/holy damage, weakness to fire.

POV shift Sylf

I got charged as soon as they were in my field of view, and i charged right back with my ignited longsword, the air shimmered from the heat, swinging fast against the approaching enemies, i cut the sword arm of two of them with a single swing of my blade.

Zombie Griffon conscript takes 35 damage, disarmed!
115/150HP
Zombie Griffon conscript takes 36 damage, disarmed!
114/150HP

While the other managed to slash at me, but I brought my longsword to bear at the last moment, while the last enemy was trying to recover and attack again, I shoved my sword through the undead creature, the fire melting the armor around the wound, and burning it from the inside.

Zombie Griffon conscript takes 45 damage! 105/150HP

I pulled the sword out of its torso and jumped back, right as the monster tried to stab at my head, it seems having having been stabbed through didn't really faze it, this monsters were proving to be worse than expected.

The two zombies had found their swords and were up again, now using it on their other arm it was clearly not their favored arm but they did not hesitate to charge again, the third enemy joined them and I was back where I started, this time I decided to let them get close, my strength was superior so I could easily parry their hits, I parried the first, dodged the other two and swung around in a low arc, slicing the legs
of 2 and causing their legs to break.

Zombie Griffon conscript took 25 damage, crippled! 90/150
Zombie Griffon conscript took 24 damage, crippled!
90/150

They didn't react much, and still tried to walk but with broken legs they couldn't stand, they still crawled with their damaged legs, but are in no shape to fight.

The last one however was fully capable of putting up a fight, but I had experience with them, they tried to attack all at once but they didn't really seem to be concerned for their own safety.

I ran towards the only enemy near me who was still a threat and unleashed a flurry of slashes, making it parrying harder and harder, he managed to parry the first two but they kept going, soon his sword was on the ground, his talons and legs cut in several pieces and hanging to his body by strips and chunks of dry dead flesh, the armor was partially melted into the body, burning large holes into it.

Zombie Griffon conscript takes 15 damage! 90/150HP
Zombie Griffon conscript takes 15 damage! 75/150HP
Zombie Griffon conscript takes 35 damage! 40/150HP
Zombie Griffon conscript takes 15 damage! 25/150HP
Zombie Griffon conscript takes 25 damage and is defeated!
Your party earns 300 EXP! Sylf has leveled up!

The unrelenting attacks to the helpless enemy managed to finally finish it off, but while I was focused attacking, one of the crawling griffons came close and slashed at my leg, causing it to bleed and leaving a shallow but long cut near my front left paw.

Sylf takes 6 damage! 195/201

I gasp and move away from it, turning to face them, good thing I moved because they were getting around my back and trying to surround me, but I was now aware and free to deal with them!

I jump high up and aim to land on top of one of the crawling zombies, it tries to put it's sword up but I use my own sword to slap the enemy's blade down while I fall, landing on top of its body and breaking it's spine, or something, there is a loud crack.

Critical hit! Zombie Griffon conscript takes 50 damage! Spine shattered, attack and speed reduced. 40/150HP

It worked very well, but I wish this creatures would just die already, the other one was really trying to get to me, both were, but the crushed one was even slower.

I stepped up to the still sword wielding enemy, easily disarming it with a guard maneuver, then I simply start to stab it over and over, aiming for non armored areas, joints and holes in the armor, there are always ways to bypass armor, specially less protective armor like this.

After killing one I killed the other, without their weapons it was just standing over them and stabbing over and over and over until they stopped trying to fight back.

2 Zombie Griffon conscript are slain, your party earns 600 EXP

If this things had blood, it would be all over the ground by now where I stabbed them.

Kari's POV

I roared loudly at the enemies, this seemed more dangerous than Timberwolves, and more used to fighting, but I couldn't let them intimidate me, as they charged I jumped over them and landed behind, turning midair with my wings, this things were slower to turn than I was, so I grabbed one by the head and started to shake it up and down making its body slam to the floor several times violently.

Zombie Griffon conscript has taken 25 damage! 125/150
Zombie Griffon conscript has taken 25 damage! 100/150
Zombie Griffon conscript has taken 25 damage! 75/150

I felt a stabbing pain in my neck, suddenly, this monster, despite being slammed and bitten on the head managed to get it's sword up and stab at the side of my neck, I roared in pain and let it go, sending it flying against a house, it quickly got up and approached me again, but slower and with clear signs of broken bones.

Kari has taken 18 damage! 172/190

The other two zombies approach me from the sides, trying to attack, but I dodge by running forward and using my stinger to stab the recovering soldier that's against the wall, I stab him in the face, the stinger aimed at the eye, injecting paralyzing poison inside it's brain case, it does the trick as it stops struggling, not even able to lift it's sword to stab at me.

Zombie Griffon conscript has taken 30 damage! 45/150
Paralyzed! Can't attack or move until the poison runs it's course.

I see the others, from the corner of my eyes and dodge their simultaneous stabs to my head by ducking under, then I jump up, pushing their sword arms away, their death grip on their swords is strong so they don't let go, even with all the force of the sudden impact, but I turn to the left and rush one, pushing it with my head and making a bull rush towards the burning like of timber from the palisade, where flaming wood is poking out at various angles after being blown open by Onyx.

The charge ends with the unfortunate zombie griffin stabbed through into a pointy log from the barrier that was still on fire.
I thankfully didn't get stabbed myself because I stepped back and pushed it with my forelegs until the log came out of the chest, piercing the chainmail.

Zombie Griffon conscript takes 50 damage! Stuck! 100/150
Zombie Griffon conscript takes 30 damage! 70/150

The fire was burning it pretty nicely, but there was another of this things still trying to kill me, I swatted the sword aside with my claws, parrying the hit, then but directly onto its head, pushing into the ground and starting to crush its skull, even with the metal helmet on, the helmet was weak and cheap, not enough to allow the head inside to remain intact, at the same time my paws held onto the sword talon, claws digging deep into its rotten bones.

Critical attack! Zombie Griffon conscript takes 65 damage! 85/150
Critical attack! Zombie Griffon conscript takes 60 damage! 25/150
Critical attack! Zombie Griffon conscript takes 25 damage and it's defeated! Party earns 300 EXP

The disgusting taste of rotting brain, skull and feathers as the head finally pops and oozes out of the helmet makes me drop the now fully dead zombie and spit out the chunks that got into my mouth, it tastes awful and I want to rinse my mouth in the river after that.

I check on the other two, first the one pinned to the wall, is pulling itself free, while the other is still paralyzed.

I decide to finish off the one stuck to the wooden stake before it frees itself, I move in front of it and try a different approach, with a savage bite instead of crushing it's skull I grab firmly and pull up, while it's body is stuck, it desperately tries to stab me but my paws are keeping it's talons pinned down, I pulled hard and with twisting motions. Until the head popped off with a loud ripping and cracking sound, as the chainmail holding it to the body is ripped partially as well.

Critical attack! Zombie Griffon recruit is slain! Party earns 300 EXP!

I decide this is the best method to deal with them, if ripping off their heads is possible I won't have to try and crush their helmets and get the disgusting rotting brain and bone paste in my mouth, I can spit out the full intact head and move on, I head to the third and while its helpless, I pull off its head as well, much easily than the last one, as it doesn't struggle or try to stab me.

Critical attack! Zombie Griffon recruit is slain! Party earns 300 EXP!

With the last of my enemies slain, I turn to check on the others, looking for who needs my help more, but it seems I was not needed for now.

POV Shift, Onyx

After having learned more about this creatures, I realized that thanks to their metal armor and weapons, heat metal would be the ideal attack here, it only required to turn my mana to the weapons, channeling to all of them at the same time took a lot of energy out of me, but it was really worth it.
I triple casted 'Heat Metal' -60MP 60/200 One for each of their swords, making them red hot, but they did not drop them for some reason, they instead decided it was better to have their talons burn.

Zombie Griffon conscript has taken 22 damage! 93/150
Zombie Griffon conscript has taken 23 damage! 90/150
Zombie Griffon conscript has taken 20 damage! 99/150

They decided to attack me with the burning swords, but their talons were weakened, still they were upon me, I had no time to run back, and didn't think using all my mana was a good idea, so I pulled out my steel dagger and took advantage of my small size to duck under the swing, then stab the first one with the dagger in the heart, but it didn't seem to stop him.

Zombie Griffon conscript has taken 15 damage! 78/150

That did not do a lot, even when the dagger was sunk to the hilt, probably piercing this monster's hearth, it just did almost nothing so I pulled out my dagger and kept it ready.
The red hot swords were still burning their talons to the bone, they swung at me, I tried to dodge but with the 3 of them swinging at the same time, 2 of the slashes hit my scales, the slashes themselves did nothing more than leave scratches on my armor, but the fact they were red hot when the came into contact with my scales, made them burn and caused some minor damage and scale cracking.

Onyx has taken 4 damage! 176/180 HP
Onyx has taken 3 damage! 173/180 HP

Zombie Griffon conscript has taken 24 damage! 54/150
Zombie Griffon conscript has taken 23 damage! 67/150
Zombie Griffon conscript has taken 25 damage! 74/150

Those red hot swords were dangerous, if it weren't for my dense scales those slashes would have burned deep into my flesh, they still hurt a bit, but it wasn't that bad, it didn't slow me down. The griffins instead, had their talons now blackened and burned almost to the bone, the smell of burnt rotten meat permeated the area, it stunk, but not as bad as regular scent of corpses and rotten produce, so I could endure it.

I had to get some distance, they were trying to stab me now, knowing slashing at my body wouldn't get them anywhere, I used a short range teleport (-20mp 40/200) and stood outside their reach, quickly casting 3 firebolts in a row as they turned to face me.

Zombie Griffon conscript has taken 16 damage! 51/150
Zombie Griffon conscript has taken 16 damage! 58/150

The first one missed, and the three griffins rushed me again, attacking as one, I turned to run and went around the corner of a house, they were fast but I dodged their attacks as I ran, the red hot swords had burned their talons to the bone by now, and even those bones were beginning to blacken.

Zombie Griffon conscript has taken 25 damage! 29/150
Zombie Griffon conscript has taken 25 damage! 26/150
Zombie Griffon conscript has taken 24 damage! 34/150

I was angry, being chased like if I was a bunny being hunted by hounds, this was embarrassing, I had enough, I turned around and grabbed them in my telekinetic field, then held them still against the ground, it took some effort but it was not as hard as I thought, using the ground as leverage it took less effort than lifting them and holding them in the air, instead I could just keep them pressed against the ground in specific areas.

I approached, my dagger held in my claw, I got to the nearest one and calmly lifted the mail coif, then pull it up and off along with the helmet, it drops to the floor with a hollow metallic clang, I stare at the creature, it was clearly a griffin, it had feathers and all, it's face was contorted into an expression of absolute hate and malice, it's sunken and cloudy eyes staring at me with disdain, I had a neutral expression, this things were no more than mere monsters, they had not an ounce of consciousness, I convinced myself, I am pretty sure I'm right.

I brought down the dagger, and started cutting the leathery skin, easily sliced open and the flesh, it looked like overcooked beef, then there were arteries and veins, that had a viscous dark red, almost pure black paste instead of blood, I cut the neck completely, but the spine remained somewhat stuck, I gave a tug and the head came completely off, cleanly more or less, the griffin did not make a single sound, not a rasp, not a scream, it just... stopped resisting to my magic.

Zombie Griffon conscript has been slain! Party earns 300 EXP

Now with one gone, the ease of holding the rest down increased significantly, why had I not done this from the start? Telekinesis is very strong, at least against this weak zombies, the only reason I was afraid of them getting close was because I heated their swords to the point they would fry my scales if they touched me, I had expected them to save themselves from the horrible burns but they took them without a care.

I decapitated the other two, the fact they did not bleed and didn't make a noise made it feel like I was playing with a medical doll, those they use to show the anatomy of humans in medical school. This felt less wrong somehow than the school dissections of frogs.

Zombie Griffon conscript has been slain! Party earns 300 EX
Zombie Griffon conscript has been slain! Party earns 300 EX

I wiped the black paste off on the enemies armor, then sheathed my dagger, then headed back to near the palisade hole I made earlier to meet with the others, who seemed to do well on their first fight of the dungeon, I was sure this fodder enemies were nothing more than the ones patrolling this area, and there would be much stronger enemies the deeper we advance into the village.

'Everyone okay? That was an... Interesting fight, any of you are wounded? I just got some minor cuts and small burns on my sides, but they'll fully heal on their own in a few days, nothing beyond scale deep.' I announced telepathically to my companions.

'I just got a small cut on my foreleg, but it's not bleeding or anything!' Mom's voice came through, I smiled, at least she didn't get seriously hurt.

'I have a puncture wound on my neck, but it's not a vital area, it's bleeding a little but much less than before, do you have anything that could help patch it up?' Kari answered and I approached her looking at her neck thoughtfully, yes she had a wound about an inch deep in her neck, but her thick muscle provided protection for her arteries, she was lucky, but the wound was bleeding a bit.

'I have a roll of gauze in my camp supplies, along with some alcohol to disinfect, but this is gonna hurt a whole lot, just saying.' I warn her and grab the camp supplies, taking it off my inventory and opening on the floor, looking around until I find the small first aid kit that we bought, I was being cheap and dumb, so I just bought a cheap kit, probably should have spent a few thousand bits and buy the proper expeditionary kit for explorers, that had pretty much a way to treat any kind of wound.

'Do it, I just need to be back in fighting condition, a little bit of pain won't stop me.' I nodded and grabbed the small bottle of alcohol, cleaned my paws fully then dipping the gauze in alcohol, making it fully soaked i put it over my paw, claw retracted, and for lack of a better word, inserted my finger inside the wound and cleaned it well, Kari's eyes widened and she cringed but she didn't make a single cry of pain, i was as quick as possible, once rubbing the wound raw and clean, i doused it with a bit more alcohol and then inserted a rolled up piece of gauze, then I shaved the fur around the area, covered the hole with a bit of gauze and used the medical tape to hold the gauze in place.

'There, that should prevent infection and keep the wound from bleeding, the wound is not too big and no arteries were severed so it should close pretty quickly, even if leaves a bit of a hole on your neck.'

'Thank you... That did hurt but I feel better now, it doesn't sting as much as before, you're a good cub Onyx, but how do you know how to patch up a wound?' I shrugged, moving to mom to check up on her.

'I grew up on a bad neighborhood, knowing how to help people in emergencies was a good thing to know so I went and learned to provide first aid, I probably should tell you that I am not exactly a hatchling, I mean I am, what I is mean I've lived a life before this, in another place, it's a long story but what I want to say is... I am older than you by now, I have more experience in life, maybe about the same as mom.'

'Ah, that would explain your behavior, very wise yet also very cub like, you have two sides that are different but in harmony, or that's how I see it.' Kari said softly, her voice had a certain wonder to it, she was very much interested in my story, and at least thought it was cool, I smiled.

'Thank you, sometime I'll tell you more, what I told mom, you deserve to know and I'm sorry but we didn't have time to talk much, maybe when we finish the dungeon we will be able to talk and relax, but for now let's focus on surviving, right?'

'Right, you are completely correct, I will rest while you check up on your mother.' I nodded and turned back to Sylf, who was smiling at me.

'I'm proud of you Onyx, for telling Kari and for how well you treated her wound, I learned first aid at the academy too, but I am not exactly able to provide first aid, my paws aren't as useful as yours, and using mouth for first aid is a big no, so thank you, my lovely son!' I blushed slightly at the praise, I looked away and scratched the back of my head.

'M-mooom, you know I would do anything to help you and Kari, I owe you two at least that much... But that was sweet of you to say, thanks.' I shook my head and started to patch up mom's cut, I realized I could just use telekinesis, and tried doing that, and no surprises, it worked wonders, even if manipulated small objects took more concentration, in the end mom was good as new, her wound was much less severe, basically a long scratch only on the upper layers of skin.

After we were done, I explained to our new companion how to loot enemies, we start looking all the bodies, they thankfully don't break open like the spiders when looted, they just dissolve into ash and disappear, much cleaner in my opinion, and we got some decent loot this time, all the enemies gave us their swords, sure the swords were pretty bad, dulled and even a bit rusted, but all that could be fixed, and the steel would be useful and valuable, steel was not a cheap metal, only Equestria and Saddle Arabia sold steel, other nations didn't have it, probably because a certain princess had basically bullied other countries into giving up their steel industry a long time ago.

In total 7 lvl 15 steel shortswords, and 2 lvl 15 steel longswords, they were weaker than mom's, but still deadly weapons. We also obtained a good amount of coin, each enemy had 50 gold pieces, in total we collected 450 gold pieces, which went into coin pouches and into the inventory, other than that there was the armor, but it was so raggedy and damaged from the fight that it was not salvageable, only 2 gambeson armors were sort of intact, but they smelled so bad and had so many stains of dry blood that we refused to even try them without washing them first.

We headed inside of the first house that was near us, seeking shelter and a place to rest for a bit, when we opened the old medieval wooden door, we saw a ghostly figure staring at us, it was an earth pony stallion, but it was... Transparent? It was looking at us in fear, his eyes darting between the three of us, slowly moving back as if afraid, it then seemed to realize something, and calmed down quickly after that. Just hovering in front of us with a curious expression, I was a bit spooked honestly, I had never seen a ghost before, but my senses told me this pony ghost was not angry, neither was he attacking, he was just standing there waiting for us to talk.

"Uhm... Hello? Sorry I didn't know you lived here." I spoke softly, this seemed to surprise him, but then a small smile appeared on his ghostly face.

"You're not like them, little one, why are you here? And who are those with you? They are also not part of them..." The unknown ghost said quietly, but loud enough for all of us to hear.

"I'm this little one's mother, my name is Sylf and next to me is our Manticore companion, Kari, and you sir? What is your name?" Mom answered politely, I nodded.

"I have no name, I never had, but I think I was a potter once, all of the ponies who lived here, none of us had names, we are... Echoes of the ponies who used to live here, a long time ago." I was a bit confused so I asked for clarification.

"What I mean to say is, this place is a nightmare we are trapped in, we are the emotions, the memories, the energy, the fear and the hope, the hate and the sadness, of those who experienced this massacre." I was at a loss for words, was this being one of the manifestations? But from the side of the victims?

"What happened here, to create this? What happened in reality that caused this place to come to exist?" The pony had a sad expression, this being, this ghost had many emotions inside, it was... Conscious? How? Maybe because... Ponies naturally have a lot more emotional energy than other creatures, they also have a much different mind, being slow to anger but easier to befriend, even I, as a monster to some ponies, still managed to make friends despite dragons being considered the terror of the skies in some areas.

"We... They, the real ponies that is, were near the border with Griffonia, or the Griffon Empire as they called themselves, the nation of the griffons, this used to be griffon territory, but Equestria expanded and sent us to occupy the area, we built a village, a castle for the Duchess who was sent to keep watch over us simple peasants for years nothing happened, but one day, the griffons came in number, as we.. they were earth ponies here, most of them were farmers, they couldn't escape, we tried fighting back but the griffons had an army, and most importantly, they had swords and armor."

"We stood no chance, they grabbed all of... Them, the mares and stallions, and send the foals to walk all the way back into Equestrian territory, they had that small mercy at least, but what they did to us... I- I mean what they did to those ponies, they took all of us outside, tied us by the hind hooves to stakes they built outside of town, then they started to... Cut off our parts... While they laughed and joked amongst themselves, they did this to the mares and stallions, none were spared, then I saw them start to open up ponies by their bellies... It was horrible!"

The ghost seemed too distraught to continue, it clearly couldn't cry but it covered it's face with it's hooves as if crying, it's eyes full of pain and sadness, I could see now how this were considered negative emotions, they had gone through so much pain and suffering, that they manifested as basically a copy of the pony psyche in their last hours of life, including their memories of the situation as a whole.

"I'm so sorry mister... I didn't meant to make you remember all of those painful memories! I'm really sorry." I approached and gave the ghost a heartfelt hug full of compassion, I really wish I could have helped them, no one deserved such a horrible fate, I had died but it was almost painless, I had no time to feel trauma or even much fear, it was like a fever dream, but I bet what the real version of this ghost, felt very much real as they were tortured publicly.

However as soon as I came into contact with the ghost, It felt incredibly cold, like sinking into a freezing cold lake, for a normal creature it would have been like being stabbed by thousands of ice spikes as their cells froze one by one, but for me it felt like a very comforting hug, This cold reminded me of the frozen north, when I had first existed the cave and felt the freezing cold winds up in the mountains.

"I-Im sorry little one, Its just very painful to remember that... Yet I can't think of much else, those are my core memories, I wish I didn't exist... So I would not suffer so." Man... That was incredibly depressing.

"You are real, aren't you little one? I felt that, even if strangely cold, your soul, it's there, I remember what being a pony felt like, having a soul, you don't know how it feels to until you lose it, and then you know how it used to feel... Warm, despite you being so cold I feel the light of your soul." The ghost said after a few minutes of depressing silence.

"Yeah, I'm alive, the reason why I'm so cold is because I'm cold blooded... Hey mister? Would you be so kind as to let the three of us stay at your home? We don't want to stay out there with those griffons lurking about... We were lucky we only ran into a small group of 9." The pony ghost seemed surprised but intrigued.

"You defeated 9 of them? That's very good, we ponies weren't even able to kill a single one before they caught us all... I bet my real self would have cheered at that, but I have no soul, I just feel..
An odd sense of peace, maybe... If you destroy all of them I will cease to exist and stop suffering from this memories? But my answer is yes, you and your companions can stay, but please, be careful, the griffons are strong, they have very capable soldiers, not only fodder that they send to watch over the walls."

"Thank you, I will have that in mind, we just need an hour or two of rest and we will go out again to fight them, and I promise when they are all defeated, you will stop existing and there will be no more suffering." The ghost moved away and just sat in a corner of the mostly empty house, it was old small, but with enough room for all of us to sit down or even lay down on the floor.

We relaxed and had a nap letting our bodies recharge and heal, the pony just had its eyes closed and seemed to just sit there thinking to itself, sometimes his face would have a grimace of pain or a sad look, he was truly a tormented being, those were the last thoughts I had before falling asleep.

Author's Note

Here it is, the first chapter of the second dungeon, unlike the first dungeon, this one has a few mysteries and even more of a story than the first one, which will be revealed bit by bit.

Chapter 20 Strip to win

Onyx POV

I awoke feeling refreshed, my mana was full once again, a nice catnap felt exactly like what I needed, I stretched, yawning and feeling back to full health, blinking a bit I looked at the others, who were still asleep, and gently shook them awake, the ghost was still where I last saw him, looking at us with the faintest sad smile, seemingly remembering something about the life of the pony he once was.

"You all remind me of how it was... Being alive, being real, it feels oddly calming, despite knowing I should be sad, I hope your mission here goes well, and if you come back and I'm still here, I ask you to return and find a way to destroy me, I beg of you you all."

"I promise I will, I think I have a way so i will, once we are done, I will come back to check on you myself, but you must understand, my companions and I are risking our lives here, and we will focus on surviving first and then we will help you, okay?"

"I know, you are alive, please, stay that way and try to remain sane and healthy, you remind me of what we used to be like, back then..." The sadness was contagious, I couldn't keep talking to him or I may break down crying, I'm not strong emotionally, and seeing this... Adorable ghost so sad was making me misty eyed.

"D-dont say that mister, you'll make me cry... Please focus on the present, soon you'll stop feeling pain, I will make it all stop, have a little patience..."

"Yes, you are right little one, I must stay strong, thank you for your compassion, I can feel you care about this echo, well... Goodbye you three, If you never to recover you can come stay at my home again." With that we stood up and left, heading to the main street and looking around for more soldiers.

We spotted a group un ahead, they were walking up and down the street in a patrol. Thankfully we were far away and had not gotten in the street yet, so we were obscured by the buildings, the soldiers were different from the others, this ones had plate armor, and there was a larger one with a plume on its head in the middle of the group, surrounded by soldiers in full armor, that middle one was taller and stronger looking, also in full plate armor.

I decided to inspect them, they were clearly not the rabble of before.
'Inspect'

'LvL 20 Undead Griffon - Imperial Army soldier'
200 HP
Trained soldier from the Empire's army, dangerous and disciplined, will use more advanced tactics than conscripts and target vital points.

Perks:
Coordinated attack: they attack as a team, covering each other and not letting any of their group to be separated.
Attack formations: they will make coordinated charges and will use their advantage against you.
Self preservation: this enemies will not mindlessly attack if they are in danger, they will retreat and regroup of they are outmatched and outnumbered, possibly coming back with reinforcements.
Heavy multilayer armor: the extremely heavy armor this soldiers wear is extremely protective but it keeps the wings inside the armor and the user is unable to fly.
Weaknesses and resistances: resistance to slashing (armor), resistance to piercing(armor), immune to necrotic damage, resistance to cold damage, resistance to poison damage (cannot be poisoned), weakness to lightning, weakness to heat damage, weakness to radiant damage.

This was not good, this guy's weren't peasants with swords and chainmail like the last we fought, I relied the information to both of our companions, Sylf was wide eyed and her eyes betrayed her fear, we had to try to ambush them if we wanted to win, I communicated that to them too, this would be a hard fought battle.

'Inspect'

LvL 25 Undead Griffon - Imperial Army officer
300HP

Trained officer of the ancient Imperial Army of Griffonstone, the Military Academy there was amongst the most prestigious in the world during the time this soldier studied there, they were trained in every aspect of warfare, even in how to counter unicorn magic, even if this counters often proved ineffective as history proved.

Perks:
Deadly Counter: if he parries an attack he can swiftly delivery a stab or slash to a vital area and cause massive damage.
Mage slayer: has learned how to dodge combat magic at short range and attack swiftly before the caster can dodge or retreat.
Attack order: is able to give commands to the soldiers below his rank and coordinate them to fight better.
Self preservation: this enemy will not mindlessly attack if they are in danger, they will retreat and regroup of they are outmatched and outnumbered, possibly coming back with reinforcements.
Heavy multilayer armor: the extremely heavy armor this soldiers wear is extremely protective but it keeps the wings inside the armor and the user is unable to fly.

Resistances and weakness: resistance to slashing (armor), resistance to piercing(armor), immune to necrotic damage, resistance to cold damage, resistance to poison damage (cannot be poisoned), weakness to lightning, weakness to heat damage, weakness to radiant damage.

I wanted to hide inside one of the houses and cry, how was I gonna be able to do anything to this monster?! I relied this information to my companions and we all had doubts, an ambush was necessary for this to work, or we would be butchered.

We hid and watched very carefully, the route of this patrol seemed to simply walk back and forth, they were far away and thankfully didn't listen to the attack on the palisade, or maybe they simply didn't care about the conscripts.

I theorized if we were to get on top of the houses, sneakily... We could maybe get the high ground advantage, or maybe I could stay up there and have the other two on the ground to attack in melee, while I casted spells from the roof, it could work... My first spell would have to be a high level spell that would deal enough damage to cripple the enemy, to weaken them somewhat so Sylf and Kari could rush in and finish them off while they were weakened...

What worried me more was the high ranking soldier, I think he was priority one to kill if we wanted to win, and I knew I could kill an enemy doing certain things like decapitation, at least with this enemies it seemed to work.

After giving it some thought I had a few ideas, first I thought about putting up a firewall around them, but then I wouldn't be able to cast any other concentration spells, an ice storm would fix that problem but they were resistant to ice, and probably wouldn't be bothered by ice much, but this last plan I came up with would be pretty awesome if it worked.

I would have Kari show herself in the middle of the road, and have her roar so they hear her, when they come running to attack I would pull off their helmets at the same time with my telekinesis from out of view, then I would cast greater invisibility on Sylf, and have her jump down on top of one of them, while she was invisible, she could attack at the disoriented and confused enemies, cutting off their heads, while I sniped them from a distance to distract them, this will work! It was perfect, but there was further planning to do.

This helmets were bascinets, I think, they must have at least two straps to hold the helmet in place, I would have to rip them off or undo them all at the same time, so I would focus my magic on the neck of the helmet, feeling around for the straps, once I found them, I would undo them quickly, I have to be very precise otherwise they would realize and I didn't want to find out how hard would be to simply pull on the helmets, probably would run out of mana before I managed to break the metal that connects the helmet to the chestplate, the neck armor and helmet needed to come off in a single piece, so undoing the straps was my only option.

Full plate steel armor was not easy to get through, it was a nightmare to deal with, plus enemies usually had under armor, possibly up to 3 layers of armor, first plate, then chainmail and then gambeson or leather, and maybe regular clothing under that.

I needed to get their helmets off, or we would be screwed, we couldn't beat them in a fair fight, I just knew it, there were too many and they were on equal ground with us, each!

Our biggest advantage was magic, but we were outnumbered, I explained the plan to both of them, how we were first going to go our separate ways, Kari stayed behind the house, me and mom crossed the street when the patrol was walking away from us, we ran silently around the house and approached the building that was right on the path the enemy was going to go into.

I quickly cast 'Dimension Door' bringing mom and I up to the roof, thankfully it was wide enough to hide us, and sturdy enough not to collapse under our combined weight. -40MP 160/200 MP

Once on the roof I gave the signal, while mom remained laying down to not be seen.

'Kari, now, come out and roar, open your wings and get their attention.' And she did just that, the roar was not too loud but it was enough to be heard from all the way out to the patrol, who turned around quickly and looked in the direction of the noise, taking advantage of that opportunity, I started casting a very subtle pinpoint telekinesis on the inside of the armor's neck joint of this soldiers, I risked a slight peek and thankfully the shimmering was not visible from outside, and the soldier didn't react to the touch, seems like they did have several layers of armor, which would make a regular fight pretty much a nightmare.

They started to walk in formation in the direction of Kari, but I had found what I was looking for, I knew now where the helmet straps were, all 3 of them per soldier, I slowly unbuckled their helmet straps, and since this was inside the chestplate it was not visible, not that their bascinet helmets had good visibility in the first place, from what I remember, this helmets didn't allow you to move your head much if at all, but they had the best protection, or probably second to armet helmets.

After a few seconds of fiddling and getting used to the straps, I figured out exactly how to undo them quickly, and then intensified my magic and grabbed the full helmets instead, now they were right next to us, I grabbed all the helmets and now they realized something was wrong, they stopped dumbfounded and in that instant I pulled up with a sudden force, taking off their helmets and sending them into the air before they could think of grabbing them. I smirked, placing them all in my inventory. -20MP 140/200 That took a good bit of effort.

Before they could know what was going on I casted 'Greater invisibility' -40MP 100/200 on Sylf, and she immediately jumped down with the sword in her maw, she landed on the back of the griffon commanding officer, who before he could recover, had his exposed upper neck stabbed, the longsword going through the spinal cord, severing the nerves.

Then the sword ripped off the remaining flesh connecting the head to the body, the head fell with a thud, the other soldiers shocked tried to form, but another 2 head were cut off before they could figure out what was happening, they didn't speak, could they communicate telepathically between them? Or were they all mute? I honestly had no idea.

Deadly Critical attack! Undead Griffon Imperial Army officer has been slain! Your party earns 2000 EXP
Deadly Critical attack! Undead Griffon Imperial Army soldier has been slain! Your party earns 800 EXP
Deadly Critical attack! Undead Griffon Imperial Army soldier has been slain! Your party earns 800 EXP
Onyx has leveled up to 22! 2164/5517 Sylf 6024/6621 Kari has leveled up to 23! 1283/6621

Then Kari joined the fight, she swiped her claws at the heads of the soldiers, but they dodged or parried, they tried to counter attack her but I intervened from above, pushing them off balance with a wave of telekinesis and sending electric bolts aimed at their heads, shocking them and making them unable to get a good hit in.
Their heads looked... Less dead and more healthy, they were still clearly undead, but they looked more fresh, there was also now liquid blood, which was not quite fully liquid, it was still thick, but it flowed out of the neck when the head was cut, which was pretty gross to see.

Sylf' POV

The soldiers now seemed to have realized what's going on, there were 4 of them, but now we had the advantage, now with them formed into a circle with swords pointed out and their backs all together, they were harder to decapitate or ambush, but still my invisible form stabbed one on the head, making the blade go out from the back of it's skull.

Critical attack! Undead Griffon Imperial Army soldier has taken 80 damage! 120/200

While the sword was stabbed inside the skull, I didn't expect the soldier with a sword stuck in its skull to stab at me on my front left leg, that was trying to hold the sword arm to the side, the stab was hard, this monster had a lot more force than the conscripts that we had fought before.

Sylf takes 25 damage! 176/201 Sylf is bleeding! -5hp per minute until bleeding stops.

"Ghaaaaaa! Fuuuck!" I screamed as the sword pierced the muscle and poked at my leg bone, the pain was enough to make me recoil back, it seems to kill this creatures we must destroy the spine, I pulled the sword back and brought it down on the middle of the neck this time, cutting off the spinal cord.

Deadly Critical attack! Undead Griffon Imperial Army soldier has been slain! You earn 800 EXP
Onyx 2964/5517 Sylf has leveled up to level 24! 203/7945 Kari 2083/6621

My relief at being fully healed was short lived, as the other soldiers seemed to realize where I was when I stabbed this undead, and they stabbed in my general direction while I had my sword stuck into the neck of the now dead enemy, one of their swords sunk deep into my side, thankfully being stopped by the ribcage, before the others could stab me too, I jumped back, causing deep lacerations on my side as the sword was forcefully pulled out, cutting into the muscle and skin.

Sylf took 28 damage! 178/206hp Sylf is bleeding! -5hp per minute until bleeding is stopped.
Sylf took 5 damage from blood loss! 173/206hp

I bit my tongue to keep myself from crying out again, they would find me easier if they heard me again, maybe next time I wont be so lucky, I felt hot tears of pain running down my face, this was terrifying and too painful, but now there were only 3 of them now, we had a pretty decent chance, I needed to endure!

I moved around them, steeling myself mentally, blood dripping from my wound, I now knew I had to aim right at the middle of the neck or risk getting turned into a wolf shaped pincushion.

'I'm going to stop the invisibility, and then concentrate in holding them to the ground, get ready to rush in and kill them quick, I won't be able to hold them for more than a few seconds!' we both heard Onyx's mental command, and both send an acknowledgment.

As soon as we did, I could feel my invisibility fade, the griffins glared at me while trying to keep watch over Kari too, they were surrounded, and had nowhere to escape to. Not soon after, they were suddenly pushed headfirst into the floor, unable to even put their talon down as the talons were spread to the sides and also pressed to the ground uselessly, like as if they were bowing and surrendering, but I could see they were shaking slightly, trying to free themselves with all their strength, I knew Onyx wouldn't be able to hold them for long.

'Now! kill them quick!' Onyx's strained mental voice yelled, we both moved in and complied in seconds.

I brought my sword down and pointed at the base of the skull, severing the brain from the spine with a clean stab.

Deadly Critical attack! Undead Griffon Imperial Army soldier has been slain! Your party earns 800 EXP Onyx 3764/5517 Sylf 1003/7945 Kari 2883/6621

Kari however didn't have a sword so she grabbed the head in her maw, stepped over the body, pressing down and pulled the head up harshly while twisting it with her jaws, she grunted with effort and after a nasty tearing sound the head came off in a shower of blood still connected to a bit of the spine, she then spit the head away in disgust.

Deadly Critical attack! Undead Griffon Imperial Army soldier has been slain! Your party earns 800 EXP Onyx 4564/5517 Sylf 1803/7945 Kari 3683/6621

And I moved quickly to slay the last enemy using the same method as the first, the undead was seemingly trying to move it's sword arm, but a quick and precise stab cut the spine in half, stopping the struggle, immediately Onyx stopped his telekinetic force, I could hear him panting from down here.

Deadly Critical attack! Undead Griffon Imperial Army soldier has been slain! You earn 800 EXP

Congratulations, Imperial Army patrol destroyed! For your perfectly executed coordinated ambush you earn an extra point in all stats! Onyx 5364/5517 Sylf 2603/7945 Kari 4483/6621

Onyx's has achieved a feat of magic by using his telekinesis in a very clever way to help his party slay powerful opponents, he has reached the rank of Expert in magic, granting him increased power and more precise control on multiple objects at the same time, gaining the perk: Magic Support.
Magic Support: you have learned the benefits of using magic to support your allies during combat from an elevated and concealed position, making their odds of victory increase exponentially, having high ground against unaware enemies may make them unable to focus enough to take advantage of their perks and abilities, your magic has increased accuracy in this situation.

I sat down, letting out a sigh of relief, the fight was over for now, I felt my blood still flowing out of me, making me wince, I needed to get this patched up quick.

'Onyx... my baby please come here, I need your help, my side is bleeding.' I heard the little dragon walking on the roof and approaching the edge, then he climbed down, using his retractable claws, he was pretty good at climbing it seems, which I was happy for, this meant he could position himself at an advantageous position any time.

POV shift, Onyx

The ambush was a success! But before we could celebrate I stored all the helmets in my inventory quickly, then headed down the side of the wall, climbing down like a cat, slowing the descent with my claws and once I got to her I examined her wound, it was indeed quite deep, all the way to the bone, I felt a shiver run down my spine, that looked extremely painful, mom's face had tears of pain visible, she had a pained expression and looked at me with hope in her yellow eyes, I approached her and patted her head gently, caressing her and trying to calm her down.

'You'll be okay mom, ill make it all better, but its gonna hurt... sorry.' I said gently while petting the top of her head and the sides, she returned the affection with a nuzzle to my head.

'I know, but you have to do it, we don't have any other ways of mending wounds on the field, please hurry up before I bleed out...' I nodded and quickly got the items out of my inventory, the small first aid kit, it was, more or less the same type of wound Kari had gotten earlier but there was also the laceration that I had to patch up, I shaved the fur in those areas, using the small shaving tool, she cringed from the pain of having the area wound a wound touched, small whimpers of pain escaped her but she held firm, not moving while sitting and allowing me to work.

I first disinfected my paws, then cleaned the area with a piece of alcohol soaked bandage, I had to rub it against the wound to get it really cleaned, mom let out small yelps of pain, I gently petted her belly to try and calm her down, then I plugged the hole that was bleeding with a clean piece of gauze and closed the wound with another piece and medical tape, I also bandaged the long cut and secured it with more tape.

'All done mom, try to not get stabbed again on that side of you can, wouldn't want all my hard work to go to waste, if you level up, it will probably heal fully instantly and push out the gauze, like it did for Kari over there.'

'That indeed is what happened Onyx, my wound stopped hurting completely and the gauze got ejected off.' Kari mentioned while she kept watch, always attentive to our surroundings.

'That's good to hear, I do feel a bit better with your bandages stopping the bleeding, thank you, now lets see what this griffins had on them, I bet this armor would be amazing to have...' I agreed wholeheartedly, and we got to looting the bodies, their faces were contorted into hateful expressions, even after having died, it was easier to see the nuances of facial expressions on this ones than the last weaker versions we fought.

First of all, they were all males, seems like griffins armies were mostly comprised of males instead of females like the modern Equestrian armed forces, from what mom told me. Second, this ones seemed a bit older, but were in much better shape physically than the last ones, they looked sickly and skinny, this ones were much more muscular and well fed, other than the fact they were sort of... undead, they seemed to be in good shape, my gut told me there was a reason for this, third, they were much better equipped, all of this made me come to the conclusion that this army was probably made up of mostly forced conscription and a smaller number of trained and probably experienced soldiers commanding them.

We got to looting, and let's just say we hit the jackpot, this guys were loaded! We got several good items: 4000 gold pieces in total, 2 bags of valuable gemstones, books on swordplay and how to maintain and repair plate armor, which were honestly amazing and ideal for us since we also got all of their valuable, clearly high quality armor, which would be awesome to improve and enchant for practice! Their weapons were in perfect condition, well taken care of, 5 level 20 steel short swords and one level 25 steel warhammer, and a level 25 steel poleaxe. This all were beautiful finds of high quality craftsmanship, I was impressed.

The best thing we got out of this confrontation is the fact that we had an effective way now to deal with armored soldiers in full plate, even my regular spells would probably be too weak to go through the layers of armor, if they had only the metal plate sure maybe heat metal would be enough to cook them on the inside, but the under armor would keep them insulated, specially since it covered all the body, including the talons, they were armored with leather gloves and metal on top.

The only reliable way was to partially disassemble their armor from afar at the neck, then pull it out of their reach or even store the helmet on the inventory right away, thinking about that, I could store items that were not touching another being in my inventory, so if I reached out, pulled off their helmets and just stored them right away they wouldn't be able to fly and out them back on, even if they had armors that had flight capacity.

This armors were good, but they were too heavy to fly in without enchantments, while ponies had mages to enchant their armors, this griffons probably were enemies of Equestria and therefore had no unicorns to enchant their gear, so having wing holes would be useless.

In theory pegasus could pull chariots on the air, and fly them easily, but that was not because they were super strong, but because the chariots were heavily enchanted to be compatible with pegasus magic, making them sort of become an extension of the pegasus magical flight ability, all ponies used magic, passively or actively, other creatures also had it like griffins, but they shared the abilities pegasi had, mostly passive abilities, with a few exceptions, but griffins were not adept at weather manipulation, they couldn't make clouds produce lightning and while they could move clouds, and may in them, they didn't have the magic needed to change a cloud into another type of cloud.

After collecting the loot, this bodies also turned to ash, blowing away in the small breeze that permeated this nightmare of a place.

'Mom? What do you think of trying the armor on? The shape of the helmet should suit your snout just fine... But I don't know about the sword, you may not be able to use it now that I think about it... Or, the gauntlets also don't fit, they're made for talons and you have paws... Ohh but the under armor! The gambeson and mail are open and only cover the upper legs, neck and top of the head, but they let your snout free to use your sword!' I said excitedly as I really wanted mom to be safer.

'Yes, let's see... Gambeson... Here! Ohh it's a good fit, if a bit tight... But it works and feels durable and good quality, now... Chainmail, oh here.' She equipped the armor from the inventory, it was a good fit for her, she looked... Very medieval, but much better protected at least in vital areas.

'You look awesome in that! I wish I had a camera to show you, but it fits you quite well, it's tight fitting and most importantly, protective.' I walk in front of her and start patting her snout.

'You're too kind son! I probably look ridiculous in this, but I much rather would have extra armor than no armor, what about you Kari? You want to get some armor? This... May be too small for you tho, it may not for your size, we may have to get one of this sets refitted.'

'I am fine without the armor, I think it would slow me down anyways, and it looks too small for me, so I'll stay like this, hoping I'm strong enough to endure the hits and fast enough to not be hit.' The manticore replied and stretched her back.

'Should we go ahead and keep exploring or do we rest here for now? I don't feel sleepy yet and I'm full of energy, so I think continuing is the right idea.'

'I agree, we have leveled up and other than Sylf who is patched up, neither of us are wounded, do you need a break mom?' I look her over, she doesn't seem tired or anything, plus we just had a nap.

'I'm ready to keep going you two, my wound doesn't hurt much anymore and it's gonna fade away when we kill a few more enemies for sure, so let's go finish this dungeon and be free, I know you want to be with your cub and relaxed Kari, well I want to be with mine, cuddling and relaxing, enjoying the peaceful days and the nice equestrian weather, so the sooner we finish here, the better!' I definitively could get behind that, I wanted to finish this dungeon and go back to the real world and actually get to see the sights in Ponyville.

'Let's go! We gotta slay every one of the enemies around the palisade, then once the outer village is clear, we would have obtained enough power and experience to completely destroy the imperial army soldiers, maybe even the boss won't be an issue once we get strong enough.' I jumped around in excitement, this was definitively better than the first dungeon, the enemies here were undead and while gross, they didn't really scare me like the spiders did.

We headed back to the edge of the city, the palisade that was on fire before was not burning anymore but there were embers and the logs had turned to charcoal, a few still had some fire in them but it looked like the fire would not be propagating much, maybe the wood was humid and that slowed down the fire outside the initial blast.

'Everyone, sit down and allocate your new points so we are stronger, we will need every advantage we need, okay? we must do this after every battle so we can end up taking meaningful benefits from them, other than the loot of course.' The three of us sat down together and started to allocate, I only had 2 points that I added to INT of course, I needed all the mana I could get, it helped my mana get to 209, I saw Sylf increased her dexterity by one and her constitution by one, and Kari used both points into Dex, probably for being better at dodging and attacking precisely, and getting around sneakily perhaps?

'Lets go, if we follow this wall we will go around the village and hunt any zombies we see, this time we are doing it the easy way, my magic has grown stronger and I'm more confident in my ability to use our strategy without needing an ambush, as long as there are not too many at once, so... we maybe shouldn't rush in anyways.' They both smile at me and nod, we make a good team, and we WILL leave this dungeon alive!

Author's Note

Second part of the second dungeon, now... there may be more than one part left! this dungeon is not exactly short like the first, there are a lot more enemies.

Chapter 21 Small respite

3 hours later - Onyx's POV

We have been hunting them for a few hours now, turns out the way to kill a zombie fairly fast is to destroy the cerebellum, or the connection from it to the body, destroying the large majority of the brain didn't do more than damage them severely, sure it was a weak spot, but not the place from where their propensity for violence originated.

It was magical in nature.

Cutting the spinal cord from the cerebellum killed the creature because it did now allow it to receive the magical commands keeping it alive, it simply ceased to "live" once it had no more way to receive it's magic.

I had to think of this monsters like puppets, they seemed to work like they were under the control of something much smarter and, even the elite units we killed before were acting odd, I think this is the case because they were completely silent, but not mindless, they attacked as if something was commanding them mentally, and puppets need not to talk, for their master does so for them.

Your correct deduction bout the nature of this Dungeon grants you one Large Radiant Gem.

The game helpfully exclaimed. I blinked for a few seconds, then smiled, that sounds like it would be useful to enchant weapons with Radiant damage! Or make something out of.

We had already cleared all the entirety of the outer palisades, in total we had slain a total of 25 zombies, we got lucky, as it seems they only concentrated in large numbers around the doors to the village, the rest had only small patrols of 2 or 1 that were easily taken care of, usually without even giving them time to be alerted.

I have gained 2 levels and reached level 24 (726/7945) My mom Sylf has leveled up once and reached level 25 (2158/9534) and Kari leveled up once and reached level 24 (5362/7945)

I decided to put 2 points into intelligence to increase my mana and 2 into charisma, I felt I would need to make friends in the future, and I didn't want to be so awkward.

Mom also added her points to charisma, because I recommended that she would need it to have an easier time finding a mate, she glared at me but it was clear she was not really angry.

Also she gained a feat for reaching level 25! She had the Alert feat, she could no longer be surprised by enemies because she was more aware of her surroundings, even if not looking at them, this didn't meant she couldn't be attacked from stealth, she just would react faster to the attack than normal.

Also she gained a new perk, something called Ethereal Blade, which made her sword attacks go from physical to magical, she could activate it at will without having to concentrate, I was not sure what benefit that would habe but it was good to have.

Kari added the points into charisma too, by my recommendation, if she was more charismatic she would be able to make ponies see her as less terrifying, probably? I hope...

We decided to only collect the gold from the low level zombi soldiers, in total about an extra 1000 gold, they had pretty bad gear by our standards now, I would have worn the armor bur they didn't come in my small size, it was... Kind of infuriating honestly, I would have looked very cool in armor...

I sighed, my stubby body was agile, dexterous, very sturdy and fast but... I was short compared to ponies my age, I was shorter than my friends not by much but it made me a bit grumpy to think about.

I was too distracted thinking about my childish problems to react in time.

'Watch out! Above us!' Mom mentally warned us, as a hail of crossbow bolts came down, all aimed directly at me.

Before I could fully turn, a dozen bolts found their way into me, one slammed on top of my head, only the tip pierced my thick scales, making the bolt poke out like a unicorn's horn, thankfully my thick dragon skull was not as easy to pierce as my scales, being harder than the gems dragons, including me, usually ate.

The second bolt found my shoulder, the third hit my back, in fact about 5 of them hit my back and side, two found my hind leg thigh, three others poked out of my long tail, I blinked, having been pushed to the ground by the impacts, then quickly cast the shield spell on all of us to block further projectiles.

Onyx has taken 18 damage! 180/198
Onyx has taken 14 damage! 166/198
Onyx has taken 13 damage! 153/198
Onyx has taken 15 damage! 138/198
Onyx has taken 13 damage! 125/198
Onyx has taken 10 damage! 115/198
Onyx has taken 12 damage! 103/198
Onyx has taken 5 damage! 98/198
Onyx has taken 3 damage! 95/198
Onyx has taken 3 damage! 92/198
Right front leg crippled! Movement slowed
Right back leg crippled! Movement slowed
Internal bleeding! -5 HP per minute

I knew they had hit me but pure adrenaline was keeping the pain from really starting.

'GET READY TO KILL THEM! I'm bringing them down!'
I mentally screamed, receiving immediate confirmation, then i concentrated, the stings of the crossbow bolts were forgotten for a few seconds as I channeled a large amount of mana. -60mp 161/221mp

I grabbed them all from the sky, this ones were wearing light armor, I felt it, they were able to fly because their armor was gambeson that protected their torso only.

I used my strongest possible telekinesis, making a lot of effort at this distance, they were about 10 meters up, much higher than the roof of the houses, but thankfully they were all clustered up, so grabbing them was easy, now with a powerful shove down, they came crashing to the ground much faster than they would have if they had just stopped flying.

4 landed their heads, some breaking their necks and dying instantly, the rest broke their legs, some their wings, but all were crippled and unable to use their crossbows, they had heavy crossbows with much stronger than normal mechanisms, not the same weak ones that the other zombies had.

As soon as they hit the ground, Sylf and Kari jumped into action, stabbing, slicing and butchering the griffons, cutting heads, limbs, wings, anything they could reach, at this point I was starting to feel the pain, I let out a silent gasp, I couldn't move... If I even tried to move in the least, a sharp pain would overcome my body, every breath hurt like hell.

I decided to inspect one of the griffons that had ambushed us

LvL 20 Undead Griffon Imperial Airforce
200hp
Elite unit trained to rain armor piercing bolts on armored priority targets, the bolts they shoot from their large crossbows have much more power behind them, along with an unknown metal alloy that can pierce steel plate armor easier than a steel bolt would.

Air strike: this units work in tight formations to rain down saturation fire on designated priority targets, focusing on landing as many bolts on a single target to kill them outright, before moving on to the next one.
Air Maneuvers: this units are able to fight in the air against other flying opponents, they are trained for aerial combat with their large crossbows, normally a single shot is enough to incapacitate or kill a lightly armored opponent, so in air combat one shot is often one kill.
Deadly payload: most armor can't stop the heavy bolts fired by this units, only magic shields are able to deflect them.

I barely could whimper as even making noises hurt, but I couldn't sit idle, my body trembled as I grabbed the bolts with my left claw, and one by one I pulled them off, leaving a bleeding, gaping wound behind.

Onyx takes 5 damage from his wounds! 87/198

It feels ten times more painful than they did on the way in... but i had to, the one on my head hurt the most, my eyes were brimming with tears of pain as I pulled out the thankfully not barbed bolts, they were made to pierce armor more than to inflict damage on flesh, and barbed bolts would have a harder time going though armored enemies.

Onyx takes 5 damage from his wounds! 82/198

I panted with effort, this were stuck hard inside, but I yanked them off, finally taking off the ones on my tail, this hurt a lot, and I was bleeding more, but maybe... Maybe I would get healed after they killed all this enemies... Even now I decided to save the potions for when there was no other choice.

Onyx takes 5 damage from blood loss! 77/198

My whole face was covered in blood, I couldn't see, I wiped the blood off my face with my left paw, I saw the enemies were already almost all dead, their mini ballistas discarded on the ground, those things were too big for me to consider them crossbows! No wonder they had enough power to pierce through my scales... I was full on crying now, despite the pain I just hated that I had to endure this awful suffering, why couldn't I be stronger and just somehow sense the attack and react in time? I was thinking stupid unimportant thoughts on the battlefield and that almost got me killed, ughhh... I'm so stupid! But whoever is controlling this griffins is going to pay for humiliating me like this!

All the undead Imperial Airforce griffons have been slain! You party earns 9600 EXP! Onyx has leveled up to level 25! 2381/9534 Sylf has leveled up to level 26! 2224/11441 Kari has leveled up to level 25! 7017/9534
Kari has obtained the following perk:
Ethereal Claws: your claws become magically infused, dealing magical damage that can bypass some resistances or immunities, you can activate this effect at will.
Ethereal Fangs: your fangs become magically infused, dealing magical damage that can bypass some resistances or immunities, you can activate this effect at will.

Onyx has learned Paralyzing Breath!

Suddenly my body felt fine, the pain was gone almost instantly, and I felt my energy returning, bigger and stronger but I didn't really want to get up, I was still sulking and growling to myself angrily, once I managed to get my claws on whoever did this to me... I would kill them slowly.

'Son... Are you okay?! Onyx! You... Oh, you're healed now are you?' mom asked with concern, but she probably already knew the answer, as there were no more bolts or holes in my scales, the silver color was back to it's pristine metallic condition, but there was plenty of very cold blood still clinging to my scales, the blood started to lose its luminescence slowly over time as it was out of my body.

'Yeah... I'm just really upset mom, at myself, but more so at whoever did this to me, this... Puppets did not come up with this plan, and they were aiming solely for me, someone sees me as the best target here, like I am the one they should be going after, you probably realized since they didn't aim at neither of you, and I intend to find out what is going on, because something ain't right with all of this...'

'I agree with you Onyx, this... griffons, there is something off about them, all of them.' Kari shared my thoughts, even she could realize this was very strange, I stood up now, shaking myself clean from my own blood that was drying on the ground, then wiped off the blood from my body where there was still some, and took off the bottle of water from the inventory, and started drinking it, finishing it and handing each of my friends one, it has been several hours since we started the dungeon, I would say about 6 hours, and we had been too busy killing to drink water, that could be what was causing my mind to not focus.

'Lets loot this bodies, I think their weapons are very powerful... Learned that out the hard way, I can still feel those bolts, the sensation is fresh in my mind, if I can use this things myself then I will gladly do so.'

We then go and start looking them, one by one we turn them to ash by looting, then we discard their armor as it's not even that good, but we keep the weapons, the crossbows are heavy, I certainly can feel the weight but its honestly not hard for me to carry, as now I'm incredibly strong compared to even adult earth ponies.

We also got about about 4000 gold pieces, but I had to discard all the level 15 or lower swords to fit all this gold, gold was very heavy.

Should we throw away some of the armor? The mail armor was really heavy, maybe I could leave it all inside a house and then come back to pick it up at a later date, when the dungeon was completed? Well... Why not?

I decided it was time to go find some more information about this place, I knew the boss was in the castle, so that would be the last place we look, for now I just wanted to uncover the truth.

'Come along, let's look at the houses, we haven't been checking them and they could have some clues about what happened here, follow me please.'

'Yes but be careful my little dragon, there could be dangers inside the houses too...' Sylf warns with concern in her voice, she was right, but we needed to find out more.

I opened the door, it was unlocked, we walked inside but immediately I knew something was wrong, there was something here, watching us, and this one was not friendly, then once we took a few steps inside, the door closed, and 3 ghostly figures appeared around us, they were ponies, but this ones didn't talk, they looked horrifying, they had empty eye sockets, their muzzles were open to reveal razor sharp needle like fangs, just looking at them you could feel the malice and desire for death, were this... They must have suffered something horrible to manifest as this things. 'Inspect'

LvL 20 Ghost
HP 100

Accumulation of suffering, anger and pain of those who died long ago.

Withering touch: the attacks of this creature deal cold and necrotic damage.

Horrifying visage: living creatures can become terrified upon looking at it.

Possession: it can take control of weaker living beings and becomes immune to any form of damage while is in control, the only way to get the ghost to leave is to kill, knock unconscious or use Turn Undead or Dispel Evil and Good on the creature being possessed.

Darkvision and passive perception.

Weaknesses and resistances: resistance to Acid, fire, lightning, thunder, bludgeoning, piercing or slashing.
Weakness to radiant damage.

Immunities: Cold, necrotic, poison

'Stay together, don't let them scare you, they are just ghosts made of negative emotions, use your new perks, the ethereal weapons will deal a lot more damage! I will handle this one myself, I have a plan.' I pointed to the one nearest to us, they nodded and we got to it.

They attacked while I pulled a bottle of holy water from my inventory, I had a bit of a plan.

So holy water, it destroys undead and ghosts, it damages them and makes them disappear, but what if I heat up the holy water? Time to try it out.

I used prestidigitation to heat up the water, at first nothing happened but after another more use, the water started to want to boil, I quickly opened the bottle and heated the water again, this time much more, the vapors were trying to escape but I held them in my telekinesis, sort of making a ball of vapor, heating it up inside the ball of telekinetic pressure, then I pushed around the ball of holy water vapor, it must be really hot and high pressure by now, I simply levitated the sphere near the ghost, it had been trying to attack me for a while but I dodged it's strikes more or less easily thanks to being short and agile, and it being kind of clumsy.

The ghost teleported around often, trying to hit me from different sides, but they were slower than the griffins, and much more predictable, seems the pony fighting skill before they became ghosts carried over.

Once the ghost was between me and and the ball of pressurized holy vapor I propelled the attack towards it, releasing my telekinesis in a small hole aimed at the ghost and hitting it head on, dissolving it instantly.

Ghost was exorcised! you party earns 1000 EXP
Onyx 3381/9534 Sylf 3224/11441 Kari 8017/9534
The only downside to this was that I used up the whole bottle of holy water, and I didn't know how to make more...

I focused on the present, helping mom and Kari to fight the ghosts, I used mostly telekinesis to stop the ghost from moving as mom slashed at it with the Ethereal blade, with the creature trapped momentarily it was easier to attack over and over, all meanwhile Kari was slapping around with her paws at her own enemy, whittling away at its hp.

Kari's impressive dexterity and speed was a sight to behold, she didn't get hit even a single time, mom dodged too but she had the advantage of a sword to protect herself and block strikes.

Ghost has taken 22 damage! 78/100
Ghost has taken 20 damage! 58/100
Ghost has taken 23 damage! 35/100

The ghost that I was holding still teleported away to attack from a new side, it seems my telekinetic hold was not able to keep it from teleporting, which was annoying to say the least.

I decided to use magic missile, but upcast to level 4
-40mp

Ghost has taken 6 damage! 29/100
Ghost has taken 6 damage! 23/100
Ghost has taken 6 damage! 17/100
Ghost has taken 6 damage! 11/100
Ghost has taken 6 damage! 5/100
Ghost has taken 5 damage! 5/100

Ghost has taken 10 damage and has been exorcised! Your party has earned 1000 EXP
Onyx 4381/9534 Sylf 4224/11441 Kari 9017/9534

The last ghost was the only one remaining, solely focused on Kari, this creatures clearly were not under the control of anyone, they were feral ghosts, unlike the undead, they also were much weaker for us, if i had more holy water I would use it much more freely, but the experiment was a success, I suppose I could call that spell 'Holy Vapor Bomb' but I needed an item to cast, and also concentrate on my telekinesis to hold it in the air and condensed, it did however not use any mana as the spells were very basic and weak, by themselves, maybe there was something to using simple everyday items in spells... Water could be weaponized, maybe so could other things?

While I pondered this, I watched mom and Kari gang up on the last ghost, they clearly didn't need my help so I just stayed back and watched.

Ghost has been exorcised! Your party earned 1000 EXP
Onyx 5381/9534 Sylf 5224/11441 Kari has leveled up to level 26! 483/11441

'Well done, now this place is clear, and best of all, none of us took any damage! This ghosts give a lot of experience for their weak attacks, tho I suppose if we had been weaker they may have been able to posses us or something... Which honestly would be terrifying and traumatic to any of us, having to fight one another, you know what? I'll stop thinking for now.'

'Agreed, let's see what's in this house son.' After that we got to exploring, looking around for anything that may help, the was large, one of the biggest in the village.

We found some useful items here, books on ancient stories and historical events, but none of them were important right now, there were no spell books and no weapons here and we found a small bag of gemstones but they were not worth saving, so I ate them for a snack, we had not stopped to eat since the morning, and I was guessing it was near nightfall by now.

We also found a diary of a certain pony who's name was for some reason erased from it, like as if magically, maybe no one here could have names as for the nature of this place. The dairy was old but in decent shape it spoke of everyday occurrences and day to day life on the village.

The dairy then got interesting, something had happened at some point, I told the others to come and sit next to me so I read the dairy to them mentally, it was easier and I got used to it.

'Lately life in our village was going well the crops were growing beautifully, the soil was fertile, the weather was nice and we were happy, working on the fields and growing crops, my wife and I raising our foals and enjoying nights at the bar with friends now and then.

Today the Duchess fell ill, a mysterious disease that we knew nothing off started to affect her, the Duchess was a very wealthy mare and she did not spare any expense to find a cure, but even the expensive alchemical potions imported from Saddle Arabia wouldn't do more than calm her pain.

A few months passed, she could no longer walk, and became increasingly distrustful and cruel towards us earth ponies, punishing us for doing so much as make a simple mistake, she even had 2 ponies lashed and tortured when she heard rumors about them talking about her in a negative light.

During the 15th day of winter, a pony arrived in town during the night, wearing dark red and black robes that covered his entire body, his face and head was covered by a hood of the same robe, he was a stallion unicorn, unicorns were not well liked by us earth ponies, the Duchess was only respected because despite her being an unicorn, she was kind to us and more or less let us live how we wanted, she only took from us what was needed to pay the village tax, other unicorns, however were seen as suspicious, specially ones coming at night and covering their face, but it seems he was a guest to our once beloved Duchess.

The small garrison escorted the visitor to the castle as if he was expected, but nopony knows what happened then, the Duchess seemingly disappeared and the pony garrison started to act strange, they didn't go to their houses and just stayed at the castle, watching over it day and night as if they were statues, their families were ignored and even pushed back by force if they tried to approach the castle.

One day the griffons arrived, they ignoring us peasants and marched directly towards the castle, demanding to see the Duchess, and the guards, without speaking a single word, opened the gates for them, no hesitation in their actions at all, the griffons walked inside and then there was silence, for hours, and then the griffons came out, their eyes were lacking something they had when they arrived, they seemed... empty and distant, and they didn't blink.

It's been a few hours, I've been watching them from the window with the blinds almost fully closed, they have yet to blink a single time, I haven't seeing them twitch or sit down, they're just standing there around the castle like statues... What is happening?

They are going inside the houses and dragging out ponies, kicking and screaming, I've also seen them going out of town and gathering long wooden sticks, and stabbing then on a circle around the defenses of the village, my family and I need to escape from here, but how? Goodness, this is a nightmare!'

That was the last written in the dairy, the few last parts seemed to have been written in a hurry, and the dairy was left on the table, seemingly unperturbed for all this time along with the writing instruments.

Whoever that pony that came to 'help' the Duchess that night is surely the one behind all this, maybe that explains why the griffons were so cruel to the ponies, maybe it was part of the plan of this pony to make it seem to anyone that this was all a massacre by their enemies, and to start a war, but why? What benefits did that have?

That we would have to find out tomorrow, it was time to sleep, we were tired and weary from all the fighting, not to mention very hungry.

I pulled out supplies out, grabbing the pot of stew, we had no real choice because this was the only food we had, other than gems and only I could eat those.

I served everyone a warmer up plate and stored the pot back in the inventory, we ate in silence and washed down the food with a bit of water, before wiping our maws, putting down our sleeping mat and laying together in it, hopefully no one would disturb us in our sleep, but just in case I casted a spell on the entrance, a glyph of warding, that would activate only upon an undead creature going over it, and it would cause an explosion of thunder damage, a type of damage that was particularly loud.

After that I headed back and laid between the two, closing my eyes and relaxing, slowly drifting off to sleep. Tomorrow was going to be the decisive day, we either will win, or we will die and become just memories, our friends will probably wonder where we disappeared off to, maybe the guard will look for us, but here they wouldn't ever find our bodies, we would be just memories.

Chapter 22 Victory or Death

Author's Note

Content warning,: this chapter contains gore, threats of rape, and torture and genital mutilation, don't read the parts with spoilers if you don't wanna see any of that, apologizes for the really messed up stuff but it's part of the story, it would not be the same if I omitted it.

Chapter 22 Victory or Death

The next 'day' about 7 hours later Onyx's POV

Today... Was the day, I awoke quickly, feeling anxious and worried, my unconscious mind knew that I had to be up and ready, I shook the others awake too, this was it, time to fight to the death, and hopefully come out as the winners.

'Mom, Kari... You two are the best creatures I could have met, whatever happens today, I just want you two to know I am forever thankful for your support and help, we will win today! And then we will celebrate! We will make an epic and fancy party for the three of us, and anyone we want to invite, there will be cake, delicious food, there will be drinks, live music! Even maybe games and dances! Now let's go win this you two! Let's head to the castle and see what is controlling all of those griffons.'

'Well said young Onyx, I don't know what a party is, but I can agree I want to celebrate our victory together, with a feast! We will overcome anything!'

'Yeees! My sweet son, I think a party will be in order once we win here, I'll bring some of my friends from the guard, we can invite your friends from school and Gold and her family! Im gonna help you set everything up, so don't worry about it, I'll use my savings.'

'Thank you momma, and thank you... Can I call you auntie Kari? That would make me very happy... You would make a good aunt, since you already make a wonderful mother.' I got in front of the large manticore and started to lick her snout like she licks my head sometimes, maybe this meant I like you in manticores? She giggled happy at my antics.

'Hehehe do you really think so? T-thank you... And yes I can be your aunt! I would be proud to be called that by you, young Onyx, you've helped me stay alive during all of this fights, you truly do care like no one ever cared about me, same as you lady Sylf and I truly want you, your mom and myself to come out alive from this.' She said gesturing around to the dungeon, I couldn't help but smile, I had an aunt now, and a little cousin! This was just more motivation to do my best in the coming battle.

'I really thank you auntie, mom, now come along, time to head to this castle, we have delayed enough, mainly because I keep talking...' I shook my head and stared walking towards the door, deactivating the glyph trap from last night, it was just no use having a trap there anymore.

Remembering what happened last night I pulled one of the heavy crossbows from my inventory, grabbed the heavy bolt and carefully loaded it, thankfully it has a pullet system built in to load it faster during battle, which I took advantage of, once a bolt was loaded, I stored it back in my inventory, ready to pull out and use in an instant, the inventory was one, if not the strongest of weapons we had.

We left the house, closing the door behind us, and we slowly approached the castle, looking out for any danger on the way there, but this time there was no squads of armored griffons, no air opponents either shooting down on us, still we stayed fully alert and ready, my shield spells ready to cast, just in case any opponent tried to ambush us, but as we approached, there were none, the problem was that the castle gates were closed tight, and they were large and probably would not budge even if we blasted them, the wood was too thick and heavy, but I had the right spell for the occasion!

We walked the remaining dozen meters to the castle gates, and I casted the 'Knock' on the locking mechanism, the spell instantly made a loud noise that at the same time unlocked the door.

Probably everyone in the castle heard that... Welp, we were not trying to use the stealthy approach anyways. I approached the door and pushed them open, but they were heavy so me and the others had to keep pushing them so they would open all the way, then we went in and closed them behind us.

Inside the castle there were barracks, what appeared to be a kitchen or something judging by the sign over the door, and there was a training yard.

There were no enemies here that I could see or sense, no much in terms of loot either, not that we had room for that anyways, our inventory was more or less full, not even coins would fit, so we just moved on, but I was feeling a bit paranoid, despite what evey enemy in this dungeon suggested, I felt there was something magical at play here, so I casted detect magic, and doing so made me see I was completely right, there were more than a dozen magical traps around the different entrances and rooms here, only place with no traps were the main doors, maybe to give those entering the castle a false sense of security?

'Stop, don't move a single step!' I announced with seriousness in my voice and everyone complied right away.

'Why, what's going on?' Auntie Kari asked, Sylf looked concerned.

'There are several magical traps around here, on almost every door, and there are several on the way up, we can't be sure what any of them can do to us, so it's best not to find out and dispel them... They could even be set to activate by our presence specifically!' I explained, Mom nodded because she had also studied magic

'I think I get it, we will not move unless you tell us it's okay to move then, little Onyx.'

'Thank you, let me get to work disarming them, this could take a while.'

I slowly approached the glyphs, they thankfully didn't trigger, so I used dispel magic, disabling the traps on the door heading up the stairs, there was one more but they were easy to disable as I could see them thanks to detect magic, in total I had used 60mp and had 164 mp left.

I thought it was a good idea to dispel the remaining glyphs, so we climbed up the stairs all the way, reaching a corridor that opened into a larger room, I could see no more glyphs on this floor, but I detected 2 different magical presences, I could guess this weren't glyphs.

'Time to go back down and wait, I need to rest to recover my mana again, I would prefer to start the fight with my full energy, let's go back and sit down for a few minutes okay?'

'Sure son, let's go back downstairs, now I know where it's safe and where it's not thanks to you.'

We walked down the stairs silently and sat down against the wall, sitting on the ground and relaxing, in about 15 minutes my magic was back to it's full capacity.

The reason why it was preferred to not use all your magic was because mana would recover faster, the least mana you used, so for example using half your mana and resting for half an hour or so, would recover you fully, but using all your mana and resting could take many hours, maybe a full night, and you suffered risk of getting magical exhaustion, which was more or less like hangover from drinking too much alcohol, but could be worse if you used more mana than you had, and could deal serious damage to your brain.

'Time to go back, this time for real, we will fight to the end, be ready to fight two magic users at least, mom, make sure you use your counterspell or dispel magic if you have to, you can do both at the same time right?' She nodded confidently.

'I can, since it's a defensive spell, what I can't do is cast attacking spells while I fight with my sword.' Perfect, then mom will have to deal with the spells while also fighting enemies with melee, in case there is a melee attacker, maybe an armored one I will have to do my helmet trick too, what else? Auntie you will unleash your rage, attack the one without armor, either one that mom is not attacking, I will deal with the armored one, I will destroy them with my magic, any questions?'

'What should we do if either of us is defeated? What's our plan then?' Sylf said with concern, I had to give it some thought, they couldn't exactly drink potions, they had no dexterity for that, or magic hooves like ponies did, this would certainly be a problem... Fuck, what could we do?

'I... Would have to somehow make time to go and feed you a potion, since you can't even open them, and swallowing the entire thing or breaking it with your teeth wouldn't work, you would just take damage from the glass shards going inside your stomach and probably would be more damage than the potion would heal, not to mention cause internal bleeding! So... Try your best to not... Get injured, we don't have a way to deal with a wounded teammate, other than maybe killing one of the enemies or two and leveling up, that's the only thing we have been doing since we started this...'

I lowered my head, this was honestly depressing to think about, I didn't know any healing magic, it just wasn't common knowledge or at least there was no mention of it even in medical books, sure there were scanning spells most medical machinery was magical instead of electric, and there was ways to close lacerations with magic, to hold the wound closed until it was sutured, but there was no healing spells, they weren't a thing. There was no simple magical trick that did that.

Equestrian medicine was very advanced, but it used pretty much purely alchemy and natural medicines rather than magic, you had potions that would help heal faster but they weren't the same type of potions we had gotten from the dungeons.

'We will try out best to not get seriously injured, and if we do, we will continue to fight to the end Onyx, that's what we will do, we will win, we will hit with devastating force and speed, they won't have a chance to hit us! Trust me.' Kari said confidently, I felt a bit better from her words.

'I will hit them with the sword you enchanted son, I will aim at the head and not hold back, you will see, victory is assured!' Sylf nuzzled me and licked my face, making me giggle a big, I stood up and hugged her head.

'Thanks you two, now let's go take those nasties out of commission!'

After that we headed to the stairs, climbing up, we had a fight to win, and this time we weren't coming back until we won!

We were again in the same corridor as last time, slowly walking towards the large throne room at the end of the hallway, there, in the throne we could see a pony sitting on it, covered in dark red and black robes, a pony mare was standing to his right, her eyes looked dead, completely devoid of any emotion, her color faded to a dull pinky almost gray, she was an unicorn, perhaps this was the Duchess mentioned in the diary?

To the left of the mysterious pony there was a griffon, wearing full plate armor, even more decorated than the officer we offed before on that patrol, he also had a spear that looked rather dangerous, with a plume at the end, I had not much experience fighting with spears. Fuck, not good! I decided to use inspect on them.

LvL 30 Undead Imperial Army commander

300 HP

Imperial Army Commander who's name is lost to time, this individual was a great warrior in life, but fell in a trap by an evil necromancer who using mind control, tried to incite a war and caused a massacre, the fate of this individual is unknown.

Perks:

Combat Maneuvers: can use it's long reaching spear to trip, feint, push or parry an opponent's attacks.

Deadly counterattack: when struck at a certain range, it can parry and counterattack dealing a devastating stabbing attack.

Self preservation: it will do it's best to remain an able fighter, it will not attack mindlessly unless ordered to.

Flying charge: thanks to it's unusual flight strength, it can do charges while flying a few meters above the ground, but it can't fly freely or dodge very well when doing this charges, however they are very powerful so beware.

Weakness and resistances: weak to radiant damage, resistant to cold damage, resistant to slash damage, resistant to bludgeoning damage, resistant to piercing damage, resistant to fire damage, resistant to acid damage, resistant to thunder damage, immune to necrotic damage, immune to toxic damage.

Condition immunities: immune to being charmed, immune to being confused, immune to being slept, immune to fear effects.

STR 25 DEX 20 CON 28 INT 10 WIS 12 CHA 24

I think I had an idea how to take him down, now to check the others

LvL 20 Undead Unicorn Duchess

150 HP
150 MP

Former Duchess of this village, now concubine of the necromancer controlling her, this mare is trained in magical arts but it's no war mage, her only use seems to have been to serve as a concubine to the unicorn sitting on the throne, yet there is something disturbing about her.

Perks:

Unicorn Telekinesis: unicorns have innate ability to use telekinesis, but it's not very strong unless trained extensively, and even then, most unicorns can't go past a certain natural limit or they risk magical exhaustion.

Administrative excellence: this pony has extensive skills in running a village, and she has been trained since foalhood as a noble, learning the intricacies of politics.

Weaknesses and resistances: weak to radiant damage, weak to fire damage, weak to physical damage to the horn, resistant to cold damage, immune to necrotic damage, immune to poison damage.

Condition immunities: immune to being charmed, immune to being confused, immune to being slept, immune to fear effects.

STR 10 DEX 14 CON 12 INT 20 WIS 12 CHA 25

This mare was.. uuhh... What?! I couldn't process this now, I needed to focus, what about the mysterious pony in the robes?

LvL 30 Unicorn Necromancer
250 HP
250 MP

This unicorn is a big mystery, and the cause of all the terrible things that happened to this village, the massacre included, he is highly dangerous and uses forbidden magic, along with mind magic, causing their targets to become enthralled or even to command them to do things they normally wouldn't.

Perks:

Unicorn Telekinesis: this unicorn has a highly trained telekinesis, enough to heavy creatures and hold them in the air while using other spells.

Twinned spells: expert at casting two spells at the same time to extremely deadly effect

Mind Control: has access to mind control spells, but can't control more than one strong opponent at a time, requieres full concentration.

Necromancer: this pont's special talent can turn any dead creature into an undead minion, weaker creatures become simple zombies and stronger creatures retain more of their power and become true undead under the necromancer's control, yet their consciousness remains, trapped in their unwilling undead bodies.

Weaknesses and resistances: weakness to physical damage to the horn, no resistances.

STR 15 DEX 18 CON 20 INT 32 WIS 22 CHA 28

No... No no no! Not mind magic! Mom... Kari, they weren't gonna be able to resist it! This is very bad, why did this guy had to be our opponent?! I would have preferred to fight the spiders again...

I hope mom uses counterspell efficiently, or we are all ultra screwed! This guy was fucking evil beyond anything I've ever seen, I could tell, I had to try to find out more.

I stepped forward into the room, the damn unicorn was smiling at us.

"Welcome, dear guests, Allow me to present myself, I'm called Post Mortem. How have your stay at my village been so far? Did you have fun hunting down my soldiers?" He said with a seemingly cheerful but threatening tone.

"I just want to know why you did this? All of this?! Why have them all killed? Why incite a war?!" I asked, I didn't feel like playing along with his stupid fake friendly tone, this guy had almost killed me yesterday and now would probably succeed, I wanted to at least know why he did all this.

"Oh dear... you're the brains in this little group, little hatchling? How cute, how fascinating! I can't wait to study you and explore you from snout to tail... Thoroughly!" I shivered at this, my face going pale, he clearly wanted to do freaky and horrible things to me, even knowing I was a hatchling, yep, definitively worse than the spiders.

"But to answer your question, it's quite obvious, is it not? War is opportunity! And with a war I can get all of the corpses I need to raise an army larger than both nations combined, this war would have opened many doors for me, I would have been able to capture both living and dead subjects to experiment on, along with toys for personal pleasure~ What else would a powerful necromancer like myself want from war? There is also the beautiful sight of armies, killing each other, fields of bodies, rivers of blood flowing, all potential new subjects!" He explained while gesturing around with his hooves, his coat was fully black, his mane was two toned dark blue and white color.

"That's... Logical I suppose, but still, it's wrong, honestly if this was reality and we could just leave without fighting I wouldn't fight you, at least not with my odds, but we have to slay you to be able to leave, and... Yeah, also I don't want me or my companions to become part of your experiments, and you tried to kill me before!" I tried to keep my voice from trembling and to sound as serious and sure of myself as I could, but I really came off as a scared child, and that was exactly what I was right now, I did not want this fight, but what else could I do? I wouldn't be able to escape and we would run out of water and die if we didn't go back to reality.

The unicorn laughed like I had told him a very funny joke, I growled and glared at him.

'Be ready mom, remember don't let him cast any spells! I'm just trying to get him to talk more and let his guard down, when I attack I want you to rush in and attack him too, I'll attack the commander first.' I received their quick acknowledgment.

"Little creature, you truly are amusing, you agree with my logic, and you realize that you have no chance to win, but you still want to kill me... I suppose you truly must have no choice, maybe if I win, I won't torture you too hard, but your exotic companions on the other hand, I'll enjoy them thoroughly, but you as well! I have gotten tired of this slut here, she's completely ruined from so much use by now." He laughed and made the mare turn around, showing her abused body to us, I cringed at the sight, had I been older maybe I would have blushed, but i had no libido at all yet, my body was too young, which I was glad for at this moment, I didn't want to give this bastard the satisfaction of making me embarrassed.

"Ugh, gross! I did not need to see that!" I said and quickly looked away, I suppose this is what he did to those that he got his hooves on, this was going from terrible to horrible...

"It's not like there's much else to do here if you were in my place you may have done the same, you may be too young to understand but a stallion can get lonely... since I got here I had not much else to do." Those words gave me pause, what did he mean by that? I couldn't let that distract me, he was trying to confuse me!

"You know, I was the reason she got sick back in the real world, I planned all of this from the start, I had one of her guard's poison her slowly, make it seem like she got sick, sabotage healing potions too, and then have that same guard tell her there was a pony who could cure her, and that was how I managed to get inside the castle." Good, he was now in full reminiscing mode, talking about his master plan and all that, which to be fair he did succeed at, meaning he was fully distracted.

"From there I simply used my contacts to inform Griffonia of the village that was in their territory, and that they wanted to parlay, they send a detachment to hold the village after they had negotiated the ponies surrender, the-" while he spoke, his eyes closed as he seemed to be reminiscing on his achievement, I had been approaching slowly, standing in front of the griffon commander, it did not care, since it had no orders to attack, it was pretty much a statue.

'Now, attack him!' While they ran in, I quickly took the loaded ballista out of my inventory, pointed it right at the base of the skull of the armored commander, at this almost point blank range I had to chance to miss.

The bolt flew straight and with a bang, the steel armor breaking, the bolt pierced the helmet, went right through the beak, and shot past the tongue, and reached the cerebellum behind, completely obliterating it, it all felt like it happened in slow motion.

The armor piercing bolt was poking out of the back of the armored neck as the commander fell to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut, my ballista went back into the inventory

The necromancer glared at me with malicious hate, his horn lighting up, I gave him a shrug, preparing a spell myself.

Deadly critical hit! Undead Imperial Army commander has been slain! Your party earns 8000 EXP!
Onyx has leveled up to 26! 3847/11441 Sylf has leveled up to 27! 1783/13730 Kari 8483/11441

Mom reacted in time, like she said she would, she saw the spell forming on the unicorn's horn, pointed right at me, but the spell that was being charged at me was much stronger than what her counterspell could stop, my spell was an upcasted 'Cone of Cold' at level 6, aimed right at the necromancer, my angle meant that none of my companions would be on the line of fire.

My maw glowed with light blue arcane ice, but his spell released first, mine was a few milliseconds too late.

"Die!" Time seemed to go into slow motion, the unicorn screamed in fury two thin green rays of magic shot towards me. -70mp 180/250
Before I could fully cast my spell one beam connected with my nose, the other hit me right on the chest. But my spell was already coming out of my maw, I couldn't stop it. -60 164/226

Critical damage! Onyx has taken 100 damage! 112/212
Critical damage! Onyx has taken 90 damage! 22/212
Blinded! Profuse Bleeding! -10 HP per minute
Chest crippled, natural armor removed, any attack in open chest cavity would cause deadly damage!
Post Mortem has taken 52 damage! 198/250

Undead Unicorn Duchess takes 26 damage! 124/150

The pain was instantaneous and equally horrendous! I couldn't see, I suspected I was lacking eyes, or they were so damaged they stopped working.

I could barely hear as I was underwater, I couldn't feel my snout, it was gone, I felt as if half of my face was missing, but thanks to my dragon blindsight I could still feel what was going on around me, Post Mortem was just slowed down, he was barely hurt.

My chest was melted, I couldn't exactly tell what state it was in, it felt very odd, I could feel the warmth from the outside world, inside my naturally cold body, it did not feel very good, the pain was agonizing, but I still could use my arms, I grabbed a healing potion off my inventory, then opened it and drank it, regaining +60 HP 82/212 part of my chest had regrown, but only enough to connect the belly to the chest and cover the main organs, there were... gaps still so I drank the last potion as well +60 HP 142/213

Thankfully, unlike his only ally that did not attack, or even move, my companions rushed him while I did this, which distracted him, not letting him see me heal.

He used telekinesis to hold Sylf and Kari back for a second, then cast another terrible twinspell at us -60MP 120/250

This time centered on them, but it also hit me twice thankfully it hit my tail and legs mostly, causing horrible burns from the tip of the tail to my lower belly, including my private areas, all my limbs twitched uncontrollably as the electricity fried my body... Twice.

I couldn't even see it, I just knew, if I had not healed then, I would have become a fried dead lizard.

The partially healed flesh regrown on my chest from the potion saved my hearth and lungs and all the other important stuff from exploding like water balloons inside my ribcage.

Sylf has taken 42 damage! 178/225
Onyx has taken 42 damage! 100/212
Kari has taken 42 damage! 163/210
Sylf has taken 47 damage! 131/225
Onyx has taken 47 damage! 53/212
Kari has taken 47 damage! 116/210

After that he turned to Kari, and used a spell that turned her into a statue, pushing her over and causing the wing on one side to shatter as it was thin and delicate, along with the stinger that was bent to that same side. I could see all of this happening with my blindsight.

Kari is petrified and vulnerable to breaking! Warning!
Kari has taken 63 damage! 53/210
Left wing crippled! Tail crippled, Stinger perks nullified, unable to glide!

Sylf was held in his powerful telekinetic aura. I wanted to cry out in horror, but if I gave signals of life now, I was dead for real, I had no choice than to use another strategy, brute force would not win this fight, he knew much more potent spells, I was an amateur compared to him, and if I messed up now, he would kill us and probably rape us forever in this cursed dungeon, I mentally shook my head, steeling my resolve, it wouldn't do to start crying during the battle and getting killed because of my stupid childish mind.

"Such a pathetic pair you two make, unable to fight a single pony! Without the little whelp you are not even able to put up the least of resistance to me, and soon, you will learn to become an obedient bitch, you will be tamed, I can tell you want that, your stony cat friend will join us later when she goes back to normal, now that the stupid hatchling is slain, no one will interrupt us! I may even revive him later, a young one like him must be delightful to break in~" I struggled to stay quiet and still at hearing those words.

He thought by now I was dead for sure as I was slumped on my back in a convincing death pose after being electrocuted, I played the part, having my body still but I was in in full adrenaline mode, preparing a new attack I learned

Even with part of my face missing, I could still use my breath weapon, time to test 'Paralysis Breath'!

I lifted my head, aiming it forward, a cone reaching 4 meters in front me, shot forward, covering the area in a white gas that quickly dissipated, it hit the unicorns in front of me, paralyzing both temporarily, I knew because I felt the magic charging stop, and the unicorn let out a scream of fury before being fully paralyzed.

Post Mortem is paralyzed! He cannot move!

Undead Unicorn Duchess is paralyzed! She cannot move!

'Mom! please, attack the horn with your warhammer, hit it with all your strength! Now! I don't know how long he's going to stay paralyzed!' I yelled over the telepathic link, even my mental voice was weak now, but I yelled as loudly as I could.

Mom complied as soon as she was free from his telekinetic aura, her hammer coming out of the inventory in less than a second and with a mighty swing, hit Post Mortem right on the horn before paralysis wore off.

Critical damage! Post Mortem has taken 150 damage! 100/250
Crippled horn! Ability to cast magic completely disabled! Brain bleeding! -20 HP per minute

Bright multicolor light emanated from the broken horn, and sparks formed where it once was, magic going haywire.

POV shift Sylf

My precious Onyx was laying on the floor weakly after using that attack, his face was... well, he looked like a skull attached to a body, and missing half of his snout, his lower jaw was almost fully gone, no scales or flesh, nothing but a few pieces of muscle connecting to the bones and, his eyes were gone, empty sockets only a bit of flesh on the very back, the ears were gone, the back of his skull had only skin and flesh, but the scales had absorbed most of the spell's power, only his neck remained mostly fully intact.

His chest... I'll need a therapist after this... Oh goodness! His chest was just... There was no scales anymore, no skin, the muscles were carved up by deep gouges from where the electrical attack had cut paths through, ribcage and organs inside were still there thankfully.
I could see his beating heart, his lungs expanding and contracting, the ribcage moving with each breath, it was like one of those anatomical modems in the academy, just different than a pony, for once, everything was bluish purple, and he had two hearts, one on each side, he also had a third smaller lung, the rest lower than that, thankfully still had flesh and scale covering it, a small relief, I was in awe at how he could be alive, but I suppose the organs were more or less intact still.

It was... extremely upsetting and traumatizing, my blood was boiling with rage at this, I wanted to kill this unicorn slowly, torture him for days, but... my son was dying, there was no time for that, I would make him regret his actions.

My heart was about to beat off my chest with anger.
Kari returned back to normal, missing a wing and half her tail, she let out a loud roar of agony as soon as she was free, stumbling to her paws, blood leaked out of the severed wing and tail, but not enough to be considered severe, thankfully.

Post Mortem had a look of fury in his eyes, but it faltered when the horn exploded, I could see part of the brain, as the horn broke off with a good chunk of the skull, skin and flesh, blood was starting to pool on top of the visible brain, and leak out of the hole.

Onyx has taken -10 hp from blood loss! 43/212
Post Mortem has taken -20hp from blood loss! 80/250

The unicorn stumbled, looking cross eyed at his horn, legs trembling, as blood leaked out of his eyes, ears and muzzle, the damage of losing a horn was always lethal for a unicorn, there were very few ways to survive, and they usually only happened when the horn was partially broken, and not completely, like in this case.

"N-no NO NOOOOO!!! You disgusting creatures... you have destroyed my precious horn! curse you all! Ill kill you! Ill rape you and kill you, and then turn you into a zombie, and rape you again until I tire of you."

"You, you cursed hatchling, you're still alive! I'll rape you until my dick tears you in half!!!"

"But first I'll stomp you to death, you must be about to die as well, nasty lizard, so I'll make sure I take you down with me, if anything else, I cant let a foal defeat me!" I growled angrily, there was no way in tell I would let this pony even move a single inch, I simply grabbed him by the neck and flipped him around, making him land on his back.

"Oh you will have a small taste of your own medicine, mister Mortem. Kari, could you please come here and do me a quick favor? Hold him down would you? You will enjoy watching this..." Kari came over quick and simply sat down on the chest of the pony, who had his hooves weakly kicking at the muscular sides of the manticore, seems his strength was leaving him, not that even a regular unicorn could hurt a manticore much at that angle.

"I'm going to enjoy watching him suffer for what he did to me! But let's make this quick." I nodded, grabbing my longsword out of my inventory, then using Elemental weapon to make it set on fire, and I swing down on the stallions bits, cutting vertically along his sheath, slicing and cauterizing the wound at the same time, he started howling with pain.

"W-What are you d- AAHHHHHHHHH! NOOOO NOT THERE NO NOOOOO!

Critical damage! Post Mortem takes 40 damage! 40/250

"This is for hurting my son, and this" I stab the burning blade through both his balls, then slice them horizontally, his legs are kicking at the air desperately but I'm too far away to get kicked, he is helpless as Kari pins down his legs too with her paws. "That is for hurting Kari and I!"

Critical damage! Post Mortem takes 35 damage! 5/250

His screams start to turn into whimpers and soft cries of pain as his mangled genitals are fully destroyed by my blade, I decide to do one last punishment for his threats.

"P-Please please end me already, n-no more pain, I beg of you, s-stop." I smirked, he had definitively changed his tune, but what he did and said I couldn't forgive, my blade switched from fire to acid.

I aimed lower this time.

"And this, mister Mortem, is for threatening to rape my son, oh I wouldn't have done any of this if you had not hurt him so much and then threatened to rape him like you did, maybe in your next life, learn to not mess with underage creatures, not even in jest." I stabbed the acid coated longsword deep in his rear, he died screaming and shaking in pain, Kari let go of him and he curled up while dying, it was honestly quite a pathetic sight for someone who not long ago had us in a similar situation.

"Die, your power now belongs to my son, you are nothing." I whispered on his ear as he died, it twitched slightly so he probably heard me, then he went still, dead eyes open wide.

Post Mortem has been slain! Your part earns 10000 EXP
Onyx has leveled up and reached level 27! 2406/13730 Sylf 11783/13730 Kari has leveled up and reached level 27! 7042/13730

It was over, wasn't it? Finally... I sat down, exhausted, I had managed to kill the monster who almost killed us all, all thanks to my son, who was getting up and shaking the charred scales and blood off himself, he was back to normal! And so was Kari who both came running and hugged me tightly, I hugged them back and we shared a loving nuzzle.

POV shift Onyx

I had fallen unconscious after using my attack and asking mom to destroy his horn, I was not even aware we had won, that is until my strength returned to me fully, I felt fully energized and healthy, stronger too, nothing hurts anymore, I slowly got up, testing for pain, there was none, I was relieved, we were all alive! Everything was going to be okay now, despite what almost happened... I couldn't help but smile a little.

"Momma, auntie, we won right?! He's dead?" I asked, shaking myself free from the residue of my previous wounds, I could now see again, and smell again, the residue was dry, burned dragon scales that had been charred to ash, and lots and lots of my blood, a sight that I was already pretty familiar with, I sighed tiredly, it was not normal to be used to the sight of my own blood, I may need a therapist, but even then how would I explain to one what happened to me?

"Yes he is my darling son, I killed him for you, I made sure he suffered extra, because what he did to you, but don't worry, everything is good now and we are safe, right Kari?" I felt something was off, right away, I felt we were forgetting about something.

"Yes miss Sylf, but we are forgetting about something... The mare, she is still here, she is standing there looking at us, and even I find it a bit uncomfortable." I had to agree with her, why was she still alive if the necromancer was dead? Was she just independent now? Why did she not attack or do anything?

"I agree, that's very odd, what's going on here? And also... Shouldn't we have gotten a notification that we completed the dungeon? Wait... Let me loot Post Mortem, maybe he had something on him that would help!" I ran over and looked over the unicorn's dead body, his robe was still intact and was not even scratched or dirty for some reason, despite the fact his body was extremely battered, bloodied and... Oh my goodness! What happened to his junk?! I instinctively crossed my hind legs and cringed, despite me not having external balls, I felt that, mom must have been really really angry...

I think I'll need therapy, and soon, I shook my head and went back to looking for clues, he looked pretty much like a regular everyday unicorn, no real signs of undeadness, he was... I gently put a paw over his chest, yes, he was still warm, more or less alive, was this pony real? It... Made a lot of sense actually, no other creature borne of negative energy I had seen so far had been able to talk, let alone in such a colorful way, I looted him.

You have obtained two legendary items!

Spirit Gem of Post Mortem: the soul of the strongest necromancer to ever live.

You can interact and talk with the pony's consciousness inside using telepathy!

You can use this gem to gain all the spells and arcane knowledge known by the pony inside, but the soul will be free and you won't be able to interact with it.

Post Mortem's story: once a promising student of Starswirl the Bearded, he finished his studies at age 12, he left to explore the world on a quest for knowledge and discovery, all with the blessing of his former mentor, however during this quest for learning he came upon dark and forbidden knowledge, that is when he discovered his special talent for necromancy, and learned various mind control spells, he kept traveling the world for decades, and kept gaining knowledge and power, his goal was to ultimately find a way to become a king and amass an army of undead, then eventually research a way to become immortal.

After the rise and banishment of Nightmare Moon, and taking advantage of Equestria's instability he took his first village under his control, not expecting much opposition.

Princess Celestia herself came knocking after she found out what happened there from scout's reports.

A battle ensued and Post Mortem, finding he was at a disadvantage and not wanting to risk capture, used a risky interdimensional teleport spell, leaving him stranded on the dream realm, without knowing that nightmare moon had used a one way barrier spell to seal the realm, the spell he had used to reach the dimension had also modified his body to survive on ambient energy instead of food and water.

Robes of the Occult: legendary magical artifact believed lost to time this robes were given to Post Mortem by his former mentor, Starswir, before he departed on his journey of discovery.

They reduce the mana cost of spells by half, they increase the user's ability two multicast, allowing for two spells from a single point, for unicorns this means they can use two spells at the same time, even if they requiere concentration.

The robes automatically adjust to any body size and shape magically, as sometimes mages like to experiment with changing themselves into other species too.

This item provides no physical or magical protection, but can be worn over armor, and it's completely indestructible.

Finally, some good fucking loot! This was the most interesting and best loot I could hope for! All of this was worth it! Definitively... Okay maybe not the... Almost dying and risking becoming... You know what? Nevermind, let's not think about that stuff anymore, I'll leave that for the therapist.

Now as for the last one here, the undead mare, I honestly felt bad for her, even if she was not alive or even a real corpse, but she needed to go so we could leave!

"Mom, please kill the unicorn mare... She is the only one left on this dungeon and we will be free! We can come back later to loot it." I ask kindly to her, I didn't really want to get decapitating another one again, this pony looked much more alive then the zombies I killed before.

Mom nods, grabbing her sword from the inventory, the stands in front of the mare, who has not moved or blinked or even moved her eyes since Post Mortem died, then she swings her longsword, lopping off the head of the pony in one clean, smooth attack.

Deadly Critical! Undead Unicorn Duchess is slain!
Party has gained 100 EXP! Onyx 2506/13730 Sylf 11830/13730 Kari 7142/13730

But when the head came off, from inside the head came out a small pitch black centipede, it slid off, covered in slime, and once it hit the ground it took off running, but before it could escape I used magic missile, hitting it and making it explode into pieces that quickly turned into vapor, I quickly used 'inspect' on the vapor before it could banish.

LvL 1 Parasitical Nightmare
Aberration
0/1 HP

Small, rare parasite native to the dream realm that nests inside the brains of creatures and feeds of negative emotions, this one seems to have found its way to the brain or an undead, causing it to stagnate and not grow at all, it needs a living host.
Impossible to remove by mundane methods, other than open brain surgery, likely to cause death if attempted.

Can only be created inside the dream realm by high concentrations of negative energy from especially powerful sources, very magically powerful creatures, the more magic and negative emotions they posses, the most likely they are of producing a parasite inside their own brains, their life cycle hints that they may reproduce inside the brain of those afflicted and infect those who share dreams with the infected, which rarely, if ever happens.

It's theorized this creatures were created artificially in the past or that they may come from a different plate altogether, outside of the dream realm, and are just called into this dimension by their preferred food source, negative energy and negative emotions.

Parasitical possession: this creature, once it has absorbed enough energy, giants the ability to subtly control the mind of its host, causing it to become more prone to generate negative emotions for it to feed on, and cause negative emotions on those around as well.

Parasitical nightmare has been slain! Your party gains 5 EXP! Onyx 2511/13730 Sylf 11888/13730 Kari 7147/13730

I stood there unable to comprehend I just read for a few minutes, then it clicked.

"Oh fuck! That parasite was transmitted... From him to her, he must have the same, we have to cut off his head if we want to find the parasite and kill it, ugh... Mom? You already mangled his danglers, can you cut off his head for me please? I don't feel... Comfortable doing that to a pony, even when he was an evil bastard." Mom gave me a pointed look at my crude joke, but nodded slowly.

"Before we do that, step back and be ready to attack, I don't know what this higher level parasite will be able to do."

We all stood back, I lifted the body by the head and mom prepared her longsword, I equipped the Robe of the Occult, and Kari was ready to pounce.

Mom swing her sword and the body fell down in a heap, i looked away for a second as she did that, but I could still see everything from the corner of my eye. I truly hope the ponies have good psychological help... This was gruesome, blood flowed out of the body but since he was already dead, not much of it.

At least I had closed his eyes when I looted him.

Suddenly a squelching sound was heard, the head started twitching in my aura, and smile started to come out of the neck then a large black centipede slowly slid out, it was much larger than the first, it must have occupied half the skull, it looked at us, and screeched, then tried to cast a powerful spell, but I stopped it's spell with my counterspell -35 MP

'Mom, use ethereal blade and elemental flame blade at the same time, cut it in two! This thing is a pure magic caster, it has almost no health, quick!' Mom rushed forward, while I used a strong lightning bolt, but it actually used counterspell to stop me, it was clearly able to use stronger magic than me, since I did not know any tier of magic beyond 5, I had to use upscale lower tier spells that were weaker than just regular higher tier spells most of the time.

But my plan worked, the creature was not able to attack mom with spells as my counterspells stopped anything it used.

This thing, if let loose was a terror, it was weak sure, but it was small, sneaky, extremely magically potent and fast, it's only weakness was that without a host-

Sylf sliced it in two, black guts and blood spilling on the ground and quickly dissolving into vapor

It was just an insect.

Parasitic Nightmare has been slain! Your party earns 10000 EXP
Onyx 12511/13730 Sylf has leveled up to level 28! 8158/16476 Kari has leveled up to level 28! 3417/16476

I unequipped my magical robe, We had won, I could let my guard down at last.

Second Dungeon completed! You now have access to the Item Shop, where you can exchange your gold pieces for rare, out of this world items! You can access the Item Shop from your interface.

You have completed the dungeon with all your party members alive, bonus EXP rewarded!

Your secondary objectives inside the dungeon can be completed at a later time for increased rewards.

Your party has earned 25000 EXP! Congratulations!
Onyx has leveled times to level 29! 7305/19771
Sylf has leveled up to level 29! 16682/19771
Kari has leveled up to level 29! 11941/19771

Quickly after that, we were teleported back to reality, we didn't have time to loot or explore more, but that was fine by me! I excitedly jumped onto the floor of the Everfree, kissing the ground, even kissing the spiky plants, I didn't care if they left my snout a bit sore, I was feeling the most alive, I've ever been!

"Yes! Yes! We survived!! It's a beautiful day to fuckin live!" I started dancing around a bit, singing loudly while pretending I was walking down the street, mom and auntie were behind me, then both shared a look and a small laugh and followed me.

"Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk
I'm a woman's man, no time to talk
Music loud and women warm, I've been kicked around
Since I was born" I did a little spin and held up my mom's paw gently and gave it a small kiss, she busted up laughing at the silliness, but I kept singing, I could hear the music as if it was around us.

"And now it's alright, it's okay
And you may look the other way
We can try to understand
The effect that fighting has on me
Whether you're an auntie or whether you're a momma
You're stayin' alive, stayin' alive" I pulled both of them close to me as we walked towards the farm, a bounce on my step, I did flips and swung my hips side to side, my tail was wagging involuntarily.

"Feel the city breakin' and everybody shakin'
And we're stayin' alive, stayin' alive
Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive, stayin' alive
Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive
Oh, when you walk" they clued in and joined the song, singing along with me, despite Kari's voice being lion noises, like bassy meows and weird roars, she signed along mentally too, which I appreciated, her (telepathic) voice was beautiful, and her lion noises were adorable, to be fair.

"Well now, I get low and I get high
And if I can't get either, I really try
I got claws and don't have shoes
But I keep dancing man, I just can't lose~" I let out a celebratory breath of frost into the air and a small roar, It doesn't sound very menacing, but I just don't care, mom joined with a howl and aunty made a lion's roar that made my lungs vibrate slightly, and put a wide smile on my face.
I keep singing while we swim across the river.

"You know it's alright, it's okay
I'll live to see another day
We can try to understand
The effect that fighting has on me" we finished crossing the river quite quickly, shaking ourselves a bit on the ground of the excess water, I jumped on my back and did rolled on the ground in circles for a minute, then jumped up and landed on my four legs, puffing my chest out and we kept walking and singing loudly, acting like we didn't have a care in the world.

"Life goin' nowhere, somebody help me
Somebody help me~
Life goin' nowhere, somebody help me, yeah
I'm stayin' aliiiiiive~" we kept going, repeating the last verses of the song, until we were at the other door, I smiled, singing that felt wonderful! I felt all my fears and worries melt away, whatever happened in that dungeon, it was over now, we were fine and it we could back to living happily in our beautiful home.

Chapter 23 The way home

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 25 Heart to heart

I returned back to the material plane shortly after my conversation with the rude yet useful stallion ended, well he was not exactly a stallion anymore, but just a mind and soul in a crystal he had made, I was still unsure as to why he made it, but he did.

Once I arrived I was right were I left, sitting next to a dumpster on an a dark alleyway of the city.
Mom is probably at home, it seemed like her emotions were back under control, now thats a relief, I just needed to get home and check on her, I was not going to ask what she did, I myself had learned some useful spells, and the day was a success, despite that monster being my teacher, he had no real choice, he had no way to escape, and no one but I could talk to him.

I walked out of the alley, a pegasus royal guard was patrolling the street right at that moment, I existed normally and she gave me a look of suspicion, I simply waved at her, it was easy to tell the gender even with royal guard armor, as the enchantment on the armor just changed the colors of the pony, but not the shape of their muzzles and facial structure.

"Dragon hatchling, what are you here this late at night coming out of a dark alley?" Well, now I was in trouble! What can I tell her? If I say I was lost she would probably take me to some foal protection services or something, or was I gonna get arrested for being a dragon?

"I-i just wanted to check it out, I was going back home and saw this and wanted to explore! It looks cool and mysterious, and I thought there may be treasure at the end, but... I only found bags of trash and it smelled bad" I came up with on the fly, looking disappointedly at the guard, her expression softened a bit, seems that was a decently reasonable explanation for what, now about the hour, it was probably too late for a foal to be outside, I assumed, specially without parents present.

"Oh okay, that makes sense, foals are very adventurous and dragons like treasure, I get that now, but what are you doing out here at this hour? It's too late for foals to be out and about without their parents, young dragon." Uh oh... I hope this didn't get mom in trouble, I may have to have this guard escort me home.

"I just like the peace of nighttime and wanted to go for a walk around the town, is it safe right? I was just heading home, my mom is at home waiting for me with dinner probably ready." I lied convincingly, I was used to it by now, only innocent lies, and only when necessary, but I was not opposed to lying when it helped me or mom.

"I guess I can accompany you home, maybe even talk to your mom about this, what's your name little dragon? And where do you live?" I decided to tell the truth this time, making up a reason was fine, but making up a name and pretending to be someone else while I was probably the only dragon in town was as stupid as sticking your head in a hornets nest.

"My name is Onyx, I'm from the middle district, 250 Sappire street." She nodded at this, then smiled encouragingly, she clearly was good with foals once she realized there was nothing wrong going on.

"Let's go, I'll take you there colt, so who do you live with? I'm curious to know, I haven't seen dragons before in Canterlot, you're the first dragon I meet in fact." We started walking back home, i was nervous to say the wrong thing, so I tried to keep my answers short and not tell too much, despite my impulsiveness.

"Thank you ma'am, I don't know any other dragons ether to be honest, I live with my momma, she's the best mom ever!"

"Does she take good care of you?" I was almost offended at the question, but I kept the snark out of my tone.

"Yes, yes she does, we always go everywhere together but I wanted some time alone tonight and she agreed as long as I didn't do anything dangerous and stayed near the patrol routes." I said with a slight defensive tone, she clearly picked up on it.

"I'm just trying to look out for you, no need to get upset colt, come now we are close." I sighed and we continued this way walking alongside her the rest of the way in silence for about 10 minutes, I decided to check if mom was home and warn her.

'Hey mom, you're at home right? I'm back, I had to escape away because you and that stallion were going too wild, it interfered a bit with our psychic link.'

'Oh Onyx, you're back! I've been at home for a few hours now, dinner is ready for when you come back, hopefully you're heading here now, as I don't think the guards will be okay with a hatchling walking around on his own this late, and I may get into trouble because of it.'

'Well... How to explain this mom, I happen to have a pegasus guardmare with me who found me coming out of a dark alley, and decided to escort me home, she seems to want to talk to you and you may want to say that I just really wanted to go for a walk, and I refused to let you go with me, that's more or less what I told her, but she still insisted on talking to you.'

A few seconds of silence, followed by a mental sigh was my answer, she was not happy, was I in trouble? But... This wasn't my fault, maybe coming home late was, but I had to escape somehow!

'Son, I understand, I would have preferred you to come home earlier but I understand, this is my fault after all, I'm well aware of what i did and how long it took for me to return home, so I'll talk to the guardmare, she will probably recognize who i am anyways.'

'Just for your information, and maybe I should have told you sooner but when I found out about the dungeon I modified our telepathic link to send emotions as well, it usually just sends a sense of what's going on, but when you started to... Get friendly with the pony I didn't have time to modify the link again, I did this so I could tell what happened to either of you at any time and be ready to protect you, and of course I forgot to modify it again so I would not feel your emotions again, because im an idiot, a distracted idiot.'

'Y-you could feel what I was feeling?! ONYX! Why didn't you mention you did that, before the dungeon! I would have preferred for it to be two ways so I could tell what you were going through, I want to protect you as well!' Oh fuck, mom was pissed off, and not because I was basically spying on her emotions, but because i didn't give her an extra way to protect me, figures she would focus on that.

'I... I didn't have time to revert it, your strong emotions were starting to become too much, so I decided I had no choice but to escape, and I headed into the dream realm, where I stayed all day.'

'You are... I suppose I can't be angry at you for this, it was me who agreed to let you outside waiting for hours and hours, I should not have done that, and I'm sorry.' Her voice sounded genuine, she was not happy about leaving me outside.

'If I had not been linked to you I may have just stayed in the back of the store and taken a nap on some boxes or something, it doesn't matter to me what you do, if it makes you happy then I'm happy, now momma I'm near the house so I'll see you soon!'

She sent her confirmation over the link, and we stopped as me and the guardmare escorting me arrived at my home, I wanted to go and open the door, but the mare stopped me with an outstretched wing, then knocked the door herself, I was getting frustrated, how dare she stop me from going into my own house?! Just because I was short it didn't mean that she could just dismiss me!

"I want to talk to your mom first colt, wait a minute." She said dismissively, I sighed and just nodded, I didn't want to cause a scene.

A few more seconds passed and then mom opened the door, towered over me and the guardmare, who's eyes widened as she looked up at the large wolf, she swallowed audibly, I almost chuckle at this, but I settled for tackling mom in a hug, I felt her snout nuzzle my head gently, I missed her, she is the most important person in my life.

"Momma I'm so happy to see you again! This good guardmare here wants to talk to you, she found and decided it was too dark for me to go home on my own."

"First Lieutenant Sylf?!" The pony exclaimed, seemingly breaking out of her surprise and thinking, she stood straight and snapped a salute.

"At ease, name and rank?"

"Private Cloud Striker from nightshift ma'am, I've come to see your son home safely, he was playing in a dark alley on upper Canterlot, were you aware of this?"

"Yes I was, he told me he was going to take a walk around the area, he adores the nighttime and I often accompany him out to stargaze, but he wanted to go by himself today, now, I know what youre thinking Private Striker, but i assure you, my son is safe."

The mare didn't seem convinced at her words but she could see the determination in my mom's eyes.

"With all due respect First Lieutenant Sylf, ma'am he is just a hatchling, he is no older than 10, how can he even be safe on his own at night outside? Sure, the streets are safe and it's too cold for most ponies to go out at that hour, but you need to look after him better." Cloud Striker said with a serious tone, but she was still clearly nervous to be scolding a guard of higher rank.

Mom lowered her head slightly, she didn't have many options or excuses she could come up with, she could just either tell the pony that I was highly magically capable and bring all the attention of the guard on me, or just admit she was wrong, and try to smooth things out.

"I... I'm sorry Private, I had a long day, it won't happen again, I just know it's safe there because I know the patrol routes of the guards, and I know he was always within those routes, always I'm view of our fellow guardponies, but you are right, he is still a young hatchling and he could have just left the streets despite me telling him not to."

The mare seemed to relax at this, her expression softened somewhat, but she was not happy with the situation clearly.

"I hope this is the last time you let him out at night, I respect you a great deal, but I won't hesitate to report this next time, good night First Lieutenant, good night Onyx." And with that, the mare left and took a running start and flew back to her patrol route, I closed the door behind her, then turned to mom and looked at her in the eyes.

She looked back at me, her glowing yellow eyes showing concern, fear, anger and guilt.
I could tell she couldn't decide what emotion to settle on, she didn't say anything.

This had been a really long day and I feel like I overreacted by escaping to the dream world. I should have turned it off and returned back immediately, I... Didn't know what to do, I was also keeping a very important secret from her.

"Mom, I'm sorry, this is my fault, I messed up badly, I forgot how overprotective ponies are of foals, but worst of all I went to where I shouldn't have, I did something I shouldn't have done without telling you."

"Onyx, my son, muy precious and sweet son...
I will tell you again, no matter what happens, no matter how badly you messed up or what you did, even if it was towards me, I will help you out, I will protect you and I will side with you, and let me be clear here, this all is my fault, it was because of me that you saw no choice but to escape to the other place, was it not?"

"I... I was overwhelmed and I was not thinking, I just wanted out and to feel calm again, but I don't think it's your fault, you didn't do anything wrong, you didn't meant to do this, it was my fault in the first place! The telepathic link was my doing, I modified it."

"This... Happens sometimes, in this case where we both did something in the moment and didn't think of the consequences of our actions, I suppose we are both at fault then, are we not?" She was wrong, I did something else, something I didn't tell her, but... The guilt was eating away at me, so I spilled.

"Actually I did something else too, I convinced Post Mortem to teach me about magic..." Her eyes grew in size and her pupils contracted, she stared at me in disbelief for almost ten seconds.

'ARE YOU SERIOUS? THAT FUCKING MONSTER ALMOST KILLED YOU! AND... AND YOU ASKED HIM TO BECOME YOUR TEACHER?!' I think my brain was bleeding a little from her psychic scream, her voice in my mind made me wince and try to cover my ears, good thing she used telepathy because otherwise our neighbors may have woken up from the loud voice.

'I... I think his knowledge about the world outside of Equestria is going to greatly benefit us, he has traveled the world for decades, he has knowledge about ancient temples, places that could contain treasures, rare or forgotten spells, magical artifacts and even forgotten books of magic. He did not tell me this, I can see his information when I examine his spirit gem! It would be a waste to just absorb his magic and spells without finding out about potential future locations to explore mom.' I explained my point of view.

'Onyx, you little precious hatchling, I also have read the information about him, I also can read the stats and examine items from the inventory, and read their description, you know this, you have shown me how.
But that monster, that horrible monster has done terrible things to you, and not only you, but hundreds of ponies, you heard him, he has committed mass murder just to become stronger! Do you think he will just be okay with becoming a teacher to you, the one who got him killed, and the one he was SO CLOSE TO KILLING?!' She was really upset, my ears were pinned against my head, as she looked at me, her gaze was very intense, I couldn't look into her eyes for long, i felt guilt.

'He already has taught me two spells, very useful spells in combat. Mom, he can't do anything else, what will he do? He is trapped in a gemstone that is imposible to break out of, he has no body of his own to posses, he can't use magic without his horn, and his horn is sitting out in the dream realm, broken off, while his body is in the inventory frozen solid, I decided to keep it there in case we may need a dead pony for some reason.'

'What the buck Onyx?! You've actually just taken his word for it that the spells he taught you will work like he said they would? I'm... Very concerned about you, and I'm very upset at you. How do you know those spells are safe and not some trap designed to blow up your head the moment you cast them?' her voice was calmer, but her tone was still angry, and cold, which made me feel even worse about this.

'Mom, I know the spell formula, I know the runes and I know what each one means, you can know what a rune means by channeling magic, you know this right? I triple checked the formulas, the runes and even their order, I know they are safe for me to cast, in fact only one of the spells can deal damage to others, there is no explosive spell or anything that could make my head explode, not that exploding my head would be easy, I've taken one of the strongest spells directly to my head mom, and I survived! The spells I learned are tier 1 and tier 2.'

'You seem really sure about this, but I still don't like it, son I have never done this before and I didn't expect the need to do it, but you are grounded until you can prove that the spells he has given you are safe, in fact I will examine the formulas and the runic matrix myself, I may not be an expert in them but I can always learn, if it means keeping you safe.
From now on, you aren't allowed to talk or get taught from him, you hear me? I will have to hide away his spirit gem, give it to me now.' She was serious, her face didn't show a single positive emotion, she also was slightly baring her fangs.

I wanted to hide somewhere, her gaze like this was more intimidating than anyone I've ever seen, and she wasn't even serious, I meekly nodded, my head lowered as I pulled the gem out of my inventory and handed it to her, she grabbed it in her maw.

'Yes mother, I have no choice now, but please reconsider when you learn if his spells are safe for the caster, I know what they do, but I can't test them on you because from one you would take psychic damage and the other is used to force others to attack the ones near them.' I hoped she would understand, I didn't want to try this on her, as much as I knew the theory, for example crown of madness forces someone to attack the person they are right next of, but they still can freely move, it's only useful for a surprise attack, once the opponent realized what it did they would just stay away from their allies.

'I will prefer if you don't try them until I double check the properties and formulas of the spell, please write them down for me, I'll read them tomorrow, now I will go store this somewhere, and I know you can find it, but please don't, dont take it or you'll make me very upset young dragon.' She warned and went upstairs to probably store the gem, which

I sat down on the ground, closed my eyes and started to cry, today had been overwhelming, my dreams of gaining power enough to protect myself and mom, they were just dreams, i was probably not going to get any new spells for a while, not forbidden ones at least.

And worst of all, I had got mom in trouble, probably ruined her happy mood, and made her worry a lot about me, not to mention angry.

I was too selfish, was I wrong for wanting to gain power at all costs? Yes, yes i was, power was important yes, but not at the cost pushing my loved ones away, I can't believe it... I barely go outside because I spent most of my days indoors, studying magic, while mom risks her job and her freedom by sneaking out copies of spellbooks, all so I become strong enough to survive, and yet I go behind her back for more power.

I sobbed loudly, curled up on the floor, the realization I was hurting my only family for power hit like a ton of bricks.

"There, now it's time for dinner son, wait, what's going on? Oh." I heard mom call me and approach me as she heard me, she looked down at me, I looked up at her, my sight was blurry from crying, I felt even worse when I looked into her beautiful eyes that were full of emotion, she started to tear up too, but approached me and pulled me towards her, i got up and clung to her like my life depended on it.

"I'm selfish, i-i have caused you to risk your entire life, your career, your relationships, even your mental health just so I could be stronger... I'm not a good son, I'm a burden. You've saved my life countless times, yet I go behind your back and do something I knew you would not want me to, just because I want more, more knowledge and power. You have given me so much... Yet I only bring you trouble, just now Cloud Striker could have reported what I did to her superiors, and you would be in trouble, because of me!" I managed to say while holding her and trying to keep my choking sobs under control, I was pouring my heart out to her, all of my worst emotions, I was being selfish again wasn't i?

"My son, I chose you, when I met you I knew I wanted to protect you and watch you grow up happy, then, when we were thrown into that hell, I stayed by your side, I protected you, I fought for you, even knowing who you were before, what you went through it only made me more sure of what I feel, what i think. You, Onyx, are my son, the reason I do all of that, I mean risking my own life and wellbeing is because I love you, and because it's the nature of being a mother, for you, I will do anything, but I just really don't want you to be hurt or worse, even if by your own decisions." Mother explained to me softly, in a caring and very gentle tone.

"I never think of you as a burden, you are a blessing, my first and only son, and I said this before my darling, but I'll say it again as many times as I need, if I lose everything, if I get fired from my job, if the princess takes away our home, I will still have you, and we will just move away together, we have more than enough bits to buy several houses, probably enough to buy a mansion." She continued, her words making my crying slow to a stop as her words felt like caressing on my face, like gentle kisses and soft hugs.

"I admit, I came out very harsh and my upset face didn't help, I really didn't meant to scare you or make you feel so awful, I just don't want you to mess with that gem, I know in that state he may be harmless, but I don't know what madness his words carry, what effects it may have in your growing hatchling psyche, I... I just worry he will change you, that he will change how you see the world, and make you think that what he did is okay somehow, that he is not a bad pony or that he genuinely just wants to help you, when I know that is not the case, none of those, son. He wanted to rape you, he melted your face, your eyes and half of your torso off, do you understand now why I was so upset?" This time mom's calm voice and comforting nuzzles made me feel less awful, but there was anger whenever she remembered what he did to me, just directed to him instead of myself.

"I-i do mom, you are correct, I... I just think I have been to obsessed with becoming more powerful as a mage after my humiliating defeat by him, yes, he defeated me completely, if it wasn't for you, I would have lost and... Yes I see your point, I... I just want to take advantage of him, as much as I can, I was planning on betraying him once I had more information on the things I wanted, but... There may be information about those places on libraries within and outside Equestria, or just... Traveling ourselves and exploring, meeting the locals, talking to them." Mom smiled at this, she is clearly happy she changed my mind, and I was starting to agree too.

Who would I rather side with, and try to make and keep happy, my mom, who is doing all she can to make me happy, help me get stronger, feed me, give me affection, hold me when I feel my lowest, and even risking her life for me, OR a total stranger that is a psychopath, mass murderer, possible rapist, necrophiliac, who almost killed my family and I, and also on top of that was going to do all of those bad things to us either before or after we died?

Thinking of it that way, the answer was obvious, maybe he was somehow affecting me before, to be so stupid as to entertain for a moment the idea of even speaking to him was preposterous, or... I was just mad for power, was it? I suppose it was my nature, but I had to go about it the right way.

"My sweet little dragon, I'm happy that you're realizing what I feel now, if you do the right thing, I will make it up to you, I promise! I'll accompany you on a journey of discovery once you finish school, we will, together, find all that you may need to become unstoppable! And we will do so while we hold to our virtues"

"I know you are a kind dragon, I know because you just showed me how you truly feel, and someone who was just thinking of themselves wouldn't cry like you did over your actions and over what you feel is your fault, this virtues we hold, they are important, kindness is the most important of them, without kindness I would have ignored you when I first found you, all those years ago, I know it sounds horrible to say, but at the time I was hungry myself, I was checking if you had food I could take, but when you showed generosity by sharing the fish you caught, despite you doing so out of fear as a peace offering, it was still generous."

"My adorable little dragon, I want you to remember that showing your virtues may bring them out on others, when you are kind to someone, or generous, or honest, or brave, even if you're cracking jokes too, you may make others feel like its good to be any of those things, we are all a bit of a show off inside, if someone is kind, we may not want to be left behind and we show kindness too, it's our nature to want to compete with others, so why not make it a competition of virtue instead?"

I couldn't help but agree, I did really care for her, for my friends and for Kari, Wishpaw and the Apple family, I did care about this ponies, and they cared about me, we sometimes gave gifts to each other, and I loved to show them affection too.

"I understand mom, I... There is a story back home, a series of little stories that all are about a different topic, but what they have in common is that all of them happen I'm Equestria, or somewhere near Equestria, they are about this exact same topic, the virtues are what always saves the day in the end, they are very important, and I need to do better. Thank you so much for this you cuddly and sweet wolf momma!" Her explanation and the way she says them make me feel much better about everything, I have try to improve as a person too, not just improve my combat power.

I hugged mom like my life depended on it, my face was mostly dry from tears now, I would need a showed however as I had some snot on myself from crying so much, gross...

"I... Have to tell you something little Onyx, I think our family is going to grow, since I have a coltfriend now, the stallion that... Well you know! He and I will visit each other often from now on, he will come here and I'll go to his house sometimes, I bet you two will get along well, he has a dry wit and humor you'll like, knowing you." She shyly announced as I could feel her face heating up while her tail wagged too, I smiled at the display, she may be wise and very kind, but she really was acting like a big happy wolf now, her paws tapping the floor.

"Yaaay! I'm glad! Coconut Cream is really awesome! He makes the best ice cream I ever tried, you got lucky mom, I also like his humor, I've seen him joke around with costumers, including myself, too bad most mares don't seem to like his dry humor and puns for some reason. That's good tho, means there's more for you!"

"Such wonderful news son! You do get along with him, that's lovely then! Now let's go eat dinner and sleep before I fall asleep on the spot?" Mom asked with a big yawn which I shared as well, I was realizing how sleepy I felt, and how hungry I am.

After a quick dinner of scrambled eggs and cheese we washed and headed to bed, I passed out shortly after laying my head on the pillow.

That night we cuddled together, the conflict in my mind and the guilt I was feeling about going behind her back were still there but going away after her words, tomorrow I would do what I should have done right away, I don't want to let her down again, this were my last thoughts before falling asleep.

Author's Note

No words can hurt quite as deeply as those from the one who you love the most, in this case, Onyx learns first hand how it feels to fail his mother, realizing he has been too blinded by his thirst for power and has once again done something questionable behind her back, will he ever learn?
Is he going to listen to her words and try to be better?

Chapter 26 Princess bully visits Onyx

14th of December year 980

I was gently shaken awake, blinking slowly until I could see clearly, the black snout of the fluffy wolf standing over me, I got up and hugged said wolf, pressing my own face to her and staying close.

"Morning ma, what hour is it? I think I overslept, how did you sleep?" I scratched her neck and behind her ears gently, her being so close to me always makes me feel happier for some reason.

"Morning Onyx, it's 10am, I think, you didn't oversleep, you just went to sleep later than usual last night, and I slept well, specially after knowing you plan to do the right thing, it brought me calm and peace, but now let's get ready, go and wash up and then come down for breakfast." Knowing she slept well made me feel good, if she will do everything possible to give me a good life I will keep her happy.

"Ill make some bacon pancakes and pineapple smoothie with sprinkled gems to go along with it!" Oh that sounded delicious, making my tummy growl, she giggled at this and patted me with her paw as we moved apart, she left and I headed to the bathroom, deciding to take a quick shower as well at the end, I just scrubbed myself clean fast using neutral soap and then washed and dried my scales.

After exiting the bathroom I was fully awake and in a better mood, hungry so I rushed down the stairs and straight to the table, where mom had the food waiting for me.

We ate in silence as we both had a large appetite now, each ate a full plate of pancakes and in about half an hour we were done.

"Ahh, that was delicious as always! You want me to wash the dishes this time?" I let out a small burp and she answered with one of her own, we both shared a laugh.

"Sure sweetheart, you can wash the dishes, your magic makes it much easier than me having to use my maw to hold things, unlike earth ponies, I don't got those magic hooves." That was true, I took our plates away in my indigo aura, moving them to the sink and opening the faucet.

It was not difficult to handle telekinetic objects outside your field of view if you were familiar enough with the place, at home, I try to train my magic often, try to keep myself always using it for everything, from cooking to washing dishes to even scrubbing myself clean in the shower, always trying to keep my eyes closed.

The risk of using telekinesis blind was accidentally bumping the object you wanted to levitate against the walls or ceiling, or not being able to find said object that maybe you expect to be in a determined place and it's not, and also know where your tk field is concentrated at a certain time, but none of those required being super strong to practicing, any unicorn could, with enough use, cast telekinesis out of their sight, what was hard and almost impossible for most ponies was far reaching telekinesis.

For example, you see someone dropped a hundred bits coin and you want to grab it but you're half a block away, you can try and grab it but most likely you won't be able to reach with your field, was the telekinetic field only able to reach within a certain radius around you, and outside of that the spell would just stop working.

The TPR, meaning telekinetic potential radius was something I probably was going to see more of at school, now I just knew what if was from reading books on magic all day, mom would always bring me a new book when she had the time, I usually told her the topic and she got them from the royal library, the unrestricted section, she was able to get books from there with no hassle as long as she returned them in time.

Some unicorns had short TPR, others had longer ones, it was kind of like the arm length of a person, the longer the arm the further out they can grab things from, but this radius was able to be increased with proper training, guards usually trained this ability along with their spells, counter spells and magical talent or non magical talent if it was related to guard duty.

I had been lost in my thoughts for a while, but returned to the real world when wolf mom nuzzled my neck, I blinked and looked at her, pulled out from my nerdy thoughts. The plates were already done cleaning minutes ago.

"Son, I want you to do it, you say you would do it right? So please? Do the right thing and I'll also hold my end of the promise I have made to you." Her tone was soft, kind but also urgent and begging, she really wanted this, I could tell.

I knew she would ask this, I told her I would do it, we both knew that the sooner we got this out of the way, the better, I nodded.

"Yes, you're right I did say I would, I suppose there is no point in delaying it, bring it here please."

She left, and went upstairs, after a couple of minutes she returned, Spirit Gem in maw, she then dropped it on the table next to me, I grabbed the gem and looked at it, the almost black blue color was honestly nice, but I just knew keeping his soul in it would bring me trouble, serious trouble.

"Alright, time to do this, mom? I am afraid of what effects the transfer of this much information could do to me, I know adding so much memories to a brain can he very stressful if done too quickly, so... If something happens to me please carry me to bed and just wait until I wake up. Kay?"

"Oh, I didn't think of that! Wait... Are you sure this is safe? Maybe... I don't know." She seemed to grow unsure but I just went for it.

"Welp one way to find out then." I looked at the gem, focusing my intent to absorb it's knowledge and destroy the consciousness of the being inside, freeing his soul in the process to be reborn.

"Absorb" I say out loud and then the gem starts to glow brightly, as soon as I see the blue light, my body stops responding to me, my head and paws, still holding the gemstone firmly, fall limply on the table, my eyes half open and slowly closing until I lose consciousness completely.

POV Shift Sylf

Right as I was about to tell him to not absorb the gem, he does it, I was thinking how to say that even after telling him it was the right thing to do, instead of dealing with that evil, but he went ahead and absorbed it before I could even start to speak, I gasped as he fell on the table, my heart suddenly began beating faster and faster as I feared the worst, he was completely still and his eyes were half open, but they slowly closed, the gemstone firmly held in his claws, seemingly stuck to him, even in his unconscious state he clinged to it.

Onyx has entered a magically induced coma, required to be able to absorb the knowledge inside of the Spirit Gem, the process can take up to a week, meanwhile Onyx will be completely defenseless. Taking away the Spirit Gem from his body may result in brain damage, bleeding and possible death, for his safety the object has been temporarily fused with his paws and the only way to remove it would be by cutting them off.

Oh dear... This was my doing, my idea, now he was going to stay asleep for a week, but what about his need for water? Would he get thirsty? Well, no matter I need to get things ready, take him to bed and make him comfortable, this will be like back with my tribe, taking care of newborn pups.

Well I can't do anything but my best then, I'm his mother and there is no way I will let my son down in his moment of weakness!

I approached and gently slid my head under his chest, pushing the table and chairs aside with my body quite easily, then once he was on my neck I pulled him up, slowly correcting the position until he was balanced on top of my neck, his body was heavy for someone of such a size, he was after all heavily armored by nature.

But I'm a strong wolf, I have lifted heavier during basic training five years ago, and I could lift about 2 fully grown earth ponies and carry them at the same time with ease, probably double that if I could walk slowly.

I headed upstairs, very carefully holding him stable and balanced by lowering my front and lifting my rear as I went up the stairs, it would look weird for anyone looking at me, but no one else was home.

Once upstairs I carried him into our room, grabbed the door handle with my maw and opened slowly, and walked and stood on the bed, sideways, then once his head was where I wanted it and his body was all on the bed, I dropped him off gently.

He laid there, face down and in a clearly uncomfortable position, his rump and tail were to the side and his front arms to one side, paws fused together with the gemstone, it was bizarre to see you close, his flesh and scales were kind of melted over the smooth shining surface of the stone, the glow had not diminished at all, it seemed to be steady.

I tried to push him to lay on his side more comfortably, trying to straighten his posture to be more or less even, using my snout to gently nudge him into what I consider a good sleeping position for him, I know he usually sleeps curled into a circle, usually close to my belly and chest I tend to sleep around him. The way he is now I can do that too.

Well, now he's comfy, I hope, laying down next to him I give him a few wolf kisses and nuzzles, I was going to miss talking to him...

"I hope you're safe in there my precious son, I'll keep watch over you every day."

POV shift Onyx

I was in a vast dark blue sea, there was no sky, no ground, no horizon.

But there was someone here with me, was I... Inside the gem? I wasn't sure, maybe i just connected to it to absorb it, I felt different, like as if I was reading a book on spells, knowledge about the nature of magic, different methods of using a same spell, but the information was not coming all at once, it was more like learning normally, just much faster and I didn't need to re-read it several times, I just got remembered everything as it came.

I felt a presence, an evil presence manifest before me, it was an amorphous mass of dark blue, a blob that had no real shape, it tried to resemble an unicorn but it was not able to hold its form for long, it spoke.

"You did it, what you said you didn't want to do." I stayed silent, staring at it, it was hard to read emotions on this blob, but the voice a clear tone, it was a mixture between sad and disappointed.

"I feel my memories slipping away, my knowledge, even now I barely remember the basics that Starswirl taught me, I feel my knowledge about spells dissolving, you weren't lying when you said you could do that, now I see." I didn't have much to say to this being, I value my mom over anything he could teach me, he was better used as a resource than as a teacher, I know he was trying to influence me before, push me away from Sylf and I was naive enough to fall for it, not anymore.

"Ah, you decided to ignore me? I will still say this, once you gain all my knowledge and my consciousness is fully wiped, I hope you make good use of my artifact, it will hold your soul fully protected, maybe if you complete the process I started and find a suitable body you can be reborn."

I raised an eye ridge, that explains why he had this gem, and why it's a legendary artifact, it was a way of storing a consciousness, perhaps magically preserve continuity? I assume my special powers granted to me by the being who sent me here are the only things that allowed me to absorb this guy's knowledge, not all of it, maybe because that would cause issues, I imagined getting decades worth of knowledge at once was deadly or at least would leave me severe brain damaged if it was done quickly, and slowly it would take too long and put me at too much risk, ponies would know if I stopped going out for years, they would inform others and world would get around.

"Ah, that got you interested, you seemed lost in though for a minute. You know ever since I died, my existence became nothing more than to be here, alone and with nothing to do but think to myself, at first I thought I wanted to make you suffer, that I wanted you dead, but now I don't care, I'm glad you decided to destroy me." I give him a confused look, but I suppose being trapped here alone with not even being able to breathe or move, with no senses to the outside was the most extreme form of sensory deprivation.

His form ripples constantly and slowly loses parts that become a mist and flow towards me, is that his knowledge? What else could it be.

"Im glad because I don't want to spend an eternity trapped here, unable to feel touch or see, at first the thought of teaching you felt like an insult, I wanted you to die but I also realized i could make you suffer just by changing you over time, teaching you to be more like me, you see, young minds are the most malleable, I could try and turn you against those you love, slowly over time."

I knew it, I had been naive to think I could outwit him...

"But now I think I would rather die again than having to deal with a worthless colt like you, I seriously hope my knowledge over the occult brings you misery and death like it brought those I used it on." He said with a tone of pure hatred and disgust, the way he spoke shook me out of my calm state and made me flinch, his form seemed to ripple more and become slightly monstrous, he rushed me and formed claws and his body became pointier and more dangerous, I tried to block with my paws.

But the impact did absolutely nothing, his form flattened against me as soon as he impacted, but I didn't even feel it, it was like being hit with claws made of smoke.

This gave pause to the being, but it resumed it's attacks, hitting me over and over, every time his blob of a body deformed and reformed, but my form was not affected, at least not more than a flinch at the sudden movement.

"It's useless, you can't hurt me, this is not your mind remember?" I answered, realizing what was happening, he tried to use his form to attack, but while he had a direct connection to my mind, he did not have a mind, he couldn't posses me either, the process of trapping his consciousness inside this gem was not the same as how a ghost formed, ghosts were echos of negative energies manifested from reality, they weren't souls of the dead or something like that, at least as far as I knew.

"Without a mind of your own, your attacks are no more than empty gestures, you don't have a body anymore, you are just a consciousness holding onto a soul, trapped inside a very complex spell that mimicks a small part of the brain within a gemstone."

I realized this was the case, his knowledge was flowing into me, and now I knew what this gem was, I learned it in realtime as I spoke, the construction of such a complex spell was an impressive feat of magic, not only in terms of power, but even more so precision.

The artificial hippocampus was extremely complex, it would take years for someone with already extensive knowledge of spell creation and enchanting to even being to theorize this, the precision in the making of the enchantment was hard to believe could be achieved.

Even yet, the gem could only contain selected memories, not completely everything that the creature experienced, there was a system to select what types of memories it would value the most, and what types of memories it would simply ignore and not store, I assumed that he configured it to store memories that allowed him to keep his magic, knowledge and spells, personality and maybe some other things like important locations, maybe knowledge about enemies and locations? I couldn't say for certain.

I also learned that the memories were stored in small resolution, sort of like a very low quality video, some things were given priority like runic symbols and spell matrixes, having higher resolutions.

He kept trying to attack, but it didn't even distract me anymore, I could only see the shape when I opened my eyes, but I felt nothing, I was more interested in going over my newly gained knowledge, how fascinating!

I learned this legendary artifact was not created by Post Mortem but merely configured by him to receive his consciousness and soul, if he happened to die.

Could I use this to save myself or mom? Yes, but I would need a body in living condition, yet somehow without a soul in it.

It was a hurdle I had to still resolve, but I didn't want to worry for now, I tried to relax, let the newly acquired knowledge wash over me and not worry about anything else.

I knew that the previous owner of the memories I was obtaining was desperately trying to get rid of me, insulting me and yelling at me like a wild animal, as his current state made it impossible for him to attack he resorted to trying to distract me, but I knew I was not in danger, so I just rested and started to tune out the sense of sound, or as close as sound as something that talked to my brain directly could be considered.

Having conscious control of one's unconscious was by definition, impossible, but I could sort of ignore his voice and tune it out as sometimes we tune out the sound of the rain when focused on something else.

I felt time go by, probably days, I didn't feel tired and I didn't feel sleepy, all the new information I was leaning felt too stimulating to try to sleep, it was like rush every time and a strong urge to go and use magic to see it at work, I had no idea what using magic here would do, what it I blow up the gem from the inside? What if I accidentally use my magic in the outside of this place and destroy my house?

Instead I just meditated, easing the absorption of information inside my brain, the pressure was constant in my mind, all this new memories were causing a moderate amount of stress to the neurons, but it was not enough to damage them, it was just right, fast enough to make this process shorter but slow enough to not hurt me in the process, now I understood why I needed to be in an induced coma, to reduce the use of the brain and focus it exclusively on the task at hand.

Several days later

I don't know how much time has passed, but I know at some point he had stopped attacking me, and insulting me, by now it was barely visible and it flickered in and out of existence, soon all will be gone, good.

A few minutes later a an intense glow surrounded me, a feeling of euphoria spread over my body, like intense satisfaction after reaching a big and important goal I had strived for a long time.

I opened my eyes to see the tiny mote of consciousness dissolve into nothingness, a pale form drifting away from it, probably the soul? Wasn't sure but I felt new power flow through me, making me close my eyes and and focus on the amazing sensation.

Onyx has gained 15000 EXP! Onyx has leveled up to level 30! 2534/23725

I blinked and found myself looking to the side of the bed, the closet, my room, I was back in my room! But... It was all very bright, huh? Why is everything so bright?!

"Onyx! Yes! You're finally back, I'm so happy you're back!" I was suddenly snuggled by a very eager oversized wolf from behind, who grabbed onto me with her legs and held me close against her chest, her very fluffy and warm chest, I purred softly like a cat, the spirit gem now detaching from my claws like an old scab, my scales quickly closing up and healing, the gem went back into my inventory.

"Hi mom, I'm glad to see you again too, but... Why is everything so bright? The light is off, isn't it?" I asked, the magical light was off, I could see that much but everywhere I looked was like if a strong flashlight was aimed there.

"Son! What's happening? Your eyes are glowing very bright white... Are you feeling okay? S-should we go to the hospital?" Sylf asked with concern, I looked at her but she covered her face with a paw, seems my eyes were indeed shining brightly, but nothing hurt, in fact I felt better than ever! Not only the rush of leveling up but also a newfound sense of power, I had just unlocked something amazing! I knew spells now that would allow me to do incredible things, but I focused on the now, I had to calm her down.

"Oh don't worry ma, it's nothing! I feel awesome~ you have no idea how much more I can do now, the glow, I know what it is! Don't worry it's just the excess magic escaping my body, it will slowly go away in a few minutes." I answered her calmly, I now knew what most magical phenomena were, no more was I going to be confused by anything I hadn't read on my books, my education was really lacking before, but I also could not really say I knew everything, because I understand that the information I have is several hundreds of years out of date, and perhaps new theories have been proven and older ones disproven.

"Thank goodness Onyx... You scared me, I've been very worried all week, I asked for sick leave from work until you were awake, because I didn't want to leave you alone, I also had to tell my coltfriend I would only see him for a few hours each day, he just left for work so you just missed him." Mom explained softly while we cuddled, she was clearly very concerned and I was thankful she looked after me while I was asleep.

"Momma I love you! Thanks for taking care of me while I slept... I hope it wasn't much of an issue, sorry about it, I didn't know I would just fall asleep like that for so long." I said the last part with my ears lowered, I didn't want to worry her, never was my intention.

"Oh, and congratulations on getting a coltfriend by the way, I'm glad you two became a couple, he clearly is a good pony for you, I bet you two are adorable together mom!" She giggled and nuzzled me more and licked my snout from above, couldn't help but laugh, i was a bit ticklish and mom took advantage of that well.

"Hahahah n-no momma wait haha that tickles!" I squirmed as she continued the tickling with her tongue, my legs kicked weakly at the air was I struggled but she was stronger and bigger, easily holding me in place, and I wasn't exactly trying for real to escape.

"You are very sweet with your words, I couldn't help it, you deserve a good tickling for having me so worried, not saying it's your fault or anything, just... I missed you, you are like a smooth, refreshingly cool and very adorable plushie, and I like cold, believe it or not, we are both from cold weather remember? Where I was born, it was always freezing cold, even as a pup I was used to the cold, you bring familiarity and I appreciate that, I'm glad you're cold blooded, I love you son."

Her words were playful at first but she was serious, she loves me just the way I am, I sometimes wondered if my friends or even mom wasn't bothered by the fact that I emit a slight cold and my body is not warm at all, only gets warm on the outside if i lay out in the sun for a long time in a hot day.

But knowing she loves me just like I am felt like all of those worries were insignificant, I am loved and that's the only thing that matters.

Suddenly three knock were heard coming from the door, they were loud but not impolite, just basically what hooves on wood sounded like, if a bit more metallic.

Who could be here now?

"I'll go son, you head to the bathroom and shower, you... Kinda stink if I'm honest, I did my best to wash you and everything but you haven't had a proper shower in a week." I blinked, not expecting that, but then sniffed myself, and recoiled in disgust, quickly nodding and running to the bathroom I did my business and headed straight to the shower afterwards, this time cleaning myself properly.

POV Celestia, half an hour earlier

I was still processing the fact that a new Alicorn had managed to ascend, a pegasus from a distant village in the middle of nowhere, with earth pony parents to booth, with no proper magical education, the incident was confusing and even a week later I still struggled to comprehend how it could happen, then again my sister and I had ascended as well right after having discovered our talents, but i felt it was not comparable.

Yet Cadenza had, with her love magic amplified by a magical artifact, managed to undo it's effect and convince the mare that used it to stand down and that she was in the wrong, all without a single attack spell.

She had earned her ascension to be sure, I felt her magic all the way from here, it was clear she has earned her place, yet she was still a filly, only eight years old, I decided she will assist the Upper Canterlot Elementary, then once she finished there she will assist my school, her destiny is a bright one, I can tell because of her cutie mark being the Crystal Heart, she surely will have a role to play in the return of the Crystal Empire.

While I reminisced, and at the same time signed the forms I had already read over, I often had my secretary read them for me out loud and the ones I approved would go to one side and the ones I disapproved would go to the other, then I simply signed the ones i approved, stamped the okay on them and moved on, stamping the denied forms with a negative.

As I was about to sign, I dropped the quill, a sudden and very intense magical pulse washed over me, it felt somewhat similar to the pulse from Cadence's ascension, but it was not the same, it was stronger, much stronger, meaning it was closer, probably within Canterlot, the energy also felt much different, it was clearly not of pony origin, but which other creatures had this much magic? I know some creatures have magic but they usually don't live near Equestria.

I had to investigate, I quickly casted the detect magic spell, allowing me to see the bright point of pure indigo energy glowing like a beacon even though the entire castle walls, even with all the enchantments the castle had, this creature's emissions are much much larger than all of those combined.

I decided to be a bit more subtle, instead of marching in with a whole contingent of guards, I wanted to go alone, I got up and headed for the door, the guards there saluted me, I just ignored them and walked to a private room, closed the doors behind me and changed my shape to that of an unicorn mare, one of my disguises that the guards at the castle knew, so I wouldn't be stopped, it was of course highly confidential, they never could tell other ponies who I was in my disguise, and were instructed to treat me as just another pony, but without denying me access, it was most convenient.

Once outside the castle, I walked down and approached the slowly diminishing bonfire of arcane might, it was of course stabilizing and the excess magic was being reabsorbed and condensed, this usually happened to all beings to ascended, first they would shine brightly like a star, then they would stabilize and the energy would condense in their bodies, this process usually took a few hours to a day, during that time they could be located, by ponies who detected the first pulse.

As I approached, I started to suspect what had happened, the light was coming from the house I had given to those two newcomers a few years ago.

Sylf had risen through the ranks and had earned her position, she is nicknamed The Meteor, because her rush attack is strong enough to break through any shield a battle mage can put up, and break any formations, even those made up of earth ponies, and of course she holds back, she can clearly do more than just break formations, or shields.

She is well liked amongst the guard force because she is friendly, good tempered and, as some mares say, very good to look at, stallions however are intimidated by her and tend to look for more submissive mares, her appearance alone and disposition seem to make everypony think of her as a total hardflank, and she is, but she also has a son of her own, who is the sole reason she agreed to start her career as a royal guard.

But her son, I didn't know a lot about him, other than his extremely odd coloration and ability to use limited telepathy, he was a mystery, there were no records of him other than his school information, no detailed medical analisis, he had not consented to tests of any kind other than one doctor check up before starting school that was just visual.

What bothered me more than anything was his species, dragons have always been a thorn on Equestria's side, they have hurt ponies before, and they have abused their power to do nefarious seeds.

I approved at the house in about half an hour, it was definitively here, the outburst was condensing back quickly as the magic stabilized, I knocked the door tree times and waited.

After a few minutes I heard Sylf's voice, or at least the simulation of it through her magical amulet.

"Coming!" Then she opened the door, a honest and happy smile on her face, I wonder what happened that made her so happy, upon seeing me however, her smile faltered, becoming more of a neutral face.

"Good evening First Lieutenant Sylf, I'm with the Royal Guard and I would like to discuss some important matters with you, may I please come in?"

"Yes of course, come in, follow me." She answered, I closed the door behind us with my telekinesis.

I walked in, admiring the inside of the house, I had never been here before, it was clear they had added their own touch to the place, new decorations, some paintings adorned the walls, there were crystal magical lights hanging from the ceiling, it was much better than the barebones home I had prepared for them.

She invited me over to the living room, where there were the sofas the house came with, but covered with nice cushions and sofa covers made of imported silks, I can appreciate the practicality of improved upon what you have, rather than getting something new for no good reason.

I sat down on the sofa, and she then turned to me and bowed deeply, her snout almost to the ground.

"Welcome to my humble home, your highness, how may I help you?" She said still keeping her head bowed.

"At ease Sylf, please come sit next to me" with that she stood back up reluctantly, climbed the couch, I transformed back to my real form, now that we were in private, making the wolf move the the side to give me room now i was higher than her instead of the other way around.

"Oh, sorry, I have come to check on you two, how is your son? How have you enjoyed your vacation?" I tried to make small talk and hopefully get her to put her guard down around me.

"Y-you come to check up on us? What happened? My son is fine, he had been feeling a bit under the weather since last week but recently he recovered completely, now he is taking a shower probably polishing his scales and oiling them too, he takes good care of himself, and the vacation? So far so good, it has been a very good month, your highness, I am feeling happy now that my son is all good again." She smiled as she spoke about her son, she clearly had a good week, but I was curious as to what happened to Onyx, he was sick? And... Did that have anything to do with his magic outburst? He was a dragon, so of course he would not have ascended into an Alicorn, but then what had just happened?

"Can you tell me more about his disease? What was wrong with him? What were the symptoms?" She seemed to hesitate at this, her expression worried.

"He was... Very sleepy all day, like he would constantly fall asleep, he is usually full of energy so I worried, then he got better, today, his eyes were also producing light for some reason, it was as if he emitted light from them, he said everything was too bright too, but it started to go away and when I left, he was almost back to normal, what can you make of that Princess?" That was it? What did he do to suddenly increase in power like that? He didn't do anything other than being sleepy for a week? The last symptom, the eyes that emit light was a common side effect of ascension or some other very powerful magic phenomena as the excess magic looked for ways to escape the body, but what did he do? He was a hatchling! the same age as Cadenza...

Was this related to her? No, he was a dragon, dragons aren't my subjects, they don't represent Harmony, none of the other species are worthy enough to be chosen.

A sound of claws on wood suddenly was heard, as a silver dragon walked down the stairs, a towel on his head as he hummed to himself before yelling.

"Mom? Did they leave already? Just came out the shower, and I'm kinda hungry so Ill make some scrambled eggs!" He announced loudly, without even turning to look, his scales were very shiny and smooth, his horns had started to grow and were small nubs at the back of his head, two onyx black horns, very fitting for him.

"Onyx, come here this instant young dragon! And show some respect to our guest!" Sylf said sounding firm but not screaming, yet he still heard it and came back, looking confused until he spotted me, his eyes still had a slightly glow to them from the outburst, but other ponies would just think it was light reflecting out of them.

"Lt. Sylf please, leave us, I need to talk to him alone, I would appreciate if you didn't listen in, so go outside and go for a walk, I'll contact you telepathically when we are done, okay?" She hesitated but nodded and stood up, bowing quickly and leaving out the door.

He watched her leave without a word and then looked at me, now his mom was out of the equation.

His face went from relaxed and carefree to looking slightly pale when he realized he was alone with me.

His limbs tensed and seemingly in full fight or flight mode. Was I really that terrifying to him? Good, dragons are a danger and they only behave because they fear me, but I had to admit he was adorable for a small dragon, he had big eyes, not as big as ponies but still bigger than adult dragons, in proportion to their bodies, he had also an appealing color, if my sister was here, she would appreciate his pure silver color greatly, she was always more fond of silver, but I preferred gold.

Now that there were no one but us i could make this dragon know his place before he got to the age where dragons became much more wild, making him know fear and respect, while it would cause resentment, it would make him know that if he tried anything with my little ponies, he would suffer the consequences.

I smiled at him slightly, a hint of mischievousness in my tone, I asked with a sweet innocent voice.

"Aren't you going to bow, little one?" His face was hilarious, he was almost paralyzed with fear, then he tried to bow as quickly as possible, ending up smashing his snout comically on the wooden floor, a small pained gasp left him, but he didn't move from there.

He really lacked manners, probably not used to bow, ponies were taught to bow to royalty, so why wasn't he taught that?

I giggled behind a hoof, watching as the dragon shook slightly, he was probably thinking I was serious.

"Hahaha relax, little Onyx, I was just playing a little joke, you don't have to bow to me in your own house, I was just surprised by your casual tone and the way you spoke as if I wasn't here, so in return I decided to play a little prank, now come and sit here in front of me, we have to talk." He slowly looked up at me, his face contorted in a combination of embarrassed, scared and disappointed, there were tears threatening to come out, and at the corners of his eyes.

"Y-yes your highness, i-im sorry your highness, I was just really hungry, I didn't mean to disrespect you, Princess." A definitive improvement compared to his dismissive tone earlier, good, he may yet make a good subject, dragons only knew strength, a show of strength and superiority usually put them in their place, even if it was a joke, he got the message from it.

I had to deal with upstart dragons that wanted to take over cities many times, I wasn't going to let this one just think he could do whatever he wanted, the first time I had met him there were too many guards watching, and he was probably too young to understand what I would have told him, but now he was almost a teen, mature enough to understand that I wouldn't let him touch my ponies, ever. But first I had to find out more about his outburst.

"Oh it's fine, little Onyx, you are as adorable as the day I met you, I just wanted to ask you a few questions about your... Disease your mom said you had, you were very sleepy for a whole week right?" He blinks at this, seemingly confused, but quickly nods, trying to regain his composure.

"Y-yeah, it was weird, at first I was fine but one day I started to feel sleepy more and more often, then... After a week I just suddenly recovered, awoke feeling full of energy and... My eyes were glowing a lot, that happened, like half an hour ago, that I woke up... But they went slowly back to normal, then I went to take a shower, and... I came back, again I apologize for my behavior Princess Celestia, I had trouble eating while I was sick." He tried to sound polite but the undertone of hurt in his voice gave him away, he was not going to let that little prank go, he took it seriously and he was hurt, did I go too far? No.

He deserved that, for making me come all the way here, maybe it was just a magical disease of dragons that generated similar effects as a magical outburst, but I didn't know much about dragons except how to destroy them, they were annoying to fight, because of their resistance to heat and magic, but they were not immune to it, I decided to try one last thing to not feel like I wasted my time, this was not gonna earn me any brownie points but he would not dare to lie to me.

"Are you able to use magic, Onyx? Other than telepathy, I know you can do that, please tell me the truth, I will know if you lie to me, and you do not want to lie to me, hatchling." I announced with a serious tone, putting a bit of emphasis on the last part.

He once again showed intense fear, his ears lowering slowly and his eyes looked away, a resigned expression on his face.

"I-i can... Yes I can use magic your Highness, I started to read and practice a few years ago with books from the library, I really like magic, I always have wanted to learn ever since I saw a unicorn levitate objects." He was telling the truth, I could see in his eyes, I could also see he didn't want to admit this.

"Show me, use some spell, any spell you know." He slowly nodded and seemed to think for a minute, probably trying to remember the spell matrix, then he aimed his snout at the floor and made a drawing of himself on the wooden floor, made of white ink, then he made it disappear, and made a small shower of purple sparks on top of himself, then he aimed at the air air and another small glow of magic and the sound of a bell similar to those used in doors came from the air.

"That's good! You used Prestidigitation properly, it's clear you can use small cantrips, but what about other, higher tiers of spells?" He looked unsure at this, he probably didn't want to embarrass himself.

"I can, Princess Celestia, do you want to see?" He asked with a slight glint of hope in his eyes, when it came to magic, it seems he was eager to show it.

"Of course Onyx, it's not everyday I meet a dragon who can use magic, the only ponies who can are the unicorn's, at least directly casting it. I have never seen a dragon cast a spell before, and I must say it's quite a shock! Now come on, use a harder spell." He nodded and his maw opened slightly then he began to shrink in size, until he was about the size of a cat, but keeping his body proportions, he remained like that, impressive, only 8 years old and able to cast tier 3 spells!
That was extremely rare, most foals could only cast tier 1 spells and rarely tier 2 spells, even talented unicorns of that age couldn't always cast tier 3 spells, they just simply weren't powerful enough, and a concentration spell on top of that? Those were usually the hardest for foals because they minds couldn't concentrate as well.

"Very amazing, magnificent job with the spells, thank you! So you were the one who had a magic outburst then, I felt it from the castle, we must get you examined properly Onyx, you are a unique case of study and we could learn a lot about the nature of magic and your species if you would just let us give you a thorough examination, blood tests, tissue samples and more." He didn't like that, he was looking at me like I had just told him he was going to be executed.

"I want to have you studied by the scientist at the Biology center. Your mom had the tests done and she didn't mind, so you should too Onyx." He calmed down slightly at this but he still wasn't happy.

"I-i don't wanna, that sounds painful and I don't like needles or any of that..." His voice sounded small and scared, but he stood up for himself.

"You'll be fine, you are a big and strong dragon, aren't you?" He was not, he was smaller than a foal his age, but taking advantage of his dragon pride was easy, dragons were extremely prideful, challenging their pride was a sure way of getting them to do something, even if that was self destructive.

"I'm not, I'm a hatchling still, and you, Princess were a lot less mean when I first met you, I feel very sad you treated me like this, you know what were my last thoughts when we parted the last time we met?" His words were surprising, he didn't sound like a dragon at all, he sounded really hurt and sad, and I could see that in his eyes as well.

"No, dragon, what were they?" I asked coldly, his gaze grew even sadder at this, tears forming at the corners of his eyes.

"I thought... I regret not having given you a hug, because I didn't want to seem disrespectful, you are so pretty and you were so nice to us... I thought... Maybe you really were a good princess." I didn't know what to say, I wanted to dismiss his words as nonsense, a dragon was not a creature of harmony, they didn't like hugs, they didn't show affection.

"But I see now, I was wrong, either you just are horrible to everypony or just me, and I haven't read anything about you being bad to other ponies, so why?" He was starting to cross the line, I needed to put him in his place.

"You are on thin ice dragon! the reason is simple, you are a destructive and dangerous monster, you may not want to do anything bad yet, but wait until your dragon instincts kick in, once you reach adolescence, you will desperately search for a mate, and dragons are ferocious, I have saved countless mares and stallions from dragons before, captured by them and used for pleasure, many times they came back traumatized, thinking they belonged to the dragon, convinced they wanted to be with them forever, that they loved them."

"The reason I am showing you your place now, kindly and without pain is because if you ever try to take any stallion or mare for yourself, to add to your hoard, I will personally punish you, dragons and ponies can't mate together, it's an abomination, and I refuse to accept it."

POV shift Onyx

This was horrible, she was that type of pony, why was she so against dragons being with ponies? But what she said sounds like she just ruined other's relationships because of her own twisted view on interspecies relationships, she hated non ponies!

She either really hated dragons or just didn't want anypony to be outside of a strict pony to pony relationship, or there were some sort of species that were okay and not others?

"But why Princess? Why do you hate dragons so much? Mommy says I'm a very good dragon, I love ponies, all my friends are ponies, why is it wrong if I want to be with them? How is it different from pony herds?" This was the wrong thing to ask, she grabbed me by the neck in her telekinesis, choking me harshly, I squirmed trying to break free, she was not trying to kill me, but punish me, otherwise she could have just ripped my head off, her magic was overwhelmingly powerful, I could not escape.

"Because dragons produce dangerous offspring, the reason is that if dragon and pony relationships became common, pony society would be negatively affected, Kirin is what happens when a pony mare and a dragon stallion mate, and Kirins are similar to unicorns, until they get emotional, then they erupt into a deadly and dangerous creature that can burn houses down with its mere proximity, the Nirik!"

I whimpered in pain in her grasp, she dropped me, and I stared at her, unable to believe she would just do that, but decided to ask what I wanted to know either way.

"B-but... Why not just educate the ponies and dragons instead of forcing them away? And where did the Kirin go once they are born?"

"I have tried before, but I prefer not having to deal with them and not have neither dragons or Kirin make the life of my little ponies more dangerous and less peaceful, they are just a danger to get rid off, and that is what I did, I sent all the Kirin away, outside of Equestria, where the oldest Kirin would take care of the youngest, every time a Kirin comes up I send them to that secret Kirin village, while I'm not found of them, they are still half ponies." A small mercy, but I wondered about the dragons.

"A-and what about....the dragons?" She glared at me for daring to ask.

"They have two options, they either leave Equestria or they are made unable to procreate"
I couldn't believe it, her words stung worse than being stabbed, I started crying silently as the words she said sunk in, this was... Just horrifying!

"Princess... Why? Ponies are going to be fine living alongside other species, even Kirin! Even dragons! You would hurt someone so horribly just because of a small possibility that an accident could happen?"

"I use alchemy to suppress their sexual desire completely, I don't... Neuter them, Onyx!" She said giving me telekinetic smacking to the head, I didn't really care she did this, I was still deeply upset, sure it was better than what I thought, but still, so very unfair, and I haven't even seen dragons other than me here! Was I the only one? Some did visit the castle rarely but they didn't stay long.

"Princess... Please, I know you are better than this! I know you have virtues, you are a good pony in there, in your heart, please stop doing that to dragons, there are not even many dragons within Equestria in the first place, right? I haven't seen one in Canterlot before." I try to convince her, giving my reasoning.

"You are... Right in saying there aren't many dragons, and most dragons don't live in the cities, a few live in mayor cities but they tend to stay withing their own communities, and as long as they do that they aren't forced to drink the potions, dragon on dragon relationships are acceptable, but... I still don't like your kind." She said a bit less hatefully, but why? I suppose dragons did something to somepony in the past, or her.

I walked up to her, despite my fear of her, I slowly climbed the couch, and gently hugged her midsection, crying silently against her fur, I wanted to show her I wasn't ever going to hurt ponies like that, and despite her words and actions, I wouldn't fight her with violence, not now at least.

"Princess pease... You have to stop that law, I beg you! I know you want to be a good pony and help keep your ponies safe, but this is not the right way to do it, im going to help you, if you stop that cruel law against dragons I'll do something for you in return that I'm sure you'll like." I was hopeful, she had not pushed me away, but she didn't return the hug either, I slowly blinked and looked up at her, she looked thoughtful.

A tired sigh escaped her, but she nodded, curiosity in her tone, and less hostility.

"Hmm fine, but you must tell me what you'll help me with, it better be good! If you do tell me then I promise ill make that law go, it was very old anyways, it has not seen use in centuries, there must be 3 or 4 dozen dragons in Equestria that we know off, the rest live in forests or mountains, the law was only really applicable for city dragons, and here in Canterlot only you live." I suppose that wasn't as bad, but why did she had to make me suffer so much? She must be taking her frustrations out on me, I almost laugh at the irony, who knew the Princess was a big time dragon bully? honestly I was still crying, but the thought was amusing.

"So....only me in Canterlot, what a reassuring thought." I said with a depressed tone, gently caressing the pony who has been bullying me for the past two hours, she seemed to relax as I massaged her body, she had a really soft fur hiding her muscles, she was probably the strongest built pony ever even if her form was the most elegant.

"I-i suppose that being the only one affected by such a law just because you want to live happy, is not exactly fair... But I'm still curious what you think you can help me with?" Well she had a much less aggressive tone now, my massages and crying and begging were making an effect on her meanness.

"You won't... Hurt me if I tell you?" I asked her with concern, still afraid she will go on about how I was planning to steal her ponies for my hoard or something, either dragons were like super grabby here or she personally had a vendetta against our kind, I think the second one the truth.

"Is it really that bad?" She answered with an upset expression, I shook my head, it wasn't exactly a bad thing, she just may take it wrong.

"No no, but you did smack me around and choke me for just asking why before, I suppose you were upset or angry about something, and since dragons aren't ponies... And no one is around, you can just hurt me as much as you want, and... Sure I'll let you, I won't even tell my mom, just please... Please let me live a happy life, I promise all I'm doing is trying to help you get your sister back!" I couldn't help and broke into sobs again, holding her tightly, i didn't want to fall in love with somepony and then realize I wouldn't be able to be with them, i would prefer to be hated by her and even pushed around, smacked, chocked or anything, rather than suffering from being unable to satisfy a future potential special somepony.

"Y-you know about her? Onyx?" She asked softly, I was too chocked up crying to answer, but I tried to calm down, she did something unexpected, and started to caress my back and head, very softly with her hoof, it helped me calm down, eventually I was able to breathe more or less normally, but I had trouble speaking yet, I wiped my nose on the couch cover and finally I was able to make words again.

"I-i do....I know she has been trapped in the moon, she has been possessed by a creature that feeds on negative emotions, I know how to save her, once she comes back, there is a way to cleanse her of the parasite possesing her" I answer honestly, the princess looks at me with wide eyes, but they aren't filled with disdain or resentment anymore, they are filled with hope.

"Oh Onyx! Those are the best news I have heard since... I... I don't know when, knowing there is a way to save my sister, it brings me so much joy!"she hugged me tightly, making me squirm to free myself uselessly, as the air was forcefully expelled from my lungs.

I couldn't even make a noise, as I had the stuffing hugged out of me, the corner of my eyes were going a bit dark and my body went limp, as I didn't have more air to struggle, I suffocated to death and as she finally let go of me, a ghost dragon came out of my maw and hovered above my limp body.

Or what's what i imagined would have happened if she didn't let go soon after I started poking her sides harshly with my claws.

"Ah! Hey! No claws! Oh, oh goodness... Right, air! Sorry I forgot about that, it's just... those news, it's the best news!" She floated me on her back and stood up and started jumping around on the floor, like a hyperactive foal, jumping back and forth, she looked extremely silly, i would have found it cute if it wasn't for the fact that I was holding onto her for dear life, almost flying into the roof every time she jumped.

"Princeeesss! Wait! Stop jumping you'll break the floor!," this seemed to finally get her to stop, she looked sheepishly at me, but her expression softened, looking into my still teary eyes.

"I... I should say what was going on with me now, I have felt increasingly frustrated and angry lately because the elements of harmony don't respond to me anymore, you probably don't know what that is, but it's very important, yet they don't respond, they are inert, useless, this... My only hope for healing Luna from the Nightmare, is gone, I saw you experienced a magical outburst, I thought for some reason you had... Ascended into an Alicorn and maybe that Alicorn would have a way to save my sister, but then when I realized you are a dragon, I got extremely angry and frustrated, I remembered bad experiences I had in the past, with dragons and similar creatures, I... I put all that blame on you."

"At first I was going to just scare you a bit, but your innocent appearance and pony like behavior upset me even more, I felt like you were trying to... I don't know, you were pretending to be more pony just so you could take advantage of them, I thought you needed to be taught a lesson, I still... I was so angry, what I did to you, what I said to you was horrible thing to say to an adult, let alone an 8 years old."

"I abused you emotionally, threatened you, choked you and even insulted you and worst of all i made you fear for your future."

Seems like she is slowly realizing she made a mistake.

"I have done something... Something unforgivable to you, and many others, yet you... Instead of getting angry or attacking like anyone else would, or even defending yourself, you offer me affection, confort and give me the best news I could have possibly heard."

"Princess, I hope this doesn't change your mind, and I hope you continue thinking of me in a better light, but I was planning on helping get rid of the Nightmare and bring Luna back all along, it wasn't something I decided now, it was supposed to be... Secret and a surprise." She looks confused for a second then asks.

"So... You didn't just say it because you want to help me, but because you genuinely just want to make things right? Well... That's even better then! You care about Luna and not even for my sake but just because of her!" That's true, honestly I wasn't exactly happy with Celestia now.

"Uhm... Princess, you do know why the elements stopped working, right?" She seems to ponder this, but then shakes her head.

"The law about forbidding love between two species alone is reason enough to create disharmony, and... Not to mention what you did to the other nations... Please don't hurt me for this but I'm just saying, Harmony is not just for the ponies you know?" I tried to sound as... Casual as possible about just telling her in the face she did a shit job as a wielder of the elements. She surprisingly didn't glare at me, instead looked at her hooves.

"What would my sister think, if she saw what I have become? We used to be friends with many other nations, she always liked the idea of us visiting other nations and helping them out, but... I stopped doing that after an incident, and forbid her from traveling also..." This was progress, I smiled at her genuinely.

"She would think, Im sure she would think you are a good pony, that made mistakes, but a good pony nonetheless, look... I'll give you a tip, beat me up if you want to, but you should start by giving other nations some of the things they lack and you have too much of, for example: food, metal, gems and other resources, check to make sure they need it first, and what they need, maybe... Giving back land, but I know that is harder because usually ponies have moved there already, so maybe some resources from that land, doesn't need to be for free, just sell them cheap, offer to send pony weather teams to help with the crops of other nations, perhaps?"

She seemed doubtful at this, like she wanted to, but wasn't fully ready yet, but a quick hug from me and a nuzzle on her chest seemed to remind her it was the right thing to do.

"I suppose that can be done, I'll have to be careful and first talk with the nations leaders, maybe calling all the nations for a meeting first would be a good idea, this will requiere extensive planning." Is this a dream? I I really hope its not, but I knew it wasn't going to be this easy, even with this, some nations would not recover, I needed to help too, this was incredible progress however.

"Princess, to save your sister I will need to travel around, I will need you to also do some things for me, but you must not interfere yourself, just do whatever I say, understood?"

"Hm okay Onyx, I'll trust you, you have been honest with me so far despite my horrible attitude."

"Honestly I'm a bit upset at you, I admit, but it's not like I could get back at you, unless you were to let me, even then i would probably not even tickle you..." I say with a resigned sigh, she was far outside my league in power, way too far higher, I had used 'Inspect on her earlier, and it had worked this time, let's just say she is by far the most terrifying being in existence, the magic she can do is in another scale, she is a living breathing natural disaster.

She seemed to gain a dangerous glint in her eyes at my honest answer "Oh so you do want some revenge? What kind of revenge? I'm curious as to what a little dragon like yourself would want to do to me." She says in a playful tone, clearly amused but not in a mean way, opening up about our emotions is the best way to deal with them, that's what I always think.

"Well... If I say it you'll get angry, maybe I'll tell you when I'm older and less of a coward" she seemed disappointed but then smirked again.

"Oh come now Onyx! Tell me I promise I won't get upset, it's just banter, if you tell me, I may let you do it someday, okay?" Her offer was very tempting, but my idea of revenge was probably be taken out of its innocent context, I just knew it... Well I may as well say it now.

"I want to have you bowing low to the ground to me in front of everypony, then use your muzzle and head as my footpaws rest, all while I sit on your throne and sip on a tropical drink, oh I may be dead for admitting that out loud." She looked at me with wide eyes,

"T-that's scandalous! What a wild imagination you have young Onyx, consider yourself lucky you got on my good side before admitting such a devious thought... hmph! such a fantasy from a dragon, I should have expected it." She had a slight smile in her muzzle when she said the last part, she was also slightly pink on the face, but she looked away so I couldn't read her eyes.

"Oh don't worry I think that's just too extreme, I probably would not do that unless I got a bit more confident on myself, I'm still too shy to even think of doing that, but I think once I'm older and... I train my body I will become big, strong and confident, but what I wish the most is to still be myself, just less shy." She smiled at that, a genuine smile, I felt we were starting to get along now.

"You know, you're very good company, for a dragon... I'm joking! But yes you are nice to talk to, we could talk about magic too, I bet you know more spells than those you showed me, want to talk about your favorites and I'll talk the ones I like?"

"There has been one spell I want to try, but I haven't had the time to try it yet, I have recently learned it, want to see me try it for the first time?"

"That sounds exciting, let's see how you do for the first time of casting it then, go on."

I was excited for this one, I have always wanted to know what it was like, taking mom as an example, concentrated and used Polymorph, transforming myself on a wolf pup, I was slightly taller than my dragon form, I had dark black fur, my tail and body were much fluffier, I felt similar but also different, my body was warm now my insides felt odd, having warm blood after so long of having cold blood was...
Extremely hard to describe, it was like now suddenly my blood was lava and I could feel it flowing, but it didn't hurt or bother me like I expected.

Another thing that felt really confusing was having... External dangly bits again, I had not felt that specific sensation since I was a human, It was unusual, not sure if in a good or bad way, as a dragon, everything was internal, much more protected.

"Y-you can... You can polymorph?! How!? Onyx that's incredible! It's not a spell that can be found anymore, as it allows one to get away with too much..."

I gasped, know knowing if I just fucked myself over by using this spell, was it forbidden?! my shock made me lose concentration and I returned to my natural form.

"Wait wait I didn't use it for anything bad, I just wanted to try it, to show you, I promise I won't do anything bad with it, okay? I just was curious as to what it was like."

"Fine fine, you can use it, but don't go around tricking ponies for some selfish reason with it, okay? I'll trust you, by the way, how did you find that spell?" Uh oh, should I trust her with more? No, in going to make something up!

"It came to me in a dream, Princess." I deserved any punishment she had for me after saying that. She raised an eyebrow, but then nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer.

"Well that sometimes happens, dreams work in mysterious ways, my sister if she was here, would probably be able to explain why that happens." Wait what?! It worked?! So here that saying was actually accurate here? Huh... Awesome~!

"Now it's your turn, oh mighty Alicorn of the sun, what spell do you like most? What's your favorite?"
She booped me on the head playfully at that then seemed to think for a minute.

"There are a few, but I really like Change Shape, it's like polymorph but with more options like being able to use your magic and not requiring concentration, while regular Polymorph only lets you do what the creature you transform into can do, if it doesn't cast spells then you can't either, it also requires concentration all the time."

"Teleport is incredibly useful to travel long distances with friends along, in an instant, it can be taxing when the distance is long, but there are ways around that, someday I will show you." She was excited about talking magic, we found a a shared interest.

We talked for a few more hours and then she left, I told her I would send Sylf if I ever needed to talk to her and she agreed, Sylf was a great help because of being a high ranking guard.

In the end, the day had been an incredible success, now Princess Celestia has gone from barely tolerating dragons and making them submit to anti horny medicine to actually being okay with dragons, and possibly even... Improving her relationship with the other nations, and I didn't have to fight her at all! Not that would ever beat her, she could just glare at me hard enough and I would explode, I've seen her stats and... Let's just say I would need a dozen of myself to have a chance, even then the probably would win easily with overwhelming power.

Princess Celestia

LvL 450 Alicorn of the sun

HP: 2370
MP: 2600
Stamina: 2380

Perks:
Solar Powered: recovers HP and MP when under direct sunlight, at a rate of 10 HP per minute.

Celestial control: has the ability to control the celestial bodies, mainly the sun, allowing it to call upon the light of the sun during a serious battle to empower herself.

Alicorn blood: has magically dense blood, INT x2 is added to its mana pool.

Alicorn regeneration: has the ability to heal from wounds much faster, as well as recover stamina as fast as an earth pony.

Alicorn body: CON is added to HP and stamina.

Alicorn horn: has a specially sturdy horn that is extremely difficult to break off, but it is still a weak point that may end concentration on spells if struck.

Epic Magic user: the user has access to the following tier 10 spells:

Plasma Strike: A beam of sun plasma 30 meters in diameter falls from the skies, hot enough to melt stone and metal in seconds, it can be moved around and lasts for a minute, requiring concentration. Requires the sun to be right above.

Horrifying Radiance: an area designated by the caster, with a maximum size of 100km2 is engulfed in extremely bright light, this light is extremely deadly, dealing radiant and heat damage to those who are directly exposed to it, the only way to escape it is to be in the shade, requires concentration, duration 3 hours. Requires the sun to be right above.

Spears of Sunlight: Summons a hundred large spears of condensed sunlight at once, raining them down from above, with concentration, the spears can be

Resistances and weaknesses: Resistant to Radiant Damage, Resistant to Fire damage, Resistant to Plasma damage, Weakness to cold damage, Weakness to necrotic damage.

New elemental affinity discovered
Plasma: it functions like fire damage, but ignores resistances to fire and immunities to fire become resistances to plasma. Plasma deals three times the damage of fire and can melt mundane metals and rock.

Skills: Persuasion, Intimidation, Deception, Arcana.

Stats: total is level x1.6
STR 100
DEX 100
CON 100
INT 160
WIS 120
CHA 140
Total 720

You have pushed Princess Celestia towards the path of Harmony once again, softening her heart and giving her the hope she had lost of saving her sister, you earn 10 points in every stat! You gain the perk Silver Soul

You have improved your relationship with her from distrustful to friendly, she is now able to relax around you and feels she owes you a great deal, her attitude towards dragons has gone from distrustful and resentful to lukewarm, she will now show mercy towards your species.

You have convinced Princess Celestia that other nations are important and reminded her that Luna would think better of her if she helps them, this will lead to a shift in the status quo of the world for the better.

Silver Soul: using kind words and actions you can convince a good or neutral aligned entity to stop an action that is causing harm or misery to others or yourself, works better in intelligent creatures that can understand you, works best if you help the entity you are trying to convince with something they need, or show them you care about them.

Author's Note

But of a long chapter, Onyx barely managed to convince the scariest being he's ever laid eyes upon that she is doing wrong, not even an Alicorn can resist the adorable dragon hug + crying + back massage ultimate attack, Celestia is actually the reason some ponies, mainly nobles dislike dragons, she was the one who spread rumors about them, but she has changed her mind now, I hope this chapter is to your liking, I tried making her sort of... Mean, but not fully evil, I didn't want her to be irredeemable, she had her reasons for her attitude, but this chapter she realized thanks to Onyx that she had gone too far.

Chapter 27 Back to school and new friend

I was left completely starving and tired after my visit from Celestia, I'll admit despite the issues, and there were a few, I was glad she came to visit, I'd rather have her treat me like dirt now and change her tune than have her chasing after me to force me to become a celibate later in life, sure now I didn't care about that, but I knew I would want it when I was older, I was not dumb, I know how an adult or teen thinks as I was one once, I suppose I was still a teenager when I died as a human, not a full adult.

But I still knew how desire feels.

After she left Sylf came back quickly and hugged me, she was concerned for me, specially after realizing I had been crying, she was furious but I told her to not worry and to calm down, things were okay now, she still was upset, but I did my best to reassure her.

"Mom, please calm down, the Princess didn't do anything to me, we just had an important talk and she understood my point of view, I think she has learned an important lesson, what I did was really important, if I didn't talk to her about this, if I didn't convince her to change her mind then we would have been much worse off than now, please dont hold that anger towards her, you said so yourself that kindness is the most important virtue, and showing it to those who don't treat you nicely is the only way to help them grow to be nicer too."

She calmed down at my words, starting to nuzzle me and I held her head close to my chest, rubbing behind her ears and her neck.

"I... I understand son, I just really hope the Princess changed, I will forgive her for making you cry if you say she has made a change, but I won't let her hurt you again, I won't be letting you two alone together anytime ever! Just keep that in mind my darling dragon." She meant that, I was glad she was not here during that conversation with Celestia or she may have gone into aggression and ruined my chances to talk the princess directly and privately, that was important, or she may not have been convinced, in a way, she being able to hurt me and me being alone and defenseless worked in my favor, it made her realize she had gone too far and she was hurting a defenseless foal, if mom had been here, she may have felt I was not defenseless and she wouldn't have been able to take her frustrations out on me.

When someone has too much frustration and is not allowed to let that emotion out, it becomes more and more toxic, contaminating the mind and causing other worse emotions to appear.

"Thank you, now let's go eat, im starving and I hadn't had food yet... I should go to school, I've missed days didn't I? The vacations are over until Hearts Warming the 25, I bet my friends miss me too, I haven't seen them in a long time." I headed towards the kitchen and started preparing some quick food, then I grabbed a large glass of apple juice and went to eat, making double portions as I was really starving, I ate quickly and went to wash my face and brush my teeth.

After I was ready I packed my backpack with a pencil and notebook and I headed to school, mom carried me on her back this time, i was pretty much late, not good but I still wanted to at least see my friends.

We reached the school in about fifteen minutes of mom's trotting along the street, she dropped me off and we went out separate ways with a quick nuzzle.

I headed inside the school building and went to my classroom, knocked the door and blushed in embarrassment when I realized everypony was already in, I had been over an hour late because of Celestia, oh well... The teacher gave me a look of disbelief.

"You're late Onyx, an hour late, any particular reason for that young colt?" Miss Chalkboard the math teacher asked indignant at my tardiness, I lowered my head knowing I could not tell the truth.

"I just had unexpected visitors and I had to entertain them for an extra hour until my mom came back, I'm sorry miss, I'll do my best to not bother anyone today." My voice came out a bit miserable, making everypony look at me with some concern, specially my friends and a new filly I didn't recognize, she was pink all over, before I had time to have a good look at her I got told to go seat in the empty chair, and I did.

I had missed History class, which was a bummer because I actually liked to learn about pony history, and maths I wasn't a big fan of, but it was important, even if all of this I already knew too well, I instead started to look around the class, looking for that new filly I had spotted before, I haven't seen her here until now, but I quickly found her again, she was one seat away from the middle of the class, and one seat to the side of Shining, I blinked for a minute, realizing something important, this filly...

She had wings and a horn?! She was an Alicorn! Wait... Cadence?! It was Cadence!!! Her cutie mark, it was there right for all to see, the crystal heart, in all it's glory, printed on her flanks like a very detailed talent mark ,cutie marks didn't look exactly like tattoos, but the comparison was the closest.

I caught myself from staring too long at her flank, not wanting her to see me doing that, shaking my head, this was good news! A fortunate coincidence.

The class progressed and went on and on about maths that I already knew, I was paying attention in case anything new came up, but this were topics I already knew from my old life.

Then finally, the recess bell came, ending math class for the day, we had no homework yet because It was elementary.

The teacher left and we all went outside to play, I was one of the last to leave the classroom, there were a few groups, among them my friends, who all waved and gestured me to come over, Cadence was with them, and a few other fillies were there too, maybe friends of Cadence.

As I approached shyly, feeling a bit embarrassed for having missed days of school specially near the end of the year, my friends smiled at me instead, all were happy to see me.

"Hey Onyx! Where have you been? It's been forever, were you sick or something? You missed 4 days of class!" Aquamarine approached me and hugged me while asking me, the others all joined in, questioning me.

"Are you feeling better now Onyx? I hope you are, I missed you..." Said Summer Sprout shyly, while joining the hug.

"You look fine to me, good thing you recovered, you also look more shiny than the last time I saw you, did your scales became brighter? You look good!" Ruby complimented me, using her telekinesis to pat me on the head and then joined in, I was already pinned down as the foals were trying to hug me all at once, I purposefully let myself fall on my belly, letting them all pile on top of me, giggling at their antics.

"Hahaha you're all so sweet everypony! I was just a bit sick but I'm all better now, how was your vacation? And yes I'm quite well now, just missed you all, you're the sweetest ponies!" I gave each of my friends a small nuzzle as best as I could while some laid on me, but then they slowly got up as we all didn't fit in the pile and there were some who still wanted to say hello, Calm Breeze, Silver and Sweet along with Shining, I went to each and gave them a hug, and rubbed their heads softly, ponies were very touchy and they loved having their heads caressed and massaged with more dexterous appendages like my paws, hooves were not as good for petting, they were harder and not good for caressing another, patting at most, that's why ponies used their muzzles more.

"Oh that looks nice, Onyx right?" I heard a filly's voice and turned around, stopping providing petting to Sweet Orange who pouted a bit but moved on.

Behind me was the pony I had been thinking about, Cadence, she was my same height, it amazing news that she and Shiny have met, even seems like they hanged out together.

I offered her a paw to shake and she quickly understood and smiled warmly, accepting the gesture. "Nice to meet ya, I'm Onyx, and you? I've never seen a pony like you before." I smiled but also was curious as to what she would say she was.

"Yes right! I forgot to say, my name is a Cadence, it's nice to meet you Onyx, I'm an alicorn, but I was a pegasus only a week ago, I have moved here to Canterlot to study, I'm very surprised to see you as well, I have never seen somepony like you, you must be a dragon, I haven't seen a dragon before but I've been told they are scaly and have a tail, and sometimes wings, but I see you still don't have wings." She was an excitable filly from what I see, her honest curiosity and good disposition made me feel happy, she had not been taught to believe that dragons were evil or something, at least Celestia didn't have time yet and hopefully now she wouldn't, since our talk.

"Its because I'm still a hatchling, I'll get my wings when I grow more, I'm just starting to grow, but I agree, I can't wait to get wings and learn to fly!"

She giggled at my good demeanor approaching me "I am still learning to fly too, since my parents were earth ponies they couldn't teach me, but now I'm slowly learning, but magic I still have no idea about more than just basic telekinesis, I will start learning spells too in a few years." I was slightly envious of her, being able to fly was a dream come true for me, one I don't know when I will be able to grow wings but I wish it was soon.

"I am starting to learn magic from my mom, I know a few spells and I learn more as much as I can, I was planning to teach Shining, since he asked me so maybe you'd like to join us and learn too?" I asked her hopefully, she blushed slightly at the suggestion, but seemed to recover quickly, and nodded with a big smile.

"Yes I'd love to! I bet she would be happy that Im learning magic before she even started to teach me." She said the last part softly, more to herself but my sharp ears picked it up.

"Oh who's gonna be happy? I'm glad you want in on our little extracurricular activity, I promise it will be fun!" Truth is, I still haven't offered to teach Shining magic, but I bet he would like me to, at least would be intrigued by the idea.

"Well... My auntie, I moved in with her a week ago when I became an alicorn, she's very nice but often she's busy, she does care about me a lot so she would want me to learn magic and help ponies all over Equestria." Sounds like her aunt is a very nice mare.

"Sweet! She must be awesome! So you know this ponies by now right? I missed your first day, I wish we all had met that day, but it's still very nice to meet you now."

"Yes, they also told me about you, I didn't believe them at first that there was a dragon colt as our classmate, but you're here, Onyx you and your friends really share a wonderful relationship, I can feel the love you all have for each other, its my special talent, and... I want to be your friend too, friend of all of you, if you would let me?" Her eyes were full of hope as she looked expectantly in my eyes, and I of course knew right away that this was meant to be, we would be amazing friends, all of us, and I hope one day she and Shining find more than friendship between themselves, maybe... I could help that along sightly~

My idea to have both of them learn magic together is going to be my ultimate matchmaking weapon, I have so many ideas! I shook my head, Cadence was giving me an odd look, but I simply pulled her into a hug, gently caressing her neck.

"Of course we can be friends! The only reason I made friends was because I tried to, I included the ponies who didn't push me away into my games and always did my best to make them enjoy our time together."

She was slightly shocked by the hug but returned it quickly, trying to pet me back with her hooves, she was super adorable, my friends all giggled and joined in a group hug, Cadence on the other hand was almost overwhelmed by the amount of love covering her, she was literally glowing and specially her cutie mark, which made everypony stare at her in confusion when we ended the hug.

"Oh wow!" Summer was the first to say, his eyes full of wonder.

"She's so sparkly!" Commented Calm Breeze. I had to agree with her, Cadence definitively was looking very sparkly at the moment.

"She's is very pretty like this too..." Shining Armor said absent mindedly, staring at Cadence with sparkly eyes, then when everypony stared at him, he seemed to realize what he just said and covered his muzzle, going red faced, something that Cadence did as well once his words registered, but I could see they shared a look, this was good news! I didn't even do anything and they already seem to like each other.

"T-thank you Shining, that's very sweet of you." She smiled after seemingly calming down, then hugged the colt softly, patting him like I did with her, maybe she realized it felt great and wanted to show others.

Oh I wish I had a camera for moments like this, they were sooo cute hugging together! And our friends fully supported their foal love, I wasn't of course naive enough to think this was already a serious relationship, but in the future I hoped this would help get to that, one day, maybe soon.

The days after we got to know more about Cadence, we played and had fun outside, decided to do some okay fights with Shining so he would show off a bit, I had become much stronger since the last time we fought, but I was letting him win, of course not always, didn't want to make it obvious, so I randomly reversed the game and pinned him down, just to let myself be defeated after, it was just like the game we did in preschool, where I would play as the monster, but slightly more serious, using joint locks and different techniques to keep the opponent from getting on top and pinning the other down.

He honestly knew more than me about this, he trained actually, formally pony martial arts, but I learned from him too every time we fought, it is we extremely fun and it made for a fun show to give the other foals, we never got in trouble either because the teachers knew we were careful and we had explained to them it was a game, and there was no real force behind it, and they reluctantly agreed.

This games were specially fun for Cadence to watch, she always cheered for Shining, but to not make me feel bad, some of our other friends would cheer for me, it was pretty sweet of them and I will always appreciate this small things they did for me.

Chapter 28 Teaching and Playing

I am preparing to give my first class of magic to two of my friends, they have agreed to come to my house, I make sure it's all neat and tidy, I start writing down the formula and spell matrixes of a few spells im going to be teaching, along with descriptors.

Today I want to make it fun and interesting, so in the third floor I set up a few things, first of all, it's all covered in sport padding, what they use for martial arts, I also placed various items around that will help us demonstrate various spells, a few volleyballs that I will be throwing, and even targets.

I have prepared a basic shield spell, a few small spells and even more advanced spells for them to try and use, of course spells of too high of a level had no risk to attempt casting, they would simply not do anything if the caster's power wasn't enough.

I kept all combat spells out of this scenario except the stun spell, it was a weak spell really, level 1 and only strong enough to stun a pony and make them have a hard time moving for about a minute, but any powerful pony or creature would just not even be slowed down.

But I would be teaching them this spell, it was in theory not... Illegal to know but it was not common knowledge, I was sure in some old libraries they may have it, but the guard were the ones who often used it to stop fights, even if all guards were trained to prefer physical restraining since not many were unicorns.

I had had some games too, that would be fun to try with magic.

It took a few hours and Sylf helped me with the supplies, but in the end I had made a what I hoped would be a successful and fun class!

I was having a sip of apple juice by the living room when the door was knocked, I went and opened it myself, and there they were, the two ponies i wanted to see, and their parents, Twilight and Night were smiling down at me, as i hugged Shining and then Cadence, a red unicorn mare looked at me with a slight smile as i hugged the filly, was this her aunt she spoke about?

"Good to see you little Onyx, how are you doing? My son told me you were sick, but you look good now."
Twilight asked gently, getting close to me and checking me over, giving a small nuzzle of greeting, ponies often did this with those they considered family, it was such a sweet gesture, and Night did the same not soon after, I returned it of course.

"Im not sure what was wrong with me, I think I had a small magic outburst, it came late to me maybe, it was not so bad just constant sleepyness and I couldn't stay awake for long, then suddenly I woke up one day and I felt full of energy, I'm glad because I don't want to miss school again, I missed my dear friends a lot..." They all 'awww'd at that, even the red mare I didn't know, I smiled up at her and nodded politely.

"Sorry, I haven't introduced myself, I'm Onyx, the only resident dragon of Canterlot, at least the middle district, as far as I know." The mare had an unreadable expression, but she seemed satisfied with my introduction.

"Good to meet you young one, my name is Zinnia Amore, I'm the Aunt of young Cadenza, will you be teaching them magic, right? Well I hope you have the necessary safety measures in place, I will trust you Onyx, and leave Cadenza in your care." With that the mare nodded to the other ponies and turned around, leaving a slightly embarrassed looking Cadence at the door.

"She is always like that, don't worry Onyx, we all trust you." Her words reassured me, I gave her a gentle ruffle of her mane that made her giggle.

"Those paws of yours are very nice, I would I could use my hooves like that, but hooves just don't work the same, I've tried!" She said seemingly a bit disappointed, but I booped her gently.

"Don't you worry little filly, you can use your telekinesis for the same effect, you may not have very good control yet but you can, if you concentrate enough, gently touch and even caress another pony with your field, it just need to be precise and less spread over, which takes a lot of practice."

I demonstrated by concentrating on my field, creating an indigo field over one of my ears, and only there, then I gently lifted my ear and pulled it in circles, making it spin around, the foals seemed surprised by this, but not the adults, who shared a look, I wasn't sure what they were thinking, but I also wasn't sure I wanted to know.

"Ohh I need to learn to use my telekinesis better then, I'm barely able to lift one single thing, but I'll practice extra hard now, so I can do what you do, using my magic!" She was adorable when she was motivated, she even made a little pose and everything, Shining looked at her from the side with a glint in his eyes, he clearly thought she was more than just adorable I bet.

Shiny's parents said their goodbyes, and then we headed in, I closed the door behind us and we headed to the table, it was set up with the theory and some little games.

Mom was at work now, she has returned to her job the same day I went to school, she couldn't miss any more days.

"Okay two you, I'm sure you know usually unicorns are the only types of ponies, beside alicorns" I said with a pointed look towards Cadence. "That can use magic spells, right?" They both nodded quickly, that was common knowledge.

"Well, other ponies can do magic, but not direct spell casting, they instead use their magic indirectly, to influence the environment, they can push clouds around, they can make plants grow faster and healthier, things that unicorn magic has a much harder time doing, but it can be done."

"Now that I explained that, since both of you seem eager to start, I'll teach you a spell each, for you I have the simplest and one of the most useful spells a mage can use, from everything from heating up your tea, to cooling down your drink, you can also use it to play harmless pranks!" She seems to be delighted at this, of course she was a prankster, I wasn't surprised.

"Pranks? Sign me in! See Shining! I knew coming to his class was gonna be worth it, I'm gonna use this spell to have lots of fun." She said mischievously, I smirked at her reaction, Shining was also smiling.

"Just make sure you don't scare someone too much with whatever this spell is, let's hear him out fully first okay?" She nodded at this, and I started to explain.

"The spell is Prestidigitation, a simple but also versatile spell, it has no dangerous effects, read up on it and once you do, I'll explain how to cast it."

They both nodded and got to reading, a few minutes later they were done, turning to me, gave them a thumbs up which confused them a little.

"First of all you must know what effect you want the spell to have, that will determine the runes it will use.
In your mind you should have the spell matrix for the chosen version in mind, the symbols and their order, in this case its only this small one you read, the spell has more chance to work if you know what they mean, so make sure you know, okay? It says in the notes I left you, okay now... To cast you have to bring those runes to the forefront of your mind, focus on them and imagine your energy flowing around them, your energy is like water, and the runes are like the holes the water has to go into."

"Good, now mentally will the now filled up runes to your horn, push with your mind so they go up your horn and the horn will do the rest, don't actually do physical effort, just relax and will it to happen, like you would will hour eyes to blink when you want to."

They both had the right idea, then suddenly I heard the sound of wind chimes, a beautiful sound.

And at the same time a shower of sparks suddenly appeared in front of my snout, a little yelp of surprise left me as I flailed for a second I'm my chair, I should have expected this, I looked both of them over, both were trying to look innocent, they didn't give each other away either.

"Fine! You gave me a little scare, happy? Whoever of you did it... Hmph! Well good thing there's still many other spells to go over, I'll get my revenge for this, ponies!" I say in an exaggerated theatrical evil voice, smiling good naturedly as they smile back.

Now it was time for another kind of test, one that would be both easier than casting and also harder.

"My friends, now it's time for a little game of hide and seek! Don't worry about running into something and breaking it, I have had all the delicate objects removed from this room, I also have removed any pointy objects and whatever I couldn't remove I tied cushions to those, the objective is simple, you will walk around the whole first floor, and using your telekinesis, you will feel for obstacles, walls, columns and other things, you must find, whoever finds me first wins! And whoever wins I'll give ya one of my very own fancy gemstones form my hoard!" Their eyes widened at that, and they smiled widely, they probably knew it was something special.

"A-are you sure Onyx? That sounds expensive and important to you, I would want to make you part with it, as nice as it sounds." Shining was the one who said with concern, he really cared for me, but Cadence nodded alongside the colt.

"He's right, aren't dragon's hoards very important for them? I wouldn't want you to feel upset if you lost part of it." Oh they really are caring, I was glad I invited them together.

"My friends, you two, and my other friends, you're all the most important ponies in my life, I would give my hoard away if it meant I would get to stay friends with you all, I can always make another hoard, but friends stay, even if I were to move out, I would come visit you often! So yes I'm betting a gem, it's not like I have super expensive gems, don't worry too much, okay? It will make the game more interesting." I say in a very sure tone, making sure they know I'm not backing down.

"Oh, if you're sure then yes, but just so you know Onyx, if you want to the gem back at any point I'll give it back if you just ask, but I accept, I'll play." Shining said confidently, he was ready.

"Of course I'll play too! And the same as Shining said, if you ever feel you want your gem back, I'll give it back, no problem, meanwhile if I win, I'll keep it as a reminder of our friendship." Cadence said in a soft tone.

"Thank you, now... Ready? I'll put your blindfolds on when you say you're ready, at that they both nod, and I secure the blindfolds to their head, covering their eyes completely.

"Alright, any of you see anything? Be honest please, or the game would be ruined" they both shake their head, they must mean it.

"We can't see, at least I can't." Cadence answers and Shining agrees.

"Okay now two things before we start, the idea of this game is to use your telekinesis to feel around, not your hooves, still try not to run, so if you hit something it's at least at walking speed, but if you are about to hit a wall and I can see it, I'll stop you with my magic so you don't get hurt, okay?" Two nods "the other thing, you will start to count to 30 loudly at the same time, once you reach thirty you can go looking for me, okay you can start to count now, I'll go quiet."

As they start counting I walk away slowly trying to not make noise with my scaly feet, which is hard on this wooden floor, I decide to make it simple and just stand on the outer wall of the dining room, near the door going to the bathroom but not right on it, then I lay down and flatten myself as much as I can to the ground so it's harder to feel me if you just feel around their head height.

I try to make the least possible noise, breathing softly, pony ears are sensitive and noses too, but there was nothing I could do about those that wouldn't be literally hurting forbidden magic and likely painful, something I'd never do to a pony unless they did really bad things.

They started to walk, the 30 seconds were up, they went in different directions, their telekinetic aura floating around them, moving back and forth aimlessly, it was oddly funny to watch, unicorns usually never trained to cast their tk fields with their eyes closed because it was really imprecise to use without vision, but it could be trained like I did. It was hard to keep it still, if you were moving too.

They wandered around for a while, but they never bumped into anything, always feeling and pushing against obstacles, helping them know what was were, I was amused, but then Shining came in my direction, slightly to the side but close, he started touching the wall behind me with his telekinesis, spreading to the sides and reaching it's way to the corner, he seemed satisfied with that, with a small nod he turned to the side and headed that way until his magic felt the wall there too, he started feeling around more, then headed following the wall, I struggled to not laugh at this.

I had not realized that being so amused by them caused my tail to act on its own, and it slapped the floor lightly, I blinked and glared at my traitorous tail.

Cadence was closer to me now, and she heard it, her head turned towards me inmediately, her ears like radar dishes, triangulating my position, I crawled away slowly, but that didn't help, as it made a slight noise as my scales dragged on it, I cringed and instead stood still, trying to not breathe loudly, Cadence didn't just run to where she thought I was, she slowly walked, playing the game as it was intended, and used her tk field like i told her, prodding the air around and touching the walls and floor, unlike Shining who only touched objects at his head height until he reached a wall.

She walked past me, but stopped, turned to me, and I felt her grasp of telekinesis slowly spread over my body starting by my tail, she was feeling me, then a wide smile formed on her lips.

"I found you! I win!" She said in a very happy tone, then she takes off the blindfold, Shining Armor joins by her side and they hug each other as he congratulates her.

"Awesome! Where was he? I could swear I passed near here, wait, was he on the floor?!" He realized his mistake, good....

"Well done Cadence, the reason you won, unlike Shining, you're using your field on the floor too, and not only on the front of your head, it's a good idea what you do, it's what the exercise is for, if you only check the front and the same height as your face, you won't find anything lower or higher than that, I simply had to lay down and you couldn't see me Shining." I gave him my constructive criticism, he nodded and accepted it.

"I will make sure to check the ground too when I practice more, you really have taught me something I didn't know about, using telekinesis as a way to sense in darkness, it wouldn't have occurred to me, but it makes total sense, when you feel something solid you try to move it and then you get the sense of what it is, how it feels to hold, and more."

"I have to add, you feel really odd to touch with telekinesis Onyx, no offense, but it's like trying to grab a slippery soap, my magic slides right off, and sure I can feel you with it, but I could exactly grab you, not even a little." Oh that was easy to answer.

"Dragons are resistant to most magic, most small spells just don't take a hold on us, or are just harder to cast and maintain." She looks me over with curious eyes.

"That sounds really cool, but why are you resistant to magic? How does that work?" This was a difficult question to answer.

"It's complicated Cadence, trust me, but I'll try to make it simpler, my species has their own magic and that magic repels pony magic at least up to a point, beings much stronger than myself can still affect me, and a great deal." She seemed satisfied with the answer. I patted her head.

"Well now there are a few more spells I'll reach you, and we will go to practice them on the third floor, okay? First let's go over this spells, come sit you two."

I head to the dining area and pull out two chairs for them to sit, once they are comfortably seated I give them each the second and third spell I wrote down for them, this simple shield that can deflect some mundane attacks and even weak spells and projectiles. The third spell was the stun spell, which was also pretty easy, this ones were slightly harder than the cantrip and the shield spell required concentration.

"Here you go, make sure you read up well on this spells, they're simple and straightforward, but they can be a bit more difficult than the last one, you'll need to hold concentration to maintain the shield, but it's easy to do, it's just a matter of holding the spell matrix in your mind and casting them like before, but you don't stop thinking of that spell matrix, like if it was still in your mind ready to cast, if you stop thinking about it for more than a few seconds it will fade away, ending the spell."

"Ohh, sounds more complicated! I've never used a spell like this, but I've always been interested in shields, seem like very useful spells and I want to learn more about them!" Shining Armor said excitedly, he had yet to earn his Cutie Mark so maybe this will set him on the path towards that.

"The third spell I'm teaching you today is... Something you should only use in emergencies or training, it's a stun spell, don't worry it's harmless, it will just slow down or stop a pony in their tracks, without hurting them but it can feel quite uncomfortable to not be able to move." Their eyes were a bit wide in surprise, not expecting this kind of spell.

"B-but Onyx! This sounds dangerous, you sure it's safe? I don't wanna hurt anypony..." Cadence said in a worried tone, looking me in the eyes.

"Cadence, Shining, this spell is not a combat spell, it's a self defense spell, and I assure you it's completely harmless! You know I would never do anything to risk either of you, you're my friends, in fact you can try your stun spell on me, not that it would do much to me since I'm a dragon."

"Oh I trust you Onyx, don't worry, this spell sounds useful in emergencies, let's get to learning!" I give him a ruffle of his mane and he gives me a glare in return, but his smile betrays how he feels.

"Good, good, get to reading you two! Any doubt I'll try to explain, meanwhile I'm gonna file my claws for a bit, they're getting a bit sharp and it can get in the way." They both nod, the alicorn is more reassured now that the colt gave his approval of the spell.

They start reading over the spells, while I pull out the claw file and start to slowly file away at the points of my claws, making them less deadly and more useful to everyday life, sure sometimes having pointy claws was useful, like for climbing and such, but I'd rather be able to tickle ponies and massage them with my dulled claws.

The two ponies went at it, reading and memorizing everything, in about half an hour, then they both talked among themselves and compared thoughts, I pretended to still file my claws while discreetly looking, sweet.

"I think we're both ready, what will we do now?" Cadence was the one to speak up first, I put my file away and got up from the chair, tucking it under the table.

"Come, follow me you two, time for some real practice! We have to go to the third floor, right this way." They followed me and we walked up the stairs, I went around pointing at each door and explaining as we went by to Cadence who had never been here.

"This is my room, thats mom's, and that one is the guest room, if you want to go to the bathroom you can use any one of this room's bathroom or the main one in the first room, okay?" Both agreed, then we went up the stairs into the prepared third room.

"Wooow! You really put effort into this class! I remember this room being so empty before, you went out of your way to do all of this for us? I'm gonna get you!" Shining suddenly exclaimed as he pounced at me, landing on top of my body, I let myself be knocked down and enjoyed his rough love, he nuzzled me and hugged me while pinning me down, I of course returned the gestures, Cadence looked at us with a curiosity at first, but then a wide smile as she also joined, pinning Shining under her, this made the colt blush but gladly accept the gesture, both nuzzling each other as well.

"You and Onyx share a lovely bond, Shining, I feel like you see each other as more than just friends, you two are like brothers and act like brothers, it's very sweet and I'm glad I get to be friends with both of you, I did tell you that my special talent is love right?"

"Oh, well I agree with you Cadence! Shining here is my little brother, he's such an adorable little pony!" I said teasingly, this made him give me a bit of a glare, as he smirked with evil intent.

"Oh you got it all wrong, this small dragon is the little brother, look at how much smaller he is" Ow. Right in the insecurities, you wound me Shining! He hugged me by the neck a bit tight and started giving me a noogie with his hoof over my head, i closed my eyes, giggling as he did, but I didn't fight it

Maybe I didn't mind being the little brother sometimes.

"Hahaha you two are definitively brothers from different parents, also Onyx seems to have submitted, your noogies have... Seemingly relaxed him a lot Shining." I had my tongue out slightly, my face serene and peaceful from the head massage, I loved the feeling of his hooves massaging my scalp like that, or whatever it was called now, my scales protected my head a lot, so a noogie felt like the most relaxing of head massages, instead of hurting or irritating me like they probably would if I was not scaly.

"Oh haha yeah he does that sometimes, if it bothered him I wouldn't do noogies, but he is definitely the little brother, aren't you Onyx?"

"Hmph! You're lucky you give good head massages bro, or I'd tickle you until you beg for mercy~" I say with a light-hearted tone, extending my claws and showing them to both ponies, Shining swallows audibly at this.

"I-i do give good massages, so you wouldn't dare to do that, good, now let's go back to the lesson, I'm interested to see what you have prepared for us today, put those claws away and let's practice!" Ah, it seems he still fears the tickle attack, I have been using it on my friends since we were in preschool, and of course he wouldn't want to be shown his place in front of his alicorn crush, I wasn't as cruel as to tickle him in front of her either so he was lucky.

"You're right! We're here now, I want you to go and stand whenever you want, then try and cast the shield spell, you already know how, cast it and hold concentration, I will try to distract you by throwing balls at you and you must block them, remember, you can will the shield to move around you, or cover all of you in a circle, the bigger the surface of the shield, the more energy it will take to hold up for long periods of time, if you want the shield to last and you are only facing one enemy, it's better to just focus the shield on blocking that enemy's attack instead of a full circle around you, understand?"

Both nodded, then went and stood next to each other in the middle of the room. Then they began the process of forming their spells, I was surprised when Shining Armor made the shield right away, he took only a few seconds and the shield appeared around him and Cadence, it was larger than I expected too, having a similar color to his aura.

"Very good Shining! you made that look easy, is that the first time you cast this spell? You casted it like you already had done it before."

"N-no, this is the first time I cast it, it feels surprisingly easy." I examined his shield, approaching and knocking on it with my claws, it was solid and looked very sturdy, I decided to try something, straightening my fingers, and extending the claws fully, then I hit the shield, hard, this hit was hard enough to stab my paw into a wooden wall, not that I did that before, but I felt more than strong enough to do it.

His face contorted in pain and shock at the hard impact, he glared at me, shields and other protection spells had drawbacks, they had a sort of feedback that would tell the caster if something was trying to break their shields, and their attacks registered as slight pain or discomfort, the caster would instinctively know what part of the shield was attacked and how hard.

"HEY! that hurts! why you'd do that?" He said in a slightly hurt tone, Cadence looked in concern to me.

"Relax Shining, its just the way shield spells work, they give feedback, I'm amazed you managed to take that and not lose concentration, and that your shield held up." He looked shocked to that, and a smile formed on his face, a proud smile.

"So that means my shield is very strong? still... that hit you did... it felt painful, like a slap to the horn, how hard you struck it? can you try throwing balls or doing something else so I can feel the difference between attacks?" I nodded, meanwhile Cadence had also managed to cast a small shield inside Shining's shield, it was nowhere near as big but still useful, not everypony could use this spell.

"I did it too! yaaay! look Shining! Onyx! Its smaller than his... but i'm still happy I could do it!" Her smile is contagious, she hugs Shining who blushes and hugs her back, I quickly join her as Shining's shield is dismissed as he loses concentration with the hug.

"Perfect you two! you both learned one of the most important spells to protect yourselves and those you care about, now... who wants to test their shield against balls thrown by me? Its gonna be fun, you can either use a full shield or a partial shield, you must also protect eachother, if you can, okay? don't let either of you get hit, because if you lose... there will be a punishment!" I gave them an evil smile, showing my sharp fangs and extending my retractable black claws, standing on two legs to appear larger and more menacing. They went a bit pale but seemed to realize I was playing, and nodded eagerly, it seems not even alicorns are free from pony's prey instincts.

"W-what will be our punishment if we do get hit?" Cadence asked, hesitation in her voice.

"I'm gonna pin you down, and tickle you both until you are out of air, they don't call me the tickle monster for nothing~" Shining nodded his head, very familiar with that particular form of play, he had experienced it first hand after all.

"He's serious, you stand no chance when he is decided to tickle you, he will find your ticklish spots quickly and you won't be able to escape, he is much stronger than he looks, trust me..." He said with a far away look, he had experienced the tickle monster before, and he tried to attack back, it didn't work at all.

Cadence nodded solemnly when she saw his expression. "I see, I'll make sure I don't lose then, lets do this!"

Both shields ignited, both partial shields to make this more fun, they had to block all of my attacks as best as possible. I grabbed two volleyballs from the ground, secretly using my tail I grabbed a third, and had it ready, Standing on my hind legs, i prepared and launched the balls, hard, making them bounce on the floor and the ceiling, more of a distraction, as I quickly passed the third ball to my right paw, aimed at Cadence and threw it directly at her as she was distracted by the bouncing volleyballs around the room.

She didn't see it, but Shining realized, in the last second, that she was in danger of getting smacked, and he screamed "Watch out!" his horn glowing brightly, a large, faintly shimmering barrier formed around both of them, making the ball bounce harmlessly away once it impacted it, I recognized this shield, it was not the same I had taught them, incredible!

The spell dissipated almost immediately after blocking the ball from hitting Cadence.

He had used a globe of invulnerability, without even knowing the spell, at the same time as he casted the spell, I also realized something, his body was glowing brightly, and his flanks specifically shined like a beacon for a second, soon after it faded and in his flanks now there was a beautiful symbol, a blue shield, with a pink six pointed star in the middle, above the shield, there were 3 smaller stars of a lighter blue color than the shield itself.

Me and a flabbergasted Cadence stared at the colt, he was too busy glaring at me, but then quickly realized we were staring at him as if he had grown a second head.

"Whoa! Shining? Y-you... saved me! and you got your cutie mark too, look!" Cadence exclaimed first, pointing to his side, this made Shining turn and slowly he realized and saw that he had indeed obtained his cutie mark, his frown slowly transformed into a big smile, and he rushed and hugged Cadence with tears of happiness forming on the corner of his eyes.

"I-i did! you're right! Oh gosh! This is amazing! I felt something... I feel like my special talent is protecting ponies Cadence, with shields! Oh Onyx, I'm gonna beat you up for almost hurting her, just you wait..." He tried to sound angry but he couldn't keep the smile out of his face.

"Dude! you can beat me up all you want! I'm super happy for you! you got your cutie mark!" I exclaimed and rushed them, hugging both of them as well, tightly, squishing them together and causing both of them to blush as I nuzzled them, but I quickly let go, as much as I wanted to play matchmaker with this two, it was not okay to go overboard.

"Ill hold you to those words, just you wait, now that I have my cutie mark ill get much stronger and you wont ever be able to win!" I giggled at his overconfidence, and just nuzzled him, making him smile warmly.

"You know I would have stopped that ball before it ever hit her if you hadn't used that shield, right?" He looked at me with disbelief, I just stuck my tongue out to him.

"Who do you take me for? I would never let her actually get hit, you did amazing with that spell, even if i... have no idea how you even pulled it off!" I had an idea, but I wasn't going to say it out loud, I don't want them to think I'm some kind of know it all, but when ponies gain their cutie marks, the laws of magic usually are broken completely, special talents are like cheat codes of the universe, not much is understood about them, but its clear when they manifest, they break the laws of magic by their mere manifestation, usually creating what is called in the field of magic as a 'Miracle' where a weak creature can use magic or power far beyond their capabilities.

"Oh, well... thank you Onyx, thank you so much for your classes! if it wasn't for this, I don't know when I would have gained my cutie mark... but there's one spell left to try, right?" I nodded, caressing his back, man... I loved him, he really was like a brother to me, I felt so proud of him too, he was both adorable as mostly every pony I met, and fun to play with, he had the same fighting spirit as me, probably even more, and he was caring and honest.

"Yes I have to agree with Shining! this was the most fun I ever had in a class of any kind! I learned a lot and I saw something that I'll never forget, how a pony earned his cutie mark, I think auntie will be amazed too! I can't wait to tell her." Cadence clapped her front hooves as she sat down on the training mat and smiled at us.

"Awww you two are going to make me blush... I'm really happy that you enjoyed this, but your parents will be coming soon, so we better get this over with, right?" They both nodded and stood together.

"Okay our last spell, remember? Prepare it, aim it at me and blast away, no time for much else, use it as much as you can." They looked concerned and doubtful, but my serious tone didn't waver.

"Uhm, you sure?" "Is this a good idea?" They asked me for confirmation.

"Yes, I order you, blast me, that's an order!" My tone made them stand straighter, and nod, they stood still, thinking, probably forming the spell matrix, then Shining fired a beam of white energy that looked like electricity, it hit me on the chest, spreading over my scales like water, then cadence fired the same spell, aimed at my foreleg.

It felt slightly tingly, but didn't affect me beyond that, it was like being touched slightly around the area of impact.

"Well done! See? I make for a good training dummy!"
I turn around and shake my tail at them, sticking my tongue out at them, making them laugh.

"Try again, that last attempt felt like barely being touched!" I tried to provoke them, maybe they would do better with the right attitude.

This time the attacks were a bit stronger, and they aimed at my tail, as it was the most obvious target now, being big and long. The attacks still weren't strong enough to affect me, my scales made magic slippery, sort of slide around them, this spell was one of the most strongly affected, same with telekinesis, it was like trying to grab a slimy fish with oiled gloves.

They continued attacking until they ran out of energy, left panting and sitting down, I walked up to them and sat down with them too.

"Well, that was a beautiful job demonstrating the stun spell, just know that it won't work on just anypony, some ponies can shrug it off, it's not perfect, but it's harmless because it only affects skeletal muscle, so legs, wings and abdomen, back muscles, etc, it doesn't affect unicorn's ability to use magic, don't forget that, a unicorn can still cast magic even if they are stunned and unable to move."

Since they both seemed to understand I decided to end the class, it was good, now we would go and relax in the living room, or at least they would. I would go and prepare them some drinks.

"Let's go downstairs to the living room, so you two can have a seat and relax, while we wait for your parents okay?"

"Yeah I'm tired, and thirsty, and you Shiny?" He just nodded in response.

After that we headed downstairs slowly, they had reached their limit of magic usage and also all the playing had tired them out physically too, once they seated I went and prepared glasses, some apple juice and paper straws, only straws you could get in Equestria that weren't metal, and I didn't want to deal with metal straws.

I carried the tray with both glasses and took them to the coffee table, where I gave each a glass, they held it on their hooves and drank slowly, they were probably too tired to use tk.

A long content sigh left each one as they finished their drinks, I smiled and took their glasses and out them on the table, sitting on the opposite couch and loafed.

"What a lovely day... I'll never forget it, thanks to the two of you." The unicorn colt was the first to break the silence.

"I definitively have never had such a good time learning and playing like I did today, so I must agree." The alicorn filly added softly, she sounded tired, but happy.

"I may give more classes then, could be fun, don't you think?"

"Definitively, please? I wouldn't miss a single class! This was so much fun!" I was surprised to see that Cadence was the first to agree, oh! I had almost forgotten, her gift!

"Yes she's right Onyx, you better make more classes, we could bring Ruby too, she's a unicorn as well."

"Well... If you two insist, I may have another class in the future, we will see, and before I forget." I turn around, pretending I'm searching under the cushion of the sofa, but I pull from my inventory a perfectly polished deep purple gemstone, an amethyst, and approach Cadence, giving it to her and bowing my head respectfully.

"This belongs to you, as you have won the earlier game, I know it's not exactly the same color as you, but it's the closest I had, I hope it's to your liking."

I hear her gasp and gently grab the gem from my paw, holding and examining it over from all sides, I look up again to see her happy expression, she puts the gem to the light to see it's beautiful colors, her eyes full of wonder and awe, she probably had never seen a gem like this before, or at least never held one.

"A-are you sure? This is beautiful! It's very big too! You sure you won't miss it?" She was sweet for asking, but I was sure.

"Yeah I'm pretty sure, I have a decent collection of them, I'll show you both someday all my hoard, but now it's ab-" my response was cut short as there was a knock at the door.

"Ah, that must be them, thanks for coming you two!" I went hugged each one, which was returned and then we walked to the door, Cadence holding onto her gem with a giddy demeanor. I opened the door and there they were, three ponies waiting patiently, they looked happy to see their foals again.

"How did the classes go my dear Cadenza?" The red unicorn mare asked, what was her name again? Oh right, Zinnia Amore.

"Oh auntie, this was the best class ever! I wish you could have seen it! We learned such awesome spells, it was so much fun too, we played games and even had a prize! Look, Onyx gave me this gem as a reward for winning the game!" She proudly shows the Amethyst to everyone, grinning widely, the other ponies look on wide eyed, gems were expensive, probably not expensive for them but for ponies outside of the capitol they could be expensive, depending where it was, some places had very high concentration of gemstones that grew underground, so there gem prices were low, but most cities had expensive prices as the gems were a valuable commodity, used by almost all species.

The parents looked at me with a look of slight disbelief but also pride.

"That is very generous of you young Onyx, giving part of your hoard away to a friend, I'm proud my son having such a generous friend." Night Light commented first, his fatherly and proud smile made me feel part of the family.

"T-thank you mister Light, I just wanted to make the game more interesting, but Im glad you think highly of me because of that, and she earned that gem, she did beat the game fair and square."

Twilight seemed to want to say something, but when she looked at his son, she hesitated, she looked close again, focusing on his flank, her eyes widened, and she poked at her husband and pointed at Shining who by now was starting to realize he was the center of attention, even Cadence's aunt was staring wide eyed.

Meanwhile me and the alicorn filly shared a knowing look and smirked.

"Son? Y-you got your cutie mark?!" Night Light said in a happy yet still shocked tone.

"OH GOSH IM SO HAPPY! this is amazing! We have to start planning the party! You all are definitively invited, we also have to invite all of your friends and your friend's parents!" Twilight Velvet was freaking out, I found the pony freak outs like this super adorable for some reason, but it would be weird to just say it out loud when I was supposedly a foal.

"Congratulations young Shining Armor, I can't wait to hear the story about how it happened and what it means." Zinnia said in a more subdued but clearly happy and kind tone, she was not as excitable as the other ponies.

"Y-yes I did get my cutie mark, but mooom! Calm down, we're in public..." He sounded resigned as his mom bounced around excitedly like a filly.

"I earned it by casting a shield spell and protecting cadence from a fast ball in one of your practice sessions, I panicked when I saw the ball approach, and did my best to protect her, using a shield that deflected that ball away, then Onyx and Cadence stared at me and told me I had gotten my cutie mark that's basically how it happened" everypony listed carefully to his tale, smiling at him, very pony was happy for him and proud of him, my included.

"Oh son, I'm so very proud of you." Night approached and pulled him into a loving hug that Twilight joined, eventually we all joined, it was pony nature to be this friendly, and I was definitively going native, in the loving hugs kinda way.

The foals expressed their exhaustion after that and we said our goodbyes and they left, I waved after them and then went back inside and closed the door, headed to the nearest sofa and jumped on, my legs spread out under me as I laid there, completely mentally exhausted as well, but very happy.

What a day, I think I'm going to get some rest here.

Author's Note

If it's not already obvious enough, Zinnia Amore is not Cadence's aunt, is Celestia using magic to change, she wants Cadence to have a somewhat normal life as a filly, and Cadence goes along with this because Celestia asked her.

Chapter 29 Items Shop and Heart's Warming

19th of December 980

Today had been a lovely day in school, we went home early, I had been busy lately with school and just life in general, I knew so much more ultra powerful spells now, but I didn't go over them yet mentally, now I would have time for that and something I have always wanted to check since I obtained it, but I hadn't had time until now, the Item Shop, I hadn't even dared to open it yet, but that was about to change, I was comfy, just showered, polished my scales and oiled them up pretty, instead of going out like a sociable and responsible dragon I went to bed.

I opened up the menus and went mentally over the tabs, inventory, stats, party, map, bestiary, personal objectives, all of this I had already checked, and the personal objectives weren't some mysterious quests given to me, they were objectives I had written to myself mentally that I wanted to complete.

Oh! Here, there's a whole new tab! Let's see, Item Store.
As soon as I opened I was a bit disappointed, there weren't many things in here, but I started to read over the list of products.

Item 1

Spell Book: Ghost Hand/s

Description: this books allows the user to learn the spell Ghost Hand, it can be used by any creature who has a class that allows them to cast magic actively. Creates a ghostly hand that can be controlled mentally by the caster as if they were an extension of their body, they are the same temperature as the owners body, but can be willed to become colder if desired.
Can be multicast to have more than one, if two hands are cast at once, one becomes a left and the other a right hand, the hands can touch and feel objects or creatures, they have no nails like a real hand does, they aren't strong enough to wield other than daggers.

Cost: 1000 gp

Item 2

Talisman of Exhaustion

Description: this mysterious item allows the user to channel their body's stamina and endurance into a healing energy that mends the flesh of living beings, but it can leave the user exhausted to the point of unconsciousness, the stamina used is converted to HP by a proportion of 10 to 1, 10 stamina heals one HP

Cost: 8000 gp

Item 3

Dimensional Coordinates: Earth

Description: this coordinates will allow you to travel to your old world, but the coordinates are set exactly to the south pole, the only available point to enter the dimension.

This coordinates only work with the Plane Shift spell, no regular teleportation can take you across dimensions, once you travel, you will only be able to travel back to the point you left, or any teleportation circles you know the coordinates of (none) within this dimension.

The only way to go back from Earth will be to recast Plane Shift from the South Pole or the North Pole, where the dimensional boundaries are weaker, as Earth has an intense interdimensional barrier that blocks opening interdimensional doors anywhere else.

The portal will appear at a height of 10 meters to prevent any obstacle or the ground to interfere with the spell, as it needs this space to create a zone of neutral inertia to adjust to Earth's own, as it moves across space.

Cost: 10000gp

Item 4

Class Change Book

Description: this book facilitates you to change your class, or multi class, multiclassing as a Mage slows down your growth in magic, as you need to focus on other types of combat, but it doesn't remove anything already learned or weaken any of your attacks or abilities.

This book does not have any magical abilities, it just guides you along the path to become a different class, the same effect can be achieved without it, but the specific guides in this book will make the process much faster as it gives precise explanations of the best methods to get stronger with each class.

Cost: 2000 gp

Item 5

Large Plasma Gemstone

Description: this gemstone contains plasma element within, it can be used to enchant a weapon, or consumed to gain plasma affinity, consume enough of this gemstones and your draconic nature will cause you to evolve to resist and eventually become immune to it, as well as being able to use your breath weapon using this element.
Warning: consuming this will damage you until your body adapts, possibly causing you immense pain, try swallowing whole for a more slow and gradual release of the element, and therefore less initial damage.

Price: 2000

Selling

You can sell gemstones for their full price in exchange for more gold pieces, at the moment the only objects you can sell are gemstones

I had to double check, was this... Yes, I had not read that wrong, I knew that spell, but it was incomplete, if I did not have the coordinates the spell would just send me to a random dimension near this one, either the dream world or the ethereal plane, if I was really unlucky maybe even to the space between them, but this coordinates promised to send me to Earth, and there was a catch of course, right at the south pole, where if I remember correctly no one lives for... Thousands of kilometers or something, but hey the concept of going to vacation to Earth was appealing!

I would not need to pack winter clothes either, perfect for me, I would probably frolicking in the freezing cold weather, now if I wanted to go, the main problem was food, I would need a LOT and I mean a whole lot of food to not starve, I ate about enough food to feed an adult pony by now, probably more, and if I was traveling and spending so much energy I would need extra, water was fine, I could melt the ground and drink it, since I was pretty much immune to disease as a dragon.

I would probably need skiing equipment, which ponies did have, but for hooves, not dragon paws, round holes didn't exactly feet my beautiful feet.

I suppose I could just slide on my scales, and use ski poles to push myself, standing on my hind legs, or maybe just my tail. But... Traveling for such a long distance was going to take months, or longer, I could maybe take a short visit and then come back, check the place out, I honestly wasn't sure what was at the south pole, I imagined a big, empty wasteland with maybe a flag near the very center of whoever country discovered it. Maybe British or American?

I would need to ask mom, if she wanted to go with me, but I worried about her, she didn't have immunity to cold like I did, she probably would be fine but... Hmm I needed to think this thought, would she even let me? Yes, she would, she knew I still held some interest in my old world and now I could at least make a symbolic visit, not like I could get much from the south pole.

I also wasn't about to miss school, so this little trip would have to wait for the next vacation I had.
I closed the store and started fiddling with the inventory instead, there were a few hefty bags of gems that I haven't checked the contents of, I will do that now.

Onyx has opened Bag of Unknown Gemstones and found 10 assorted large polished gemstones!
Jacinth (5000gp), Opal (1000gp), 2 Diamond (5000gp), Star Sapphire (1000gp), 3 Black Pearl (500gp), 2 Emerald (1000gp)

Onyx has opened Bag of Unknown Gemstones and found 10 assorted large polished gemstones!
2 Aquamarine (500gp), Blue Sapphire (1000gp), Ruby (5000gp), Peridot (500gp), 3 Quartz (50gp), Pearl (100gp)

This is definitively a lot more than I was expecting! I may be able to buy everything at the item shop after all, even if I don't sell all of the gems.

6 days later 25 of December year 980

POV shift Sylf

I had been home since yesterday preparing some gifts for everyone, thankfully for the holidays I had free from work and could relax with my family, this Hearts Warming was a joy, I had a coltfriend who often visited, he and Onyx had not gotten to interact much yet, as he usually is at school at the times Coconut is free, but this day we were going to be together, the three of us, enjoying a special day.

I was very happy, I had prepared a special gift for Onyx that he would love! I bought an expensive chest made of gold encrusted with varios gemstones, it has cost me over 2 months salary, but it was worth it for him, and it was not like we were hurting for money, my bank account grew every month, as we didn't even use half of what I earned, all went to the bank, soon I'd have half a million.

The chest was a magnificent piece of art, with very fine craftsponyship, it looked like a box, with curved corners, it had six elegant legs, and it was heavily enchanted, having 10 different magical locks that only the user could unlock by focusing their unique magic, It was still unlocked until he opened the paper wrap, and finished the set up process indicated in the instruction manual, he had to use certain spells to finish the sequence and make the chest only open to his signature.

It was worth about 55k bits, there were only a dozen of them made, I had this one specially engraved.

For my coltfriend I had gone a different route, since he likes making ice cream and experimenting with various desserts that have ice cream on them, I have bought him a blast freezer, that uses a fan and a powerful cooling enchantment to lower the temperature of anything inside very fast, while blowing air through the whole system, it also has a glass window so he can keep mixing the ice cream inside with his telekinesis, allowing him to make ice cream faster, I bet he would find that very useful, it was about 5 thousand bits, usually machines that used magic like this cost a pretty penny, they also need to be recharged with magic.

I relaxed now, every gift was packed, it was early in the morning, both of them were still asleep, Onyx had moved to the other room when Coconut started to stay overnight, he said he wanted us to have our privacy, and, while I miss his cool and refreshing presence, literally, I also appreciate having time for Coconut, he is an adorable stallion and the days he stays overnight are fun, specially during the mornings~

I should not let my thoughts wander to that, everything was in place now, the tree, the lights, the star Onyx had placed last night, a radiant gem, it looked very much like a star.

He and Coconut baked gingerbread cookie figures of ponies, he tried to make a dragon too, but they don't sell the cutters for those, so he improvised, turned out very cute! In the end we have pony and dragon cookies, Onyx also decided to make eggnog, he says he used to really like homemade eggnog before, Coconut was confused at this but we didn't elaborate, it was maybe too early to tell him that Onyx was a reincarnated dragon that used to be another being known as a human, he would think us crazy, and with good reason.

The eggnog required some very rare and strong alcoholic drinks that are imported from other nations like Griffonia, and the distant Minotaur lands, in total it costed a few hundreds of bits to get them, I know they were overpriced but I didn't want to disappoint him, he was really excited.

He also wanted some spices which thankfully were much easier to get, he then proceeded to explain and show how he made it, he toasted the spices, added the milk and let the milk simmer with the spices in, then took it out of the fire and mixed it with heavy cream, after it was well mixed he let it cool and then added half a bottle of rum and half a bottle of whiskey, about two hundred bits worth of them, and once everything was mixed he shook the container and set it in the fridge to cool down, then stored it all in mason jars.

He says the longer the eggnog ages in the fridge the better it will taste, I've yet to taste it but maybe we would probably try it today, it smelled strong.

I went back to bed after preparing my gifts, snuggling with my pony shaped plushie, if only I could cuddle him all day... He slowly woke up, his stallionhood, as always, was the first part of him that stood up, but he still was barely waking up, I just snuggled him tighter and nuzzled his neck lovingly, then started to lick his neck and ear, making him to giggle lightly and wake up faster.

"Mornin' love, did you have a good night? Its already Heart Warming, aren't you going to go with me and help wake up Onyx?" He let out a small yawn and whined softly, he clearly wanted to stay comfy in bed, but I kept kicking him and gently nibbling at his ear.

"Y-yes I did, good morning my lovely wolf! Im just a bit sleepy still, but I'll get up, you're right, it's Heart Warming! I-i just really like staying in bed with you and cuddling, you are warm, fluffy and a very good marefriend." I felt my face warming up at his compliments, if it was any other day I would have just pinned him down to the bed and have my way with him, but I wanted us to share gifts and enjoy this day first.

"Then let's go before I decide I don't wanna get up either and instead get on top of you, because you're tempting me with that!" I say with a playful huff, pointing at his part, he gave me a smirk and a confident look, basically saying come and get it, it would have worked at any other point, but now it was time for gift opening!

I get up from the bed, pulling him with me and he quickly get up when he was about to fall off the bed, he may be a hornhead but he was not gonna just let me pull him out of bed and let himself fall down, he quickly landed on all fours, he hmph'd at me, turning around and stretching his limbs and back while yawning, teasing me further by exposing his behind to me fully, which made me blush like a tomato, he smirked with satisfaction at getting back at me for getting him out of bed early.

"Fine my precious sweetheart, let's go wake the colt up first, and we go and open the gifts then, I'm excited to see what you two got, and what I got too, this is going to be a fine day, I can already tell! I love Heart Warming, it's my favorite pony tradition and I find it admirable because of our history." I had to agree to that, the story was beautiful and made me wish ponies and the other species would come together too.

We head to Onyx's room and open the door, who upon the door opening he starts to stir, he is a light sleeper, at least right now. "Hnhh?" He sleepily mumbles and slowly blinks his eyes awake, me and Coconut come close and nuzzle his face at the same time, which earns us a happy smile from the dragon, who returns the nuzzle and then places his paws on both of our heads and starts to pet us, it works surprisingly well as me and my love close our eyes and start to relax, making happy noises of satisfaction, damn son, your paws are dangerously good at this... Mmmmh

I blink myself fully awake again, he was almost making us both fall back asleep, oh dear nevermind he made my stallion fall asleep fully, while sitting down, okay maybe I did wake him up too early, was I getting too overexcited for this? Probably...

"Let's sleep a few more hours all three of us, I'll go in the middle, I miss having someone to cuddle with, and I wouldn't mind cuddling your boyfriend, he looks pretty cuddly..." Onyx softly said to me, then pulled him up and carried him fully onto the bed with his telekinesis, placing him near the edge of the bed where he hugged him from behind, latching onto the stallion's lower back, he always liked to grab me from there too.

My heart felt like it was melting, this was such an adorable moment! Before I would ruin it but making squeaking noises of how cute they looked I just joined and sandwiched my son between him and Coco, Onyx just looked pleased with himself as he had his eyes closed, I decided to sleep again and let my sleepiness take over fully.

4 hours later, Onyx's room, POV shift Coconut Cream

I was unused to this sensation, this coolness around my lower back, clinging to me, it was not too cold, similar to have an ice pack wrapped in a towel and tied around my hip, but the warmth behind that completely balanced out the cool sensation, huh I suppose my sexy Sylf wasn't lying when she said he was different, no other creature would be this cold naturally, I let out a big yawn, the extra sleep did wonders, huh wait when did I fall asleep again?

As I began to wake up, I had to suppress my body's natural reaction that for some reason was a hard on, this always happened to me since I hit puberty at around 15, but I was told it was normal for stallions, in fact even a sign of good health. Still not the right time now! I focused on the cold sensation behind me, imagining myself in a freezing cold place, my body getting colder and colder, it was not hard to imagine as a dragon as cold as ice was hugging me, that sensation and mental image made me go back to normal quickly, I let out a sigh of relief, disaster averted!

"Hey everypony, I mean everyone, are you awake? I wanna go to the bathroom if neither of you mind, I'll be getting up." My announcement caused both of them to begin stretching and blinking awake, good, now seriously I needed to pee.

Once I was done and washed myself, I got back and I saw them getting out of bed, Onyx went to his bathroom while Sylf went to the other room, I just went out the door and waited for them to get ready, It would be ideal if we went out all together to give each other gifts, it's tradition after all!

After a while they both came out, we finally headed down the stairs, there was a slight excitement in the air, I could feel it. Today was a special day for me, this was the first Heart Warming day in years I will spend with somepony after the death of my father, 4 years ago, he left me his small fortune and ice cream parlor, and I promised to him I would make him proud, in his last moments, he held my muzzle and said to me "I will be proud of you son, just find happiness, will you?"

Those words resonated with me now, in this moment, a stream of tears escaped me, as I went down the stairs, this was hitting me now of all times? The realization I had someone who loved me, and a little dragon who really cared about me too, I stopped them once we reached the bottom, and pulled them both into me with my telekinesis, well tried to pull Onyx but he was slippery, so I physically pulled him gently, upon seeing my face they both hugged me back, if a bit surprised, but quickly they showed me a level of empathy Ievel of empathy I didn't know they had, when they both silently cried with me.

As I held them I started to calm down, they also had cried with me, Onyx specially was specifically affected, I felt a bit guilty over this, nuzzling him more to show him it was all okay.

"S-sorry you two, I should explain why we are even crying, I never told you about my family right?" They shook their heads at this.

"I only remember you saying you inherited the ice cream parlor you have from your dad, right?" Onyx said softly, his voice barely above a whisper.

"You're very observant, and adorable" his smile returned at that, he liked compliments huh?

"But yes, it's my inheritance along with his house right on top of it, and his money, that was a good amount, but not enough to make me rich or something, at least not in Canterlot." I said with a small chuckle, both of them smiled at my joke at the end, but it was not a joke, really, Canterlot was very expensive.

"So... m-maybe we should save my story for after we are done opening the presents, I don't want to ruin the excitement more than I already did..." My ears are lowered as I realize I had messed up Heart Warming opening of presents, oh no! I needed to make up for them somehow now.

"Let's go, in the end all I wanted to say was that I'm glad to be able to spend a Heart Warming with the two of you, I know its probably early to say this, but to me you are a family... I think this is what father meant when he said I should find happiness." They both smiled warmly and tackled me after, Onyx was the first then Sylf joined, she was much bigger but also much gentler than Onyx, who despite looking shorter than a foal weighted about the same as an adult pony, and he liked to pin others down under him, I learned that the hard way.

After a few minutes of receiving affection forcefully, we got up and finally headed towards the living room where the tree stood tall, and beautiful, the decorations were beautiful, painted crystal shapes, mostly balls, shiny pieces of what looked like gold that had odd rectangular shapes, and had dragons stamped on both sides, what were they? I had never seen them, there were also magic multicolor lights wrapped around the tree.
Ponies always loved those, and they weren't very expensive either as they were commonly sold at this time of year.

At the top the star was a large gemstone that radiated a golden light, it was beautiful and large, held by a silvery metal support to the tree.

Underneath the tree there were a large selection of gifts, I knew right away my gifts would be humble compared to theirs, but I was still happy to give them something.

"Well, time to open the presents everyone! Son, you go first since you're the younger one, then you go my stallion, and me at the end, because I'm the oldest, that's how the tradition goes right?" Sylf announced but asked me the last part, she was completely right.

"Right you are my dear, go ahead young drake, time to open em up, in fact you should be handing us our gifts too, but if you find yours first then open them, we will wait for you to open then anyways." He nodded and started reading the name tags out loud.

POV shift Onyx

I was happy to have a new friend, Coconut was very kind with me and he clearly made mom happy, I couldn't have asked for a better Heart Warming's gift than him joining us today.
He had also shared his emotional side with us, a big show of trust that I wasn't about to play down, he clearly cared about her and even me, he also was nice to cuddle with like mom, he really smelled kinda like coconut, ponies were funny in that way, it's like their parents knew the perfect way to name them by magic, which was probably true. Somehow.

He was I guess kind of my dad now, I started to feel that way about him, I honestly wanted him to be, it was good to feel like I had a pony who i could start to trust more and more, I hope he will be okay with my secrets someday.

His presence made this day feel more complete, it felt right.

I grabbed the first gift from the pile, it was a small box, covered in pastel light blue, the ribbon was a small blue piece of some kind of fabric, it said on the name tag "For Onyx" so I opened it, tearing the pretty paper, that was the most satisfying way to open a present after all!

Inside there was a black wooden box that I opened, where inside it, a device that looked like a single wheel with a handle on one side, it was made mostly of steel but on the edge of the wheel there was seemingly abrasive material, like a metal file or something, I quickly recognized what this was, a hand actuated spinning wheel with abrasive, perfect to polish my claws smooth and leave them perfectly shiny and dull!

"Oh thank you! I love this, what's the material on the abrasive?" I asked this because usually I would need diamond to more easily remove material from my claws.

"Oh it's diamond, it's used in gem smoothing, it polish gems, and since you're a dragon I figured you could use it for any gem you have, or something." Coconut answered, he had gotten me this then, how sweet!.

"Thanks a lot! It's actually ideal to smooth my claws since they need to be filed every other day to not become razor sharp, but I'll try polishing some gems too, thank you for this!" I moved and stood in front of him, smiling up at him before petting him along his neck like someone would pet a horse, he just nuzzled me and giggled a bit.

"If that's what you need, then I'm glad my gift is useful, I was worried you would not have something to use it with, but I'm very happy you do, go on, open the other gifts, I'm excited to see what else you get." He encouraged me, I nodded and went back to the pile under the three, there was another gift covered in yellow paper, the name tag read "Sylf"

I handed it to Sylf who opened it, inside there was a pair of clocks made to be hanged on the wall, they were identical and they showed the exact hour, they were beautifully made, the back was made of some kind of wood, the edges of the clock were made of silver patterns, looking like branches and leaves and the hands of the clock were made of thin golden threads twisted into a spiraling pattern that kinda looked like thing and long unicorn horns.

Both of them were similar but there were small barely invisible differences, it was all clearly hand made by some expert artisan pony.

"Wow, they're beautiful! But why there's two of them?" Sylf finally asked what was in my mind as well.

"Well because since we sleep in the same room, but Onyx sleeps in the other room, I figured he would appreciate also having a clock for his room so we all can know what hour it is, without having to go out and look at the sun." He really was thoughtful with his gifts, I hope my gift doesn't disappoint them, it was not exactly high effort after all.

"I hope my gift is good enough for you then, because now I'm slightly worried it may not be enough..."

"Hey now, you didn't have to provide any gifts, you're a colt, I would consider a hug from you gift enough, and you already gave me a few of those today, and even showed me the most empathy ive seen anyone show, you two are the most kind ponies, creatures I have in my life." Mom hugged him tightly as he said that, he clearly was still emotional, I ran over and hugged both again, I would not let a pony go un hugged if I could help it, if they were good of course, and I knew them well enough or the vibe was the right one to offer them one.

"Coconut is right my precious dragon, whatever gift you give us will be enough for us, more than enough, I'm always going to be happy to just have you with me, okay?" I nodded, I suppose I could accept that.

"Hmm okay momma, let's finish opening up the gifts or this day will go on forever, the anticipation is killing me..." I grabbed another gift, this one said Sylf and Coconut, and yeah, it was mine, here goes nothing.

"Here you two, each of you must read only one of them!" I said handling them the poorly wrapped gift, Coconut grabbed it in his tk and opened it, handing one of the small books to Sylf who simply placed it on the ground with her maw.

They both read one of them, the books instantly disappeared after they read the first word, and they stood there, still and unblinking for a few seconds.

"Oh! I know a new spell all of a sudden, what the hay was that?!" He was definitively surprised enough to say a pony 'curse word' I chuckled loudly at that, mom already knew about this, she just smirked, her smile turned mischievous, almost predatory. Oh mom, what have I done? This was going to turn real awkward really fast if I didn't stop her.

"Don't you dare mom, let's finish the gift opening first, THEN you can go play with your new spell on your coltfriend, I can see that look on your eyes, behave young missy!" They looked confused at me when I said that, mom was not expecting me to probably know her intentions, and Coconut was very confused but slowly started to blush as he realized what I said and what the spell did.

"Y-yes sorry I got a bit excited, not going to happen again for now, sorry son, let's go back to it." She said with her ears lowered.

"It's fine mom, don't be all sad now, I suppose after we finish here and have some food you two can go and test your new Heart Warming gifts, seems like this was exactly what you wanted huh?"

"You kidding?! I've ALWAYS wished I could have a way to handle things other than my maw, you know how hard it is to cook with my maw? This spell changes everything! It will not only let me do household activities but also improve my ability to use any everyday objects, I won't feel so useless anymore either. The days of getting dish soap on my tongue are finally over! All thanks to you... I love you my little Onyx!" She eagerly petted me with the new spell, while nuzzling me at the same time, I gotta say, it feels really comforting, those hands... They felt against my scales.

"T-this spell seems definitively very useful and interesting, but why did the book disappear when I tried to read it, and how come I know the spell just by reading one word?" The stallion asked confused, I supposed I could explain it like this.

"It's a magical magic book" he raised an eyebrow, looking doubtful at my answer.

"It's true, it's magical because you instantly learn, and it disappears afterwards, and it's a magic book because it teaches you a spell." He was not satisfied with my answer but he just shrugged slightly and smiled.

"It's fine, maybe you'll tell me someday, I greatly appreciate the spell, it could be really useful, seems better than using telekinesis to do everything, I'm honored that you have given me this knowledge."

"I may tell you a lot someday, maybe sooner than you think, we all have secrets after all, but you're quickly becoming part of this family, I trust you, but with time I'll trust you enough to tell you more about me, that okay to you Coconut?"

"Absolutely, you're within your rights to keep anything you want to a secret, and I will never try to rush you into telling them to anypony." He meant that, I could tell.

"Thank you, you're a really good stallion, glad you and mom are together, now let's finish this, shall we?" Both of them nodded eagerly.

I grabbed a large box, it was heavy, probably heavier than a pony maybe two adult ponies in weight.

I lifted it without much issue, it read Coconut Cream.

I moved it in front of him and gently placed it on the ground, he smiled at me, then looked the box was big as him with awe, slowly breaking the paper into pieces, the box was cardboard and he opened it and inside there was a large machine that had a glass panel to one side, that seems to also be a door, inside there was a rotatory system and what looked like an ice cream making bowl made of ceramic or something. A spatula was in it, I had no idea what this was, but it looked hella expensive.

"Oh my gosh whaaat?? This is amazing! No way! Who would... Sylf?! Was it you, wasn't it? I always wanted one of this! They only have them at the most expensive and modern places like expensive restaurants and hotels! Mostly only in Manehattan, oh Sylf you shouldn't have... this things cost a fortune! Oh I can't believe this, it's so big, fancy and amazing! I think I'm gonna pass out, somepony hold me!" He actually passed out, Sylf dived under to catch his head with her neck, he was on the floor with his legs spread and his tongue out and his eyes were all swirly.

He is the funniest pony I've ever met, he clearly wasn't expecting this gift and got overly excited, poor guy!

He shook his head and blinked awake not a second later, I couldn't tell if he just pranked us or if he had genuinely passed out, probably a very well executed prank, to be honest.

"Thank you so much Sylf... I'll make it up to you somehow!" He said cheerfully, back to normal.

"I'm sure you will, but let's open the last one now, I'm starving!" They agreed before they could get further distracted.

I lifted this one, it was about the same weight as the last one, but it wasn't nearly as big, it was about the size of a coin chest, but very very heavy.

"Huh, odd, it's heavy, I wonder what it is..."

I lifted it and started to tear the paper right out, even the paper looked specially fancy, being all black with small golden symbols on it, the bow adorning the thing looked made of gold thread so I kept that, it was too pretty to just rip off.

I couldn't believe my eyes! This was beautiful, one of the best works of art I had seen, comparable to the artwork and statues in the Canterlot Palace, it feels like it would have fit right in with all of that.

It was a chest, but instead of having a normal base it was held by six golden legs, all beautifully carved and shaped with curved lines, the upper part of the legs has the appearance of talons, or claws, each holding a beautiful gemstone inside, pressed against the walls of the golden box in the middle, each gemstone was a different color, forming a 6 color rainbow, the engraving on the top of the box depicted a dragon, a wolf and a unicorn, the dragon was in the middle and to his left there was the wolf, the unicorn to his right, he quickly realized it was meant to be them, they looked very similar, with some artistic freedom, for example, he was slightly larger than the other two, and he had wings.

Around them nature was depicted, pine trees a river, a few rocks, wildflowers and grass, the level of detail was incredible for a metal engraving, even a few birds were depicted flying above, the sun was represented with an Amber gemstone, it was one of the most beautiful things he had seen, the rest of the chest also had engravings, mostly nature related like vines in symmetrical patterns, different flowers growing out of them, it also had handles on the sides to be lifted, made of the same material but instead of engraving them, they were given a texture similar to bark from a tree, making it easier to hold for him, as his scales wouldn't slip from those textured handles.

Everyone but Sylf was staring wide eyed, lower jaws figuratively on the ground.

"Left speechless hm? Well, I know how you feel, I felt exactly the same when I first saw it, and I knew I had to get it for my only son, my precious Onyx, now... It needs you to cast a few spells and channel your magic in it, the chest is open and the instructions are inside, so please when you want to use it, do that, so it can be locked, okay?" I shook my head, feeling like I had been daydreaming and finally realized mom was talking to me, I nodded and closed my maw, trying to think what to say.

"Uhm... Mom this will take some time to process, mentally, but I have to say it looks very very lovely and pretty, the engraving is my favorite part, I love you so much..." I go and hug her around the neck, standing up on my hind legs and rubbing our snouts together, my eyes slowly tearing up as I'm overwhelmed by emotion, I don't know how to even properly express my thanks to her, so I just hold her and stay like this for a while, silently.

"You two have to tell me how you met while we eat lunch, what do you say?"

"Yes, I'd love to, mom you can tell it from your perspective and I can from my own, now let's go eat, im starving!"

"Let's enjoy this day, we could talk about ourselves more and I'd gladly tell how I met my son."

And that was how my Heart Warming day went, we sat down to eat, and we shared our stories, I told him how I was a small baby hatchling surviving on fish from the river, how I was going to sleep next to a tree and saw a shadow looming over me, how I tried to appear fierce and Sylf just looked unimpressed and then when I was sure she would just eat me, I tried bargaining with the fish I had caught earlier for her to let me live, and then Sylf told him how she was just worried there was a pup all alone and lost next to the river, and she was checking up on him to, trying to see if he was alive at first, or if he needed help, where his parents were.

He seemed amused by the contrasting points of view, pointing out how it may seem from a small dragon's perspective that Sylf would be threatening and huge, scary for me, I agreed to that and even she reluctantly nodded, thinking back on it.

I explained how I had hatched and not found my parents, my nest was abandoned and I had to catch fish to survive since the very start, he hugged me and told me I will never need to do that again, that I'd never be alone or go hungry like that, I agreed, i think he would make a good father.

I told him that, then I admitted I wanted him to be my father, he thought about it, then smiled widely and accepted, then he told me his story.

He had never met his mom, she had died during his birth, as she was the headmare or leader of the herd, it disbanded when she passed away so tragically, his father instead raised him alone, he didn't want to find another mare after his mother had passed, saying he still hurt too much, the old pony stallion was stubborn and didn't want to try again, he just pushed away any mare who wanted to court him, deciding to raise him alone.

This greatly stunted Coconut's ability to talk to mares, making him more introvert and shy around them.

When his father got sick with an unknown disease, I suspect it was cancer but I'm not sure, it sounded like it. He deteriorated rapidly and died, he left his only son all of his belongings, Coconut was only 20 years old when this happened, thankfully he already had experience in running the ice cream parlor so he could stay afloat, during summer he had a lot of costumers every day and his prices were high enough that he made a profit, his prices were not unreasonable, not for Canterlot at least, so he could compete with other fancier more expensive places, catering to the working class.

Sylf spoke about herself too, her live in the tribe, how their heriarchy worked, their rituals when it came to many different parts of life, etc.

The death rituals were extremely interesting, they would have their recently deceased lay at a comfortable seat, then everywolf would come and sit in front of them, one by one and in private, and explaining to this dead wolf what they felt towards them in life, all of the things they wanted to say to them before they died, every regret, every secret, every wish and desire, and just pretend they were confessing this to the living individual, they would also apologize for anything they felt they wronged them with.

Once the whole tribe had said their piece, they would all send them off with a group howl, and then they would dig a hole, fill it with firewood, the dead wolf on top, and then the wolf that were most beloved to the dead would set the funeral pyre alight, allowing the ashes to scatter to the freezing winds of the far north.

They had many other rituals, I honestly wanted to visit Sylf's tribe now, I was really intrigued, we didn't talk about this enough.

They even had mating rituals, but she didn't go into detail to not make the conversation devolve into sex talk, I was only 8 and they both still considered me as such, of course I was more like 28 if you consider my human age when I died, but I liked to just think of myself as a child again, I felt like one, I was much more emotional and had a different mindset, while I was still pansexual, i think, I was missing the 'sexual' in that word.

I think this Heart Warming has been the best one so far, I hope my friends are also doing well and enjoying the time with their families.

Author's Note

When I say I don't know what's at the south pole in the story and that it is an empty wasteland, don't worry, me, the author, knows exactly what's there and what would happen, so don't worry it's not gonna be as boring as him going there and nothing happening, there could be fun interactions to be had there, in the middle of freezing cold winter during -70c blizzards, have any of you seen the movie 'The Thing' ? Just imagine something like that but less body horror, death, etc and much more mischief

Chapter 30 Polar vacation

Author's Note

This chapter is sort of a long vacation episode where Onyx visits Earth, if you don't wanna read about it and you just wanna know more about his adventures in Equestria you can skip to chapter 38.

Only the first half of this chapter is about what happened in Equestria with a short time skip

Chapter 30 Polar vacation

6 months later, late June Onyx pov

This new year was promising to be awesome, I was 9 years old now, my birthday was calculated to be in late February so I just chose 20 to celebrate it, here it was not like earth where your exact birthday was important, you just needed to know the month and year, I had no exact date of my birth in the frozen mountain I had been born at, I also had grown in size faster over this last few months, I was the same size as my friends now, it was not a drastic change in size but it was progress, and I was happy to not be the runt of the litter anymore.

Speaking about birth, mom was pregnant! We were all very happy and were extra gentle with her, her belly was slowly growing, by June anyone could clearly see the pregnant belly, she was going to be a mom, not just adoptive now, and she knew, she was given only administrative work for the duration of her pregnancy and paid leave for a year afterwards to care for her future offspring.

This half a year had been wonderful for more than that.

Me and dad have bonded much more, we play and we hang out, he teaches me about his ice cream making, I teach him magic in return, he's not as capable as Shining or Cadence but he is pretty good with ice spells and his telekinesis is decent, maybe because he uses it a lot at work, I gave him a few exercises to improve his telekinesis and he is doing them often, I couldn't be more happy about him.

I had told him more about me as time went by, that I was much stronger than I seem, and that I was very well learned in magic, but he was confused as to how, I just told him it would be hard to explain, but I am sort of special, he found my words very funny, soon after I realized too how my words made it sound, and we both shared a good long laugh, even falling on our backs. Yes I just called myself kinda 'special', that's what they call ponies with mental disabilities here.

I also have told mom of my desire to travel to the south pole of my old world, at first she insisted in coming with me but I told her if she came with me, we would be in more danger and need a lot more supplies, double the supplies, and it would be harder to deal with anything if she was there, she was also pregnant and we both agreed she couldn't risk the pups growing inside her.
I told them that it was much safer if I went alone, I was much more suited for the freezing cold, since I was totally immune.

Mom considered this, I told her I wanted to go badly and explore, she ended up accepting, I told her I knew what I was doing, and that the south pole was an empty cold and deserted place for thousands of kilometers. And only penguins lived there, I explained to her what a penguin was, she found the concept of them funny, I told her I may show them to her sometime but this time I would go alone and check it out. After a few hours of bargaining she was convinced, but told me if I saw any trouble I should come back right away.

I promised if I was in danger I would return, good enough.

I had given a few more classes to my friends, only unicorns tho, I didn't know how to help earth ponies or pegasi with their skills, i know it sounds bad but I had the knowledge of an unicorn, and an unicorn supremacist at that.
He didn't care enough about other races to learn about them more than the basics.

School was slowly fixing that, but the knowledge learned on elementary school was basically just games and a bit of fact mixed in, sure it was fun and engaging but I didn't learn anything I couldn't already deduce or just knew from my absorbed memories.

Now, 9am morning of June 26th I had my supplies neatly packaged, a sleeping bag, ski poles, sleeping mat, sleeping bag, about 20kg of dry good quality firewood.

I had lots of different meats, I had various fruits and pickled veggies, I had lots and lots of cheap small gemstones that I could eat, about 10kg of those, enough to last me months.

I also had hard cheeses, something the ponies didn't seem to have or any of the other races imported was rice, sure they had pasta and they had bread, so they had wheat, but they didn't grow rice, something I honestly didn't even remember the texture or taste of by now, but there were many varieties of foodstuffs so I didn't mind really.

I had even dried pasta with me, homemade and dried using a few heating spells and some wind.

I also had 4 dozen of eggs in cardboard cartons in my inventory, in case I wanted an easy meal, turns out eggs are ideal snacks, and can be cooked or eaten raw, they are delicious.

I also had liquid water, but since the ground was made of ice I only had about 5 Lt of it, I could always just melt the ice and drink it, being immune to poisons made me also immune to diseases, that are usually just poisons from microorganisms or your own body fighting them. Even if I wasn't, dragons are incredibly resistant to disease naturally.

I had already told all my friends I was going on vacation by myself, so sadly we wouldn't be able to meet or hang out this summer, they were a bit sad but it wasn't like they didn't have anything to do, I gave my students some homework by sending them a few harmless spells to study and practice.

I had also finished my teleportation circle during this time, now it was working on its own without needing any extra magic, using the high levels of energy in the very air, Canterlot was a high spot of magical energy as the mountain seemed to contain some sort of either high concentration of magically rich gemstones or maybe the population influenced the weave in the area, saturating it with magic.

This were the ideal conditions to cast a spell of this magnitude.

Was in the third floor of the house, preparing the spell mentally for opening the portal, mom was watching at a safe distance, slightly concern in her eyes, I was wearing the Robes of the Occult to decrease my magical cost at casting this spell, in case I needed to return in an emergency or cast other spells quickly.

"Goodbye mom, I'll see you in a few weeks, I love you!" She gave me a loving smile.

"You better, if you don't come back in at most 4 weeks, I'm going in there one way or another and pulling you back, even if I have to enlist the help of the Princess!" Oh come on mom!

"Please don't! I dunno how she will react if she found out I used this spell, I could be in more trouble with her than I ever would at the hands of the humans in this world, they cannot contain me, I can escape anything they throw at me with my magic, but I cannot escape Celestia if she is pissed off, I'm powerless to stop her." She seemed to understand now, she was loyal to the Princess, sure, but she was more loyal to me first, and while I kinda liked Celestia now, she still had ways to go to earn my trust, but I did send her a few letters talk to her about how things were, she didn't answer yet but she probably didn't read all her mail, and had ponies for that.

"O-okay just... Try to return, if you don't return after more than two months... I'll have to ask for her help, but first I'll tell her I used the spell and asked you to go, so you don't suffer any consequences, and no, you can't change my mind!" She said with finality.

"Fine... I don't see why I would stay that long, I'm always able to make myself invisible, I can turn into a flying cloud of vapour, polymorph myself into an animal, teleport or even go into the Ethereal Plane if I'm in serious danger, but the last one I prefer to not use, because it has its own dangers." Well, the time for goodbyes was over.

"I better go now, I need to do this quickly to minimize the risk of being detected by the princess, a spell like this will start to give out energy the longer it's active, so bye mom!"

"Stay safe please"

With that, I focused my mind fully and brought to my mind's eye the complex spell matrix, looking it over and going over it, triple checking to make sure everything was correct, then to the coordinates I added the ones I bought from the Item Shop.

The coordinates were in constant rapid shift, it was not a stationary portal, but it moved at the same speed as the Earth, that explained the numbers, I inputted the coordinates, and focused again on the whole spell matrix, channeling my magic and just like that, I was swallowed by a portal, who opened and closed almost instantly. -35MP 237/272
I was at one moment at my house, and now I was floating midair in the middle of a field of indigo color energy, the flat bubble was large and enough to fit way more than just me and was centered around my point of entry.

I could not see or hear anything outside, I tried moving but I was just floating in place, moving my limbs didn't do anything, I decided to cast feather fall just in case, I was worried about something going wrong or falling to my death, as unlikely as that was.

POV shift, at the same time, Samuel Diaz
Amundsen Scott Station, South Pole

The morning was unusually stormy, a blizzard was raging outside, the local meteorologist Hector told them it was forming but didn't expect it to be so powerful, and it made visibility very poor, on top of that the long night had begun a while ago, a 6 month long period of night and at most twilight, so it was dark even in the mornings, almost all day.

Sam was having breakfast at the cafeteria, overlooking the distant geographical south pole, it was however too snowy outside to see more than a few meters away, the storm raged and winds blew, other colleagues of him, 35 people had stayed over winter, this was his first stay over ever, he had been trying to get a job here for years, and this year he finally did, getting to stay over the winter.

The winter months were brutally cold, as low as -70c during blizzards, and about -30c on regular calm days, today it was extra cold outside, it registered an almost record temperature of -80c.

It was cold enough to kill a man in minutes, during this temperature no one went outside no matter what, even the doors frosted over.

Suddenly, while he read his book and sipped his coffee, a loud bang of lighting made the entire cafeteria turn towards the window, lighting during blizzards was not unheard of, but it was definitively rare, but what shocked everyone was the intensity of it, it made all of the building vibrate for a second, like as if a large bomb had exploded outside, everyone was shocked, some dropped their drinks or whatever they were holding, others weren't scared but still confused.

At this same time he heard it, he saw a light coming from the distance, right at the point of the south pole, a bright light that was very much visible despite even all of the snow flying around in the blizzard outside, a light so bright it felt like it was coming from a flashlight a few meters away from him.

It was a spheroid, indigo in color, shimmering at times between bright purple and blue, like if someone was having one of those vaporware themed parties with bright uv lights and flashing colors.

Everyone at the cafeteria started pointing at it, coming from the other side and gathering near the windows to watch the lightshow, no one knew what to make of it.

Some theorized it to be a mysterious ball lighting type of phenomena, others quickly dismissed it as an especially intense aurora australis.

Some simply didn't say anything and recorded or took pictures of it, it was nothing weird about the pictures, it was just an intense ball of light.

What confused Sam the most was that loud noise that happened right as the light appeared, maybe it was some sort of military test? But why would anyone test something like that here in a place known to have civilians? And where it was agreed upon by all nations to not test weapons or military vehicles, he wasn't sure, but there was something mysterious about this, he hoped whatever caused that bright light wasn't some sort of new scary bomb that would somehow kill them with radiation, a terrifying thought that gave him an involuntary shiver.

A few minutes passed, then the spheroid simply disappeared without a trace, the light going out like a light bulb turned off. Everyone was confused staring and waiting for something to happen, he slowly went back to his coffee, it was cold by now, he sighed and just drank it anyways, if they wanted to live here, they had to conserve food, and coffee beans were a luxury donated by people with good intentions.

He headed to the dish washing station and washed his empty plate and coffee cup, leaving them to dry and headed to do his job, he had to be ready at the clinic in case someone was injured or sick.

POV Shift Onyx

As the spell finally seemed to end, I slowly fell towards the ground, I almost land on top of a flag pole but I managed to grab it and push myself side before i knocked it over, thank goodness, wait... A flag? Oh there's a sign too! Wow this storm... It's really strong! I can barely see in front of me.

But now at ground level I can see there's two flags and a sign that reads Geographical South Pole, mentions altitude, huh, in feet, no idea how tall that is, this two guys are the ones who reached the south pole first?

Ronald Amundsen and Robert F. Scott

They even have quotes here, I found them amusing if anything, I wonder what would have been going through this people's mind, the realization they made it, and the difficulties of their journey to this wasteland of ice and wind.

I felt a sense of respect for this people, doing this in 1911 and 1912 without any advanced technology, maybe they had good tech, but I doubt it, this was sheer determination and perseverance in the face of death, this place was anathema to human life.

I hope they had found success, but I sadly didn't know enough about them, maybe someday I would find out.

I decided to wander around in circles, I had no real idea where to go, but I was enjoying this weather, the only issue was how little visibility there was, after a while I decided to just start making a spiral pattern around the south pole, in my mind this was the best method to find something else of interest, I kept walking like this for about 2 hours, going slowly

I saw something out of the corner of my eye, a dim light in the distance in front of me. I immediately stopped, and started to approach the light, was this some person out here in the middle of nowhere?

How could there be people here? Or maybe it was some sort of weird weather station that was just automated to have lights... I wasn't sure, I approached slowly and the closer I got the more lights I saw, then I realized they weren't just lights.

All I could see from where I was standing were a few distant lights to the left of me, and just a big set of metal stairs painted bright yellow, behind it, a black building loomed over me, it was two stories tall, and suspended over the snow and ice on pillars, it was too dark to tell the colors well, but the stairs were well illuminated, probably to help people get up and down safely.

I assured myself this was safe, I had magic to my side, I casted greater invisibility -20 MP 217/272 on myself, then climbed up the stairs, without worry about the noise my steps made, the blizzard was loud enough as it is.

Once at the top I saw the door had no door handle, probably an emergency exit. Groaning I went around the building, looking for any entrances that looked like the main one, i finally found it, I knew it was the right one because of the flags nearby, and because it was more fancy looking than the last one I checked, this better have a way inside!

I climbed the stairs to the first floor this time, already having wasted precious time of my spell walking around this huge building looking for a way in, I must have about half of it now, but I wanted to preserve my magic so I decided against recasting.

I approached the large thick metal door, it had a handle! Fucking finally! I open and pull, it looked like it would be a pull door.

I walk inside and make sure my tail comes in, this door looks quite big and I don't want my tail squished by a door again, it happened so many times at home that I always now check before closing doors.

I find myself in a room much warmer than the outside, it's like a sort of an airlock system, with one big door that blocks the cold and the interior door that keeps the warm inside the building.

Seems that the doors are about twice my height, I wonder how many people live here, better to be careful and not make too much noise.

I head to the inner door, grab the handle and open it, cringing at the loud clicking noise it makes, quickly getting in, pulling my tail all inside before the door closes, it's much warmer inside, I prefer the outside chilly wind and cold, but this isn't bad either.

Inside there is a very long corridor, with many doors going into other rooms, the walls are white on the left side and have a pattern of gray and blue squares on the right side of the corridor.

Time to take a little look around, and find out what this building was for.

Chapter 31 Exploring the station and meeting it's crew

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 32 Visit to the doc and Q&A

POV Shift Sam

After breakfast it had been a calm day, nothing out of the ordinary, I was on my chair just reading and doing my hours, if anyone needed help I was ready.

Suddenly at around 10:30am I heard knocking at my door.

"Sam? You there? I have a favor to ask you, and you may not like it." She sounded unsure, was that Jessica? She's one of the few woman who stayed over winter, around a dozen or so in total.

I got up and opened the door, there she was, looking unsure and nervous at me.

"Hey Jes, what's up? You look a bit worried, is someone hurt?" I tried to look around the door to the outside but she stoped me, I could swear I saw someone else there.

"No, no one is hurt, but we have a really weird situation and we need you to perform some tests, maybe an x ray, take a few samples, or I don't know, do a few swabs, maybe just an examination, it's... Hard to explain but I'll do my best." What was she on about? Those things were possible yes, but why did she say it like that?

"Okay but....on who? Someone is sick? Where are they?" She shook her head, looking around.

"No one is sick Sam, we just found a very strange looking animal we need you to examine for us, it's not a human person, it's a... This may seem unbelievable but it's a dragon that we found." Oh this was a silly prank, I couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculous notion of her just coming here to tell me all of that and then say it was a dragon.

"Hahaha you got me! gonna have to think of something clever like that to pay you back for that one! Heh thank you for the laugh, it's kinda boring here, waiting all day and nothing to do, most people here are very healthy and they barely if ever get sick, so I appreciate that, really." She looks at me with a smile, but she doesn't laugh.

"It's not a joke, but I'm glad I got a chuckle out of you, now I have more entertainment for you then. Onyx, come here and say hi to mister Sam Brook."

I scratched my head in confusion, I never heard of Onyx, sounded odd for a name.

"Please don't be scared mister Sam" I heard a child's voice come from the door, followed my footsteps that sounded strange.

How was that possible? I was a 100% sure there weren't any children at the station, it was not allowed, it was risky to have them so isolated in this place.

Then suddenly a strange creature that was the size of a large dog came through the door, it was metallic silver in color, like... I haven't seen anything like it before, its gait was not like those of lizards, instead it walked similar to a tiger, it had light blue eyes that shone like small lights, they seemed very focused on me.

"Hey doctor, I think I'm due for a checkup" it....no, he said with a childish sounding voice.

It was bizarre to see a clearly non human creature speak like a human, it was disconcerting and a little terrifying if I'm honest, I needed to sit down.

"Oh my god what's... What are you?!" I stepped back and grabbed my office chair, sitting down and sighing.

I took a few deep breaths and tried to calm down, okay... If Jes was calm around it, maybe I will be fine too, it hadn't attacked her yet.

"Oh sorry, I didn't meant to scare you sir, I'm just trying to do what the other humans asked me, maybe getting checked out by you they say was our best bet to know what I was, I know what I am, as I said I'm a dragon, nice to meet you." He said with a small respectful nod of his head. He had good manners, he even kept his distance at the door and didn't try to approach me.

"I-i will, just give me a moment for me to collect myself, this is quite unexpected and a bit scary, no offense... Onyx?" He nodded, so that was his name, like Jes said.

I slowly got up and approached him, calming down and starting to see this from a medical perspective, first of all he looked very different from a person.

"May I examine you then Onyx? Please come through here and let's go into one of the beds, I'll bring sample kits. You just go sit on one of the beds and relax, we will see what we can do." He nodded and headed into the patient area, while I went to the lab and grabbed a few sample kits.

He was laying on his back on the bed, I noted his underside had a slightly paler color than his back, his tail extended all the way out of the bed, it was long, slightly longer than the rest of the body.

I didn't know where to start, maybe let's start with his head, I put on latex gloves and approached him.

"Uhm doc? Have in mind if I feel you are going too far I will refuse something, I will cooperate but you have to respect my body, so no touching in some places, my tail base is off limits, sorry but I don't feel okay with being touched there." He explained and I nodded in understanding, I didn't intend to examine there, I wasn't an urologist either way, Im a generalist.

"I understand, I will stop at any point if you don't feel comfortable anymore, first let's start with your head, you have horns, very unusual in reptiles, they are black, not sure what they are made off, mind if I take a sample?" The dragon shrugged his shoulders, interesting, he could do that, I took notes.

"If you can, go ahead, to dull my claws I use diamond abrasive files, anything else doesn't work, my horns are just as hard, if not more, but I won't stop you from trying, my horns aren't specially sensitive or anything, and they are just starting to grow out."

I grabbed the surgical knife and tried to slice off a thin flake of horn, but the knife slid off the shiny surface, it was like trying to cut ceramic with a regular knife, I kept trying for a while longer but the knife had completely dulled and the edge was bent.

"Welp, no luck there, you are right, the horns are too hard, can I give you a face examination? I promise to not poke your eyes or anything like that." He snorted a laugh at my comment, he had a good sense of humor, I wonder how old he was, he sounded young, I'd say about 10, but by his proportions and size were really hard to make a conclusion.

"I'll forgive an accidental eye poke only, but go ahead." At the given consent I approached his head and started to examine him, first checking for a breath, it was clear he was breathing, but... It was cold, so very cold like as if he was not alive, sort of, I then touched his neck with my finger, there was a clear pulse, not much different from that of a person, but his body temp was very low, I would say it felt like touching a bag of ice wrapped in a towel.

His scales were not smooth like a snake, they had texture to them, and felt much thicker.

"Are you normally this cold? If I was not seeing you move and breathe I would think you were dead and left outside in the cold."

"Yah, I was born this way, I'm cold blooded literally, my blood is cold and my body is cold, I thrive in cold temperatures." I wonder how that even works, where had he come from? May as well ask.

"I have to ask, where did you come from? I saw that light show and the explosion, did you have anything to do with that?" He seemed uncomfortable at the question, as if he didn't want to admit something.

"Was anyone hurt from that? Gosh I hope not, i didn't expect the light show or the explosion." So he was the one who caused it. I had no idea what this meant, was he an alien? I was stumped for theories, none of this made sense, I needed to perform more tests.

"It's fine, no one was hurt or anything, but we were all surprised and confused, mostly confused." He relaxed and smiled at the news.

"Oh, that's some good news, I was afraid something had gone wrong with the process, and yes it was me who created that, it was not on purpose really, I just wanted to explore and I thought this place was completely empty of anything living, I expected to find some penguins at most." Huh? How did he knows about penguins? He wouldn't find any penguins here so far inland.

"I'm sorry to say that there is no penguins near here, we are too far away from the sea and they live off fish they catch near the coast." He pouted at this, his ears lowering in a funny way, he reminded me of my sister's cat.

"Awww but I wanted to show them to my mom! She thought penguins were funny, im gonna have to travel to find them, won't I?"

"Yes, they're very far away I'm afraid" I grabbed a cotton swab to get a DNA sample.

"Can you open your mouth for me and stick our your tongue?" He nodded and did as I asked, I grabbed a cotton swab, which I rubbed on his tongue, i noted it was very different from a human tongue, being thinner but longer and forked at the tip. It was also indigo with some areas between blue and purple. I stored the swab on the sample bag for DNA.

"Thank you Onyx, you can relax now." He was well behaved, not that I had any concept of how a dragon would behave, but he was pretty calm and relaxed.

I doubted this, but I wondered if he carried any disease, the only way to find out was a blood sample.

"How do you feel about giving me a blood sample?" He immediately shook his head at that. Damn it!
A blood sample would have been perfect to test for unknown pathogens, it would also maybe help me find out how a creature with cold blood could survive and how energy was transported through his body, his metabolism, and a lot more of useful things.

"Sorry but no, I don't want to, maybe someday when I'm older." He definitively didn't like the idea at all, but I couldn't force him.

"It's fine, but it would have been very helpful to determine if you carry any disease"

"Don't worry about that, I'm immune to all disease, my body is too cold for diseases to reproduce and multiply anyways, they would just freeze to death or go into hibernation until they eventually are removed by my body's immune system."

"I suppose that makes sense... Well there's something else we can do then, do you consent to getting an X-ray Onyx?" He looked thoughtful, but nodded.

"Yes, I don't see the problem with that, I can give you samples but I won't give any living tissue samples." I scratched my head, his voice didn't match his way of speaking, it was odd.

"How old are you again?"

"I'm 9 years old, but I'm very smart mister, I go to school! And as to where I come from, its... A secret, but it's a place full of wealth and with beautiful architecture, I live with my mom and my dad, they let me come to visit here because I can defend myself very well, and I also want to let them have time for themselves, you know how it is." He has a family then, probably much larger dragons, I wonder if his parents consider him able to defend himself, how strong is this creature?

"How strong are you then? You are very young, why do they consider you can defend yourself?" He looked at me with a confused face.

"Well I can lift twice my body weight and not be hindered in the slightest, but that's not what my parents meant when they said I can defend myself, thats just how strong i am, physically, I'm not exactly a fighter, I only play fight, but im far from defenseless." His smirk was a bit unsettling, it was not malicious but more of a challenge.

"I-i don't think I want to get a demonstration on that, let's get you ready for the X-ray, I'll need you to come and stand here, if you can, stand on your hind legs and stay like that, I'll prepare the machine."

He nodded and I went to setting up the detectors on the wall behind him, then turned on the labs computer and went to plug the x ray machine, then set it up.

Once ready I called him over and he slid off the bed and jumped down from it, walking over and standing where I told him, going on two legs, he looked very stable like that, almost like he could maintain that position for a while.

"Are you able to walk around on two legs?"

"I can, but I'm slower and I get tired faster like this, I am not exactly very active, I'm out of shape, I promised ma that I would start to work out when I hit puberty, but that hasn't happened yet."

"Yeah, it's better to start until puberty to do weight lifting, but maybe you should do some exercise and go outside more, play and run, I can only recommend that, I don't know much about your species but all animals are adapted to run and move often, you and me included, I bet."

"Yeah... You aren't wrong about that, I just focus too much on my studies and I don't have much time to go exercise, but I do already play often with friends, I love to play fight, do you know any humans who like doing sports here? Or play fighting? I would love to see who can beat me, and to play something fun with someone, what do you all do here for fun?"
He was a chatty kid for an alien, I didn't want to put him in a fight so I recommended something less dangerous.

"They have this... Games every few days, today I think there is a game session programmed, I don't know much about this game but I think it has something to do with dragons, maybe you could have fun there? I can take you there if you want to, once the test are done, now stay very still and don't speak."

He did as I told him and I started to take x rays. I took one of his head, one of his shoulder, one of his chest and one of his belly, but I was curious.

"Do you mind if I take an x ray of your... Private area? It would help greatly in understanding your species, at least your full biology, I will personally assure that it's not taken out of a purely scientific context, it's not like x rays will give us much detail but it can begin painting a picture of your anatomy so that maybe we can learn something from.
With time and your samples."

He seemed to consider it, but nodded.

"Fine, I'm curious to see what I'm like inside too, so I'll accept and allow this as long as I can look over the x-rays."

"Sounds like a fair deal to me, now stay still I'll take the last picture then."

After we were done we both went to the computer and I started to check the files generated, I chose patient's name as new and typed in Onyx.

Then I added all the new files, I opened the first x-ray, and right away I could see issues with it.
The scales were much denser than I expected, more dense than human bone, so it was already barely any information about the internal organs and tissues, the only thing you could make out was the bones, who were much denser than even the scales, they were solid white, between the bones you could make out faintly outlines of organs, two hearts, three lungs, no diaphragm.

"How fascinating, you have two hearts and three lungs! I have never seen anything like this... I don't even know how this even works, the lungs don't have a diaphragm to inflate and deflate them, do they have some other system?" It was hard to tell, the x rays didn't penetrate well enough for higher resolution.

"It makes sense that I have three lungs, I have a certain power that would requiere an extra lung, but I won't say what" He said cryptically, he was just trying to confuse me, wasn't he?

"It's fine, let's see the head X-ray, and here... What? It's... Oh, the bone blocked the x-ray, how are your bones so dense? Do you eat rocks or metal? Because I don't know what else could be causing this bone density, it makes no sense! All of your bones completely block X-rays."

"As a matter of fact, I do eat rocks and metal, I mean... Metal I rarely eat but I can have a treat now and then, right? Metal is less crunchy and more chewy, and tastes blander than gems, but it's not bad." What?! Okay this was... Really concerning, I better don't tempt him with the machinery here, there weren't many replacement parts.

"O-okay but please don't eat any of the metal here, this medical equipment is not easy to get all the way here."

"Fine, I wasn't hungry yet anyways." He said a little grumpy, but then went back to his neutral expression.

"Let's see, shoulder x ray, oddly similar to a human, looks more sturdy, but not much different, an x-ray isn't the best way to check this, but it's a start."

"The stomach looks slightly different, thicker walls, intestines look like they're longer, and also thicker, is that... Oh right, you eat metal and rocks, of course there will be pulverized by the point it reaches here, okay moving on, the last X-ray."

"This is interesting, i don't know much about internal reproductive systems, but as you can see, everything's internal, as you are covered in scales this makes sense, an animal biologist would know more about this, but all the same glands humans have are there."

"Oh, so that's where they are... I wondered where my balls were all this time, well, we're done here right?" He said impatiently, he probably wanted to go watch this game.

POV shift Onyx

While the tests and x-rays and all of that was interesting to see, I felt I had enough for today, at least now I knew where my balls had gone, always good to know I hadn't lost them somehow when i was reborn as a dragon.

I gently pushed the doctor along so he can tell Jess where to take me to see this game, he looked shocked at first but then realized I was just trying to push him to the exit.

"Let's go, the girl that accompanied me here will take me to the game room, you just tell her where, then go back to your test results and send them to whoever you want, just don't get me in too much trouble, okay?" He nodded, then walked faster, getting me to the door.

"Hey Jes, sorry for the wait, I've tested as much as he let me, for now it will be enough to reassure the others that he's safe, I'll go to make the announcement once ive compiled the info and made a file on him, I know a few things now at least."

I suppose that would be a great help for me.

"Thank you doctor Sam, you are doing me a big favor, I won't forget it!" I approached him and lifted my head, giving his a warm smile.

"May I hug you sir? I will need to stand on two legs for that..." I said just in case, I didn't want to scare him or get into his personal space unannounced.

"Okay sure, you've been well behaved for a 9 year old alien kid, come here" he smiles and opens his arms for a hug, stand on my hind legs and hug him gently, he hugs me and pats me on the back.

After a few seconds we both move back.

"That was adorable! You really are not just a group hallucination huh Onyx?" Jessica said as we hugged, I turned to her and she smiled at me, seemingly feeling a bit more calm around me.

"Of course not, I'm an alien! Ask Sam if you don't believe me." She stared at me with an 'are you serious?' expression on her face.

"I'm afraid he is telling the truth Jes, he is... An animal, but not of any type I can think, there are things that just don't make sense for any of the animal kingdoms, his body temperature by itself already is impossible to explain for me, it's too low, as in... Artificially low, it regulates itself to be this low, like you or me regulate ourselves to be 36c, he has three lungs, two hearts, and apparently eats gemstones and metals!" Each word made Jes more and more confused, but at least she didn't look scared.

"When everyone is gathered I may tell you more about me, but I don't feel like explaining a dozen or more times to each person about myself, so... Sam, inform the rest of the humans, meanwhile Jes take me to the game being held now, Sam told me there's a game room where they play table games, I want to see!" I excitedly jumped a bit, but then realized it was too small in here to do this and didn't want to crash into any of the equipment.

"O-okay... I'll take you there, bye Sam! And do as he says, everyone will need to hear this." With that we left.

5 minutes later of walking, and we reached the game room, Jes left me at the door and went in to sit down and relax at the other side of the room behind a bookshelf, all while I just stared at the people inside.

There were 5 people, all playing a game, some were dressed up, one was an Indian man and had a wizard hat, the other one was white with black hair, had a hood, one of the guys was just dressed like normal, also a white guy with a short beard and the other had a martial art band on his head and looked latino, the one at the other end of the table, facing the other 4 people, was white, blonde hair, had thick looking glasses and short stubble on his face.

"Your turn Jack" The guy that was facing the others softly said.

I hid behind from view fully and decided I was gonna just take a moment to see what this man were doing, I used Invisibility on myself -20 mp and just went to the couch and sat down to see.

"My fighter will rush the Gnoll and attempt to slash it across the chest." Jack, I assumed, explained to the rest.

Jack rolls his eyes but smiles and throws two dice, it looks like a 20 sided dice and a 10 sided dice.

"16! Nice, plus proficiency plus strength bonus... 21.
The attack dice is... 5 plus the strength modifier is 3, no extra bonuses. So I deal 8 damage to the knoll by stabbing it in the chest, I end my turn."

"Yes, you cut across it's chest and its blood splashes on you, it has only 14 health remaining, your turn ends, now, Viktor, what do you do?" Interesting, this game seems like it's not made for kids, violent and simulating combat? I could perhaps try it sometime, I have a vague memory of seeing something like this in a tv show or movie in my old life, but I wasn't sure what it was or any other details, I had never played it after all, but what I'm seeing so far looks like they are having fun, if the smiles on their faces are any indication.

"Yes, my monk approaches from the left and attempts to use his staff to hit the foe in the head, and then a flurry of blows on the already stunned and wounded Gnoll." He grabs the two dice and rolls both.

"A 10, plus weapon proficiency, plus dex modifier, 15! Yes, now for the damage, oh, a 1 plus the dexterity modifier it's 4, not bad, now... Let's see for the flurry of blows." He now rolls both dice twice in a row, this confused me for a few seconds.

Is he able to attack twice in a single turn? Or three times? How does that work? And why the other guy was only able to attack once? I need to ask them about all this, but at least I think I'm following along.

"A 13 and a 20! Yes natural 20! Now let's see the damage... First hit deals one four side dice, and it's 3 plus 3 from my dex modifier, in total the first unarmed hit deals 6 damage, the second is two d4's
Hmm 1 and 4 plus 3, I deal 8 critical hit, boom, one less Gnoll."

He's right, the Gnoll was already at 14 health and he hit it for 4 with the first attack, leaving it at 10, and the other left it at 4 hp, the last critical hit finished it off.

"Your devastating attacks break the bones of the monster, caving in it's skull and breaking it's neck, chunks of brian and bone fall off as it falls to the ground in a heap and blood starts to pool around its caved in head."

"Wow George, that's pretty brutal, cool!" Viktor, I believe, told the guy directing the game, I think he was sort of narrating what happened, but I wasn't sure he was directly playing. Now I knew his name was George.

"What did you expect? You landed a critical, your punch was very devastating and it definitively overkilled the Gnoll, but now it's the turn of the other Gnolls, they've watched their comrade get its head exploded in front of them and they're enraged, the one nearest to you Jack goes first, it tries to bite you with its powerful hyena like maw, lunging for your shoulder." George rolls two dice, one of them being a 4 sided dice.

Before he can announce his result, a loud noise came from the corners of the room, from speakers set up there.

"I have an announcement for all of you winterovers, you know me, I'm Sam, I wanted to say we have a guest on board during this time, come to the cafeteria and have a seat, there our guest will be heading now to meet with all of us, don't take too long, all of you should get to meet our visitor, and for you, Onyx, have someone take you there because I know you don't know the way, hurry up, see you there! Sam out." And with that, the announcement ended, leaving everyone in the room speechless and confused for a moment before they started to get up.

"I guess we will have to continue the game next time, it was fun while it lasted.
Thank you George for inviting us, hope next time we get to fight a Yeenoghu chosen or something like that." Viktor said excitedly, the rest agreed.

"I don't know if you guys are ready for that yet, the chosen are usually leaders of large packs and you're all low level still, but we will see, maybe you are, depends how next game goes and if you manage to defeat all the other Gnolls first and level up." They picked up everything and neatly packed it away in a box and the dice inside a little pouch that looked made for money or gems.

"Onyx? Where have you gone? You said you wanted to watch the game... Oh damn he must have ran off somewhere." Jess said as she came into the room looking for me everywhere.

Everyone looked at her, clearly none knew what she was talking about.

"Oh miss Meyer, something wrong? We've been pretty distracted and didn't realize you were here all this time, who are you looking for?" Viktor was the one to ask, I was unsure what I should do, reveal myself to everyone or... No, I'll wait for her to go looking for me and then I will get her alone, I don't want to cause a scene, I'll just wait.

Everyone but Jessica headed to the galley, she went to the hallway and started to look for me, going into random rooms, everyone was going to the indicated spot, so it was mostly empty now, no one around but the two of us, perfect!

I stand behind a doorframe and stop using invisibility, casually came out of it and called to her.

"Hey miss Jessica? Where is the cafeteria?" I asked innocently, she turned to look at me and had a worried frown on her face.

"Onyx! Where were you? I've looked for you for a while now, everyone must be there already, you said you would watch the game, but I didn't see you at the game room, what were you doing all this time?"

I looked sheepishly at her and scratched one of my horns.

"I was looking for food, I'm kinda hungry, can you... Help me find the place we have to go? The cafeteria? There's food there right?" I asked with a fake excited tone, but my act was too good, and I was also somewhat excited, but mostly nervous about all of this, I really wanted to know what this people would do, I was not afraid of them, I was afraid of hurting them too much, I didn't know what a stun spell would do to a human, in fact up until now I had not bothered to inspect them, maybe I should do that before anything else.

"You... Okay fine, let's go, follow me and don't get distracted with something else again, you'll get your food." I nodded and she turned and began to walk, turning once in a while to check I was still there.

'Inspect'

LvL 15 human female
100/100 HP
Cannot use magic
150/150 Stamina
Jessica Meyer - age 26

She is the engineer that performs diagnosis on the diesel generators of the south pole station, her main tasks are monitoring and and adjusting the parameters for optional energy production, and assuring the maintenance crew correctly address any issues immediately.

She likes to spend time with Frederick Smithfield, the chief technician aboard the south pole base, they are close friends and often share their free time together playing.

Perks

Human adaptability: this creature can change their environment drastically and as long as it's not hurting her she could eventually get used to it, as well as changing the diet or sleeping habits. This changes would kill many other creatures in this planet but for humans it's just an inconvenience.

Human Ingenuity: this creature can make and use tools most creatures would struggle to even comprehend, also can learn to make tools and improve them.

Weaknesses and resistances: none

Condition immunities: none

Skills: Persuasion.

STR 10 / DEX 12 / CON 10 / INT 16 / WIS 12 / CHA 14

Oh very interesting, so humans have less hp by average than ponies and they lack magic, but they aren't half bad on other aspects, they have good stamina, probably just as much as some ponies, and this woman doesn't look very athletic.

It was good to have a point of reference for humans, of course I knew everyone would be a bit different, but the perks probably would be the same, if maybe an extra one or two, they could probably be dangerous under the right conditions, like armed and armored properly.

And I knew first hand how dangerous human weapons were, I can still remember that day, at least I didn't feel much pain when I died.

I was lost in my thoughts again, and ran face first into her, unfortunately I ran snout first into her ass, I quickly jumped back and looked at her, she glared at me.

"I'm sorry! You were going so fast and I was lost in though and I didn't realize you stopped!" I apologized while looking embarrassed, covering my snout and looking at the floor.

Sometimes overthinking was strong enough to ignore even my sense of blindsight, at least I didn't have a propensity to overthinking during combat situations, now THAT would suck.

"You don't touch humans there Onyx, that's very inappropriate!" Her glare softened but she still had a serious expression.

"You're forgiven because you didn't do it on purpose, but next time I won't just accept the accident excuse you hear? Well... We're here, please try to not make a scene, follow me in and don't say anything until the others introduce you first."
I nodded, suddenly feeling a bit anxious, I probably had too much energy.

"Is it a bad time to say I'm kind of nervous about speaking to so many people?" I asked softly, my tail swaying nervously.

"There's not that many of us, only 35 people stayed this winter, barely enough to keep this station functioning, you probably could get to know all of them in a single week here, you're worrying too much for a dragon, aren't you supposed to be proud and confident?"

I didn't know how to answer to that, I don't usually think anything like that. I was not going to question her, I suppose acting like that was the best thing I could do now.

I followed her and just tried to not look around so much, I tried to look proud and sure of myself, walking straight and keeping my head held high, but I was feeling the nerves, she was right, there weren't that many people here, only a few tables and they were sitting down, some were eating and a few were just talking, but everyone went quiet when I came in.

This room was clearly the galley, or in other words cafeteria, there was about 5 tables, one was only half full, yes there was about 35 people only, there were several windows with view to the outside, the storm was raging still, I couldn't tell if it was still as severe but it was definitively bad.

To the end of the cafeteria there was a coffee bar, the kitchen itself to the left, and many trays where someone could just walk and serve themselves their preferred food.

As I approached the coffee bar, where Sam and Frederick were sitting down, I felt a slight bit of comfort to seeing their familiar faces, they smiled and gave me a nod.

Jessica approached them and sat down on the other seat closest to them, I was left just standing there, unsure as to what to do while everyone else was pointing at me and talking among themselves, I could hear theories, some silly while others confusing, a few were even right

"Hey Onyx! You decided to show up finally? Do you want something to eat?" Sam asked, a friendly smile on his face.

"Yeah I do, but what about all this people? Should I talk to them?"

"Well obviously, we all came here to meet you, and eat lunch of course, go introduce yourself to everyone or have lunch first, it's your choice, if you have any questions or need help with something, tell me and I'll see what I can do." I could think of something, but he had probably already explained to them about me.

"It's okay, I'll try to stand up for myself for one and talk, it's just... I'm not used to crowds, while this isn't that bad, it's still... No, I'm going to do it, right now, wish me luck." And with that I walked to the approximate middle distance between the tables and spoke out loud.

"Hello, everyone! I know you've heard of me, I'm the guest that Sam was talking about.
I'm the visitor who snuck into the station after coming from that bright light outside, if you want to tell or ask me something, im willing to answer, but please one at a time, and if you already had someone else ask the same then don't ask again, okay? Just raise your hand and I'll go and pick you."

Everyone was quiet for a moment and looked at me with curiosity, but also doubt a few faces were harder to read but looked upset or fearful.

Many raised their hands, and I pointed at one who was in the closest table to me.

"Why did you get inside our station?" The man asked in a serious but not aggressive tone.

"There is two reasons, but think of this example, if you travel a desert and you come across a house you think is safe, where you find refuge from the elements, and maybe even food and water, would you ignore it and keep going or stay and maybe ask for help to those living in it? I also was curious as to why someone would make a large house like this, to live in this place." With my answer given many arms were lowered but some remaining.

The man seemed satisfied with the answer and nodded, I turned to another person, a woman with black long hair, pointed at her and she nodded.

"Are you interested in anything from us? What do you want from us?" Many of the people here looked very intently at me, this question was an excellent one.

"In a way, I wanted to test if I could travel here, it was an experiment to come in the first place, of course it was successful, and for what I want? I want to trade for some things I don't have, for example, I know you have rice, and coffee, I want that, and maybe play games and sports? But now I want to eat and maybe take a nap."

"Why do you want rice and coffee? I suppose you don't have them where you come from?" The same girl asked.

"No, not that I know off, but I know they exist here, and I want them! I won't take too much, but if I could I'd like a few kilos of both." Some people seemed satisfied with my answer, some lowered their hands too, now there was only a few left with questions.

The next I let ask a question was one of the guys from the game earlier, he has removed his wizard hat and was just dressed normally now.

"Hey, I wanted to ask what do you think about humans? and why you seem to know so much about us, including our language, what we have and what we don't, you even sound like one of us, you have a bit of an accent sure, but it's hard to pin down."

Now that was a difficult question to answer without revealing a lot about my past, what do I say? Do I just lie? I told mom I would follow some values, but I didn't want to be telling them secrets not even my dad knew about. Refusing to talk about a topic was not lying, it was within my rights.

"I'm going to be honest and just admit I don't want to answer most of that question, I could just lie and say something cryptic, but I'll just say I refuse those questions, and move onto my opinion on humans.
Very high potential for both good and bad, your creativity is unmatched and your talent for technology and for applying that technology is amazing, specially when it comes to weapons, industry and medicine."

A couple of hands lowered as they either knew I wouldn't answer their questions or already had them answered.

I pointed to only one of two remaining ones, a man with glasses.

"Hey, okay my question is, if you were to choose a place to go in our world, where would it be? You probably know where you are and how little there is so... Where?" Oh a good question!

"I had not though much about it, but I'd probably pick some place with a nice coastline, but not too hot, I don't like heat, so maybe not the tropics, I also wanted to be near civilization so I could go to the movies or ideally have a large tv with good speakers so I could watch series and movies with my family and even friends the day we got tired of going to swim at the sea or the beach, but for them, maybe I'd go to the tropics just so they're more comfortable..." I realized I was focusing too much oh myself, while my friends and family would probably prefer to swim in less freezing cold waters, I could endure a little heat for them, I could.

He nodded, satisfied with the answer, time for the last question, she as a girl again, had black hair as well with a ponytail, and looked around her 25 in age, just a guess.

"Oh I'm the only one left, my question is more personal, what are your parents like? What do they look like and how are their personalities, how would you describe them?" Yes, this was a very personal question but... I suppose them knowing about my parents was not endangering them in any way, they were one dimension away after all.

"I'll answer this, as a show of trust, I hope you all don't make me regret. My parents are not of my species, as far as I know my biological parents were driven away or abandoned my nest, or just left me there alone, in a cave. I have adoptive parents, my mom who is a sapient black wolf, a bit taller than one of your males in height." Many of them seemed confused at the thought of a sapient wolf, let alone one so large.

"And recently I have had an addition to my family, my mom has gotten a mate, they have bonded and my mom is pregnant now, she's been pregnant for I'd say about half a year, my now adoptive father is a sapient unicorn stallion." A few laughs were heard and people talking amongst each other, I groaned and shook my head in disappointment.

A few hands shot up with new questions, I pointed to someone at random, looking at them with a frown.

"You mean that your dad is a unicorn? Really? And how did he and your wolf mom even conceive? I'm not an expert in biology but I don't think that's how it works..." Honestly that was a really good question.

"Yes he is, trust me, I have not a single idea about how it even works, I think I could have a theory but I'm not about to reveal it, it's one of the topics i don't want to talk about." He nodded and I moved on to the next, it was one of the guys from the table game again, George I believe?

"So if there are unicorns you must be implying the existence of... Magic where you come from then? I can deduce that could explain a few very obvious things about all of this."

I could now hide my cringe at his correct deduction, not because he was wrong but because he hit the nail right in the head, I really didn't want to tell them I had magic, or even the fact it existed, refusing to answer would only confirm it in everyone's heads.
I suppose I could tell the truth to an extent, but first ask for clarification.

"What do you mean? What have you deduced and what's the obvious?"

"Oh it's simple, you arrived from that bright light, but you didn't come right away here, so you must have not known the base was here, if you had used a spaceship you could have probably seen the base from above using the sensors, so my theory is that you opened a portal with magic, you also don't have any equipment with you, if you were an alien I would have expected some kind of environmental suit, weapons, maybe a few drones to support you, the works."

I didn't give this human enough credit, he had me figured out.

"But you strolled right in, as naked as the day you hatched, holding not even a jacket to stop the cold, why would you need any of that? You're able to use magic, aren't you?"

I glared at him, he just smirked, confidently, I could try lying and tricking them with some made up facts like saying my spaceship was invisible or some other bs but I just nodded barely, this got gasps out of many people, probably wondering what I could do, many raised their hands, I groaned, my stomach did too, I wanted to eat and also punch that George guy in the face for blowing my cover, damn know-it-all.

"I will not speak about that, but yes that light was my doing as I told doctor Samuel, I arrived from it."

"Now if you excuse me, I'm done answering your questions and I'm going to get some food, im starving." A few disappointed groans I could hear from those who had not had their new questions answered were my response.

I turned and walked a bit towards the food trays, grabbed a plate from the pile and standing on two legs, I started to look for something appetizing, I saw mashed potato, added a bit of that, some sort of beef stew? Yeah that looks good, probably the only place where I could get beef stew again.
A few roasted veggies and some bean salad, a surprisingly varied meal, I smiled as I saw my full plate of food, I grabbed a slice of bread and knife and fork, and headed for the only half empty table.

"Can I sit here? Excuse me." I asked and approached the nearest seat.

Oh right, that was the guy who told everyone I had magic, he was sitting across from me, I wasn't angry at him, i knew magic existed here, as a concept or idea, maybe it was real but just not usable by this humans, he smiled at me.

"Yeah sit, you don't even need to ask, we all share this space and you're also here, it's good that you're respectful by asking, my name is Viktor, nice to meet you, I'm the radio operator." The man next to me said in a deep but kind voice, he offered his right hand for a handshake and I placed my plate on the table and shook his hand, standing on three legs, his grip was firm but I returned the gesture by squeezing him even further, he seemed surprised but a big smile spread across his face.

"Oh you're STRONG strong, aren't you?" I smiled feeling pretty confident.

"Yes, that's not even a fraction of my strength, and I haven't even reached puberty yet, you do look pretty strong for a human too, do you work out?" I asked him, looking him over at his muscular arms, shoulders and neck.

"I do, three times a week, you know maybe you could join us at the gym later, could be interesting to see what you can do." I thought about it, I was probably too young to work out seriously, but a bit of light training wouldn't hurt.

"Sure, I haven't gone to a gym ever, so you'll have to be patient, also, weren't you playing that game earlier with the other guys at the table?" He nodded, his face amused by my question.

"Yeah, how do you know? Ohh, maybe you were hiding nearby? I heard Jes looking for you, you prankster, you made her worry, but I'm glad she found you in the end and brought you here. Also that game we were playing was dungeons and dragons, you'd probably love it!" I've heard that name before being mentioned, but where? Some tv show or movie probably, maybe around the internet? I'm not sure.

"It looked like fun, but I was confused by a lot of things, the dice rolling for example... well I better start to eat, i haven't had any food all day." With that he nodded and I dug in, the flavor of the beef stew was delicious, it brought back memories, old and buried, of family food, of my parents, my old ones, I forced myself to think of something else.

The storm outside was a good distraction, as it raged on. The faint noise of the wind like an eerie whistle that could be heard even inside the galley, it was like being in a submarine underwater, in a way, probably a bit more spacious.

The food was soon devoured, I used a fork this time, not even bothering with the knife, the osobuco stew, I realized it was, was absolutely perfect, the other side meals were pretty good too, but mashed potatoes with this stew was a winner combination.

I let out a small burp and cover my snout, forgetting im not home, a bit embarrassed I look around and see some people chuckle.

"Oops, excuse me. The food was so delicious! Specially the stew, my compliments to the chef!"

"Thank you!" I wave and he waves back at me with a friendly smile, middle aged, Mediterranean man with a trimmed beard and short brown hair.

"You're the best dude! Love the food." With that I get up and take the plate to the washing area near the exit, then I come back and sit next to Sam.

"So, Sam sorry to bother you, but you know where I can go to take a nap?" He turns around and nods.

"Sure, follow me, there is a lot of empty rooms during winter, I'll take you to one, now that everyone knows about you and has more or less accepted your presence, you can stay here and do your thing, as long as you don't break anything or cause trouble, oh look, the storm seems to be slowly moving away, good news for us huh?" I saw he was right, the wind was slowing down and the blizzard was not as loud as before.

I followed him, but quickly we arrived at a section of the station where there was a bathroom to the side and a door that led into another smaller corridor, one after another, a few dozen doors in it.

We reached an empty one that read B-36

"You must wonder what this means, well B is the section and the number is the room number, section B and number 36 that's it, simple and easy to understand, right?"

"You're right doc, thank you, it's pretty easy to get, can I check out the room? Thank you for letting me stay here, otherwise I would have had to stay outside in the storms." He looked horrified at the idea, shaking his head.

"No way! I wouldn't let anyone have to stay outside for any reason, it's too dangerous, in this weather a person would die in a few minutes out there from hypothermia, and probably freeze solid in an hour or less."

"Yeah, but I'm not bothered by it, it's just hard to see, the cold however doesn't really affect me, for me it feels like walking outside during a windy day and that's it." He scratched his head, not sure how to respond to that, but he shook his head again, more sure of himself.

"I don't care if you are fine with the cold, you'll still be more comfortable in here than out there, trust me, it's hard to sleep with the noise and wind outside, I bet." He made good points, too strong wind could blow my tent right off if I didn't secure it properly, and doing that in the ice and snow was next to impossible.

"Hmm okay you make a good point, now imma go sleep in here." I open the door and head inside, it's quite small but I hope enough to curl into my usual sleeping position that looks like a croissant.

I approach the bed and lay down on my side, using my tail as a comfy pillow, perfect hardness for me.

Sam closes the door and turns the light off and I start to drift off to sleep, having a full belly and a comfy spot, made drifting off quite easy.

Chapter 33 Quiet before the storm

Spy satellite ground station, Washington DC - exact location classified. POV Javier Conti, Analysis department head.

I approached the small office at the end of the long corridor, carrying a folder full of information. The office has two guards and a man sitting behind a desk, dressed in a military officer suit.

"Captain Neumann, we have a file we compiled about an anomaly never before seen, that I believe you may be interested in reading it, I'll explain anything that you have doubts on."

"Please Mr. Conti, take a seat, this job is boring at best, anything you bring me that your team deems interesting is worth looking into, let me read over this report and then ask any questions I have."

"Yes sir, take your time." There was silence as the old man read over the papers, his eyes looked intrigued and a bit excited at seeing something like this.

A few minutes passed in silence, pages were flipped over, it was not a large file, the information was mostly theories and readings of the satellite's sensor, but even then there was large amounts of margin of error because of the large storm around the area.

Finally after he was done he left the information on the table and looked at me with some confusion.

"What was even that? Why would a ball of light bright enough to be confused by our satellite for a weapons test just suddenly appear at the south pole? And why was it so colorful? Maybe lighting of some kind we haven't seen yet? Clearly not the aurora, right? Its too bright, the satelite would not have even bothered to scan it if it was just southern boreal lights." His thoughts mirrored my own, something weird was going on here, but he wasn't done.

"It's a few hundred meters away from the Amundsen-Scott station, there are thirty five souls in that base Javier, was there any danger to that light? Did the satellite detect any gamma or x-ray coming from it?" The concern in his voice made me realize how serious this situation could have been.

"No, our sensors haven't detected any high energy particles, but we did detect a shockwave at the point of origin, it was not too large, around the equivalent of a dozen kilograms of C4, the blizzard absorbed most of the shockwave and the people at the base probably only heard a loud, window rattling boom, by our estimations, also it was clearly not at ground level, if it was our seismographs would have detected it much further away." He looked visibly relaxed at that, but still confused and concerned.

"I think we should investigate, an explosion like that is surely some weapon test from another nation, or maybe a harmless natural phenomena, we can't know until we send a team, we need to monitor and contact the base, ask them what they saw and if anyone is experienced any ill effects after that, it's better to be sure, better safe than sorry, when do you think we can send a hazmat team? We will need them guarded too, I'll contact the marine corps, a well trained team for this conditions, specialized winter gear, we will need to bring the base supplies too, since they will be receiving about two dozen more men in short notice." This was probably for the best, we needed to figure out if this was a weapon test.

But the storm, it was slowly moving away but it would take maybe a full day to be safe to send planes.

"I think with the current wind direction and speed, it will take about a day for us to have a clear corridor to the base, the winds are blowing it away to the pacific as we speak."

"Good, then I better get making calls and asking for favors, I hope the higher ups care enough about that place to accept sending some of our men check up on them."

I couldn't agree more, I hope we can at least learn who caused this.

"For now I'll contact HQ and get them to check up on the base via Iridium Phone, once the storm moves away somewhat, they'll get reception from the satellite, hopefully in a few hours."

Four hours later back at South Pole station. 3rd person POV

Everyone was at their posts after lunch, the radio operator Viktor received a call from his higher ups, explaining that a satellite had photographed a bright light near them, and wanted to send a team to investigate.

"Excuse me sir, I have something to inform, we have received a sudden guest that claims to have arrived here from the light, I think you should send some xenobiologist to help us learn more about this creature, the being calls himself Onyx, and says he's a dragon, it sounds absurd, I know, no no, I'm not joking."

An angry sounding voice could be heard from the other end, demanding truth and proof, clearly not believing the radio operator.

"I have the file on him right here sir, all of the base has been introduced and spoke to him, yes yes he can speak, he's clearly sapient and smart, he claims to be 9 years of age, and sounds exactly like a child would, maybe sounds a big older when it comes to the words he uses."

The person at the other end sometimes stopped him to ask questions but allowed him to finish his report, the file on Onyx had been already digitalized and was being sent, as the storm had lessened enough for the satellite to be able to receive and send signals now, but it was still slow.

"You don't need to worry sir, he seems friendly and has not done anything more than answer questions, eat a bit of our food, and then sleep, he acts just like a child his age would, he even told us about his parents and said he wants rice and coffee, as in... Bags of rice and bags of coffee because they don't have them at his world."

From the other end there was a lot of commotion, as if many voices were discussing something, then a single one answered.

"You must still remain vigilant, this creature sounds extremely dangerous if it can cause such explosions, we will need to prepare a larger group, have at least 40 rooms ready for our troops, we may need them, and make sure to not anger it, if something bad happens, please call us immediately and inform, we will send our forces there as soon as the storm lessens and planes can fly in, if you can, have some crew go clear the snow fron the runway, and dont worry about the supply, we will bring you extra for you and our troops too."

"But general sir... Isn't that a bit much? You may scare him, he said he just wanted to stay a few weeks, he said he wanted to play with us some sports or even table games, I offered to take him to the gym, he's just like us, really!"

"For the love of god Viktor! You and I know that's just trying to get you all to let your guard down, we don't even know what this... thing is capable of! We must have it sedated, captured and placed in a lab to be studied, it could bring more of its kind to this world if we let it go free, did it tell you how it got here?"

"No sir, he said he didn't want to talk about that and we left it there, he did tell us about his parents, turns out they are different species, and not his biological parents either, but that doesn't matter, i think you should not try to capture him, he is really friendly and would probably even help you out if you ask him, its also our first chance to know more about an alien civilization!"

"If that thing is so friendly and helpful, why did it not reveal to you more when you asked about it's means of reaching this world? You really think it cares about you? It's probably just trying to learn more about us, find weaknesses and what he can exploit, you will see, our soldiers will capture it and stuff it inside a cage until we can ensure it's harmless, then we shall see."

"I recommend you reconsider sir, we need someone to help us understand him, not help us antagonize him, but I'll have the rooms ready, and inform you if he does something unexpected." Viktor has a resigned expression on his face, the file has been sent, and now received.

"I see, so he really is an alien, nothing alike a human or even a normal animal, extremely dense bones, two hearts, three lungs? And you're defending this monster Viktor? You should know better, you're a former marine for fucks sake! Don't forget that, you may not be serving now but a marine is always a marine."

"Yes sir, I know it sounds foolish but please send an expert, we can get so much out of this as a nation if we play our cards right, the things he could know... Or he could help us learn, there is endless possibilities!"

"We will send a xenobiologist, don't worry, but we will modify our mission parameters according to the information you have provided, this changes everything, stay safe Viktor, Washington out."

The call was ended, Viktor sighed sadly and hung the phone, this was not going to go well, but he had to inform about something like this to command, this was too much for them alone to handle, an alien certainly was something that would be a matter of national security, they were probably going to come and quarantine everything soon, he thought, but he shook his head and went back to his work, his job was to keep the information flowing from here to command in Washington, he had to stay here for now until they called, but first he needed to gather volunteers to help prepare the runway once the storm cleared.

Something Viktor had not thought about mentioning, for fear of being though as stupid or ridiculous, was the implication that Onyx could use magic.

POV Shift Onyx.

When I took my nap I had a really scary dream, I woke up scared and afraid, if I could sweat the bed would probably be drenched in it.

I had a nightmare, that I was sleeping and someone came over and stabbed me in my eyes and maw many times, and I was powerless to stop them, I couldn't move or even struggle, like as if I was a doll to be played with, I shivered, at times like this I wish I had come here with mom, she would hold me and tell me everything was going to be okay, and she would be there to protect me from anything, but I'd never ask her to risk herself during her pregnancy.

I decided from now on, I wouldn't sleep without locking the door first, there was a useful spell for that, sure it wouldn't stop someone from simply breaking the thin door, but they would at least not be able to sneakily pick it and enter, I didn't want to get caught with my figurative pants down.

I yawned, stretching my legs forward and back, the bed may be small but at least it was somewhat long, humans were much taller than they were wide, at least the ones here.

I slowly got out of bed, I was weary after that dream, it felt so real, I blinked my eyes and made sure they were intact, and wiggled my tongue to see if I could still feel it and touched my fangs. Damn, what a horrible dream, and I already knew how it felt to lose my sight, I don't ever want to go through that again.

I headed out the corridor and into the only bathroom that they had, it's gonna be kind of difficult to use human bathrooms again.

Nevermind, telekinesis was amazing! I went to shower afterwards to fully clean myself, I loved about having my own telekinesis and just scrubbing myself with soap while I stretched and posed my body in the right ways to get all the hard to reach spots, using my own sponge from the washing kit I had in my Inventory.

I began to sing, smiling to myself, as the song came to my mind, it was an old song from back before I died, one of my favorites that came a few months before my last day, it came to my mind suddenly and I just felt right.

I remember
The hardest are the times I don't forget
Neverender
And all I was about to be
Cause I remember
The hardest of the times I don't forget
Like an ember
Burning oooon

As I kept showering I began to sing louder, feeling better and forgetting the dread that dream gave me, I felt my voice harmonize and I kept singing, repeating the start again, it was so catchy and my voice sounded so good in the shower, and despite the sad song I felt happier by singing it.

I'll be going
Over what I could have done
Had i known
At the time
Because iiii remember
The hardest of the times I don't forget
Neverender
And all I was about to be
Cause I remember
Neverender
And all I was about to promise

I felt as if the music was flowing through me, guiding my voice, my magic reacted to my voice, I could hear the beat and the instrumental part and it was like singing karaoke.

The time is upon us
I should have been honest
The pain in my heart
I remember the sharpest
It broke like a promise
I've fallen the hardest
Regret is the feeling that lingers the longest

As I repeated the last part while scrubbing my underside I felt someone approaching and head towards the showers, I didn't realize half my tail was poking outside the shower curtain because it was too damn long to fit inside, and while singing I had been moving it around inadvertently.

I expected someone to be near because the showers were of public use, but I didn't expect to get poked in the tail by a man in a towel, I let out a loud squeaky yelp of surprise, accidently squeezing the soap too hard in my telekinesis and sending it flying into the roof, where it splattered and stuck, then slowly it slid off and fell in top of me.

I quickly grabbed it and put it in its place, it wasn't mine, and finished washing myself as I was almost done, then turned off the water, I opened the curtain and glared at the man who looked at me with an annoyed expression.

"Hey, please stop wasting water!
Getting the water warm takes a lot of energy and you're supposed to wash yourself quickly in a few minutes, not take long showers while singing, also your tail is blocking the way to one of the toilets, be mindful of where you put it, there's only one bathroom for every guy on this sector you know?"

Oh, was I really that loud? I wanted to be upset, he had touched my tail like it was okay to do, but he was right, I had been wasting water, and blocking the toilet, now that I looked back my tail was in the way.

"Oh, oh gosh I... I'm not used to this, I'm sorry sir, you're right I've been focused more on singing than cleaning myself, I didn't realize my tail was getting in the way like that, but you startled me quite badly, i ask of you to not touch me out of nowhere like that again, you should instead let me know just by raising your voice, I also promise not to waste water again, does that sound fair?"

"Hmm... I don't know, just don't do something like this again, I don't know how it is back home but here we don't have infinite warm water, even keeping the water from freezing uses a lot of energy, you don't realize we are in one of the coldest places on Earth?"
I was being patronized at this point, I wouldn't mind being scolded but I already apologized and said my reason, I didn't need more of this, but just because I didn't want trouble I nodded and lowered my head.

"It won't happen again, I'll be going now, have a good shower." This seemed to be the right answer as the guy nodded and allowed me to pass, I had to watch where I put my tail better, like my body my tail had also gotten larger and probably grown more than my body.

"Bye, nice singing by the way! Stay out of trouble kiddo." The man said in a much friendlier voice, maybe he just wanted to teach me a lesson and wasn't actually mad, well... I suppose he is right in wanting to preserve the water, no point on whining about it to myself more, I was being wasteful.

I felt better anyways, despite the little scare, that little song was one of the last I heard as a human and being here, for some reason made me remember it, and how catchy it was, i smiled and walked while wondering if i could maybe get to listen to music, even get a phone or music player and speakers to have at home, but i had no way to power them, there was no electricity in Equestria, and I didn't have a spell to charge phones, im sure it was possible to design one, but electronics needed slow and gentle power over a longer time than just shocking them with a lightning bolt, which would most definitively made the battery explode.

Walking along the hallway I decided to do some exploring and headed towards the entrance I first arrived at, near it I think I haven't explored very much.

I walked straight across the long corridor, looking at the sights, a few items caught my attention and made me stop, mainly the collection of south pole markers that it looks like was changed every year, the last one read year 2031, there were many different shapes, most were beautiful in both design and construction, looking like gold, I didn't really know if it was gold but I didn't really care enough to try and scan them with my metal scan spell.

I was starting to get familiar with this place, it basically a long corridor with every room connected to it, not so difficult once you walked around here more than once.

It has been almost 9 years here too, it was not surprising really, I bet everything was different than back then when I was a man, but knowing humanity, it was probably just more advanced weapons and the same old problems.

I hoped I would never have to find out, i didn't do anything wrong anyways so I should not worry.

Reaching the end, I found an interesting room, with someone inside, it was Viktor! The friendly guy from earlier, once I saw him I walked over, he heard me right away as I approached, his face was... Hard to read, I wasn't sure if he was happy or not about me being here, this room looked like some sort of communication room, lots of computers and a few telephones, maybe this is where they communicated with the other stations in the south pole?

"Hey Viktor hello, nice to see you here. I went to explore and decided to come see this end of the base and here you are, hows your day going?" I gave him a friendly smile.

He sighed and looked at me with a sad smile, did I come at a bad time?

"Hey little guy, I'm at work now, I can't really play, but if you want to exercise or play, there is the gym right across from that door there." He pointed to the door a few meters away from here, almost in front of this room.

"And if you don't want to use work out machines, there is a large sports gym in the lower floor that has an entire volleyball sized field in it, but you can play anything you want there, I'm sure there's people there at both of those that will gladly help you get some equipment to play or exercise, and at the weightlifting room just ask for a spotter, and start light, okay? Don't go overboard and hurt yourself, you're only 9..." He looked sadly at me, what was up with him? He didn't look this upset and sad just a few hours ago at lunch, was he just bored from his job? I doubt it, he doesn't look bored, just upset about something.

"O-okay I will, but what's got you so down? You didn't look this sad during lunch, I hope you feel better soon, if you want to talk I'll be at the weight room." He nodded and didn't say more so I waved and he waved back, then I left.

His smile didn't return. I couldn't really help him much, maybe after his job we could have a chat.

I entered the weight room, there were a few people working out, some stared at me and some focused on finish their sets and then gave me a look, it was just curiosity, I didn't feel any malice in their gazes, I smiled stood on two legs, careful to not put my tail in anyone's way.

"Hey everyone! Sorry for interrupting, I just want to say that I never worked out and I'm going to try, I ask if any of you see me get trapped under some weight or something goes wrong, could you help me? I'd greatly appreciate that, please, and thank you for listening."

A few people nodded and looked surprised at my upright stance, but I went back to my four legged one, and headed to the bench press, laid on my back, carefully and tried to be as straight as possible, but my tail had to be curved and under the bench, my hind legs were having the hardest time bending down and touching the ground, but after some relaxing and trying again I was barely able to touch the ground with them.

I grabbed the barbell, it didn't have any disks on it, just the bar by itself, I tried to lift it, grabbing around with my toes and claws, I was surprised at how good of a grip i was getting, my claws helped in this, then i pushed up, it surprising how easy i was able to push it up, i smirked, this was pretty easy, like I was made for this.

I got up, careful to not hit my head on the barbell and went to the weight rack to find disks, those went on the ends, this was pretty intuitive, I grabbed two 25kg disks, placed one on each side, holding it in place with one claw, this would be much easier if I used my telekinesis but I didn't want to prove to everyone I could just yet, hopefully everyone thought I was kidding about magic existing.

I tried lifting again, but it felt just as light, was I doing this wrong? They barely weighted anything at all, i needed something heavier, I looked at the entire weight rack, wondering if I could lift that, there were about... 300, no 350 kg in it, in total, after I returned the weight I had taken and placed them it went up to 400 kilograms, now this was a real test, everyone stared at me in confusion as I stalker the weight racks looking for an angle to lift them, this was probably a bad idea, a very bad one.

I stood on my hind legs and grabbed the empty uppermost metal tubes that were empty as everyone was using the smallest disks and started to pull up, using my tail for stability as I pulled up with all my strength, slowly the rack started to lift off the ground.

I grunted with effort, my fangs bared as I did my best, very slowly lifting the entire thing, it was about leverage, I could lift it because I was braced against the ground and had the right angle to pull, right from the top, but I decided to lower it quickly because it was getting too much, it was not much of a deadlift, as my range of motion was just tiny.

Very slowly and carefully I lowered it until it touched the ground, thankfully the base was made of rubber and it didn't do a lot of noise.

I was left panting, but my body was fine, I could do it again, but I'd probably be sore tomorrow if I kept going, I didn't want to pull a muscle or something, one time was enough, and it was my record too.

I decided to stop and try something else, the it was good to see I was able to lift something about 3 and a half times my body weight, if even for a few seconds, but I needed to get stronger if I wanted to survive for long, knowing my situation.

I tried a few machines for legs, but my legs weren't human and didn't fit quite right in the mechanism, but then finally I found one that I could use more or less comfortably, it was the seated leg press, my tail was a bit uncomfortable and bent at an angle but I was able to finally exercise my legs, this time not being as naive as before, I went to fill the machine fully with the heaviest weight possible, basically using up all the large and medium plates, about 300kg.

I sat down and tried, and yes, I could, with some difficulty, I pushed my legs fully and unlocked the weights, now they were fully held up by my legs, I pushed up, I had to use a lot of effort, especially to push away once I lowered the weight close to my body, but I kept going, grunting and panting like a dog that had ran a marathon as I felt the burn on my legs, eventually when I felt I couldn't keep going I did one last effort and locked the machine, my legs were shaky, my body was feeling hot, I slowly and weakly crawled out from under the leg press, and grabbed the plates to take back to their rack.

This had been the hardest one so far, I could still feel my hearts beating fast, but I had a lot of plates to return.

"Are you okay? That was quite impressive... I've never seen anyone here press that much, or lift that much, you're Onyx right? I was at the cafeteria, I'm Leonard, I've been working out for years and yet I don't think I'm anywhere close to you, but I can see you're absolutely beat after that." Oh this man was talking to me? Yes, I was still sluggish specially my brain, after such a sudden and intense effort that I never really did before.

"I-i am a bit... Lightheaded, it's the first time I work out, I think I went too far with the hind legs press machine, but... I'm feeling better, my legs feel very wobbly tho, and I still have to re rack all those plates... Sorry if I don't answer very well, I'm struggling walk and think at the same time." I say while slowly taking a weight to the rack and returning, my legs visibly shaking, as I go back and forth, still panting from the work out.

"Oh no don't worry, I was gonna offer to take the weights back for you, you're already past your limit and doing that can be dangerous, just go and walk on the treadmill, slowly, let your legs stretch while you walk, that will help you." Oh thank the stars, this man was a saint!

"Oh are you sure? There's a lot of plates."

"Yes I'm sure kid, you're 9 right? A bit too young to be lifting but you aren't exactly human so I have no idea what to make of you, and you lifted almost half a ton, which is crazy impressive for a first timer, or for anyone! Well just go, we can keep talking while you walk and I do this, I'm taking it easy today so I'm not tired."

"Thank you sir... I owe you one..." I said tiredly and walked slowly, going to the treadmill, thankfully it was easy to figure out, just press start and keep the key on and turn the dial slowly to increase speed, it slowly starts accelerating to my walking speed, and I start to walk, it's not easy at first but my body adapts, my legs relaxing and going back to normal.

I end up walking for half an hour, then turn it off and walk slowly, I tested my limits today, I knew if I trained more every day I could become extremely strong.

I waved to the man who helped me, Leonard, he waved back and I left, not being able to sweat was both a blessing and a curse, my body was overheated from working out and I needed some cooling down, I felt steamy.

Checking no one was looking, I walked out into the airlock and closed the door behind me quietly, then opened the exterior door, the freezing cold wind was comforting in an almost instinctual way, I ran outside and closed the door behind me, the cold soothing my exhausted muscles. I ran down the stairs and then jumped belly first on the fresh snow, laying and rolling around in it, my legs and back were so hot that made the snow melt around me, as the heat dissipated through the scales like a large full body radiator.

Oh yess this was what I needed, a freezing cold shower or this, and this is colder so it's perfect!

While rolling around I saw something curious, there were people riding around in small vehicles that pushed aside the snow, they seemed to be making a sort of road in the ice, or was that already there before? Well they certainly were putting some effort judging by how they went back and forth doing that.

Was this the landing strip? Maybe now that the storm was no longer blowing snow around like crazy the base could get resources. It was, as always, night time but I could clearly see everything they were doing, the fact that the landing strip had lights along it's edges helped too.

While I watched with interest, I took my snack gemstones out of my inventory and the maple of eggs and started eating some, and crunching down on random small gems, they were cheap and had impurities that made them not qualify as jewel worthy, so you could buy them for cheapish, some even had bits of metal in them, extra flavor I'd say.

After all that exercise I definitively needed the protein and the minerals from both eggs and gems.

I ended up eating about a dozen raw eggs and then felt sleepy, so I headed inside once my body was cooled down fully, time to ask where I can listen to some music.

Pov Shift, third person.

In the south of Australia, in a joint military base between the ADF and the USMC, a special task force of soldiers wearing full heavy exoskeleton powered armor and carrying specialized tranquilizer rifles with enough potency to put an adult elephant to sleep in minutes was readying their gear, the planes they would need to take were small, so they couldn't bring any vehicles or robot support.

As their main weapon they were armed with the now widely used XM7 suppressed version, firing a deadly 6.8mm round that was effective against body armor, in case the creature they were trying to capture was too much trouble or deemed too dangerous to capture alive.

They also had knock out gas canisters, needles of sedative, night vision googles, thermal scopes and regular grenades in case of emergencies, but they were highly discouraged from using them for fear of damaging the station or killing civilians.

The plan was simple, enter the Amundsen-Scott south pole base, then secure any civilian and send them to the galley, where a team of 5 would assemble o protect them, then the rest would fan out would look for the target in groups of at least 4, always with another group nearby if they needed reinforcements.

The commander had also called in a Xenobiologist from Sydney who would join them as an expert, who along with an assistant, would help take samples and keep the specimen sedated and unconscious during the trip back to a military base, the Hazmat team that was first planned was scrapped when information about the creature was revealed.

The next morning they were landing at the station in three different civilian airplanes.

Chapter 34 Capture

That afternoon, after cooling down in the snow, I had asked for a place to listen to music, turns out they have a music room! Full of instruments and amazing studio quality speakers that I could play music in, I spent a few hours in there, listening to all my favorite music and checking new albums from my favorite musical bands, I just tapped my foot and nodded because dancing here with all of this instruments around was a recipe for disaster.

After a few hours of listening to music I had enough and went to a sort of store they had opened up for the day and traded for about 2kg of bomba rice, 2kg of japanese rice for sushi, 2kg of basmati rice, 2kg of arborio rice, 2kg of long grain brown rice that I hoped I could plant to produce a small crop of it.

Next i asked for any sort of spices I couldn't find back in Equestria, and there were a lot that I suspected came from nations that were not on friendly term with Equestria, so they just weren't available. I had a large variety of eastern cuisine spices, about full kg in total.

I also bought 2kg of Kenyan coffee, they were extremely surprised when I offered gold pieces to pay for everything, I told them to take them to the lab to test its purity, and they did.

It took hours but it was worth the 200 gp and the wait to be able to be able to cook rare dishes with this for my family, I could cook so many things now!

I ended up staying up late, looking at things to buy, then went to sleep after a quick visit to the bathroom.

The next morning, 7am POV joint task force 4
Major Bradford.

This mission was confusing from the start, deploying 20 spec ops to the middle of nowhere, along with 10 support crew and even a scientist, to the most remote and coldest place on earth, to find a single being who was supposedly an alien of some kind, this was ridiculous, but the mission was the mission.

"We are landing in 5 minutes Major" the pilot informed me, I nodded and addressed my troops on the radio so the ones in the other planes could hear.

"We do this with no casualties, do not shoot any person in the station, you hear? They are all UNARMED and they are almost all American, so only have your tranq rifles ready, this creature was informed to us to be more or less an alien lizard of about hip height, about 120 kg and long tail, it's nothing your exoskeletons can't handle, so most likely just by shooting a dart at it, then grappling it you'll have it well and truly pinned and restrained, understood?" They all had been briefed before but I prefer to go over the details at the last minute, made them clearer in their minds.

A chorus of 'yes sir' was my answer, good, we couldn't afford failure in this situation, high command deemed this target high priority.

"Gentleman, you must only switch to lethal if the creature becomes too much to handle, capturing it alive is the mission, but if your life is in danger you can switch to your guns, just don't go shooting it from the get go, or you'll get scolded back at base."

A few chuckles spread around the plane and were heard on the radio. Followed by acknowledgement.

"We will ask the scientist inside where the creature is hiding, but remember, they're allies."

Five minutes later, the plane landed and everyone was doing last minute checks, the powered exoskeleton was a big help with dealing with the extra load that carrying ammo and weapons had, making soldiers as agile as unarmored humans while wearing considerable protection and armament.

I slowly trudged through the deep snow towards the station, it was not far, he could see the entrance even in the dark polar night, me and the team have devised a two prong insertion, entering from both sides at the same time, so while he waited for the other team to walk from outside the station all around it, I checked my guns, and the hour, it was 7:10am
I hope this alien is asleep, it was lightly snowing so probably no one had heard the planes approach, hopefully not the creature we intended to capture, snow was good to absorb noise.

Five minutes later everyone was into position, i gave the signal the doors were opened and we entered, 10 from each side, their tranq rifles held aimed down, but they were primed and ready to shoot.

Team 2, the one on the other side of the station entering from the "beer can" had encountered civilians and told them to head to the galley, where most of the station were gathered.

A while later, while exploring the gymnasium i was informed that the creature was asleep at berthing pod 2, the middle one in the station, in room B-36.

This was what I wanted to hear, far easier picking up a lock and injecting a sleeping target than an awake and angry one, our team was divided in two, one group had secured the civilians and bringing them quietly to the cafeteria.

After a big if a walk, we reached the desired door, the berthing room, the sleeping area, a good number of people were still here but we couldn't risk evacuating them, it would make too much noise, we had to step quietly and silently around the small space, not more than one soldier at a time.

I changed my channel to the support team, the Xenobiologist had also come with us and had the cage ready right outside the door of the station, the cage was made of steel and large enough to fit a human, as the creature was believed to be about the same size when standing up, the support personnel had powered exoskeletons that allowed them to carry the cage between two of them without much issue, and it fit inside the plane too, just barely.

I was the first to reach the door, B-36 it looked just as plain as the others, I decided to look through the keyhole, and there it was, out target, hard to believe that i was seeing an alien, it looked like a god damn metal statue, but it was breathing, slowly its chest cavity rised and lowered, seemingly in a peaceful slumber.

Time to lockpick this shitty door.

I pulled the aptly called tactical lockpick, a bobby pin that was specially resilient and could bend many times without unlike a regular bobby pin, I began to attempt lock picking, this doors are extremely flimsy and probably have the shittiest locks, but as I started to wiggle the pins, trying to set them, I felt as if they were solid, I didn't feel them move at all, they were sort of glued to the lock, meaning this lock was badly jammed or simply broken.

Now of course I would have to break the door down, fuck, this is exactly what I wanted to prevent!

"Alright soldiers, change if plans, it looks like the door is locked, as in, it can't be picked, maybe it's stuck of had glue poured in the lock somehow, I'm gonna have to bust through the door, and get the target, now I want you to have your tranq rifles ready to fire, I'll try to break in and use the syringe to inject him, but I need some of you to try shooting darts on its ass while I pin it down, understood?" I whispered on the radio in our headset, everyone answered affirmative, I prepared and started counting down with my fingers from 5 seconds.

POV shift, Onyx

I was having a nice dream today, Shining, Cadence and I cuddling together in my bed, eating delicious fresh fruit from a plate I held in my telekinesis, and sharing with one another, it was wonderful, I caressed them on their soft fluffy tummies and backs, and they nuzzled my scaly neck and snout with adoration, I felt so happy, I could be like this every day.

In the dream, I saw the door to our room start to make noise, at first I dismissed it as just someone walking past, but then I heard a loud sudden boom, and my dream faded as my body was pumped with adrenaline, I blinked my eyes open and started to get up, but was suddenly pinned down by something heavy, something strong.

I must NOT USE MAGIC, even if I'm losing, I must not reveal my cards yet, unless I'm sure of victory!

It was grabbing me from behind, arm around my neck as it tried to stab me on the base of the neck with something pointy, but my scales only slightly bended, they didn't give way even to the extremely pointy object, which simply snapped as the... Was this a human? No, it was far too strong to be human, as the creature repeatedly tried to stab hard against my neck, it realized the futility of if and gave up, throwing away the weapon, and started to choke me instead.

I focused my mind fully on calming down and not resorting to my first instinct to use magic to fight, I didn't want to kill the people around and I didn't want them to know what I could or couldn't do just yet.

I was not defenseless, and despite having my neck squeezed, I could still breathe, just not as well.

I was glad I had a strong neck, my neck was used all the time, it was what I used to aim my magic after all.

It's best to let everybody know what's happening here, instead and also wake them up and make them distract the other soldiers.

"STOP THIS! YOU'RE HURTING ME! PLEASE STOP, WE CAN TALK, I SURRENDER PLEASE DONT KILL ME!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, making the creature behind me try to pull away, that scream left my vocal cords feeling sore, but now everyone here knew what was going on, at least the whole sleeping area.

"Shut up! You damn loud fucking monster!" I suddenly felt a very strong punch on the left side of my head.

Onyx has taken 10 damage!

It made my ear bleed and my left eye stung, but it was still whole, I could still see well.

"Why?! What did I even do to you? I was just sleeping! Who are you?" I asked not as loudly, but still loud enough for some people nearby to hear.

Another punch was my answer, this one was harder.

Onyx has taken 15 damage!

I cringed and let out a cry of pain, if he kept at it I was gonna lose my eye!
Was this guy trying to knock me unconscious?! This wouldn't do, I needed to get away, I think I'll have to hurt him, I didn't want to but he isn't giving me much options, I wasn't about to use magic and reveal it to my enemies, I would have to kill them all if I did.

"Stop hitting me, please? I surrender, just tell me what you want! I don't want to fi-"

A bang was my answer I felt something bounce off my scaly butt and like as if something had poked me on the right flank, I couldn't see much what was attacking me as I was still in a chokehold, unable to move my head.

"It's useless! Come here and stab it in the mouth or the eyes, it's the only soft spot this thing has, quickly!" What?! No no NO!

NO WAY I WILL LET THEM STAB MY EYES OUT!

A loud roar escapes my maw and I stand up, putting all my effort into lifting this monster, then I jump with all my might backwards, slamming him against the ceiling and wall, breaking the interior wall, the ceiling was solid steel and held, but the man on top of me still didn't let go, just letting out a pained cry as I started to go wild, jumping and trying my best to get him off from under me, I ran into walls and shook my body, tried to jump and land on my back, but he was not bothered by my weight landing on him, I was too light.

Human soldier has taken 15 damage!

Body slamming someone like this, it didn't do much, what were this people wearing? A normal person wouldn't just be fine after having 120 kilograms slamming them against the roof or walls full force.

"Stop at once! I don't want to hurt any of you! But you keep attacking, you leave me no choice but to fight back!"

I was about to get punched again, but I saw it coming and slammed my head up as hard as I could against the helmet of the man above me, I heard a shattering of something, probably glass or ceramic, satisfied by this I tried headbutting again, but the hand that was trying to punch me held my head down instead, I used my tail and swung it around wildly, what I did not realize was one of the other man wearing this monstrously strong armor, had moved in front of me with his rifle aimed right at my eye, I saw it at the last instant and lifted my head, instead of hitting my eye it got into my maw, the dart didn't bounce off this time.
It stung a whole lot, and made me incredibly angry.

Somnolent detected in the bloodstream.

"I got a dart in sir! Just keep holding it for a minute!" The soldier exclaimed, making me roar in anger again, I spit out the dart.

I lunged and bit his had while he switching weapons, not giving him time to react.
The hand seemed to have lighter armor, as it broke under my bite force with ease, I felt his hand break along with the armor on the glove and let go of it.

Human soldier has taken 10 damage! Hand crippled.

He let out a loud scream that made everyone else focus on him, while i rushed towards the emergency door at the end of the hallway, the fucker still holding me, he would not let go of no matter what.

I ran into the door at full speed, then at the last moment jumped and crashed into it with my body sideways, but just right at the angle to make him absorb all the impact against the reinforced door.

Human soldier took 25 damage!

"Agh! Motherfucker!" He yelled at me, I could feel some of his blood falling on the back of my head, as he spit blood from the impact. It was good to know I did some damage.

Our momentum was enough to break off the mechanism holding it locked, it opened up to the outside, chilly air coming and washing over me, I ran into the snow and ice, but something was wrong.

I was starting to feel oddly sleepy, didn't I just woke up? Oh, it was so cold and cozy out here...

What? No! I need to run! I could use a small nap first, what am I thinking? I need to escape!

"W-what did you... do?" I asked weakly to the man, he was still holding my head and neck, with both arms to prevent me from slamming my head against his, my eyes were struggling to remain open, my muscles were weakening, I stopped struggling, my neck relaxed, and so did my limbs.

"It was just a sleeping dart designed to work extra fast, you held on a long time for someone of your small size, monster."

"... You... Suck..." Those were the last things I said before darkness took over me in a dreamless sleep.

Chapter 35 Containment Breach

POV Major Bradford.

Another success, this capture was hard fought, I was surprised by the little monster, first of all I wasn't informed it could speak, and I didn't expect it to sound like a fucking 10 year old child, he even tried to surrender, too bad the mission's parameters said we had to sedate it fully.

I stared at it as it slept, looking peaceful like a dog, I still couldn't believe it had managed to do so much damage at such a small size, I winced in pain, starting to feel the adrenaline run out, the pain was barely tolerable, I was sure I had broken a few ribs and maybe had bruised lungs, as I was coughing some blood.

"Bradford here, I have the target, but I'm going to need some help, send the medics and one of you maggots to pick up this thing, it gave me a good fuckin thrashing before it went to sleep." I announced with some difficulty.

"Yes sir, coming sir" they all answered in unison and one of them stepped forward, Ramirez was always the helpful one.

I waited for him to run over and pick up the target, bringing it to the main door, through the interior of the base.

Many of the soldiers had to intervene to prevent civilians from approaching, they were furious, insulting and calling us child murderers.

I had to talk to them, even in my state, I couldn't let them call my men that! Who the fuck do this civvies think they are?

I pushed my way through and approached the group of men and women standing there with a look of disdain, grief and hate directed at us, specially at me, once they saw me.

"What the fuck is going on here? We came here to save you and this is how you react? You have no respect for our troops, aren't you American?!" I ask them all in a loud voice, quieting them down for a second, but a short hair blonde chic steps forward and glares at me.

"You didn't save us you horrible murderers! You killed him?! He was nothing but sweet and friendly towards us for a whole day, he even told us about his home, his family, we shared lunch together for fucks sake! He was not human, yes, but he was a better person than you ever will, child murderer!" Who the fuck was this bitch? Why was she so angry over the little alien?

"First of all, we didn't kill him, we sedated him! Second, who the fuck are you? And why do you support an alien over our own species? That thing was dangerous, it almost killed me, if we hadn't managed to sedate it who knows what it would have done? It broke one of the outside doors open and now it needs to be held to keep the station from freezing over!" Her glare softened, but she still was glaring and clearly angry, along with everyone besides her, there were at least half the people in the station, 20 have come to protest us.

"O-oh thank god! My name is Jessica Meyers.
But you really should release him, he didn't do anything wrong, you just scared him when you attacked him, we heard him scream for you to stop, but you didn't! He just wanted to visit us... I apologize for calling your man and you a child murderer, but please release him, we won't say anything about what happened here, we won't even talk about him!"

Before I could answer she begged.

"Please, all the people here just want to ask for him to be released and I'm sure he will leave and go back home right away if we just let him go, I promise he will."

"Miss Meyers, we have orders to capture him alive, and bring him back, even if I believed you, I have sworn to do my duty, goodbye, we left supplies in the gymnasium, our troops are leaving now."

I turned and left, ignoring her begging, limping slightly as my wounds were protesting from being ignored so long, I realized my armor was cracked on the chest and abdomen.

Exiting the station, and closing the door behind me, I saw the creature already safely locked in its cell, a tube connected to its maw, supplying sedatives at a rate that would keep it asleep.

"So, Mister Lee, is the little monster ready for transportation?" I asked while wincing.

"It's in a deep slumber, and it won't wake up as long as this little automatic sensor keeps pumping sedatives in its system every few hours, it also won't suffer any I'll effects, just be incredibly sleepy for a while after the effects wear off, so yes we are ready to travel." I nod in thanks, then signal the men to load up the plane, the cage barely fits and we are a little short for space.

Four hours later

The doctor has given me a quick examination, he says I have a slight internal bleeding problem but I should hold on until we get to Australia, and we will be landing in minutes.

The other soldier who was bitten has been patched up but will also need surgery to realign the broken bones in his hand, he will be fine, but there is still one doubt in my head, why do I have the feeling it was holding back in some way? It was too controlled, most of the time, it didn't really try to attack until I said to attack it in the eyes, it didn't seem to WANT to fight, but orders are orders.

Fucker had a lot of power on those legs, I would probably need to go to the hospital as soon as we landed.

Not even 10 minutes later we were on the ground, a team ready to receive us, I was helped to a station where technicians removed my power armor, then I was loaded into an ambulance, I gave one last look at the cage, the creature within, I would not forget it.

I could see as their loaded it into another much larger cargo plane, with some fresh soldiers escorting it.

POV Onyx an unknown amount of time later

I slowly came back to consciousness, feeling a notification appear on the corner of my vision.

Your body has adapted to the sedative and you have become immune to condition: Forced Sleep.

You can no longer be knocked unconscious by sedatives or somnolents.

The second thing I noticed was a stinging on my tongue, I winced, there was a needle stabbing right into it, I looked around discretely without moving first, if there was anyone, and I moved there would be trouble right away, I realized there is a camera in the corner of the room, looking straight at me.

I was in a cage, a thick steel cage made of reinforced steel probably, I had no idea where I was, I needed to find my general location, i checked my map but it just shows only places ive seen before, so no help there.

It was like a jail cell, but fully white and had no bars, or windows, only a door that looked like thick steel, it had no way to see outside either. I had to get rid of that camera, the easiest way I figured would be to just destroy it, but they would probably notice that right away, instead I could use Prestidigitation to paint a symbol over the camera lens, making it look like it's just dirty, conveniently obscuring my cell while I did what I wanted.

So I did, large black spots similar to ink covered the camera lens, while I ate some food I had to be careful to make the least amount of noise possible, so I ate eggs by pushing a hole through the shell and swallowing then whole, the inside would just spill inside my tummy and I'd get slowly fed over time from the eggs as the shell dissolves.

I also drank water, I was very thirsty, sipping it slowly, then everything went back into my inventory. I had to do all of that with the damn needle stabbing my tongue, it didn't hurt much but it still felt bad, I didn't want them to know I was awake so it needed to stay for now, i then went back to 'sleep'.

An hour passed and I started to hear footsteps, and more than one set, i quickly dismissed my magic from the camera, without moving from my spot, a sound of a lock being opened was heard and I felt 3 people enter the room, two of them were soldiers, probably from their heavier footstep and much thicker body frame, I could see them all with my blindsight as they were approaching me.

"How odd, the camera looks normal from here, the specimen is asleep, still fully sedated, its not going to get up, don't worry, now let's get it to the surgery room! In all my years I have theorized and published papers on xenobiology but to think I would be studying a real, living breathing alien?" The man let out a chuckle.

"I'm going to find what makes you tick, just you wait.
Lads, please help me carry him to the surgical room." I was starting to worry, what did he mean by surgical room? Did they really mean to open me up, alive? They had another thing coming, first I would see how far they can go, before I punish them, I have given this people enough leniency.

I relief fully on my blindsight for this, as opening my eyes would give me away, and I relaxed fully, I knew if I was tense my pulse and breath would give me away, this was nothing, Ive been in much worse situations before, Celestia herself was more scary than anything this people could come up with just with her presence and power.

Would I get to her level one day? Or even surpass her? I feel getting there was going to take a looong time, but... I craved that power, being unbeatable in a real fight when going all out, basically being a force of nature, she could probably destroy entire continents if she wanted to, and it wouldn't take her that long.

I felt them lift up my cage between the two of them, while the scientist walked ahead with his hands behind his back, I was carried like this for less than five minutes, I sensed we had entered a much larger room than my cell, the door to this place shut behind us as we entered fully, they moved me to the back of the room, and in there they opened my cage and lifted me up by the midsection, I flopped limply and let them move me around.

I was carried and deposited on top of a long bed, with my tail placed to the side and my arms and legs spread open and then secured on metal restraints, my head was locked by the neck and snout, forcing my neck to stretch and be fully exposed, I had to fight my instincts and remain relaxed, but they were telling me I was in great danger, and if I didn't fight I would die here, I ignored those thoughts and waited to see what would happen.

"This is where we will learn everything there is to know about this xeno life form, now where to cut? Maybe if I try to slice between the scales... Oh wait, what do we have here? The report has x rays of its body, very interesting, I am curious to see what this all looks like up close, and take samples, maybe even remove one of the organs, the only thing I must do is keep it alive, which should be easy." I say this guy open a cabinet and pull out surgical knives and other tools, some electrically powered I assumed because they looked thicker.

I could 'see' the guards, always vigilant and staring at me with their weapons drawn, this weapons weren't the same as the ones they captured me with, I could only guess this guns were the real deal, and they would do real damage, I ignored the scientist and focused solely on the weapons, using Blindsight was more or less the same as having a lidar scanner on my brain, I could use it at wide angle and get less definition or focus it on a certain point, and see more detail, no colors, but I could see shapes very clearly, even see things like indents or shapes that were shallower than the rest, for example symbols next to the gun safety, I could tell they were with safety off.

The smallest movement and they would be able to shoot me full of holes in less than a second.

If I wanted to get out of this alive I would need to use precise telekinesis and lock the safety to on, while I fought them, without losing the hold on their guns, probably would need to remove their guns from them and destroy them before I tried anything.

While distracted with my planning I felt the scientist start to try to slice between my scales, but then realize there was no gap, the scales aren't just one next to another, they're always overlapping slightly, if you wanted to get through it would take more than a small surgical knife, it would take incredible force, and something piercing, my scales were much stronger now than ever.

"This trash doesn't work! I'll try using the surgical robot, move back gentlemen, I'll control it from this computer here, the robot arm will cut straight through its bothersome scales, once the scales are cut and peeled off, I will begin to take samples."

The bastard walked over to a nearby computer and began typing at it, above me, a compartment opened up and two robotic arms came out, they had circular saws at the end of them, and they looked extremely scary. I could not tell what they were made out of, then they turned on.

I waited, were they really going to do this? Did they really got told to do this to me? Only one way to find out, it was going to suck.

The saws came at different points over my body, one at my chest and other at my belly, they wanted to make a window in my chest and see what I was made out off huh? Very slowly they lowered, and then they started to scrape, a loud horrible noise of steel against hard dragon scale, sounding like screeching of metal on metal was produced.

There were probably sparks flying to both left and right, I could feel my scales heating up tremendously at those areas, starting to burn slightly, I still let them keep going, slowly eating away at the scales but, this was proof enough for me.

"How is this even possible? The saws are overheating! The blades are almost fully dull now! And the scales aren't even cut all the way?! I will keep going anyways."

Oh, now they started to touch my skin, causing painful friction burns, luckily the saws were dull by then so it didn't shred my flesh like I expected, this was proof enough, I needed to attack.

Onyx has taken 20 damage! 226/246

My first subtle spell was to blind the camera above the door with a small cantrip like before. Then going fully into action.

Without any sound I opened my eyes and grabbed the arms of the soldiers with telekinesis and forced them to aim directly at each other's before they could react, while at the same time equipping my Robes of the Occult, forming a quick misty step to move out of the way, a simple line of sight short range blink, I appear right behind the scientist, my favorite dagger pressed gently to his throat. -10mp
262/272

I spit out the needle in my tongue, no longer needing it, the whole contraption falling away with it.

The soldiers were held in place, not able to move their arms.

At first I was going to kill them all, but then I though, was it worth it to risk traumatizing myself just to escape this place

"Gentlemen, try to struggle, and not only will both of your heads explode, but I will also slice the good doctor here right on the neck, so please, I will let go of your arms and you will drop your weapons to the ground, do so and all of you will come out of here alive." I said clearly and with a threatening tone, but I had other plans in mind, the xenobiologist, doctor or whatever, I didn't care, was not only my hostage but also my meat shield.

I was going to let their arms free, but I was going to set their fire safety to on, I was also examining their helmets with my telekinesis, looking for a way to release them and take them off, I'm sure they had something, just like those knights back in the second dungeon, this power armor was troublesome to deal with, and they would probably have radios in their helmets I needed to reactivate quickly.

There was a tense silence, then I finally found the release, it was simply twisting in a certain angle and then lowering and lifting then helmet in a specific sequence, I did this with both of their helmets, their hands instinctively went to hold the helmets and taking advantage of that I pulled their guns away from them, having them on a sling just meant that I could unbuckle them off, nothing not held directly was safe from behind removed if you had good telekinesis, control was the hardest part, and I was cheating in that sense.

They realized they needed their guns more and let go of the helmet, but in the end they were too slow to get anything, I tossed both things to my side and behind me, where my tail touched and stored everything in my inventory, one after another.

2 XM7 rifle (suppressed) obtained.
2 6.8x51mm rifle ammo mag obtained.
2 composite kevlar-ceramic power armor helmet obtained.

"Okay, now that you're all nice and unarmed... Oh no, wait, sidearms! Put em here, and all of your extra mags!" How could I be so dumb? They had pistols still, it was never a good idea to underestimate someone with a pistol, I also wanted the ammo for the rifles.

"Please, don't hurt the doctor!" One of the soldiers said in a scared tone, he probably was terrified of my magic, not knowing what it was or what it could do.

"Then do as I say, pull out your sidearms, ammunition, everything, throw it on the ground! I won't repeat myself again." I said and pressed the dagger a bit more, but not enough to cut, I didn't want to poison him.

"If I accidentally cut him, he will die, even if it's a slight cut, this dagger has extremely potent poison, so you don't want to make me slip up, do ya?!"

Finally that pulled them out of their stupors, and they took off their pistol, holster and all, and placed it on the ground, where I floated them over and stored then away safely, along with all of their ammo.

2 P320 Pistol obtained.
4 9mm pistol ammo mag obtained.
10 6.8x51mm rifle ammo mag obtained.

"Now listen you three, the only thing I want to do is get out of here, safe and sound, will you tell me how? I don't really want to hurt anyone, you stupid humans just are obsessed with war and don't seem to realize the damage you are doing to yourselves, I don't want to pretend that I don't want power too, but torture isn't the way to do it, tell me about an exit and then I'll leave, i won't mess with you, even you, in the lab coat."

I sighed and let him go, storing my knife back in my inventory.

He ran away and stood next to a soldier, basically hiding behind him for protection.

One of the soldiers stepped forward, looking concerned but he looked like he didn't want to die, his hands were raised in surrender.

"Just keep going through this corridor and eventually you'll reach the exit, you need to go up using 3 elevators to get to this level, once at ground level, you must find the main door, everything and everywhere is heavily guarded, there are mine fields outside too except on the road, there are snipers at every corner of the base, they also have infrared sensors and other ways of tracking anyone, i know you could have killed us, but you didn't, so thanks."

The other soldier glared at him but said nothing.

"Thank you for the information, and yes I could have killed you all very easily, but I don't want to kill, even now, if there is a way out where I both get to live and not resort to that... Then I'll take it. I still think you all suck and should maybe find another job, you bastards, you were trying to torture a 9 year old!"

They all looked terrified at my angry outburst, probably because my eyes were shining indigo with magic, giving the room an eerie glow.

"Go on, stand in the corner of the room and close your eyes, I'll be going now, bye! I'd appreciate if you didn't tell everyone I escaped until I was gone, please." All three nodded, but I knew they would probably tell on me.

Placed a table between me and them, making sure no cameras or people could see me, and polymorphed into a mouse, and unequipped my robes, now I could freely run and escape.
-20 mp 242/272

I started to walk to the exit I was told, but i turned around and looked at the sing above, one arrow pointing straight read read Sector E Containment Cell, and the other pointing to the door where I was almost tortured, it read Sector E Laboratory and Surgical Room.

I was small enough for no one to care or even see me most of the time, as I ran as fast as my little feet could carry me, being a mouse felt incredibly confusing because of my sudden tiny size, but I didn't let that get in the way, I just ran along the dark edge of the otherwise gray and sterile looking military base, I didn't stop to check what they were doing or what other technology or beings were kept here.

I didn't have time for that, as much as I would have loved to, I simply ran until I reached the first elevator, then waited for someone to inevitably go up, hiding in the corner fearfully and standing as still as a statue, being polymorphed was terrifying when a human the size of a skyscraper was right next to you, and could basically turn you into a stain with a single stomp, even if I would just go back to normal, I would instantly have to fight to the death.

As I ran I saw other mice around, hiding in nooks and looking for food, some near the trash cans, this plane was not exactly sanitary, but I'm not one to talk, I probably stink worse than them, when was the last time I showered? I don't know how long I've been sedated, it's as gross as it sounds, the natural body processes still happen when you're sedated. I couldn't wait to bathe properly.

I had ran across two security doors by now, it was simply a matter of running when someone else was crossing them, the laser grids probably didn't see me as something worth detecting, almost every door had sensors of different types, it was probably the safest place to be at.

I sometimes also took ventilation ducts, they were too small for even a cat to crawl through but a mouse was smaller and I was pretty agile like this, I could jump surprisingly high, honestly this was pretty fun, being a mouse.

I kept going, the second elevator was much larger and had more security around it, not only cameras but several automated turrets with lasers scanning around coming from the ceiling like deadly chandeliers monitoring for anyone that didn't belong.

I was glad they were programed to ignore tiny animals or bugs, it wouldn't do for someone to get shot because a spider had climbed on their shirt.

I wondered if I could turn into a spider... Maybe a bad idea, a mouse was the smallest and also somewhat similar body plan to myself, turning into a spider would lead to me being the clumsiest spider in existence, and I'd probably get stomped on faster, also... Yuck!

Huh... Maybe not a bad way to get over my arachnophobia, becoming the thing I fear.

Thoughts I'll need to implement later, I got into the elevator and found a dark corner to hide on, trying to stay behind the man in a suit that was using it.

A woman got in right before the elevator left, I really really hopped she wouldn't see me.

She saw me, and as the elevator was going up, she screamed bloody murder.

"Oh god a mouse! Please kill it! It's behind you sir, please!"

"Calm down young lady, it's just a little mouse, it's more scared of you than you are of it, just let the elevator arrive and I bet you it's gonna run away, look it's even respectful enough to stay still and not move." The old man answered calmly.

"But sir, it's a mouse! A pest! They transmit diseases you know?" The woman argued.

"Miss, it may be a pest but I'm not going to just kill it, it's gonna leave a stretch in the elevator, I'll get blood on my shoes, and its just overall unpleasant business, if you want to kill it, then do so far away from me." He said with finality, the woman grumbled and muttered insults but this didn't affect the old man, he just kept his neutral expression until the elevator arrived to the top, I quickly followed the old man out, making the young woman groan and leave in a rush, she didn't dare to insult him, this guy was probably higher rank or some sort of officer.

Once she was gone I ran forward too, outpacing him and heading towards in the direction of the signs pointing at the exit, this time there was two ways up, the elevator and a set of stairs, this time I took the stairs, and i was right, everyone was too lazy to take the stairs, as soon as I climbed up i reached another large and sterile looking floor, mostly filled with offices, computers, meeting rooms and armed soldiers everywhere.

A loud claxon suddenly started to sound.

It seems those three at least gave me a few minutes.

The claxon and lights made everyone stop what they were doing, red lights were alight in every room, I quickly ran towards the exit and in the chaos no one paid attention to me, I did have to dodge franticly running people in full armor, their rifles held pointed down but they all seemed to want to go down into the elevator, realizing not many could fit they took the stairs instead.

From speakers all around a robotic voice came through.

"WARNING, SECTOR E CONTAINMENT BREACH, LOCKDOWN COMMENCING IN 20 SECONDS, REMAIN AWAY FROM EXTERIOR DOORS, NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO ENTER OR EXIT THE BASE, ANYONE WHO TRIES TO EXIT WILL BE SHOT, A SPECIALIZED FORCE IS ON THE WAY, I REPEAT, DO NOT TRY TO EXIT THE BASE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES."

The incredibly loud message seemed to start setting in, I managed to exit out the main door a few seconds before it close all the way, now I was outside, around me I saw a lot of vehicles parked, normal ones mostly, but some were military trucks and APCs.

I could see the American flag when I turned back to look at the building, there was no name to it.

Everything was gigantic, and looked so far away, I was exhausted from so much running, I needed to find a place to take a break, preferably in my natural form as I knew I couldn't hold this spell forever.

I found the perfect spot, no one was outside by now since everyone had been forced to go into the base and search it top to bottom, I saw one of those lifted trucks that are extremely popular with insecure people, once fully covered under it, I relaxed my mind and returned back to normal, now tightly pressed between the truck and the ground, my back getting covered in grease, thankfully I could still move, but I remained still as a statue.

I must stink so bad right now... I hated engine grease!

They probably have cameras here too, looking at the parking lot, I would need to try another polymorphed shape, a bird? No, I didn't know how to fly, a snake? Now that was a better idea, but snakes usually were more feared by humans and more likely to be killed than even mouses.

Oh I was stupid, there's wide open skies above me, I didn't need to polymorph anymore, I had an easier spell that also made me basically immune to damage even if I was somehow detected.

I equipped my trusty robes again, and casted 'Gaseous Form' -15 mp

I became an cloud of smoke, slightly indigo in hue.
I started to fly up and head to the clouds, It took a few minutes but I reached higher and higher, soon the scary military base was no more than a small area on the ground, I saw helicopters approaching the base and land on designated landing pads, turns out this base had more than just the building I came from, it also had a plane landing strip, hangars and helipads, it was a full on airport too! There weren't any planes getting ready to take off, that was a relief. About 2 dozen soldiers started to descend from the helicopters and approach the base, I needed to get away from here and fast!

I started looking into different directions, but decided to simply fly southwest as fast as I could. The problem with this spell was exactly that, it wasn't very fast, while I could go up and down very fast, by simply changing my density, I couldn't fly forward very fast, It was about as fast as a powerwalk, but it was progress, much safer and no cameras to spot me.

I traveled like this for hours, slowly the environment stared to change from desert to mountains and there is where I was finally able to find somewhere to relax and rest, the mountains, I wasn't sure which mountain range, I didn't know much about this country's geography, but here I made camp, set up my tent mat and sleeping bag and was able to get all my basic needs met.

It was nighttime when I finally let my guard down, I had enough sense to not light a fire, just set up a tent and enjoy the cool night, letting my mind recover after today's ordeal.

I laid in my tent and pulled cheese and fruits from storage, snacking on them together, such a perfect combination between sweet and savory, I also had some raw meat, which I threw the bones down on the floor instead of eating them, I didn't feel like eating bones now, I was tired and it was late at night by now, I left chunks of fruits, cheese rinds and raw meat over the tent.

I went to sleep, unsure where I was and how many days I had been sedated, but what mattered was that now I had my freedom, and without having to bloody my conscience, I knew killing people even those who tried to hurt me would bring me misery, i wasn't a paragon of justice, using a hostage as a shield to try and get the soldiers to give me their weapons.

Chapter 36 Escape plan

I was woken up by rustling noises, my tent being touched by someone from the outside, or something.

I saw a shape, clearly not human outside, I opened the tent door and poked my head out while yawning, half asleep as I thought they wanted to talk.

What was it? A large cat, the same size as me, huh? This wasn't a cat...

It was a jaguar! It stared at me in confusion just like I stared back blinking owlishly.

I probably should find out what it wants, a quick speak with animals was enough to give me the ability to do it.

"Hey kitty, what's got you so interested in my nest?" I asked in a playful tone, a small yawn escaped me, I was still half asleep.

It's eyes widened and it looked at me like i was crazy.

'You are prey? How strange, prey can't talk, well you are still prey and I'm gonna eat you.' it said, but I could also hear it making its distinctive jaguar noises, speak with animals was weird like that.

It bared it's fangs and growled, clearly intending to get me, animals really were honest, he admitted from the start his intent on eating me.

"If you want food I can share my food, but don't try to eat me or you'll get hurt." He started to bare his fangs at my answer, probably too proud to back away, or too hungry.
I exited my tent, baring my own fangs as well in defiance, I noticed off handedly that he had a tracking collar, probably monitored for conservation reasons, aren't jaguars supposed to live more in south america?

This animals were very rare to see, I was very lucky to get to see one, he was so cute for a large cat with murderous intent, if only he wasn't starving, I bet he would be fun to play with, if only I wasn't being chased by the largest military force in the world, i would have time to play.

'You will become the prey instead, you have more meat on you that whatever leftovers you have in there!' It then decided to rush me, roaring, fangs bared and claws extended, trying to grapple me and get its fangs on my neck, trying to get on top of me, I wouldn't let this happen a second time.

"Bad kitty, stay!" I snarled and grabbed him midair, he looked extremely confused and flailed uselessly in the air, trying to swipe at me or lunge, but couldn't do anything, I simply rolled my eyes and sat down while I watched it struggle and tire itself out in my telekinesis.

"You should not mess with prey you haven't hunted before, if you submit to me I will give you food and treat you well, if not, then you'll go hungry, and I'll smack you around, just because I can." I said and gave it a boop on the snout once he had tired itself out completely.

With that I dropped him on the ground, watching as he looked at me, his aggressiveness gone, it laid down and panted loudly with exhaustion, clearly defeated.

'You're... Really gonna to give me food? Please, I'm starving, there aren't almost any large animals here to eat, I haven't been able to get anything in a week, and you looked like you have enough meat on you to last me a week at least.' Ah, charming, he still wanted to eat me, well, I suppose I can't blame him for being desperate, I didn't have that much meat in my inventory, and I kinda wanted to eat it too, or I'd go hungry, but I had some eggs, I supposed I could share.

"I'm not letting you eat me! But... I have eggs, they'll work almost as good as meat, but don't try to eat me again, and go hunt for your own meat some real prey, or you'll starve to death!"

I pulled out a carton of eggs and placed about a dozen on the ground, the jaguar approached and sniffed them, made a face that looked funny, kind of a grossed out face, flehmen response if I remember correctly, then started to lick them, but was confused by the shells, not knowing to break them right away.

"You have to bite into it, the food is inside, they taste great!" He did as I told him, begining to eat slowly then eagerly as he tasted, one after another, ending up eating every egg, shells included in a matter of a few minutes.

"That's all I'm giving you, now go hunt something and don't attack anyone that's inside a tent, they can kill you in an instant and no matter how weak they are, humans don't forget and they definitively don't forgive if you kill one of their own.
It's much safer to hunt your own food and eat that, trust me big kitty." He seemed to think it over but ended up answering me.

'You have given me a tasty meal, not meat but good enough, I will not come close to tents again in the future, thank you for the warning, I better go and find prey, I feel I can hunt better now that I'm not starving, I feel like I can think again.' The jaguar approached me, nuzzled my side, a small gesture that I returned, and then he ran off into the wilderness, heading south, I lost it among the bushes and trees a few minutes later.

First cleaned the tent inside and then disassembled it, packed it and stored it, along with every accessory.

What a morning! Not even finished waking up and a big cat tries to eat me, such a majestic animal... I could use that form in the future, I may even try it soon.

I pulled out my water bottle and began to drink until I wasn't thirsty, then stored it back, this summer temperatures here were horrible.

I hope next time it's not something worse like a bear. Bears are scary, but doubt any of this animals can get through my scales in the first place, speaking about scales, I looked at the wounds on my chest and belly, where the circular saws had tried to vivisect me, and I found the bright blue skin under had healed fully, no burn marks, the damaged scales had fallen off during the night, and new ones were starting to grow, leaving a decent gap in my armor in two vital areas, I'd need to be extra careful this next couple of weeks.

I suppose it will take over a week for my scales to fully regrow, give or take. I sniffed myself, and recoiled in disgust, when was the last time I had been able to shower? I needed one badly, but there was no time.

Back to the topic of animal transformations, I should probably use the jaguar form to more quickly traverse the environment, it was quite a speedy creature and very agile, Polymorph was an amazing spell, it transformed me into a version of the same age as me in the equivalent of the species, for example if i turned into a jaguar i would not be a 9 year old jaguar, i would be 9 years in Jaguar years, so i was more or less a juvenile, i was much smaller then the adult male that tried to eat me before.

This time I headed northwest, hoping to throw off my pursuers with a different direction, I ran for hours, taking breaks to recast my polymorph, making sure I was in a hidden spot before I did, I was still paranoid when traversing open spaces.

The heat was intense, in my normal form I would have gotten sick by now, summer sucks, and I guessed I was somewhere near the southern side of the US.

After another 4 more days of traveling, going over hills and valleys, climbing mountains and stopping for rest every hour or so, reached a high point peak, one that overlooked a large distant city, the largest city I have ever seen in my life. It was along the coast to the west.

West... Coast?! I think I knew where I was now, a plan forming in my mind.

POV Shift, 5 days ago, Army base, Yuma, Arizona

The base was in full emergency mode, reinforcements had been called, there were helicopters with thermal cameras flying around searching for the escapee, Commander Miller had declared a full quarantine of the base until the target was found, so far the cameras and sensors had not detected anything matching the description of the target in the area, nothing unusual was discovered, the target had evaded detection perfectly somehow, but it was unknown if he had managed to escape the base or was still hiding somewhere inside.

The cameras inside both the containment cell and the surgical room had been somehow blinded during the escape, and the witnesses testimonies had only deepened the mystery, and the concern of the higher ups.

This being was not only capable of speech, highly intelligent, cunning and strong, but it had supernatural abilities, it could seemingly move things with its mind, it could move incredibly fast, or outright teleport short distances, and most puzzling of all, it could make objects simply disappear, it had somehow taken the weapons, ammo and helmets of the soldiers assigned to keep watch over it.

At first it was considered low risk because it was completely sedated for 5 days, stuck in an induced coma while it was transported and the facilities were prepared, the fact that it also acted like a mere talking animal during it's capture, only showing remarkable strength had given the higher ups a false sense of its capabilities, it went from being no more dangerous than what a bear would be considered being to having supernatural abilities that defied logic, so its threat level was increased drastically after it's successful escape, now it was considered a priority target, but it was important to keep it a secret, which complicated things further.

The only redeeming point of this whole disaster is the fact that no one was injured or died, and that the needle injecting sedatives had a single drop of its dried up blood in it.

This was immediately picked up on by the resident xenobiologist that was to perform the live surgery for tissue collection purposes before the being managed to escape, the drop of blood was studied thoroughly, but it was not enough to find out much about the creature, the blood was dry and the cells dead.

They needed to recover the alien life form and soon, before it managed to escape them permanently, they could gain much from it.

They brought several bloodhounds and made them sniff the cage the creature had slept on, along with the operating seat.

It worked! the hounds picked up a scent, they followed it through many security points, going in and out of vents, then into the elevator, it was hard to believe, since the elevators had cameras and at no point it had been seen going into one, there was no clues, the cameras weren't the highest resolution but they showed nothing besides humans going out, all of which had been recognized and identified as authorized personal.

The people that used it that day were interrogated, but none of their accounts had enough importance, many people had seen mice and other small animals and bugs in the elevator before, the reason was that the people working at the station had gotten used to have food delivered to the door and they brought it into the deeper levels, something that was supposedly not allowed but agreed upon that was okay, this caused mice to become a problem as well as cockroaches.

The blood hounds had picked up the scent again leading to the parking lot, and followed it to a black lifted truck, sniffing and whining as they got under the vehicle, and there is where the scent ended, the highly trained dogs didn't seem to find anything else, even after being made to sniff the whole parking lot and perimeter of the station.

They interrogated the owner of the truck but he had been quarantined like everyone else , having no control over what happened to his truck.

The target had just vanished under the lifted pick up, simply vanished, cameras around didn't see anything other than shadow under the truck, the cameras were high up and the snipers too, none had any clue.

Central command at Washington were furious, demanding them to search the whole state, and nearby states if they needed to, they couldn't allow this thing to leave the country, or they would never see it again, they even agreed to provide help by sending a fleet of state of the art search helicopters and drones and, along with extra manpower to look across the large stretch of wilderness around them.

Even enlisting the police of nearby states to do vehicle inspections going any city or airport, any vehicle was thoroughly searched before it could enter the airport or city center.

POV Shift Onyx back to the present

This last days I had tried many new forms, from coyote to gray fox, mountain lion and even bunny.

But being a small prey animal made me really skittish and nervous for some reason, so I tried to not do it as often, I decided to stop laying down my tent and sleep hidden in any hole on the ground or under rocks and plants if I couldn't find a small cave, I was growing increasingly paranoid every day.

I slowly approached the city, having ditched my current form in a secluded area, this time a small sunken cliff wall, I then floating upwards until I was above the city, during the last few days I had heard helicopters and smaller more agile military drones flying above, many times, I didn't dare to look up at then too much, they were looking for me desperately, I had heard about a dozen per day, they seemed to be scanning as they passed back and forth at different distances, not stopping.

I know that they had thermal imaging cameras of high definition, so everytime I heard one I just pretended to be an animal, and since there were many animals around here in the area other than myself, it worked.

This was terrifying to say the least, and I was sure it was only the start, if they knew I could transform into a wild animal, they would start hunting them or capturing them all until they could get me, I couldn't let this happen to the little critters around here, I needed to escape before they caught up with my strategy, maybe transforming into an animals would have to stop for now, that's why I relied on my cloud form, it was inconspicuous and it since the city already had car smoke floating above it, it was ideal here to just float above the streets.

Slowly I entered the inhabited area, cars driving and people walking underneath me, going about their day, everyone was dressed for the summer, the heat was as always intense and a bit annoying.

Below I kept looking at the sights as I floated at a relaxed speed, more reconnaissance vehicles were flying overhead too, but I'm this form I was at the same temperature than the air around me, I should be invisible to them.

I still had to be extremely aware of my surroundings, I was sure they would be looking for me in the city too, they could have trained dogs with my scent, I do stink pretty bad and I left my scent everywhere I went, I knew they could catch my trail if i stayed more than a day or two, scent tracking was slow across hundreds of kilometers i have traversed since escaping, I hoped they would need time.

As I approached the city center, I saw more and more police checkpoints, oddly enough they were checking anyone's cars, even their trunks, once they checked they let them pass, I didn't know what to make of this, had they gotten help from the police? They would do something like this, I wasn't very surprised, I heard people complain and even riots were happening against this in some areas near the city center, of course there was police repression and violence, but I had my goal in sight, just a few kilometers more...

I had a reason for coming to the city, of course, I needed a way out, and the fastest way out of a country was international flight, usually airports were too heavily guarded, but they didn't have any way of detecting a floating cloud, the only thing I really needed to was figure out which plane was going to where I wanted to go, then just go into the loading area and sneak into the cargo hold, which was not exactly difficult when magic was on my side.

I may need a break first before I go into the airport itself, my concentration was starting to slip, I was tired, thirsty, needed the bathroom, I needed somewhere safe and comfortable to be, and soon.

A hotel room. I could teleport in and lock the door from the inside with magic, not even the key would be able to unlock it, there were many hotels right next to the airport, I was about 10 meters from the ground now, looking at the different hotels about two blocks away from to the gigantic airport.

I settled for the Marriott hotel, floating up and looking for a room that was vacant, it took a few minutes of looking at rooms to find the right one, once I did I used a short misty step line of sight teleport, cancelling my gaseous form and appearing inside the clean and pristine room, I immediately fell down to the carpet, panting from exhaustion, both physical and magical, floating and moving as a cloud was like running, it was harder than just running in fact, both physically and mentally exhausting.

I crawled and reached the door, casting Arcane lock to stick the lock into the closed position, now nothing but me should be able to unlock it, if someone tried getting in, they would have to use force.

I quickly moved and closed the blinds, the curtains, everything, I made the room as dark as possible, it was thankfully nice and cool in here, panting like I just had ran a marathon did help me cool down, but I needed to use the bathroom, and wanted to shower badly.

One hour later.

I had taken my time in the shower, with the very cool water and soap, I had finally fixed the issue of being stinky, after about a week of no shower and running almost all day, every day in various forms, and sleeping in holes in the ground it was desperately needed.

This would also make me less easy to track, I had no doubt I still could be tracked by scent but now I wouldn't be smelled kilometers away.

A happy exhale left me, I was glad I kept my hygiene kit in my inventory, toothbrush soap and sponge, even nail file, and scale polishing oil. I felt like a new drake, I couldn't wait to get back home, i have learned much here despite not wanting to, as an extra measure of security I placed glyphs at the door, it would automatically cast hold person on anyone who tried entering the room, after the door was broken, and it could work on up to 7 people, it only triggered when someone stepped or jumped over the glyph.

I was not taking any chances this time, not with this fucking bastards.

I could have easily slaughtered them all, I had planned to in fact at first, but then again, that would make me the monster they were begging me to be, they would have leverage against me, they would have the moral high ground as it were, I also didn't really want to kill so many people so senselessly, I knew something in me would change once i crossed that line.

I was not Celestia, I would not 'make an example' of a nation just because they threatened me or tried to torture me but I also wouldn't just let them get away with it, I had a little plan to implement tomorrow, something that would requiere a little scouting and gathering information. This time I would need to do a little crime, but is it really crime if the target is one of the largest companies in the world?

I crawled into bed, it was incredibly comfortable and I almost immediately fell asleep, too exhausted to care about anything else now that I had a safe place.

Chapter 37 Misdirection tactics

The following day

I woke up in a comfy bed, it felt almost like home, yet I knew it was not quite it, it was still nighttime, but I had slept enough, almost a whole evening and night.

I let out an audible yawn as I made my morning stretches, having slept better than I had in a while.

I had things to do now, first step was getting ready, bathroom, packing my things, eating plenty, then opening the window and vanishing into my gaseous form again, going out of the window into the night, I needed the room for a while longer, hopefully no one forced their way in while I was gone.

I needed a cellphone, I needed to let everyone know what was happening to me.

I headed towards the city center looking for any cellphone store, eventually I got to a large Samsung store that had cellphones, tablets and computers on display, visible from outside, it was of course closed but it had ventilation ducts that I easily filtered through, reaching the interior.

Now here I looked for any cameras, there was one in the main room recording.

I headed to the employee area and storeroom, where another camera was, I snuck under it, went back to my normal form and covered it with a plastic bag I grabbed from the ground.

I got myself a Samsung smartphone that looked good and modern, they all were very high tech looking, leagues better than the ones I could buy back 8 and a half years ago, as if I could afford any.

I was surprised, there was an accessory section, and turns out that this place also sold official accessories, a battery bank, a solar charging station and the charger itself they also were sold here, everything was sold separately, even the USB cable to charge the phone.

With this all safely stored I headed out in a cloud of smoke, flying out the way I came in, now I needed to find another store, hopefully smaller and less official looking, I found one after half an hour of flying around, it was in the outskirts of the city center, a humble looking cellphone store, clearly independently owned.

I snuck in and stole a phone, the camera was only aimed at the front, facing the door, there was no camera at the back as there is no back door entry or exit in this small building. I took one cell phone if the same one I stole on the larger store, then searched for pen and paper, there was some at the sellers desk. I wrote.

'Dear sir or madam, I have taken one of your phones, I beg you do not report this to the police because I have paid for the phone, it's on weird square gold coins, but they are made of real pure gold, have it checked if you don't believe me.'

I take out 100 gold pieces and leave them in a bag with the note.

After that I turn into magical indigo vapours and fly out into the night, heading back to the hotel room, along the way I saw several important news stations, I chose one at random and memorized it's location, my plan was coming together, but still needed the most important step, the message, I arrived back at the, thankfully still empty, hotel room and closed the window behind me.

Taking out one of the phones I set it up and skipped the registration process, then went to the bathroom and hit record on the 4k video option holding the phone aimed it at me with my telekinesis.

"Humans of Planet Earth, I hope you come across this short message, I am Onyx, my species is dragon, I'm 9 years old." I think for a few seconds on how to start this.

"I have come to visit your world, and in doing so I find myself in great peril, my intentions on earth were simple, I arrive, get to meet humans and make friends, play some games and maybe exchange products and stay a few days to deepen our friendship and get to know each other better." I pause, thinking over what to say, looking at the camera with a sad smile.

"Everything was going great, I had arrived at the south pole and met with the wonderful people there, at the Amundsen-Scott station, most of them scientists and technicians who help keep the station functioning during the winter months, I had stayed for a whole day, in fact I even traded for some of your spices and products that dont grow on my planet."

" I spent my day meeting people, talking and learning about your kind, I wanted to play some table games the next day, and watch a movie, but I was woken up by a horrible beast that at first I thought was a monster of some kind." My voice grows sadder as I remember what happened, I really hoped they would just want to talk to me.

"A full squadron of soldiers in power armor were doing their best to knock me out, they tried using needles with sedative, when that didn't work they tried to shooting darts at me, eventually, I had to defend myself because I screamed and begged for them to stop attacking, but they didn't and I wanted to escape then, return back to my home, it's all I want." Tears started to come out as I think of the unfairness of the situation, I looked at the camera and forced myself to talk through the sobs.

"But they managed to shoot a dart in my tongue, they aimed for my eye but I dodged just in time, t-they pushed me to violence, I bit one of them on the hand, the one who fired the dart, and then, with the attacker in power armor still trying to knock me out by choking me around the neck, I ran against the emergency exit and slammed him against it" I paused to wipe my face with my paw.

"S-sorry, I have trouble speaking like this, but I just don't know why they kept attacking me!
I ran outside, thinking I could get them away from me in the snow and cold, but the dart started to... Weaken me, and carrying that man with armor, smashing against walls and the door, all of that, I was too exhausted and the drugs they used took hold of me, I thought I was dead, then and there." I opened the sink and washed my face a bit, blinking away my tears.

"The next thing I knew, I woke up in a metal cage, outside the cage is a room that has no windows and only one solid door, there was a camera, always watching. Then after I woke up, three humans approached me, two of them soldiers and one a scientist or doctor, he started to say some scary things, he said he had to cut me open, to take samples, and I was so scared I pretended to be asleep, I needed to find a way to escape, they carried me to a room with a machine that they strapped me to, robot arms came down with metal saws and started to cut into my body, my chest and belly, i almost lost all my scales there, look!"

I stood on two legs, showing my scaleless lines on my belly and chest, then I went back on all fours.

"The pain was so shocking and strong that it awakened my power and I broke out, I wanted to fight and get revenge, but I don't want to end anyone's life, not unless I have no other choice, and there is always a choice, always." I say with conviction, now feeling righteous anger instead of sadness, my eyes alight.

"After I broke out, I disarmed the guards and let them there, unharmed as well as the scientist, then I escaped the military base, it wasn't easy, and they are still hunting me as I tell my story, they are still trying to find and capture me to experiment on, cut me open and to see what keeps me alive, i have no doubt they would have used me for anything they wanted and then discarded me in silence, probably dispose of my body so no one finds it." My snarl was hard to keep from my voice.

"American people, my message to you is this: your government is not beyond torturing others to satisfy their sense of superiority.

To think at first I wanted to bring my pregnant mother with me, and my father who loves the two of us very much, to think of cursing them to such a horrible fate makes me feel sick, but no, I will never again give the benefit of the doubt to your nation." I sighed and shook my head sadly, this was depressing to say and I knew I would get hate not only by the government now, but I was not about to censor myself.

"Its not you, the people, it's the ones who represent you, the ones who would sacrifice humans too, children, if that meant more profit and more political power, or even something else like 'scientific knowledge', look at your own past, the experiments your government does on you, injecting pregnant woman and babies with radioactive chemicals, injecting diseases or poisoning them with various chemicals agents, and whatever else they are doing now, and for what?"

"Making deadlier weapons that will be used in the next wars, weapons that anyone could steal and turn on you, and your loved ones." By now my voice was angry, but I forced myself to calm down and not ramble as much.

"If you wonder why the police is stopping everyone and why there are so many military helicopters and drones around, day and night, they are looking for me, desperately because the big bosses in Washington are sweating and shaking in their boots that they're about to lose their new and shiny alien specimen, they want my blood, and probably my brain to study. Think about how much tax payer dollars that amounts to, all for a young and scared dragon child, I'm 9 remember! I still sleep in the same bed with my mom and dad sometimes when I get lonely, I just started elementary school too!"

"I have no intention of ever returning here, hopefully the rest of the world is opposed to this country's military actions in the south pole too, had I been received differently I would have shared information freely, but the trust is broken forever." I said with finality.

"Now, to you, general or president or whoever ordered me captured, you suck! And all that money you spent? wasted! I'm leaving and you won't ever catch me, byyye! Im never setting foot here again." And with that I ended the video, I couldn't keep the snark from the last part, sure it was not murdering them for trying this but it was at least hopefully going to damage their image, hopefully internationally.

After doing that I connected to the free wifi from the hotel on both phones, on one I searched for the flight list and hours of the airport, and also the gates, and in the other I made various social media accounts, all with fake names, I found out that police car stops had been increased and were almost everywhere, people were furious on social media, I realized I could program an upload to happen at a determined hour on some sites, so I did, deleting the hotel WiFi's network from the known ones, then once that was done I went to the nearest tv station floating in my gaseous form, i had to fly up the stairs and once at the news room i connected the phone to the local wifi network, and placed it under the desk, in an easy to find but out the way spot, making sure no one sees me going in or out, and staying out of view from cameras.

Once that is set up I fly back to the hotel and dismiss my protective spells, including the door lock, then use the bathroom one last time and clean everything as best as I can, I looked around and decided to take a little souvenir, a small liquid soap dispenser, the rest I ordered how I found it and then I exited out the window, the only thing I left open.

Having researched beforehand I knew exactly where to go, the airport was overfilling with police officers, every plane had at least 3 police, one on each side and of course everyone away from the engines.

I knew the right plane, I could approach the airport directly and, having checked the right gate I knew which plane I needed to take, but I had to wait for a few minutes, once the cargo doors of the plane opened and it started loading the luggage in the cargo bay, I got ready, hovering above the plane, and right as the luggage loader started pulling away and leaving, having finished his job, the cargo door closing I quickly flew down and got into the cargo hold before it closed all the way.

It was tightly packed with bags but I could squeeze in above the bags, I was in, this was the right plane, I had triple checked it before doing this. I reverted to my natural form, a weary sigh escaping me, now it was all about waiting.

About half an hour later, the plane started to move, I had to hold onto the secured bags and luggage, since I had no seatbelt here, as the plane accelerated faster and faster, I had forgotten how fast planes went right before take off, it was insanely fun, like a rollercoaster, except I couldn't see outside and I bumped my head on everything often.

Now I had only myself and a few cats and dogs for company, I would have conversed with them but they were very scared and stressed because of the trip and I didn't want to bother them more, they were also sort of stuck in a corner in tied up cages.

An hour had passed since we started the flight, I was feeling a bit safer, I could tell we were going south because of the angle of the airplane when we took off, I needed to keep track of that, excellent, the next stage of my plan was soon about to start, it was simple, a big fat distraction, I just hoped the tv station cooperated with me, how, if they were hundreds of kilometers away? Well, that's the neat part about advanced illusion magic, the 7 tier spell Project Image was a beautiful thing.

Being able to make a copy of yourself at a distance that served as a more or less perfect drone, able to see and hear just as well as you, and even speak to others, the perfect proxy.

Mom had gotten me a custom made plushie that looks like me some years ago and i always keep it in my inventory, now I used it to help cast this spell, it was not necessary but gave my illusory copy a big advantage, it would not pass through others now, it would bounce off like if it was a giant plushie, it did not stop or even feel solid, it was still an illusion, but it would have collision, making it look more realistic, and would not disappear unless attacked with some force, so bumping into it while walking wouldn't destroy it.

My sight and hearing were disconnected from my real body and connected to the illusion, I was back in a dark alley near the tv station, I walked out on the street, people stoped and stared at me, wide eyed and pointed.

I walked with confidence I had not felt in weeks, I had nothing to fear after all, I waved at the people, then headed into the tv station, telling the guards at the door that I i needed to go to the news room, i had important news to tell the people, they reluctantly agreed, one escorted me there himself, it was not every day that a talking lizard the size of a big dog shows up after all, up there, a reporter was talking about the daily news, how people were upset that traffic was slowed and jammed by the police checkpoints.

I entered the room and waved, making everyone gasp and look confused, some even scared, but everyone definitively quieted down and waited for me to talk.

"Sorry to interrupt, I know I'm not affiliated with your news station but I have urgent news to share that will get you lots of attention, may I?" They looked even more shocked by the fact I just talked, but they didn't seem bothered beyond surprise.

She looks at me with uncertainty, but after thinking it over she nods and approaches me, excusing herself.

"What are you and what do you want to talk about? Make it quick, we have a limited time slot!" I smile softly.

"In the desk you're standing over there is a cellphone with an import video with all the information, I think if would be great if you played it live, please? It's my story shortened to less than 5 minutes, how I arrived and what happened to me, and yes I'm an alien, this news may be a bit controversial however" I explain to her quickly and to the point.

"What I can promise is ratings, lots and lots of ratings and views, post the video on your social media if you want, copyright it, I don't care, in fact the phone is yours too."

She goes over and grabs the phone, opening it up and connecting it to the transmitter, thinking for a minute if it's worth it, but ultimately decides to accept, she has never seen an alien before, let alone one so pretty and charming as me, I wink at her with a playful smile, she rolls her eyes and gets to check with her bosses. Maybe this illusion spell is giving me too much confidence.

She made a phone call and in less than a minute she nodded, seems she had gotten authorized from her bosses.

"Okay... I'll trust you this isn't illegal or highly inappropriate, putting my job on the line here, my bosses said I can do it, but if this gets no ratings I'm fired, okay... going live in 10 seconds, get ready!
I may ask you questions like a short interview, news were slow today anyways, people just lots of people unhappy with the police and army suddenly appearing in force, some small riots."

I didn't have time to ask because it went live, the video starting, and everyone watching and processing what I said, slowly it stared to sink in as the video ended, she had questions.

Police sirens were heard in the distance, I knew they would be here soon to get me.

"Why... Why do they want to get you so bad? Why did they torture you? I don't understand." She asked, furious and saddened.

"They plan on getting all they can out of me, first medical samples while also torturing me and making me tell them all my secrets, they want it all, they want the power I control." I say with honesty, that's what I figure out too, but I wasn't fully sure myself, if they wanted friendship they would not have done this.

"Look at you! Your chest and your belly, I see the blue skin under you scales, they really tried to open you up, didn't they?" She asked in a sad tone, I nodded softly, the sirens were getting closer, we both could hear them.

"We are ending this now, you should run, they're going to catch you here!" Urgency in her tone, she knew what was coming.

"And for you the people of LA, and other cities you know now why the police is so insistent one the checkpoints and why the army is taking over the city day by day, they are searching for this... Dragon kid, he looks and sounds so young, he is as big as a large dog, maybe a bit more, do you people not think children should have a chance to grow up? Even if they aren't human. But that is my opinion, you should have yours, now the small interview is over, thank you so much for coming Onyx! Back to our usual program."

And with she signaled me to get out and I nodded, smiling softly and running out into the elevator, once I was outside I saw several Swat trucks and military trucks appear around the corner, blaring their sirens.

I pretended to be scared and ran into one of the side alleys besides the building, once inside and hidden from view I dismissed the illusion and disappeared into thin air, right as heavily armed police entered from both sides of the alley and found no one there anymore.

POV LA and other nearby cities

The cost of the military operation was astronomical in fuel alone. They even wanted to close down airports but the issues that would cause were deemed too much, and with the extra controls on the airports, having police at every doorway and a more aggressive screening process, there was no way this thing escaped via plane, cameras were also everywhere.

People came out of their houses and organized protests all across the larger cities, the smaller cities as well sometimes, demanding the waste of tax payer dollars stop now, and the police oppression everywhere was stopped, the unconstitutional search of private property, they would go as far as to damage vehicles if they had a lock of some kind just to check if it wasn't harboring the escaped being.

The people's rights were violated left and right, and the video from the news about the alien quickly spread through the internet, as people finally knew what was causing all of this, no criminal in history, not even the most notorious serial killers would make the police be so thorough in their search, instead they wanted to recover their experiment at all costs, this pissed off many citizens of all beliefs and backgrounds, along with the fact that it was a child of some kind too, that they organized widespread protests across the affected areas, chaos reigned across the southwest, of course some were in favor of the government and wanted the alien dead or locked up.

Other nation's prime ministers and presidents all criticized the US government publicly for their actions, causing stress in the highest levels of power in Washington, their failure to contain something and the fact that it went out of its way to do an interview, and tell the whole world about what happened, it didn't sit right with the higher ups, more searches were demanded, a complete shut down of airports in the area was also demanded, but only the ones in LA were closed, as the creature had been sighted there right before it disappeared again into a side alley. They were always so frustratingly close, the same had happened before when a drone had filmed an instant of something silver in the far distance but when the operator realized and the drone approached there was nothing there, as if it had disappeared.

The city of LA was getting swarmed by soldiers, drones flying from roof to roof to find the target, it must be close, they theorized, it had climbed up or moved up somehow without being seen.

POV shift Onyx, 12 hours later.

I have been asleep for most of the time.
The plan seems to have been a success, now everyone should think I'm in LA somewhere for long enough to disappear completely from the face of the earth, I felt the plane starting it's descent I had to be ready to shift back and fly away once the cargo hold was opened, then I would need to search for another plane, I was both close and far, but definitively much much safer.

Not even 2 hours later and I was floating up from the cargo hold, now this place I was familiar with, finally, more or less, I haven't been here in over a decade, but memories of using the subway to move around were fresh in my mind, Buenos Aires, now this was a city I could see myself visiting again! But hopefully when I have a way to change shape to a human form, I would not want a repeat of last time, even if this time they wouldn't have nearly so many helicopters and drones or power armor troops...

I didn't let those thoughts sour my mood, flying away from the airport and heading into the city proper, it was a few hours away from here, I would need to rest soon, traveling for so long without a bathroom break is horrible, I headed for the nearest hotel room that had a window open and got into a random room just to relieve myself and take a quick shower.

I wouldn't be sleeping again until I got into the last plane, I had already slept enough on the long distance flight, I still decided to lay for a bit on the bed, this room was probably occupied, it smelled like someone used it, but I didn't care, I turned on the tv, international channels were all talking about the alien visitor and how badly he had been treated, even religious leaders were vocal against the US government for the torture of what was essentially a child, of course here every news channel was in spanish.

Some other channels had conspiracy theories too, at that point I decided I couldn't stay here longer, I had regained my mana and was feeling fresh, so i headed out the window in my gaseous form once again.

I landed in a rooftop and switched to my regular form, looking down at the streets below until I found my target, the stairs going down under the streets and into the metro station.

I took a moment to enjoy the cold winter wind, it felt wonderful to escape from the heat, and the humid ocean air was pleasant with this cold, and best of all, it was cloudy and a bit windy, my favorite weather after snowing, looks like rain was coming soon, I could smell it.

I jumped down from the building, casting feather fall midair, as well as polymorph, assuming the form of a mutt with short brown fur and bushy tail as soon as I landed on the ground, landed next to a bus stop so I was not easily seen, but I'm sure some people noticed, I didn't care, and just ran into the metro in my doggy form, the more I used the spell, the easier it felt for my mind, like it was getting easier to hold concentration, less tiring.

An hour later.

I found myself right at the door to the smaller airport, hopefully the last flight I would need to take to get home, I was back in my normal form, just invisible, the sky was dark with storm clouds ever since I arrived here, but now it started to rain, a cold strong rain that produced a loud yet wonderful sound, I stayed there standing still, letting the rain wash away my worries, I could probably be seen because of it, but everyone else was busy running for cover, I instead walked towards the airport and entered, headed for the area with the various screens showing the hours and gates, as well as if it was a departure or arrival, I now knew where to go, with a smirk I walked through the lines, ducking under the obstacles in my way and moving out of the way of people, sometimes even making short subtle teleports to get pass checkpoints, this felt really fun, almost addictive.

The sound of the rain was soothing my nerves, even in here I could hear it clearly I suppose there was some thrill in committing crimes, i could see it, technically this was highly illegal but I don't think it's amoral, I have a right to be happy and safe at home, a right to freedom and life, but i was taken away from my vacation spot and transported across the world by forces outside my control.

Mom must be worried by now, how long as it been? Almost 2 full weeks now, she must think everything was alright. Good, I don't think she needs all this stress during her pregnancy, I want my little siblings healthy.

I walked into the boarding area, the plane was about to board and the first class passengers walked into the line first, at that point I jumped the first class line with another short misty step, here, to my right there was a side door that led outside to a short set of stairs to the asphalt, usually kept closed but they didn't bother to lock it, I walked out into the rain again, the plane was being loaded with luggage and cargo, it was also a much smaller plane, probably half the size or less from the one I hitched a ride at in LA.

I climbed up the loading ramp, rain wouldn't stop me, the operator and loader didn't seem to see me probably too focused on their work, I lodged myself in a corner above the luggage, hopefully they wouldn't load any more up here, I was wrong, and a heavy and large suitcase was placed there and then slammed against my face full force, also pressing me against the back of the loading area, I winced, my invisibility faded, but they were finally done loading and the door closed.

"Ow... I guess I should have seen that coming" I said to myself rubbing gently to soothe the pain. I then pushed the suitcase out of my way to the side and slid closer to the door to find an empty space, no such luck, the cargo hold was full, i was stuck in a confined space where I could barely fit, but it wasn't that bad.

I took advantage of the time to meditate, then I got hungry and decided to eat some of my last food, I had cheese and gems and various fresh fruit. I still had some more meat but I saved it for later, no idea how much more terrain I still needed to travel, I hoped I could just teleport directly but the distances were too large, this wasn't just going from one near city to another like from Ponyville to Canterlot that were relatively close, this country was huge, and I was still over five thousand kilometers away from my target, I needed to be as close as possible to teleport there.

I haven't tested how far I can teleport, but soon I would be putting it to the test. The passed by, meanwhile I checked the map, seeing the places I've visited and been to, I could probably use my project Image spell to keep tricking them into thinking I was still around in the city, if I did it right, but for now I feel I had sown enough confusion and paranoia in them. I also realized I had points I hadn't allocated, it would probably be a good idea to do that now.

Getting more intelligence was the obvious choice, more MP meant that I could cast much more spells and I could become ultra specialized in that regard, other stats would be useful in their own way, like more constitution would mean I'm tougher and healthier, it would also increase my stamina, but now I needed extra range, so all of my points went into intelligence, bringing the total to 54, a number that was starting to look impressive, I can't believe I have grown this much in magic since I started, but it was a wonderful feeling, the sense of power beyond even imagination.

I could rain fire on an entire city and destroy anyone who opposed me, I could make a barrier of magic to protect myself from any non magical attack, and I could turn anyone who opposed me into my minion, just by channeling a few spells, and willing it, some spells required specific components yes, mother dearest had helped me with them, buying from various alchemists and just regular items too, some items were just mundane things like gems or things like water dirt or ice, smoke and even things like yarn or wool, all easy to obtain and store in jars, as long as I had them in my inventory or a pouch inside the inventory I was fine.

Magical items were a bit more pricey but mom could afford them, some magically infused chalks and paints were also middle of the pack in terms of price, perfect for making teleportation circles, or active runes that needed to be drawn on a surface.

I felt the plane start to lower it's altitude, approaching for landing, it was a fun part as well as taking off, I found being thrown around in the cargo hold quite fun, unlike the other cargo I was not secured, but that was fine, moving around and sliding over suit cases and bags was at least not boring, it was like bumper cars but I was the one bumping against everything, this time covering my nose so I don't get smacked right there, I don't like to admit it but the space between my nose holes was specially sensitive to impacts, it felt painful to get hit there, but it was not that bad.

Eventually the plane landed, the flight had a lot of turbulence, but it was more enjoyable than the long almost full day flight I had earlier. I prepared myself, hearing the vehicle approach and the door start to open, my robe equipped I became a magic cloud and flew right away looking for a way out of the airport as soon as I existed the plane, I always was careful when floating away, i really didn't want to find out what those blades could do to my body if i flew into one, i would most likely lose concentration right away because of the blades then get shredded by the rotatory engine.

I was not familiar with this place, not at all, I could tell the cardinal directions of course, but learning the layout of this place could be very useful in the future, I did a fly over the airport, the building itself was much smaller than the last airports I've been to, but it was a beautiful blue color that I appreciated.

A few kilometers away was the city itself, I didn't want to really go on a tour, now, i tried my best to memorize the blue airport building, even got on the roof, reverted to my normal form and chipped off a bit of it with my claw, keeping it in my inventory.

I stayed standing over the building, resting until my magic recovered fully, I made sure I had my legendary robes, and started to construct a spell in my mind, a tricky one, but not as difficult as the one I casted to first reach into this dimension.

I remember something I had gotten from the movie lounge, that movie i forgot to return, could this count as a token? Only one way to find out, I pulled it out and read the title.

'How to train your dragon' Oh, I now that was an interesting coincidence, I cracked a smile and chuckled a bit, imagining myself asking a human to play this movie for me, and watch it with me, now time to try the spell, by my calculations I was close enough, the free wifi from the airport and Google maps read that I was about 3915 km from the south pole, my total magic was 288 MP now, the effect of My robes should reduce that by half, so it would be 120 MP required to make the jump, thanks to this little movie, I should be able to return back there, I really hoped there will be no soldiers again.

But I was ready to fight this time, nothing would get me away from my family.

My body was enveloped in indigo particles that fluttered like sparks from a fire, rising from my body as I channeled my magic, the complex spell matrix in my mind's eye, I held the movie in my hands.

I started pouring my mana into the matrix, filling all of the different runes with energy, I activated the spell, willing to encompass me and bring me to the location from where the box of this movie has been for who knows how many years.

Reality stretches and contracts around me as I disappear from the roof of the Ushuaia International Airport and appear right outside the Lounge 2, inside the South Pole base with a loud almost electric sounding crack of energy, the air around me glowing with magic for a second, I smile widely, finally being back here, but I know not to let my guard down, I turn around and start looking for anything hostile, any humans in armor, storing the movie back in my inventory for safekeeping.

I feel magically weaker after that, but not enough to be a concern, I can deal with anything with low level spells or cantrips as long as I can see it coming.

I hear people yelling and coming to investigate the loud noise, and simply decide to walk outside the station before they can have a good look at me, closing the door behind me.

I then open the second door, quickly closing it behind as well, I decide to make things a bit more difficult for them, and I use 'Arcane Lock' on the exterior door, sticking it with magic, basically gluing the frame. -10mp 158/288mp

Coming outside I see a few planes parked in the distant runway and just decide to book it to the geographical south pole, they probably had the army around after what happened, just in case I decided to cast a low level shield around myself, it would at least cause the bullets to hit less hard, and this version didn't requiere concentration. -5mp 153/288mp

I kept running as fast as I could, I could see the sign now, I was so close!

I approach the exact south pole location and prepare the spell matrix in my mind, time to return home.

Chapter 38 Family Reunited

Author's Note

This chapter forward is back in Equestria, hope you enjoy reading!

Chapter 38 Family Reunited

The runes are in the correct order, I direct my magic to flow into them, the spell starts, a large indigo bubble appears around me instantly with a loud bang that makes me wince. Spreading around me with my core as the center, a perfect bubble of magic and inside it the complex spell starts to prepare the dimensional membrane to allow someone through.

The magic arcs around me like lightning from a tesla coil, I felt the air around me change and the pressure adjust.

Soon I would be home with mom and dad, I missed them a lot, and I want to get to know dad better.

I wasn't sure if this spell, the outer dimensional barrier that was holding this spell together was permeable or not, but just in case I recasted my shield, and good timing because not even a second later a loud bang of large caliber round impacted against it, causing me to wince in pain because of the feedback, this was an antimaterial round clearly, my shield wouldn't hold on against another of those!

I had no choice but to use a stronger shield, runic pattern already forming and charging in my head and soon I pushed my magic into another complex spell, 'Globe of invulnerability' formed around me in a glimmering semi transparent looking dome that was impenetrable, immune to any normal means of attack and most spells -30mp 123/288mp

It was the right idea, it seems they had more than just anti armor rounds, a powerful explosion that harmlessly dissipated around the shield left me shaking in terror, they intended to kill me, my body went into fight or flight mode, but I mentally suppressed these emotions, focusing on the spell and ignoring any further attacks, they weren't trying to capture me anymore, or they just wanted to disrupt my spell enough for it to stop working.

The spell finally ended, my body shifted dimensions instantly, I appeared within the teleportation circle on the third floor of my home, I was back safe and sound!

A small nervous laugh escaped me as I realized the ridiculous situation I found myself in. I was trembling, lifting a claw and looking as it shook, I closed it tightly and tried to calm down my heart that was beating in my ears, it was the loudest thing I could hear, the silence here was almost deafening compared to my heartbeat.

Such a near death experience made me feel more alive, more energized and made any other worry feel inconsequential, i definitively felt more alive now, like my body was checking to make sure I was all there, I felt every part of myself.

I had almost died, if it wasn't overly cautious they would have gotten me, a lesson i took to heart, never again would I travel to such a place with so little preparation, I need protective artifacts, more power, something to protect others and myself!

I smiled to myself and headed down the stairs, the short trip has been in some ways a success, even if I have made enemies and they would probably make some sort of trap on the other side to kill me once I tried to go in again, but there were ways around that.

As I walked slowly I thought to myself about my next goals in life, I had a few, other than getting stronger.
First I needed to finish elementary school and get my education too, and I needed to find the Elements of Harmony, I think I knew where to start, the most elusive member of them and hardest for me to reach was Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy, as they both if I remembered correctly live in Cloudsdale, and I still couldn't fly, I could become intangible and sort of float as a cloud but I couldn't fly like normal, not until I was older.

I hadn't bothered to learn to walk on clouds yet either and it seems it wasn't in Post Mortem's priority list either because he didn't bother to learn it, perhaps he didn't like pegasi enough to want to visit their cities, I was pretty sure he hated anything non unicorn or just wasn't interested in interacting with them, other than to his own benefit ocasionally.

I wondered if I could walk on clouds naturally, or I had to learn the spell, I need to check that someday.

My slow walk down the stairs eventually led me to my parents doorway, I walked in, mom was spooning dad and I slid in between them, a soft purring sound came from my maw, i will take a nap with them and surprise them when they wake in the morning. I smiled, I wasn't really sleepy but I could relax here and think.

Despite my mana being lower than half, I felt it recharge gradually as I laid there, this city had so much more mana in the very air than what was on Earth, where it would take all night to regain all my energy, here it would take less than half that time.

What I felt more than anything now was joy at being back, and the sense of overcoming a life or death situation and coming out winning, living.

I slowly let my body relax enough, as much as I wanted to go out I needed to at least try to regain the right sleep schedule, I let my mind wander until I finally fell asleep, wrapping my arms around dad's back and my tail lifted slightly to rest between mom's hind legs.

Coconut's POV, next morning.

I blink my eyes open feeling strangely cool, despite it being summer I felt as if I was sleeping in the middle of winter, but it was pleasant and relaxing, as if I was covered in a warm blanket during a cold winter.

Let out an almost quiet but big yawn.

I felt my body start to respond to my mind waking up by, but I ignored that, I just wanted to enjoy this sensation, I remember Sylf being a lot more warm than this, usually we would go to sleep together and wake up on opposite sides of the bed because of overheating, but something was cooling me down enough to want her warmth now.

I started to become more aware, I was being hugged, but it was far smaller than my big wolf marefriend, it was... Oh! He came back?! Yes! He's back and it seems he really missed me, by the way his snout is right on my neck, oh my little dragon, my sweet and adorable son, I missed you too! I want nothing more than hug him very tightly, maybe have her join too, but she has had a long day of work yesterday with extra paperwork and I wanted her to have some extra rest.

A few seconds later Onxy started to yawn too, and the first thing he did was move higher until his head was level to mine, then he placed his chin on the top of my head, right next to my horn, he, of course somehow knew I was awake.

"Hey dad, you slept well? I hope I didn't get you too cold, it's been a while since I was able to be so close to the two of you, I missed you so much! And mom too, but she will get cuddles later when she is awake." I turned around and grabbed him in my hooves and hug him tightly, giving him a kiss on the middle of his nose, he returns it quickly and gives me a lick across the muzzle with his long tongue, making me laugh louder and ruffle his head, he has no fur but he enjoys the gesture anyways.

"Oh you're such a wonderful son! You helped me sleep extra good, usually I get too warm at night when sleeping with mom, but you are cool enough to make it feel like a nice warm blanket during winter, maybe I should ask you to sleep between us from now on during the summer!" He loved the praise, I could tell because he hugged me tighter and rubbed his snout on my chest, this dragon was even more affectionate than most ponies, and they are often considered the most touch friendly race.

"R-really? But... You and mom... What if you want to, you know, make those noises you two make sometimes? Won't me being here ruin your game? You usually do it when you think I'm asleep." I feel myself starting to turn red, I can't look him in the eyes as he just admitted to hearing me and Sylf go at it like wild animals.

I try to form an answer and open my muzzle but nothing comes out, I open and close it, thinking of a way to explain it.

He starts giggling, then it turns into a full laugh, this wakes up my dear Sylf, who blinks and looks at Onyx with a loving expression on her beautiful face, she really loves him, I know everything she does is for him, and I cant be more proud of her for that.

"Oh dad, relaaax! I know you and mom go at it like rabbits quite often, I'm not a little colt, I'm special remember? I told ya!" He kept going before I could form an answer, Sylf looked shocked, she didn't even have time to hug him or say anything, he kept going, I looked at her with a questioning look but she simply looked shyly, like she always knew he knew.

"I know how reproduction works, and I know you made her pregnant too, remember? You went for HOURS!" I couldn't believe him, now thinking back on it, she made it pretty obvious what she wanted to do and he seemed perfectly aware what was about to happen, he even willingly went outside to give us privacy, I was too stunned to talk and just waited for him to say what was on his mind.

"But I told her to, you know, that I wanted her to find someone who made her happy and who would be family to us, and I guess she found her other half~"
Oh, so he was not kidding when he said he was special.

"O-Onyx? Y-you're here! I missed you so much my precious son!" Onyx interrupted my question before I could ask it, grabbing him from behind in a tight hug, he let out a squeak of surprise and pretended to struggle before surrendering to the large wolf's cuddles, it was the most adorable sight, he turned around and faced her and they rubbed their heads and Sylf licked him like a mother wolf would lick her puppies.

He reciprocated as well in his own way, massaging her neck, her sides and her back with his dexterous claws, he even gently caressed her pregnant belly with his long tail, he was very gentle, I couldn't resist and hugged them both too, their charm combined was like nothing I've seen before.

I feel like if they are together like this, they could convince anyone of anything, at least it would definitively work on me.

I shook my head, what was I thinking? They are just too adorable together, I kept hugging them both tightly until they slowly decided it was enough cuddles. I decided to ask what was on my mind, i knew he was 'special' but I didn't know he knew so much!

"Momma! I have been here since late at night last night, I snuck in and decided to sleep between you to surprise you both! Heh I love you two lovebirds, you should have seen the look on dad's face when I pranked him!" He laughed again and Sylf giggled as well, but then booped him on the nose.

"Sorry to interrupt, but why do you know so much about... You know, sex? And love, I know you know he knows, you know? Hmph! You're keeping me in the dark about so many things... You know if you were to tell me I could come to terms with it now, and I wouldn't be angry, I promise! I love you two too much to just stop over some secrets, leaving would break my heart probably just as bad if not worse than it would break yours." I hoped they would tell me more, but if they wanted to keep it secret I wouldn't be upset, maybe just a bit sad.

I know sometimes secrets are hard to tell, but I waited and pressed my own face to them, we are a family now, no matter what! I really really wanted to raise my foals along with them.

After a minute of silence, Onyx was the one to speak up.

"Dad, I've kept some secrets from you that I know I shouldn't have, I think you are... Well now you are part of this family, I've been reluctant to admit some things, you know how I am, as I say, 'special' right?" We both shared a small laugh at that, we smiled at each other then he kept going.

"Well I know this may seem hard to believe, but I've been a little dragon for about 8 and a half years, as you know, the thing is... Before that I was not a dragon, I was another creature, I was a human and i lived a few months over 20 years when that life was cut short, i... I was attacked dad, they killed me, it was such a quick death that I didn't even have time to feel much pain before my brain stopped working." He looked at me with those bright and kind eyes, but I could see in them not an ounce of playfulness or deception.

He was serious, even sad, he really meant it! I didn't know how to answer at first, but he was patient and just waited, his cyan eyes blinking every few seconds as he looked at me with both concern and hope.

But he is my son now, the three of us decided together to make a family, and I already knew they had secrets, everyone does, I smiled at him, a warm and caring smile that showed him how I felt.

"Onyx my cuddly little dragon, you are my son! Even if you had a full life before becoming who you are now, I still care about you the same, but I'm really sorry that you were killed like that, it makes me worry for something like that happening to one of us, i-i hope that never happens, my life with you both has been the best times I have had so far." I admitted in a soft voice, I wanted to know more, curiosity is something that I always get caught up on.

"Thank you! Thank you so much dad! You... You know I still have the memories of my past life, all the experiences and all of the knowledge, and also of the past 9 years where I learned all sorts of things about this wonderful world, right? There are many things I haven't told you yet so, I'll tell them now."

"Go ahead, I'll stop you if I have a question okay? And I'll still love you in the end, no matter what!" I meant that, I knew from the start and Sylf had made it clear that being her coltfriend was a whole package deal with his son, I would also take responsibility for him, and it was never a surprise or a burden, it was something I want to, something that I have always wanted, a family of my own.

Dad was my only family before and when he passed away I... I've been lost, until that wonderful day this two came by and...

I'm losing myself in my thoughts, wait... Was he actually 28 and a half years old if you combined his old life and the new one? What happened after death? He knew that! Also why did he keep his memories of another life?

"Okay, I was a 20 year old male human, I was from another world that I've visited, and that's why I was absent this last couple of weeks."

"I'm technically now older than you, but my mind is still not that of an adult, sure I have memories and way more self control and even way of thinking than a little dragon my age, but I also am... Prone to sudden bouts of excitement, I'm extremely clingy and I struggle to control my emotions, despite being older in theory I feel like as if I am a different being from what I was, like, mentally as well." He stopped for a few seconds to think, then continued.

"You know I sometimes cry when I get emotional, I didn't usually cry this easily when I was a human, I also don't have... Well obviously I don't have a libido since I'm only 9 but I know what it's like, I also... I seriously hope this is not an issue or I'll be really devastated dad, but I'm pansexual, I am attracted to all genders equally, not that I'm attracted in that way yet, but I am, im pretty sure I am in a romantic or, how is it called? A crush, I already have a crush on some ponies, you know what I mean?"

I didn't know much about this if I was honest, isn't that just normal? I suppose I don't have much experience when it comes to love either, I have lusted over mares, a lot, but I have never had much experience with stallions, I had friends back then, when I was at school but everyone drifted away from me after, I didn't make any real close friends.

The only mare... the only one I had ever experience with is Sylf.
What should I feel about stallions? I never really thought about it, I just think of all ponies of all races to be attractive, and other races too, I just... Don't know.

"Honestly son, I don't have experience with stallions, so I can't say if I like them that way or not, so far the only one who has... Shared a bed with me is your mom, I can only be sure of something, I will support you and love you for who you are, if you want to have a herd with both mares and stallions I will be happy for you, of if you only want one, what matters is that you are happy, I will not let anyone get in the way of you finding love." I was not about to let him suffer like I did, not knowing if I would ever find someone, I was also... A bit of a coward if I'm honest.

But that doesn't matter now that my sweet sexy wolf is with me and she has my foals. I blushed, memories of how we made those foals coming to my mind's eye, I tried to quickly thing of something different to calm myself.

Thankfully Onyx offered a quick answer and helped me go back to less inappropriate thoughts.

"There's also some much more important things I have to tell you dad, for example what happened after I died, and why that is so important... There are a few things you have to know, things that are going to maybe change your mind about us and that are much more important than anything I've said so far." This was serious, I could tell by the look he was giving me, he was worried, and he was scared of my reaction.

"I'm listening, but I really doubt anything will push me away from you both." I hope I was right, I know I was right, I don't have much else left.

"When I died, I was given a new chance but with a responsibility, it was very vague, I was told that I was an agent of change, and that I had endless possibilities for growth, that I would become strong enough to travel between dimensions, and that I would have free reign to do whatever I wanted with my power, that I would become a demigod and eventually even a true god. All of it sounds incredible right? I even will be able to share my enormous power with others! But... There was a catch, while this all was technically true, the extent of my mission was not clear at first until I was actually born." Oh, Onyx you poor sweet colt, I can see the pain of past events on his eyes, he has gone through something bad, hasn't he?

"Wait so... That vacation you went to on your own... Was that in another dimension?! And how do you mean you can share your power? That all sounds amazing! You must be able to do a lot of things! But... I dread to ask what you had to do, I want to know." My answer is honest and I am really curious what this catch was.

"Yes I went to visit my old home planet, dimension. What I mean to share my power is that I can 'link' with others and we all share my ability to extract power from creatures I kill, and no, I haven't killed any sapient species, I have killed a lot of timberwolves before tho, over 40 I think, and kinda destroyed an evil ancient wizard consciousness that was inside a magical artifact, but he was...
Evil and he had already died, his consciousness and soul were trapped in a crystal and I didn't have a way to revive him, and I would DEFINITELY not revive him either, destroying his consciousness was the only way to ensure our safety." I was speechless, confused and a bit scared, Sylf nuzzled me, reassuring me it was okay, she clearly wanted to say something, and she interrupted him or me thinking an answer.

"Love, my handsome unicorn, please don't be quick to judge him, I asked to do that, and I was the one who killed that evil bastard in the first place, I killed him painfully, I humiliated him, and I destroyed him, do you want to know why?" I was unsure I wanted to know why, Sylf was both extremely terrifying right now and also extremely attractive, I was... Stunned at her sudden change in tone, this wolf, she was not someone who you wanted to antagonize.

"I-i do, I think, and I wasn't judging I was... Just a bit concerned, I-i promise my sweetheart!" I was blushing as I said this, I couldn't help it, was I crazy for finding her so hot when she was serious? I shook my head, not the time for this foalish thoughts.

"He almost killed Onyx, and he also almost killed dear Kari, who Onyx considers an aunt and I consider a sister in battle." I grew pale, all of the previous feelings about her being hot gone completely from my mind as she said that, first fear and then anger was what I felt. I was told about Kari a bit, Onyx told me, he mentioned her being a very sweet and friendly Manticore that had a cub he really cared about too, he clearly cared a lot for them, so did Sylf.

Before I could say anything she continued. "He used a spell that melted almost all of his scales, skin and muscle right off his bones, Coconut, you know what this means? I saw my son... I thought he had died, I saw him be almost fully disintegrated in front of my own eyes, he was thankfully able to survive, but if he had been a pony I think he would have been turned into dust from that attack alone."

I start shaking with fear and hug Onyx gently, looking him over in worry, he was perfectly healthy, but hearing that made me almost cry, I couldn't imagine the terror and the impossibly bad pain, but tears started to come out after she told me the rest.

"That is not everything, Onyx, he was attacked by many other deadly spells and managed to save himself thanks to healing potions, and thanks to him is the only reason we didn't all die, even in his near death, Onyx was aware enough to saved the three of us by paralyzing that monster, and I swung my warhammer into his skull and broke off his horn for that." I was glad, but I still involuntarily winced at imagining the pain having my horn destroyed would cause me. Onyx noticed this and gently started caressing me, I was crying quietly at this point, but Onyx's touch made me feel better, he hugged me and whispered softly into my ear.

"Don't worry, in the end it was all fine, Kari, Mom and I won, we survived, we are here after all, aren't we dad? My adorable unicorn dad, I love you!" I giggled at that, despite everything that was told, he finds me adorable? Well... Thinking about it I suppose he is older than me, in total, I think he just seems me as someone who he needs to protect too? That was incredibly sweet and almost made me start crying again, this... I'm going to stay with them no matter what.

"Oh I must also say, I did torture him to death for a reason, not only he did all of that to us, he also wanted to... 'use' all of us, and yes, he wanted to "buck" us, in the non consensual way, and yes he also meant Onyx, he specifically wanted to do that to him and kill him, then revive him using necromancy to satisfy his perverse desire, or just out of spite for us, so once he was hornless and weak, i decided to slice him up and shoved my longsword infused with acid in his behind." I felt Onyx shiver at that, I did so as well, but I couldn't blame Sylf, I would have still killed him, maybe not torture him but definitely kill him, maybe slower, if I could.

"I... I understand why you did it but I don't think I would have been able to do that, but I understand, trying to do something so depraved to a young colt... I can't ever forgive something like that, there is no coming back from such a horrible act, there needs to be punishment!" I wasn't sure what punishment but... She did what she had to.

"I still think you could have been less... Well I don't know, I would have just maybe stabbed him a few times in the stomach or the chest until he died, I'm not very creative..." Onyx said reluctantly, he clearly didn't want to sound rude but he also didn't agree with that kind of torture, I am with him on that.

"I agree with Onyx, sorry love, but I think you went a bit far, have in mind you set the example for him, and him disagreeing to the example is a clear sign you were wrong to do that, I know you love him and me, so for us stallions, well, males and for our future possibly colts if some are born colts, please don't do that again? If you must kill someone no matter how evil, do not lower yourself to their level Sylf, and don't traumatize our son, please? now Onyx could become afraid of something like that happening to him if he made a mistake, right Onyx?" Onyx looked down at this, being put on the spotlight didn't seem to be his favorite thing.

"I... A little bit, but not because of mom actually, I know she understands she shouldn't do that again." He gives Sylf a pointed look and she quickly nods with a sad expression.

"I-i know, I'm sorry! I was really angry and I wanted to make him pay for the suffering he caused them both... I went too far, I should have just stabbed him normally, I... I will try to atone for it, I promise you both not to torture someone again, no matter what happens." Me and Onyx nodded and nuzzled her to try to make her feel better.

"But dad, here is the reason why I was worried, you know what Princess Celestia's policy towards dragons and pony relationship within Equestria is?"

"No, I don't know, please tell me?" He nodded with a concerned look, but there was also hope in his eyes.

"She told me that if a dragon and a pony get into a relationship within Equestria the dragon has to go outside the borders and never return, or drink alchemical potions that suppress any and all libido and sexual desire, basically assuring that no one in that relationship can conceive, because the dragon will never be able to get an erection again as long as he is drinking that, and they are forced to drink it or are kicked out of Equestria, forced to leave their lover behind."

I felt like crying, really strongly again, this was... A horrible crime against both dragons and ponies who were in a relationship with them! Did the Princess... Did she really make a law like that? I knew Onyx was telling the truth, but... It was hard to believe she would pass such a law.

"But please calm down, she told me she would change that, I begged her to, and she ended up softening up after she realized it was cruel, and I was one of the only few dragons living here, i made a deal with her, so she will honor this deal as well, and in the end we found common ground, we are, I hope, in good terms now, we even joked about afterwards!," wait... He met the Princess?! When? How?

"You... You met her then? Did you two talk and fix the issue? It's still hard to imagine her doing such a cruel law, why would she do that? Was there a reason?" Onyx nodded, confusing me, what reason could there be to make it okay for this law to exist? It was... I could imagine myself in his situation now, not even allowed to ever have that special connection with anypony, having to take a medicine that blocks me from desiring the one I love, or being forced to leave them forever.

I couldn't help it and I hugged him again, tears rolling down my muzzle, imagining how he must have felt when he found out about that law, and from the Princess herself no less.

He hugged me back and caressed me, his claws retracted and his cold paws massaging my midsection on my back.

"Don't worry... dad, it's okay! Yes I felt really bad, I begged and cried to her and showed her my feelings, despite her basically hating me for just being a dragon at first, she softened up when she realized I'm just like you or any other pony, but she did have a reason, a dumb reason but a valid one at least for her, you see when a pony and a dragon, of different gender do...
You know what you did to mom, a creature is born called a Kirin, and Kirin, when their emotions are heightened, undergo a magic transformation that is quite dangerous, they become a Nirik, no, I didn't come up with that name!" He giggled as he squeezed me more against him, he is really strong!

"But Nirik have fire literally coming out of their bodies and they burn anything that they touch, and Princess Celestia told me that Nirik have caused accidents and burnt down villages before because they unfortunately had been near flammable objects when they were in that state, so to prevent more accidents she basically made a village only for Kirin and sent all pony dragon offspring there, the parents didn't get a say in this, and if they wanted to they could move in with them, but yeah that's pretty much the reason, because she doesn't want her little ponies to have to deal with any dangers."

I can't believe I'm saying this but I want to kick Princess Celestia right on her prim and proper face, instead of getting awareness and teaching ponies how to raise their little fillies or colts of a different race, she exiles them away from Equestria and makes it a legal requirement to... I can't believe Onyx begged her... But it did help, he convinced her, this was... As much as I hate to admit it, the best possible choice. But... Buck, I really want to give her a good kick in the face! I can't help but make an angry growl, grinding my teeth.

"I can't she would create a law like that! You... I'm sorry I just really want to make her suffer for it! But you're right, you did the right thing, violence isn't the answer, she is still the Princess, but as a father I will give her a piece of my mind if I ever meet her! I wish I could kick her in the face now." Onyx stopped hugging, moved back and looked at me in the eyes with a serious and worried frown.

"No! No dad, don't ever try to anger her, I have powers, you know? This deal I made that promised me all of this abilities and powers, one of them is that I can learn about a pony's abilities and powers, and I can tell you, you kicking her in the face would have as much effect as an ant kicking you in the face, but if you anger her, she can be... Extremely dangerous, I saw it with my own eyes! Just don't... Don't antagonize her dad, not until I get to know her better and I make sure she isn't a loose Cannon ready to incinerate into ashes the first creature who offends her."

His tone left no room for arguments, I swallowed nervously, he was probably right, the Princess was extremely powerful, everypony knew that, she was supposed to be able to do anything.

"Okay time to get back on track, I have to ocasionally go into the dream realm, and no I don't mean sleeping, the first time it happened was when I was about I think a few days old, I helped mom fight horrifying spiders in a dark creepy forest, inside a place called a Dungeon, not like the ones at the castle, this is much much worse." I was confused but he was clearly not done explaining so I waited for him to explain.

"This dungeons are like... Imagine you are trapped inside a large room that is designed to represent a different theme each time, there is no way to escaping, you also get no choice other than to go in, you are more or less forced to enter and the only way to exit the Dungeon is to kill the strongest enemy in it, the first time we had seconds of warning and we had to fight a huge spider monster at the end! We barely won, it was... It was horrible and soul crushing, I... Should not have seen that."

Nothing, I couldn't think of anything to say, I was sure he wasn't lying, but this was beyond anything I've ever heard about, it sounds too nonsensical, and really confusing too, but I could see he was... Badly mentally scarred from what happened to him there, he started crying softly, then sobbing loudly, until both of Sylf and I held him and reassured him everything was okay now, that we were both here and here was safe.

Sylf was the one to speak then.

"Coconut, what Onyx says is the truth, both of us, but specially him, are extremely strong because of his ability, and that evil unicorn that I told you about, he was the stronger enemy of the second Dungeon, he was a special case because he was actually a real pony trapped in the dream realm for centuries, and he was controlled by a parasite in his mind, too, who was feeding off him, that place was also very horrifying for us, I see you didn't fully believe him but we can prove it to you, should you want to partake in Onyx's power." I wasn't sure what to say, I think I want to try.

"Before you accept dad, remember if you accept and get my powers you will also become part of our group, as in... You will be teleported with us to Dungeons and you will have to fight for your life like the rest of us, and the creatures in the Dungeon can't be reasoned with or charmed, at least most of them! So... Father, if you go with us you risk your life, and if we fail and die, you'll die too, because you can't hope to defeat something strong enough to kill the rest of us, no offense but you are not nearly as strong as me or mom, but we can train you and you'll grow stronger too with experience."

So... This explains why both of them are so gentle with me, I can feel it... Just feeling them hug me and I feel the dense muscle, specially Sylf who is bigger, ever since I met her I was fascinated and... Really attracted to her very muscular body, everything about her was perfect, she had all the right curves in the right places, and her rump...

I smack myself in the head to stop that train of thought.

"I accept, if you're gonna do this... So will I, it sounds very scary, so I will need some help, I need to learn how to defend myself, how to be able to help you, will you help me?"

They both nodded with big smiles on their faces.

Then out of the corner of my eye, I could see different things I couldn't see before. What is this?

I felt a sound in my mind. I saw a symbol on my vision, it was sort of floating there, then I could read a message floating in front of me but to the side.

Coconut Cream has joined Onyx's family!

Congratulations, now you have a vast number of abilities, access to the inventory, status windows, a map feature and your own HUD, you can see your mana level, your health level and your stamina.

You can also see any conditions affecting you, negative or positive, and your perks and stats are available to you to browse.

You are now linked telepathically and are able to speak with all of the members of the family as long as they're conscious, directly into their minds, and hear their response.

Oh! Now I understand what he meant when he said he was special, this is definitively NOT normal!

But I felt giddy and curious about all of this, what was this? I could... Mentally control this? Yes! and... status window? inventory? Let's see...

Suddenly a sword appeared in my telekinetic field, it activated by itself to hold it, I panicked and dropped it with a not very stallion like yell of surprise.

Before it could land, Onyx extended his hand and grabbed it like it was a toothpick, holding it in two claws as it was about to land on his head, this really bad, I almost hurt him!

"Do not do that ever again dad! You could have hurt someone! Okay I'll explain how the inventory works, just... Don't try to mentally touch anything in it if you don't know how to control it, there are very dangerous things in it!" I smiled sheepishly, both of them glared at me for a bit then the sword disappeared into thin air, Onyx's claws extended and he smirked with mischievous intent, I swallowed, suddenly feeling very much in danger.

He and Sylf pinned me down to the bed and started to tickle me nonstop, I didn't realize claws could be so gentle and cruel at the same time, I couldn't stop laughing, I was running out of breath!

'You can't escape us now, your punishment shall know no end for your foolish actions father! You're ours now!' I could hear Onyx's voice directly in my head, I tried to struggle but he was too strong, holding both of my front hooves above my head with one claw, while he tickled my pits and sides while Sylf pinned me down above by sitting on top of me, I couldn't do more than squirm and howl in laughter, between gasps for air, my hind legs kicking uselessly to the sides.

'He is merciless, but he is right, you can't escape us, little pony~' Sylf's voice joins in as they attack me from all sides, I didn't know I was so ticklish until now, this was overwhelming!

They kept going for a few minutes but when I started begging them to stop they did, leaving me a panting and giggling mess, I was all sweaty too, from so much struggling.

"Hah you... You two really messed me up! I felt I was gonna pee myself if you kept going!
I... have never had so much fun in my life, thank you! I love you both, but please... I'm out of air, lets stop for now, I'll need a shower too, you gave me quite the workout." Time to get up.

Chapter 39 Canterlot Market

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Chapter 40 Back Alley Fight

It took me about half an hour to get there as it was near the outskirts of the city, but I did get everything he would need.

Next stop, the Petit Royal bakery! They had the best pastries and amazing flavor combinations, I felt my mouth water at the thought, as I headed back to upper Canterlot where the store was, I suddenly felt someone walking behind me, I ignored that pony because it was a pretty big city ponies walked here and while they often preferred to be out during the morning and day than at nightfall, a lot of them.

This streets were further away from the upper portion of the city and therefore much less guarded, patrols didn't come out this far, and were only at the gates, I decided to take a side alley to go to a street that would be closer to my destination.

I heard flapping of wings from above and getting closer, I turned to look up, and the pony walking behind me earlier took that opportunity to run into the alley and get behind me and jump on top of me, pinning me down and pressing a steel dagger to my throat, the pegasus mare landed in front of me and using her wing, pulled out a short sword and aimed at my eye, I was confused and shocked, so I stood still, thinking what I could do.

"Make a noise and I plunge the dagger right into your neck, you'll bleed out before you can even scream." The earth pony stallion said with the dagger handle in his mouth muffling his voice, but he was right next to me, his body pressing me down against the ground, earth ponies were damn strong!

"We've seen you spend a lot of bits at the market, and those bits belong to ponies, not you, you are hoarding something you stole, so we will steal it right back, now give us your saddlebag and we will let you go, try anything and I will drive my sword through your eye and right into your little brain!"

I sighed, annoyed to having to deal with thieves now of all things, I was too hungry for this!

"Fuck off you two, you messed with the wrong guy!" I teleported a few steps ahead of them, making the guy that was pinning me down to land on the ground with a small 'oomph'.
I stored my saddlebag on my inventory to keep it from getting the dish soap bottle smashed.

I grabbed the steel warhammer from the inventory and stood on two legs, holding the hammer in one hand.

This time I was gonna limit myself from using magic, I have no experience in melee combat but this was a good time as any to learn, and very safe too.

I bet my opponents have no combat experience either, they probably never had anyone who fought back, probably.

"So, what are you two waiting for? Come at me, I will do my best to not kill neither of you, but I can promise you'll end up very much bruised." They hesitated at my words, probably not expecting me to resist or fight back, but then they steeled themselves and approached slowly, holding their weapons, one on her wing and the other on his mouth.

"You'll regret that hatchling! We are going to make you suffer for that." She held her short sword up and licked it with a sadistic smile.

The stallion simply snarled and rushed me first, aiming to stab at my chest, considering how strong earth ponies could be I decided to stop him, he was fast, and strong, but he was predictable and didn't try to use any feints.

Brute strength is scary when it came rushing at you like an angry bull, but I had a warhammer, with longer range, I had much better reflexes too.

As he came by I stood still until the last second, then sidestepped and brought my warhammer up as he ran past, I lifted the hammer up with a light amount of force, hitting him right on his belly, making him fall to the ground after he slowed down enough, and hold his belly in pain, a pained groan escaped him and he started to recover, the hit was intended to just cause pain but not hurt him, mom told me to not hurt stallions unless my life was actually in danger, it was guard policy too, there aren't enough stallions so even the bad ones deserve a chance.

Meanwhile the pegasus rushed at me too, flying fast and attacking right at my back with the sword on her wing, I didn't bother turning, as pegasus wings were nowhere as strong as earth ponies using their weapons, sure it would have pierced right through a pony's skin, but I wasn't a pony and i had very good natural armor.

The short sword bounced off and fell off her grasp and the pegasus hit my back with her wing, causing her to wince in pain, but before she could pull it back I grabbed said wing and held it firmly.

She let out a cry of pain and tried to pull her wing back, hard. "Let me go you bucking monster! You're hurting me!" She yelled but I ignored her and kept feeling her wing.

It felt almost exactly like a bird's wings, just much bigger and the feathers were soft on one direction but also seemed like they could apply pressure like fingers, she was trying to push me off with her feathers, they still were nice to the touch, I could feel the limb itself, it was like an arm, it was muscular but also felt vulnerable, not as sturdy as a leg, I wonder if my future wings will be like this?

The earth pony had recovered now and was back for more, he got up with the dagger at the ready and tried to lunge at me, seemingly furious that I was touching the mare, he aimed at my neck, swinging his dagger in an erratic manner, trying to catch me in one of the swings.

I dodged most of them but still got a few cuts on my arms and chest, that just left scratches on my scales, slashing was not effective against dragons, had no one explained that to this guy? Piercing, yes it can work, bludgeoning was a good choice too, but slashing was as effective as slashing at metal.

I decided to put a stop to the slashing, and swung my warhammer from the side, the earth pony actually dodged with the blow, making him not take any damage from it, and then rushed me and tried to stab me again, actually stab and not slash this time, my eyes widened as I let go of the mare's wing and grabbed the head of the stallion right as the dagger was about to stab into my left eye, it became a battle of raw strength as he and I both tried to push the other back, i had to store the hammer as I needed both arms to be able to push against him effectively, I was slowly gaining ground, but then the mare recovered and kicked my legs in the right angle to make them slip out from under me.

And I was overpowered, he pushed me over and I was pinned to the ground beneath a furious and very large stallion and a murderous mare who had gotten her shortsword back, they were glaring at me with murderous intent, I had my forelegs folded on front of my chest and the stallion was stepping over my hind legs, preventing me from close them to kick or attack with them.

"Uhh... C-can we talk about this? You won, soo you can have my saddlebag, if you want?" I said shakily, I knew I could do better but I was not so experienced with fighting multiple opponents on melee, against one of them probably I could win, but I was taking on two at the same time, one of them very strong, and scary, the pegasus mare wasn't that scary, she was more of a nuisance than a real threat.

"No, we already gave you a chance to give us your saddlebag, but you decided to insult us and fight, and you hurt my coltfriend!" Oh, so... They were a couple, it made sense I guess.

"Wait... You're together? That's pretty sweet! Partners in crime~ hehe how very... Romantic! How about we... We say you won, you beat me fair and square and we leave it at that?" I tried to give them the ol' reliable puppy eyes.

"What are you doing?! You think you'll just... Talk us out of kicking your ass just because you are adorable? Hmph, okay maybe we won't kill you, but we still owe you a good stomping, least we can do after what you did!" The stallion said with a snort, but he was still looking angry, just maybe not murderous.

"No way hun! He hit you on the belly with a hammer! I saw it, how much you were hurting, you're not saying we will spare his life, are you?!" The mare asked furious.

"Stop Wind, he could have done much worse, I think he was just playing with us, he still is, I feel something ain't right about this situation, you know he could have gone right for my chest and break my ribs, or he could have gone for a far more tender spot." Oh, he figured out, they both looked at me expectantly.

"Do you want to talk to the nearest guard patrol or should I take you to the castle's door so you can turn yourself in?" While I was talking, I grabbed the weapons from their respective holds in telekinesis and slid them over to me, where I stored them both in my inventory, they didn't expect it so they didn't react until it was too late.

"W-whu?! How? Where are our weapons?! We're gonna stomp on you then! Get him Sharp!" I knew it was dumb but I decided to fight for a bit longer, with no weapons on the field it was much less dangerous as ponies main weapons we their hooves, they could do a lot of damage with them yes, but they couldn't just take an eye out or something like that.

I hoped.

As they tried to stop me, I dodged the stallion by rolling onto my belly and grabbed the mare's leg that just stomped on my chest, pushing her up harshly and forcing her to either fly up or fall down and land on her back, she chose to fly up.

The stallion rushed me and turned around, prepared to kick me with his rear legs like a whip, but I just jumped back a few meters and let him kick the air, he groaned at having wasted so much force on that kick, then I rushed him while he was turning, this time catching him on the side and tackling him to the ground.

I started punching him on the muzzle a few times, but he pushed me off with his hind hooves, sending me into the air where the pegasus was waiting for me and I was kicked down right on my midsection, pushed full speed where I crashed into a dumpster, landing in a pile of trash.

I couldn't help but make a disgusted noise as the stench made me gag, I couldn't believe this, they actually knew how to fight unarmed better than they did with weapons, and I was learning that the hard way.

I was light enough to be thrown like a ragdoll by the stallion, the mare was much weaker than me but now she kept to the air and didn't try to fight up close, just came by to help her stallion when he was in trouble.

I got up and jumped out of the trashcan, only to get bucked right in the top of the head by the mare, making me wince as it hurts to get kicked there, she laughed at me from above, the stallion was about to kick me too, but this time I was ready, as his legs kicked, I moved in and grabbed them at the end of their momentum, then bracing myself with my tail I stood on two legs, i lifted him over my head and swung him down to the ground, making him land on his back with a pained cry, then I swung him again this time on his front, he used his hooves to stabilize himself and i jumped on top and started to hit his head from behind with my open palm, i was of course going easy, I want him to just give up, not cause brain damage.

The mare was furious at this and tried to kick me again but I jumped forward and went over his head, landing in front of him.

Sharp Blade has taken 20 damage! 180/200

Her kick was too late and she just kicked him in the head instead, at this point he was in a lot of pain from the hits, I could tell he has lost his will to fight.

"You give up?" I asked plainly, the mare was furious and started to insult me from above nonstop, but was too afraid to come down, I was ready to catch her if she tried to run.

"Yes, I don't want to get more of a concussion, I give up, you heard that Wind Shear? Come down here and surrender." He said in a calm tone, but he was still glaring at me.

"No way, I didn't take you for a coward Sharp Blade! You're surrendering to a little dragon, probably not even half your age! You are weak and pathetic, prove me you aren't right now or I'll go find another stallion." He grew furious, a snarl on his face, as he looked up at her, then at me, he directed his anger to me, I wasn't ready when he punched me in the face much stronger than I thought he could.

Onyx has taken 25 damage!

He punched me again and again but I covered my face with my forelegs, backing away from him.

I located both of them with my eyes closed using my blindsight, my magic flared bright indigo and both were wrapped in my telekinetic field, I pushed the pegasus to the ground and the furious earth pony, I forced him the hardest, forcing his head against the concrete, the mare I only restrained her from moving but she wasn't trying so it took almost no effort.

I uncovered my face as the punches of course were stopped by him being pinned down with hundreds of kilograms of pressure on his body.

He was still breathing, but struggling to do it. My nose was bleeding and my eyelid was swollen and I could barely see out of that eye because of his powerful punch, I wanted to stomp this guy to pulp, but...

A tired sigh left me, I promised to not do that, it would be very hypocritical of me.

"Playtime is over, you said you had given up, Wind Shear is right, you're a fucking coward that attacks after having surrendered.
You are a cheater and ruined our game just because of your pathetic marefriend's words, have you no honour?
You disgust me, fucking trash."

I insulted him while casting a spell that will cause him psychic damage, making him wince and cry out in agony as his mind was lashed by Vicious Mockery.

Critical hit! Sharp Blade has taken 30 psychic damage! 150/200
Sharp Blade has been weakened by the spell and lost his will to attack.

Wind Shear looked on in fear, I release both of them from the telekinesis, he wouldn't be bothering me anymore for now, as he was in pain, and would be too weak to attack, must be feeling like a strong sudden migraine from that huh? Well he had probably given me a concussion too, so an eye for an eye.

"And you, do you want to suffer like him too? Do you give up? Answer correctly and you will be comfortable in the castle dungeons, answer wrong and I'll make you suffer worse than him." My voice was soft, almost a whisper, but in the dark alleyway it reached far, as the stallion had stopped screaming and was just holding his head while curling up in pain.

"I surrender! Please don't hurt me!"

"Good answer, now stay still."

I took their weapons out of my inventory and placed them back on them, a teleport later I appeared in front of the castle doors with a flash of magic, the thieves not far from me, and guards came running to investigate the commotion.

I was the one to answer, this guards knew mom and they know who I was too, as mom talked about me a lot, she is very proud of me.

Time to put on a bit of an act.

"Miss guardmare, mister guard, please help! This ponies tried to steal my saddlebag and when I didn't want to give it to them, they hit me!"

"They tried to kill me! I... I didn't know what else to do so I teleported here but accidentally brought them too!" I said with tears running down my face, my face was sore and in pain, so the tears weren't fake, I ran towards the guard and they saw my scales normally pristine now full of scratches from blade attacks.

The thieves had their weapons still on their person, the dagger and shortsword had wooden sheaths and metal handles and the magic light from the lamps here made it clear, the guard quickly swarmed them and forced them to throw their weapons on the ground, and arrested them, the stallion was fully recovered from my spell by then so he couldn't say anything, and the mare was fine. Both of them were taken away.

I was starving at this point, I asked a guard if I could go but she told me I needed to wait for the medic to check up on me, and to go into the barracks.

"But...I need to buy things for mom, and I want to eat... I haven't eaten anything since lunch! It's almost dinner time, would you be able to get someone to go to Le Petit Royal and get me a kg of assorted pastries and eclairs?" One of the stallions nodded and I handed him the bag of bits.

"Sure, I'll go and get you that, it's not far from here and it would be unfair to let you go hungry for so long, just go in and talk to the doctor, he will make the report on your behalf."

"Oh thank you so much! You can get something for you too to eat if youre hungry, there should be enough money, you can even get a few to share with your friends, as a thank you for doing this favor to me, just make sure you don't skimp on the eclairs because Sylf wants them.," he seemed to get a serious face at this and made a small salute to me before leaving, I could tell he was playing, but I liked the guard for this exact reason, they were supposed to be extra stoic and serious but they did have emotions and they showed them, it was just more discrete than the everyday pony, which made for an interesting interaction when they were in a more relaxed environment like now.

Mom told me they were a lot of fun to hang out with too, and I believe her.

"Come this way please, the doctor is ready for you." A guardmare said as she approached, I nodded and walked alongside her, my face was slightly swollen and very sore, I tried to caress it but it was a bad idea, as it hurt a lot.

"Oh little one, don't touch the wound, it can get infected, just hang on, the doctor will help and you'll be back to normal in a few days."

"S-sorry, Its just... It hurts."

The castle grounds are beautiful, flowers in nicely decorated pots, statues, fountains and it was like... The ideal place to take a picture, everywhere, I was tempted to do just that but I was here just to get checked up, and I doubt the mare guiding me would want to be wasting her time.

Slowly we approached to a small clinic that was on the side of the castle, technically part of the castle, we entered the building, going right into a waiting room, then to the receptionist area, and a bend to the left where the different specialists had their rooms, one for each specialization.

Generalist, magic scan room, emergency room, surgery room, and others.

I headed to the emergency room, since what I had was considered an emergency, even if it wasn't for me, for most ponies after being a victim of an attack, a serious fight or any of that, they were considered to be in an emergency, specially when they had gotten hurt.

I was escorted to the door where a doctor waited for me inside.

"Come in, you're Onyx right? Come in and close the door behind you." The soft voice of an older stallion was heard from inside, I nodded to the guardmare and she left , I went in and closed the door as he told me, inside it was the typical doctors room, with a few low chairs and a place to lay down, I went and sat on the chair in front of his desk.

"I'm here doctor, yes I'm Onyx, what is your name?"

"Oh how impolite of me, I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Minty, I'm the doctor today and I had a brief report on what you said earlier but I would prefer if you go into detail, and where they hurt you and how they did it, I'd also like if you would let me examine your body for any wounds and trauma, is that okay?" He asked politely and I assented.

"Okay then please go lay down on there, and then I'll take a look." I laid down and I wanted to rub my face but I remembered that it was in pain, and what the guard said, while I wouldn't get infected I could still hurt myself further by disturbing the swelled area.

"My eyelid and face is what hurts the most, it stings and my eyelid is blocking my view which is annoying, I also think I have cut myself with my fangs in the inside of my maw, but that's not as bad." He approached and I just looked up, not feeling like doing anything, my stomach made a loud growling sound of intense hunger, followed by a pang of hunger that hurt badly, I just let out a sad sigh.

"Wow, you must be really hungry, when was the last time you ate something?"

"Lunch, I should have had an afternoon snack but I got too chatty at the market and then I got too busy walking to the other side of the city to look for some cleaning supplies, and when I was going back I was mugged and beaten up." He looked at me in the eyes and shook his head.

"Those two are going to pay for what they did, no one hurts foals here and get away with it, and I know, technically you are not a foal but youre still under the same protections by the law as they are."

"Thank you, I just hope they stop being criminals and are somehow recovered as functioning adults members of society and not criminals, I don't want them to suffer, just maybe become better ponies." That was... Both true and a lie, I did make them suffer because they went over the line, I had gotten extremely pissed off after that punch, but I do hope they stop being criminals, maybe I scared them out of that life? I hope so.

"That's noble of you, but they still will spend time behind bars and then be given help to find a better path, that is how it's usually done." I could see on his face he was grossed out by my smell, yes I was too.

"Sorry about that doc, they kicked me into a trash can, I should have told you that before I laid on here, shouldn't I?"

"It's okay, you can shower here later, there's a shower in the bathroom here I'll take you to after I finish this paperwork, for now take this pill and drink some water, it's gonna help get the swelling down and calm your pain, then you can go shower."

An hour later, outside the Canterlot Castle medical ward.

I was showered and fully clean, the doctor had finished examining me and I finally had everything I needed done, I was free to go home.

I trotted out of the property and I saw the guard near the door, waiting for me with the bag of pastries and my bit pouch.

I almost run into him, as I rush to get to the delicious food inside, looking at his bag like an tiger about to pounce on it's prey.

"Yeees! Please give me I'm staaarrving! Rhaaaa!"

I pounce and grab the back from him, holding it in my paws carefully and hugging it.

"My precious! My beautiful pastries, come to daddy! I'm going to make love to you in my mouth, or you to me, with that succulent flavor that gives the highest of pleasurable experiences!" I ignore the shocked and somewhat traumatized stares that the guardponies are giving me and get my claws inside there, having dusted them off on my chest, and I grab one.

Almond cream filling, very flaky pastry, i eat it slowly, savoring every bite, at least for the first few seconds until the flavor hits my tongue and I lose all sense of morality and devour in a few bites, but take my time chewing to really get those flavors out, my eyes are filled with tears of happiness.

I try my best not to moan as I swallow my first pastry, feeling the void in my stomach be filled with food for the first time in I don't know how many hours is heavenly.

I grab another and I can tell right away it's apple flavor, made with delicious apples, I wonder if this came from the Apple's farm in Ponyville.

The egg yolk cream, pastry cream, however you want to call it, one of my favorite for this sweets, but I liked too many sweets to really tell if this was my favorite or not, I enjoyed every bite and every crunch of the buttery goodness almost dissolving in my maw.

"H-hey Onyx, you're acting a bit weird, the ponies are getting a bit concerned that you have said those things, where did you even learn those words?" The guard who went to buy me the pastries asked me softly.

"I just read a whole lot of books, romance books speak a lot about things like making love and pleasure and all that, why?" It sounded like the most plausible explanation.

"You should not read those books, they're for older ponies, where do you even get them?" Oh that was easy, and true, tho I never really read romance novels but I know where they are.

"You know at the public library, you can go and pick a book and read it, there is no restrictions, why do you ask mister?" I asked, growing impatiently with his line of questioning and grabbing another pasty, this time an eclair, filled with banana cream and covered with salted caramel glaze.

Whoever made all of this... I need to praise them and make a statue in their honor.

"Well, I don't know, it's just really weird seeing a colt say all of those things is all, but it's fine, you didn't really do anything wrong, just maybe don't say that out loud in public in the future, people may make assumptions and think you haven't been raised properly." Oh, thinking about it, I guess that made sense.

Well now I wasn't starving, so time to go home.

"Okay thank you for the warning sir, am I free to go home now?" I was feeling better, not just because I wasn't starving anymore but also because my eye inflammation was going down, and it was much less itchy and painful, I could completely normal again.

"Yes you are, do you need help getting home? I can accompany you if you want." He offered but I shook my head, I could teleport there right now, the teleportation circle made it easy and fast.

"No need mister guard, I'm gonna teleport there, once I'm outside of the castle, but thank you for your help bringing me this beauties and for being such a cool dude, and letting me know I was causing a scene, I just got too excited for this... Well, see ya!

He smiled and waved at me, I just waved back and left the castle grounds, they had an anti teleportation area inside, and only those authorized could teleport in, honestly good for them, I would do something similar at home if I knew how, but I had no idea, maybe it was powered by an artifact or a spell I had no knowledge off.

At the end of the day, mom has grounded me for being stupid and trying to fight criminals in melee without practice, dad has gotten caught having messed up the kitchen and was punished as well, I don't want to ask how, and mom... Well she is enjoying the Eclairs, and she shortened my sentence a few months when I gave her the ceramic and clay plates I bought and also after eating the pastries, she shared with me too and with dad, she was not so mean as to not share, even if we both had messed up.

We had a basic dinner of omelette with cheese after eating all those sweets, something I can agree with.

Author's Note

Seems like fighting melee isn't as easy as Sylf makes it out to be, and Onyx learns it the hard way.

Chapter 41 Express Wedding

Two days later, 18 of August Sylf's POV

I should have began teaching him earlier, I have checked the official report and I have checked the medical notes and read his testimony, and what they said instead, of course they didn't believe them, but it was clear Onyx had defended himself too, something no one could blame him for, as defending yourself was within your rights, hurting attackers was not a crime unless they surrendered and stopped attacking.

At least his wounds had recovered almost completely by now, his eyelid has gone back to normal and the wounds on the inside of his maw have closed, the two bastards that attacked my son have been placed un the dungeons, they aren't from Canterlot but are notorious criminals that came from Fillydelphia and have several arrest warrants there for them.

I should teach them Coconut and Onyx how to fight safely, specially Onyx who, despite the fact I don't want him to, has to fight for his life and I don't know if I'll be able to go next time, not with my soon to be born pups, I can feel them lately, they are moving about every day now, probably soon to come out, my pregnant tummy is very easy to see now, something I take pride in, I have always wanted this, ever since I was a caretaker, specially when I reached my adult age.

I should ask him, we should do it before they are born, I don't care if it's rushed, I don't want a party, I want us to be officially together, and I know he will agree, he is just too shy to ask, he probably thinks I don't want to... I should have asked long ago, should I?

Well, no time like the present!

I wait for him to be back from work, selling ice cream this time of year is making him some decent bits, of course I never ask him for bits, and he never asks me, we both have our jobs and we make more than enough, I think it's time for us to make our union official, I want to give my little ones a stable family and an official family, it's... More of a formality for all of us, because we know that the love we feel won't change.

Several hours later

Coconut finally came back from work, Onyx is in his room now having a nap, or reading one of his books, soon once my puppies are born I will have to teach him how to fight, he hangs out with his friends sometimes but I need him to exercise more, I want him to be his very best self after all, I want him to grow into a big, strong, and attractive dragon.

Not for me, of course, but for himself, soon he will enter his teenage years and he will want to look his best for his crushes, he admitted to having.

I won't ask him who it is, it's not my business to get in his personal life but I do want him to have the best personal life possible, something I neglected to myself for years before I met Coconut.

Speaking about him, I join him in our room, waiting for him to come out of the bathroom after his shower, waiting for him laying on my side on the bed.

Not much later he comes out, a towel on his head, and he walks over to me, smiling warmly.

"How is my beautiful wolf lady doing today? You look really sexy today, and your smile is contagious~" He slid into the bed laying in front of me and pressing himself to my chest, he nuzzled me on the neck and snout with his adorable and perfect muzzle, he even gave me a little lick on the side of my snout.

I was blushing by the end and he clearly was excited to be alone with me too, I could feel it, but a more pressing matter was in my mind now.

"I've been thinking about you all day, my wonderful stud of a coltfriend. And honestly I want to marry you, I really think it would be ideal to do it before our pups are born, don't you think my love?" He looked at me for a few minutes, trying to discern if I was serious before a huge smile spread across his muzzle.

"You really mean it?! YES of course I want to, I was afraid of asking because... I didn't know if you wanted to make it official or not, but... Ever since I found out you are pregnant from me, I wanted to marry you, it just feels right, you know? And I agree we should do it before our little ones are born, ponies usually marry in small ceremonies in herds, but occasionally they also celebrate monogamous weddings, and... What do you want exactly for our wedding? What type of event?"

I hugged him tightly at that, kissing him right on the lips, it was something he taught me, ponies kiss like this, and... After finding the proper position, tilting our head to opposite sides so they can open and interlock, we could make a sort of... Maw to maw kissing that was how he taught me tongue kisses are done by ponies.

It was wonderful too, very intimate and very... arousing, if I wasn't so pregnant I would ask him for it now, but... There is no safe way to take him down there, other than using my maw, and that was too busy kissing him for that.

Eventually we stopped kissing and I explained to him my plan.

"I'm thinking a small wedding just for our family.
I think we should do it in Ponyville so we can invite Kari, we haven't seen her in a while and she would probably love to catch up! I bet she would also adore you, you haven't met her yet after all, she's the second sweetest Manticore I know, second only to her little cub, Wishpaw." He smiled at my excited tone.

"Now I really want to meet them. I bet Onyx and the little manticore cub will also get along nicely, Onyx loves to play and Wishpaw probably loves it too, right?"

I can only nod at that, they indeed do, my son loves to play with his friends whenever he isn't reading, I suppose while he doesn't usually go outside much around the city, he loves to meet with friends at their houses to play and hang out, and he's a menace at school, but the teachers let him play fight because they think Shining Armor has a combat oriented cutie mark, so they want to let him use his talents, which is always incentivized by pony society, when a pony has a talent and it's practiced in a legal way it's important to let them improve it and grow.

"They get along very nicely, but last time Onyx was there the cub was just recently born, so he was very shy and not ready to play yet, but it still made friends with Onyx, or at least trusted him enough allow being caressed, now, when should we do it? The wedding I mean." He had a thoughtful face then smiled.

Why not tomorrow? I can go buy the bracelets right now, I have money saved up on the vault room, Onyx told me about it and showed me, and damn, he's rich! But I also keep my own money there too since it looks very safe, even if his savings are a lot more than mine." I was sure Onyx wouldn't mind missing one day of school, so I smiled, genuinely happy and excited for tomorrow, this was not decided on a whim, we have been together for over half a year now, love at first sight does happen and I'm glad it happened to me and him at the same time.

"Yes please! I don't know when exactly, but I feel I'm going to give birth any day now, so we may not have much time to plan for anything fancier than a simple family wedding, I don't want any special clothing for the wedding either, let's do it like we are, i want to show the world im going to be a mother, my body will be fully uncovered, im super proud and excited!"

I exclaimed with a cheer, life is going wonderful for me, soon one of my biggest dreams will become reality, not only do I have a mate but I will have my pups thanks to him!

I couldn't resist and formed the spell in my mind, the spell he was extremely vulnerable to, and soon a ghostly hand appeared in the air next to him, I moved it mentally right at the vulnerable target, grabbing gently at his hefty balls between his hind legs

"All because of this pair~ now what can you say in your defense mister?" I asked him in a clear teasing and playful tone, he blushed but smiled smugly and just relaxed and enjoyed the groping.

"Well... You asked for it, and you were quite eager to get it too, over and over~" his tone makes think back to that day, lust had taken over both of our minds, and I couldn't deny it, I did ask for it and I even started it myself.

"... Touché, but I don't think I would ever regret it, that was perfect, thank you my love." I hugged him with a blush, deciding to stop teasing him as he still had to go and buy those jewels, and I don't want all the mares to see his dick out and start to ask him if he needed help with it.

"I won't ever regret it either, I couldn't have asked for a better first time than with you Sylf, my beloved wolf marefriend~ Soon you will be my wife and I will be your husband, this is super exciiiting! And thank you for stopping the teasing, It would be embarrassing to go out to the streets with an erection." He rubbed the back of his head shyly with a hoof and we both laughed, he was right of course, it wasn't illegal but it was seen as asking for a mare to 'help' and I didn't want another mare to get it, at least not if I didn't know her well enough.

"You're right love, I don't want other mares to have you without my approval, I'm not... Completely closed to the idea in the future but for now I just want it to be the two of us, but if you do find yourself desiring another mare, let me know and we can talk about it, I would prefer to know her too before anything happens, okay?"

"Of course, I think I am happy with you and I don't need anyone else, but if I ever feel different I promise I will tell you, relationships are built on trust after all, and I must ask the same of you, I will like to know if you are desiring other stallion or other male, and I will of course like to meet them too, does that sound fair?" I nodded with a wide smile, it was good to know he thought about making it fair, I was really lucky to have found him.

"I promise my sweetheart~ but no matter what, I want to be with you always, and that is why I want to marry you." After telling him that I approached him and kissed him on the lips, we both enjoyed the moment a while longer and then we stopped and he left to get money and go buy the gold bracelets.

I was feeling very excited now, I wanted to run around and scream with joy, but I had something better to do, and that was to tell my son.

Opening the door to his room I approached with a large smile, he looked up from his book about armor and weapons maintenance, and smiled back, his tail started wagging behind him.

"Moom~! How are you?" He left the book open on the bed and jumped out of it, running to me and standing on his hind legs to hug me around the head, happily kissing me across the face with his tongue, he usually did this when he was feeling really happy, his way of kissing was nothing like ponies. Wait why was he so happy?

He probably overheard us, I suppose I can't blame him for that, he is next room after all.

"You know already, don't you son?" He tried to look innocent but I knew too well by now how he acts.

"I... May have overheard it, sorry you were talking loudly and I couldn't focus on my book, not my fault ma! And congratulations! I'm so happy you two decided to commit to it fully, I love both of you, and I agree with your choice to do this before the pups are born, having the stability of married parents that love each other is something that I always lacked back then, you know? N-not talking about you, I mean in my other life, I'm just glad you decided to go about it this way." I hugged him tighter and gently pressed my snout to his.

"You're right, it's much better even if it doesn't change our relationship much, it's for the best and gives us legal stability, while it's expected of stallions to form herds, there is no law that dictates that they have to marry into a herd, and marriage doesn't impose any limits, stallions are always incentivized by the state to have more than one mare, they are in fact paid a large fee for having more mares in their herd, but we both already make good money and neither of us is interested in another ponies as of now." He nodded with a smile at my words, clearly agreeing.

"I agree, so... Are we inviting someone or just our family? Any ideas where to do the wedding? I can offer some of my ideas if you want, what about food? Should we just eat a normal meal? Also don't worry about transportation, I will take you to Ponyville myself, any time you want to, in fact we can go today after dad brings home the wedding bracelets, you know I can now use teleportation! And I can bring even a small group of around 6 or 7 ponies!" That was a good point, but now that I think about it, who could I bring? If I bring one friend it would be leaving out my other friends, and Coconut had no family left, neither did I.

"I think it would be better if we go alone, just the three of us, unless you want to invite someone?" He shook his head no. "And I'm willing to hear any ideas you have my precious! Do tell, you have good ideas always, well almost always." He stuck his tongue out at me when I said that.

"I had this idea... What if we bother the Apple family again and celebrate your wedding in their property? But not right in their house, I mean on the very nicely decorated and beautiful path that leads to their farm, it gives me... A really good feeling you know? The beautiful apple trees, the white picket fence with the sign of the farm, it's very nicely maintained too, and we could have a nice wedding there, it would be calm, out of the way and romantic, in my opinion, of course I think we should pay them for using their farm for that, I will pay myself 5000 of my bits." I smiled at his generous offer, it sounds like a lovely idea!

"But I also have another idea, what if we go talk to the mayor of Ponyville and ask them for a formal wedding but like, one with only the ponies who want to assist? The mayor will probably celebrate the wedding in the town hall or in some church to their god Faust, and the town will be informed, but the first option also means that we will need to inform the mayor to preside over the wedding, since she needs to be witness to do the paperwork for the wedding certificate, right?" I was impressed by his knowledge.

"Yeah, you're right but how do you know all of this? It's almost like you had it planned from the start..."

He simply smiled at me with mischief.

"Of course, I have plans for everything! Kind of... okay not everything but I do for this! You and dad have been together for a while now, almost a year, and you are happy together, you are about to give birth too! Of course I thought about your marriage, in fact I did as soon as I realized your belly started to grow." He said softly and got on my side and started to nuzzle my belly lovingly and softly.

"My little siblings are almost ready to come out, aren't you little ones? Hehe I bet they can hear me, I feel them moving." I stood extra still and indeed I do feel them move inside me, they are alive, they're healthy too, I just know it.

"Oh, I feel it too, my precious pups momma loves you!" Onyx smiled and we both stayed quiet for a moment, he caressed me softly with his paws while I simply sat down and enjoyed it.

"Thank you... I'll always love you as well, you are as much my son as they are, or daughter too, who knows? Just... Thank you for being always so sweet to me despite my failures and mistakes, you clearly took my lessons to heart, better than me in fact."

"What do you mean mom? I haven't done as good a job as you do, I do feel anger and I sometimes act out on it, but I admit I try to show restraint when it comes to using lethal attacks, but that's just because I don't want to carry any of that guilt or trauma, I know it will be painful to remember..." Oh, he still was... Yes he definitely still remembers his death.

"You don't want others to go through what you went through, right? I'm sorry, I wish I could have saved you back then, I know you miss them too, I know." I decide to hug him this time, pulling his face close to my chest and holding him for a few minutes.

He was crying softly, but I comforted him until we both felt better, he was improving, if only slightly, he recovered faster and had a smile on his face, a real smile.

"I do momma, but I am moving past that, and now that I have a way back, even if it was dangerous, I feel it's much less of a problem if I ever really want to go back to check up on them."

"Good, that's what matters, but you're not going back until you are much much stronger and you can protect yourself from anything, okay?"

"Yes, I know, no way I'm going back now as weak as I am! And not while we have things to do here, I have an important mission, several in fact, and I promised Celestia I would help her, I intend to keep that promise, despite me wanting to slap her on the muzzle... I-i mean despite how we get along." That made me snort and begin to laugh uncontrollably, the mental image of Onyx slapping her was extremely ridiculous.

"Pfff! Hahahha Onyx you are really a joy to be with, I agree I would punch her too, but I don't think I want to risk my life like that, and neither should you, you said so yourself before." He agreed quickly, then Coconut opened the door and entered, holding a fancy jewel velvet box that was somewhat big.

"I'm back you two! I got this beautiful bracelets with black and white pearls, one of each for each amulet, I think it represents us very well, I mean sure I'm brown and white but I think it kinda fits, do you agree honey? Or should I go change them?" He asked with a hopeful expression, Onyx nodded and gave him a hug which he returned.

"Ohh I love the concept! Yes I think the color black represents me very well, I love it! And I also love your colors, your magical aura is white, and black and white go perfect together~" I joined their hug and smiled, this was a wonderful moment! Now we just needed to go and inform the Apple family and the Mayor of Ponyville about our wedding so she will make time.

"Don't worry you two, I'll bring the money so we can pay for the whole event, I'm sure that Ponyville has a good bakery and the Apple family will accept to help us in exchange for money, I wouldn't ask them to do anything for free, so you two ready to go? Go get everything you may need ready, I'll bring the money and we will meet in the dinner table to eat and from there I'll take us to Ponyville." He was definitively already very much sure of using his own money, so I wouldn't stop him, plus he must felt indebted to me since I got her that expensive chest he uses now to store his treasure, and I want him to feel like he doesn't owe me anything.

"Thank you so much my wonderful dragon! Come on let's get things ready Coco, let's pack some things we may need, tonight we will sleep in Ponyville."

POV Onyx

I had an idea, why shouldn't I use the phone I had brought from Earth? I can charge it here! I have the solar charger and I haven't set it up, I could be the photographer!

I pulled it out of the inventory and unlocked it, I had no passcode or fingerprint on it, I do have fingerprints, kind of, but they are not the same as a person's, they just are textures in my paws that have random patterns, the scales on my paws are also not as slippery, and they have way more grip.

"You two please look at me and stay there, hold your bracelet box up for me to see and hold still, I'll take a picture!" They both looked confused, I never explained to them what was a phone, I'm sure they'll have questions after this.

"Sure son, but what is that rectangular glass? It's really beautiful!" Dad asked with curiosity as I stepped back and aimed the phone at them, the camera on it opened, it was quite an amazing camera, human tech had really improved in the last 8 years since I died.

"Oh I'll explain later, just stand still, and smile to the camera, this is just a photo camera like those the reporters use for the news! Just a lot better." They at least didn't question me further and did as I asked.

I snapped the picture and a brief flash lit up the room more, the picture was instantly taken and both ponies blinked away the strong LED flash.

"Wow, that really is like the cameras the reporters have, it's bright!" Sylf exclaimed, blinking quickly.

"Yeah sorry, the flash usually makes the indoor pictures look better, want to see how it came out?" They both seemed confused, knowing pictures required a long process to be seen.

"Huh? But how? You haven't gone to get them done yet?" I smirked and approached then again, opening the right picture on the gallery and showing them.

I had a few pictures of Earth too, from the hotel room windows, where I was safe, and in my natural form.

I showed them the screen and their eyes widened, staring at it like it was hypnotizing them.

"Whoa! Ohh, Onyx where did you get this thing?! It... It can take pictures of such quality! We look amazing in it, it's also super convenient, how?" Dad was fascinated, and mom was speechless, but her surprised expression morphed into a smile after that.

"Oh son, you have to take pictures during the wedding too! Please? It would be lovely to have those moments immortalized in such a way!" She begged me, with her most adorable puppy wolf expression, she pulled it off extremely well, I suppose the advantage of being a wolf herself, I was gonna do that anyways.

"Of course ma! This is exactly why I'm showing you this device now, it's one of the items I brought back from home when I visited, I would say it's the most valuable one when it comes to daily life... I regret not having downloaded music on it, but I didn't have much time to go and start looking for it." I shook my head.

"Enough about this, go get ready you two, we don't have much time, I don't want to have to bother the Apple family late at night, they probably all go to sleep early and it's already past 7pm, you have 30 minutes to get ready." I said with a serious expression, shooing them off my room, which they quickly complied and ran off to get their things ready, not like there was much to take.

Half an hour later, I was waiting in the eating area, filing my claws to be smoother, and less pointy, I already had my sack of bits stored in the saddlebags I was wearing, I was all ready, I had eaten a meat and cheese sandwich and packed some food for the night, gems and other small snacks like cookies dad made yesterday.

Finally both came running at the same time, I smiled and nodded to them.

"Good evening, ready to head out? Did you lock all the doors and windows? Did you turn off all the magical lamps?"

Both of them nodded "yeah we did son, let's go, we're ready."

"Good, let's go stand there in the open space, I will start up the spell." Thankfully they did as they were told and I walked between them, I hugged both of them standing on my hind legs, the runic matrix already half filled in my mind, I had a look of concentration as I looked for the right spot that I was sure must be empty by now, and not scare anyone who was in the house.

I decided a few meters away from the fence, on the fields was the ideal place, I poured my energy fully now that I had a place.

"Both of you open your mouths and relax your chest, teleporting in 3 seconds." They both did, motes of indigo color lights floated around us for a second before we appeared in less than an instant at our destination with a bright flash of the same color, a loud sound like an electric arc could be heard even from dozens of meters away.

Mom and dad suddenly went a bit green as they got strong nausea, good thing I was holding onto them, they weren't used to teleportation.

"Take a deep breaths through your mouth, let your body get used to the difference in pressure and altitude, we just came down from a mountain, you're gonna take a few minutes to adjust."

This pressure change didn't bother me because i had experienced teleportation before, and because I had a different body than they did, I was not a mammal, I did feel my ears sting and my stomach get a bit upset for a few seconds until I yawned to equalize the pressure.

"Huff Huf i-i think I'm okay now, you should have warned us about that son... Not cool, but it's okay... It's faster than the train." Coconut was the first to speak.

"Wow that didn't feel very nice, I felt a bit sick for a minute there, do you have something to say for yourself son?"

"Sorry mom, dad, it only happens the first time, then your magical core will protect you from teleports, the first time I almost puked too, it's just that your magic doesn't know that teleportation can happen and once it does it learns, your magic, both of you, your magic is another... Organ in your body, it's always either in the brain or very close to it."

"So that explains why my horn is in my head, but... Sylf you don't have a horn, so how can you use magic?"

"She has her own magical organ inside her brain, just like me, our magic focus is not our horns, it's more spread out, mom is in her maw, mine spread across my body, but mostly focused on my front paws and in my maw."

Suddenly we heard someone running over, and I could tell right away who it was because of both the sound of her steps and the distinctive scent. Dragon noses are quite sensitive.

A large Manticore jumped in front of us, making dad go pale, and become paralyzed with fear.

I admit Kari would be terrifying if I had seen her in front of me out of nowhere for the first time.

"Auntie! Hiii! It's been a while, how are you?" I used a quick multicast speak with animals spell on both of them and myself.

"Hello my little nephew, you look good, and happy, how wonderful to see you!" With that she starts licking my head as I hug her tightly and nuzzle her strong muscular chest.

"Oh Kari, I've missed you and cousin so much... I need to introduce you to someone, this wonderful stallion here with us is Sylf's mate, and soon we will have a celebration to make their pairing official I'm the eyes of the ponies and other creatures! You're invited." She looks intrigued at my words, I just smile and grab her snot, playing with her whiskers and running my paws on her chin, caressing her, which has the desired effect of having her closing her eyes in bliss and making adorable purr like noises, much deeper and scarier of course, for the average person.

Meanwhile mom whispers in dad's ear and he calms down slowly, his face regaining color and he sighs and seems to become more confident, wiping the sweat off himself, he must have had quite the scare, and prey instincts are strong on ponies, I must say he is quite brave for a pony not used to fight...

In second thought, he and mom are a couple so maybe he is into, okay Onyx time to stop that train of thought.

"Kariii, good to see you again my dear sister~ you must meet my wonderful mate, go ahead love, introduce yourself!" I stop hugging auntie and move to the side to let them interact properly, and go back standing next to mom.

Dad steps forward and begins doing as asked
"H-hello miss Kari, my name is Coconut Cream, I'm Sylf's coltfriend, and soon to be husband, its nice to finally meet you! Both Onyx and Sylf have told me a lot about you, and I'm glad go meet you in pony, finally." He says with a smile that grows more confident as he speaks, and then he approaches her and gives her a nice hug, making me smile wide, he also nuzzles her on the neck too, I almost cheer at this, yes! He is doing everything right, I will never doubt him again.

Kari was surprised too, a slight blush on her face, but she soon relaxed and hugged him with one big paw that gently rubbed on his back, and nuzzled his head, even giving him some licks too which messed up his mane, I giggled along with mom, their hug ended and they looked at each other's in a new light, he completely relaxed and was smiling and she was looking calmer and with a glint in her eyes, looks like they already get along well.

"I'm glad you two like eachother, now come here sister!" Sylf gestures for Kari to approach and then became very affectionate.

They spent a few minutes catching up and explaining what the reason for our visit and what had happened during our time away, I decided meanwhile to go talk to the Apples.

I reached the fence door and opened it gently, it wasn't locked.

Then I walked towards the house, and with a smile I realized Smith Apple was sitting outside and drinking some apple juice while enjoying the sunset.

She saw me coming, and got up from her chair, walking towards me. "Onyx, it's you isn't it? How wonderful to see you again!" She reached me and we both shared a hug, she was much younger than in the show, she was still old but she was as pretty healthy and looked to be in her 60s

"Granny! Its lovely to see you in good health, how is everypony at the farm doing? How has the new addition to the family behaved? Hehe I hope she or her cub haven't caused any issues." I asked hopeful, I had no reason to believe anything happen but it's better to ask than be surprised later.

"Oh don't ya worry about that youngin, they are both angels, they are really well behaved, little Wishpaw loves to play with the colt, they both get along wonderful, and Big has someone to play however much he wants, only thing that happened was that our relatives gettin' mighty scared of her when they visit, until they gather enough courage to meet her, then they're fine." A small sigh of relief left me at that, making the mare laugh.

"Ya worry too much colt, but I assure ya, they have been nothing but helpful and kind, and they get their own food like you said, we only give them water every day same as our other animals, and they keep any predator from the Everfree away, specially Kari, she goes out to hunt and defends the territory from other any Manticore, and no other critter ever dares to confront her."

"We do keep her cub safe here, when she leaves the house she leaves her cub inside the house with Bright and Pear, or whoever is looking after the youngins." She finishes explaining then looks at me with curiosity.

"I know, you must wonder why am I here?" She nods and I answer right away. "Because mom and dad are getting married and we decided we would use your farm for that, the orchard and fields of apple trees, the beautiful sign and white picket fence, it looks really nice, everything does, will you accept? I will pay you handsomely for letting us use the entrance of your home, we don't need very much just one long table or two, and just your permission and either your or somepony else's baking skills, we will of course pay for all of this, what do you think?"

After dropping the bombshell I left her to think for a few minutes, while looking at the sunset myself and enjoying the sight.

"Wait, you have a dad?! Oh congratulations! Then your mom got a coltfriend? That's lovely, many mares are unlucky and can't find a stallion that wants them in their herd, let alone in a relationship like dear Pear and Bright have, is your mom part of a herd or... Two pony relationship?" I hope she asking all of this questions means she accepts.

"She and dad are the only two in the relationship now, their plans for the future are uncertain, but they want to have an official marriage, because mom is... Well she is soon go give birth to her and his foals, or pups, I don't know." I answered with all honesty, I didn't know either what the little ones would look like.

"And... Where are they? Oh they must be catching up with Kari, right? And I accept your proposal young Onyx, I along with Pear can prepare the food for this wonderful event, but when do you plan on doing the wedding?" Now it was as time to say what would probably make her upset.

"Tomorrow evening, tomorrow morning we will go and talk to the mayor, from there we will come here and help you set up the event, and I will be paying 5000 bits to you if you accept, does this whole thing sounds like a fair price to you?"

Her eyes widened and she looked me closely, narrowing her eyes slightly, looking for any signs of deception in my expression, or that I was joking, I wasn't.

"You really mean that, don't ya? It's doable, yes I think we can do it, but ya have a reason as to why you want to do this so soon? Why in such a hurry? Ya sure you want to pay so many bits? We could do this fer only 2 hundred..."

"I'm sure the amount I'm paying is non negotiable.
The reason I'm in a hurry is because mom is soon going to give birth and both of them want their wedding as soon as possible before that happens, and yes they decided to get married today, they both had been meaning to ask eachother but... You know how sometimes our insecurities keep us back from what we love? Well that is okay because they realized now what both want and they want it now."

She nodded at this, finally seeing the whole picture.

"I see, thank ya for explainin' Onyx, and do you know how many ponies ya want to invite? We need a list, we have the long tables you need, but we only have enough for a few dozen." I shook my head at that.

"No, no worries granny, the only ones assisting the event will be us three, your family, including the recent additions, and the Mayor who is going to make it official, we have to bribe her with some food too so she actually wants to come, right? There also must be a fee for it, do you know how many bits it would take for the paperwork she has to prepare and fill? And all of that?"

"It's only 10 bits, I'll cover it with the money, I'll also cover all of the other costs, don't worry and leave it all to us adults, ya just go and enjoy yer time here with us, I would tell ya go play with Big Mac but he's asleep now, and so is everypony else but me."

"Thank you granny, here, let me give you the bits now so you can get everything ready, my parents will be coming soon, can we sleep in the barn or the couch? Either works for us, like last time remember? Again I'm sorry for asking for all of this in such a short notice, it's not polite of me." I say and take out the bag of bits with my telekinesis, handing it to her, she smiles and hugs me.

"Thank ya kindly for the bits, it's a lot of coin that we desperately need to improve the farm and get supplies, yer a generous dragon, which is something lotta ponies could learn a thing or two from."

"I'm not as generous as you may think, I just think your farm is important for all of society, not only in Ponyville but in all of Equestria, you sell apples to suppliers for Canterlot right?" She nods at this, she is clearly very happy with me now and I can't blame her, I bet running a farm is costly.

"Well, I enjoy the products made with your apples a whole lot, I benefit from the success of your farm, if donating some money to your farm in exchange for an urgent favor I need, that is preparing some food and talking with the mayor then it's worth it for me."

She laughed and shook her head. "Despite enjoying our apples ya don't have an obligation to give us this, but ah really appreciate it, I'll make sure the food is extra tasty, yer welcome here any time you are around Ponyville, and yer family too, even friends."

The next day, early in the morning.

I had woken up early as I heard ponies come by and greet us, I was still half sleep in the sofa, my eyes half closed as I was hugged and nuzzled by ponies who then I recognized were Pear and Bright, I blinked and returned their affection, coming fully into consciousness.

"H-hi there everypony, sorry I was asleep." I say and yawn wide.

"So this is Sylf's coltfriend? He's so cute! I'm really happy she found somepony that makes her happy." Pear said softly to me, but my parents were waking up too.

"I agree miss Pear, my dad is a very good stallion and he makes mom very happy, I'm glad they became so close, soon mom will give birth too, she has been pregnant for over half a year I think."

"Oh you even call him dad! How sweet!" Pear hugged me again, I returned it, despite not going out as much as I should, i was not introverted, I felt happy in this moments.

"Good morning everypony, honey, wake up and say hello to the Apple family, well other than granny Smith that you met last night." I saw the unicorn slowly begin to wake up, yawning and stretching his legs, he blinked his eyes and realized he was in a full room of people, then blushed and tightly squeezed his hind legs together to cover his crotch, he looked at the other ponies and smiled shyly, waving a hoof.

"O-oh, hello everypony, it's nice to finally meet you, I'm Coconut Cream, the coltfriend and soon to be husband of my beautiful Sylf." He then climbed up on top of Sylf started giving her kisses on her neck and snout, making her blush and look at him.

"D-dear... Let's try to focus on doing what we have to do now, and that is preparing for our wedding, we have to go see the Mayor with granny Smith."

"Nice to meet ya Coconut, you must make her really satisfied and happy by the look she just gave you, you have my respect for that." Bright nodded at him with a smile.

"Yes definitively dear, she loves his kisses, look at her blushing and stuttering, clearly doesn't want him to stop~" Pear joined in the teasing, making mom and dad get go almost red faced.

"Hahaha I love make them embarrassed too, but all in good fun, get going you, you can get cuddly again after the party, time for me to get back go sleep meanwhile." I laughed thinking about all the times I had gotten them both looking this flustered, I didn't go out of my way to embarrass them but when it happened, I embraced it.

I dreaded the time they would turn the tables on me, but I still had a few years to go until that age.

That same day at 6pm

Finally, everything was ready, the tables were set up with cutlery and enough glasses and plates, for everyone, I of course have been taking pictures of everything, it was very fun and I got many confused looks.

We decided the the youngest of us would bring the bracelets, the symbol of their union, and that was Wishpaw, who I taught how to carry the little pillow on his head, he was adorable and this time he could understand me, I told him to not worry and if something fell I would get it for him.

We were ready, everything was in place and only the Mayor had yet to arrive, she was surprised early today when they went to ask for her to prepare the paperwork, but also somewhat saddened that mom and dad's herd wasn't bigger, but she understood and explained to them again that marriage didn't mean other ponies couldn't join the herd anymore, in fact if was sort of like officially declaring that Sylf was the head of the herd, and any other mares that joined had to respect her position.

She told us that she was happy that a non pony like mom found a stallion, honestly it was both kind of her to say and also made me feel she was implying something, but neither of us cared about her opinion, as long as the wedding was officially recognized.

While we waited we walked around the apple orchard, looking at the various trees and enjoying the sound of the wind rustling leaves, I played around with the manticore cub, making him chase my tail around, even letting him catch it and nom it, he didn't bite hard, not for me, but I'm sure if I was a human and he bit my finger it would definitively make me bleed.

Big Mac watched us play with interest, sometimes the 3 of us would run around to play catch, dodging trees and jumping around obstacles, my longer body and tail made it genuinely harder to keep up with them, and the fact I was letting them win didn't help.

"That was fuun! But now I'm tired." Wishpaw said, only I understood him because Big Mac had not gotten the spell to talk to animals but I had it active.

"Take a break, but remember you have to bring the bracelets, so don't fall asleep okay?" I gently asked the cub.

"Okie I'll just relax with mom, she will wake me." I nodded, it wasn't a bad idea.

Finally the Mayor arrived and we all got ready, everypony was talking and catching up, it was a wonderful day, with just our family and the Apples who were close to all of us, even little Applejack was here, held by her mother and clearly happy as she was making baby noises.

Everyone got into position, sitting on chairs that I grabbed from the table and placed in rows facing the spot where they were going to get married.

"Hello everypony! I'm very happy to be here today to celebrate the union of two wonderful individuals, one of them is Sylf, a royal guard that has served the nation for over 5 years, and the other is Coconut Cream, a stallion who has made many ponies happy and refreshed with his frozen desserts and ice creams." I have been recording ever since it seemed like the Mayor was about to speak, aiming my phone at them.

"Both of them have fallen in love and precious new life grows in Sylf as a result of their love, they have both come to the decision they want to formalize their bond, and to show the world they are together and love each other." Everyone was smiling, they all knew that Sylf was pregnant, it was pretty obvious by now.

"Now with the authority given to me by the Crown, I must ask of you, Coconut Cream do you promise to love and cherish your mate? To stay with her and help her raise the foals you have blessed her with?
To love her even when times are hard, when she may be sick or injured, just as much as you love her in happy times and when she is in good health?"

"I promise, I will stay by her side." He answered with certainty, a loving expression on his face as he looked Sylf in the eyes, he only had eyes for her now, and she for him.

"And you, Ms. Sylf, do you promise to love and cherish your stallion? To stay with him and raise your foals together as a family? To love him during the good times as well as the bad times, in sickness and in health?"

"I promise, I will stay by him and protect him from harm until I can't anymore." She said with conviction, as both stared into each other's eyes.

"Now you may place your bracelets on each other as a symbol of giving yourself to your partner."

Now little Wishpaw approached them with a pillow on his head, carrying the bracelets, I was impressed by his balance, he stood in front of them and made an adorable meow, catching their attention, they smiled warmly and each took their partners bracelet, Sylf using her magic hands that were much better than her maw for handling delicate objects, and Coconut of course used his telekinesis.

They put the bracelet on each others right foreleg, it was nice and snug, perfect size for each, I admired the beautiful design from here, it was beautifully designed, the gold swirled around the pearls, there was one black pearl on one side and the white pearl on the opposite side, as if they were planets sharing the same orbit.

After they were done they nodded to Mayor Mare to continue.

"By the powers bestowed to me, I declare you Husband and Wife, you may now kiss, I can see you both want it." Mayor Mare said with a honest smile, and that was the signal the two were waiting for, they moved close, and started kissing passionately in front of everyone, really... Getting their maws together, it was pretty nice to look at, knowing they were so happy made me happy, this show of affection made Pearl and Bright start kissing the same way too, as they were the only other couple here.

"I started clapping my paws and cheering, and then the rest started to join, ponies stamping their hooves on the floor in approval, and some cheering with me."

"WOOO! Go mom and dad! You're husband and wife now!!" i cheered loudly while they finished their kiss, slowly moving back and touching their snout together.

"Thank you Mayor Mare, that was perfect!" Sylf said with a smile, approaching the mare and bowing her head.

"I agree with her, thank you so much ma'am! This has been a wonderful experience." He bowed his head too in appreciation, then both of them lifted their heads.

"It was my pleasure, it's always a joyful day when I direct a wedding, I wish you both a wonderful marriage and that your foals are healthy and happy, now I have to go and prepare the paperwork, goodbye everypony!" Everyone said goodbye to her and she left, then we started to bring out the food, by now it was becoming nighttime, the sun was setting behind the horizon and I felt a sense of calm and peace, as much as I would love to sit and relax I had some things ready for tonight, sort of fireworks, as much as i could with magic, i had learned a firework spell that would be ideal for tonight, it was nowhere near as good looking as real fireworks but those were dangerous, really loud and most creatures including ponies have sensitive hearing.

After that we ate the delicious food made by the Apples, it was all vegetarian but delicious, specially the desserts!

I loved the apple fritters the most, I haven't had that in forever! Reminds me of... Better to focus on the present, it was time to try my fireworks, I checked the sky to make sure no pegasi were flying above us.

"Excuse me everypony, I will make a magical show for you all, now that it's night it will look good, and dont worry it wont be very loud." I announced, but no one knew what I meant, only one unicorn was here after all and he didn't really study magic.

I decided to just do it, aiming one hand at the sky, I filled in the matrix in my mind's eye and released the spell through my hand, shooting what looked like a ball of light that flew high into the sky, once far away, it exploded into sparks of various colors and shapes, it grew in size for a few seconds until the shape I had chosen became visible, it was Sylf and Coco nuzzling each other, all in pink and around them there was a big heart shape.

The next firework I launched was of Coconut's cutie mark, i didn't really made a habit of staring at my father's butt, to check it his cutie mark in detail, but from the brief glances I could tell it was supposed to be, a beautifully decorated glass cup of white ice cream, probably either Coconut flavor or just sweetened cream, and a coconut cut in half next to it, pretty much his namesake.

Next it was Sylf's face with a loving smile just like she has right now while looking at the fireworks, then after that a heart with an arrow going through, with their names inside and under it a 4ever.

It was childish, but I was the one doing the show so what I think is what they get, after that I just stared blasting the sky with randomly shaped and colored fireworks, not caring for making patterns anymore, just having different shapes and colors, from green to golden and blue.

The only sound this fireworks produced was a soft pop, similar to popcorn popping, nothing deafening or scary, so even the little cub and Applejack that were basically babies, were watching up and making adorable happy noises of wonder and smiling.

Everypony was staring up wide eyed and smiling, specially the newlyweds.

I'm sure this fireworks were visible and clear to see all the way from Canterlot, but they would not be heard from there, if they were barely audible from down here.

Meanwhile in Canterlot Castle. Cadence POV

I was looking out the window into the distant horizon, the night was beautiful and calm, school had gone well, even if Onyx has skipped classes today again, I hope he was okay.

Auntie Celestia had been reaching me today too, it was all about how to act like royalty, everything about how to look superior and inspire awe in others with my presence alone, things that I didn't really want to do, I wasn't interested in being seen as above others, it was the furthest thing from what I want.

But I still paid attention, I still learned and practiced, my destiny was clear, I had to become a Princess, that was what it meant to be an Alicorn, or so auntie tells me.

Today had still been a good day, Shiny had spent a lot more time with me talking and just enjoying each others company during our free time.

He wants to become a royal guard, he says his destiny is to be a royal guard because he has a talent for shields, his cutie mark is a shield and he has used that very strong shield during that practice session with Onyx.

Something pulled me out of my inner thoughts, as the distant horizon suddenly had a distant shape appear out of nowhere, fireworks? Yes definitively, it grew and formed into two ponies, no a pony and a wolf, muzzles pressing together and love clearly conveyed, it was also pretty obvious because they were both inside a heart shape.

Wait, this are Onyx's parents, aren't they?! Why are they in fireworks? What's going on there?

I wish I could could see, but I had no way of reaching that far, I still couldn't fly more than a few seconds before I fell down.

The next one was a cutie mark that looked like ice cream on a cup and half a coconut, then the face of a very happy wolf.

The last was confirmation of what I was already sure of, both of their names and 4ever, all surrounded by a heart with an arrow going through it.

Had they just gotten married? What else could it be? I smiled happily knowing they had made their love official, Onyx was surely there with them, and that is why he had missed school.

That is the best reason to miss school I can think of, having your parents get married, this....it filled my heart with joy, I want him and his family to be happy.

Despite how confused he made me feel, he was still a wonderful friend, but he clearly liked both me and Shiny, which was... Strange but adorable, a love that doesn't discriminate genders, I didn't know a lot about this, auntie Celestia had never taught me about this.
Was it wrong for a colt to like another colt? Or a filly to like another filly? I will need to learn more by myself, if auntie has not taught me something so important, then she clearly doesn't want me to know yet, but love is my special talent!

I need to learn more...

Chapter 42 Glow and Strike

25 of August of 981

The day the three of us were waiting for arrived, and we all were in Canterlot's hospital now, this was actually the city's hospital and not the one in the castle.

Dad was there with her, and I was waiting outside in the lobby, I didn't want to get in their way, the room was crowded enough as it was with the doctor, dad and a nurse at the same time.

I wonder what they would look like, I was excited and also very happy too, from what we could tell before, there were two of them, mom decided to be surprised and didn't want to get any scans done, but 2 to 4 was around the common number of pups that Sylf's species would give birth to, and she has experience looking after them since that was her role in her pack.

She was already very experienced looking after them.

About an hour later, a nurse came looking for me and told me to follow her, that my mom had called for me, I nodded to her with a smile and followed her into the room.

I entered slowly, reluctant and slightly nervous, I had never really been in this situation, it was new to me.

But my excitement to see my little siblings won over and I approached mom who was laying in the hospital bed on her side, the puppies were both close to her, laying near her nipples where they clearly were looking for them to drink, it was the most adorable event I've witnessed in my life.

The puppies were not like regular puppies however, I could tell they weren't fully wolf or pony, it was pretty obvious,one had wings and was a colt and the other had a tiny horn poking out from its forehead, she was a filly, or... Well male and female, I wasn't sure if they were considered ponies or wolves.

They had paws like mom, with little pink little toe beans that were super adorable, they also were born with their eyes open and somewhat more developed than normal puppies, it made sense considering how long their gestation was.

The two looked exactly like a mixture between a pony and a wolf, tho I suppose that is to be expected considering who their parents are, the colors were also interesting, the female wolf is white with the area around her paws and her head being darker, and the male wolf has black fur all over his body except on the underside, his belly and chest fluff is white as snow.

"Mom! Dad! Congratulations! They're sooo adorable... And they're a filly and a colt, they look really healthy too, have you two thought about any names?" I was curious about this, I hadn't given that much thought, but it wasn't my place to name them.

"Oh, we are still thinking about it, and debating together, I have a few ideas and your father has some ideas too, what do you think Onyx? Should we each name one?" I liked that last idea, one parent choosing the name of one of their child, there were two after all.

"I think you should choose a name for one, and dad should choose the other name, it would be fair, I think." They both looked at each other and nodded.

"I'll pick the filly's name and you pick the colt, do you agree my sweetheart?" Mom agreed, then they began to think, looking at the little pegawolf and uniwolf, were this the right words? I could just call them by name in the future once it was decided.

By now the two little ones were happily having their first meal for the first time from mom, drinking her milk. I had never seen her so happy like she was now, we both looked at them have their fill.

"So, how does it feel, being a mother?" I asked her, wondering what she was thinking.

"It's... Honestly a dream come true, I felt absolutely no pain, no complications during the birth, they both came out healthy and... I'm blessed to have them, It's just like I remember, look you two, they are full now." She pointed at the little ones.

They moved away from her nipples and started looking around, they looked at dad and me, getting closer to us as we stood right near them, lowering our heads so they could reach, the uniwolf looked at me and got close, then tried to climb on my head, but she couldn't at this angle, instead she hugged my snout and held it adorably for a few seconds then seemed to give up on that and turned around and went to lay down by mom's side.

Meanwhile dad had his face near the pegawolf, who looked confused to see him and started slapping his nose with his little paws, as if he was trying to fight away a monster, when his 'attacks' proved ineffective he turned around and went to lay down with his sister near mom's chest.

Gosh they are adorable! I felt really happy, I also felt really protective over them.

"I think this little lady here has definitively the adventurer's spirit, she tried to climb on Onyx's head like he was some mountain, so what about Wander Glow?" Hmm not bad dad, i feel it fits her.

"I agree hun, her name is Wander Glow, now for this little one here... He seems like quite the fighter, he also will be able to fly and control clouds, that's what I feel, he will be named Lightning Strike!" Mom said cheerfully, and I saw something special in that moment, the two twins glowed in different colors, Wander had a gold glow around her, and Lightning had a blue light around him, it was magical, but neither of us were scared, we knew in our hearts that the glow was a good thing.

I theorized what it could mean, many possibilities swirled in my head, but the main theory was that by naming them, mom and dad donated a large amount of magic to them, this usually didn't cause any issues but maybe it had something to do with the fact that they were hybrids so it could use up more energy, or that they would be much stronger than average, but this were just wild theories based on my knowledge I had.

What I was sure of, was that names were powerful, and naming someone for the first time, it gave them power, Sylf has given her power to her offspring and so has Coconut, in fact he was looking a bit wobbly.

I caught him before he could fall down and get hurt. He wasn't as strong as mom, so his energy was probably sapped a lot more, but I felt his vital signs and he was okay, just sleeping.

"W-what happened to him?" Sylf asked worriedly, looking at her stallion, to dad.

"He has had too much excitement for a single day, let's just leave it at that, don't worry tho he is just asleep.
Just relax mom, trust me." She nodded and smiled warmly at me, in silent thanks for helping him out.

I was holding the larger stallion across my back, his body basically covering me completely except for the tip of my snout.

I bet it looks kinda comical from someone else's perspective, but for me it's just difficult to see, and his hooves are all dragging on the floor, as he is bigger than me and taller.

"I'ma go leave him at the waiting area mom, you're okay with being alone for a bit?"

"Sure, just make sure he is comfortable, I also felt my energy draining a lot after that glow, he must be much more drained... Well he just needs to sleep it off."

After that we left dad to sleep for a while while I stayed with mom, she was checked by doctors and the paperwork for the twins was filled, the names and date of birth, etc.

They checked up on the newborns and found them to be healthy, the tests were non invasive as neither mom nor I would permit invasive tests, magic exists for a reason and it could be used to scan the body without needing any other tests, most of the time.

In another hour we were cleared to go home, mom carried dad on her back and I carried the two twins, by walking on two legs, it was not as natural but it wasn't difficult either, the twinks were wrapped in blankets, made into sort of burritos with their legs folded and only their head poking out, they looked at me with curiosity and wide eyes, I made sure they didn't get direct sunlight on their face, I knew they were too young to be out in the direct sun.

Walking at a sedate pace I showed them around the city, at least the road we would be taking, they saw mom and made happy noises, they clearly wanted to be with her again.

Soon, we just needed to get home first, just a few minutes! I wasn't about to teleport us with the little ones here, I didn't want to risk making them sick and nauseous just for convenience.

"How are the twins Onyx?"

"Oh they're fine mom, they just want to be with you badly, maybe they're hungry again or just want you, but they're not crying yet or anything so they probably aren't in any sort of distress just yet, I recommend once we get home you put the unicorn to bed and you give more attention to your pups."

"We're here!"

After that she opened the door and we headed straight for the bedroom, she left dad in my room and we went to her room with the babies, once I placed them next to mom and freed them from their burrito like wrapping, they started to crawl towards Sylf, making baby noises, and then started to climb on her body, until eventually they relaxed and went to sleep.

Maybe we need to get cribs for them, mom says that her species have cubs who just sleep with their caretaker or parents, but if this pups were half ponies and ponies were safer in cribs, then it was a good idea.

I decided to let them bond in peace, I have school and i already missed too many classes, I couldn't keep missing or my score would take a bit.

"Have fun ma! I'm going to school now, I'm sure you'll have fun looking after them, but I think you should think about getting cradles for each, I'm not sure but they are at least 50% pony, and ponies sleep in cradles, just try them and see if they are comfortable."

"Hm, well you and Coco have raised the same concern so I think I'll have to try, good luck at school son! Make sure you don't forget your school supplies."

I saluted to her, which made her roll her eyes and laugh, and then I leave and go get ready.

2 hours later UCE school

School was not above propaganda it seems, teaching us how to address royalty, how to bow properly and how to be good little ponies, I had to suppress a groan every time we had to 'practice'.

Sometimes I really wish this ponies didn't have such a high and mighty view of their ruler, it made me feel like I was back in the medieval times, I suppose that is cool and all, but I still felt it was too much.

I had to shut up and not think too much about it, not question this, sure I have gotten on her non hateful side, but we weren't friends or anything, she has just tolerating me, barely.

I sighed, hopefully me saving Luna from the Nightmare would, in the future, endear her more towards me, I wasn't sure yet if she had done anything towards improving her relationship with other nations like she agreed to, I never talked to her, but I hope that the fact there is more trade now from other nations at the market, means she has opened more slots for foreign nations that she didn't allowed before.

The bell finally rung, we all formed into a line and walked outside to the playground.

I yawned and stretched once I was outside, finally free from boring etiquette class, the disadvantage of fancy schools was that they taught us all of this along with the normal curriculum.

Ruby Ray and Summer Sprout were the first ones to come close to me, I waved at them and called them over, a wide smile on my face.

"Heyy you two beautiful ponies! How have you been? I have important news to share with all of our friends, let's gather together, shall we?"

"Hey Onyx! Thank you, you're a very pretty dragon yourself" Ruby said and pulled me into a hug, nuzzling me on the neck on the left.

"Good to see you Onyx! Your eyes have a glow to them that I know means you are really excited about something, can't wait to know what's got you in such a good mood!" Sprout joined in the hug from the other side.

"Oh you two will love the news, let's go see the others and tell them!" I give them both a gentle squeeze and caress them on their backs.

Then we move away and they follow me to the others who already have met outside and are talking among themselves, Shining and Cadence as always hanging out together, they have gotten very close ever since I invited them to practice together their magic.

"Hey everypony, friends, I have something exciting to tell you!" Everyone stopped their conversation and turned to look at me with curiosity, my smile was clear so they knew it was good news.

"I am a big brother now! I'm a big brother and my siblings are super adorable hybrid half pony and half wolf, and... Well that's everything, I'm just super happy, and excited to have little siblings! Next time there is a sleepover I can show them to you, if they are comfortable with that, and if mom lets us, well... That's everything I wanted to say, sorry for interrupting your conversations, you can go back to them."

Then they asked me questions, many of the foals were very curious about my siblings, specially Cadence who had also questioning me about everything that happened at mom and dad's wedding the very next day, she somehow knew... Well obviously she had seen the fireworks, duh.

And I had told her what happened and why we chose to celebrate it there, and why no one outside the family was invited, we just wanted something quick, cheap and easy to organize.

Now she was asking me all about the twins, I gladly told her everything, their colors, their names and how mom and dad came up with them, and I explained what their personalities were like, one was a filly, adventurous and had a glowy white fur with black near the head and paws, and the other was a colt, with black fur, playful and brave demeanor and had a white belly and chest fluff.

She was fascinated when I said one of them had wings and the other had a horn, saying she wanted to see them really badly and even would love to foalsit them in the future when she was ready.

I agreed with that, but she would need to talk with mom about it when she was older, she was only 9 now, not anywhere old enough to foalsit a newborn pup, in my opinion, maybe once she was around 15 and more responsible.

Then next I talked with Shining and he was curious about them as well, why they were named like that, we talked about names and how they usually fit what a pony or non pony is like during their life, but it doesn't limit them or hinder them.

I pointed out that his name is Shining Armor but he has a shield as a cutie mark, so he isn't necessarily specialized in armor but more so in defense and protection, and he agreed with me, but he also admitted to wanting to become a guard, that meant that he was going to guard academy after elementary.

Despite knowing I would miss him, I knew it was his destiny to become a royal guard, and he was going to be a very good one too, I just knew it.

I hoped that even after he left for the academy we could still be friends and hang out, I wanted to stay close to him, to all my friends, even after school was over and we stared to get jobs.

I knew I had to try, that's the least I could do, and I will, I will try to make our friendship last, and I hope they do too.

After talking and once everypony was satisfied with what they learned, we all played volleyball, a fun sport that ponies excel at with their hooves, it was a short game but very satisfying to play with friends, I'll gladly admit that I didn't try my best, but I was also not throwing the game, I wanted my friends to have fun, that includes my team, so I didn't lose on purpose or something stupid like that, I just passed the ball and let Sprout score.

To challenge myself I decided to try something new, and only used my tail to hit the ball, I wanted to test how dexterous I could be just by using my longest appendage, and I have to say I'm impressed, its very precise for attacking, hitting the ball in this case, I never tried using it before in combat, but maybe I should when I finally decide to learn how to fight unarmed.

Chapter 43 Cleric of Harmony

A week later September 1, early in the morning Onyx POV

A small issue I have come across lately, when I was trying to cut and polish the unrefined element crystals, I learned that they react poorly to being cut and the magic of the small pieces that are grinded off or cut off, tend to produce severe problems.

I have tried many times and as soon as the gem was as much as filed, the dust or shards would emit the damaging elemental energies around in arcs, causing harm to anything organic near.

So I have to figure out how to properly refine and cut the elemental crystals safely, I don't want to get necrotizing energy arcing across the webs of my toes again, even those small ones cause intense pain, not much but it's painful and I'm not immune to any element other than toxin and cold.

The necrotic energy also has the side effect of leaving small dead areas of tissue that take days to heal, it's painful and the implications are really bad, I can't imagine what being attacked by a real necrotic spell would do to me or any other living being, it would not be pretty.

No wonder the necromancy school of magic was completely forbidden...

Cutting this crystals was a big ordeal, one I needed to somehow find a solution to if I wanted to become the ultimate lifeform of this planet. A lofty goal, yes but having immunity to almost all magic was in a way, the biggest hurdle, of course I wouldn't be invincible, I could still be cut in half with the right sword wielded by a strong enough combatant, or ran through with a spear, or crushed too, but having to not worry about also being blasted into bits by a beam of radiant energy or being hit by a necromantic attack was, as far as I could tell, a big improvement on my chances of survival, gaining immunity to as many elements as possible would be a big advantage when it came to fighting mages.

I was not naive enough to think that the next Dungeon would be easy, I needed to prepare and be ready, even by myself, as there was no way I would take mom and dad when they had their babies to look after.

I realized that I couldn't just trust on my body's natural abilities to just shrug off the damage of coming into contact with the gem dust, it was non reactive with my scales, yes, but once it touched the skin of the webbed toes or any other living tissue, it would react and start to hurt in different ways.

So I had to resort to custom made leather gloves and safety goggles, a mask that covers my snout and prevents me from breathing in the gem dust, even a lab coat around my body that covered every possible sensitive area.

Anything that wasn't covered in scales I added protection to, all of this gem needed to be cleaned and diluted in some way to become less dangerous.

I tried using water too, to wash away the dust, it made the water either toxic, necrotizing, acidic, electrified all depending on what type of crystal I used, so water was useful to remove the dust, and by diluting it enough I could completely neutralize the effect, it was good to know this worked because it meant I could dump this water down the drain without worry, i even tried tasting the water before to make sure it was safe, only tasting a slight grittiness of the crystal powder.

Completely safe to dump in the sink, perfect!

Now I needed to prepare a room for safely handling this... I may need a laboratory, a room I would need to clean often, a vacuum cleaner, do ponies even have those? I haven't seen them in stores.

Further testing will be paused for now, and I will try to just eat the smallest gems I already have, starting slow seems like the prudent approach, I still remember what Koen the diamond dog told me, those creatures that eat this glowing gems tend to get very sick or die, but I... No, I need to inform mom and dad about this before I try it, now that I think about it, I never checked up on dad's stat screen.

I suppose he wouldn't mind if I take a peek...

Name: Coconut Cream
Evolution Path: ??? / Rank: Unranked
Level: 16
EXP: 600/1848
HP: 100HP formula: Starter HP: 20HP + 5HP x level
MP: 110MP
STAMINA: 110 Stamina formula: Starter STM: 30 + 5stm x level
Carry Capacity: 112kg
Species: Unicorn Pony
Gender: male
Age: 25 Years old, adult.
Job: Ice cream maker.
Abilities: Persuasion.

Perks

Unicorn Telekinesis: this unicorn Is experienced with telekinesis and can handle multiple objects with precision, but his power is not strong enough to restrain an adult pony.

Fatherly instincts: this creature will not back down from a fight to defend his family unless he is terrified or suffers an altered condition, specially the young ones he sired, cannot be mind controlled into attacking his wife or children in any way.

Lover's Embrace: this creature has resistance to any demoralizing attacks or spells when near his wife, this also means that he is less likely to run from a fight if his wife doesn't retreat. Losing his wife in battle will demoralize the creature and leave it helpless. Fighting alongside his wife increases XP gian by 50% for the whole party.

Weaknesses and resistances: none.

Condition immunities: none.

Stats

Points to allocate: 0
Base / Bonus / Allocated / Total
STR 10 / 0 / 4 / 14
DEX 10 / 0 / 4 / 14
CON 16 / 0 / 4 / 20
INT 12 / 0 / 8 / 20
WIS 14 / 0 / 8 / 22
CHA 18 / 0 / 4 / 22
Total 80 / 0 / 32 / 112

Spells

Telekinesis: can manipulate objects using an magical telekinetic field, which can lift and move one or more objects at the same time.

Oh, he is not bad at all! He has some room for improvement and he also could learn some spells, but I wondered what class he could get, I would need to check with him, if he believed in any god he could choose to become a cleric of that deity.

What was the main god that was worshipped by ponies? Faust was it? I must know how he feels about them, and then maybe following the guide steps from the book I bought from the Item Shop could explain how to have him become a Cleric for her! Yes this could work, I have seen pony churches in some places, there's one even here in Canterlot, I don't know what they worship but they clearly have a religion too.

Curious a out the whole process I opened the book, reading over the table of contents.

"Cleric: this is an advanced class, that requires devotion to a god and to be chosen by said god, not everyone can become a Cleric, one first must prove themselves worthy of the god, and get their attention.

There is several ways to do this but the simplest way is to pray to said god and to study it's teachings, to devote oneself to the deity in body and soul, this does not warrantee that the deity will choose you.

Becoming a Cleric means being a conduit for this god's powers, depending on the alignment of said deity one can gain healing powers, the ability to turn undead or in some cases, with certain evil deities, even the ability to raise and control undead is also one of the powers granted by the divine entity.

Clerics are a class who specializes on supporting and protecting others, this goes for even evil clerics, they don't work best as front light fighters but instead as the middle ground support, healing and empowering both the ranged and the merle combatants, while also weakening the opponents.

Now when it comes to becoming one, you must follow this four step plan.

First step: you must know what god you want to devote yourself to, but not just have a passing idea, you must study them, learn their ideals and know of their domain, the first step in this is to read on them as much information as you can find.

Second step: once you know enough, you can began to seek the favor of said god by praying and asking for guidance, hoping for an answer, your emotions must be genuine, it's never assured that the god of your choosing will listen to you, or will answer, but it never hurts to try more than once, actions speak louder than words, by doing deeds that make you more worthy on their eyes, you are likely to attract their attention, and it's more likely they will answer.

Third step: depending on the god you choose, you will need to do good or bad deeds, good deeds usually are helping the poor and healing the wounded or sick, always refuse thanks and direct those well wishes to your deity of choice.
Bad deeds are varied depending on the deity but can range from causing suffering and disease to outright killing others in painful ways as a sacrifice for the evil god. You must offer this sacrifices and torment to the evil deity you are seeking the favor of.

Fourth step: hopefully by now you will have garnered the attention of the desired deity, you must ask to become their messenger and hey will likely accept, if not, them you can keep trying step 3 and 4.

As I finished reading out loud a sleepy looking Coconut approached me, I was sitting in the sofa in the living room, and he came over and sat next to me, bumping his head gently to mine in greeting.

"Heey morning son! what you reading there? sounds interesting." He said in a sleepy sounding voice, he probably didn't get much sleep because of taking care of the foals during the night, mom and dad would take turns doing this.

I knew it was a pain, but they only usually woke up once per night, usually because it was bathroom time, taking care of little foals wasn't easy, they also have two cribs now where they sleep, I raised the very possible concern of the foals falling off the bed, it wasn't like a wolf den where they sleep at ground level, beds are dangerous for little ones, they can get wedged on the edge or fall down the side, and i don't think I need to explain why it's not a good idea.

"Oh hi dad! I was just reading a book on... Actually how you could help us a lot, do you believe in any god or gods? Do you even know about them?" I only knew the basic about gods of about 900 years ago, from a certain someone's memories.

I knew ponies believed in Faust as a deity, but other races have different gods that they worshipped, usually of their own race, I didn't know more than that.

"Oh! Uhh I believe in Faust, she is the goddess of ponykind and the one who made the world the way it is, harmony exists thanks to her, and I believe she created the ponies, why do you ask son? I haven't really talked a lot about it because I believe you and Sylf have a right to have your own beliefs, but if you want to we can speak about what I believe, I'm always happy to talk about her to you!" Oh, this was not going to be as hard as I thought then, he is clearly firm in his belief.

"Do you ever... Pray to her? How does it work?" I asked with genuine curiosity, I have never thought about other gods, I was never really religious, even after my admittedly religious experience of reincarnation, I simply assumed it was just some other powerful being asking things of me.

"W-well... No I don't pray, at first dad taught me how to, but I never did because... He just gave up on it after everything fell apart for him, but why do you think this will help us?"

"What do you think about becoming a chosen of Faust? You will try to become a healer and help not only us, your family, but also all creatures you come across that need it?" His eyes widen and he looks right at my own, some uncertainty but also hope and excitement in his eyes.

"Y-you think that I could do that? I'm not sure... I'm not sure im worthy of being chosen by a goddess to help others, but I do want to help others, I'm going to try! But the twins... we do this when the twins are older? I-i mean I want to do this but I'm not sure I'll have time, and I can't leave your mother to raise the foals on her own, that would go against everything that Faust stands for, but what can I do for now? I mean to be able to do this? Something that doesn't take too much time." Good, he didn't need to start working on this right away, I just wanted to ask him if he believed in any gods or not.

I don't see why he can't start by offering prayers to his goddess and just keep on being a good stallion, I must ask him, now that he is here.

"You can start by praying to her, try to offer your good deeds to her, wait... So what are the concepts your goddess reigns over? What does she want from ponies?" If I knew what that was I would know what she wants.

"Oh that's easy! Faust is the goddess of harmony and peace, she wants us all to be harmonious beings, if I remember correctly, there is kindness, generosity, honesty, loyalty, laughter and last but not least, friendship!" Oh this was not as hard as I thought...

"Do you realize something, my dear father?" I asked in an innocent tone, hugging his side and smiling up at him.

"You worry me slightly with that look and tone... But what am I missing?" He said a slightly worried tone of voice, I think I shouldn't make him embarrassed so often, he's gonna start to think I'm evil.

"That youre all of those! You are extremely kind to everyone, ever since I met you, you are also generous, I saw you gift away ice cream to less fortunate foals that sometimes were short on bits."

"You're loyal to both your costumers at your job and to our family here, to mom, you never even mentioned you were interested in another mare, even during mom's late pregnancy you didn't seek another mare to satisfy you when mom couldn't satisfy you fully." He started turning red as I explained to him this.

"P-please don't say it like that! It's not true either, there are other ways to enjoy each other's company young dragon, someday soon you'll learn there's more than one way, since you already seem to know so much, if you want to talk any time, just ask me.
But I know what you mean, I would never do anything that endangered the foal's safety, I don't think anypony else would either, that's why stallions have herds, but I don't mind, it's not like I'm going to fall over dead because I can't... Do that every day."

"Yes that'd a good point, but you're still a loyal pony and more, you're also very fun to hang out with and you make both of us laugh and smile, so you also represent that virtue as well, and friendship... Well we are friends, sure you're my dad and im your son, but we got along like friends from the beginning, that's the vibe I got from you, that and you also were lonely until you and mom met, very closely." I said the last part with a small laugh that made him cover his face and groan softly, then he laughed with me, still looked slightly embarrassed, I knew that I would get payback for this when I was older, there's no way he would just let it slide.

"I'm glad to be able to count you as a friend too, you may be my son first and foremost but I appreciate your friendship, you act... Well much like an adult sometimes and like a close friend, of course you're still foalish sometimes, heck most of the time!
Now what do I have to do to start? Just pray and hope for an answer?"

"More or less, yes! But I have a way you may also be able to help heal others, here catch!" I throw the healing amulet up on his head, the amulet's hole actually landing right on his horn, like a ring tossed on it.

"Hey! D-dont throw things on my horn, it's sensitive! Hmph... I'll get back at you someday, just you wait until you're older and you'll know how it feels." He made an indignant huff and turned to look away, crossing his arms and lifting his head slightly, I start to worry I actually upset him, but he was playing, he turns around and boops me on the nose, and laughs.

"Gotcha! Haha but I'm serious about paying you back for all that." He says the last part with a serious tone and I nod slowly, swallowing audibly. I couldn't just say I was too young and didn't know what I was doing after I confessed to him about me being actually older than him in total.

He pokes his horn with his hoof until he finds it, then slowly with both front hooves lifts up the amulet and holds it, looking it over from different sides.

"What is even this thing? I don't see how this can help me."

"You don't know exactly what it is, but it's a very useful and powerful object, now how about we will go to the nearest hospital and I'll help you sneak inside, where you will put it to good use?" He thought about it for a minute, but then smiled and nodded at me.

"Hey if this means I get to heal somepony and make them recover faster, then let's go now! I really want to know how it works, can you tell me!?" His voice gets a bit too excited and even yells the last words, I put a hand to his muzzle to quiet him.

"Easy there , don't yell near my ears. And this is simple to use, just concentrate your mind in your remaining energy, and put it in the amulet, but don't put all of it in, or you'll grow too tired and pass out right away into sleep. Okay once you did that, think about that energy healing whoever you want to heal and release it to the amulet, then the person will glow slightly green and they will heal by a small part of energy you used, so you probably can't hear very much as you are now.

"Sorry, just feel very excited all of a sudden, this sounds like a wonderful thing to do, why aren't you doing this every day Onyx?" He asked me without realizing it sounds like he's blaming me for not doing enough.

"Coconut, this amulet has a side effect, I just told you about! it leaves you exhausted, and it's not very efficient, sure it can heal from bad accidents but I would need to sleep a lot to recover afterwards, how do you feel when you don't sleep? You'll feel like that often when using the amulet, you can at most use it once a day before going to bed, because of you use it early you'll spend the rest of the day sleeping and ruin your sleep schedule." He finally seems to realize he was wrong when I said that.

"Ah, sorry, got caught up in the excitement and didn't realize... Yes while that sounds not so bad on the surface I imagine trying to do this every day would be quite a problem and you would need to be carried back home from wherever you are at, but it should be fine as long as I don't use all of my energy right? Can I concentrate and use half?" His tone was hopeful when he asked this, and I smiled because I could give him good news this time.

"Well yeah, that's the good thing about it, but that would make it heal very little, it would still be a great help, specially to those who are really hurt, sometimes even a little bit would go a long way to help, so you ready? Because you will be doing this every day from now on, in the late afternoons, at least when it's not your turn to watch over the foals! So... Not every day but once every two days."

"Yes yes! I'm ready to go, are you? I don't mind being a little tired the rest of the day, I can just not open the ice cream parlor if I'm feeling exhausted, but I think we should tell Sylf, right?" I nod to him.

"Go ahead dad, tell her yourself from here, don't forget we all are linked by telepathy, but you know, I can spy on you two if you use that to talk, so dont get any ideas, or I'm gonna bite ya! It's my power after all, so of course I can hear anything sent through it." I give him a serious look, I mean he was free to use it as he saw fit but since every thought conveyed through the telepathic link went through me, I would hear it first, he nodded quickly.

"I'm offended you would think so lowly of me, that I would use your power for something inappropriate! But yeh, don't worry son, I'm able to control myself, I'm not a teenager anymore.
But soon you will be and I bet you won't think it's that funny when others tease you over it, just you wait." He explained to me with a smile and patted my head, I feel like I just done sealed my fate, not being able to do much else at the moment, I just hugged him and nuzzled his neck softly, enjoying his soft fluffy coat against my scales.

"Sorry dad, you're right I've been a bit of a pest, and it must be getting annoying, I won't be upset when it's payback time, I promise you that, as long as you dont go overboard... But even then I don't think I could get really angry at you, ever." He hugs me back and puts his head over mine, we stay like that for a few seconds that I enjoy so much, having a father, it was something I've lacked for so long, I was glad things turned out the way they did.

"You know I wouldn't Onyx, you helped me meet your mother, I would never try to get in between you and someone you were interested in, and I wouldn't play a prank on you that would cause any issue in your relationships, that's something I know I wouldn't someone to do to me, so I won't do it to others, now lets go, I'll tell Sylf." He then turns towards where she is sleeping or whatever she's doing, probably awake by now.

'Sorry my love, I don't want to interrupt whatever you're doing but I wanted to let you know Onyx and I are going out for today at his request, we will be back later, okay?' Coconut said over the telepathic link.

'Okay but don't get in trouble you two! You better not or there will be consequences, and neither of you want that... Onyx, if you or your dad get in trouble and there is a fight, teleport right back with him, don't try to fight back or be a hero or anything like that again, or you will get your scaly behind handed to you again like last time. Understood?'

Damn she was serious. 'yes ma'am!' I answered quicky and Coconut answered not long after the same.

'Okay you can go, I'm just worried for you, I don't want to know two of the most precious males in my life got hurt again... I love you both, now you can go.'

'we love you too! See you later' and with that, our telepathic communication ended.

"We will appear right outside the hospital, a bit to the side where there are usually no ponies, but there still could be, let's see..." Then I started preparing the spell.

"Let's hope this time it doesn't feel as nauseating to teleport..." I shook my head no, of course it wouldn't, he already experienced it and adapted to it.

Motes of indigo light surrounded us for a second before we teleported with a flash and an electric crack, appearing across the street from the Canterlot general hospital, other ponies nearby looked at us in confusion, before shrugging and moving on with their day.

They didn't know us, maybe they thought dad was a mage or something.

We entered the hospital and headed for the intensive care waiting area, this was... Simply put the worst area of the hospital, along with the emergency room waiting area, here ponies were crying, faces of anguish and fear were common, many of the ponies in the next room would not survive to see tomorrow, many were just old, others had terminal diseases and others have been in bad accidents ranging from getting broken bones to losing limbs, I knew for a fact that this amulet would not regrow a lost limb, it could reattach the limb and heal it, yes, but it would not regrow it, it was just too inefficient for that.

'Dad, you're sure you want to do this? I want you to have in mind that most of the ponies or creatures that are in there would most likely be too hurt to fully be healed by you, even if you were to give it all.
Remember that also we can't help more than one, we can't cure any diseases, not with this, we can only heal the body itself, so many diseases will be pushed back a few weeks, but not healed, do you understand?'

'I do now, I-i think I'm ready to go in, lets go to the bathroom so you can cast the spell without being seen, okay?' I nodded and we headed to the male bathroom, it was empty at the moment so I quickly made him invisible with greater invisibility, so if he was to bump into someone or do anything he would not lose it, then we walked back and he went inside, I hope he would be okay... This was not a nice place to be in, for anyone, I could feel the pain of those around me without even needing to have some ability, it was in their expression and posture, the fear of loss, the worry for a family member, or a friend.
It pained me, it made me want to go to those ponies and tell them everything was going to be okay.

But I knew for now, it wasn't as easy, I couldn't help them, not much but soon I hope that he would be the one to help them, I believe in him and I hope that the pony goddess will listen to his prayers.

POV Shift Coconut

I pushed the door to the intensive care unit, the room was a long straight room separated in many equally sized rooms, each with 3 beds on each side along with the medical equipment, heartbeat monitors, sometimes supports for broken legs, there were respirators too for those who couldn't breathe normally, there must be about 18 ponies here in total.

I started looking them over, going from room to room, many of them were bandaged from wounds or maybe surgery, others had casts on their broken limbs, neck braces for broken necks, some seemed to not have anything but looked sickly and weak.

Many of them were crying and in pain, they were all quiet either, tears started running down my face as I looked at more and more ponies, there was even a griffon, that has bandages on his chest and a broken wing covered in a cast.

This was awful, I couldn't heal all of them, and choosing felt like I was leaving everything else down, I tried to not make noise as I cried, sitting in the corner of the room, this felt like back then, I could almost see my father dying slowly in that hospital bed, and when they called me in to see him, lifeless and cold, laying there, that was the worst... I needed to focus my mind elsewhere.

I decided to instead pray to my goddess for help.

'Please, I beg of you! Grant me the power to heal all of this creatures, please, I can't stand to see them suffer like this!'

Bowing my head low to the ground, and crying while I prayed, my emotions overwhelming me as I could practically feel the pain of those creatures around me, all of them needed a miracle.

'I just can't... it breaks my heart to have to choose, I want to at least be able to heal a few, in exchange I offer myself in body and soul, to your service, i will help to bring harmony to your subjects, to bring them happiness and peace.'

Then I felt a sense of immense calm wash over me, an incredibly soft and warm feeling of being hugged, as if my beloved was embracing me, I felt the need to stand up, and slowly opened my eyes.

I was not in the hospital room anymore, instead I was in a large field of grass and wildflowers of every color of the rainbow, grass and distant mountains, a few trees, the sky was light blue and sunny, with only a few white fluffy clouds around.

"I must say, it has been a while since somepony has offered themselves to me in such a pure and honest prayer, over a thousand years." Suddenly I felt a voice behind me, I turned around to find an Alicorn mare with a beautiful white coat and bright red mane and tail, slightly larger than Princess Celestia, looking at me with a warm and kind smile, her eyes were a soft blue, like the sky.

I was unsure of what to do, do I bow? I couldn't think of anything, so I decided to speak instead.

"W-who are you? I never heard of... Another Alicorn, and where am I? Wait, offered... To you? Oh!" Finally my mind caught up with her words and I lowered myself into a respectful bow, but a hoof stopped my head before it could touch the ground, the fetlock holding it in place, when did she get so close?

"Oh none of that please, I'm not a princess, I don't think bowing to others has anything to do with harmony, but I see you have realized who I am, am I right?" She giggled and helped me up, a beautiful sound that made me feel all tingly and brought a big smile to my muzzle, she is beautiful.

"Y-yes I do, you're my goddess! Miss Faust I... I'm really honored to m-meet you, my name is Coconut Cream.
I-i really want to help the ponies at the hospital, I know my son put me up to this, and I know it seems selfish, but I just never thought I could actually help somepony and his words filled me with hope." I couldn't help myself but stutter with my words, I was overwhelmed with emotions, I was terrified of messing up, but also extremely happy to see her, the goddess I have always believed in, to know she was real!

"My precious colt, I am so very proud of you! I really am, you have lived all of your life, as difficult as it has been, while maintaining harmony in your heart, your mom is proud of you too, all of your family is, I want you to know something, your son, he is very special." I was happy at hearing her say that, feeling like I did things right, but when she said that last part I couldn't help it, i snorted and then started laughing, hard, rolling on the ground, I could barely breathe after a while, but eventually I pulled myself together, realizing she was giggling too, much more reagal like, a mischievous smirk on her muzzle.

"Hahaha! I-im really sorry! I-its just that my son and I have kind of an inside joke with that, it's... Hard to explain..." I said awkwardly as the laughter wore off, rubbing the back of my head, I think I messed up, but she just smiled at me, clearly amused.

"Oh believe me, I know that, that's why I said it like that!" We both giggled and I shook my head in disbelief, she had a sense of humor, now I felt way less tense and scared than before, it's like she understood me! There is no need to fear.

"And I'm very happy you feel more at ease with me now, but back to the topic I wanted to discuss, I know Onyx, well I've been looking at him as much as I can from here, fields of Elysium, as ponies call it, from here I just relax and watch you all, I tend to prefer not to interfere, but sometimes I wish someone would offer... While ponies believe in me, they all seem to be more devoted to my daughter, even when she has turned her back on harmony in favor of making ponies safer.

Harmony is not perfect order, it's not pushing away others because you fear what they can do, and harmony exists despite risks and trouble, and yet... Your son somehow has made an impression on her! That is why I keep watching him, your son, he is doing his best despite his terrible burden.

"He gets back up after being kicked down, and while he may not be perfect, at least he doesn't just kill those that get in his way, even if they threatened his life." She smiles and sits down next to me, to be at a more equal height.

"I will make sure he remains a good dragon, I really want him to, I promise I will do my best raising him as best as I can!" As a father this is what I intend to do, but I want her to know I mean it.

"You have my blessing, Coconut Cream.
I will grant you my divine power to do good, please, try to not abuse this power, you can claim it as your own and become famous if you want, I only ask two things of you in return, wait, no, three things!" She changes her mind in the last second.

"What are this conditions my goddess?" My tone is serious now, while she may be approachable and friendly, I still had to take this seriously, and her terms were very important to keep.

"I don't want to have to deal with ponies and other creatures begging me constantly for power, if I give you this blessing, to be my chosen, I don't want you to go telling anyone that I'm your chosen, can you imagine having to deal with thousands of prayers reaching your ears every day just begging for power? No thank you. I haven't interfered much with mortals for a reason, I already have enough do here." That made sense, I could imagine what it would feel like to having others constantly talking to you in your head asking for a thousand different things at once, even as a god, I would be incredibly annoyed too.

"I-i can do that, if you so requiere it, I swear to never tell it was from you, I understand why you wouldn't want that." I empathize with her in this, even if she could turn it off, it would still be very stressful to think you have so much to go through.

"Well I'm glad to see you empathize, and let's go to the second condition now. I don't want you to give my daughter any credit either, I don't want anypony to think you are able to do this in any way thanks to her, I don't want her to get any more ego from this than she already has! Is that clear?" Oh fudge... She is definitively not happy with her daughter, but I had no love for Princess Celestia, not after I found out about her ways to deal with other species.

"I'm not exactly a big fan of the Princess, she has made my son worry and suffer and... While I still respect her as a Princess I won't ever claim to have anything to do with her."

"Good, perfect! Yes she's not bad as a ruler, not for ponies at least, but she has harmed so many others with her action that I am still pretty upset with her... She needs to be humbled, and while I won't do it, I'm hoping someday someone that is aligned with harmony will." She declared with a scheming tone.

"Well now the last condition I have is to help Onyx, yes I know you were going to do that anyways, but you have to help him, as in, actually go with him and fight the largest threat the world faces now, you know? I think Onyx explained it to you, he has to go into this very scary places where he and Sylf fight to the death with monstrosities, well... You will have to do it too, you will be essential for their survival, your divine spells will be the only way for them to survive all of this, do you accept? You'll have to become much stronger too... But for now you will be able to cure the ponies in this hospital much easier, and more efficiently." I knew the risks, and I have already accepted to help them, my family.

I would risk anything for them, now I hoped I would be strong enough to stand next to them in battle, but that was what training was for, after all.

"I accept, my goddess! I sweat to follow your conditions to the letter! They are completely reasonable, and... I'm really thankful to you! Anything else you need?" I was feeling extremely excited, and eager to get back to help, I stood next to face with my goddess, we looked at each other lovingly.

"This... I hope you aren't upset at me for asking this, but can I get a hug? It's not necessary for the process of getting the powers but I really want to hold you, I think you will want this too, two certain someones are hoping you accept." Faust said in a very soft and gentle voice, I was really surprised, and nodded with a smile, I approached and hugged her, she hugged back.

In that moment I felt a sudden sense of belonging, I felt... I felt as if I was a foal once again, first I felt father's embrace, his scent, my eyes brimming with tears almost immediately, but then I felt also one more pony join the hug, it was a pegasus mare, a mare I didn't recognize, not at first.

Then I remembered when dad described mom, a pegasus, she had a white coat, pink mane, beautiful white wings and the scent was like the crisp morning air at the end of winter, it was there when I realized who was hugging me, mom and dad together, I couldn't see them, not literally.

But I could feel them, it was as if I could see without seeing, like I was sensing them with my heart and soul. They were here with me right now! I couldn't help the sob that escaped me as I held onto them, unable to even speak.

"My son. You have grown into a file young stallion! You even got yourself a wife and foals... I'll be honest son, at first when I saw you had a non pony wife I was a bit worried." My dad... He was always a bit like this, he didn't really hate any other race or anything, he was just a bit afraid of them, but I felt a sting of emotional pain at his words, it hurt to hear that from him, after all the suffering I went through during the least years of his life.

"Caramel Cream! Don't say that! Can't you see you are breaking his heart?!" Mom... I don't really know her, only that her name was Snowy Heart.

"No! I'm so sorry Coconut! I meant to say... I was worried you wouldn't be able to produce foals together! I just didn't know ponies could make foals with other species like that, I should have worded that better, I hope you can forgive me, I have to congratulate you too my son, your little ones are as adorable as you were when I first met you, you're always in my mind and your mother's!" I felt myself relax a bit, the pain from before receding, i was glad he approved, he was the only one I had during most of my life.

"O-oh thank the goddess dad! Mom was right you really made me feel hurt from that poorly worded introduction... But I forgive you, I'm glad to see you too, you know the last time we met it was... It still hurts to remember dad, I still cry sometimes." I gently caressed mom with my hoof softly across her back as she held me tightly.

I felt mom crying softly as she held me tightly, she clearly was feeling as much emotion as I was, I decided to talk to her instead.

"Mom? I have always... All my life hoped I would get to meet you, my dear mum... I'm sorry for what you went through because of me, I cost you both your entire marriage and happiness, and your life mom, I will never be able to repay you for that, I'm so sorry!" It was hard to speak clearly without breaking down again, but it was important of me to say this, I have always felt what happened with my family was my own fault for being born.

She stopped crying slowly and looked at me, I felt her gaze on me, I could feel how she was looking at me, our souls were so close now.

"Coconut, I know we don't really know eachother, I know you have carried this horrible burden with you all your life, you have endured all the pain of both growing without a mother and then your father getting sick and passing away, but please..." She held my face gently with her wing, making my eyes focus on her own.

"Please let go of it, Caramel and I are very happy here, we are free and we can do whatever we want, anytime, we can also look at what happens back in Equestria! It's wonderful here my sweet colt, you will always be my little sweet colt, sorry hehe I didn't get the chance to dote on you." She giggled softly, while I smiled even while I was unable to stop crying like a foal, this was really mom, she has been watching over me... I couldn't help myself, I lunged and hugged her tightly, I just cried on her shoulder, loudly and ugly, without a care in the world about anything else, as she held me.

I felt her warmth, I felt her love and compassion, she could also feel my emotions now, in those moments I felt as if we had known each other for years, she knew me, but now i knew her too now.

Meanwhile dad watched on with a tearful smile, I could sense him too, he was giving us time to get to know each other.

"I hope that... Someday you both and I are reunited, I want you to meet my wife Sylf and my son Onyx, even my little sweet colt Lightning and the adorable Wander!" I somehow managed to calm myself as I whispered my thoughts to mom, mom... I know I'll miss her now, but I could feel myself more complete now, I felt like I wasn't broken, not anymore.

I have a mom, I-i still have much to process, this was...

I slowly started to calm down, finally, I was a mess damn it!

"Maybe... If Faust permits it sometime, we could meet them for a little while here, but this isn't something that is allowed usually my son, you see this place is only meant for those who already have passed away, and you are only here as a gracious gift from our goddess, she is generous yes, but you are her chosen, so... We will see" mom said and nuzzled my neck lovingly, I had to suppress my emotions to not be overcome with emotions again.

I just nuzzled back and let out a sigh, understanding perfectly what she meant, she was right, I was extremely lucky to even get a chance to see my parents again, I didn't want to ask too much from the generous goddess who already has given me so much, just by giving us this moments, it felt like hours, Im pretty sure I cried for hours, or that's what it felt like.

"You're right mom, I will always remember you and... Thanks to your words today, I feel like a new pony, like... The weight I have been carrying ever since I learned that you passed away has been taken off my shoulders, I'll never forget what you did for me tho."

I gave her a kiss on the side of the muzzle, finally feeling normal again, even happy, she returned the smile and started giving me kisses too, kissing my forehead and side of the head, I giggled and blushed a bit from all this silly and adorable display of affection.

"Heheh mooom! I'm not a little colt! Hahh that's ticklish! You're just like my son, who always loves to tickle me!" I was suddenly tickled on all my sensitive spots by big white wings and I laughed and rolled on the ground as I was tickled, squirming a bit but not really resisting, it felt wonderful to do this, to feel like a little colt again, a small game shared with mom that I never got to experience.

In the end all three of us ended cuddling on a pile on the ground, so... This is what it felt to have both parents? A small tear slowly fell down my muzzle as we just cuddled together, tuckered out from playing, dad was fine he just wanted an excuse to join the pony pile.

"I hope to see you two again soon." I said gently while letting out a content sigh.

"Hopefully... There's two ways for you to come here son, the one now is by the grace of the goddess, the other one is when you pass away, so let's hope it's the first, you still have foals to look after and you have to help your son finish his mission, and you're only 24!" Dad answered with a pointed look.

"Oh no no, don't worry! I'm not planning on dying or something like that, don't be silly dad! I would never abandon my foals, but I mean... Seeing you two together and being here, its like I'm getting back everything I've missed out on, seeing you two together and happy, I'll never forget this!" I say and squeeze the two close to me, I'm not as strong as my son Onyx but I know how he feels now when he is between Sylf and I.

I know how good it feels, how wonderful it is to have parents that love you, who love each other.

Suddenly a voice is heard around us.
"Sorry to interrupt you three extremely adorable and cuddly ponies, but it's time for young Coconut to return to the material plane, even with my powers I can't stretch this moment for more than a few hours, and you three have been here for those few hours by now so... Sorry, time to go!" It was the goddess voice, I couldn't be mad, this has given me so much back!

"Goodbye mom, dad! I'm thankful that I had this chance, we will meet again!" I smiled and gave them a last nuzzle to each, then I was suddenly back where I had been all those hours ago, at the hospital, like nothing had happened, like no time had passed at all.

You have become a Cleric of Faust! Congratulations!
Your domain is harmony and life.

You have access to divine spells (given to you by your goddess), you don't need to learn them, as the knowledge is directly given to you when you pray and in your sleep, the spells given to you so far are the following.

You can use your regular mana for casting this spells, as if they were normal spells.

You have learned the following tier 1 divine spells: Spare the dying, Bane, Bless, Cure Wounds, Detect Poison and Disease, Healing Word, Purify food and drink, Sanctuary, Guiding Bolt.

You have learned the following tier 2 divine spells: Aid, Calm Emotions, Enhance Ability, Lesser Restoration, Prayer of Healing, Protection from Poison, Spiritual weapon.

You have learned the following tier 3 divine spells: Aura of Vitality, Revivify, Beacon of Hope, Remove Curse, Spirit Guardians, Water Walk, Protection from Energy, Dispel Magic, Glyph of Warding, Mass Healing Word.

Your goddess has blessed the Amulet of Exhaustion, improving it into the Amulet of Vitality, now you can heal creatures at a rate of 1 to 1! This amulet now shines with a white mysterious light, instead of healing it can be used to regenerate a lost limb or missing body part (except the head) but using it for this will most likely use all of your stamina and leave you unconscious.

I could... I really could do this now! Thanks to my goddess, thanks to Faust! I felt knowledge flood my mind, it took a few minutes, about 10 or 15 but now... Now I knew how to use spells! Actually powerful spells for the first time! I felt extremely energized and powerful for the first time in my life, and the amulet Onyx gave me! This was... Just unbelievable! I felt as if my body was glowing, despite being invisible. I got to work

I used the spell to detect poison and diseases, and various beds in the nearby rooms started glowing, even though the thin curtains separating them, I approached the first one, a sickly and weak looking mare, probably some disease... She reminded me of what my father looked like before he passed away, now I could actually think much more clearly and feel my more analytical side taking over, I went to all the other beds, checking who was more sickly and more weak looking, and I found a poor mare who not only looked worse but also seems to have been here the longest, as she malnourished, probably a side effect of being in bed for so long... -10 100/110mp

This was all really painful to see, I quickly used lesser respiration on her, then headed towards the other mare, younger looking and a big heathier but still seems to have been here a while. -40 60/110mp

After that there was a stallion who was also sick with something, who I also used it on him, curing his disease or at least I hoped so. -20 40/110mp

Now there wasn't anyone who was sick, nor poisoned, but there were many hurt ponies, and I knew I didn't have enough mana for all of them, a sad sigh escaping my lips. But I could try something... What if I stood in one side and used the prayer of healing and then used it on the other side?

I decided to do just that! I healing 12 ponies out of 18 before I ran out of mana and I also approached the griffon who was hurt and used the amulet it glowed with a white light, I used half of my stamina to heal him, he immediately opened his eyes and started to move, hopefully feeling fine and full healed, I ran out before I could get caught. -40MP 0/110

I came out of the intensive care unit, sweating and panting from both physical exhaustion and feeling a headache starting to form as my mana was spent fully, good thing i didn't try to cast again or it would be a lot worse.

Despite the magical exhaustion, I felt amazing! Emotionally, mentally, I headed towards Onyx and picked him up in my hooves and pulled him into a hug, not caring that I was invisible or that he was reading a book, I simply squeezed him with all my strength against my chest, nuzzling him happily.

Seems he wasn't expecting that because as soon as lifted him up to hug him the spell winked out and I became visible again, shocking many of the nearby ponies, who couldn't figure out where I just came from.

"Gaah! Dad! Too tight! What has given you the idea that spooking me like that is okay?!" He scolded me, but his tone had a playful tone, even if a bit annoyed too, then he returned the hug way stronger than I could.

I wheezed from the sudden emptying of my lungs as he squeezed the air out of me, I tapped him in surrender with a hoof and then he let me go, I could only whimper as the mighty dragon held me gently now, showing just how much stronger than me he was, I was lucky he knew exactly how hard to squeeze to not hurt me, I need to get stronger, and maybe I'll regain some of my dignity.

"M-mercy Onyx! I just wanted to tell you something important, but let's go home first 'kay? I'm developing mana exhaustion and I need an ice pack for my horn and now... Probably my ribs, ow."

It wasn't that bad, but he didn't need to know that, I was more in pain from magical overuse than from a little squeeze.

Healing those ponies, it felt incredibly amazing! Even more so because no one knows I did it, I hope it stays that way, if Onyx can take me here every week at least, I can save so many... Maybe I could do this in other places too? I could dream, I knew I wasn't strong enough to heal more creatures, I needed twice the mana I have now, at least!

"Sure let's go outside now dad! I really want to know what you've been up to in there, you weren't in much longer than 20 minutes, so... Well you'll tell me soon, I'll wait."

After that, a few minutes later we were back home thanks to my son's spell, it felt good now, to teleport, it made traveling a lot easier I must admit.

Then I told him everything, spent hours talking with him and telling stories about my parents, smiling, laughing and having a wonderful time, he was really surprised and confused at my description of the place where my goddess lives.

He seemed to struggle to comprehend the last part.
"That sounds- But I was told that- That there is no afterlife! How can that be?! Was I tricked? No, I was just naive enough to believe everything I was told, wasn't I? That only reincarnation was the only possible end... I was just not told the other option, maybe for me it was?" His face became flustered and angry, then sad, finally he calmed down.

"Sorry Coco, it's just... Really shocking to learn this, maybe I didn't have an afterlife back then to go to, maybe I messed up, and choosing to be an atheist was the wrong move? but I'm glad I'm here, I shouldn't be getting angry or sad, this life, as scary as it is to have to go and fight, this is... Better in many ways, I have you, mom, friends, all of you love me and I am happy too!" I was held in a gentle hug as he went back to normal.

"But I'm really really happy this worked out in our favor! You are a true Cleric now! That is amazing! Yeeeess we have to celebrate this dad! Let's go get some of your ice cream, okay? I'm craving that right now, specially in this heat..." And with that, we both headed to the kitchen and ate a lot of ice cream, well, Onyx did, I just had a few spoonfulls.

He ate a full kilo! At least he mixed flavors, then went to lay down and so did I, an ice pack over my head as I recovered slowly. I felt like I forgot to tell him something... Oh well, I'm sure things will be fine now. With a shrug I went to bed and fell asleep not long after.

Author's Note

Finally the party gets a healer! And he is able to see his parents together and happy.

Has Onyx been tricked? Would it be surprising anymore? He was kind of tricked once before, by those who have given him power.

Chapter 44 Learning to wield a sword

The next day, Canterlot Central Hospital.

Director Deep Pockets was extremely confused, the almost the entire Intensive Care unit was suddenly flooded with reports from doctors about patients, some that weren't expected to make it to the next day, suddenly making a miraculous recovery overnight.

He had the doctors triple check the results and diagnosis of each patient, 13 of the 18 patients from the room were in suddenly stable and even in healthy condition, the only non pony who was there, a middle aged male griffon had claimed to see a white light in front of him coming from the foot of his bed, before he suddenly was completely healthy again, his broken wing and wound from an industrial accident being completely healed, not even scars were left.

He was unsurprisingly very happy with the improvements of the patients of the hospital, at first, but he started getting a bitter taste in his mouth as he realized the full extend of the situation.

Patients being healthy meant that they didn't need room in the ICU, which was the most expensive part of the hospital, and it provided the hospital with the most amount of profit per day, as the prices could go up to five hundred bits per day in there, per patient.

Losing most of the patients, and having them be discharged also meant further losses, the press had even gotten hold of the story somehow, probably one of the happy family members of the patients, cheerfully telling the press of their loved one's miraculous recovery, he was starting to get really concerned.

What if this happened again? What if the entire ICU was emptied, the profits would plummet! The expensive alchemical ingredients requires to make various analgesics and medicines to treat diseases, usually natural ingredients from far off lands cost a whole lot, and they degrade, so all the planning, bits and effort put into them would go to waste if no one needed them!

Thankfully there was not a shortage of accidents and injuries in such a city, the many dangerous jobs and, as one of the most advanced facilities in Equestria, being the Canterlot Central Hospital, they get patients from many other smaller cities as well.

There were other units with a very similar price point that treated patients of less severe accidents and diseases, still many were still life threatening and requires a similar level of sophistication.

He still wanted to know what happened, so he had the ponies that worked at the hospital ask for anything unusual that may have happened yesterday.

They mentioned seeing a very unique looking small dragon walk into the hospital, many just remember his scales being a reflective metallic silver, but other than that they don't remember much else, as they probably were too distracted by the color.

For more reports he would need to get into contact with the families of the patients, something easier said than done, it would take days or longer.

He sighed tiredly and pulled out a bottle of wine from his wine cabinet, deciding that he may as well try to relax during this stressful time, for now there was nothing that he could do, he was not going to go into the red just from this, it was just some lost profit, he could recover it soon.

But if this continued, he would need to start increasing the security on the hospital, it will be a large investment but if it means keeping whatever happened from happening again, it was worth it.

On the table, a newspaper read "The Canterlot Central Hospital Miracle, 13 patients make miraculous recovery overnight."

POV Princess Celestia, Royal Castle, Celestia's royal suite, earlier that day.

I awoke early like every morning to lower the moon and raise the sun, it was almost an automatic process, even if I was half asleep I could pull off the spell, but even then such a spell worked like a jolt of energy to get me fully awake quickly.

I prepared myself, heading for the bathroom before going to the royal eating area, my very own dinner room.

Already waiting for me was my typical breakfast, a delicious cup of tea, every day a different flavor, of course on rotation, there were only so many different tea varieties.

I also had some fruit salad, and a few small cakes made specially for me, breakfast always brought a smile to my face, specially the scrumptious cake.

I was also handed the daily newspapers, for a ruler it is always a good idea to remain up to date, and despite having specialized ponies bring me information about what happens in the nation, I still want to know what the everyday pony reads, so I had any guard who was on patrol bring me one of each.

"Canterlot hospital miracle" I read out loud, all of the newspapers had the same general title, with a black and white picture showing some ponies and even a griffon standing together and posing for a picture, with what I assume are their families.

I immediately go to the page and start reading, extremely intrigued by the title.

'Dear reader, today a group of very happy and enthusiastic ponies have contacted our news agency to inform of something many of you will find hard to believe.

The Canterlot Central Hospital as many of you know takes in cases from all across Equestria, and while it is very expensive, it offers the best quality of care, even when the injuries can't be healed, they at least give the pony every possible chance to recover with their potions and natural healing, even blood transfusion and more.

In the Intensive Care Unit 1 is where the patients with the worst conditions and wounds are usually admitted to, sadly those who are at this stage are very likely to pass away, it's the sad reality of life that we all will eventually die, but yesterday, not many know exactly when, during the day.

A miracle happened, a miracle that healed those ponies who were sick, and mended the wounds of those who had been in an accident, almost all of them at the same time reported feeling their condition improve incredibly fast, some patients awoke from what was supposed to be their last sleep, feeling good as new!

Dear reader, what do you think caused this? We do not know, but one of the individuals healed during the miracle mentioned seeing something glowing at the food of his bed, a hard working griffon who had been gravely injured in a lumberjack incident, where a high speed blade cut deep into his chest and his wings broke from the impact of him against the wall.

He chose to remain anonymous but his interview is here for you.

"First I wanna say thank ye, whoever or whatever did this for me, I thought I was done for, my wings broken and my lungs fillin' with blood, but that light...
It was white as a cloudy sky, I saw it glow in the foot of my bed, I felt as if a pony was there with me, I could smell him, ya know all that you ponies say about us being nothing more than dangerous predators, well it's not all wrong ya see?
We have good senses for huntin' and I know I had caught the scent of a young stallion, not sure what age but definitively younger than mahself. Nah relax ma'am I was joking! I ain't ever gonna hunt ponies, it's just a way to say that I think that a fellow male saved my life."

What do you make of this, dear reader? This interview was the only one who claimed to have seen anything, as all the other patients were asleep at the moment, I think everypony, specially those who have their family back from the hospital, owe this mysterious stallion a big thank you, whatever he did, if it is indeed a he, he clearly did it without the intention of becoming famous or getting anything out of this.

Dear viewers, other families have contacted us too, but they didn't give us a full interview, however what we learned about the patients gives us a clearer picture of what kind of powers this mysterious individual seems to posses.

A few of the patients had diseases, some believed to be incurable like cancer, and others had chronic conditions that can't be cured either, and can just be slowed.

The initial reports by the doctors indicate that the diseases, even those who are supposed to be incurable, are gone, the recovery is not immediate, as some patients are still weakened from the disease and can't really move much yet, they have completely stopped deteriorating and are improving every day, very quickly.

Make what you wish of this, our dear reader.

A message for you, mysterious miracle healer, we cordially invite you to our news agency, and we beg of you to come, you will be compensated for giving an interview, even if you wish to remain anonymous, we will accommodate for that too, we just want to get to know more about you and what your goal is.

Thank you for supporting the Canterlot Dove newspaper!'

Many questions swirled around in my mind.
I sipped my tea, feeling very curious and excited, could I find out who this pony was? Was he a stallion? Could I trust the old bird's interview? I knew first hand that griffons are excellent trackers and have strong senses, better than even ponies, so probably yes.

For now I could only wait, there is little I can do now about this pony, and he was not hurting anyone, in fact he was doing the opposite, except maybe the hospital he is visiting will not be very happy with him.

Will he reveal himself? I just hoped this was a good sign of things to come, and not the opposite, magic like this was not known by ponies, not even by me, I heard legends and myths about ancient mysterious ponies who traveled from town to town healing the sick and injured, but they were already myth when I was born, over a thousand and one hundred years ago. If I ever met him, I have so many questions!

I keep eating my breakfast, quickly reading over the other newspapers, all had similar stories but nothing stood out as particularly odd, just the same news covered and crediting the original.

I had to gather my information agency, and have them look into who this mysterious stallion could be, and then I need to find a way to convince him to work for me, he could be an extremely powerful asset and bargaining chip when it comes to foreign nations, having a doctor who could cure any disease would bring Equestria way too much benefits to ignore, he could greatly improve my image with ponies, when I tell them he was sent by me.

POV Onyx, October 6

Dad and I have been going to the hospital once every few days, we were both aware of the news about our escapades, so the second time I already told him we would be more discrete, there was a way to have less chance to get caught.

We must not be seen going in or out of the hospital, it was going to be all him this time, we didn't even go to the same street, choosing instead to go into a store with the excuse to buy something, use the bathroom and then he would leave invisible, while I pretended to look around inside the store, usually actually buying things to make the process more convincing, doing this I ended up getting some toys I liked, like soccer balls, volley balls, a ping pong set, even bought a ping pong table, a sport ponies found very amusing, and I had to agree.

At this point the hospital was empty of any serious cases, and going into lower risk rooms would take too much time so we decided to stop for now.

They even have guards at the ICU door! Like actual hired security guards, not royal guards, but still that made me really worried at first, but greater invisibility was a thing of beauty, dad could just push the door open and the guards didn't notice most of the time, as they weren't exactly watching the door, this hospital clearly didn't have the same budget than the restricted section of the Royal Canterlot library.

Invisibility spells weren't common knowledge, and only the highest security areas of the palace had ponies equipped to deal with it, which made our little infiltration much easier to pull off and honestly thrilling, dad said it felt amazing, and i had to agree, it was like getting away with a crime, the same thrill and adrenaline, exciting for both of us, like a game, but better! It was probably not a crime but I realized we were fucking with the system, with a big prestigious hospital that probably had some serious cash to throw around and stop the problem.

It seems they got fed up too, as the last time we tried, they went all in and installed a security system to the doors, a month of losing money will do that to you, they didn't want absolutely anyone to enter but the doctors, now the doors were not just push to enter, they were locked all the time unless the guard unlocked it by an authorized doctor.

I caressed father's side softly as we stood at home, he looked a bit sad and upset, but I did my best to cheer him up.

"Hey dad please don't give me that face... You can't expect them to just let you go in and heal all their patients, they make no money if everyone is healthy and happy, you know that right? There's only a few things you can do in this case, one is to stop, to find another hospital you can sneak your way into, or third and most logical I think would be to open a clinic, you don't have a doctor's degree so I don't know the legality of that."

"B-but how do I even do that?! I'm... Only able to run my father's store because he taught me how to, but running such a business, it's far beyond my abilities!"

"Oh I know, just have in mind if you don't charge any money, you will have thousands of creatures coming to knock on your door 24/7 begging for you to heal them, and you can't heal more than a few per day."

"So... Think carefully, and don't rush ahead, you can probably charge exorbitant prices and still get more costumers than you probably need, or we can go and sneak in Manehattan's hospital, or Las Pegasus, Fillydelphia? So many possibilities! We will need to travel a lot, in fact mom will not like it, and I probably won't either because I'll miss too much school days, so mister chosen of Faust, think carefully what you plan to do and stop moping like that, you already did a LOT for all of the lovely creatures of this nation."

"B-but I don't want to... I don't want to charge ponies to help them! That's unfair, and I feel like I'm taking advantage of my goddess... But I can't just go around the country, sneaking into hospitals and leaving my family behind! What do I do? How can I do my mission of helping others? I have no choice if I want to help at least some ponies, but I will need to rent a place somewhere, away from home.
I don't think neither you, Sylf or the twins want to have the attention of the whole nation on your backs, that would put us at risk, wouldn't it?!" This is a complicated matter, he could even get ponynapped and forced into servitude to some noble or by some other nation too, I think for now he needs to stop using his powers until all of us can learn to defend ourselves, especially him.

"I'm afraid yes this would be really risky, most ponies will be well intentioned, sure, but those who want you for themselves...
They will come and they'll try anything to get to you, I fear for your safety dad."

Then I continued explaining.
"You can't escape easily like I can, a null ring can be placed on your horn, too and prevent you from using magic, I don't want anyone to hurt you! Let's... Stop for now until we both are strong enough to defend ourselves, okay? I'm not saying you never heal anyone, but let's keep it down for now, at least until both of us have more training with weapons and fighting overall, you are far behind us in power, in healing power you are the best, but you can't fight yet at all!" He looked a bit dejected at my words, but nodded, acknowledging I was right on this.

"Then the next step for us, specially for me is training, isn't it? I need to train my body and mind, and I would appreciate if you trained with me, at the same time, join me? I could use a partner of comparable skill level to me, even if you're way stronger, maybe that will help me become stronger."
He asked me softly and hopeful, his smile returning.

"Well duh! That's the whole idea of training, we must train together! I have no idea how to fight with weapons or with my fists either, I'm pretty sure my punches are weaker than most ponies, because I'm not used to punching at all, I can grab onto things and stab with my claws sure, but my punches with no claws kinda suck, my claws are made for stabbing." I mean... I wasn't terrible at it but I wasn't good either, nah who am I kidding? The time I tried punching a pony he just pushed me off. I suck at punches.

Suddenly steps were heard coming down the stairs, and Sylf approached us with an easy smile.

"Hey you colts, so you finally decided to start your training hm? Well, the foals are asleep, we can go train in the third floor, I have had training weapons and padded armor ready, I prepared this long ago when you said you wanted to train Onyx, but you never actually did you lazy flank! Now finally, you can at least begin to learn." She said and turned towards the stairs, gesturing for us to follow.

"Am ready ma, don't go easy on me! I don't think I need the padding, I'll just take the eye protection and that's it." I said confidently, she let out a chuckle in response.

"Cocky, aren't you son? I'm gonna give you a lesson then, as for you my beloved... Make sure you wear padding, eye protection and horn padding, this is not a magic duel anyways, you need to learn to fight without any magic, the magical training will be Onyx's job, he is better than me at the whole thing anyways." She said to Coconut, who quickly agreed with a nod.

"Of course, I know I wouldn't want to fight you without padding, unlike Onyx here that has scales, all I got is my coat." He was right about that, and that is why I worried about him, he had shorter and less dense fur than Sylf, so less protection from physical damage, he also was smaller, had more weak points, the horn for example, unicorns who lost their horn in battle were highly likely to die of brain hemorrhage.

"Good stallion~ I really like attitude, being overly cocky like Onyx here will get you in lots of trouble in a real fight, isn't that right son?" She asked the last part in a playful mocking tone, yes I had told her how I got my ass kicked, she was angry at first but how she just made fun of me for being so fucking stupid and cocky.

"Yes mom... I admit am being overconfident but it's all for a reason." I ran closer and scratched her back, making her wag her tail happily, never fails unless she was angry for real, or sad or something.

Once we were up there, we both got ready, Coconut was the one who had the most padding, mainly on his horn, eye protection that I also wore, the neck and other areas, it kinda looked like he had a giant diaper, which made me giggle while mom put it on him.

I struggled not to call him a name I had in the tip of my tongue, but this was genuinely how stallions had to protect themselves in battle, even real guard armor had this diaper looking padding across that area in particular, for both mares and stallions.

I didn't bother with any padding.

"Are you sure you don't want any padding Onyx? Because I'm not going to go easy on you, despite your age I know you can deal take quite a bit before you're actually hurt, you're tougher than me! Or at least close." She asked with genuine concern, I shook my head, I needed to set the example for the unicorn next to me.

"I'll be fine mom, and if I get really messed up, dad can always just heal me, he's all full of energy today, we aren't going out healing others until things calm down, and until we both are strong enough to defend ourselves, him most importantly!"

"Oh thank you Coconut! You have no idea how worried I was with you going out there... If you somehow got found out and they tracked you, our family would have a huge target on our backs! Even the twins will be in danger from ruthless nobles or rich CEOs! I'm glad you decided to stop for now and focus on learning to fight, after you learn this I think Onyx has a suggestion for us, even if we will need to find some pony to help." Oh yes mom remembered my idea.

"Yeah dad we will go back into the second dungeon and there we will complete secondary objectives, earn some XP for you and you will have your combat experience! It will be awesome, trust me! If a bit dangerous haha~" I slapped him gently on the back encouraging him.

"Okay, but that's for later, now Onyx, you try to hit me with this sword as best as you can, don't be afraid of going full force, I can take it!" She handed me a wooden training sword from the rack on the wall, using her mage hand.

I grabbed it and held it firmly on my right hand, moving it and swinging it a bit to get a feel for its balance.

"Yes ma'am, I will attack now!" And with that I jumped forward towards her, she has a wooden shortsword in her maw too now, I tried to feint by swinging from above and then quickly moving my arm and trying to swung much harder from the side, aiming at her padded neck.

Instead of staying still and letting me hit her, she rushed forward and parried my second true swing before it fully began, cancelling the entire attack and leaving me exposed midair, basically she held my foreleg back with her shortsword and I was helpless.

She just pushed me forward, cancelling my smaller momentum and forcing me to land on the ground in front of her, I barely landed on all fours, and right after I landed before I could lift my sword again, her shortsword was tightly pressed to my neck, point first.

"Boop, you're dead." She said with a serious tone and I realized how far away in skill we were.

"Damn... That would feint would have worked on someone other than you!" I defended, feeling a bit like a sore loser.

"Only a bumbling idiot would have fallen for that Onyx, you're now my trainee and I will make you a capable fighter, but you have to first learn the basics before you want to try fancy moves, or those fancy moves aren't more than annoyances to the average guard, or even a mildly experienced criminal. Remember, even if you're all scary and tough, someone with enough strength can still run you through with a sword, even a short sword like this... You're not that big yet either so you can't rely on your size and weight." She corrected my mistakes, one by one all of my preconceptions were dismantled.

"B-but I'm heavier than dad! And I'm only 9!" I tried defending, but she just sighed and shook her head.

"You're right, but earth ponies exist, along with other much stronger creatures, and even an unicorn or pegasi can lift you and throw you around if they work out occasionally, and criminals usually work out a lot, so they really aren't to be underestimated, now try again but this time try a regular attack, focus on attacking right and put your power behind it, okay? Use your leverage, swing with your whole body and not just your arm." She offered advice and stepped away, giving me room to attack again, her posture was relaxed, but shortsword still held firmly in her maw.

I prepared myself, in a bipedal stance as i grabbing my sword on two hands and aimed it at her, my body tensed like a spring, then I ran forwards and released the tension, swinging the blade at her head while using my tail against the ground to firmly brace myself, she brought her sword to bear, blocking my strong attack with a loud sound of wood on wood.

The sword was thankfully not broken, maybe enchanted to not break easily, while we were locked, as we pushed against each other, I was shaking and pushing with all my strength, but she held firm she was putting some effort into it too, but then she moved to the side, our swords unlocked but I was putting too much force behind it, thinking she was going to keep holding the swords locked.

I tried to turn around and recover but she had already pounced on me, knocking me to the floor and stabbing me with her sword from behind right on the middle of my neck, where my spine is, of course she didn't actually stab me, just poked me, but she may as well have because I was feeling ashamed of myself.

"And there goes the little dragon, I have to say son, you have quite the raw strength, not many can hold their sword to mine like that, not for how long you did! But still, you're slain again." She taunted with a playful smile.

"Ghrr... Damn it, again!" I got up again, she moved to give me room, and I prepared myself, this time I would not fall for that trick again.

"Ready son, come whenever you're ready!" I nodded, then started circling her, looking for the best line of attack, she turned to face me but didn't move her body much, deciding to hold her ground.

Then I attacked from the side, running and trying to stab forward with my sword, using both hands, but she was fast, she turned and blocked attack after attack, I mixed up strong stabs with slashes, then sliced at her legs, trying to get her off balance.

She answered every strike with a faster deflect, block or parry, but I didn't give up, then while I was trying to hit her, she moved her head really fast while ducking under me, stabbing me right in the upper belly and making me double over in pain, the blade didn't go through but it hurt badly, after stabbing me she moved back, giving me some room.

Onyx has taken 10 damage!

A soft whimper of pain escaped me, that stings... oww.

"That... Ughh you win, I can't even get a single hit in, and now I feel kinda like puking, but it's fine, it's going away." I took a few deep breaths to make the uncomfortable sensation in my stomach go away

"You held your ground much better there Onyx, but you still don't know how to properly hit, you attack with your body somewhat now, but you still don't have good balance, your attacks are slow too, you need to practice more your attacks, don't worry son, you're going on the right path! Your dexterity and claws give you a big advantage in that, and you have good power behind each of your hits." She approached and nuzzled me lovingly, calming me down and making the pain and shame of losing so many times fade slowly.

"Thank you mom, I... I learned a lot, you're a brutal teacher tho, I think I'm gonna be bruised tomorrow." I hugged her softly as well, I didn't like losing at all, I was a terrible loser, but this small gesture of affection made it all feel less painful and humiliating.

"I admit I hate losing, I need to get over that, I-I need to control my emotions better, now I'll stop, I think its dad's turn to try." I told them both and went to a corner to sit down, rubbing my tender belly, it wasn't too damaging of a hit but it still caused some real damage, I don't want to even imagine what she could have done to me if she was more aggressive and less gentle, she definitively held back with that strike.

I just relaxed now as Sylf explained and showed dad how to hold the sword in his telekinesis, explaining the advantages and disadvantages of using telekinesis, then going over how to best attack with it, how to prevent your sword from being simply pulled away, and many other tips and explanation that he would need.

He was clearly enthusiastic and happy to learn, I could see it in his face, they both smiled, I could see the look they gave each other, it was real love.

I wonder if changelings existed here, I hope they aren't too big of a threat, I already have a lot to deal with here.

I went back to watching, she was teaching him how to swing the sword properly, how to angle it to deflect a hit, and how to block or even parry, he tried to repeat the movements but wasn't very successful with parrying, it was difficult to do, as it required precise timing and hitting the right spot to disrupt an attack before it was done.

Then after some more concepts that I watched carefully, maybe I can still learn something.
Telekinetic swordplay has always been fascinating to me, it was safer and could counter other melee opponents.

They started to fight, if you could call it a fight, he tried to get past her defenses with his sword, but she was fast and much stronger, clearly she held back so his sword wasn't just flung across the room with each hit, and he was slowly learning and improving his hits, his face was very focused and his horn was glowing intensely, a bit of sweating forming on his head.

The sword stabbed, slashed, moved out of range and moved back in, all floating in a white field of telekinesis.

His biggest advantage was also his biggest weakness, Sylf didn't waste the chance to show him, she smacked the sword across the room away from him with her own swing, then pinned him down, he was with his back to the floor, and she was on top with her shortsword pointed at his chest, a smirk on her face.

"I got you, mister Coconut, what do you have to say for yourself?~" she asked smugly, putting her sword to the side and laying on top of him.

"I- uhh you know, I surrender to you, my beautiful wife?" His face slightly red as he looks up at her with hope in his eyes.

"Oh come on Coconut! You're so easy~ you're supposed to... Well you know, fight! Oh right you don't have a shortsword anymore." She laughs a bit and gets up from him, going out and picking up his shortsword with her hand spell, and returning it to him.

"Try again, you're not doing too bad but you need to get closer to Onyx's level first before we can finish for today." mom explained softly to dad who lowered his ears as he realized he was not good enough yet.

We trained for a few hours and then went to wash up, we all got really tired and they got very sweaty, specially Coconut.

One week later, September 9
Training every day for a few hours whenever we all could, him and I improved slowly, I feel like I was a bit slower than him, but once we learned the principles and the correct way of attacking and defending, it was turn to fight dad, we both now are proficient with shortswords! we can use them in combat with some efficiency, but we are still novices.

One on one, with shortsword in hand, no shield for now, I held my shortsword in both hands, as I followed his.

Sylf gave us the signal and we jumped into action, he stayed back but his sword flew right at me, however I had experience dealing with telekinetic sword users, I ignored it until it was right in front of me.

Then a strong slap to the side sent the sword off course, making my opponent very confused for a second, he then focused and sent the blade flying right at my back as I ran on all fours at him, the sword laying flat against the foot with each step I took.

Using my long and powerful tail, I slapped the rapidly approaching blade out of the air with a lot of force, sending it flying halfway across the room, then I pounced at the disarmed stallion, he lifted his hooves up in surrender and I just hugged him gently.

"Look ma! I caught a pony!" I left my blade there and lifted him up gently by his midsection, standing on my hind legs and walked over to Sylf, offering him to her as if he was a curiosity.

She approached and sniffed him, nodding her approval.

"He good smelling pony, I keep! he husband now." She said in a deep caveman like voice, the three of us share a laugh and she nuzzles him while is being held, then I free him and let him back on the ground where he can walk.

"You win Onyx, you clearly know how to deal with telekinesis held blades, why is that?" Sylf asked me with curiosity and I explained that me and Shining love to play fight, she seems to remember me telling her something about that before.

"Oh yeah, you told me, but I didn't know you used training swords." It was kind of true but not the same.

"Oh no, they were just a wooden toy sword and shield, it had no enchantment and it was for fun, still I learned how to deal with it, what I don't know is how to attack with telekinetic blades." I confessed, because I never really tried, I knew probably less than dad.

"You should focus on one method for now Onyx! Trying to learn multiple ways to attack with swords it's just going to confuse you and slow you down when it comes to actually learning, you already know how to use magic, you can cast spells, very strong spells, now focus on just using your claws to hold the sword and fight with it I want you to fight Coconut without pushing his sword away, I want you to actually let him attack you and just deflect and block his strikes, understood?" Sylf ordered me.

"Yes ma'am! Let's try again then, I'm ready when you are." He picks up his sword, we stand at a good distance and I approach slowly this time, he brings his weapon close to me, and starts to attack me, his swings are decently fast but they don't have too much power behind them, I deflect most of them and block the ones I can't deflect, he seems reluctant to hurt me.

"Dad, attack full force, you're clearly holding back, don't worry so much about me! If you don't fight seriously you won't get better you know? I also can't improve if your hits are so light that they don't put pressure on me, please don't be scared to hurt me." I said reassuring him, he then nodded and actually started swinging the sword harder, but not as fast, of course it was easier to swing faster than harder, and doing both was really difficult for beginners.

Now I was feeling it, I had to actually put force behind my arm, I tried to see openings, every time he repositioned his sword after an attack, there! But how? He was out of my arm range.

The largest advantage of telekinetic swordplay was exactly that, being able to fight and attack without putting yourself in stabbing range.

I see now, this technique wasn't as bad as I thought first, my desire to learn it increased, but... I would not always have access to magic, I couldn't just rely on magic for everything! Bad mentality to have, pretty dumb, I'm meant to be practicing how to fight magicless, dad will also need to learn to use his maw or his hoof somehow too in battle, maybe... He could do with being an unarmed fighter.

It seems like a good idea in my head.

"Alright dad, I surrender, there's no way of getting to you and attacking you directly, not without using dishonorable tactics and this is a fair duel, mom said no sword knocking, I will assume also not grabbing opponent's sword, right?" She nodded, smiling at me.

Onyx and Coconut have earned shortsword proficiency, both are novice rank, practice will increase the rank and increase not only the weapon but the ways it can be used in a fight.

"I'm proud of you Onyx! Yes that was the point of this duel, to show you that sometimes magic gives us a huge advantage, but there are ways to counter it, for example that same thing you mentioned, grabbing an opponent's weapon while it's in their aura, it's much easier to take the sword away that way unless it is heavily enchanted to prevent just that." She continued explaining.

"If your opponent is a unicorn using telekinesis, and if you are fast enough, you can grab the handle of the weapon and once in your grasp, unless like I mentioned previously it is enchanted to prevent this, you can easily wrestle it away from their telekinetic grasp, this will work incredibly well for you specially Onyx. Do you know why?" I think I have an idea.

"My magic resistance?"

"Good! You know it already huh? Well it's pretty obvious because when an unicorn tries to pry their or your sword from your grasp, they will realize how hard it is." She explained further, more for Coconut than me.

"You can try grabbing the other end of the blade yes, but if Onyx touches his claws onto your aura you will lose the grip on the sword." After he confirmed he understands she began speaking again.

"For now we are done, you two have fought wonderfully! I think we are ready for going into the second dungeon and finding what we missed from there, right Onyx?" She looked at me and I nodded, we should be ready, while we weren't professionals we both could defend ourselves pretty decently.

"Yes but... How about we go tomorrow when we are more rested? And which one of us is going to stay to take care of the twins?" They book looked at me sheepishly, I rolled my eyes.

"I think its best if only dad and I go, you better look over the twins mom, and don't worry I wont hold back when it comes to defending and protecting your husband and myself, this time I'm stronger" my eyes glowed slightly as my voice was empowered, resonating around the room, I was not trying to scare them but reassure them so I kept it at that.

"I know you may think I'm a weak because I can't fight in melee quite well." I huffed a bit in frustration at that, it was true and that's what hurts the most.

"But I'm not as weak as I was, im not lagging behind anymore mom, not since I absorbed his knowledge and power, I have crossed dimensions and have been hunted for hundreds of kilometers by a very advanced military force, centuries ahead of whatever any army in this nation has, and I did it all without having to kill anyone, or even hurt anyone."

"I don't have a desire to kill even if they really wanted me dead by the end, I just want them to see their mistake and maybe work on correcting it... Peacefully." I sighed and just sat down on the floor.

"O-oh don't worry about that son, I really think you can take them on! It's just... You know im a big overprotective wolf mom, and now that I have my little ones, I am feeling really, really protective over you all, my son and husband, but I know you will protect each other, you mean the world to me!" She said in a soft and gentle tone.

"Both of you in your own way, and you know it!
So no my dear Onyx, I'm not questioning your power, I have fought alongside you before and you are really powerful, you saved my life many times!" Sylf continued with a determined voice, clearly she meant what she said.

"You can go together, of course I'll watch the foals, but if you feel things are getting dicey in there just come back, please?" She asked in a begging tone, we both agreed with a nod.

"And you love, please don't forget that you can heal yourself too! If you are getting hurt focus on healing yourself, Onyx is a sturdy little dragon, he can take a lot more punishment than you, no offense son, but dad is... Well he is less than half as resilient as you are! Please protect this adorable stallion as best as you can for me? Pleeease?" She gave me puppy wolf eyes as she looked at me, they worked too well.

"Of course mom! I know, I will protect him at all costs! I promise, I love him too you know? He's the only father I have, and I don't want another one!"

"You know it's a bit humiliating to be talked about as if I was a newborn foal that was made of glass, but... Considering the dangers you told me of this place I'm thankful for your protectiveness, come here you two~" then we both were squeezed in a hug, this time I let him and relaxed myself, even leaning into the hug with a soft purr.

After that we all went to shower, going about our day and preparing for tomorrow's dungeon delve.

Something was telling me that it would not be as easy as we have been hoping.

Author's Note

Sorry about the slow chapters, I promise there will be dungeon stuff next chapter!

Chapter 45 Ghost Town

September 10 year 981 Coconut POV

I am in my room, with both my beloved wife and my little menace of a son, trying different armor on, so far the gambeson is the best fitting and lightest, but it only covers my chest and back, my head neck and rear are completely exposed and Sylf thinks this is unacceptable, and i certainly agree with that.

She has given me the padded armor used for training and told me to use chainmail on top, it covers everything much better except from attacks from below, but that's where the training armor comes in, made of different pieces of thick cotton filled with cushioning material inside, a piece that protects my belly, a section that goes over the flanks and wraps around and between my legs, then the legs themselves all have sections that cover the outside held by straps, a neck section that has extra thick padding and is held by buttons that keep it closed, chest padding that is tight fitting and finally the head piece, called a coif that has little holes for my ears and opening for my muzzle, the pieces are also light and flexible.

With all of this I hope to prevent the hits from doing any real damage, I hope, if anything it should absorb some of the impact of most hits.

I must say the padding is a bit tight and gets too warm in some areas, but I prefer being sweaty than being wounded, even if I can heal myself, I would rather not have to experience any serious wound.

I don't like pain at all.

In the end I went with training padding to stop blows, the gambeson on top of that for my torso and on top of it all, covered by chainmail to stop slashing or piercing attacks.

Sylf went to the closet and grabbed a shortsword from a pile of them with a leather scabbard, she pulled it out and checked it, frowning slightly and returning it back, then she pulled another and checked the edge with her own leg, cutting some hair off, and nodding. Then she tied the scabbard straps to my armor and jostled it a bit to see if it was properly secured, then she nodded and patted my back with the ghost hand.

"You're set my love, all geared up! Now I'll check on Onyx, just relax and try not to sweat too much." My wife gave me a small nuzzle before moving over to our son and helping him look over the weapons.

Both of them seemed adamant that I wear all of this, so I accepted, even if I feel a bit heavy and slow, my face was uncovered so I could see well and breathe.

Onyx wears only his saddlebags, on his side the sword scabbard is tied to it by straps too, having easy access to his weapon at all times just like me.
Other than that he wears no armor, he says it will only slow him down and not allow him to cast spells fast, instead he is wearing black robes with red pattern lines, they look very sinister and even evil, partially covering his head too, but the robes don't seem to offer any real protection from attacks.

I ask him what this robes are and why is he using them.

"Oh this! This is is a magical artifact in the form of a robe, it's pretty good, makes any spells only use half the normal amount of mana, thus allowing me to fight for much longer without running out." He explained simply, I understand perfectly now, this was actually an incredibly powerful magical artifact.

Onyx says there should not be any threats left other than maybe some ghosts, which he says he can easily get rid off.

I don't know why but this idea of fighting ghosts scares me, I don't know what they are capable off, I have never seen a ghost and I don't think I want to see them now either, but I trust him, and I need the experience.

Everything is ready, supplies are packed and, premade meals, both vegetarian sandwiches and omnivore sandwiches clearly labeled for me and for Onyx, all packed neatly in a wooden crate that will go into the inventory.

"Okay, we have everything, it's time to head in, ready?" I can only nod, I was as ready as I could be.

Then we both disappeared and instantly appeared inside an unfamiliar place, it felt like we just... We're here, no flash of light, no sound, no transition.

POV Onyx

The castle was right as we had left it, no one was around, I relaxed and sighed in relief, looking around just in case, i don't want to let my guard down, this place could have more enemies and i had a VIP to protect.

"Looks clear, but I would need to look around to make sure, stay close and if you feel or see something, let me know." I explain clearly, starting to form a spell in my mind's eye.

"I've got your back! I'll keep my senses sharp too, don't forget I trained with you, and I know how to fight too." I just nodded at his answer, he was right, the spell almost complete.

Then I finally finished forming it, and 7 motes of golden light start orbiting above the top of my head, like a slowly rotating crown, the motes lighted up the area nicely, better than a torch. -35 mp 253/288

Dad was taken aback by this sudden bright light appearing above me, but he was also amazed and hypnotized by the admittedly beautiful spell, he approached behind me and looked closely at the lights, his body slightly pressing against me.

"Whoa! It's.... beautiful! What is this Onyx? Can I touch them? They are like tiny stars!" He asked with enthusiasm, clearly wanted to know more.

"Do NOT touch them! You could lose your hoof or worse! I'm not exactly sure if they will activate if you touch one, but they are really really powerful and deadly, touching them may could as being attacked by one!" I yelled, afraid he may get seriously hurt and holding his hoof with my claw firmly away from the Crown of Stars.

"Oh! I-im so sorry I just thought... It looks really amazing I couldn't help myself, I promise not to touch any spell again." He looked shocked at my serious and harsh tone and pulled his hoof back when I let it go.

"M-my bad, I just thought it was a spell to provide illumination..." He defended with a slightly hurt tone, which made me feel a bit sad for raising my voice, but his safety was my biggest concern.

"It's okay, I'm just looking out for you, and yes this spell is a light spell but also an attack spell, in case we are in a fight, I can send the motes from the crown as small deadly radiant projectiles, they are very effective against beings made of darkness, like ghosts and some undead, all monsters that I fear may be around here somewhere."

We started walking down the stairs, heading towards the door to the castle, making sure I took the path that had no traps we had already cleared up before, I casted detect magic once we got to the ground floor, remembering to recast it once in a while because I didn't want us to get caught in a deadly spell, even if I could most likely withstanding it, I didn't want neither of us to get a nasty surprise.

"Onyx? What are you doing? What is that spell you're casting?" At his answer I turned to him placed my claw in his muzzle, gently caressing him while I explained.

"It's to check for dangerous spell glyphs or other magical traps, don't worry dad, I think I've disabled all the other traps from here on, let's go out that door then we will be in the town proper." I said pointing towards the large double doors that out of the castle.

"I remember the layout somewhat, oh and dad? As soon as we go into combat, can you use your Guardian Spirits spell?
I know there may be ghosts out there, or in the houses, so listen I have been checking your spell list and I've read all about that spell, it's ideal for dealing with the ghosts that will try to move close and hit you with their deadly necrotizing claws." He paled at the prospect, but nods slowly.

"I-ill have that spell ready for anytime I see something! I will make sure to set you in the spell as an ally, don't worry, my goddess has taught me how to cast it properly and quickly, even without practice I feel like I've known it for a while, thank you. Now I know what exactly to do, but what do I do after that?" He asks looking down at me for guidance.

"Then I'll take care of them with my magic, don't fear! You just need to try to make sure they don't grab a hold of you, if they grab you they could posses your body and then I'll have to knock you unconscious to free you, and that's going to suck because I haven't really ever knocked someone out, I don't know how much force to use." His pupils shrunk and his face paled, he shook slightly in fear.

"P-possession?! A-are you serious? Oh my goddess, you are! M-maybe coming here was a really bad idea, what will you do if I get possessed? What will I do?!" He asked in a desperate tone, looking ready to run away, his legs a bit shaky.

"Whoa whoa calm down! You're gonna be okay! Just make sure they don't get too close, I'll make sure you are safe okay? They won't get to you, and if for some reason they do, I promise to gently get you unconscious! Ghosts are not too strong anyways, in just a little bit you'll become strong enough to be immune to their possession. We just need to raise your level slightly." I explain to calm him down.

It works so what but he is clearly not fully convinced, as his face betrays how he feels about the situation he is in right now.

"I... Okay but how will you get me unconscious? Can you please not hit my head? I'd prefer if you suffocated me instead, I don't want my brain turned into mush, okay?" He asks softly, calming down somewhat specially when I nod to him.

"Yeah sure, I don't want to hurt you either, now it's time, let's go out there!" I exclaimed and pushed the door opened to the exterior, seeing the familiar view of the street heading out from the castle and the large building we have stayed the night a long time ago with Sylf and Kari.

We took a few steps ahead and started to walk into the street, we headed towards the edge of town, where I remember that ghost pony from earlier used to be.

Then I felt something was wrong, my senses told me we were being watched, I felt shadows moving and swirling in the corner of my eyes and outside the area lit up by my Crown of Stars.

Something evil is around us, something bad, hiding in the darkness outside my spell, but following close and looking for an opening to attack us.

'Hey, we have company, be prepared to use your spell, there is at least a dozen moving shadows stalking us and the only reason they haven't attacked yet is because of the intense light from my spell, I think they may be afraid of light.' He looks at me with alarm but I smile at him with a lot less worry.

'What do I do?! Do you have a plan for dealing with them?' he ask urgently, I nod right away.

'I want you to run in a circle inside the edge of the area of light, try to be fast but make sure you don't go outside, all while you have your Spirit Guardian spell active. Hopefully that will deal with most of the annoying shadows stalking us, I'll keep an eye on you and shield you if they try to hit you, okay?'

'Yes son, I'm ready, I'll start now!' he exclaimed telepathically and suddenly in a large circle around him golden glowing little spirits that floated in a spinning circle appeared, the area inside the circle was glowing white like his aura, and soon the shadow creatures who were within the area became visible and we're consumed in white light as if they were burning, they produced a ghostly wail of agony, I was curious as to what they were so I inspected one quickly before it exploded into a puff of shadow and light and 'died'. -30 mp 80/110

Level 10 Shadow
30 HP

Skills: Stealth.

Damage Vulnerability: Radiant.
Damage Resistances: Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning, Thunder, Physical attacks.
Damage immunities: Necrotic, Poison.
Condition Immunities: Exhaustion, Frightened, Grappled, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned, Prone, Restrained.

Senses: Darkvision 20m, passive perception.

Skills

Amorphous: it can move thought a space as narrow as 2cm wide without squeezing.

Shadow Stealth: it can hide in dimly lit or dark areas.

Undead nature: a shadow doesn't require air, food, drink, or sleep.

Sunlight weakness: while in sunlight, the shadow becomes weaker, both it's attack and it's defense as well as it's abilities become half as strong.

Strength Drain: it's attacks deal necrotic damage and drain the Strength of the target, each hit can drain from 1 to 4 STR and once the target reaches 0, they die.
A non evil creature killed by a Shadow will raise as a new Shadow from the corpse 3 days later.
From the darkness, the shadow reaches out to feed on living creatures' vitality. They can consume any living creature, but they are especially drawn to creatures untainted by evil. As a shadow drains its victim's strength and physical form, the victim's shadow darkens and begins to move of its own volition. In death, the creature's shadow breaks free, becoming a new undead shadow hungry for more life to consume.
If a creature from which a shadow has been created somehow returns to life, its undead shadow senses the return. The shadow might seek its "parent" to vex or slay. Whether the shadow pursues its living counterpart, the creature that birthed the shadow no longer casts one until the monster is destroyed.
.

My eyes widen as I realized the danger he was in, this monsters could kill him! I growled and began sending the motes of light to the ones I could sense, the motes followed them even if they tried moving, as I could control them each to ensure they hit their target.

At the same time a shield formed around my father, I made sure that he was shielded as his Guardian Spirits destroyed the horrifying creatures.

Shadow has taken 15 damage! 15/30
Shadow has taken 20 damage! 10/30
Shadow has taken 32 damage and is destroyed!
Shadow has taken 31 damage and is destroyed!
Shadow has taken 16 damage and is destroyed!
Shadow has taken 14 damage! 16/30

They started approaching him, trying to attack him, for some reason they were extremely focused on him, but some also targeted me, a single one of my orbiting motes of light was enough to destroy them.

But I wasn't idle, another spell was forming in my brain, this one would hopefully deal with the issue completely.

Shadow has taken 23 damage! 7/30
Shadow has taken 16 damage! 14/30
Shadow has taken 15 damage and is destroyed!
Shadow has taken 35 damage and is destroyed!
Shadow has taken 14 damage and is destroyed!

The more motes of light I sent out, the smaller the area of light around us became, I decided to stop using it because the number of shadows was still too high and they weren't slowing down, they kept coming, one by one getting closer and surrounding us from all sides.

Knowing they were resistant to almost all forms of damage I had no choice but to use radiant, it was the most deadly form of attack, an idea came to mind.

Coconut was swinging his sword to any of the Shadows who tried to get close, but they tended to die before they could even get withing striking distance, as his spirit guardians tore through them like as if they were made of paper, he still was focused on keeping the spell active, not paying attention to me.

'Coconut, dad I'm going to get close to you, don't worry about attacking them with melee, I'll shield you, just focus on holding the spell and I'll get them off your back!' I warned him so he wouldn't get scared via telepathy.

'Y-yes thank you, it's hard to hold concentration with so many of them getting close and trying to attack me, it's terrifying!" He said with a strained mental voice, his mind clearly not able to focus on much more than the spell and fighting them off.

Shadow has taken 25 damage! 5/30
Shadow has taken 13 damage and is destroyed!
Shadow has taken 17 damage! 13/30
Shadow has taken 14 damage and is destroyed!

I ran over to him and walked into the guardian spirits, thankfully he used it right and they didn't hurt me, once inside I used my strongest shield, a dome of semi transparent energy completely surrounded us, blocking the creatures from crossing, they uselessly attacked at the shield with their claws, the noise was barely perceptible from the inside, while I had to concentrate to hold the Globe of Invulnerability, I knew for a fact that nothing short of a higher tier spell could get through. -35MP 218/288

'You can just focus on the spell now, you're safe, I'll help you deal with them.' I said in a reassuring tone, standing flank to flank with him, well I was lower so not exactly but we were covering each other backs to have a 360 degree covering.

'Oh, thank you! Holding this spell... Its not easy you know? I don't think I can hold it for much longer!' he says with a look of concentration.

'You can rest for a bit and recast it, my shield will hold, trust me.' I started sending my radiant projectiles again, aiming for the shadows that tried to attack the shield, killing one after another.

Shadow has taken 33 damage and is destroyed!
Shadow has taken 16 damage! 14/30
Shadow has taken 15 damage! 15/30
Shadow has taken 15 damage and is destroyed!
Shadow has taken 31 damage and is destroyed!
Shadow has taken 16 damage and is destroyed!
Shadow has taken 36 damage and is destroyed!

No new ones seemed to be coming now, and I couldn't sense more around, but there were still about half a dozen, with a tired sigh dad sat on the ground, his horn stopped glowing as his spirit guardians winked out, but I wasn't worried, even as the last of my stars flew like a missile and hit it's mark, it made a Shadow glow from the inside before bursting into light and a smoke like cloud.

Shadow has taken 38 damage and is destroyed!

But I was ready for this, and instantly another much brighter and fully complete spell hovered above me, the light made the Shadows now probably used to the darkness again recoil slightly before continuing their assault, they didn't have a sense of self preservation at all, they were mindless monsters that wanted nothing more than to tear into our living flesh with their draining abilities, I worried about father more than myself, since I would not run out of strength easily, but he would in a few hits, he wasn't weak by any means but... Not risking it!
-35 MP 183/288

Now with the spell fully completed I felt comfortable with just blasting away with spells I knew would not do much, while the others were deal with by the Crown, and my blindsight.

I used firebolts, focusing three at once on a single monster, the spells were extremely weak on them, but cantrips used so little mana that the energy recharged as soon as the spell was fired, the only way to use mana for cantrips was to multicast and use them constantly for a while.

Something I was about to do now, as I stood on my hind legs and started blasting.

The air around me was warming up as the firebolts, as weak as they were, carried a good amount of heat, the mana started to go down, but one after another, the monstrous shadow creatures were going down too.

The air was shimmering, distorted by heat, the flashes of orange lit up the eerie night, making the voids of light that were this creatures appear even more terrifying.

It was a bit wasteful and inefficient, but it was easy to do, the spell was simple enough to cast without thinking.

My claws were burning by now, in pain from repeatedly using heat spells I was not immune to myself, while the spell didn't generate directly in contact with my scales, it still felt like having fire right next to your scales. It fucking stung, to say the least, I hope dad will heal em later.

We were spinning around as I attacked, making sure we got them all, they needed to be exterminated.
-30MP 153/288

5 Shadows destroyed!

19 Shadows destroyed in total! Your party earned 7125 EXP (5700 EXP +1425 bonus)
Onyx 9659/23725
Sylf has leveled up to level 30! 4036/23725
Kari 19066/19771
Coconut has leveled three times up to level 19! 999/3193 EXP

You have completed a side objective.
Cleanse the Shadows: defeat all the Shadow undead. 10000 EXP (8000 EXP + 2000 bonus)
Onyx 19659/23725
Sylf 14036/23725
Kari has leveled up to 30! 9295/23725
Coconut has leveled two times up to level 21! 3975/4598 EXP

Coconut has obtained new spells and class and racial specific perks have been unlocked!

Tier 4 cleric spells unlocked: Aura of Life, Aura of Purity, Control Water, Death Ward, Divination, Freedom of Movement, Guardian of Faith, Locate Creature, Stone Shape.

Unicorn Nature: your blood is more magically dense, your intelligence is added to your mana as a bonus.

Equine Body: your body has become sturdier and you can go for longer without getting tired. Your constitution is now added to both your health and your stamina as flat bonuses.

Chosen of Faust: Your wisdom is added to your mana as a bonus.

Channel Divinity: your goddess gives you a boon she knows you will need, you can now use Turn Undead any time you want.

I sat down next to my father, but still kept my senses on high alert, my ears perked and eyes watching over everything, trying to find any shadow that didn't belong, any shimmering in the air, or something that looked off.

"O-oh my goddess... I-I FEEL INCREDIBLE! I don't care what those things were! I feel like I can take on them all! Goodness! I feel every fiber of my being has more... Life, magic, energy, everything! Ohh I feel sooo good from the tip of my nose to even my tail and everything in between, I'm all tingly heheh~."
Great... he was drunk with power, I'm glad he's wearing his armor now, I suppose this was my fault.
I never explained levels to him and how it feels to level up, didn't I? He was beyond excited, I didn't really want to know for sure how much, he was also a bit lost in it. Maybe not explaining that increasing in power many levels at once feels probably better than an orgasm was a miscalculation on my part?

"It's like I'm better than before in every possible way... Wow, that felt SO good!" He looked at his front hooves while sitting down, like that would give him an answer.

"What just happened?! Why do I feel like this? S-should I be worried?!" He asked after a while in genuine concern, overwhelmed by the feeling of immense new power.

"Oh haha I should have maybe warned you about this... What you just felt is how it feels to grow your power extremely quick, you can call it leveling up, because you are now in a completely different level, you can do a lot more than before, more than you may realize, let's see here..." I started checking his new perks and his stats, noting how much more mana he had now, it was an amazing improvement! His new power was exactly what we needed right now too.

HP 145 / MP 177 / Stamina 155

"I have to say you are much more capable now, still will keep a close eye on you but you're not a little glass foal anymore, you are also not as defenseless either now! Not that you were, it's just that... Well you are stronger definitively useful in a fight too." I was honestly impressed, those spells, they were awesome! Specially Death Ward, maybe he should have that on us at all times, he could rest after and recover his mana.

"Do you think... I won't be a burden anymore to you?" He asked softly, I looked at him like he was an idiot, why would he think that? Just because I wanted to protect him? He was actually extremely important and useful! More than me, since he is the only healer we have, he is the one who can save us all and even bring us back from death!

I grabbed him and shook him gently.

"You're NOT a burden, you big fluffy dumb stallion! You're the healer! You're our lifeline, you already have proved to be able to heal others, you proved to me at least that you're useful in a fight." I rubbed his armored back as I sat next to him, then pressed my head against his neck.

"You killed a bunch of those monsters with your spell, you did not falter, you didn't run off like a headless chicken and you didn't act rashly, I'm proud dad!" He hugged me around the neck and held me like that for a few seconds, I think he is finally realizing he isn't some coward, he is a warrior too now, he has already risked his very life for this.

"Thank you, I really mean it... Now I feel calm again, in all honesty that was really scary but the 'leveling up' thing that happened made me really forget everything else, now that I think about it, those monsters seem to have something against me, more so than yourself, do you know why that is?" He asked with a slightly scared tone, but he was still calm.

"Oh I think it's because you are pure being, and I have more or less killed someone, even if it was for a good reason and that someone was evil, I guess I'm not as pure as you, who have not ever done harm to a sapient creature." He looked saddened at my answer, holding me in a hug once again shortly.

"That was the evil wizard that Sylf supposedly killed right? You were only fighting in self defense, she killed him, not you! Why would that make you any less pure?" He asked in a slightly upset tone, clearly not at myself but at the unfairness he perceived from me being considered less pure.

"Oh no, that wasn't it, you know when that evil necromancer was slain, his mind and soul were trapped inside a magical artifact, said artifact is an extremely complex and ancient item, practically indestructible." I explained while taking said item out of the inventory and show it to him, he was in awe at the perfectly cut and large gemstone, the engraved runes too small to make out without a magnifying glass, and even then it was challenging to read them as they were too small.

"He was trapped here, consciousness and soul, and I decided to simply absorb his knowledge, letting the soul escape to either go to some afterlife or be reincarnated, I'm not so sure anymore after what happened to you..." I paused to think, his revelation was still being processed in my mind but I couldn't deny what happened to him, just rationalize it as maybe me being unworthy or our dimensions just being too different.

"But yes I 'killed' him, destroyed his consciousness and took all of the magical knowledge, I didn't take his soul, not like I have a use for those and I feel that would be crossing some line that I can't uncross, but I technically killed his consciousness, I won't deny that, I think I explained something about this to you before right? Mama tried to blame herself, but it was me who did it, I realized I was being manipulated and didn't want to deal with him any longer." I concluded, we were silent for a minute, just sitting next to each other.

"I think you did the right thing, it was either that or... Who knows what he could have done to you if you or Sylf if he somehow managed to return to life? I-i don't know if I would have been able to do it, but I think you are brave to do that before anything terrible happened, sometimes the choices we have to make are very difficult and you did what you thought was right, and what's most important now is that our family is safe." His voice was soft and soothing, and he gently ran his hoof in circles on my back.

"Thanks, I mean I agree too, but I will not deny that I killed him while not being in immediate danger so i have no excuse for it, and I don't regret it."

We stayed silent after that, deciding to get up and walk towards the nearest house, I could guess this city had around 30 small houses and a few bigger ones near the castle, must have been home to a hundred ponies, give or take, slightly smaller than Ponyville, now that I think about it.

I twisted the knob and pushed the door open, the interior of the house was completely dark but once I entered, the light from my hovering spell banished the darkness completely.

Once we were both inside I closed the door behind us, and started to explore the interior. Together side by side, the first room was large and multi-purpose, consisting of the kitchen, a table for about 4 and a few bookshelves.

This place has been degrading for a long time, I tried getting a book out of the bookshelf but it was completely ruined with mold, nothing was legible and it fell apart in my claws, like it had water damage, or the humidity had condensed on it.

Sadly all the books were worthless and unreadable, a true tragedy, I let out a sad sigh as I went and at down at the table on a stripped wooden log that served as the seat, it was at least smooth and polished nicely, he joined me, sitting to my left.

"It smells like mold in here, I wonder how long has it been since a pony has lived here, and what happened to them..." Coconut though out loud, I hummed in though, then answered.

"I'd say about a thousand years, but in this place, things don't work the same as in the real world, things can rot, but they also may not, there is no sunlight, so things don't dry and there doesn't seem to be consistency with the bacterial decomposition, mold exists but it doesn't take over everything as I would expect from something that has been in such a dark and humid place for so long, it's like the mold itself dies too after taking over things." I answered with my own thoughts, he gave me a confused look, probably not knowing what I meant.

"Oh and you don't want to know where the ponies are, trust me." I say in a sad tone, those poor ponies... Their decapitated and tortured bodies still probably hung from hooks and ropes on poles around the village.

"I have no idea what a bacteria is, but I know what mold is, are you saying that the mold here dies out before it can take over? I don't know a lot about mold but I know it usually doesn't die easily. And... is it really that bad? What happened to the ponies I mean, this village looks like it's made for ponies, this very house, its small and cozy, I've visited some villages like this before with dad when I was younger, maybe it was a bit more modern but it was not too different." I nod to him, he was right.

"Yes and the ponies... Well it's a really sad and horrible story that I don't think you want to hear, but to put it bluntly, everypony died and they suffered enough to create the horrible shadows and ghosts that haunt this place, they are not actual pony souls, they are just the darkest manifestation of the worst experiences and emotions a being can feel before they die." I explained and his ears lowered, his face rested on the table with sad eyes, and slowly tears started to run down his muzzle.

I couldn't help but feel sad too, this tragedy that this village had gone through was horrifying, and the one responsible was none other than Post Mortem, he made the Griffon army do this, he used mind control on them, and the ponies were helpless to stop them.

They were far too innocent to expect such a horrible thing to happen, even as they were tied and bound, even as they were pulled from their houses one by one, they just expected to be kicked out of the village at worst, none would have expected a massacre, a horrifying mass torture and murder out in the open.

I felt myself shed a few tears too, bitter tears at the unfairness of this all, I hope all the ponies were are happy in another life, or the afterlife, nothing could make up for suffering like that.

I was glad I killed that evil and disgusting monster, in fact I would do it again without a second thought.

"I just... I feel that you're understating how bad this was, I can tell you're trying to spare me from the worst of it, but we may have to do something about all of this, and what if I'm not strong enough to do it?"

"You know it's hard not to run away when all my instincts are screaming at me about the danger, the only thing that keeps me anchored and firm is you, your strength and bravery makes me feels safe even when we are surrounded, so thank you." He wipes his tears away with the fetlocks and smiles at me.

"Are you feeling more rested now? I think I'm going to have some water and food, want something too?" He offers while pulling the crate of food from the inventory, placing it next to his vertical log chair, and prying if open with his telekinesis.

I nod at him with a smile of my own, feeling better at the mention of food.

"Well, you're welcome dad! And yes I'd love a ham and cheese sandwich." He hands me one and I unwrap it slowly while he does the same with a daffodil and cucumber sandwich.

I pull out a glass bottle of water, and a couple of wooden cups from the box, using my indigo tk to our the water while I start eating the sandwich, once both glasses are full, I put the cork back on the bottle and place it back into the crate.

"Mmmh like always mom makes the most delicious sandwiches! Maybe next time I'll ask her for buttered bread with blue cheese and walnuts, or some tuna sandwich... Those are yummy~" I purred contently as I ate, the food made me forget all the danger we were in, if only for a little while.

"Mhm! The daffodil is sweet and the cucumber is crunchy and fresh, she even added a little bit of olive oil for extra flavor... Oh I love her~" Coconut said sweetly as he also devoured the sandwich, both of our sandwiches were made using whole wheat loafs, that are my favorite type of bread, they are much more flavorful than regular white bread and work wonderful for sandwiches as long as the bread is fresh.

Suddenly I feel myself be pushed up from nowhere, I fall from my chair and I see Coconut float up towards the ceiling very fast and slam face first into the wooden beam supporting the roof, he barely manages a terrified scream before his nuzzle hits the sturdy wood with a crunch of bone breaking.

Coconut has taken 30 force damage! Muzzle fractured!
115/145

I was tok shocked and surprised to react as I watched him fall towards the ground, landing on his side on top of the wooden log, his screams of pain and fear made me incredibly angry, what was going on?! at the same time I felt something trying to push me against the wall, but the force was too weak to get a grasp on my magically resistant body, so it felt like being shoved back.

Coconut has taken 5 falling damage! Armor absorbed most of the impact. 110/145

Blood dripped from the ceiling where dad had impacted, I finally came to my senses and hugged jumped protectively over my dad, covering him with my body, and gently holding onto him.

He was whimpering in pain as he also came to his senses, seeing me on top of him.

"Gaahhh! H-hurts so bad!" He barely managed to say as trying to speak probably felt like torture for him with the broken muzzle, I felt our bodies trying to be pushed once again but I held onto him, denying the unknown assailant or assailants any possibility to move him, my resistance to magic protecting him from being reached.

"Heal yourself! You have the spells remember? Or use the amulet! Don't panic, I have you protected now I promise, I won't let you go! I won't let whatever that is throw you around again!" I was getting angry at this.

As I was there using my body as a shield and anchor, he grabbed the amulet and finally decided to use it on himself.

Coconut has recovered +35 HP 145/145

He let out a happy sigh as his pain faded, and his face went back to looking normal and completely healed.

"T-that was horrible! What was that? Is it still here?!" He asked in fear, looking around as much as be could with me laying on him.

"Yes, it's here alright, it's probably trying to find a way to g-" I was stopped mid sentence as a strong painful blow hit me on the side of the neck, making me let out a pained gasp.

Onyx has taken 15 damage! 231/246

"Onyx! Something... Something invisible is attacking us! Buck! I think it's close, watch out!" Suddenly the crate of food we brought floated up, and then was hurled directly at my head, I barely managed to put my foreleg up in time to prevent it from hitting me, blocking it but still getting hurt from the impact.

Onyx has taken 8 damage! 223/246

This time I didn't just lay there and took it, I used 'See Invisibility' and right away I saw what was attacking us, a little foal, the outline of a foal at least, sadly i couldn't do much but defend myself, it was attacking and our lives were in danger.

Plus it wasn't a real foal at all, just a manifestation of a foals last and worst emotions, I decided to inspect it.

Poltergeist
Lvl 10
50 HP

Damage Resistances: acid, cold, fire, lightning, thunder, bludgeoning, slashing and piercing from non magical attacks.

Damage immunities: necrotic, poison.

Condition immunities: charmed, exhausted, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained, unconscious.

Senses: Darkvision 40m

Perks

Incorporeal movement: the specter can move through solid objects or creatures slowly, but if it stays too long inside one it takes force damage.

Sunlight Sensitivity: this creature is half as strong as normal in sunlight.

Invisibility: this spectre is permanently invisible.

Forceful Slam: the spectre deals force damage with each hit.

Telekinetic Thrust: using a telekinetic field, the spectre can lift and throw creatures or objects around incredibly hard, causing damage depending on how much time to accelerate the creature or object had before they hit something. This effect can be negated by a strong enough creature that can just shrug it off, or a magically resistant creature.

Undead Nature: a specter requieres no air, food, drink or sleep.

The table suddenly lifted into the air, and fell right on top of me, smashing hard against my back, and in turn my body squeezed between the armored pony ended and the table above.

Onyx has taken 10 damage! 213/246

The table fell edge first right along my back, it was heavy and the hit was painful, I groaned as I rubbed my head, I was thankful to have scales or the pointy edges of the table would have hurt a lot more

But I wouldn't let this little foal ghost keep doing this, and sent my Crown motes flying after it, when they hit the monster glowed with the deadly radiant energy, and after 3 hits it was finally dead.

Poltergeist has taken 20 damage!
Poltergeist has taken 22
Poltergeist has taken 26 damage and is destroyed!

Finally it was gone, but I wasn't about to let my guard down, and I was glad I didn't because the table lifted off me and was thrown down again, this time on the flat side, but I was ready this time and overpowered the Poltergeist hold on it, throwing it hard against the opposite side of the house, breaking it half, i stood and looked to the opposite side of the room.

Not far from the door another Poltergeist was standing, this one was a larger adult pony, and it started lifting my charge as I had stopped holding him, but I grabbed him quickly, not letting him be tossed anymore, he was more or less helpless to being tossed around, only thing keeping him safe ish was his armor, but his muzzle was free.

With the unicorn held in my forelimbs I ran over towards the last specter and once I was close, I made it pay with its own medicine, grabbing it harshly with telekinesis and squeezing it hard to the floor, it tried to escape by becoming intangible and hiding under the floor, and that was it's undoing as I just kept pushing it under until it started to take damage and died.

Poltergeist took 10 damage!
Poltergeist took 15 damage!
Poltergeist took 12 damage!
Poltergeist took 10 damage!
Poltergeist took 7 damage and is destroyed!
Your party has earned 1250 EXP!
Onyx 20909/23725 Sylf 15286/23725
Kari 10545/23725
Coconut has leveled up to level 22! 627/5517

"That's what you get for attacking us! Bloody specters, they are a pain to deal with! This ones don't even have a single weakness and tons of resistances, at least they can't just shrug off my telekinetic hold, and I can push them into the ground to kill them." I let Coco free and rubbed my sore neck where I had been hit with that attack earlier, also my entire back where the table had slammed on me was a bit tender.

"Ohh good! They're gone, aren't they? I feel my whole being energized and stronger than ever before, but still, that was bucking painful! Thank the goddess for having improved the Amulet you gave me, those... Whatever they were broke my muzzle!" He said in an odd mixture of hyperactive, excited, scared and upset, it's always a thrill to feel yourself gaining power, even if the situation is scary and even in the middle of battle, your emotions become more intense and unpredictable.

"They were Poltergeists, specters of negative energy that use telekinesis to grab and throw around objects or creatures, and like almost all specters, they have a disdain for living creatures, what surprised me is that they didn't attack right away... Or maybe they weren't here when we arrived and were attracted by our noises or emotions."

"I suppose they couldn't get a good hold of you, right?" I nodded at that. "Right now I really envy you for being a dragon, you know? Must be nice to be resistant to things like this... Aren't you resistant to cold temperatures too?" I shook my head.

"No dad, im not resistant to cold temperatures, I'm immune to them, and I'm also immune to poisons of all types, I have... Adapted to them using a trick, but I'm not sure it can even work on you, maybe it can but it's not exactly pleasant." He looked concerned at my words, but also curious.

"Immune to cold AND poison?! What?! That's awesome! But he way you make it sound is as if you did something really painful to be able to become immune to poison, aren't you telling?" He gave me an adorable pout and eyes that worked almost as well as Sylf's puppy wolf eyes, almost.

"Not tellin' not unless mom approves first, I think maybe it can work since im supposed to be able to share my powers with others, normally only I would be able to do that but since we are in a partyy... Well I don't know, and even testing would be really a pain for you, if hitting your face on the ceiling and breaking your muzzle is painful, this is a million times worse." He winced at the reminder, gently running his muzzle with his hoof.

"No thank you. As much as I like trying new things, I don't think I will ever enjoy feeling pain, no offense to any who does." I couldn't help but chuckle at his phrasing.

"Hahah dad! That... It's a good point, I don't like pain either, but after some things I went through I don't think most pain is enough to stop me from something I really want now, in fact could you heal me a bit? I got my neck and back a bit hurt, i think my neck muscles have been damaged, my back will recover fine on its own tho, it's not bad there." He gasps and runs over to me,.checking my scales, but it's not exactly visible, the damage is under the scales.

He gently prods my neck where I got hit, I can't help but let out a small gasp.

"Y-yes there, it hurts if you touch it, I think my muscles are a bit torn up, can you heal it dad? Pretty please?" I ask in a pleading tone and give him the same look he gave me earlier, and my superior charm works excellently, as I am a master manipulator.

"Yes your neck is a bit swollen on that side, it looks like you may torn a few of the muscles there, but your neck still works, I'll heal you of course, I'm just trying to see what exactly is wrong so I can heal you completely and efficiently, using the knowledge that the goddess gave me." He gently nuzzled my damaged and tender neck and gave me a small kiss there, while his horn glowed white and he healed me quickly.

Onyx has regained +15 HP!

I let out a small happy sigh as I felt the pain fade and the tear on my muscles fixed.

"Thank you so much! Now can you do my back? And arm? I got that crate of food launched at me and my back got smashed by the table that I smashed into pieces over there." I explained pointed to the two halves of the wooden table right next to us.

He nodded and used his magic again, white light washing over my body and healing all the remaining damage, as dad whispered a quick prayer to his goddess.

"Ohhh, that feels wonderful~ all the soreness is gone! I feel ready to take on the world now! But really dad, thank you for that, and thank your goddess for her kindness to heal me as well, from what you told me she seems like a wonderful mare, maybe someday I'll meet her." I think out loud as I touch my body where I was hurt, stretch and flex my arm to check for any pain or damage left, and there is nothing.

"Oh buck! Wait I forgot, the food crate!" I exclaimed as I ran over and checked on the food, sadly there was problem, the glass water bottles inside the crate had exploded when it was launched at me, and a bunch of the food was covered in tiny glass shards, and soaked in water, no one likes soggy sandwiches, let alone ones with glass shards in them.

Sure I could eat glass, but I wasn't the only person here.

"Fucking wonderful, our food is ruined! our water and our food, sure I can eat it but you can't eat glass shards, Soo... We can only stay here a couple more hours at most, this is all I could save.
It seems we will have to cut our expedition a bit short." I was feeling a furious with this damn specters, almost all of our food went to waste, and if there was something I really hated, it was wasted food. I made sure to eat all the leftovers at home to keep old food from accumulating.

I took the only two bags of sandwiches that weren't soaked or had glass on them, the ones at the very top of the crate, only two of them, and i unwrapped them. Making sure there was no glass shards, the wrapping prevented that but I triple checked and handed one to dad, the vegetarian, and I held the one made with pork meat and gem sprinkled barbecue sauce.

"Oh, do you want to go back now? Or want to continue for a few more hours? I think your mom would want us to go back, but we have one more sandwich each, don't we?" He asked with a smirk.

"I want to get rid of those damn monsters, all of them! Im pretty sure this place is getting worse the longer the specters and ghosts remain, or maybe more appear from accumulated negative emotions, since those dont exactly stop coming and wont stop anytime soon."

"You mean that there will be more of this things or other things the next time we come here?! You're kidding right?" He asked in disbelief, but I explained to him why this was the case, I explained in detail what the dungeons were and why they would always get filled with more and more monsters the longest we went without clearing them, because the real world was actually the origin, this was just the symptom, and the only way to stop the symptom was to cure the disease that was the suffering of sapient creatures in the poorer and less happy nations of the world.

"So... That's why you wanted me to do this so badly huh? I... I see how son, you really have thought things ahead, well I'm glad you chose me for this, it's an objective I can agree on, too! But I need to look after my two foals, or the little pups as Sylf calls them, they're small bundles of joy and love." His smile was contagious as he spoke with so much passion and emotion of his son and daughter.

"How about when the foals are adults we go together? I mean... The three of us, I know it's a long time from now but we can plan and prepare, or we could make small escapades with just the two of us once i get my wings and learn how to fly, taking just a few days to a week and going to heal creatures from distant villages where they don't have any hospitals."

He gave the ideas some thought for a few minutes before answering me.
"When the foals are adults it's definitively a yes, I'd gladly go with you two! But that's still a long time from now, and about some small vacations... Well that's not a bad idea you know? Maybe I can take your offer, or I can go with Sylf and leave you to take care of the foals, would you do that last thing for us if we asked you? I mean not now, when the foals are older." I suppose it couldn't hurt to be left as the foalsitter, because they were my little brother and sister, so it would be really inconsiderate of me to not accept, I also found them super adorable, I hope they would stay adorable and not be too destructive once they were a bit older.

"Deal! You and mom going out to visit distant places would actually make my 'work' of clearing the dungeons much easier and less dangerous, at least when it comes to prevent monsters there from becoming stronger or growing in number even more, so yes, I'll watch the foals if that makes things easier for you." I answered, probably sealing my fate to foalsit for who knows how long every time my parents wanted time for themselves.

"Thank youuu! You have no idea how nice hearing that from you is! I haven't been able to get alone time with my wife very much since the little ones were born... Sure we sleep together but we get interrupted often sometimes by their cries." I nod in understanding, even I sometimes woke up from them.

"It's not easy being a parent I bet, now let's eat our sandwiches and go hunt the last things in this dungeon before we have to go back, because I know I want them gone and ASAP!" I said and started eating my sandwich, going back to the issue at hand, the damn ghosts, I had a bad feeling about them, I felt like getting rid of them wouldn't be as easy as before, there would be more of them coming, and I didn't know what they could do, but then an idea struck me.

"Yes sir! On it!" Coco started eating his last sandwich too, and we enjoyed it slowly, savoring every bite.

"Hey dad? Do you have a spell that will protect us from death? I read about it when you leveled up, am I right? I think its a good safety measure." I paused eating to ask him, and he finished chewing his food before answering me.

"Mm oh, yeah it's called Death Ward, it's pretty good actually! It stops any instant death effect from taking place, destroying the spell instead, and also this spell prevents an attack from Killing us instantly, leaving us at... One health point instead, is that right? Oh, I don't want to know how that would feel..." I saw him visibly shiver and go a bit pale.

"Yeah trust me, you really don't. I've been close and it's horribly painful, but with you on our side I think... We will not go through that again! Can you cast the spell on the both of us please? How long does it last for?" I answer him and also ask him a question at the same time.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear you suffered so much, I-ill do my best to prevent you to go through that again! And the spell lasts for 8 hours, I can cast it, but it's going to take a little while since it's the first time, please stay still, I'll cast it on you first." He touched his horn to my snout softly, and started to concentrate, his eyes closed as he probably brought up the spell matrix, he prepared the hardest spell he ever tried to use, and after a few minutes of waiting, his horn glowed a bright white and a wave of golden light washed over me, now tiny golden thread of light were floating around me in a circle at my midsection, as of it was an odd type of shield. -40 mp 142/182

"It worked! Yes! That's my first time using such a difficult spell~ I think I know what to do now, it's my own turn now, just wait a minute." He concentrated, but this time he took less than half the time, his horn then glowed again brightly and his aura covered him, forming the familiar golden threads around his midsection, like as if he was wearing dual rings of barely perceptible light. -40 mp 102/182

"For a first time you did it perfectly, she has really given you a wonderful power, I think I may start to believe too at this rate, thank you." After that we shared a smile and finished our food, now feeling more confident and ready, we may need to go house to house and clear them of any enemies, at this rate it was the only way to ensure no specters were left.

We walked out the door with me at the front and dad at the back, prepared to fight off anything that was hostile, his horn alight with a prepared spell and my active spell a beacon in the darkness.

The scent of death and decay hung heavy in the outside. It was much worse the closer to the edge of town we were.

Chapter 47 Sleepover with friends

The days after our small expedition were more relaxed, we dedicated ourselves to our daily lives, our friends and school, while mom and dad watched over the foals every day, my small punishment was to keep guard over their room during the night to help them if anything happened, I had to change diapers, bring them to Sylf for her to feed them, or anything the twins needed.

I suppose it's all part of being a big brother, but it was definitively not fun.

A few months passed, it was winter again not far from the end of the year, the last days of November.

The crops I tried planting had grown nicely, the coffee has grown well and the rice was harvested, it was a success, but the amount of rice you could get from this greenhouse was tiny, not even a full kilogram. Of course this made sense because it was a small gree house, but still it made me a bit sad that I couldn't get more, I love rice dishes.

I think by next summer the coffee plants will start producing the fruit.

Today I was at Shining's house with our friends, all were invited, there I got to see the tiny Twilight Sparkle, she was half a year older than my siblings.
We had lots of fun playing games with my friends, Twilight was a bit shy around the others but got excited to play when her brother told her join them in the next game, she could talk already, it wasn't unheard of, but still rare at her age.

"Silver, do you have any fours?" Calm Breeze asked the colt, who shook his head no.

"Go fish." At that Calm Breeze sighs and takes out a new card, then shakes her head and gestures to the next pony, Sweet Orange.

"Do you have any seven Aqua?" Sweet asks her friend, who nods and hands her 2 seven. Then Sweet smirks confidently and takes four cars out of her deck, placing them together on the table.

Now it was turn of Summer who took a look at his deck and asked Ruby Ray for a 5, I stopped paying attention as I felt a small tap on my side.

I turned my head and there was little Twilight, Shining a few steps behind her, he gave me a smile and a nod.

"E-excuse me? I'm Twilith Sparke, brother says you're a dwagon, can you really spit fire?" She asked me in a shy but curious tone, she was clearly still learning how to speak, but for a one year old she's pretty good, usually ponies learn to talk around 2 or even 3.

She must be really smart! I smile and lower myself to her level, laying down on my belly in a loafing position facing her, like a cat.

"Hello Twilight, my name is Onyx. And yes I'm a dragon but I can't spit fire." I answer her questions with a soft and polite tone, her eyes widen with wonder and curiosity.

"How do you know my name?" I gesture with my snout to Shining beside her.

"Your big brother told me, he really loves you and is proud of his little sister, aren't you Shiny?" I look over at him and smile, it's true, he loves to talk about her.

"Of course! I tell all my friends about how smart and adorable you are little sis." He says with a proud tone of voice, he clearly means it and has confidence in her.

Twilight smiles at this and gives his brother a big hug across his chest, it's adorable I have to admit. They hug for a while and show each other affection then she slowly moves away from the hug and turns to me, wanting to learn more.

"Your... Made of... meral?" She asked while her muzzle seemed to struggle to form those words, I shook my head, it was not technically false, my scales were made of many things, including metal, but the color and sheen came from many different things.

"No, not really, i eat gems and minerals. There is some metal in my scales but not much so they aren't made of metal." She had a thoughtful look, and didn't ask anything else for a few minutes, but just when I thought she was done asking, she seemed to remember something.

"You... Don't spit fire? Then... What you do?" Her curiosity was evident as she approached slowly and poked at my snout, which made me giggle.

"I am special, I spit cold and snow, do you want to see?" I asked her with a mischievous glint, her brother looks doubtful at me but she nods with a big smile, asking me to do it and moving away so I can show them.

"Yes! Show us! Yayyy!" She cheers while leaning against her brother and lifting one hoof.

"Of course, just watch!" I open my maw slightly and use my third lung to produce cooled air, which mixes with the moisture in my breath and slowly starts out of my maw in a stream of cold mist, I aim it towards the ground, creating a very cold area that looks like fog, I then aim up and make a small cloud of cold vapor that slowly falls towards the ground, being heavier than air.

Finally I make a small ring with the cold mist, it's nowhere as cold as a real frost breath, it's a mild version of what I use to cool my room and myself in summer when I want it to be cold inside.

The denser than air fog stays at ground level where Twilight starts to play with it, trying to splash it around like it was water, she lays down on it, submerging herself in it, but she gets up quickly.

"Wooow! Brrrr t-this is... c-cold!" She says when she gets up, but smiles wide and prances around a bit, she is up to her hooves in the cold mist, and decides to get up into a chair, once the novelty of having an almost freezing cold floor level becomes an annoyance.

"Want me to get rid of all this?" I asked my friend Shining, who nods and points to the door outside.

I go and open it, and quickly the cold air starts to escape outside, dissipating fast on the warmer streets of the city, good thing we are in a first floor, or this would have gotten down to more rooms.

After that Twilight went to play the card game, this time with me Shining and Cadence who had arrived a bit late to our friends meeting.

Twilight won one game and Cadence won the other, luck was not on my side today it seems, but I had fun. After that we talked about our daily lives, about our interests and more, Cadence is being homeschooled at the same time she goes to school, for some reason. Shining is more and more sure that he wants to become a Royal guard and I told them I plan on becoming a volunteer to help in other nations when I'm older, but I also want to study magic in Celestia's School of magic.

I told them im not sure what I should do, but I'll try to do both somehow.
I had other plans too, but I hoped I could somehow all fit in my life at the same time, the other plans weren't exactly too difficult, I just had to check on the future Elements of Harmony once in a while and make sure things were going okay, and if they didn't, I needed to nudge them towards the right path.

After that we had some food and then we played more games, turns out that Night Light and Shining are also fans of table tennis, or ping pong, something me and dad have in common with them so everypony ended up taking turns playing against another and we even made small bets with sweets and snacks for the winners, who unsurprisingly were Shining Armor and myself, him who his dad taught and myself who taught my dad so I could have an opponent.

I proceeded to demolish the unicorn colt at the game then, I didn't see a reason to hold back or lose on purpose, we aren't little babies anymore, we are almost in our teens, this was sort of my lesson to him about how unfair things were sometimes and you just had to deal with it. But he wasn't even upset, I won many snacks and shared with all of them, of course keeping the biggest pile for myself.

The next fun activity we did was to tell horror stories at night, it's a sleepover, we all stayed in his room, telling scary stories.

I kept it chill with the stories, just telling stories that were a little spooky, but no violence, monsters or death.

Little old story told by country folk from my old life was the light in the dark, a story of a light that appeared to those who were walking alone at night in the wilderness, the light seemed like a guide but it would transport you to some unknown place in the woods that you don't know, and you would have to spend the night outside in the forest because everything was unfamiliar and you could remain lost as long as it was nighttime.

I told them of course that everypony who ever got lost returned the next day, scared, hungry and thirsty but fine, in reality the story just says the person gets lost and is open to interpretation.

A mild story compared to other horror stories I knew but it gave everyone a sense of unease, as most ponies think of light in the darkness as something to follow and guidance, they prefer the light over the darkness, and I couldn't blame them, most humans do too.

The other told stories about silly things like haunted houses with ghost ponies and such. Normally those stories would not affect me but I had... Bad experiences with ghost like entities, the pain was still fresh in my mind and I was the one who looked more scared by the end, imagining being attacked by ghosts again, while the rest probably thought I was just scared of the story.

I still can't forget how those claws so easily ripped into my flesh, rotting away my scales into something akin to wet paper and how painful the blackened skin felt, countless needles, bright red hot stabbing into my neck, sides and tail. If there was any consolation was that I didn't get clawed in the eyes or the face.

I had to apologize and leave the last part, going to the bathroom where I waited until my mood improved, and then I returned, not shortly after we went to sleep, with not much room I laid on the wooden floor and left the mattresses for the ponies, I enjoyed sleeping on a hard surface once in a while.

Chapter 48 Ten years and counting

Hearth Warming this year was peaceful, nothing of note really happened, our gifts were mostly small symbolic objects, I got a writing kit, quill, feather, tons of parchment, not literally tons mind you, but a good quality writing desk and many bottles of good quality ink, along with magical writing utensils like gem infused chalk, and paint!

I had enough paint for painting a bunch of canvas, not that I had any idea of how to draw, but my dear parents were kind enough to encourage me to learn.

I bought them winter clothes and some other accessories, trying to find something that fit their personality. I wanted to get Sylf some fancy clothes but she is much bigger than a pony so she would need a custom made dress if she wanted one.

Ponies weren't really much into clothing, unless it was high society and some events, but I still held some attachment to the concept of clothes, at least I liked the hoodies I picked up, there is no concept of pants for them however, so only upper body clothing and sometimes dresses for mares in formal occasions, for stallions there are formal clothing, but again, no pants at all.

So they have fancy tuxedos and jackets and all that but their rear end is all bare, I can't understand why they do this but I don't want to ask either.

The new year celebration was a fun time too, we went outside to the greenhouse to the third floor balcony to watch the fireworks and sip champagne, that is Coco and Sylf. I'm too small to have alcoholic drinks, even mild ones like this.

I still asked for a little sip out of curiosity, and I must say I love the taste of this drink, I felt like I would be fine even if I drank the whole bottle, probably due to my toxin immunity... Something to consider for later.

My 10th birthday I decided would be held in Ponyville, a few letters exchanged and it was confirmed, the Apple family was glad I chose to celebrate it with them.
I made it a proper party, with a band we hired to play music, plenty of food and drink, alcoholic for the adults and various fruit juices for me and my friends.

For the food Granny Smith helped with the desserts, but I bought the ingredients and with mom's help we made a menu for ponies and a menu for me and her, since I wanted to have seafood I went for lobster ravioli with cream cheese and toasted pistachio inside, served with cream asparagus sauce.

For the ponies we had a few options, all vegetarian, they had veggie ravioli with ricotta, all served with carrot sauce, tomato soup with croutons and veggie pie, they could have one or all three if they wanted.

Plenty of extra food was made, considering that most of my friends were with their parents, I invited them so they could hang out with my parents, in total there must be 40 ponies here, between parents and siblings, the Apple family and all.

I stand in the stage prepared for the music band, saying hello to them as I stand there, I get a few nods and smiles on return. "Good day folks! I'm Onyx and this is my birthday party, I just wanted to ask you to play any music you think would fit a foals birthday party."

"Happy birthday Onyx! I promise we have just the thing. I'm Soothing Song, the conductor of this little orchestra, you're from Canterlot right? I think I've seen you before when I was at the market, you are a very adorable little dragon!
You're also bigger than the last time I saw you, how old are you now?" The middle aged unicorn mare with light blue coat and darker blue mane asked, while approaching me, I offered her a claw and she took it and shook it gently.

"T-thank you, I've been growing steadily since last year, and yes I'm from Canterlot, you may have seen me since I frequent the market when I need anything, I mostly buy from there. This is my 10th birthday, the 20 of February! I haven't heard your music before but I'm sure we will remedy that, right?" I smile at her, genuinely happy to be recognized in a good positive light.

"Ohh you just turned 10 huh? Your way of speaking is as if you were older, or a noble, you aren't a noble, are you?" I shake my head no and she continues.

"Oh that's good, 10 years old is such a wonderful age! me and my group here will do our best to make your birthday unforgettable, just leave it to us! If you like our performance don't be afraid of calling us again for any party or event, okay?" I not to her and she gives me a few headpats before going back to her spot, going to practice with her band and prepare, in the meantime I turn around, facing the crowd of ponies, feeling a bit nervous to be on a stage again, there is more people here than I imagined.

But this are my friends and their families, I let out a sigh and relax my anxious mind, smiling softly, I stand on two legs and clap my paws together, producing a loud sound that catches everyone's attention.

"Excuse me everypony! A moment? I just want you to say that this party is not only for celebrating my birthday, but to celebrate our friendship, I wanted to make it extra special because we will soon be moving into highschool, where we may end up separated." I pause for a bit to let everyone take the information in, then I continue explaining.

"I know that it's going to be difficult to go our separate ways, if we do, but I want to thank you all for the last 5 years of friendship we had, we spent so much time together, hanging out, playing and more, and we still have this entire year together. What I want to say is that... I wouldn't have it any other way, my dear friends, I love you all and I hope we still are friends after school, whenever life takes us." I looked at all and every one of my friends, some were teary eyed but I didn't want to make them sad.

"I have to admit that I may not have time for hanging out as much when I become older, my life goals require me to travel and to be out for prolonged periods of time. That is why I'm saying all of this, I will still do my best to meet with you once in a while, I'll make sure to write to you, but by now I'm sure you all have gotten tired of this rambling little drake so..." My friends have a sad smile on them, some outright look sad, but some chuckle at my last remark, along with some of the parents too.

"Let's enjoy the party! Drinks and food will be served now!" I exclaimed loudly so the people who were paid to serve the food heard me.

Shortly after they came out with carts filled with plates of warm food and started to serve the guests.

"You can start playing the music now miss Song." She didn't need to be told twice and soon after an upbeat classical music started to play, it was like those songs you would hear a medieval tavern, its delightful!

"Good stuff!" I gave them a big smile and a nod and walked towards the table where my friends were, there was tables for adults and for minors like us, because of the different drinks.

Cadence and Shining Armor are sitting together, they already are very close friends and maybe more. Silver and Sweet are just as close and Sprout is with the other two mares, Ruby and Aquamarine.

I'm close with Shining too, as well as Ruby and Sprout. Cadence is also friendly but we aren't extremely close as we haven't been together as long as me and the others.

"Happy birthday bro! Come sit down, there's room here." Shining offered with a kind smile, patting the space between himself and Cadence, who also smiled up at me.

I was not expecting that, but I won't say no to sit between the two most adorable ponies.
All the others wish me happy birthday as well as I sit down.

"Hey Cadence, Shining, I'm surprised you have let me sit here, are you sure you're okay with that?" I ask with some doubt in my voice, I didn't want to bother them, I knew they were very close.

This time Cadence answered. "Onyx, I have known you for a few years now, Shining has told me a lot about you, and there is only good things to tell! Come here my sweet and loving scaly friend~" She proceeded to put her hooves over my shoulders and pull me into a tight hug, and damn was she strong! But I gladly returned it, she pressed the top of her muzzle against my chest, while I gently caressed her neck and sides. Her coat is really really soft!

"You know she's right Onyx, thanks to your magic classes we bonded and became closer, I even got my cutie mark thanks to you dude! How would I ever feel anything but happy to have you next to me?" He joined in the hug, hugging me from the other side, his head also on my chest area, nuzzling me and Cadence at the same time.

"You inspire me and motivate me to become a royal guard, you know? To become stronger to protect those I care about, even just to become strong enough to beat you in our little play fights. By the way next time I'm definitively winning." He spoke softly, we stayed like that for a full minute until they slowly moved back to their seats fully.

"Thank you so much you two, I was... Worried that I would get in the way of your friendship if I tried to be closer to both, I will not worry anymore!
This news is the best possible gift I could get, other than you being here of course." By now my hands were gently petting the two ponies, and they relaxed and closed their eyes, we stayed like that until our food was brought out, that immediately the attention of all of us.

The smell of the delicious dishes was enticing and everyone was hungry, me included. So we started eating with eagerness, I popped a sauce covered ravioli in my mouth and bit into it, the flavor was perfect, I couldn't stop myself from moaning a bit as I started eating. "Mmmhh~ it's so good! You guys are missing out, but I bet your own pasta dish tastes just as good, I can't get enough of this dishes! I'm gonna try the tomato soup after this, a small plate of it." I say to no one in particular, but the two next to me seem curious.

"Yess! Ours is delicious too! What is it that you're eating? Is it different than ours?" Shiny asked me after eating a few. Cadence nodded with an approving smile.

"I have to agree with Shiny, everything in this is delicious, the sauce and the filling, even the pasta itself, is it carrot sauce? It tastes like carrots."

"Yes it's different, and yes Cadence it's carrot sauce.
I'm having lobster ravioli with asparagus cream sauce, it's amazing! The lobster is an ocean animal, it has a shell and pincers like a crab, but it's got a longer body shape with a tail." Some of the ponies looked a bit disgusted at the idea, while some looked intrigued, Shining among them.

"Wanna try some?" I asked him, he nodded and I passed a ravioli covered in sauce to him, he grabbed it with his magic and ate it reluctantly.

"Hmm... Its... Oh it's good! It has so many textures, crunchy, chewy, creamy... I see why you like it so much, I may have this next time I see it on a menu." He smiles at me and goes back to eating his food.

"Just don't eat too often, I'm not sure if ponies can eat meat and be fine, but I certainly enjoy it. Just ask someone like a doctor if you can first." I pointed out before going back to eating.

The party was relaxing and fun, we had various cake and desserts mostly apple flavored thanks, and played party games, the ponies were nervous at first to have the manticore cub playing with us, but they relaxed around him once I showed them how sweet and friendly he was, he was just a big ol' kitten who just wanted to play and was happy to see me again.

It was a good thing I could use a spell to speak with him too.

"I missed you cousin! I wish you would visit more often so we can play, but I'm happy you are here, who are all this ponies?" He asked as I held him up and walked on two legs, carrying him against my chest, he had gotten bigger and was now about the size of a large dog.

"Oh this are all my friends, please don't mind them being a bit scared, hey everypony, come close he doesn't bite or sting! He's a really good kitty, aren't you?" I gently lay on my back on the grass and lay him on top of me, gently petting him, he acts just like a cat and purrs, relaxing, his scorpion tail lazily swaying side to side, he has a cork at the tip to prevent him from accidentally stinging someone, probably asked by the Apple family so he can play with Mac and Applejack, who was also here and already a year and a half old.

My friends slowly approach, clearly still unsure, but once they start petting him, they realize he is just adorable.

"Awww he's an adorable kitty! You're right Onyx, we're sorry, it's just that we haven't ever seen a manticore up close, what is his name?" Cadence asked while gently taking over me and petting him on the head.

"His name is Wishpaw, he is basically my little cousin, his mom is my honorary aunt, Kari who is over there with my parents." I pointed towards the adults table where my parents were, where they were talking amongst the parents of my friends, Bright Mac and Pear Butter were there too, Kari with them. Mom must have cast the animal speaking spell on them so they could get to meet the large Manticore.

By now Kari was incredibly powerful and intimidating when she wanted to be, I could sense her from here, she was just as strong as mom and I, she had no magical presence to speak of, but she still had a presence, a strength that left no room for opposition, she could probably easily defeat a hydra or any other manticore into pulp, not to mention any other Everfree monster. She also towered over the ponies, but she clearly was getting along with them and they were curious about her, she must be reigning in her aura of intimidation.

"Woow... She's huge! So that's what an adult manticore looks like huh? She looks stronger than any pony I've ever seen!" Shining said, impressed by the sight of such a large creature, the others looked a bit intimidated but nodded at his words.

"Yeah, she's strong and she's kind, she is also an extremely good mother to this big kitty~" I smirk and start tickling the relaxed Wishpaw, making him squirm slightly and let out a small annoyed growl but I can tell he's not really angry.

"Heeey! Don't do that, or I'm gonna bite!" He says in a playfully threatening tone, I start tickling him again and he baps me quickly without extending his claws, then bites me on the paw, just hard enough to hold it and pushes it back towards his head , I do as he orders and go back to providing headpats, he is gentle even with me, he is just really playful and likes to slap things around with his paws, specially my tail when I'm distracted.

"Sorry heheh you're just so adorable! But I promise not to tickle you again for now, deal? Just join us for some more games!" I nuzzle him happily and he smiles and nods.

"Sure, your friends are really nice... Their hooves aren't as soft as your paws but they still feel nice, I'll play with you all, but can you invite Big Mac? He's over where with the adults and Applejack, maybe the two of them can join in the games too?" I don't see why that would be an issue, so I nod my head in affirmation.

"Yes sure! I'll go get them now, sorry but no more cold dragon bed for now mister." He pouted and gave me a hurt look but I just gave him a few more headpats and lifted him off me with my magic, placing him on the ground on all fours, then I got up and walked over to the side of the adults.

There I reached them and they greeted me with smiles. Pear Butter was the first to speak.

"How are you liking the party Onyx? I hope the food was to your liking, specially the desserts we made, did you like them?" Her tone was hopeful, I approached her and gave her a big hug.

"Of course, you know I love your cooking! You and granny make the best apple desserts I've ever had! And I've had many before, you also are very versatile when it comes to variety, and your peach inverted pie is the best I've tried, you know I think you should grow peaches here too, despite this being an Apple themed farm I think having peaches would be a wonderful idea... They are both delicious fruit." I nuzzle her, showing affection like ponies often do, and she returns it gladly.

"Thank you! And yes I agree, we have already planted a good amount of peach saplings but they'll take a few years to grow, so for now we just have to wait, don't let me keep you, the others want to have a word with you too."

Next is Bright Mac who nods in my direction in greeting.

"Hey colt, it's good to see you have so many nice friends, it's important to have them growing up, are you having fun? This party is something that brought a lot of ponies together, I even made a few friends and acquaintances, all thanks to you colt... Not to mention some good deals for our farm." He actually pulls me into a hug, which I gladly returned, behind his usually reserved exterior he was a pony like any other, then he went back to telling me his thoughts, something I had not heard before since he was usually quiet.

"Also your idea of having Kari and her cub with us, in our farm and even our home was the right choice, they are wonderful to us, she helps around the farm every day, she also keeps away any of the other Everfree predators who used to always be around, no timberwolves have even dared to get closer, even during zap apple harvest."

"Despite our first doubts, you've only ever wanted to help and you made things better here, Kari even got accepted by the ponies in the village, she stood up for us and we stood up for her and helped her get accepted, now she even goes with us into town, you should see how every mare fawns over her little cub, and how much he likes the attention, he even goes to school with the other foals! Even if he can't really speak with them, they somehow communicate and have fun together." He finished speaking and telling me all about how Kari and Wishpaw have become basically part of the Apple family, or that's what it seems like to me.

"That's wonderful to hear mister Bright, I'm really glad things worked out for you all, oh I must say thank you all for allowing me to celebrate my birthday here this year, would you be okay with Big Mac and Applejack joining us for a few games? Only if they want to, but they've been here so I figured maybe they were too shy to join the foals table?" I gave him a pleading look, I really wanted to include the big red colt and the filly in some games, make this a fun and happy experience for them too.

"Oh sure colt! They are a bit shy is all, Big Mac has always been a bit of an introvert shy colt who prefers to be by himself, something rare amongst ponies, but he thinks highly of you, im sure if you ask him he will gladly accept." I thanked him and headed to the spot where the two of them were, having some extra dessert.

"Hey it's been a few months, hasn't it Mac? This is little Applejack? It's the first time I see her. She's really adorable!" I ask him, happy to meet again but also curious about his little sister, he smiles and answers in a soft voice.

"Eeyup she is, good to see you again Onyx." We share a hoof bump, me making a fist.

I then approached her and she looked back at her big brother who nodded with a small smile. "He's good" she nodded and approached me as I laid down on loaf mode, where she got to my face and poked my snout with her hoof, then grabbed the sides and pulled, and just started to play with my face like I was some sort of toy.

"Nice to meet you Applejack, you certainly... Aren't afraid, that's good, hey! Not there please?" I wince as she starts to pull my eyelids, thankfully she isn't mean enough to touch my eyes.

I still don't know how sometimes hooves can grab and pull things, but they can't hold other things like handles, maybe... They have some sort of pinch like ability or magnets? School never really explained this, or I didn't pay enough attention.

The mischievous filly grabbed my ear and pulled on it too, as well as my horns that were now long enough to be visible from afar, still not much more than a few centimeters, good thing she didn't pull my ears much, she was just playing.

Big Mac only giggled as he watched her, I glared at him and stick my tongue out, which was a terrible idea because the filly grabbed my tongue with her hooves and, with the same attitude of a cat who just caught a mouse by its tail, she pulled on it hard, and giggled as i whimpered in pain, quickly moving the tongue back into my maw and wincing slightly.

"Ow... You should tell her to not do that..." I gave Mac a serious look and gently petted the little filly, getting up and not allowing her to play with my face more, she was adorable but she was also a menace, very hoofy and curious, she probably never saw a dragon before so I couldn't complain much, and she was only a year and a half.

"She doesn't usually get so touchy with ponies, I think she was just curious because you're different." Was Big Mac's helpful response. "But we will teach her to be less forcefully when playing once she has learned how to talk, from what my dam told me, foals have trouble controlling their strength, especially earth ponies."

"It's fine, it doesn't hurt anymore... so you two want to join our games? We are going to play some games that our parents organized, how about it?"

He seemed to think for a few seconds but follows me towards the table where the other ponies our age were, Applejack follows next to her big brother.

"That sounds fun, there isn't many ponies mah age in Ponyville, thank you Onyx, come on sis."

"Then I'm happy to present you my friends, I'm going to introduce you to them and then they can introduce themselves to you, how does that sound?" I ask him, holding my front paw around his shoulder as I hug him from the side while we walk.

"Eyuup, that sounds good." As we approached we came upon the most curious sight.

My friends playing... Soccer? or something similar, kind of, away from the tables, using two big wooden baskets as goals, Wishpaw was also part of the game, he was about the size of the other foals too.

He was quite good at it, just as we arrived he kicked the ball and scored a goal, the entire team he was a part of cheered and hugged him, he was so happy he produced a bellowing roar, making everypony shut up, but when they noticed it was just him and he was smiling, then cheered as well and some tried to roar too.

"Let's join in, shall we?" I asked the two, Applejack probably didn't understand but Big Mac happily agreed to join.

I remembered something and called my friends over before we started playing with them.

"Hey everypony, I want you to present you to somepony who is a close friend of me and his little sister." I ruffled the red colt's mane and gently nudged him forward.

"He is Big Macintosh, a really kind colt who likes to keep conversation short." At that Big Mac waved at the others and smiled shyly.

But my friends weren't so shy and they introduced themselves to him, making small talk, big red just answered with a soft eyup or nope, sometimes actually talking when it was necessary, it was that he was against talking, he just preferred to use shorter sentences, but he always got the point across and he was precise with his words, something I respect.

After that we took turns playing, since the teams already were large enough, we watched the match go on for about half an hour, with the team Wishpaw was part of dominating the match.

The sport was definitively not soccer, even if the ball was a soccer ball, I asked Big Mac if he knew it and he told me it was Buckball, a sport that earth ponies love to play, maybe this sport was suggested by somepony before the party? I was not aware of it, but it looked familiar somehow.

Still it was my turn, and I have to say I really had fun playing, Applejack watched from the sidelines and cheered for his brother in her baby voice.

But our team ended up losing against the extremely talented 'manticore' team, that is what they decided to rename themselves to after the prowess the little cat was clear to everypony.

"Good game, specially you big kitty! You've become a lot more agile since we last met, have you been training or something?"

"I've been playing with Big Mac who taught me all about the game, I also climb trees all the time, you're still pretty good cousin Onyx! We only won by one point, so don't be humble, you did almost as good as me in your first attempt." Wishpaw ran over to me and jumped on my back, laying on me like he does lay on his mom.

"You're always cool to the touch... It's different from mom or the ponies, I like it." He nuzzled the back of my neck while purring like a kitten, relaxing on top of me. Even during winter he still didn't mind my cold self, I was glad, but I suppose when it's cold outside I'm less cold than the outside.

Meanwhile the twins were staying with mom, as they didn't really feel ready to play with older ponies, they were only 6 months old and still too small.

After all that playing and partying everypony was starting to feel tired, and it was getting a bit late, half a day had almost passed, now the parents had began walking around too, Cadence's aunt didn't come this time, she was under the care of Twilight Velvet and Night Light for the day, but Twilight Sparkle was here too, she stayed with her parents because apparently she was too sleepy to play after having stayed all night long reading a book on magic, and her sleep schedule was messed up.

I could completely relate to that, I did all nighters more than a dozen times by now, studying magic spells I wanted to learn quickly, and I messed up my sleep cycles just as badly, mostly when I was younger.

Then the cake was brought out and placed in the main table, were i sliced into it and started to cut off portions for everyone, it was a multi layer cake with vanilla flavor, something simple but delicious, real natural vanilla was expensive here since it was imported from the southern distant jungles, but for a cake it was essential and completely worth it.

After that there was a little birthday song by the musical band we hired, which made me slightly embarrassed, much to the amusement of my friends and mainly my parents. Then everyone had their fill of cake and the party was officially over, of course some stayed dancing to the music and the band played for a few more hours, but many other ponies had things to do the next day and left to take the train to Canterlot.

About 2 hours later everypony but me, the Apples and my parents had left, not before giving me lots of hugs, nuzzles and even small kisses on the forehead, ponies will be ponies... I really have gotten lucky with this ponies, I guess the real ones do stay.
I count myself lucky i hadn't encountered any real bullies yet, but who knows what highschool will bring?

Chapter 49 Celestial Sea Part 1

Year 983 July 16

During the last year railways have been expanded, it seems the princess kept her word, commerce between Equestria and other nations is slowly coming back, gradually.

Now more griffons come to visit Equestria and the trading industry has grown significantly.
But the efforts have been hampered by the civil war recently started by the Griffin Isles who claim ownership of all of the Griffonian empire and want to conquer it completely, bolstered by their economic power over the rest of the nation.

Now I'm 11 years old, and have finished Elementary school.

The last year of school has been a fun experience, we learned more useful subjects than etiquette, we had classes to help us improve on our special talents, of course I didn't get anything specific because I don't have a cutie mark, but I could choose my specialization and I chose basic sword training, something that 2 of my friends decided to go with too, Shining of course, but also Silver Shield, not surprised because he also has a cutie mark for fighting, a sword and a... silver color shield.

He is surprisingly good with a sword, and so is Shining.

It was a more or less even fight, but I had the strength and dexterity advantage and it showed, despite the fact that our technique was more or less at the same level, we were also using shields and that was something I didn't have enough practice with.

In the end I had a lot of fun, having two rivals instead of one was double the entertainment, most of our last year was practical application of our talents, I demonstrated my talent was clearly swordfighting, well technically I had no special talent, but since I wasn't a pony, so they just took what I said was and went along with it.

I learned how to use shields in battle, and I bought a real shield to use in real combat, if anything it was good to protect others, when I didn't have access to my magic, something that has not happened yet but it can't hurt to learn.

Then there was magic school, it was what I expected and remembered from the show, being asked to hatch a dragon egg, specially knowing who would be inside it judging by the colors, I quickly gave up on that exam, because it was just unethical, first of all they wouldn't say who were the parents of this egg, where they had gotten it from, they refused to say anything and I told them I refuse to do this exam on my morals, even if I knew how to hatch a dragon's egg, which I don't, I was sure there was no spell go do exactly that, so it had to be Wild Magic what caused Twilight to be able to accomplish such a feat in the show, maybe her emotions triggered an outburst of wild magic?

How long had Spike's egg been there, waiting to be hatched?

I had little real knowledge about dragons in this world, only that they hatched from eggs, loved heat, they were immune to fire and that was something that I definitively did not share, I was as vulnerable to getting burnt as a pony.

I passed the entry exam anyways because no one managed to do it, it was not much of a real test, I had at least written down possible ways to do it, but I refused to actually use any spells or risk actually getting an extra sibling.

I didn't want to try and many students also didn't even try, mostly because their parents were concerned for the same thing as me, and who would be the one responsible if it did hatch? No one wanted that responsibility, at those who tried didn't succeed.

The other half of the year was very good when it came to learning, unlike elementary here I actually learned new thing, first half of the year was all about everyday useful spells, the most basic being Prestidigitation.

We learned about spell components and went into details about every single one, somatic and verbal components were unnecessary for ponies and most creatures in Equestria, but for example some shamans of the Zebra used them for their ritual spells, as well as other races that didn't have a natural focus built in, I was lucky in that regard, I was not really sure, but my maybe it has something to do with having those powers granted to me, and maybe my really strange blood, which I was too familiar with, maybe it allows me to choose my own magical focus, and since i use my maw for my instinctual breath weapons, it first formed as a focus.

Then my paws, having fingers, my old human instinct of using them to point, and the fact that as a dragon they have roughly a similar shape and function, maybe it carries over. Maybe it's all about practice, it's more versatile than a horn.

I may need to experiment with dad, he's my one free test subject, an individual on the peak of his species, empowered by my shared gift to levels similar to the most magically adept archmages of the nation, maybe just lacking all of the spell knowledge.

When we met him he was just an average or even below average unicorn in terms of power, he only knew a few spells, just like most unicorns, who only rely on their special talent spell and maybe one or two others, mostly telekinesis to do everyday tasks.

Not all unicorns are mages, just the same as not all pegasi are athletes and not all earth pony are muscular farmers, ponies are just like humans were, in a way.

They follow their dreams and focus on what they are good at, or what they like if they have the ability to do so, just like father did, he became an ice cream pony after he discovered his talent and passion for the frozen treat, it may not be the most profitable but it's what he likes to do.

He is a great test subject, and he is easy to convince, and I'm his taste tester for ice cream so it's only fair he be my test subject for magical experiments, you may think this is all just perks to being an ice cream maker, but he sometimes makes extravagant flavors like bacon ice cream, that one time I told him I love bacon with my breakfast, I was talking about a savory food, but he thought I meant i wanted him to make bacon ice cream.

I still feel a bit bad for having to say it wasn't very tasty, sweet cream does not go well with the meaty bacon, even if I like both salty and sweet foods from time to time, it doesn't work for everything!

Maybe it was just me but I didn't think the flavors played two well together, I asked him to make parmesan cheese ice cream instead, he was confused but gave it a try, I gotta say it was much much better, the right amount of salty and sweet, no meaty flavor either, cheese worked well for ice cream the same reason it worked for cheesecake.

Coming back to the present day, we were exiting the train and walking towards the harbor, this train was a cargo train but we managed to get tickets anyways because it was the only way to get to Griffonstone, and I paid good money for the transport, gold was a good way to convince others that you were serious about something.

The train line has been expanded and now goes north from Manehattan, following the coastline, there is a project under construction for a rail bridge that will go over the sea at its most narrow point, far north where it's shorter.

It's still about 5 years away from being completed, but it's clearly making progress, in the meantime they have constructed a harbor to transport both passengers and cargo directly to the docks near Griffonstone.

This time we decided to go vacation together there, to the ancient city.

Of course the idea of going to vacation on a war stricken fractured nation was less than popular, that is why Sylf only accepted if we left the twins back in Ponyville with the Apple family, who were glad to watch them for us.

But now, as we walked the ramp over the cold sea water near the frozen north and into the ship, our main concern was arriving to our destination and seeing how we could help, it was not just a vacation, but I have a duty to accomplish and it requires helping those in need and stop the spread of negative emotions.

So this was more of a humanitarian trip, or whatever the equivalent of that word is for my current species.

As we set foot on the ship, we were greeted by a group of sailors, most of the griffons wearing a belt with a sword and sailor hats and nice well kept uniforms.

"Welcome! You must be the passengers from the train heading to Griffonstone, and what a diverse group you are. A pony, a dragon and a... wolf? Welcome to the Cirice! My beloved ship, I'm captain Warble. I'm going to show you to your rooms just below deck, please follow me." The middle aged griffon with a fancy looking uniform and hat greeted us, waving one of his large wings to us in a friendly gesture, then turning and gesturing for us to follow.
His feathers bright yellow in color, with gray bluish wings, his feline half was also the same yellow, I think his other feline half was some sort of leopard, because it had black rosettes like one.

"Thank you Mr. Warble, my name is Sylf and yes we are headed for Griffonstone, how is the situation over there? I heard there is a civil war going on, is it bad?" Mom was the first to speak up, as we walked behind the large feline, he was larger than a pony but shorter than Sylf, then again she was larger now than when we met, mostly because of her increase in muscle mass.

"Oh! You can talk? Sorry I meant no offense I just never saw one of your kind miss Sylf. And to be honest the situation is frankly terrible, the war affects every aspect of our lives, most of us have to forage and hunt our own food because it's cheaper than buying it, I'm fact there is really few jobs and if things keep going so poorly then we may lose the war, not because of losses but because we can't maintain our nation's economy afloat." The griffon looked crestfallen as he walked down a corridor with various sections separated by a few wooden planks, most of this sections had cargo inside, various items from food to construction materials and who knows what else, mostly covered in tarps.

The room all the way at the back of the ship was the best looking one, there were others around but they just were thin small mattresses laid on the floor without even a pillow, but they all were large enough to fit an adult griffon so for me any of those was more than enough.

"But you shouldn't worry about that, here it is, the best room we have! however there is only space for two, so... Who wants to take another room?" His demeanor changed quickly, trying to show a more professional and cheerful attitude.

"I see, I'm sorry that things have gone so badly in your nation, it's a real shame because i have read what it used to be like, in times past. But maybe... Things will improve once again? I think they will." Mom offered softly, in a hopeful tone, Coconut and I both nodded in agreement.

"I... I certainly hope that comes true miss Sylf, for the sake of our nation and every griffon living there. Well... Who is going to take the other room? Im sorry to say but it's not as good and there is little privacy, but there is room for your bags." The yellow griffon asked again, I quickly stepped forward because I don't want to share a room with my parents, and I don't really care about privacy either.

"I will take the other room mister Warbler, I'm Onyx by the way, I have a few questions for you if you don't mind me asking."

"Oh this room right here, next to the other one, thats okay right? Or you want another one? We aren't exactly carrying many sailors today, just enough to handle the cargo and raise and lower the sails, and for questions you can ask anything, I'll answer honestly." Good, I need to know what we are dealing with here.

"Thank you! First question, what are the two sides fighting the civil war? Second question, do they operate other ships? From the fact I have seen cannons mounted on the sides of this ship I can guess. Third question, how likely are they to attack us? And last question, what is the plan of action in case we are attacked?" Warbler stared at me with narrowed eyes for a few seconds, then sighed.

"Fine... It's Griffonstone and the loyalist provinces against the Isles, Trottingham included, they used to be on our side but they were coerced into joining the enemy." He was clearly not happy to talk about this, his feathers along the back of his neck and head were slightly raised.

"And for the second question, yes they do operate other caravels like this, they have half as many as we do but they are able to make more, slowly they are growing their fleet, and yes they sometimes capture vessels to steal our cargo, that is why we have cannons, thankfully they don't have resources on their lands to make cannons so they mostly resort to flying in and boarding, and... As for how we deal with them?" He gestured to the belt around that held a scabbard.

"We, all the crew are armed and have received training in using swords, we will defend the ship and cargo, including you to the best of our ability, so rest assured that you are safe." He finished in a professional tone, polite but leaving no room for argument.

"Thank you, but I have to ask please if they attack, send someone to alert us! So at least we can prepare ourselves, okay?" I still dared to ask and he gave me a look that he really wished I would stop talking, but nodded.

"You will be informed, but we don't know, we may need all crew on deck to defend the ship, depends on how things go, now I must take my leave, i have other duties on the ship so if you need me, go near the back of the ship above deck." With that he gave us a small polite nod and left quickly.

"Wow, he really didn't like those questions." Coconut was the first to break the ice.

"Yeah, his face immediately changed when I asked him any details about the war, I still am unsure why it even happened, but I doubt we will get a straight answer outta him."

"It's clearly something of a sore spot for that griffon, I could also tell, maybe he has fought or lost someone he cared about on the battlefield." Sylf said in a solemn tone, maybe she was right... I doubt anyone would react so strongly over something if they weren't involved somehow.

"Hopefully we can get to the bottom of this, but for now let me take care of the luggage, I'll keep it in my room okay? This trip should not take more than a few days, now... I wonder where one goes to the bathroom on a sail ship? Uhh caravel he called it? I don't think there even is a bathroom. Ugh I already miss indoor plumbing." I lamented while absent mindedly taking the three large bags of things we carried with us and moving them into my "room" leaving them stacked in a corner.

After that I headed up, I have not really been on anything larger than a rowboat in my life, and I wanted to see the sights, my parents decided to stay in their room and probably got busy together.

I walked towards the exit and climbed the stairs going outside where the sailors were working, untying the mooring and preparing for departure, one of them was up on the crow's nest, it was a good thing griffons were great fliers because a fall from that height would hurt.

The ship had 3 masts, the middle one being the largest and the front one the second biggest. There are 3 cannons on each side above deck and another 3 below deck that I passed on the way to the stairs, this caravel is basically ready for war... Was this normal? Well hopefully they would see the enemy coming, if anything happened, with that thought I went to the front of the ship and sat down next to the wooden railing, watching the clear blue water and the waves splashing on the beach, the clouds drifting across the sky... The sound of the waves was relaxing and the scent of sea water was different but not unwelcome.

The preparations seem to finally be done, because the ship started to move, slowly floating away from the docks and picking up speed. The sailors pulling ropes to move the partially extended sails to one side to catch the wind, them the ship really started to go, picking up speed as the wind pushed and the sails were fully lowered, the mooring lines were pulled back into the ship.

After that was adjusted correctly the ropes were secured, keeping the sails in that position and the sailors finally relaxed, apparently they weren't expected to be paying attention 24/7 and it made total sense, the wind does most of the work, and they just have to catch it right and maintain course.

The hour was hard to tell for me without a clock, and I never really thought about it much at home since I have one in my room, but from the point of the sun in the sky I assume it must be around 6pm, getting close to dusk, i turned and looked back to where we came from, the shore was so far away by now that I could not see any small detail other than the land on the horizon, I relax and feel the swaying of the ship, it's not as bad as I thought it would be, but it's there.

Then again, the sea is calm and there is not a cloud in sight, I could stay out here until late in the night, maybe tonight it will be perfect to stargaze, something that I love but rarely get the chance to do as my daily life makes me go to bed early for school or stay studying until late at night, indoors with a magical lamp, specially so since I started magical school.

Sadly only a few of my friends went to the same school as me, those being Ruby Ray, the only other unicorn of the group, as well as Cadence, both of them want to learn magic after my classes opened their eyes to the amazing world of spells and runes, meanwhile Shining and Silver have decided to study in the Royal Guard Academy, other friends have gone to different schools, some focused on their talents like business and economics, I'm sure they have bright futures ahead.

I lose myself in thought, looking at the distant horizon, I feel like I want to fly above the sea, dipping my tail in the water and splash it around, go directly from flying into the water to diving in like a bird, then go back up and fly again, how long will it take, I wonder, until I get my wings?

I heard clawed footsteps coming from behind me as I dangle half of my body over the edge of the ship, feeling a bit paranoid I pull myself back in fully, turning around to look at who is coming over.
It's the captain of the Cirice.

"Hey Capt." I greet him casually, I was neither happy or unhappy to see him, I just felt like he pulled me out of my thoughts, but I wasn't opposed to having company here.

"Hey, Onyx was it? didn't expect to see you here at my spot, sorry about earlier, I just didn't expect those questions from someone your age." His tone was apologetic and sincere as he greeted me.

"You look a bit young compared to the other two you came in with, not to mention you're a dragon, so what's your story?" I raised an eyebrow as he pulled out a pipe from a pouch on his belt and added something to it before lighting it up with a match, it took him a few seconds, and I was just staring openly, confused as I had never seen a single pony smoke before, not that I went to adult parties that much, drinking sure that happened at like... Every party, but smoking? Never seen it before.

I decided it wouldn't hurt to tell him my story, no one knows me here and I haven't done anything noteworthy yet.

"I'm adopted, I hatched from an egg in the frozen north, near the Crystal mountains, then Sylf, mom found me, and adopted me because my parents left the nest before I even hatched, to this day I have no idea where they could even be, but I don't care because Sylf and Coconut are my parents now, and that's more or less my story, what are you smoking there?" I asked with curiosity, it smelled somewhat similar to cigarettes from back then, but it was not as bad, it lacked a lot of that noxious smell of tar that cigarettes have when they burn, it was more herbal and natural, clearly it wasn't weed, I knew weed very well, was it just tobacco? Im almost sure it is, but it's been so long I'm not sure.

"Well, that explains a lot about you, I haven't seen a dragon personally before but from what I've been told, they're much less polite and they don't like to interact with other races often, you on the other hand act like a polite pony that lets their curiosity get the best out of them, and about my smoke?" He paused, inhaling from the pipe, holding it in his lungs for a few seconds and then exhaling puffs of smoke with a content sigh.

"Its Griffonstone's main export, pure high quality tobacco, a very wonderful herb that grows plentifully around our nation, are you curious? You've been staring for a while." I shake my head and look away, realizing I was staring like an idiot.

"Oh, no no I didn't meant to stare, I was just really... Confused because I've never seen anything like that, do you export the tobacco, right? To which nations?"

"There are a few, even inside Equestria there are some who enjoy it, like the Buffalo tribes near Appleloosa, the various Deer tribes and the Caribou near the Crystal mountains." He takes another hit of his pipe, sighing in enjoyment.

"Then outside of Equestria you have the Minotaur nation, the Abyssinian nation, and a few others."

"The issue with the former tribes inside Equestria is that until recently, Celestia enforced a law that forbid the selling of tobacco inside their territories, and the problem is that they have so many other tribes and groups that aren't Equestrian that still live inside Equestrian territory and are our clients, so those clients inside have to be supplied in secret, it makes transport and delivery much more difficult and expensive..." He paused to take a hit from his pipe, then continued.

"Thankfully a few years ago, they simply removed that law and now openly trading inside Equestria is allowed, as long as us not directly to pony cities."
Maybe my deal with her was not such a bad compromise then, she is starting to change at least some of the laws.

"Well, that sounds like wonderful news! And I was worried Celestia would keep those anticompetitive laws in place forever. But she did the right thing this time, she has no right to control the lives of those who aren't her people, even if they live in the territory she claimed, because I seriously doubt those territories were ever originally part of Equestria."

"She did claim the land where other nations nations existed for millennia as part of Equestria for convenience, and she didn't even care if those that lived there accepted it, there are a few examples but the Buffalo tribes of Appleloosa would agree with me, she not only took their land but imposed her laws, it's a miracle that she has loosened the noose around our necks, I wonder what reason or scheme she came up with now." I looked out towards the darkening horizon, nodding along with his words, it was hard to disagree, I had many reasons to dislike her too, and there was no better way bond than over your dislike for someone.

"I can't stand her, I would punch her in the face if she wouldn't instantly vaporize me afterwards, what would you do if you had complete impunity?" I asked with a smirk, I didn't really hate Celestia but I think she deserves a punch to the face, one that would hurt, something I doubt I could do.

"Hmm... Let me think... Maybe something that would annoy her a lot, she's got a bright white coat right?" I nod to confirm his theory.

"Then I would pour bolognese sauce on her so her coat gets all red and greasy, really smear it on her so it's hard to clean, that would be fun and probably really humiliating, and I'm surprised to hear you say you would punch her... isn't she your princess? You're from Equestria right?" He smiled to himself as he confessed what he would do, if was pretty tame all things considered, but he looked confused and concerned I would go as far as to punch her.

"Okay okay maybe I'd just slap her on the muzzle, but yeah, I've grown up in Canterlot, we got a house there and now i just finished elementary school and started magic highschool, this is out little vacation trip, I consider myself Equestrian but I don't really worship Celestia like most ponies do, but I'll admit she's very scary when you aren't one of 'her little ponies' and she clearly doesn't see me as one of them."

"I wonder what possessed you to visit Griffonstone of all places, specially while its at war...
Well I'm not going to complain, we get too few tourists as it is, hopefully you will find some reason to come back, eh? Our country is beautiful, its just sadly going through hard times..." His tone is bitter and sad as he says this and I can tell he loves his nation, and this is messing with him.

"I hope I find plenty of reasons to come back, maybe when I'm older I'll come visit again, first I have to get there." I answer him with a smile, which he returned after a few seconds.

After that we stood in silence, looking at the setting sun until it was under the horizon, the sky darkening quickly as night fell, the moon rising into the sky gradually from the other side. It always felt weird, but after years of watching the same I grew used to the new normal. It had been a few hours of us just standing in silence, he then says goodbye with a nod and leaves to either sleep or go back to his duties.

Its a peaceful night. I was sitting down and looking up at the stars, the beautiful night sky, thousands of stars, some forming shapes, sometimes shooting stars went across the sky, there were nebulae, galaxies, and of course, the largest and brightest moon looming above, the shadow of a horned head on it, I stayed for hours looking at it all, feeling a sense of inner peace, oddly enough I didn't feel sleepy, I ended up staying all night long just laying down outside, enjoying the rhythmic sound of the waves splashing against the sides of the ship, the occasional drip of cold sea water on my body, I really wanted to go for a swim...

There were a few of the griffs here on watch, and maintaining the ship on course, there always were at least a few out here, you couldn't leave the ship fully unattended it seems.

I approached the one at the wheel and spoke to him. "Excuse me, sir? I wanted to ask if its safe to go for a swim in this waters, are there any dangerous predators underwater?"

Thankfully he was not startled and turned around to me with a concerned expression. "What do ya mean you wanna go for a swim? yer a dragon, right? dragons don't like cold! the water here is freezing cold, you're likely to go into shock once you jump in, and you'll inhale water and drown, so no, ya can't.
At least there's no monsters here, maybe Orcas at most, the real bad ones are further south, near the dragon lands."

"Oh, I understand, so in theory there shouldn't be anything too bad in the waters then? Okay, and don't worry about me, I'm different, wanna see?" I asked him with a smug smile, he chuckles and gives me a challenging smirk of his own.

"Prove it lad, what can you do that makes ya different from a regular dragon?" I turn towards the side of the ship, we are already next to the edge, so I look down into the water, my element starts to coalesce, the heat draining completely from the air inside my third lung, the air rapidly lowering in temperature faster and faster, then more air is pumped as I inhale until my third lung is full, then I open my maw and squeeze the powerful muscles around my third lung, propelling the supercooled air forward in a 6m long cone.

The result is still satisfactory enough, the frost propels out fast and hits the water, creating a layer of floating ice chunks, but they quickly begin to break apart, my breath attack isn't strong enough yet, It's a nice ability and doesn't require magic to function, but its still nothing compared to one of my spells. I take a few deep breaths afterwards to get air back into my lungs flowing normally again, and turn to the griffon with a victorious smile.

He looks confused but impressed. "Nicely done lad! yer the first dragon I've seen or heard that can breathe ice! Are you a different sub race? Since you can breathe ice, I don't see a reason as to why you cant just go for a swim in the sea, just don't stay behind, the ship looks like it's still, but its moving along at a decent pace, if you can't swim fast enough you may be left behind. Okay?" he explained and patted my back, but his tone was serious at the end.

"I'll show you I'm not a bad swimmer then, watch me!" I exclaim and stand on the wooden railing of the ship, balancing myself and preparing to jump, putting a lot of effort into jumping further away I end up leaping forward about 3 meters, not a great jump but well enough to get me directly into water, where I dive straight into, and go a few meters under the cold water, it must be around 8 degrees Celsius or less here, I loved this cold, around me there was only darkness, but I could still see up to some distance.

I couldn't see the bottom, only darkness all around me, a sense of dread washed over me, as I realized I was floating in the open, empty dark abyss.

Not being able to see the bottom of the sea, not being able to see anything but the ship I just jumped out of, the safety of the ship, I felt an like I could be grabbed from below by something, just pulled down and down until I couldn't survive the pressure, then I would implode, knowing about the dangers of water pressure made this fear even worse, then i heard the distant sounds of creatures, wails and clicks underwater, were those orcas, wales? I don't know if they would ignore me or bite me, it was time to go back, that's what I was sure of.

I located the ship and quickly started to swim in that direction, my tail propelling me as fast as I could.

I got back to the ship and swam beside it, seeing there is a rope ladder to climb gave me relief, and I gladly started climbing back up. I probably should have thought about it more before diving right in. I was sure my face was a bit pale as I climbed aboard and the same griffon from earlier was there waiting for me, he chuckled a bit at my terrified face and patted me on the head.

"Ya got spooked bad, didn't ya little drake? What got you so scared? Be honest now, no sense in hiding it." He doesn't sound mocking, despite laughing at first, he is genuinely curious so I answer honestly.

"I-i couldn't see the bottom of the sea! And I couldn't... see anything around other than the ship." I took a few deep breaths to calm my rapidly beating hearts, it was just the sea, of course the sea is deep, you can't see the bottom, it's not a river or a swimming pool, I'm just an idiot who didn't think before jumping in.

"I felt like at any moment, something horrifying would emerge from the darkness around me as I floated there, and maybe that something would pull me down into the depths, I just felt defenseless." I said in a soft voice, not feeling as confident as before and a bit demoralized, maybe during the day I would dare to go into the water and look around, maybe it was just not being able to see far away that freaked me out so much? I wasn't sure, but my mind definitively hated that sensation of floating in the endless void of darkness.

"Ah, yeah that'd pretty normal lad, yer not a coward, it's yer survival instinct telling you that you're in a bad place, it's not as bad during daytime, but it still gives me the chills, we just need landmarks to give our mind some sense of safety, or that's what I think, you did okay, first time in open seas?" I nodded, feeling a bit better, at least he didn't mock me too much for my reaction, to be fair I have never been in a spot on the sea where I couldn't see the bottom, let alone during the night, note to self, don't go swimming in the open seas at night without a quick way out.

"Thank you mister, what's your name by the way? I thought I'd ask before I head to bed, thanks for your time, even if I just sorta embarrassed myself for your entertainment." I scratch my head and laugh nervously, feeling a bit stupid about my fear of open waters in the dark.

"I'm Archie, the ships navigator when the capt is asleep, if he is up I usually either I'm sleeping or checking the navigation charts, making sure we are in the right path and all dat." He offers me his talon for a handshake, I grip and shake his talon briefly.

"Goodnight Archie, I'm Onyx now I'll head to sleep, bye!" After we shook hands I left for my room.

That night I dreamt about being out there in the dark waters, floating aimlessly, this time there was no boat to go back to, there was nothing around but darkness and the cold sea.

I was alone, vulnerable, I tried to go to the surface but there was some barrier, I couldn't even use my magic, I still could see the distant glow of the moon and stars.

It was almost peaceful, until it wasn't.
Countless impossibly long appendages emerging from the unfathomable depths as I floated in the darkness, they were trying to grab me, there were thin, long insectoid limbs with hook-like claws at the end.

There were also small tentacles that burnt whenever they touched me, like acid, and they stuck to me by the hundreds, I ripped them off but chunks of them stick to me like glue, and more appeared to replace them.
I fought with claw and fang, trying to free myself, but there were always more coming, sharp hooks piercing my scales more and more often, it felt like I struggled for hours before I couldn't fight anymore and I gave up.

I was slowly dragged down into the dark depths, away from the glow of the moon and stars, in the darkness, I finally felt like I could rest, my fear and worry going away as I started to fade into dreamless unconscious sleep.

But right before I could, I feel a powerful pulse of energy seemed to come out of myself, not by my actions, it was as if some kind of power I wasn't aware off was triggered, but it felt similar to my telepathy in a way, but much more powerful, lashing out as if it was an attack, and focused above me, on top of my head.

Instantly after, something right on top of me started screeching, a mind shattering sound, causing me to try to squirm, to move away from it, but my body doesn't respond, I'm helpless, it's close, I feel like the sound is cutting into my mind and it hurts in a completely new level of pain.

The sensation was agonizingly, lances of pain into my mind, If I could have screamed I would have ruined my voice by now, but my body was paralyzed completely, I couldn't even feel more than my mind and the pain it was going through.

It's like something atop of my head that was halfway in the process of digging it's way inside my mind was painfully killed and it's death screech caused me real damage and pain, after a few seconds the screeching stops, and so does the pain, at least the worst of it, I begin to regain control over my body, and then I lose consciousness completely.

Mental Countermeasure Alpha-01 psionic pulse against Nightmare parasite has been utilized, protecting user's mind from becoming infested.

Warning! Nightmare parasites share a hive mind, and they have your scent, risk of future attacks is increased exponentially. Memories of incident removed by system to prevent severe mental instability, information about preventing future parasite infestation added to the bestiary in the Nightmare Parasite section.

I awake in the bed startled and in pain, holding my head and groaning, I felt as if someone smashed my head over and over with a metal hammer, what happened last night? Why do I feel so awful?

Its still nighttime, probably haven't slept much.

I felt something wet dripping from my nose and below my ears, I rub my eyes and try to become fully awake.

I see the room is slightly lit up, pulling a small towel from my inventory I wipe my wet nose and see it's actually my blood that was causing that glow. I clean it quickly and hold the towel in place there until i feel no more blood is dripping out.

Looking at the floor I realize I've been bleeding for a while, small puddles of glowing blood have formed and I start to grow concerned for real now, this isn't normal fucking normal!

I check my ears, and confirm it's also blood, I wipe it away and clean the floor, using a small spell to get it all off myself and the floor, what the towel didn't clean. Is now gone with prestidigitation.

What... What did just happen to me? I can't remember... Why can't I remember? Ugh... My head is killing me, I haven't had such a bad headache in forever!

Am I getting sick? Maybe the switch from land to sea made me a bit sick, I'm going back to sleep, maybe by tomorrow the pain will be gone, but if anything else happens when i wake up, I'll have dad give me a checkup, and heal me.

I stored the bloody towel back into inventory, yawning and wincing as doing so caused pain, I decided it would be best if I just went to sleep.

This time I was dreaming of being hugged by my friends and feeling their warmth, grabbing the pillow and hugging it tightly, it was my happy place, and it felt right, helping calm my fears and worries.

I already miss those wonderful ponies.

I fell asleep feeling happy and despite the headache, I had a good night's rest.

Author's Note

Thank you for reading! Hope you have fun with this chapter, there will be a second part to it tho.

Chapter 51 Griffonstone

Year 983 July 18

The shore was in sight, along with a large river that we headed right in for, from what in told it's called Guto river, it's along the path to the city we are trying to reach, I could smell the nearby forest pine trees from here, as we approached, going from salt water to fresh water around this area the place was much less cold, it was more like summer but not as hot as Canterlot during the summer.

Going from sea to river felt more substantial than I would have believed, the air smells different here, less briny, and the ever present pine aroma is a welcome change, I already want to get out of this damn ship, I don't want to sound rude to the kind griffons who helped us and stood up for us in a fight, but after two full days of being stuck in this floating tiny vessel has me feeling really eager to get back on solid ground.

Thankfully we didn't have to wait long, because not even an hour later we arrived at a port, there were other caravels like ours too, some bearing blue sails and others had a flag on them, one with red and white patterns with the outline of a griffon with a crown, I assume that's this nations flag.

The ship slowly approaches the docks, some of the sailors tie ropes to the mooring lines and pull it into position now that the sails are lifted and tied in place, it doesn't take long for the ship to be properly secured and locked in place, and the wooden ramp lowered for both passengers and cargo to go through.

We are ready to disembark with our bags all prepared, they can be carried on the back with a harness, but we can also use the inventory to keep a whole bag and not worry about its weight shifting around.

Captain Warbler approaches us with a friendly smile, Sylf has already prepared a bit of a surprise for him from what she told us, she's going to give him a rather generous tip, technically this trip on the boat is already paid with the price of the train ticket here, but because the train bridge isn't complete, the Equestrian company hired a shipping business from Griffonstone as a temporary contractor.

3000 bits to be divided between 6 griffons, I would say it's not a bad tip, mom has gotten extremely wealthy in the last few months thanks to her increase in rank in the guard and wise investments in various fields that are in development and have given fruit, having propelled her over the million bit mark, having friends in banking helps, she still keeps in contact with our friends from that bank we used to exchange gold a few times, they hooked her up with the most profitable investments.

Despite her appearance being slightly intimidating for the average pony, mom is the most sociable of us all outside of work, Coconut is sociable with his clients but he absolutely sucks at asking for help or just a favor, he also rarely starts conversations other than with us, he's really an introvert at heart.

"It was wonderful to have you aboard you three, I've not talked much with you mister Coconut, your wife told me about you but I understand being shy, don't worry I don't plan on forcing you to speak, just saying goodbye to all of you, please travel again on the Cirice! Choose Blue Sail company again, we can transport not only you but any cargo you have whenever between any Equestrian city that borders the Celestial Sea and Griffonstone, and as you saw we defend you and your valuable objects with our lives if need be." We couldn't deny that, his sailors were really ready to fight to the death. "We dont deal with the isles though, sorry, my mother nation is at war with them, our company is from Griffonstone."

Sylf approaches Warbler with Coconut right next to her, she hands the bag of bits to her husband who seems really nervous. But holds it in his telekinesis, then he approaches the griffon. "G-good day mister Warbler, hopefully this tip will make up for any trouble we caused you, and any damage or issue we caused by accident, I'm sorry about not speaking more to yoh all, I'm rather introverted when it comes to speaking to others, my wife is the more extroverted between the two, here thank you for everything!" Dad shyly says to the griffon and offers him the bag of bits, who he receives with a big smile, feeling the heft and nodding in approval.

"Don't fret over it lad, you are the way you are, I respect it, thank you three for the tip, and remember if you ever need our services, we have an office in Griffonstone and you can ask for me in particular, see you another time!" And then we waved goodbye and left the ship, walking into the wooden harbor that had dozens of griffons, some minotaurs and even a few diamond dogs, mostly griffons tho, I decided I don't want to have too much attention on me and decided to wear my magical robes, they are nicely concealing, when no one was looking I equipped them and kept walking like nothing happened.

We also have gotten similar robes, even if they are mundane and not magical artifacts, for mom and dad, robes to mostly cover us from prying eyes and make us stand out a bit less, ponies rarely if ever came to this nation, other than to do business and usually under heavy guard, dragons? Well they usually do whatever they want so they sometimes would set out on their own to do who knows what, and they were known for being quite disrespectful of other species sensibilities like manners, or so I'm told.

Once we leave the docks, there is a dirt road leading south, across the forest that will take us directly to the city, so that's our goal, we follow the signs that are occasionally placed next to the road, it forks in some areas into small paths, going into other villages or farms, but the main path remains straight. Some others walked the roads too, but most griffons just flew overhead, with it being faster and more efficient than walking.

"How interesting, my robes despite being black don't really heat up at all, wearing them even in this sun doesn't heat them up, despite the fact that I can feel the cloth touching my scales, how are you two holding up?" I had mostly wore this robes in cold weather before so I didn't notice this nifty enchantment on them, they work well to protect me from the sun.

"How lucky, my black coat is really hot and I'm almost overheating here, I think I'm gonna try that cloak you bought us for Heart's warming last year, it was pretty nice looking and may protect me from the rays of the sun a bit better... How are you holding up my love?" We both turned to look at the unicorn who was just smiling and walking seemingly happy.

"Oh I'm pretty good, the sun doesn't bother me, it's just a little warm sure but not bad, I guess the perk of having a lighter color mane and a light brown coat heh! You should definitively wear your cloack, isn't it like light gray? Its gonna help a lot with the sun, trust me dear." I nodded in agreement with him, of course having black fur is going to suck in summer.

We stopped in the shade of a tree, opening Sylf's bag, taking out the cloak and helping her put it on, it was good quality fabric, gray with white patterns and small golden trim in the edges, however it was too short to cover her legs fully. Overall pretty fancy and beautiful on her, contrasting her black fur.

"Looking good mom! It really suits you, I think I did a pretty good job picking it up for you if I may say so, this was the largest size they had them on, sorry if it doesn't quite cover your legs." I pat her back and close her bags.

"We may as well have lunch while we are at it, I'm putting all of our bags in the inventory, just so you know, they'll be annoying to haul around all day, is that okay?" I got nods in affirmation so I stored it all, not having to carry around stuff made is much more comfortable, yes sure we are strong enough to carry them without issue but it gets in the way in case anything happens, and here in the trees shade we are safe from the eyes of passerbys.

"All of our food we packed is in the inventory, as well as the water, no more leaving food outside, I think we all learned our lesson from last time right dad?" We share a knowing look, remembering the last time we left our food in a crate when eating and that same crate was used as a weapon against me.

I took an individually wrapped sandwich from the inventory, thankfully the system was smart enough to know which was which, without having to sniff it or open it, I took a pork one and handed a veggie sandwich to dad who thanked me with a smile, Sylf got a chicken one for herself.

We all kept talking while we ate.

"A good reminder to not carry all of your eggs in one basket, the pain is not something you easily forget, that goes for all three of us, right? I still shudder at the memory of breaking my muzzle, I feel every second of it as if happened just a few moments ago, how do you two deal with that trauma?" He asked as he unwrapped the sandwich slowly and threw away the paper, it was fully biodegradable anyways, we all did the same with ours.

"I can only speak for myself, but it takes time and help to heal from such things, Onyx and I have been together for over 10 years now and it takes years to get over that, I'm sure that he is not over everything and still has mental wounds that aren't fully healed, go on be honest with him son." She nosed me gently toward him, who looked at me expectantly, while taking a bite from his sandwich, I shrugged and bit into mine too, enjoying the juicy flavor of the meat and the veggies combined.

After finishing chewing and swallowing the bite I had, I answered him honestly.

"She's right, I'm definitively not over everything that happened to me, I'm terrified of being attacked by powerful spells that I can't defend against or shrug off, thankfully it hasn't happened since...
That pony we fought to the death, he attacked me with magic that caused so much pain that I still can remember everything, almost feel it. He is the reason for my fear, I fear others using their magic on me to hurt me, and that's not all..." May as well confess my other fears too, I trust this two with anything, even with my most sensitive information.

But not before taking another bite of food, which we all decided was the best to do as we spoke, this was pretty much a picnic, relaxing in the shade, talking about our fears, despite the irony talking about them openly felt relieving, like I feared it all a little less.

"I also am afraid of ghosts, not terrified, I can still more or less deal with this fear, but I don't think I can see them as anything other than monsters after having to fight dozens of them to survive and after having taken several painful hits, I just don't want to see a ghost ever again, they scare me."

"I remember that, they are pretty nasty and they hurt you pretty badly, Im definitively terrified of them too, don't doubt that for a second, if it wasn't for you, they would have torn me apart, I just know it." He shook his head, then looked at me in the eyes. "Thank you, I'm glad you were looking after me, I'm honestly really bad at fighting, it's not my thing, but you... you kick flank! And never for a second you stopped trying to protect me, how ironic that a colt not even half my age has to save me every time I'm in danger." He chuckles at that, giving me headpats with his hoof while he bites into the sandwich one last time, finishing the last piece of it.

"Oh don't mention it, I promised I would keep you safe, wouldn't be very nice of me to not keep a promise, now... Let me finish my sandwich and I tell you the rest of my fears, okay?" I shoved the last chunk of delicious sandwich in my maw and began enjoying it, as he nodded to me that I could continue whenever I was ready. This damn sandwich was delicious! Pretty filling too, and we have to save provisions because we only have so many sandwiches, better to have them and not need them than need them and not have them!

After swallowing and drinking a sip of water, I continued explaining to him.
"And then there is spiders, those scare me too, not only do I have arachnophobia, I've also had a horrible situation with a monstrous giant spider that traumatized me. Thankfully I have more or less gotten over this, thanks to having a normal happy life for around 10 years with ma, now for the lasts ones, it may sound a bit silly..."

"This one may sound dumb considering I can use magic to prevent it from being deadly but still terrifies me... Heights, as in being on a tall building and near the edge of a cliff, anywhere really high, it don't even dare to go near those.

"I am not a fan of getting anything sharp or very pointy near my eyes either, I will become aggressive if someone does threaten me with a knife or needle near my eyes, I I'll panic and react quickly and violently, i dont know why i feel so strongly about it, I think because it's a natural vulnerable point on my body, the most vulnerable perhaps, just never get a knife in my face or I may accidentally punch you, and those are all, welcome to the club! But I suspect you already had your own troubles you had to deal with, don't you? Everyone has something they struggle with, after all."

Iooking at his face, he was thoughtful, but answered after a few seconds.

"You're right and wrong, I always used to blame myself for what happened to my family, I used to cry myself to sleep often thinking... If I had not been born, if I had never been conceived then mom would have lived, dad would have been happy with her, but after..." He trials off, thinking of a way to put his thoughts into words.

"Everything that has happened since we met, I've changed my mind, I also had the wonderful opportunity to talk with them again, to be with them! thanks to my dear, wonderful and kind goddess I am forever thankful to, you know?" He looks up at the sky, I could tell he really cared about her, loved her, not like a lover but like a mother, his goddess was kind, motherly and friendly from that time I heard her.

"Yeah, I wanna get to meet her too to be honest, she sounds really nice, and she also wants to help not just ponies, which is something I agree with, how do you... Talk to her? I suppose she wouldn't listen to a non pony like me, but... Well it's just nice to know she accepted you and has chosen you as her champion." I asked but just shoot my head, I wasn't a pony, of course she wouldn't listen to me, she was the pony goddess, not the dragon goddess.

"Nevermind that, we should get moving, our short rest to eat was nice but we gotta get to the city before nightfall.
I don't think we want to find ourselves out here in the darkness, who knows what kind of beasts could be prowling in the night out here next to the forest? And ponies like you can't see in the dark." I got up and wiped my paws on the stone to get the bits of food off them, drinking from my water bottle before storing it into the inventory.

"Okay let's go but Onyx... You are wrong, yes she is the goddess to ponies but not because she chose the ponies, it's the other way around, ponies chose her after she helped them in the past and now mostly only they worship her, she has nothing against other species! I can promise you that, why would I come out all the way here to help griffons if she only cared about ponies? She is happy with what you want to do!" He exclaimed and defended her as we got back to the dirt path and walked back under the sun, because it was near noon the sun was high in the sky.

"Really? Hmm I see... So why did she never talk to me then?" I asked with some doubt still lingering, meanwhile Sylf looked at us intrigued, not having anything to say but still wanting to catch every word, did she have any beliefs in any gods I wonder?

"Oh that's easy, because talking to someone in their head without permission and out of nowhere is insanely unpopular with almost all living beings, most will think they have gone insane or will believe she is an evil spirit trying to possess them or something like that, she is speaking from experience." Of course this makes sense, it would be too strange to suddenly hear a voice in your head, no matter how nice.

"I... I see, that makes a lot of sense now that I think about it.
Sorry for being a bit unsure dad, so how do you get in contact with her?" He smiles and pulls me into a hug while we walk.

"I hoped you hear you ask that someday, well you would normally need to do something to catch her attention, but since you already did and she is interested in you, and you even have a holy amulet blessed by her, you must only hold it and talk, she should listen, of course it's not warranted you will get an answer, she is just like any other creature, sometimes she may want to speak and sometimes she may be busy or just not feel like talking, you can't expect her to be available to you all the time, just like she would not expect us to be available at all times." Sounds pretty reasonable, I may try this sometime.

"Thank you for explaining it so neatly dad, now I know what to do in case I want to talk, I am still I admit a bit afraid of doing so, but the way you explain it seems a lot less daunting of a task, I'm just worried it may go like meeting Princess Celestia, I don't really want a repeat of that, you know?" I answer him honestly, I don't trust beings more powerful than myself. "Maybe if I'm extra polite and respectful and don't speak unless spoken to, maybe I won't get smited on the spot? I am willing to try... I'm just scared of those with power over me."

His face seemed to go from hopeful and happy to sad, then slowly growing determined.

"Dear son... She would never do anything to hurt you, she's not like that... I can promise you, if she ever does anything even slightly disrespectful or hurtful then I will denounce her myself, i am so sure of this that im willing to turn my back on her, and i will take your word for it without hesitation, this is how sure I am." I stopped and stared at him wide eyed.

"Hot damn! You really are sure, I can't argue with that determination, you win dad, I will talk to her as myself then, I can't help but trust you tho, your words really came from the heart, what do you think ma?" We both turn to look at the smiling wolf, her face partially obscured by the robe but she has a happy expression.

"He definitively is telling the truth, I know he has grown to love her like a child loves his mother, it's adorable really, and I know he is loved back, I think i want to join in that talk, im curious to talk to her too, i mean how could i not? He cares a lot for her and trusts her."

"I'm his wife, and while I honestly don't believe in gods nor do I believe anyone to be above the rest, I am still willing to try, my lack of belief was what honestly kept me from trying before, because I was also afraid that my lack of faith somehow angered her, not that I ever mentioned it to you my love, sorry i just thought it better left unsaid. You could say it's one of my secrets." Now it was our turn to stare at her, how can she not believe in gods when there literally are and even her husband is the chosen of a goddess?

"Oh, that's fine, I'm sure she wouldn't mind that either, I have never seen her angry, disappointed yes, but not angry, but she is nothing if not reasonable, so... Maybe you two can talk about your beliefs or anything you want! You may even convince her she's not real, who knows?" Coconut said in a playful sarcastic tone, causing me to giggle and Sylf to glare, but give him a challenging smirk.

"Then maybe I'll try that when I talk to her and ask her if she wants to form a herd with us~ what do you say? Want your very own goddess to be part of your herd, my beloved stallion?" Even I was shocked at her words, but he was wide eyed, first confused, then he seemed to think about it and turn red in the face, and finally shake his head, like he was trying to forget some thoughts.

"Sylf, you don't even know her yet! And she is not that kind of goddess, you're just... You're joking, aren't you?" He sighs, his face still really flustered and unable to keep eye contact with her, she nuzzles him softly and pulls him in for a hug.

"Of course you silly colt! Just a bit of teasing, you know I would never do something like that without talking it extensively with you first, I am not fully opposed to the idea of having more others join our herd, but I think we both would need to want that pony in before we can even talk about making it a herd, don't you agree sweetheart?" She softly asked and pressed her nose against his neck while we walked, they really are adorable together... I of course will not get in their way if they want to have a herd, it's not my business unless that pony or other species goes out of their way to spite me.

He relaxes fully, his blush fading as he returns her affections. "Thank you, I agree with you there, talk about it together getting them to know both of us is the way to go, we come as a package of five, including you and the twins." He says with a smile, pointing at me who was paying close attention to their conversation.

"Oh thank you father! But you can count me out, I don't need anyone to approve of me, I'm soon going to be independent, as soon as I finish highschool I'm moving on my own so neither of you will have to worry anymore, but the twins... Yes they must accept and love them as their own, because they are you and mom's precious offspring." They both get close to me and step in front of my path, making me stop, looking at eachother and then at me.

"Really Onyx? You're a little young to move out yet! let's just talk about it okay?" Mom asked with concern in her tone, looking sad at my words, maybe I should not have said it like that...

"Relax I'm just thinking out loud, not sure yet. It's what everyone ends up doing once they are adults right? Don't look so shocked, there is still another five or six years until I finish my studies, and after that I need to see where I will move to, haven't exactly given it much though yet, just thinking about it, thinking about the future." I answered defensively, pulling both of them into a gentle hug.

"Just as long as you don't feel like you have to, we aren't going to kick you out son, when you feel ready, tell us and we will help in every way we can, that I can promise, but until then you are free to go about your life as you want, even with us." After the little group hug we turned around and faced the path forward.

"I'm really lucky to have met you both, I would be bones by now if it wasn't for this big wolf here! You know what? I think we should have you carry me on your back like old times, what say you, my loyal and brave steed?" I smirked and pressed my side to mom's.

"I haven't had you riding on my back in years, I also miss when you would sleep with us in the same bed and your cold body kept us nice and cool in the summer, so yes I would be honored to give you a ride, my silver knight." she sat down allowing me to get on top of her back, I made sure to retract my claws and climb gently to not rip the cloak, using magic to clean my paws before getting them on her.

I was larger than before, now having my tail dangle completely off her, but my whole body fit comfortably laying atop her back, with my head gently laying on her fluffy and strong neck.

"You've gotten bigger... My little hatchling isn't a hatchling anymore, you barely fit on my back. Now let's see if I still got it, come on Coco, race you till we see the city, let's put that increased stamina to the test!" Coconut watched on with an amused smile as his wife took off with me on her back, then blinked realizing he was going to be left behind and what she said, he shook his head and ran after us, the race was on!

"W-wait what?! Race?! I won't let you win again!" Finally he started to run as fast as he could, he was still nowhere as fast as mom with her longer legs, even while carrying me, my forelegs wrapped around her neck to hold onto her, the path was heading up the hill, we were right next to tall snow peaked mountain to our right.

After running around a twist in the path that headed left, and going up slightly more we saw on the horizon something that made us stop on our tracks, and stare open mouthed in awe.

In front of us, distant in the horizon there was a flat top mountain with the largest tree I have ever seen in all my life, present and past. The tree seems to have grayish white wood, no idea which species, or how long a tree would need to live to become that size, probably many millennia, how I wasn't sure.

The sight was incredible, on the branches of said tree and along it's base, various houses were built, and on one near the top, a castle made of what appears to be white stone stood tall, it's structure had long spires going high into the sky, the castle itself being a modest size compared to the one in Canterlot, whoever lived here had a totally different sense of architecture and design than whoever built the one back home.

"Wooah! That must be Griffonstone! It's beautiful from here, look at that castle, it's... This reminds me of the first time I saw Canterlot city, even if it's less fancy looking from here, the size of that tree alone makes me question all my knowledge about trees and how large they can get, I need to ask them if they know what tree they used!"

We heard the sounds of hooves on dirt, but we didn't turn, knowing who just caught up to us, breathing fast but not as exhausted as I would have expected.

"This is incredible! I knew I had more stamina ever since I got stronger but i-" he stopped mid sentence, now seeing what we were seeing.

"I-is that were we're going?! That's a tree!? It must be... Almost a kilometer tall, maybe more? There's a castle in it, too! I hope they let us visit the castle, it's beautiful from here, come on you two, I wanna be there today, let's gawking and more walkin', in fact race you to the entrance to the city!." We stood for a few more seconds until Sylf realized that Coconut had ran ahead and was getting too far, she nudged me and I nodded, grabbing around her neck to hold myself.

Then we sprinted, I mean she sprinted after him while I laid comfortably on her back, but at this speed it was more of a bumpy ride, having to hold my legs tightly around her to not bounce around freely from the sprinting.

She was catching on now, we could see him in the distance, maintaining a pretty respectable speed, a small cloud of loose dust and dirt left every time his hooves hit the ground in the gallop. He turned and saw us getting closer, turning forward he grunted with effort and pushed himself to go faster, now we were no longer gaining on him, and more or less were equally as fast.

"Is he faster than you, or are you letting him tire himself out?" I asked, while above us griffons flew toward their city, but I paid them no mind because it was normal here seeing them come and go, most simply flew overhead instead of walking, as it was faster and more efficient, none of them paid us any mind or they simply didn't look down.

"Neither, I'm just giving him false hope of victory, but I think now that's enough hope, hold onto me firmly and I'll show you what I mean!" I did as she told me and she moved even faster, she started panting and heating up but she also caught up to him, who was also panting with his tongue out as well by this point, but she overtook him and both started to slow down gradually at this point.

They have been running for about half an hour now.
Both of them were low on stamina, panting and sweating, but the faster wolf had been the first one to arrive running past the pony in the last moments of the race.

"You win! Seems like having longer legs does the trick... That felt, pretty good! It was wonderful being able to stretch my legs again after two days." Finally catching his breath, he smiles and moves to stand in front of her, both of them share a satisfied smile.

"I gotta say I'm impressed by your new speed, but not so much your stamina, I already knew it was amazing now~ but I have to agree, getting to run like this again... It really did make me feel better, I missed stretching my legs on solid ground, now come here you sexy and sweaty hunk!" Moving forward she takes him by surprise with a passionate kiss, I get front row seats as I'm right on top of her, she may have forgotten I'm here to be fair.

He returned the kiss gladly, I smile at how cute they look together, even when making out, but I feel it may be a bit too intrusive and decide it's best if I hop off her back and stop staring at them, they still go at it for a full minute before moving apart.

I take the opportunity to stretch myself and take a look around.

The city that was so far away before is now just up this mountain, griffons come in and out flying ocasionally, around this area there are fields of crops and various small farms dotted about, with simple thatch roof houses that seem to be in some state of disrepair, but holding together decently.

The houses are made of white stone in most of the buildings I can see from here, I can't be sure but this place... It looks run down and way worse up close than from afar, at least the roof of the houses I see from here.

After ending the kiss, my beloved and I shared a look, one that promised we would have much more intimate fun whenever we had the chance, for now however I turned to look at the final stretch of road before entering the city proper.

I focused my eyes on the pair of griffons by the entrance, there seems to be a checkpoint of sorts, something as all the griffons, even those who come flying by, land there and seem to speak to them for a few seconds, I couldn't be sure from here.

"Look up there, I see a pair griffons wearing padded armor, maybe they're city guard, from the look of their armor it looks rather plain and lacking decorations, they also have shortswords and crossbows across their back, there is only two, so I think we are fine, come on follow me, I'll do the talking and ask for directions, we need to find a hotel or rent a room or two." After that they nodded and we started walking up the path, I had my cloak on but the hood off so I would be easier to see and they wouldn't be suspicious, I asked Onyx to do the same, and he agreed.

He has such a pretty face that it's a shame he thinks he should cover himself out there, but I understand, almost every race is wary of dragons and they are often treated with hostility, mistrust or with rudeness, I was lucky I was a mostly an unknown species otherwise they'd do the same with me, even then I got the ocasional hateful glance or whispered words behind my back when they thought I couldn't hear, even in the Royal Guards when I started my career, many thought I was nothing more than a monster that the Princess had tamed to become a guard dog.

Now that I think about it, its not far from the truth, I have become her loyal guard wolf, but I wasn't sure i felt the same way I did back then, all my respect for her and my appreciation had gone away when she mistreated my precious hatchling, even if he said it was fine, I still feel upset and angry at her when I remember that day.

"Mom? What's wrong? You've been staring at me for a good minute and now you're getting angry, y-you're staring to scare me momma..." My face immediately went back to calm and concerned as I realized I was staring at him without looking, my eyes unfocused as we walked, but I was showing my emotions, baring my fangs and narrowing my eyes.

"I'm really sorry! I wasn't looking at you, I was... Thinking without realizing where I was looking, I promise I wasn't angry at you... Please come here! I just can't stand thinking I scared you!" Thankfully he isn't scared of me and moves closer, clearly understanding the assignment and comes running to hug me across my neck his snout pressing against my tense muscles at the base of my neck, he starts massaging and touching my back and sides, he loves to knead my muscles like that for some reason, and it feels really good so i would never complain.

He really is a sweetheart and even when it was me who scared him, he is the one happy to come running to hug me and try and calm me down in such a tender way.

"I love you momma, it's fine I wasn't really scared of you, it's that when you get angry you have a really scary aura and your expression shifts, but I know you are you, and you care about me a lot, but you do have a very effective angry snarl heh, I pity whoever has to face you when you're really angry." His small chuckle is exactly what I needed to feel like everything is okay now, I smile and pet him with my magic hand, he lets out a content sight as I start to give him back and chest sxratches, I can also feel the muscles under his scales, while he isn't visibly muscular, he is developing quite nicely, he has mostly muscle under those interlocking beautiful silver scales of his, despite how little exercise he gets he somehow stays lithe and strong.

I wonder how much muscle he will put on once he starts to train properly, and exercise his body, not just the sword training.

I shake my head clear of those thoughts, not wanting to stay quiet and make things awkward I smile and keep letting him.

"Love you too Onyx, you don't need to worry about me using my power on you in purpose, ever! I'll do my best to, even if I do get angry at you, from time to time you make some decisions that I find questionable, but so do I... And I expect you to tell me when I mess up so you can help me get back on track, even if you have to be rather blunt." He looks at me with a doubtful face, not convinced.

"You never do mess up I think, i mean... You are the voice of reason normally, and you are more cautious than me, I think you and dad are the best at talking to others for different reasons, and you're much better at fighting than me!
I lack the expertise in combat that you have... Well here we are! I'm leaving this to you." He smiled and winked at me, nodding towards the guards.

As we approached they stared at us with open worry, holding their talons over their scabbards, ready to pull out their weapons, I kept a wary eye on them, ready to pull my longsword from the inventory at a moment's notice, but deciding this required a touch of diplomacy and charm.

We stood about 4 meters away when one of them called out.

"Halt! You are not griffons, state your reason for entering the city. Specially you!" He says, gesturing with his head at Onyx who just gives him a tired look.

"Good evening sirs, I'm Sylf and this is my family, the little dragon there is my precious adoptive son, Onyx, and the pretty unicorn stallion over there is my husband, Coconut. Our reason for coming to your city is to see the sights, we are tourists on vacation, we are curious to taste the foods and enjoy the sights of this city I've heard so much about, I have to say, this is the biggest tree ive ever seen in my entire life!
We also have bits to spend in the various business here, is there an entry fee we arent aware of to enter the city?" I smile and gesture my family, the guards seem to relax fully at the mention of bits, and their frowns change into happy smiles.

"You have bits to spend, should have just said that first! The entry fee is only 20 bits each, for your group it would normally be 60 but since you all are really polite I think reducing it by 10 would be reasonable, so 50 bits and you may head right in, just one thing... The dragon stays outside, no fire breathing creatures allowed in the city." One of them says while looked pointedly at my son, who sighs and looks sad, but tries anyways to convince him.

"I promise I'm not like most dragons, I was raised by this two all my life and I know how to behave myself mister, I promise! Please let me stay with them?" Onyx answered with a pleading expression, It was perfectly understandable, a being who could breathe fire was a huge threat for the safety of the entire city. The griffons looked slightly moved by the look he was giving them and his plea, I decided to add some information to help calm them.

"I'll let you in on a secret you two, my son is not a regular dragon, in fact he can't even breathe out fire, show them Onyx, please? This will make them let you stay."

"Look gentlegriffs, my son is going to use his breath attack into the air to show you." He agrees to my request, and the two griffs look confused, paying close attention and nodding.

"Yes mom!" Onyx takes a deep breath and inhales, filling his lungs and then releasing a cone of frost from his mouth into the air, away from the griffons, who then start getting closing and standing under the falling snow like residue from the breath attack.

"Look at this Fred! It's really cold like standing in a snowstorm!" The one with dark brown feathers exclaims to the lighter brown feathered griffon, who joins him in the cold cloud falling to the ground, they stand in it right in front of Onyx who just looks on with a happy smile.

"You're right!" He turns to look at my son, still smiling from the odd and unique sensation of experiencing cold in the middle of summer.
"Are you even a dragon dude? I never heard of any being able to blast frost out of their maws like that, you are either a new species or some other creature we never heard off." The other guard whispered to him something and he nodded with a smile.

He then announced a bit louder for our group to hear. "Please forgive our rudeness, you can stay now, it's just that dragons tend to be... Less than friendly and any of their usual 'pranks' could cause a big fire here, the houses have thatch roofs that can catch on fire easily, the tree however doesn't burn, but... The houses themselves are in disrepair and the floor has flammable material that can spread a fire from a house to the next, causing a disaster."

He looks apologetic, staring into Onyx's eyes, who just nodded with a slight smile, he was affected by it but didn't show it.

"No worries dude, I understand why you don't want fire breathing dragons in your city, I wouldn't want to bring a walking fire hazard in there either, but you can be sure I don't use fire, in fact I dont like fire or heat near me." He gestures to his silver scales.

"I'm not fire resistant or immune like other dragons, but cold doesn't affect me, I'm the opposite of the ones you know, good to meet you two, can we go into the city now? And also directions to a hotel or a place to stay and sleep?" He asked politely while opening his saddlebag with one of his claws and pulling out two 50 bit coins, something that made the eyes of the two griffons to sparkle with obvious excitement and greed.

"Here you have, one for each, I think it is better than having to share one coin, don't you think?" He gave them a wink and handed them each their own coin.

Now the two griffons were behaving completely different, being much more cheerful and friendly after getting bits, all the previous doubt they had gone with the wind, they eagerly explained to Onyx everything.

"So there is a tavern where you can drink, eat and sleep, it has decent rooms, but it's quite expensive, then you have a few houses where regular griffons will rent out beds for travelers at a much cheaper price than what the tavern charges you, however there is no warrantee you'll be comfortable there."

"What about the castle? It's what caught out attention the most when heading here, who is the king now? You're the royal guard, right?" Onyx's question was the same one I had, I always wondered who ruled this nation.

"Oh, there has been no king since Guto, and since he fell, the nation has been ruled by the remaining military, now the castle is the high command of our military and our nation, which we are part of, they do whatever they can, and things were looking up for a while until the Isles on the Celestial Sea who were our most wealthy provinces have declared the whole nation belongs to them, including this here city." So... That explains why the griffons are so militaristic in their society, I've been taught this in the academy, about many aspects of their lives, they are trained to earn to use a weapon from a young age, and there is obligatory military recruitment for males, something considered horrible back home even for the writers of the book I read it on.

It makes sense to me, if there are similar numbers of male to female griffons why not send the strongest gender in? Even Equestrian males are stronger, but much more rare so they are considered more valuable, which they are, in that case, and even then many stallions join the guard.

"That's all I know, head on inside! and remember, absolutely no singing within city borders... I don't want to arrest such a generous family for such a silly crime, thank you three for visiting and I hope you have a good night." And with that they went back to guarding the door, leaving us pass unimpeded.

As we headed inside, it was dusk there were still some griffons around, flying or walking inside the city, looking around we finally saw the true state of the city, it was a mess, houses full of holes, bits and pieces of them scattered through the streets, even bookshelves left outside, maybe as a sort of public library? At least they had covers on them to keep the rain off.

But the city was greatly lacking in business, only a few stores were here, the tavern being one of them with brightly colored signs and being slightly larger than the average house.

After talking with the guards and reassuring them I wasn't going to set the city on fire, they let me in and I realized they were pretty reasonable griffons, just very greedy, I could understand being greedy I mean I collect gems, gold pieces and bits.

As we headed inside I finally saw the extend of the problem facing this place, they were incredibly poor and in a really bad situation both economic and moral, griffons mostly looked sad and grumpy, many were outside selling their wares, including an old griffon with a cart of what appeared to be food.

We approached the old griffon who despite being partially bald on the head, seemed to be in good physical shape, he has a scar across his left eye and seems to be blind in that eye too, from the way it looks. He also is wearing a red fez hat with golden tassel.

He notices us coming closer and turns fully to face us, his expression doesn't change from a slightly frown but he gesture us closer, I oblige and approach, standing in front of him, looking at the products he sells.

Looks like some cookies.

"Hello? What are you selling? Is that cookies I smell?" He gives me a small glare, but it goes away when I pull out a sack of coin from my saddlebags, his attitude does a 180 and he smiles at us like a car seller.

"Good evening youngsters, I'm selling delicious griffon scones, my own recipe only one bit each!" I nod and pull out 3 one bit coins from the pouch.

"I'd like 3 please? I've been craving something sweet all day." I hand him the coins and he gives me the 3 scones, I quickly get one a bite and crunch down on it.

It is sweet and tastes nice, but it's extremely dense and dry, overbaked and missing baking powder, still it sates my cravings for sweet, if only slightly.

"Pretty tasty, here you go, one for each of you! But please don't bite into it, they're rock hard and you will chip a tooth... Just suck on them like hard candy until they get wet and break down, okay?" I advised my parents who didn't have fangs capable of crushing rocks like me, this scones were literally rock hard.

Both nodded and took one each, it was unusual but not terrible, like eating sweet hardtack.

"Thank ye for the purchase, are ye three looking for a place to stay for the night? I run an orphanage, and I have some spare beds I can rent for some bits, cheaper than the alternative, the tavern is charging 20 bits for each of you, per night." He scoffed angrily looking at the tavern with disdain.

"I need to maintain the orphanage so I'm here selling this scones, and offering cheaper rooms than the tavern, only 10 bits for all of you per night, how does that sound? I know you are not from here, you think I'm ripping you off, but go ask in the tavern if you don't believe me, they'll charge you double and for each of you." I shrugged, helping this griffon with his orphanage was much better than getting slightly better rooms in a tavern, and nothing was stopping us from going there to eat either way if we wanted.

"Mom, dad? What do you think? Wanna help this old griffon out?" Both of them looked at each other and sighed sadly, then nodded.

"We are here to help after all, who better to help than the youngest and most vulnerable? I accept."

"You heard my husband mister...?"

"You can call me Gruff, missy, thank you for agreeing, follow me now youngsters." Then he turned around and made a gesture with his talon for us to follow, we stayed close behind, I pulled out bags from the inventory discretely under my robes, pretending they were just behind us.

"Mister Gruff, what do you know about this city? What happened to it? Everything looks... Broken and run down, it's still beautiful in its own way but... The houses are not properly maintained and every griffon looks sad and miserable." I couldn't help but ask, seeing the state of the place was a clear sign of something going terribly wrong, at least this place still had some farms but... From what I was told by the sailors who brought us here, food was really expensive for the average griffon, maybe they lacked infrastructure.

"Oh I can tell you everything that happened, to cause this city to become such a mess, for some bits." He turned to me and got close to my face, asking in an almost desperate tone.

"I... Okay? Please calm down, I'll pay you, in fact here you go." I started searching the coin pouch for any large coins of 100 bits, after some rummaging I pulled out a shiny golden coin of a hundred, his eyes seemed to widen and sparkle with excitement, like a person seeing an oasis of pure fresh water after days in the desert, I offered it to him and he held out his talon, I dropped the coin and he grasped it and held it like it was a priceless artifact.

Damn, and I thought I liked bits, this guy likes them way more, and this is just 100 bits.

"Thank you! I'll brew you my best tea, there I will explain everything to you." He offered with a previously unseen politeness, his rough attitude completely flipped.

We neared a house slightly larger and much longer, where he opened the door that was locked with a key he pulled out from his hat. Above the door a sign reads: Gruff's orphanage.

He invited us in and closed the door behind us, locking it and putting the key back inside his hat.

"Welcome to my home, you have already provided much more to me than I would earn in months of selling my scones, now let me show you to your rooms and I'll introduce you to the little ones, they will be curious to see other creatures from distant lands, let's get introductions out of the way first." He offers us an honest smile, he may be greedy and fascinated with coin but he has a reason, he clearly is doing whatever he can to raise this orphans, something even people who consider themselves generous would never do.

Our nod of approval is the only thing he needs before running off and a few minutes later coming back with 3 griffons of different colors and different ages.

They look either shy or curious about us, the smallest one seems the most curious, running over and starting to look us over excitedly, after giving us a visual examination she approaches me, and we share a look, I get the feeling I have seen her before somehow. She has white plumage on her head, with lilac tipped feathers covering her forehead and around her eyes. Her hind legs instead were cedar brown, with her wings and tuft of her tail being wood brown color.

It took me a few seconds but I recognized her, Gilda!
She was really unpleasant to the others in an episode of the show that I barely remember, but I can't blame her for that after knowing shes an orphan, and she has not done that yet, she must be not even 5 years old.

She played with my moving tail and paws, grabbing and poking at me which made me giggle sometimes, while I thought to myself, the others came forward and introduced themselves, being older than her.

"Hey... I'm Sable, I'm 13 years old and I'm really thankful for what you did for us, it's good to meet you!" She introduced herself with a small but polite bow of her head, sounding nervous but trying to keep a brave face.

"I'll... Be preparing your tea and if you want anything else let grandpa Gruff or me know, I'll do my best to help." She finished her introduction and approached us, greeting us personally with a handshake, I smiled at her when it was my turn, looking her over quickly.
She has orange, tiger striped hind legs and dark orange wings with a tiger like tail, with white feathered head with back highlights on the forehead feathers, similar to the ones Gilda has. The area around her eyes is grayish black.

"What a nice name, Sable." I tried to pronounce it just like she did, only butchering it a little, she giggled at my attempt and corrected it once until I was able to say it right.

"Name is Onyx, never seen a griffon with those patterns, you look incredible." I complimented her honestly and she blushed and looked me over too, I have to admit when I see something I like, I hope she doesn't take my compliment the wrong way, but have you seen a half tiger half eagle? She just looks really cool!

"T-thank you, I've never seen a dragon before but... You do look really incredible too, your scales are shiny like the armor from the knights mentioned in the old books of the library, and also smooth and soft, a-anyways I better go greet the others!" And with that she went over to greet my parents who also introduced themselves, she seems like a nice sweet griffon, glad she's not afraid of me like some of the ponies my age I've met, or even adults.

Despite her being older by two years we are the same height, I suppose my growing body is catching up to the rest, I'm slightly taller than foals my age now, something which I'm proud of.

All of this while little Gilda was fighting my tail like it was a wild snake, wrestling it and batting it with her talons, even biting at it, but I kept moving it around, giving her a 'fight' and smiling at her adorable antics.

She wasn't strong enough to hurt my tail at all, so there was no harm on letting her have fun for a while, I even pretended to lose a couple of times and then, when she celebrated victory I would surprise her with a sneak attack of my tail poking her on the side.

Then the last griffon came forward, he is the largest, black hind legs that look like a black leopard, gray wings and white head feathers, with dark blue highlights on the feathers of his head

"Hey y'all, I'm Treble, just wanted to say thanks for helping out gramps, you're all the coolest creatures this side of Griffonstone! I'm 14 by the way, next year I'll begin helping grandpa Gruff earn bits with the whole scone business." He then came over and greeted my parents, his eyes locked into mine next and we stared into each other's, a silent battle of wills unfolded, who broke eye contact first was the loser.

I had no trouble occasionally blinking but picking his left eye and stared at it without stopping, he also blinked but seemed to struggle to focus for so long, not even 4 minutes later he broke eye contact, closing his eyes for a few seconds and looking away, huffing in annoyance.

"Damn! You win, I can't keep my eyes focused on something for so long, and I've got good eyes... Nice to meet you by the way, I'm Treble and you? You're the first dragon I met and you're pretty chill, how old are you?" He finally said extending his talon, which I slapped, moving back and coming in for a fistbump, he understood right away and imitated me, and we did a fist bump, a proper one this time, since we both actually could make a fist. We shared a friendly smirk after.

"Name's Onyx, and I'm the coolest dragon you'll ever lay eyes upon." I smirked confidently and he raised a doubtful eyebrow. I simply blew a cloud of supercooled air that froze the water in it, instantly and lost all of its power, creating the mist that was cold like winter snow.

That seemed to catch his attention and he put his talon in the cloud of cold mist, his eyes widening and a big smile spreading across his face.

"I'm also 11 by the way, but what you just saw is like a tiny fraction of what I can do, think I'm cool now? I am my own cold generator, I can cool down my room until it's colder than the coldest winter day, all inside a single room, but it can break things so I usually don't go that far." He seems excited to try this trick, maybe he likes summer as little as I do?

If that's true then I already made a new friend!

After meeting everyone, they left to their rooms and I went to our rooms to leave the bags, then headed back to hear the story of Griffonstone. The whole thing, we had tea served to us by Sable, the tea was pretty good and made me feel more relaxed, feels like home.

The story was told to us long into the night, and I learned a great deal, the sad tragedy of the griffons is not a mere accident, it was orchestrated by another ancient nation, one from which almost nothing is known about.

The race is known as Arimaspi, large bipedal creatures that have only one eye on their heads, they are said to live south west of Equestria in inhospitable rocky mountains.

Somehow one day during the reign of the last king, Guto, many decades ago, the creature sneaked inside the castle during a stormy night, and ran off towards the Abysmal Abyss, attempting to jump over it when a bolt of lightning fell from the skies and made it falter on the jump, and it fell to it's death with the Idol in hand.

The Abysmal Abyss is a ravine that goes all the way down the mountain and into a deep cave system, and because its a space between two mountains and it's relatively narrow, the wind that would normally flow around the mountains in fast but manageable currents, is funneled and compressed into extremely fast and deadly winds.

Or at least that's what I can theorize from his explanation about rushing winds only in that area and nowhere else, the reason no griffon before tried retrieving the Idol is because many of those who tried, didn't make it, some survived and gave up before getting close and some were thrown so fast by the wind they couldn't recover in time and crashed against the rock face, sadly killing them.

The reason the Idol is important is because their god, Boreas was displeased by the griffons inability to protect the divine artifact, when it was stolen their promise was broken, when King Grover had received it, he swore he would guide his people and that he, the citizens and his descendants will forever safekeep the Idol and protect it, and as a way to honour him, the god of ambition, freedom and wind, they were just meant to live their lives to the fullest, to be proud of who they are and be ambitious for wealth, coin is important to griffons just as it is for dragons.

Flying came naturally to griffons just as well as it did to pegasi so they already fulfilled the wind and freedom part just by living their natural lives.

By breaking the promise Griffonstone as a whole had made, they lost the favor of Boreas and the blessing was lost, and it would remain lost at least until they recovered the artifact, something that still has not happened.

We had many questions, all of us, but we were sure of one thing now, if we wanted Griffonstone to have a chance to recover and prosper once again, we needed to fix this, and the only way to do that was to return the artifact to them, It was extremely risky, while sure I could use the spell feather fall to fall slowly, the wind would NOT care about that spell, it slows my descent but it didn't make me unmovable, in fact I would get pushed around even by the wind while falling as if I was flying.

I did not want to learn what it felt like to slam snout first into solid stone so I would need to do this another way, there was always the teleportation option, but for that I needed to see where I would go, and that was a big problem too, my ways of scrying required a floating sensor, a scrying eye, and such strong winds would also throw it around like a ball in a hurricane, and that would destroy it.

Another option discarded, it was good knowing that at least I would be able to teleport back if something went wrong, and short ranged teleportation was also possible, none of my spells would make me able to simply fly in, gaseous form would be blown away by the wind and disperse, ending the spell.

A shield around me would work for surviving some impact but shields don't work very well if you are falling quickly, concentrating on holding the shield while falling to your possible early death was more or less impossible.

Only remaining option was old school rappelling down the mountainside, something extremely dangerous with this worlds primitive equipment.

After that, we had a small dinner and got ready for bed, finally having running water was wonderful, it was cold water from rain collection and we had a limited amount but we could take a quick shower and use the bathroom without worry, we could even heat up the water with magic since the shower had its own water tank.

Now finally in bed, sharing a room with Treble because the house wasn't big enough for an extra room for me, which is fine, I had my own bed at least, it was a bit too overused and sinks near the middle, but I just sleep on my belly or side and it's fine.

Sleeping on my back as a dragon was very uncomfortable, tail got in the way, I could not even remember what that was like to sleep like that, it's been SO long!

I drifted of to sleep with a smile, traveling all the way here was a journey in itself, but we had a clear goal now, and dad said he also wanted to go and find the hospital, and do his thing here as well, or go house to house healing the sick and injured if he had to.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading! Remember that Onyx does not know much about the show, only remembers key aspects that he watched and only the first few seasons, like he remembers the Gilda episode but he doesn't know what happened to the griffons or what Griffonstone is like at all.

Chapter 52 Idol of Boreas

I woke up to the feeling of something small licking my cheek and purring, it was an odd sensation I haven't felt in a long time.

I blinked awake, and looked at the small little gray cat, smiling at such an adorable sight, it was very affectionate, and it didn't get scared when I started petting it.

I heard the clicking of talons and claws approaching, and then Sable entered the room that was open, she smiled when she saw me with the kitten, petting it gently.

"You like cats too? She's my kitty Ashy, we found her on the streets and grandpa helped me get her healthy and clean so she could stay with us, she seems to like you too." She gave me a friendly smile, and she approached my bed, reluctantly but I nodded at the implied question.

She relaxed her posture and approached, petting the small kitty who nuzzled her talon lovingly, clearly recognizing her owner.

"I love cats, they're my favorite animal, I don't own a cat because our family is large enough as it is, but I find them to be interesting, adorable and fun little creatures, they're incredibly loving too." The little gray kitty exemplified this clearly by giving her licks on her talon hand, making her giggle.

A soft sleepy moan was heard as Treble stretched his legs in his bed, blinking awake and looking at us. "Huh? Oh hey Sable, morning to you two, seems Ashy took a liking to you huh? She does that sometimes with any of us, seems she chose you today." He yawns wide, making us yawn as well a few seconds later.

"Ashy is the sweetest cat, she even tried to make new friends, and she found a friendly dragon this time, isn't that right my precious Ashy?" A small adorable meow was her answer, translating roughly to mean 'Yes mom.'

"I'm flattered you consider me friendly, it's what I try to be, but I think I know why she approached me... Okay this may seem like a weird request, but touch me on the head or neck, trust me." I encourage with a smile, trying to make the request sound reasonable.

She seems hesitant while Treble just looked on it amusement, but she accepted and put her talon to my neck, gently grabbing onto one side, feeling the coldness, it was not freezing cold, but more like a cool ceramic floor tile, that felt like a big relief during this heat of summer.

"Wow! You're cold, how do you do that?" I shrug at her question.

"That's just how my body is normally, any hotter and I feel discomfort." She smiled, relaxing and caressing my neck and head for a few seconds, then moved her talon away when she realized what she was doing, I giggled at her reaction and slowly went to a sitting position, the cat jumped off and moved to the bed.

I of course still feel the heat, and it affects me more than them, but thanks to my magic I can cool the air around me to a comfortable temperature.

"My refreshing body temperature must be what attracted the cat who was probably laying in the morning sun and got too warm, it got to me to regulate her temperature and cool down." I smiled and patted her a few more times. Such an adorable little kitty...

The cat meowed at me and jumped onto Sable's head, moving to her back to lay down. She thanked me for the cool spot and said she wanted to cuddle with her mom now.

Being able to understand animals was fun, it made me smile knowing I helped her and she was thankful, I now could turn into a cat.

After that I decided may as well get up and share breakfast with the others.

We all washed up and then walked to the kitchen that also was the dinner table and living room, and the others were already there sharing some tea and food, mom and dad shared with Mr. Gruff and little Gilda their meals, explaining their inventory as just a magical ability that kept food prepared, the old griffon shrugged and took it as fact, it's not like griffons had magic.

That was our agreed upon explanation in case anyone got to see our inventory, it was just a magic spell to store things.

I suppose not too far from the truth, unless you were talking to an advanced magic user, they would all believe it.

"Morning you three, it's about time you woke up! come sit and grab some food, we will be sharing our food, have you gotten enough sleep son?" At her question I nodded and took a seat next to the two griffons near my age, once seated we were provided plates and dad handed us two containers of food.

"Morning everyone! thank you mom and yes I did.
Got woken up by the little kitten that Sable adopted, her name is Ashy, wish you could have seen that! She climbed on me and stood on my neck, licking my cheek until I woke up. Cats are just the most adorable pets, isn't that right Sable?" I asked while ruffling her head feathers gently, making the griffon giggle and do the same to me, but having no feathers just means scratched my head, realizing it had no effect she glared at me slightly and stuck her tongue out.

"So unfair... But yes cats are the best! Ashy is really friendly ever since we got her clean and fed, she is the most affectionate kitty." Ashy who has been laying on her back approached and started nuzzling her neck, purring loudly, the griffon returned the gesture with a happy smile. "I love you Ashy, you are my best friend!" The kitty really meant everything for her, and the meowing and purring was confirmation enough, that love was returned in kind, Ashy also loved Sable and considered her a mother.

I suddenly remembered a very distant memory, of looking after two little cats a long time ago. One was black and the other was tabby. I smiled sadly, remembering them, they have passed away so long ago that I thought I would have forgotten, but watching them interact reminded me again.

It was no time for getting emotional, my stomach rumbled with hunger, it was time to eat.

Breakfast proceeded nicely, I divided the meal for the three of us, after all it was all portioned to me who needs a lot more food than griffons or ponies my age, I also would be fine having a smaller portion sometimes, so I separated the two portions into three equal smaller portions, and gave each to the two griffons, they are both delighted to have the food, sniffing and staring at it with excitement, the smell of hot porchetta and potato salad with herbs and mushrooms making our collective mouths water.

After breakfast, and a heartfelt thanks from the griffons, we prepared to go our separate ways, I'll go by myself to check the hardware store, and dad and mom go to the hospital to check the condition of the griffons there, and heal them all, I could always use my telepathy in case I needed some help.

"See you in a few hours mom and dad! Hope your mission goes well, I may be back around noon or maybe a bit longer, depends how easy I'll have it."

"Good luck with that Onyx! You better be careful or I'm grounding you when we are done here!" Mom said and gave me a soft glare, basically telling me to behave. Dad instead simply just wished come good luck, both of them hugged me and I returned the hug with nuzzles.

With our missions clear we went our separate ways.

I walked around the city with my robes on, looking for the right business that had what I needed. It didn't take long after all there wasn't that many stores in the city, inside running the store there was a bored looking middle aged griffon girl, who was reading a magazine while sipping on some tea, she glanced up at me briefly when I entered, then went back to her magazine after looking me over for a few seconds.

"Hey little dragon, I've seen you around town yesterday, wanna buy something?" She asked in a bored tone and went back to reading.

"Hey there, I want to rent your best quality and longest ropes for rappelling, and a good quality harness that fits my size, maybe a helmet, but I doubt you got one that fits my head so nevermind that, I will be needing your help as well to tie the rope safely."

She stops reading and takes a sip of her tea, smiling slightly.

"You've got bits? All of that and my help is gonna cost you a pretty nice sum, I'd say around 100 bits, and if you happen to need an extra rope it's going to be a hundred more, what do you say? I'll even overlook the fact that you're mighty short to be an adult dragon, it's not like anyone cares here but there are still laws ya know?" I gulped, not wanting to get in trouble with the law, but nodded with a small smile, grabbing my bit pouch and feeling around for 3 large coins of 100 each.

I walk over and place them on the counter in front of her, she smiles at seeing the extra bits. "Mighty generous of you little dragon, who would have thought, a dragon who leaves tips? You know since you tipped so well, I'll put in extra effort and even help pull you up if you need my help, with this I can get some newer equipment soon..."

A deal was struck, me and this griffon with mostly average brown and gray colors walked out of her store with the gear in a large, she locked the door behind her and we walked out of the city, heading to the side of the mountain, in a forested area.

"By the way, my name's Onyx and yours?"

"Jan, do you have any family? And do they know you're here endangering your life, looking for a legend?"

"They know I have a mom and a dad, they have full confidence in my abilities, if anything happens and I fall down into the Abyss, I have a few ways to save myself."

"I hope you're right, I don't want to lose my most well paying costumer, you're also remind me of my daughter... Except she's only 5 and you are older clearly, but still you have a mother that will feel awful if you don't return safely to her, so let's be as careful as we can and make sure you get back safe, and hopefully you find what youre looking for"

"Agreed, let's do it, there is no changing my mind now."

We followed the trail made of dirt and approached the Abyssal Abyss as we talked, it was like a giant cleaver came down and separated the mountain in two truly breathtaking.

Thankfully the spot i was looking for was clear, having a large rock that would be ideal as a rappelling point to go down from, I could tell somehow that this was the spot, something down there was calling to me, something ancient and powerful.

"It's here, tie the rope to that large rock over there and secure the harness please." She nodded and got to work, and not much later I was fully prepared, the rope tightly tied around the stone, I tried pulling on it with around twice my weight and it didn't budge, not even a little, good enough for me.

The rope was secured to my harness, and I made sure the rope was clean too, removing any dust on it with a spell, vibrating it in my telekinetic field to loosen the dirty that clung to it.

It was a neat trick I discovered, it was pretty easy to do, sort of like quickly contracting and relaxing a muscle, you could vibrate objects in your telekinetic field pretty quickly without it being damaging to them, like for example this, or a rug, vibrate the dust right off and when used on someone it felt like one of those self pleasuring vibrating machines, need I say more?

I was, back in my old life, a huge nerd that loved to learn useless random facts and as such I knew that dirty climbing ropes were much easier to tear when they grinded against a sharp edge.

"Everything's ready Onyx, remember... Go down slowly and don't take off the harness under any circumstances, if you need slack in your rope just pull thrice quickly and ill drop some more rope, don't try to scream because the wind will blow away your voice and I won't be able to hear, got all that?"

"Yes Jan, so to get pulled up it was 2 quick pulls, right?" At her nod of confirmation I take a deep breath, approaching the edge of the seemingly bottomless gorge, the bottom was so far away I couldn't see it, it was too dark even for my dragon sight.

"If I somehow fall down into the Abyss, I can teleport back, and I can use magic to prevent a deadly fall, just wait for me and please don't worry, I may take longer if I find anything interesting down there, okay?" She looked at be in disbelief but reluctantly nodded.

"Hope you're telling the truth, because you would be the first who can use magic that has tried before, maybe it makes the difference... Good luck now!"

I could see many stones protruding from the rock faces, they looked fairly flimsy and brittle, I tried not to step on them for fear they would break off.

I continued my descent, slowly and carefully, checking to make sure that the rope didn't get caught in a sharp edge, but so far things went smoothly, however the rock face of the mountain was concave, meaning I was being lowered into the air, so to fix that I decided to do something a bit drastic, and swung my body forward against the rock, digging my claws firmly and using them to stab into the stone and slowly make my way down, making sure to keep tension on the rope, it was tricky and I sometimes lost grip, sliding down a few meters, but as I went down I started to feel that sensation from earlier, just stronger and more focused.

It was calling out to me, and I heard it, not much further now, I kept going down lower for another dozen meters, using my claws to make the descent slow and safe.

It was not a voice, it was more of a pulse of energy, or a vibration. Soon I reached a curious sight, I reached a larger rock in which a giant skull was resting, it was much larger than even mom, clearly it belonged to a gigantic creature, it had a single eye socket.

This must have been the Arimaspi, and... I want to keep it's skull, but first more important matters.

I turned around towards the opposite mountain, and covered in rock and debris, i saw the idol, I could reach it if I just jumped over, but I needed some slack, so I pulled three times and felt a few meters of rope being lowered next to me, perfect!

I quickly jumped across and stretched my paws to grab the golden artifact.

And right as my claws came into contact with it, the idol glowed a bright red for a second. I felt a presence, vast and powerful touch my mind gently from within the artifact and I heard a voice clear in my mind.

'A new talon touches my Idol, an ambitious being who risked his life to obtain it from this deadly place. Be careful dragon, the very ground you stand on will fall.' The voice is masculine, sounds like an old man while also sounding regal and proud, with an undertone if sadness, it's not hostile or condescending, showing some worry for me, but I was too focused to form an answer.

Right as the voice said that, I jumped back to the other side, the rock crumbled behind me in quick succession, but there was something else I wanted, I ran to the skull and stored it in my inventory, along with the Idol.

Arimaspi skull added to the inventory. 250kg
Idol of Boreas added to the inventory. 10kg

But as it turns out, the disappearance of such a massive weight seemed to destabilize the rock and that imbalance made the whole thing crack.

Full of terror, I fell down and the extra rope I had asked for still was loose, the fall slowed down for a second but Jan was not strong enough to hold it or had ran out of energy, and I fell like a rock into the depths of the Abyssal Abyss, falling dozens of meters before the rope reached its limit and snapped with my weight as I plummeted into the darkness at terminal velocity.

"NOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooo"

Was the last thing Jan heard as the rope slipped from her grasp and unfolded completely, she tried her best to catch it but it was going too fast now, then it ripped at the sharp edge it was caught on where I had just fallen from. The friction was too much for it.

I screamed as loudly as I could as I fell to my imminent death, then remembered I could use magic, and casted slow fall as it was the easiest spell I could think of while falling, it slowed my descent but I was quickly started to be pushed around by the wind. Slamming into the rocks extending from both sides of the mountain as I became lighter.

First one I slammed my side with a rock that protruded and it hurt very little, but then the wind pushed me into the opposite side, where I smacked hard, putting my paws in front to absorb the impact, the only positive is that I managed to stab my claws into the rock and stop myself briefly, before the entire section of rock broke and I fell down again, slower this time thanks to slow fall.

I feel like I have been falling for several seconds now, and still don't see the bottom, the wind becomes much less intense the lower I am, but I also start to get a terrible feeling as something touches my belly, stretch and snap under my weight.

I can see in black and white thanks to my darkvision, but I can barely see the threads I'm hitting on the way down, not more than a faint glimmer of the dust that got caught on them.

I keep falling and breaking more of the threads, but the deeper I go, the denser they get, and at this depth there is almost no wind anymore, only the sound of the wind rushing outside, like the howling of an enormous beast.

As I fall deeper into this gigantic cave, the previous sides of the mountain that were but a few meters apart start to open up into a wider and wider circular cavern, along the walls there are several small pieces of rock that fell down from the sides of the mountain, floating stuck in webbing along the walls of the cavern, and as I went lower I started to feel dread in the pit of my stomach. There are spiders here, nothing else would put webs everywhere like this.

Just in case I had to fight right away I equiped my robes, at least they would stop the cobwebs from touching my sensitive underside while I fell, I really disliked the sensation of threads of sticky spider silk touching me, its gross.

Deciding to be cautious, I used my mixed attack and light spell, my favorite light spell that was extremely overkill and difficult to cast for most, Crown of Stars, it lit up a wide area around me, glinting off the webs covering everything here, seems they were only visible in the light, most likely a strategy to hunt whatever creatures lived in this cave. I really really love this spell, having both bright light above me on all directions while also not blinding me, and being able to attack extremely quickly to anything I deemed a target, sort of like a magical mind aimed very deadly weapon.

Finally reaching the ground, wherein an enormous pile of rock of various sizes was stacked up, I could guess this was all the rock that fell with the constant erosion causes by the strong winds, my slow fall stopped as I touched mostly solid ground, the rocks were not webbed over from what I could see, probably because it was dangerous to be here where-

A large rock the size of half my body fell a few meters away from me with an deafening noise, I gasped and ran away from the opening and the pile of rocks, not wanting to have one fall over me and pancake me, I didn't even see where I was going in my panic.

I didn't have to run for long as the opening of the cave was not too large, but as soon I got outside the area, I stepped in sticky cobweb, much stickier than what I expected, I had to pull hard to get my paw free.

As soon as I did, I felt something shift around me, something I couldn't quite see, but I felt it. I was being watched from the darkness, my eyes narrowed and I looked around to try and find what was here.

From the darkness, I saw pale white legs of spiders approach from all around me, four of them, they were about as tall as me, their leg span was massive, but their bodies weren't that big, similar to a huntsman spider in proportions. They have 8 beady black eyes that tried to look at me, but they recoiled away, covering their eyes with one of their legs as if I was too bright, staying away from the area of light around me, as if scared of it.

I was scared right back, but I tried to keep my cool, I didn't feel as terrified as I did on the first dungeon, and I had better control of my emotions now, still I couldn't move for a while as fear threatened to overwhelm me momentarily, but I reigned it in with cold, calculating logic. I am stronger in every way, I have powerful weapons, magic and scales thick enough to deflect steel blades.

There is no reason to fear, in fact they should fear me.

I could hear them hiss and chitter to eachother, by focusing, I could understand them thanks to my recently obtained perk.

'Looking upon the prey hurts my eyes, its too bright! How can we get close and attack if it hurts to see? Will it not hurt to eat, too?' one of the spiders, the second smallest of them said in a feminine voice.

'You make good point sister, but what options do we have? Going deeper is too dangerous and mother will eat us if we try to eat her new eggsack, it only worked the first time because she was out hunting in the depths, but now... She is in the nest protecting her new clutch!' the larger one answered, sounding distressed by the lack of food, pain of hunger and desperation in its tone.

'The prey, is studying us back, something feels off about it, how can it produce such bright light?' The most observant of the arachnids commented, trying to look at me without going blind, but the others ignored him and kept discussing between themselves.

I decided to scan them, wouldn't hurt to learn more about this species.

Young Abyssal Pale Spider
LvL 20 magical beast 250/250
Gender: female

This large cave spiders rarely see light, they are adapted to live in the perpetual darkness of the caves, where they hunt any animals they can find, when they can't find prey they resort to eating their own young.

They hunt in packs and are extremely fast, they inject acid into their prey to dissolve them from the inside and then slurp the liquefied organs.

They are vulnerable to bright light and sunlight, they go blind temporarily if they stare into bright light and take time to recover.

This beasts are social animals and tend to think more than the average arachnid, using tactics more than just attacking mindlessly, they can adapt to changing situations, sometimes fleeing from dangerous opponents or calling for backup.

Vulnerabilities: Slashing (leg joints), bludgeoning, piercing (eyes), Fire.

Damage Immunities: Acid.

Damage resistances: Poison, cold, psychic.

Senses: enhanced hearing, perfect Darkvision, enhanced olfaction, enhanced vibration sensing.

Conditions: Starving.

Starving: this creatures will try to hunt prey that they normally wouldn't as they have no other option, they also are less likely to flee, and their attacks are less coordinated than they normally would be, as the lack of food affects their intelligence negatively. -2 INT

Perks

Perfect Darkvision: this creature's eyes can see in complete darkness as far as a regular creature can see on the surface, however if it were to look into bright light it would lose the ability to see far in darkness for a few hours.

Web Walking: can walk on cobwebs without getting stuck or slowed, and can climb on firm enough webs, allowing it to walk on walls or even ceilings if they are properly covered in its webs.

Inject Acid: when a creature is immobilized, it will use it's fangs to inject an extremely powerful digestive acid that dissolves living tissue, turning muscles, organs and blood into a soupy and thick fluid that the spider then drinks up, using it's specialized straw-like mouth, this attack can cause death if the target is not immune to acid.

Frightful presence: this being causes anyone who is weaker than it to become frightened and unable to move, unless they have enough wisdom to rationalize their fear, individuals who are of a higher level will be immune to this effect unless they already are afraid of spiders.

Swarm tactics: this spiders work as a team to restrain, immobilize and neutralize prey.

Spear legs: the legs of this spiders are reinforced and pointed enough to pierce most light armor, they can deal devastating piercing damage on unprotected targets.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
20 30 16 10(-2) 10 8

I managed to gather my courage, using the speak with animals spell, to try to negotiate a deal that this beings, they were just hungry and I think I had something to give them in return.

"Excuse me, you are all hungry right? I don't think you should eat me, I will fight back but I have food for you that is more delicious." I open my inventory and take out the frozen dead body of that damn unicorn that almost killed me that I've kept frozen in my inventory ever since, placing it on the ground I start to thaw it with magic, the spiders shocked I talked to them start discussing among themselves again.

'The prey is seeking to offer us food in exchange for its life, it also implies it's dangerous, I am inclined to agree on the last part, it may look small, but that energy, that bright glow is too strong, no weak creature can glow so bright!' the smaller spider, that sounds male in its voice exclaims.

'Brother, you were always a coward like all males, what is stopping us from killing the prey and eating it and it's offer of food? Or better yet, eating the food it offered, and then saving the prey for later! Once it's dead, it will glow no more, and we can wrap it for when we are again hungry, mother will not come looking for food this way, she hunts in the depths, where larger and deadlier prey live.' The largest spider exclaimed with disdain in its tone, its fangs dripping digestive acid.

'I have to agree with her, we need all the food we can get, and males are always cowardly, the only good thing they do is impregnate, then become food to make the egg. We will accept the offering of the prey, then we will eat it too, we need to snuff out it's light, it's too painful.' Another female added with a similar tone.

'Then I will not fight alongside you sisters, I don't appreciate the disrespect, not like this, not now.' He said tiredly, and with that the smaller spider turned and walked back into the darkness. Seems he has had enough of them, I won't be going after him then, may even leave him the food.

I prepare mentally for combat, using my telekinesis to grab and store the corpse I was gonna offer them, storing it back in my inventory, it was thankfully not fully thawed yet.

"Wise choice, now you get to live, the rest however..." I use Blur on myself to become harder to hit, my form shimmers like an illusion, making my silhouette harder to identify, then prepare to do a short ranged teleport spell as well as another much worse spell that requires me to touch the creature to cast. -10 mana 306/316

"Will die in agonizing pain." I blink right on top of the largest spider, it screeches in shock and tries to get me off, but I'm digging my claws firmly in place, finishing the casting of a nasty necromantic spell. -10 mana 296/316

Once the spell is ready, my claws dug into its chitin transmit the disease, one of them glowing greenish black as the spell activated.

Seizures start to rack the body of the spider, at first it was a slight tremble as it tried to dislodge me from its back, but then the shaking started, full body uncontrollable shaking that wouldn't stop, I teleport away, blasting it with an upcast fireball of fourth tier and because of its seizures it is unable to dodge the flaming projectile, it's heightened dexterity is useless thanks to the disease wrecking its nervous system. -45 mana 251/316

Pale Spider has taken 70 damage and is set on fire! 180/250

"KKHRRAAAAAAAAAAAA" it flailed around as it seized and burnt at the same time.

'SISTER! I will make this thing pay for hurting you, big sister, I will eat you alive prey, you will scream for hours!'

Taking advantage of my surprise attack, and the stunned enemy, I ignored the loud agonizing screeching of the large spider, and the fact I could understand them and focused on the others.

They should have not tried to betray me if they wanted to live, I offered them food, and they chose death.

I maintain my Crown of Stars unused to keep them blinded, giving me a huge advantage, the fact the cobwebs in the ground burned completely away with the fireball also was incredibly helpful, even if the ground was on fire and my paws burned painfully with every step I took, I ignored that small pain and focused on attacking, and without the webs on the ground, the spiders couldn't sense me, they were blind, they could still smell me, but smell is slower.

Onyx has taken 2 fire damage. 272/274

One target was weakened, but I had to weaken them all to ensure my victory. And that's what I focused on doing now, I ran towards the next spider, and it attacked in turn, not shocked anymore, lunging at me despite being blinded, but it was not fast enough, not while blinded, I prepared a trap for it, using the Contagion spell again, this time with a different gift.

The spell was ready, and my claw glowed a dangerous black and dark green, the spider tried to hit me again with it's front legs, this time I let it, one of its legs hit me square in the chest, it was strong, definitively would have a big bruise over there tomorrow.

Onyx has taken 10 damage! 262/274

I smirked, grabbing the spiders leg, the same one it had stabbed me with and touching it with my glowing claw, digging into its thick armor slightly, the disease will slowly started to spread from its leg now, I pulled out Sylf's longsword from the inventory, using it to parry the rest of the strikes, I didn't need to get hit again, the spider was already sick, I just had to wait for the disease to take effect as this one wasn't as fast as causing Seizures, it affected the bloodstream and it took a while to start.

The other spiders joined in, one of them significantly weaker and slower but the other one was at full strength. The only advantage I had against it was that it was blinded, all of them were.

I dodged, weaved and jumped around their attacks, getting the occasional stab that connected, causing some damage but not able to pierce my silver scales.

Onyx has taken 8 damage! 254/274
Onyx has taken 10 damage! 244/274
Onyx has taken 13 damage! 231/274

I groaned in pain, those impacts tore up skin and muscle under my scales, thankfully it was no further than superficial damage.

Pale Spider has taken 6 fire damage! 174/250

By now the first spider, still trembling and shaking with seizures, went back to attack, but the attacks were slow enough to dodge easily, I decided I needed to do something about it so without thinking it twice, I misty stepped on top of the charred largest spider, it was slightly blackened from the burns of the powerful fireball, the hairs were burnt completely off, it need to put it out of its misery and quick. -10 mana 241/316

I run in, dodging it's legs trying to stomp me, and jump on top of her head, she can't do anything to me here, and the other spiders can't risk attacking or they would just stab their ally, I snarl and stab the longsword into her eyes, again and again, piercing them one by one as fast and hard as my arms can move, bright yellow ichor splashes out with each stab, the pieces of eye like gelatin being chunked by the enchanted blade.

Critical hit! Pale Spider has taken 80 damage! 94/250

"Haahahah! do you really think... that I would just be easy prey? Oh you poor naïve, disgusting insect, you made a big fucking mistake!" I store the longsword after trying to wipe it clean on the body of the spider, while it still struggled to get me off, and pulled out my warhammer.

The only response I got was incoherent screeching that almost left me deaf, it knew it was going to die.

"The reason I attempted to be diplomatic was not a perceived self inferiority, I just wanted to be cordial and save myself from having to dirty my scales with your nasty ichor, ugh... it's acid!" I winced as I realized the ichor that splashed on my face was eating away at my scales, slowly but it still wasn't pleasant, thankfully it didn't do more than leave burn marks on my scales, the real acid of this beasts was in their acid glands above their fangs. Having touched one gave me extensive knowledge on its anatomy thanks to my Animal Form perk.

"But planning to betray me, and thinking I couldn't understand you? Should have listened to the little male." I say shaking my head, taking a towel from my inventory and cleaning myself. All the while the spider under me runs around and jumps, tries to climb but I keep my grip on it.

'KHRRAAAAAA! GET OFF ME! I'm going to fill you with acid until you melt and drink your insides to heal my eyes! Help me sisters please, get it off me! p-please kill it!' I could hear the fear and despair in its voice, yet it didn't surrender, it still wanted to kill me, there would be no mercy for them.

"Now you feel what your prey feels when you are hunting them. The three of you will die today." I exclaim so they can all hear me, lifting one of the legs of the spider forcefully with my telekinesis and pulling to its limit, it was clearly not expecting that because it didn't react in time, using my telekinesis I send the hammer down and break it at the middle joint, and more of its acidic blood comes gushing out of the fractured leg, now its nothing more than twisted and torn spider meat and pieces of exoskeleton.

My eyes glow with indigo energy, grabbing another leg and simply break it by pulling it the wrong way, sometimes switching to using the hammer instead.

Slowly smashing all the legs to pieces, the weak gurgling sounds and wet cracking of exoskeleton being the only sound in the room, until it stops making any sounds at all, all 8 spider legs ripped off, crushed into paste or twisted at varios angles strewn around.

Pale Spider has taken 94 damage and is slain!

Onyx has earned 3000 Exp 27804/49196

You have become proficient using a Warhammer or maul

I snort at the attempts of the other spiders to remove me, sturdy shields blocking every attack, by now the spider had died from the physical trauma anyways. I hit back against their attacks with my warhammer, damaging their legs in the process, breaking some of their joints, they were furious but with their biggest and strongest dead, they had no real chance of victory.

Pale Spider has taken 15 damage and crippled their leg! 235/250

Pale Spider has taken 17 damage and crippled their leg! 233/250

They stopped their leg stabbing attack after breaking one leg each, as I matched them with my hammer, the steel wins against chitin and bug flesh, they were vulnerable to bludgeoning because of their exoskeleton, it was brittle and when it broke, it damaged the flesh under it.

Now I felt significantly more comfortable using my hammer, even being able to throw it or swing it with my magic.

'Retreat! We can't win! We will die, brother was right!' The smallest of the remaining spiders chattered to the rest, stepping back and trying to skitter into the shadows.

I couldn't let them, not after they had my scent and not after they had tried to slay me, this has to end now, I had a feeling there was something here I want and when I want something, I will fight to get it.

"I'm sorry, but you already have sealed your fate, so please, get back here and die, or I'm going to you." By now the smaller spider was starting to bleed from all of its joints, eyes and mouth, and it knew, that is why it decided to call for a retreat.

I could not let them escape, a spell formed in my mind, a powerful spell that would give them pause, it didn't take too long, just seconds to cast, and before they could escape the light, I blasted them with a chained lightning, arching between the two of them. -30

Pale Spider took 65 damage! 170/250
Pale spider took 120 damage! 113/250

Turns out the yellow ichor leaking from the smaller one was very conductive because it fried it particularly hard, leaving it's white exterior blackened and charred, as well as stunning it for a while.

The other one recovered fast, so I used a misty step to reposition on top of it and, digging my claws onto its abdomen, I held onto it. It trashed around, trying to get me off.

'NO NO NO NOOOO-!' it screeched in alarm and it tried to shake me off, but it was useless, I held onto it with not only my claws but my magic, pushing myself like a magnet to metal, there is no escape.

I raised my warhammer high, and brought it down as hard as I could on the top of its head to silence it.

Critical hit! Pale Spider took 34 damage! 136/250

The first hit broke a good portion of chitin with a wet crunch, yellow nasty ichor splashed up so I had to close my eyes to shield them from getting burnt, switching to my blindsight.

Critical hit! Pale Spider took 32 damage! 104/250
Critical hit! Pale Spider took 44 damage! 60/250

The third hit completely destroyed the chitin, exposing the spider's sensitive eyes, brains and other organs on its head.

Critical hit! Pale Spider took 60 damage and is slain!
Onyx has earned 3000 Exp! 30804/49196

The fourth and final hit exploded its eyes and brain and tore off the fangs and mouth, turning them in nothing more than a thick, chunky substance dripping to the floor, the acid glands, the ground started to sizzle and vapors from the acid drifted into the air.

Acidic ichor splashed everywhere, a puddle of it forming under, the spider didn't have a head anymore when I was done. I felt disgusted at the sight but I had one more target on the list.

Its legs twitched before they started curling into a ball like spiders usually do when they die. Damn monstrosities, I hate spiders, specially giant ones that try to eat me.

I wiped my face clean of the acidic Ichor, then opened my eyes and looked for the last spider, couldn't see it anywhere, that was worrying.

I jumped off from the corpse of this spider and went to were I had stunned it earlier, I was glad I chose to cast Contagion on it, the ichor staining the floor from the disease that causes constant bleeding, it left a clear trail for me to follow.

I smiled and ran after it at full speed, it would not escape me, no way! I tracked it deeper into the cave, I had to burn more cobwebs along the way to proceed using firebolts, it seemed to have ran into an area thick with denser cobwebs, the blood was held in the webs themselves.

While I pursued my magic started to return moderately fast, the cave was narrower here, the walls were covered in a silvery black ore that shone in the light, I groaned in annoyance, cobwebs touching my body all over was disgusting.

This was probably an ambush, I decided it wasn't worth pursuing that one, it was going to die anyways from the disease. I instead decided to focus on the large amount of shining sparkling ore on the walls of the cavern next to me, what the heck was this?! Couldn't hurt to gather some.

I didn't have a pickaxe, but the Warhammer could definitively work as a regular hammer in a pinch, I started smashing the ore, breaking chunks off from the rock, they were protruding out so it was easy to gather.

I spent a few hours gathering it all, ending up with various sizes of chunks of ore, they were beautiful, I checked the inventory.

30 ??? ore chunk (small 1kg)
20 ??? ore chunk (medium 5kg)
8 ??? ore chunk (large 8kg)

Stamina at 50%

Panting with exhaustion I decided it was not a bad idea to learn, I used inspect on a large chunk I had gathered, holding it in my claw.

Mithral ore chunk (large)
Weight: 8kg
This ore can be processed into Mithril, a metal lighter than steel but with similar properties, providing also resistance to magic. The process to turn this ore usable is similar to Steel Smelting, only an advanced level blacksmith can produce good quality Mithril.

I went back to the larger cavern from earlier, gathering so much ore made me forget all about the damn spider who got away, maybe I could find more ore in the large area of the mine? It would be wonderful.

I walked back, making sure to burn as much of the cobwebs as I could, I wanted to burn it all off, but that would take too long, so I focused on the stuff on the ground. Making sure the fire burned out before walking in, had already burned my webbed paws enough, I would have blisters that will take a full day to go away...

All this nasty spider blood was disgusting too! Not to mention the smell. Only saving grace was my robes working as a rain coat, liquids slid right off.

I heard the sound of skittering, a new enemy? clearly a spider by the number of steps, it was reluctant in its steps, almost shy and approached the area carefully. Then I saw it in my area of light, it was covering its eyes, and stayed still, chittering to me in its spidery tongue.

'Greetings oh bright one. I have seen what you have done with my sisters, I heard your words, and I want to say that I fear you greatly, you are a male like me, yes?' The pale spider asked, its tone fearful but curious, its posture the least threatening it could produce, legs relaxed and body flat to the ground. It still looked pretty scary if I didn't rationalize it, but it was clearly more scared of me than me of it.

"I am a male, yes. The reason I killed them is because they were planning on killing me, and no offense, but I really really don't like your kind, however you I have a gift for you." I answered him, it? with honesty, then took the half frozen body of the dead pony taking up space in the inventory, but I kept its head, who knows? It could make a killer Nightmare Night decoration in the future... The body on the other hand was useless to me, better to give it a proper use as spider food.

'You are the strongest male I've seen, my kind's males are smaller, weaker and more cowardly than the females, we usually end up as food for them after we do our role. You are not like that, you are deadly and I respect that.
Ever since I first saw you from afar, I felt a sense of dread similar to when I gazed at mother for the first time, of a terror without equal, a deadly and efficient hunter, I apologize for ever calling you prey, my sisters, I just followed the pack, big sister was the leader, but now I'm alone, and I have more food than I had in many cycles. Thank you for the generous gift, hunter. I promise I will never try to attack you or any who is with you again if you come back.' It chittered softly, its voice shaky with fear.

"Mother, you say? one of your sisters escaped deeper into the tunnel that is covered in webs, I felt it was an ambush so I did not follow, is that the direction that I can find your mother? And tell me more about her, What makes her such a dangerous and terrifying being?" While I spoke, i defrosted his food, waiting for him to explain and not interrupting.

'Mother, the mother of the brood, she is the one who lays our eggs, and hunts for us when we are too small to hunt, she tries her best to hunt in the depths, but she sometimes comes back carrying nothing. If she comes back without food more than three times, that means she will start to eat us, she always leaves some of us alive, me and my sisters, and sometimes we also eat her eggs or the freshly hatched.' I nodded, it made sense for spiders to be cannibalistic, disgusting creatures.

'Mother does not like it when we do that, so she tries to eat us as soon as she sees us near her nest. Mother is that way yes, heading further and down into another tunnel, she can not come up here, as she is too big to enter, but me and her others from previous clutches are still small enough come up here.' So there are larger spiders other than the big momma huh? Good to know, I had a feeling this ones were just too weak.

'The depths are just further down from mother's nest, a cave large enough for her to walk comfortably or stretch her legs, it's full of colorful rock and even some faintly shining crystals along the walls.' That could be... Either gemstones or more minerals! This place looks extremely promising, so many more riches awaited if we could clear out the spiders... I gestured for him to continue.

'Even further down, the space opens up and there are colorful forests and many prey animals, big juicy but dangerous worms, and other deadlier and faster prey that mother hunts, I haven't really seen them myself but we heard stories passed down from older generations. There is much more than I don't know about, I apologize bright hunter.'

"It's fine, you have given me plenty of useful information, here take this and leave me now, I want to explore the rest of this cave for myself, but thank you for the helpful information, consider this your reward!" I throw the now completely thawed corpse in front of him with telekinesis. Then turn around and leave.

'Thank you and good fortune in your future hunts.' it chattered one last time before stabbing it's leg through and dragging the dead body away, didn't see it but I could hear it, I went over to the edge of the cave where I hadn't been yet.

I checked the walls, finding a bit extra ore, this time I think it was silver, because it had a different glow to it, and there was just a few chunks. I kept searching the same spot but didn't find more. It was really heavy, was silver this heavy?

4 ??? Ore chunk (small) added to the inventory

"Inspect"

Platinum ore chunk (small) 5kg
Rare metal found in small quantities, more valuable and heavier than gold. It doesn't rust or tarnish.

"Oh! Shiny~ I'm gonna grow my hoard with platinum coins, can't wait! I'm coming back here with proper mining gear later because I really wanna grab some more of this, oddly enough there are no gemstones, but there sure is a lot of metals... Wouldn't hurt to pay the orphanage a few thousand bits as a form of tax..." I couldn't help but talk out loud, now that I was alone and feeling pretty excited.

'You truly embody the spirit of ambition I so highly value, Onyx I congratulate you on your find, not even I was aware of the riches deep down here. I did sense, in my instincts that Griffonstone is a land of great fortune, but I didn't expect it to be in the form of precious and rare metals, and they belong to you, because you found them. You can do whatever you want with them, is what I believe.'

I jumped a bit in surprise when he started talking, having forgotten about the fact that this artifact connected my mind to a god.

'Oh! Y-you must be mister Boreas, god of freedom, wind and ambition right? S-sorry for not replying earlier when you spoke to me, but I was too focused and barely registered... I am glad I got to your Idol, but what should I do with it now? I mean I got all the way down here and I got sidetracked... When I could have simply teleported back, its just that my sense of curiosity got the best of me.'

'Indeed I am, worry not about what happened, I spoke to you on a bad time and I apologize, and you have recovered my artifact, you have earned yourself the right of asking for a favor of me.' My eyes widened, I was really granted a free wish from a god?! Fuck yes! But... as much as I want that, Its not what I'm here for.

'As much as I would love to ask for a wish for myself, I want more than anything to help Griffonstone, this nation, to prosper like it used to prosper, do you think you could give them another chance mister Boreas sir? I just want the world to be better.' I asked in a hopeful tone, while I headed towards the exit of the cave, or at least the nearest point to it where I wouldn't be crushed by falling rock. There I could hear the howling of the wind again and the occasional falling stone, I dismissed my radiant orbiting star crown with a thought, and they dissolved into golden sparks, there was enough light from outside here.

Boreas was silent for a few minutes, thinking to himself, then he answered 'I... I did have a fondness for them, and I still do. Even after their failure and the decadence they have fallen into, I still want them to succeed, but they are stagnant, they need change and soon.'

'So I will do this, I will guide them but I need a griffon who is young, ambitions and capable enough to lead them all, to be their king, but who? I will need you to do me a big favor, gather all the griffons from the city and call them to the door to the castle, from there you will stand at the highest point and raise the idol, with my powers I will examine them all to find the most promising ruler, I can feel you are a kind soul, and I know you worry about them all, and not just them, but everyone.'

I nod at that, smiling at his answer. 'I'll do what you ask lord Boreas, and yes I do care, that is why I have come here after overhearing some griffon refugees that had to leave the city because they couldn't earn enough to live, I want to make a difference...'

'That's very noble of you, then when I'm choosing, I will also look for someone who shares your values... are you not sent by Faust by any chance? You seem like you would be her chosen, still a dragon of course, I saw the glint in your eyes when you realized you found those metals.' I could feel him let out a hearty chuckle in my mind.

'About Faust... Its been a long time since I met that old mare, before we ascended you know we used to be close friends? If you happen to talk to her, tell her I hope she is doing well, and that she should visit sometime.' His tone shifted to reminiscing and slightly nostalgic.

'Oh that maybe could be arranged, i'm not her chosen, but my father actually became her chosen! so... Maybe its not so out of the question for the two of you to be able to communicate, we have an amulet blessed by her, and dad has a direct connection, so even if your consciousness is bound to this Idol, you can still connect.' I reassure him with a smile, and feel he is also smiling now.

'You are full of surprises young Onyx, you have given this old griffon a reason to smile again. Maybe when I grow stronger once again, I'll still grand you a wish if you so choose.' I nodded and offered a soft thank you, starting to prepare for a teleport, I would go to the rock I used to descend here so I started to remember as much detail as I could of it, while also channeling the runic formulae, and 10 seconds later, I was ready, wisps of indigo energy like embers from a fire, rose around me and with a crack of energy I appeared on the surface, right where I envisioned.

Next thing I know, I'm wrapped in the fluffy arms and chest of a lady griffon considerably larger than me, her warm fluffy chest puffed up with a mixture of relief and anger.

"Oh its so good to see you back alive! But... you've made me sit here, alone for over three hours! you irresponsible, stupid, careless... It's been painful you know? I'm angry but I'm mostly hurt." My ears lowered as she explained how she felt.

"When the rope snapped I expected you to teleport up here right away, b-but you didn't! you... you made me think you were dead! I've been here crying thinking I had heard you fall to your death, do you have any idea how that feels?!" She slapped me across the snout gently, making me wince, but not at the slap, but at realizing I had forgotten about her, thinking she was just going to go home, turns out she did care.

I've been a prick to her, I've caused her to suffer emotional distress. I needed to make up for it.

"I'm sorry... I just fell to the bottom of the chasm, and from there things got hectic, look, is there any way I could compensate you? This is your business, right? Maybe I could have some higher quality equipment and things shipped over from Equestria so you can rent or sell? Anything you want really, I'll get it for you."

Her eyes lit up at this, but she glared at me.

"Tell me at least you got what you were looking for... And then it's a deal." I nodded and pulled out the Idol of Boreas from my inventory, it was a bit dirty but intact, as a magical artifact it couldn't be damaged or destroyed by normal means.

Her eyes sparkled with awe and I stored it back.

"Of course, what kind of dragon you take me for? I always keep my word... I did tell you I could take some extra time and I did. Still sorry I'll compensate you with better gear, I'll have it shipped for you directly to your store in a few months."

"You... You actually found it! The Idol of Boreas! What do you plan to do with it?" I smiled and patted her head, she looked in disbelief at me for doing that and relaxed, starting to enjoy it.

"I'm going to do what Boreas told me to do, restore this nation to it's previous glory, no, it will be much better than it used to be, much happier." She gives me a hug again and I feel she isn't angry anymore, she unties the rope and I take off the harness and give it to her, I had kept it on after the rope snapped, only discarding the piece of rope still attached to me, but a harness didn't get in my way at all and it was tightly adjusted to my body anyways, I even forgot I had it on.

"Thank you... Alright I forgive you! Just because you aren't keeping the Idol to yourself, but you're saying Boreas spoke to you though it? I thought only... Only the king could speak to him, you just be really special!" I shook my head.

"Nah, I'm not special, it's just that he was grateful that I got back his artifact, he also worried and felt bad about not being able to help your kind for so long, so I will help him help you, gather your family and your friends, tell everyone you know to go tomorrow at noon, to gather near the door to the castle in the upper branch heading to it."

"What for? Why do we all need to be there?"

"Once there, your god Boreas will choose a new King or Queen to guide your people, someone that has the mettle to become the future ruler and that will bring prosperity to the nation, spread the word, I will do the same." She nodded with a smile, despite having been crying before she was feeling truly motivated now, she then flew off into the city ahead of me.

"By the way you stink! Go take a shower!" She yelled at me as she flew out of earshot.

I smirked and just walked back at a quick trot. Yeah I really need a shower, and some rest.

Pale Spider bled to death! 3000 Exp earned.
Onyx 33804/49196

Finally, seems the disease took it's course to the end. Now I wouldn't have to worry about coming back to spider attacks, I really need to design a new fire spell, something that can work as a flamethrower for cases like this, fireball is too gentle, to brief and doesn't burn for long enough.

I shake my head, thinking about crimes against spiders can wait for later.

I climb up the path towards the city again, it's a wonderful day outside, green grass and wildflowers, the sky slightly cloudy and pleasant just like I enjoy it.

I walk up to the guards at the door, who greet me with a wave, this are the two guys I've given the bits to, and they're both happy to see me.

"Good evening lads! I need you to do me a favor, tell your friends and family tomorrow at noon the must stand in front of the castle, outside of it, can you trust me to do this? You'll see why it's important, because trust me, it is!" They look at me and then each other, then nod slowly, confused but willing to trust me.

I head inside and then, thinking about what I have to do next, oh he's check on my parents, need to know if they were able to help the griffons at the hospital, and there is an easy way to do this.

'Hello you two, remember me? I hope I ain't interrupting anything, my objective is complete, what's your situation? Over.'

'Onyyyx! You've been gone for a long time and I couldn't reach you earlier, are you okay? What a relief to hear your voice again!' Mom's voice sounds happy, I could imagine her tail wagging.

'Heey son! Your mother's right, what took you so long? We were really worried! But there's good news, we found the hospital and managed to heal everyone who was sick or seriously hurt, it took almost all of my magic and stamina, I'm... Really exhausted but still conscious, I learned to pace myself this time, you're right about trying to keep your mana high.' His voice indeed sounds really tired, like he's about to fall asleep, but he sounds happy, satisfied and relaxed.

'Oh you wouldn't believe what happened to me! I found it, I got the Idol of Boreas, and went on a little adventure of my own after falling all the way down to the bottom of the Abyss, I got a few amazing things from there, turns out there are huge cave systems down there. It's insane... Incredible!'

'Something tells me you had to fight your way out of that place, we will have words once you're here young drake, and you'll tell me exactly what happened. Come to the orphanage, we just got here and I'm giving your father a massage* it's the least I can do after all his work and effort.' She doesn't exactly sound angry but she is definitively not asking me that, she's ordering me and I know when to obey my mother.

'Ill be there in a few minutes, then I'll tell you everything.' And with that I cut the communication and headed to where she told me with a purpose, yeah, it's all coming together.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading! This chapter deviates slightly from the shows version and takes place over a decade earlier than it would in the show.

Chapter 53 Mind Sanctuary

Back at the orphanage.

First thing I did after getting back was running to the bathroom, then taking a shower to get the nasty spider ichor of myself, I hated spiders but I hated having to fight them and kill them even more. Why wouldn't they just have stayed away? I am not food dammit!

To be fair most creatures are not sensitive enough to magic to tell how strong something is, but there are other clues, well it's too late now, I don't regret what I had to do.

Their blood smells disgusting, acrid, and like rancid oil and wet dirty clothes left in a bag for too long.

I scrubbed myself completely clean and polished my scales back to a decent shape, they weren't as shiny where I had gotten splashed by the acidic blood, but it was something.

I applied some scented oils to my scales, hoping to return the glow and help healing them faster, I had bought them in Canterlot, they have lots of delicious smelling scents, including essential oils that have various smells, I chose the sweet orange peel ones today, as I loved the smell of citrus even if it make me sneeze a bit, damn overly sensitive noise.

Another 'perk' of my sense of smell, I would sneeze to get strong scents out sometimes and while I could suppress it, that just felt wrong to hold back a sneeze, I always covered my nose and maw to prevent the frost sneeze to get into anything or anyone.

Standing over the fire earlier was not a very good idea.

My paws were burned slightly, I had forgotten about that, but as the cold water touched the small blisters I got on the sensitive skin between the toes I whimpered as the pain came back, the disadvantage of having webbed toes, good for swimming, yes but more susceptible to getting hurt, the rest of my paw was fine.

After a bit of time, the water cleaning fully the area the pain lessened, the burns would heal on their own by tomorrow.

After the shower I dried myself with a clean towel, throwing the dirty towel I used to clean the ichor off in the trash. I felt much better, more refreshed and relaxed.

I headed to my parent's room, not bothering to knock, and she was indeed doing like she told me, massaging and overall just giving affection to the unicorn who almost worked himself unconscious.

"You have some explaining to do but first come here and let me hold you, my good little pup." Mother ordered and I obeyed quickly, approaching and climbing onto the bed, laying between them in the middle, feeling their warmth and in turn cooling them down, both clearly glad to have some relief from the summer heat.

"Goodness Onyx, you had us concerned... But I'm glad you're back and you are so refreshing to cuddle with, I think you will need to keep doing this every year during the summer, even when you're older, right my sweetiepie?"

I was sandwiched between the two of them, hugging Coconut from behind and having Sylf hug me from behind, only way it's really acceptable to cuddle with them, I love being in the middle anyways.

"I-i think I have to agree with your mom, you're very refreshing... I love that!" I had a slight smile, which only grew in response to the kind compliments, I started to massage his back, shoulders and neck, he sighed contently.

It felt really good to make them happy, to make them both feel good and comfortable.

"By magic... You would make anyone happy with your paws if you became a masseuse my colt, this feels just perfect, keep going while you explain please?" He spoke softly, making noises of enjoyment, I made sure to release all the tension in his muscles, a magic hand spell wouldn't be quite as precise or strong as a real set of hands like mine, even with one less finger, i could certainly help relieve stress.

"Always glad to help, you really deserve to feel good after what you did for those griffons and for helping me, but didn't mom just gave you a massage too?"

"Yes she did, in fact you did amazing and I am so thankful for your massage earlier my beloved wolf! I can't wait to return the favor sometime, hooves can feel good too you know?" He answered me then turned to his wife, my momma, she smiled and looked excited as well at the prospect of being massaged by him later too, or at least that's what I hope that look she gave him means.

"Now dear Onyx would you please tell us what happened? Everything, don't leave out any details please, I'm sure your mother will not be happy if you don't tell us everything." She nodded right away, confirming his words.

"So you know what my mission was, right?" They both nod and I pull the golden idol out of my inventory, holding it in my paw firmly for them to see.

"This artifact, the Idol of Boreas is a direct connection to the griffon deity, Boreas.
He has a connection to the griffons, he will help them prosper, I just need to help them gather together, anyways back to what happened, here's the long version. It gets a bit weird, so pay attention.

After that I explained everything that happened since I tried to get the Idol, including having obtained a gigantic skull and a lot of ore from what seems like valuable metal. I explained how I could get even more if I had a decent pickaxe but I only grabbed the ore that I could dislodge that was exposed on the rock, but there were clearly veins of the metal there.

Those veins of ore could be mined by a full team with proper tools, there was an amazing source of what seems like a very valuable metal, it was pretty light too, but I'm not sure how good it is, I would need an armor made of it to try, I certainly had enough ore for a few full sets and weapons.

I also explained all about the creatures I fought down there, and the confirmation of another, much more dangerous being that was probably deadlier than any other monster I had fought before.

There was a nest down there, and a passage to deeper areas that promised to have more riches and resources, likely way more than what I could carry in a single trip.

That got the attention of both of them, but it was way more interesting to me, despite the danger, I know there must be something worth finding down there, so deep below the surface, but we would need to fight something that could very well turn us into its meal.

Securing the cave was also important if we wanted to give Griffonstone the resources necessary to jumpstart their economy once again, a profitable mine with no gigantic spiders would be ideal as a start.

I need to get rid of the giant spider, the matriarch pale spider, I explained my thoughts to them too, everything.

Even my idea of going in and clearing the cave, I wasn't particularly excited about having to fight it, but having a clear and safe cave was important.

After the long and detailed explanation, some questions and having to clarify some things, they both were seemingly satisfied.

"There's only one thing you did wrong, that I would have done differently, you could have just teleported back up to the surface before even falling all the way down, but I understand being overwhelmed by your fear of heights while falling, what I don't understand is why you didn't immediately teleport back once you could, explain that." I scratched the back of my head, avoiding eye contact.

"W-well... You see, I wanted to explore." I focused and explained in more detail, trying to sound less unsure.

"I mean I haven't ever been there and... Okay... I'll be honest, I let my sense of curiosity get the better of me, you can't tell me you wouldn't be curious about a cave at the depths of a large chasm, you and I know we have been through much worse together. Now I can deal with this alone, I could probably deal with the largest one myself, but I didn't try to, instead playing it safe and choosing to return and do the right thing, do you two trust me, right?" I sigh and shake my head trying to not sound rude.

"I think it's time that I start to have more confidence in my own abilities as a warrior, I learned how to use a weapon by myself you know? After fighting and slaying 2 huge beasts, and I know I could have dispatched them with just my magic, but I wanted to save mana in case something worse came along." They both were more at ease now, not looking concerned, even if dad looked a bit green still after hearing how I demolished the big spiders with hammer strikes and spells, he clearly didn't like the detailed explanation, despite the fact that such a thing would be pretty useful to know when fighting one, I knew all of their weaknesses, their exoskeleton was not too resilient, fire destroyed them well.

Mom was the one to speak first. "Onyx, we have complete confidence in you, you are trained by the best after all!" She said proudly, smiling at me.

"And even if you haven't yet tried the warhammer, I believe you would have an easy time learning it on the fly, it's not a good weapon when fighting a sword user but it definitively can do a lot of damage to an opponent who isn't wielding a weapon of their own, it's a bit of an unbalanced weapon and that is why i prefer my longsword, but i can understand why you prefer it." She smiles and pats my back with her paw.

"You did a good job on those spiders, I'm proud of you! Next time we will go together, all three of us and we will hunt the mother of all this spiders, do you think we should spare the one that didn't attack? Because it could turn on the griffons that will go mining there in the future, it could succumb to it's baser instincts when it's hungry enough, unless they feed it ocasionally." I have to think about that last part, at least she seems to approve of my reasoning, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to kill that spider, would it be safe to leave it there? What would we even do with it? Its will not be able to live in the surface, that's for sure.

It has light sensitivity, so being outside would probably kill it in the long run.

"I think we may need to kill it, we can't really do much else, we can kick it out of the cave and that's it, but getting in and out of the chasm is the main issue, it's simply not easy, the griffons can't use magic, as far as I know... There are other options like digging a hole down and making a tunnel going down but it would also be pretty dangerous, not to mention take a long time to excavate." I theorized while scratching my chin, I don't really want to kill that one spider but it's not like we can keep it as a pet, it can't be out in the sun and probably would need to eat live prey, it would be terrifying to anyone we came across and maybe make them attack us on sight.

Relocating it to some other place could work, but where? There is no other biome that would suit such a creature nearby, it has to go. But it i find another place for it, I may transport it there with magic.

But most likely we would have to slay it, as I don't have a way yet to change a creature into another permanently, True Polymorph would work, but that was a much more advanced spell than what I could cast, maybe in the future I can find a way to deal with it non lethally.

That's the reality of it, if we want to exploit the resources we need to clear out the mine fully and make it safe, we need to kill everything that could be a threat in those caverns, or at least find a way to contain it, but those were plants for the future.

But that was enough, I yawned, feeling sleepy after a long day of exploring and mining. "I'm going to sleep... Please wake me up early if I don't, I need to... Get things done." I yawned again wider, my eyes becoming harder and harder to keep open.

With that I drifted off into dreamland, thinking of something I tried to enter the dream area where the second dungeon had been before, now being a purified area of the dream realm.

I just really missed seeing those rainbow skies and the now tastefully decorated castle, I wanted to see this place again tonight, dreaming of being in it.

Surprisingly it worked. It worked right away, I didn't even have to imagine anything, just by wanting to be there, it felt as if I just teleported in, right at the throne room I was familiar with, but changed, now having multicolor banners with our party's flag, a symbol for each of us, they were stylized in a simplified way, but still showing details like precise colors and proportions. The background of the banner was indigo like my magical energy.

I realized I was not like I normally was in the waking world, I was translucent, as if I was just a ghost or a spirit, something that maybe symbolized that I was dreaming, this was a dream, yet knowing that didn't wake me up somehow...

Leaving that aside I decide to explore my surroundings, there was much to see in this place and I hadn't had a real chance to explore, now that there weren't any murderous specters trying to get me I had that perfect chance.

I looked around the throne room, the damage caused by the battle completely removed and the only thing that remained was a broken horn piece, something I decided to keep in case it could be useful for something later, it weighted almost nothing anyways.

Unicorn's Horn added to your inventory

I decided I may as well explore the other rooms while here, because every other time we were in this castle it was for an urgent mission, or coming back from one, not able to relax and not having any free time to check things out, this time I wasn't in a rush, and I had nothing else to do so...

The throne room had adjacent doors that were locked, but looking around the throne, I found a compartment at the bottom that you can open, inside there is a key ring.

I unlock the room and open it, inside there is a bedroom, fairly fancy but not overly so, a nice large four post bed with blue blankets and white sheets, made of dark polished wood and with decorations of stylized unicorn heads on each corner, next to the bed there was a table of the same wood, with a small magic lamp that now was turned off, on the bedside table there was a small diary.

I approached and red the title, when I did, I didn't dare open it yet, this diary was Post Mortem's... I decide to move on for now, making sure to remember to read it later after making sure the room was clear of threats.

The room also has a small bookcase, about a dozen books on it, a tea set, a full sized silver mirror that looks very fancy and well crafted, and a closet. Right across from the entry door to the room there is an entrance to the balcony, and when I look at it, I can already tell there must be something there, no one would be dumb enough to leave a balcony unguarded considering the amount of defensive glyphs used all across the castle, the paths to access this room were all minefields of glyphs, so clearly a balcony would have at least one or two nasty glyphs on it.

I use a spell to detect any magical signatures nearby, and there were two of them. The balcony, as I suspected is full of glyphs, with who knows what deadly effects... But also the diary, it has at least a few spells but I can't properly tell until I open it, something I decided to do just now, throwing caution to the wind.

I figured the spells in the diary weren't dangerous, maybe they were meant to keep it preserved or safe from accidents, but just in case I opened it outside in the hallway, where there isn't anything that can break or burn, or get wet.

Staying a few meters away, enough for most spells to fizzle out before reaching me, I opened the diary using telekinesis and tried to read it, thankfully nothing happened, maybe he wanted others to find this and read it...

I started reading out loud to no one in particular, since I was alone here.

"Week 1

I can't be sure how long it has been since I arrived here, but I can guess around a week and I've decided to keep a diary to document what I think may be my final days in this place... I have no way of getting out, no coordinates, nothing. Worst of all my supplies are running out, there is nothing here to eat or drink, I have a month at most." I took a little pause to absorb the information, so he seemed mostly sane when he got here, this diary despite the years seems perfectly preserved, maybe he used this spells soon after starting his diary.

"Week 2

I have learned a lot about this place, in time since I've arrived here. For instance, it seems I have no need of drink or food anymore, even so I can still partake in the pleasure of eating and drinking, but I rarely do so because of my limited supplies, yet I know I will eventually run out of food, I will not starve or die of thirsty, that gives me hope for eventually finding a way out of my predicament, I must start researching in earnest about the dream realm and it's properties." He was changed by the dungeon itself? Interesting, that would explain why he didn't die of thirst or hunger.

Week 4

I've explored the lands around here completely, and found this place is the same damn village I condemned to death to star the war, while the plan sort of worked it wasn't as effective as I had hoped and it got Celestia on my trail, this same place was the reason I had to escape here and I was trapped, it's ironic in a way... The ponies that I had tortured and executed, they are still there rotting hanging from poles, just like they were back in reality, their decaying corpses stink badly, their heads were all thankfully removed and buried somewhere, I cant exactly remember where.

I tried getting out of this place the old fashioned way too, walking towards the distant forests and mountains shrouded by darkness, but when I got a few hundred meters from the village, I encountered something unexpected, an invisible barrier or wall, I tried digging under it with magic, I tried throwing objects over it, but nothing works, I even walked all around it, and it was clear that the barrier is meant to enclose the village, like if it was its own pocket dimension of sorts. No spell, no matter how potent does anything, they all dissipate upon impact with the barrier.

There is no way out.

There is something else I haven't mentioned, somehow all the ones who I have made my thralls in the past, they are here too, they respond to me as if still under my control, that is the Griffon army and the former Duchess who was the ruler of this village, she is totally under my control.

There is a big difference however, a big one however, she and the others are undead, they are as close to living as they can be, at first I thought they were alive, they still look and feel alive, except the fact they are cold and they have no emotions, they are like dolls.

If anything, she can provide some company and entertainment that I haven't had since coming to this cursed place." After this, seems he had not written much for a long time, there was a slight difference to his writing style too.

"Year 1

I have found nothing, after all this time... There is just not enough information and I can't find anything of note, all the books on this library have unrelated topics and are completely useless, mundane facts about farming, caring for animals, managing workers and some everyday spells that don't help me at all.

All useless garbage, this place... this is my punishment, isn't it? I should have let Celestia get to me, she would at least have given me a swift end.

I am trapped here, and I feel my hold on sanity slipping with every passing day, the only thing that keeps me sane is my pet mare, but even then it's extremely dull... She has no emotion, she obeys without question, she's a shell and doesn't even moan unless I order her to, she is nothing more than a toy, slightly better than using my hooves, I even have to warm her up with magic before using her. I don't know how long I can keep my sanity and it's getting worse every day.

Year 2

I have a new purpose now, a being came to me in a dream and I felt it connect with me, it whispers to me every day, every second, I have shunned the whispers at first, I kept my mind closed, but the more I heard the more I felt my resolve crumble.

I have accepted, it told me I needed to be here and eventually I would be free, I just had to wait, it promised me I wouldn't feel so alone anymore, it will stay with me here, forever...

I write this, my last entry in this diary while I retain a little bit of my willpower, whatever you do DO NOT LISTEN TO ITS WHISPERS." Those were the last words, scribbled in urgency with a shaky barely readable font, it was like he was fighting to control his telekinesis, some blotches of ink were left on the page, staining other pages as well.

The rest of the diary was blank.

I shivered, imagining what having a centipede in my brain trying to take over my mind and body would feel like, if this is what the nightmares could do I had good to fear them.

I focused back on the task at hand instead, it was at least a good way to distract myself from the dread that I'm feeling, working to disarm traps was better than dwelling on this.

Time to dispel the spells, it will take most of my mana to do but its better to rid this castle of this dangerous spells before someone accidentally flies in and gets turned into a pile of ash and blown by the wind.

None of my companions can fly but that may change in the future and while I hope the next one to fly is me, at this point I don't know when that will happen.

10 minutes later I was sitting on the ground, recovering my magic slowly over time, having spent over half of it dispelling glyphs, having failed a few times with lower level spells i decided to use the higher powered one, clearly this glyphs were extremely deadly and if left intact they would cause death to anyone who was reckless or didn't know, I would need to do this with all of the balconies in the castle, since it made total sense that they were all heavily protected.

I spent the next several hours going around and checking all the balconies in the castle and securing them, none thankfully were as heavily protected as the sleeping quarters next to the castle's throne room, where the previous ruler of this castle slept, and knowing who he was it made perfect sense.

That psycho would rather kill first and ask questions later, I was surprised I could even use spells and things I would normally do in the waking world while here, don't I need my body to cast spells? Maybe I am using my body but just channeling the spells in the dream... I am unsure how this works, but there is another thing to try.

With a thought, I attempt to open the familiar semi transparent menu, and surprisingly it works, I check around for anything out of the ordinary, since its been at least a week since I opened this, at the very least since I checked the notifications.

Let's see what I didn't read...

Enemies slain, warhammer proficiency gained, items obtained, more of the same... Wait a minute, what the-

I had to sit down as I read the text in bright red bold letters.

NIGHTMARE POSSESSION PREVENTED, COUNTERMEASURE UTILIZED, WARNING: COUNTERMEASURE HAS A HIGH RISK OF DAMAGING THE BRAIN DIRECTLY, EVEN CAUSING BRAIN TRAUMA, SEE NIGHTMARE BESTIARY ENTRY FOR MORE INFORMATION.

I was shaking with fear and worry, I faintly remember waking up in the middle of the night, only to fall back asleep, but oddly enough I can't tell when it happened, just that it did at some point, by the order of this, I would say a few nights ago.

I have somehow prevented a fate worse than death, most likely, feeling my throat dry and my dual heartbeat thundering in my chest quickly, I opened the bestiary section with growing concern, hoping for some good news, subconsciously trying to think if I had lost any of my memories or knowledge because of the countermeasure, I was terrified of having lost memories, important memories...

I could think about that later, now I focused back on the task at hand, pulling the bestiary tab on the menu, the different monsters, creatures, even ponies that I've scanned or read information about were cataloged there, including the nightmare.

I quickly found the correct section, ignoring the stats and other useless info right now, and went to the new clearly deferent section at the end, it was an addendum. I decided to read it out loud to myself, if anything to calm myself by focusing on doing something.

"Nightmare parasites are parasites that need a living and sapient host with heightened negative emotions to feed on, they are beings of pure negative energy and therefore a way of safeguarding your mind from them while you sleep is keeping your unconscious mind anchored to a safe zone the dream realm, for example a hallowed area that is specially made to prevent this kind of beings from entering, or a zone within the world of dreams that shares the same properties."

I paused, thinking and digesting the new information, this meant that I would be safe here on this keep, from what I understand this place has a safeguard against this exact type of beings, pure negative energy that makes up nightmares should not be able to enter, I kept reading just in case.

"In such a place, no nightmare parasite can enter, however, a fully developed Nightmare being (a creature that willingly gave in to the parasite, who normally can't take full control of the host) is no longer made of negative energy, taking on the properties of the host, and their abilities to enter places where nightmare parasites would burn by trying to enter." So that means... For the Nightmare to take over fully it needs to have the consent of its host... But it manipulates the host to make taking the deal seem like the only option. This explains a few things.

"This means that the newly matured Nightmare can, without any issue, enter an area meant to keep negative energy beings out, and in this form, it can be extremely dangerous, depending on how powerful the host is, usually a Nightmare parasite will only target those who are powerful enough to make a good host, and magically able enough that they can use their spells without suspicion, for example, an earth pony would not be targeted by a nightmare parasite, nor would a pegasus or griffon." Now this was really worrying, was there more brings besides Luna that have taken a Nightmare in, willingly and in her case, purely to get more power?

The last paragraph read the most interesting tidbit of information.

"Nightmare parasites need strong negative emotions to feed, they thrive in the worst emotions, hate, jealousy, betrayal and many other emotions, they not only feed on their host's negative emotions, but those that their host causes on other beings, pushing them towards evil with constant suggestions and manipulations, while the parasite can take over a weaker host mind by itself, for stronger beings it needs to be let in, usually with promises of power, something it can fulfill as it fuses with its hosts mind and soul, and that's the reason it's impossible to remove by most mundane or magical means once this process has finished."

Is this what happened to Luna? Is Nightmare Moon a fully fused parasite that became a new being? I could see how that made sense, but hopefully the exception to the rule were the Elements, they should in theory be able to save her, to restore her soul as it was before, if they didn't... We would all be screwed and all the things I'm working towards would be for nothing.

Trying to clear my mind of depressing ideas I focus instead on the information I just finished reading, this was... A huge relief when considering the facts, for one, its possible to remove nightmares before they take over a host's mind, and also possible to resist their influence, but they will constantly be whispering in your mind, something that I don't want if I can help it, I had already enough of that with my overthinking brain and having a passenger along for the ride that is directly in my brain is not something I want under any circumstances.

I need to warn them, mom and dad! Both of them have magical potential, dad can use divine spells, maybe he has some sort of divine protection from this parasites? I still would prefer if they were both protected here, was this considered a form of dream walking? If I was able to be here... But I couldn't exactly interact with anyone else's dreams or even go outside this place, I would say it's more like lucid dreaming, knowing I'm dreaming and being able to sort of control the dream... But not really as I couldn't manifest objects into reality out of nowhere.

I could interact with objects as if I was physically here, this was just... Dreaming while aware but without the crazy benefits, maybe it's just that this place is less malleable.

I open the menu once again, looking party's list, it shows me the levels and names of everyone, along with their respective distance, for my parents is 0m and for Kari is 3 thousand kilometers, after all we haven't really traveled that far, if the whole trip was a few days by sail ship and train, thinking about it, that meant that the known world was only a small part of the planet, if this planet was as big as earth that is, I can't remember for sure but something like 10 thousand kilometers in diameter.

I wonder if it's a sort of Pangaea with one large continent or there are many others, and what would it be like to explore the far distant lands that are yet to be mapped out.

Stopping my mental tangent I focus back on the menu indicator, mentally selecting Sylf, and I had many options upon doing so.

Inspect
Invite to dream
Telepathy options
Remove from active party
Remove access to Power

I that last option I would never pick, she deserves this power more than I do, she is the whole reason I'm alive and healthy, and I got an education, I made friends... Everything I have is thanks to her.

I invited both of them, even tried to invite Kari but I got a notification saying she was awake so she couldn't, good to know distance doesn't limit this feature.

It would be perfect as a sort of long distance communication method now that I think about it.

A few seconds later they pop in, one after another not far from me, they look around in obvious confusion before recognition sets in, then they look at each other and at me.

"Wuh? Huh?! How am I back here? Is this some new dream? Aww come on! I was just dreaming about a castle of ice cream floating in the sky, well... At least you're both here in dream version, I guess we could have a picnic together?" Coconut was the first to break the silence, looking at us with a warm smile, and giving bedroom eyes at mom, who just looked confused and slightly embarrassed, before seemingly regaining her wits.

"Dreaming? What do you mean? A-and what are you doing here?" She looks at me, confused and blushing a bit, before turning back towards dad.

"I... Wait is this a dream? But... I was just with you, w-we..." She trailed off, blushing more, even noticeably through her fur, covering her eyes with her paw shyly.

"I'm sorry for pulling you both here, this isn't a dream, well it is a dream but it's not your imaginations, the three of us are real, we are here in the dream realm and we are in this place that is technically unreality but... It's more stable than the regular average dream sphere, does that makes any sense?" From the look they were giving me, it seems it wasn't as clear as I would have liked, but they thought about it for a while.

"S-so... This is the real you, and the real you? Oh goodness I'm glad I didn't... Just forget it, why did you bring us both here my sweet little dragon? I suppose it's quite nice to spend time together in our dreams but... Do we get a normal night's rest if we do this?" I honestly didn't know the answer to this question, and it was something I didn't think about until now, did I want to reveal the reason I brought them all here?

I have to, they have a right to know of the danger, hope they don't take it too badly... I sighed and walked closer to them, pulling them both in a hug close together and to me.

"I think so ma, but I'm not sure, I think we would rest just fine here, and the reason I brought you both here is because I discovered something really worrying when reading my notifications, you know those that you get when you slay monsters or when you level up, and more things?"

Both of them nodded and I continued, they looked a bit worried now, but as we were in a hug they returned it gladly.

"Remember the parasitic nightmare centipede that came the head of the unicorn who tried to kill us? Well one of them tried to get IN my head a few days ago when I had a nightmare, and I didn't realize until I checked today on the notifications, I was lucky that the whole deal I made gave me this powers, this system hidden safeguards against this... I'm not sure if the same applies to you both, and now I learned that being in this place safeguards us from those parasites."

"Wait wait I'm not sure I know what you mean, are you saying there's a parasitic centipede that gets IN YOUR HEAD?! But only when you have a nightmare? G-goddess... why?! Why would such a thing... Why would such a being exist at all!? That sounds evil! I don't think I'll be able to sleep again knowing that!" I shook my head at him and held him close in a tight hug to get his attention.

"Don't panic please, I don't think you are at risk dad, I'm pretty sure this creatures only have my scent and maybe Sylf's. But you mom, no offense but you're not in the same level as a magic caster as myself, I don't think you would make a good target, the reason I brought you in here is to just inform you about this, please don't panic and don't worry about yourselves, only I am at risk of being infected by the parasite, but inside here..." I took a second to think how to explain it.

"In here the dark centipedes can't appear, they can't enter this space, and we can all stay here, you two are basically able to do anything you could in reality..."

"I'm more worried about you, I don't think I can have any sort of fun here or calm down until I'm sure you won't get taken over by some terrible parasite." Mom was really upset, I wanted to make a joke but this wasn't the time.

"Sorry, you're right, I am completely safe here, I promise! Ask dad if you don't believe it, tell him to ask Faust."

"Are you sure you'll be safe here? How do you know?" Mom always concerned for my safety asked worriedly, while dad grabbed his blessed item and prayed for my protection from nightmares, he relaxed and sighed in relief shortly after, giving his wife a reassuring nod.

"He's telling the truth my love, this place is safe from those monstrosities, it was given to us specifically by the ponies who we tried to help, to protect us from negative energy beings.
And... Let's just say that they had the blessing of a certain goddess that makes the entire area probably the safest in all of the dream realm, we can rest here and even enjoy peaceful nights together" I suppose he would be able to ask about that, using his amulet.

"Ill trust you both then, I'm really worried about you Onyx, you... I really hope here you're safe and able to sleep well in here, but if that's true... We could do a lot here! Imagine training here to learn how to use weapons, and then in reality you wake up knowing new things, would that work? Because if it does, and you get a good night's rest then... It would be incredible!" Her tone was much more excited now that she wasn't super worried for us all.

"I think so? I suppose it would work but not be as effective as in reality, because we aren't actually using our bodies, it would just be like remembering a dream, I doubt we will remember much of what happens here." I theorized, unsure but glad I could at least use magic here, I decided to climb on mom's back now that I said all I had to say and relaxed as I laid on her.

"So... We're still gonna have a picnic?" I could only laugh at that, lifting the mood was always what he did best, and I knew I could use some relaxation after what I learned here.

"Definitively, and while we are at it, you can tell me what happened when I was busy getting back the artifact."

After that we headed to the fields outside the village, they were full of ripe veggies of all colors and sizes, they were of course merely decorative, lacking any nutrition or use other than to make the fields look more lively.

We laid on the grass, just outside the fields, after enjoying the sights, it smelled wonderful here, the wildflowers and grass under us as we laid down releasing their fragrance, we laid near each other looking up at the sky and watching the clouds fly by, some had shapes and others we just tried to imagine what they resembled, this would be my usual dream space from now on, at least until I figured out a way to protect my mind from being infested.

This was my safe haven, our safe place to dream and rest in peace, and tomorrow we will hopefully finish our objectives here, I will give the old griffon running the orphanage a good amount of gold so he can keep taking care of young ones and educate them far into the future, he has at least a few decades more in him from what I've seen, surprisingly healthy for someone blind in one eye.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading this episode, more will come soon!

Chapter 54 Non-democratic election

Next Day

The next morning we all woke up early, because a certain deity who is probably trapped inside a magical artifact was shouting at us to wake up inside our heads.

I groaned in annoyance and so did my parents, seems we can't even go a single night without being woken up early here, blinking awake and quickly getting up from the bed, we didn't even have time for a nice morning stretch.

The powerful voice of Boreas resonated in our heads clearly.

'Arise, wake up from your slumber and go spread word to the entire city about my return, about the ceremony at the castle's entrance, I know you were in deep slumber and it's early in the day, but you will need several hours to get every griffon aware so you must make haste!'

I remembered I had offered to help with this, can't just stay in bed and go back to sleep, as cozy as it was to be sandwiched between my parents...

'Mister Coconut, you must head to the hospital where you healed everyone in need, and talk to the head of the hospital and ask them to inform everyone, they will believe you, after all you made a miracle happen, healing those who would not have survived, your deeds are being whispered among the families of the hospital works and patients as we speak, soon you will be remembered as a legend here, a traveler from a distant land who made a miracle happen.' Said unicorn was shocked to hear the voice, directly in his head, one who he wasn't familiar to him, and yet it felt... Familiar, not a mere mortal who was talking.

'I will do it, if it will help them, I will gladly help you.' He answered with only a few seconds of considering it.

'Good, lady Faust will also be pleased with your actions, we may sometimes have different perspectives but we work towards the same goal, a more prosperous and harmonious world.' Dad smiled at that and nodded in agreement, then waved at us as he walked out to the bathroom to get ready.

'Lady Sylf, or as your fellow guardponies call you, the Meteor right? You must head to the castle and along with your son, Onyx, talk to General Steelwing, show him the Idol and let him touch it, he will hear me and he will understand what he has to do, once you are done you will take me to the streets and go door to door, calling out for the citizens to come out and see the Idol. They will be eager to see it, after all, young Onyx has made a friend who already started to spread the word about it.'

'Once you do that and inform everyone of the event, go to the door of the castle and stand there with the artifact in your claws, visible to all. Once all have gathered, or at least those fit to do so and present, I will be able to find the right griffon to lead this nation, they will have to be young and malleable in mind, and their training will take years, they may need to go out and learn in other nations too, since this former empire has decayed beyond the ability to offer a formal education.'

'That is all, I can't command you to do this, but I ask of you for the sake of Griffonstone and griffonkind, for this day only, be my chosen heroes.' His request sounds reasonable, but I have a few conditions.

'We will, but there are some conditions, first of all we ask that you do not conquer other nations unless they try to conquer you first, second is to respect the right of all sapient creatures to live and don't resort to cruelty to further your cause, no political torture or another cruel punishments for those with a different viewpoint, and don't restrict the freedom of relationships between any consenting adults, within your nation or outside, no matter their race or gender, if you promise to uphold those laws and of course any other common laws, I will do my best to support your goals, I will even go out of my way to help find ways to help your economy, i already have a few ideas.' I take a short pause before continuing.

'Those are my morals, and I don't compromise on them, hopefully you can agree with me on them and we will get this done.' I finished the shortened version of what I want, it's clear if people are happier they are more productive, making them miserable by adding nonsensical laws will only worsen the situation.

Boreas was silent for a full minute thinking about what I asked, then I felt his voice again.

'You really are thinking ahead, you're very much Considering you did most of the work to get me and you will still do some more, I accept your terms.'

As he said that, we went to get ready, it was important to be presentable after all for such a momentous occasion.

About 10 minutes later we were both ready, heading out the door I took a look around until I located the castle in the distance, and have my target in sight to teleport to.

"Let's do this! Mom, because I know you don't mind, I'll be riding on your back, you don't mind right?" I approach and pet her on the head, hugging her wolf head to my chest, she returns the gesture with her snout, softly pressing on me.

"You know I love carrying you around my little pup, even, I'd never say no to that, I still remember when we first met and you were scared and alone, you were such a small adorable little hatchling! Come on climb on before I get emotional, don't want to be late." I nodded in response, climbing up her head and neck, making her giggle as my tail caressed the side of her head as I went up and laid on her back the wrong way around, then I turned around 180 degrees to face forward and held onto her sides.

"You silly drake, you know it would have been easier to climb from my side? Well do you want me to run you there or you're just going to teleport?" She asked me while smiling, her head moved to the side to look back at me.

"Let's just teleport, we can walk around once we informed General... Steelwing? Yes him, once he is informed we will go and walk around the town talking to griffons, should be easy, we can even bribe them with bits if they don't want to hear us out, but hopefully mister Boreas here can help with that, after all every griffon knows the legend, right?"

'Indeed, they are all taught the legend of our old kingdom, they will listen to you if you show them the Idol, if they still don't want to listen, I will talk to them directly.'

With that we teleported to our target, it was near and in clear view so it was negligible and faster to cast, appearing with an electric crack of energy, we knocked on the door, and not even a minute later it opened, I was carrying the Idol of Boreas in my arms while atop of my canine steed.

"Whos- Wait is that... The Idol of Boreas?! I'll go inform the General right away!" The griffon wearing light armor and a sword asked in astonishment, before shaking his head and dashing back into the castle, said castle was was lit by torches along the walls, it was very simple in design and lacked luxurious decor that the Equestrian royal palace had, still it looked pretty impressive inside too, whoever built it knew what they were doing.

About five minutes later, a larger griffon wearing steel plate armor with a more prominent insignia and more decorations, including medals and other symbols on the chest of the armor and near the neck, came forward escorted by two similarly armored soldiers, they looked more like knights, unlike the lightly armored guard from earlier.

"Greetings guests, I've heard a great deal about you, mostly about your miraculous unicorn companion who isn't present here at the moment, and even a rumor has spread about what I am seeing right now with my own two eyes." He stared at me and Sylf before focusing his sharp eagle eyes on the Idol on my arms.

"I am General Steelwing, for all intents and purposes I am the leader of this nation, we have a military government at this time and I command the military, I can't help but notice you have brought back the Idol that fell into the Abyssal Abyss, may I get your names and what you want with Griffonstone?" It was clear from his tone that this was not so much a question, but a demand, and this guy was no pushover, I wouldn't want to piss him off, he was the most jacked and biggest griffon I've seen so far.

Before I could answer, mom beat me to it, nodding her head in her way to do a salute.

"I am Commander Sylf of the Equestrian Royal Guard, not on official business but to help my beloved son and husband with their own goals, I am more or less, their caretaker and guard respectively, it's good to meet you Captain, now your turn to explain son."

"And I am Onyx, I'm the adopted son of this wonderful wolf here." I hugged her neck from a top her back, purring and nuzzling her lovingly, making her giggle and even the stern looking General to soften his gaze.

"I have come here to help your city, your nation, to improve and to surpass it's formed glory, my dad, the pony you already heard good things about I'm sure, has also his goal of healing the injured and sick and save as many as he can, he offered medical aid, and I offer economic and political aid, you may distrust me, after all from what everyone says, dragons are often selfish and greedy, and extremely rude if not outright hostile, but you can hear it directly from your god." I offer him the artifact.

He nods and reluctantly approaches, grabbing it and taking it from my claws, he seems to go into a trance, closing his eyes, sitting down on the ground for a few minutes and then opens his eyes again with a determined look, and a small hopeful smile.

"I apologize for doubting you at first, I will inform the chain of command, and I will make sure to organize everything for the ceremony, now go and show the people the return of their beloved god, we will be ready by the time you come back." He assured me, then returned the Idol and shook my claw firmly, I returned it just as firmly and smiled at him.

"No big deal, I would have doubted me too if I was you, see you later now, let's go mom!" Turning around we walked off into the city, it was still early morning and many were asleep or just starting to get up, we ran house to house informing the griffons inside, having breakfast or just waking up, even going as far as to knock on their windows if they didn't answer the door, looking for them.

Some were definitively pissed off until they saw the Idol and then we explained, it took several hours despite there not being that many houses on the city itself, because we had to travel down the hill and also go into all the surrounding farmsteads, thankfully the farmers always awoke much earlier and we often found them working in the fields outside, making the job much easier, and telling them to spread the word themselves, that any job could wait for a few hours because it would be worth it.

By the end even mom was panting and low on stamina, my arms were a bit tired too from holding the Idol up in view of everyone, it was heavy pure gold after all, I was getting sore.

But every single house in the city and around it has been told about, and everyone agreed to go.

We came back up, I had to use magic to cool ourselves down because our bodies were overheating, specially mom's, her back underneath me felt hot enough to sear a steak at this rate, I used my icy breath to cool her down until she was back to normal, causing her to let out a small satisfied moan.

"Ohh~ this is why Its always a good idea to help you out, you always return the favor in your own way, and this refreshing wonderful breath of yours... You are really fresher than mint." She complimented and stretcher, trying to get as much coolness on her as she could.

"Please keep going! Can you do my back too?" I nod and breathe out my frost breath on her back, having to step off her for a minute to uncover her back enough to cool her overheated body down until she was nice and cool, of course the body warmed back up quickly but the excess heat was removed by then.

"Mmhhn that feels like jumping right into cold water, without actually getting wet, thank you!" I smirked and gave her a squeeze on the ass, or flank, making her let out a surprised gasp, and turn to look at me with a slightly offended expression, without any real anger, a glint in her eyes that promised she would get back at me was clear.

"Sorry, It's just you're so fit and perfect... I was curious as to what it would feel like, you don't mind, do you?" I gave her my best puppy dog eyes and she just giggled and made a dismissive gesture with her paw.

"I appreciate the compliment, but I'm getting you back in the future and that look wont work on me, Im already immune, I raised you remember? you won't see it coming when it's my turn to pay you back. Now let's finish this so we can have a few days of relaxation here before going back to Equestria." She patted my head with her ghost hand spell, I didn't really care if she got back at me, knowing her, it would not be anything bad.

"Oh I love you my big fluffy cuddly wolf momma, you would never do anything that upset me or hurt me or even make me feel bad so I'm not worried, but right you are, we are short on time and should get out back, at least before either of us gets exhausted and falls asleep, it's quite comfy on your back..." We spent a few seconds tenderly nuzzling, with me hugging her neck, and then trotted back up the mountain and up the tree, heading to the castle.

Eventually we arrived, the General was waiting and was dressed in his fancy armor, more polished now and accompanied by other fancily dressed griffons, he nodded at us with a smile, some griffons had already gathered in front of the castle, talking amongst themselves and pointing at us, the mood was excitement and hope, nothing like the usual depressed attitude the griffons first had when I arrived here.

I decided to go lay down on the steps of the castle, while I waited for the griffons to gather, taking out my phone from my inventory and snapping a picture of the gathering crowd,and turning to selfie camera and snapping a silly picture of myself, showing off the Idol and making a peace sign in another.

'What are you doing? What kind of magical device is that? I wasn't aware a magical device that can make instantaneous drawings was invented, griffons really are far far behind, aren't they?' I could almost feel the disappointment in Boreas telepathic voice, but I immediately tried to reassure him.

'Oh no no, this little device is not something made by ponies, it's a small souvenir I got in one of my travels, the ponies are nowhere near this level yet and won't be for hundreds of years unless they get some help, as for what it is, that's simple! It's a very advanced machine that uses electricity, and logic gates to make thousands of calculations per second, and it has many sensors, similar to our eyes, they send sensory information to equivalent of our brain in this device, and the thinking part transforms that sensory input into useful signals that light up the light emitting layers on the part you can see, that is called a screen.' I gently tap the glass screen with my paw without using the claw, it would probably scratch the glass.

'This sounds quite advanced, you say this device that looks like a rectangular small mirror of metal and glass is capable of not only seeing the world, but it also has a thinking ability and it can produce art instantly? This sounds... Fascinating actually, I would love to learn more, I have met a few renown arcanists in the past who would do anything for gaining the knowledge about making this, but it's been so long...' I could tell he was talking about something that happened millennia ago, or even longer.

'Honestly I don't know much, been out of the loop myself and I was never really studied in the field of electronics myself, biology is more my field of expertise but I can tell you a few things about it, for instance... I can... Uhh nevermind I forgot there's no satellites here, I can use this to write notes, and record sound and video, here let me show you my parents wedding, I bet you'll like that.' I realized now that smartphones, despite how much they have advanced during the years, are completely dependant on both satellite GPS and access to the internet to be more than glorified video cameras, maybe flashlights but any of my light spells were better, still I could immortalize events in video or photograph and that has value on itself.

'So... The reason it can only do those things is because, the place where I got this, there is a world wide network of communication devices that send a signal, imagine it as a magic spell that sends a letter, those letters would send the information from large towers to this devices, allowing them all to be interconnected to a unimaginably large network called the Internet, a network that spanned across the entire world, and it was mostly invisible, and from there came most of the usefulness of this device, but that would take forever to explain so let's just say you could buy a house or anything you wanted, without having to physically be there or take bits to the person, everything from banking to buying from the market could be done from across the world.'

'... You visited another plane of existence at such a young age? you truly are the most adventurous being I've met in a long long time, most would wait to become adults before embarking in such a dangerous journey. You probably have lived through many dangerous adventures, I can see it on you, your body is unusually strong for a dragon of your age, there's something about you that is... Extremely familiar to me, yet I can't quite place it.' Uh oh... Did he figure it out? Well I could just deny it, play dumb.

'No idea what you're talking about mister Boreas, I just have experience with exploration and I have been very well trained, I'm the son of a Commander of the Equestrian Royal Guard after all, and she taught me how to defend myself.' He was silent for a minute after that.

'You know lying to a god is not a good idea, right? I was with you when you fought those pale spiders, you can use magic of the seventh tier, combat magic, necromancy, combining it all with quick movements, and overwhelming strength and brutal attacks.' Fuck, I forgot he was with me then, I feel extremely stupid right now.

'If you want to keep your experience a secret I will respect that, just don't take me for a fool little one, now relax, im not going to do anything to you, I just want to ask something off you, be my voice to address the gathered griffons, it's time.' I was worried he was angry at me and would do something, but he never raised his tone or seemed to be angry, still I was concerned and feeling a lot less confident about my ability to lie, he had me completely figured out, and I had made a stupid mistake, except for some things.

Lies really come back to bite you in the ass, don't they?

'Y-youre right, I am an adventurer, not by choice to be honest most of the time, it's hard to explain but for now let's focus on what we have to do, will you tell me what I have to say word by word? Or do you want me to let you speak through me, use my voice as a conduit for yours?' I was worried he would ask me to lend him my body or something, I wasn't exactly keen on giving my body over to someone, specially a being who had been locked away in some artifact for who knows how long, if he was locked in it maybe he would want to be in a real body again, but I was not sure he was trapped in there, there were a lot of things I didn't know about him, and I suspect he could at least see my memories, at least some of them, without me even feeling it, how else would he know about mom's nickname? Or her rank?

'Oh, I know you're worried, I can't read your thoughts, not more than vague descriptions of beings I see and surface thoughts, but I can feel your emotions, I can deduce many things from that, it's an important part of being a god, and no, apologies for the misunderstanding, I only ask that you speak in my behalf, one thing is to sense and watch the world around me, other is to interact with it directly.' So he was trapped, either trapped inside the Idol or too weak to interact with the world, was this because of lack of followers? Maybe the griffons stopped believing or their connection to the Idol, along with the relatively small amount of inhabitants of this city meant he had less of a following or even those who knew about him.

'I will help you, I'll speak on your behalf because this world really needs some ambition, it's pretty much absent where its needed.' I smile and get up, the griffons are all here now, waiting somewhat impatiently, but not angry just yet, except maybe a few of the fancier dressed ones.

I stand on my hind legs to have some more height, as I was smaller than the adults, and most were definitively adults.

I used my regular voice, I could speak very loudly if I wanted without amplifying it with magic, I lifted the gold idol over my head, showing it to everyone, they all went quiet and paid attention now.

Public speaking wasn't my forte, but with Borealis telling me what to say and his subtle encouragement, and maybe divine bolstering from him I lost my fear, temporarily.

"Citizens of Griffonstone, your god is back, I have descended into the Abyssal Abyss myself to retrieve the Idol, to bring it back to it's rightful place in your castle, but he has given me a task first, I am to gather you here right and let him choose a king or queen who will, in time, bring glory and prosperity to your nation." Everyone paid close attention to my words, but four families near the front stared with suspicion.

"Now without further ado, I want you all to stand a meter away of each other and sit on the ground, Boreas will select a new ruler among all of you, I personally don't even know who will be chosen, so have your heads raised and all look into the Idol, he will know, I will walk in rows and try to give him a good look at all of you, okay?" I got a murmur of agreement and they moved apart, leaving space between them enough for me to go row by row, there were a lot of them, the whole city was here and I didn't know how many there were exactly.

The griffons on the front, gathered in groups that seemed to be families approached me before I could start doing my duty.

"Wait a minute, who do you think you are beast?! Going around with our precious Idol and claiming to speak for our god, you have no right! And you dare to claim that he will choose a new king yet you have not informed us, the nobles first!?" An old griffon guy wearing fancy old style suit yelled in indignation, standing in front of me and blocking my path, he was joined in by a representative from the other three noble families who all had some insult to throw at me as they approached.

"You stole the Idol! It's only meant to be held by griffon talons, give it back thief!" An old lady dressed in a fancy dress that would not look out of place in a Victorian era court glared at me with disdain, furious that I had their precious Idol.

"You shouldn't even be allowed in our city, why has the General let you in? You should be kicked out!" Another of them nobles yelled, everyone here could hear them. But the common griffons didn't seem to share their same attitude, they were glaring at them, whispering to each other.

I sighed, tired of always having to deal with this kind of people, at least one of the fancy dressed groups didn't get in my way or try to interrupt, they were some nobles it seems that weren't a nuisance.

"You are interrupting my duty given to me by your god, move aside and remain quiet or else." It may seem a bit harsh on them, but I didn't feel like having to debate a bunch of annoying, entitled and unpleasant 'nobles'.

"You dare threaten us?! You will be put in a cage! Guards! Arrest this fraud!" But the guards didn't move, they didn't even look at them.

"Guards! Quickly, why are you ignoring us? Come on! Are you on his side too?!" They were starting to sound desperate, and clearly angry.

"You filthy and uncivilized lizard! What lies have you told the soldiers, to have them working for you?! If I had my sword here I would cut you down myself, bloody monster!" Okay that crossed the line, I was going to just push them back but now this guy had it coming, I'm not going to let others insult me without consequence.

"Go back to your spot, and shut the fuck up, will not repeat myself again." I said as an ultimatum, but he approached instead, so I started preparing a spell.

"Go to Tartarus you scaly scavenger, I'm gonna put you on the ground!" He threatened again, moving with hostile intent clear on his posture and beak.

"I see you will not budge, well I did warn you, now pay the consequences." I finished preparing the spell.
My eyes started to glow more every second.

Then with a small flash if indigo and a dismissive wave of my paw he turned into a pig, started to make soft confused oinks, and quickly ran back to his group making loud pig squeals when he realized he wasn't himself anymore, everyone was shocked into silence, then the cheering started, and the laughs from the large crowd of commoners, the nobles however weren't too thrilled, but they didn't dare to look at me anymore, looking to the ground instead in fear of being next.

"Anyone else has any objections? I have a few ideas for animals I can turn you into, don't worry though, it will only last about an hour, hopefully by then I will be done with this, but dare either of you nobles get in my way or interfere again? I will make your transformation permanent." I was completely bluffing of course, polymorph was not permanent and I couldn't do more than one creature at a time, and even then I needed to concentrate somewhat on the spell for it to work, but I had so much practice with this specific spell that I could easily keep that in the back of my mind while performing other tasks, as long as they weren't too difficult or other spells I needed to concentrate on.

Perhaps I was too harsh but I was not feeling the most patient today, my mood wasn't the best, waking up early and having to stop cuddling to go run around outside was less than ideal.

With the annoying nobles out of the way, I started my work, getting a good look at every griffon and giving the Idol a good view too, I spent half an hour going from griffon to griffon, hopefully the nobility will not try anything again, sabotaging my efforts to help their nation... I will make sure to have them investigated and when Treble is officially in the throne he can get rid of their titles once and for all, at least the ones who are a thorn on my side, my plans for this nation are far, far from over.

But that was for later, I had to focus on finding the new ruler.

There must thousands of griffons here, I wanted to groan in frustration, but I kept my little legs moving fast, until I felt a mental command to stop, which I obeyed right away, sliding on the wooden ground until my claws came out.

Then I realize who this griffons are, my pals from the orphanage! Also grandpa Gruff was with them.

I smile and give them a nod. 'This ones, two of them or maybe three would make for fine rulers, they just need the right education, what do you think, Onyx? You may underestimate yourself but you are bright and perceptive, look at them and tell me what you think.'

I had to think for a moment, staring at the three of them, I knew Gilda was rude to the six mares in an episode but right now she was an innocent, joyful little griffon child, the other two were also really kind and friendly, but I think Treble had the right characteristics to be a good ruler, from the little I interacted with him, he wasn't a bully for one, he was like a big brother to the other two and planned to start working next year to get mister Gruff more time at the orphanage raising the girls.

I realized I was staring off into space while staying still, I blinked and focused on the ground and put on a more thoughtful expression instead of my dumbfounded one from earlier.

I just wasn't expected to be asked for an opinion, but I decided to answer honestly.

'I think Treble is better for the position, he already wants to work to help the orphanage, but he is kind to others and even liked to hang out with me despite me being 3 years younger, other griffons or ponies his age may think of me as lame because I'm younger, yet he didn't.' I offered, thinking of the positives, but I had to also consider the negative.

'I could say the negative is his age, he is almost an adult and while that's good for a king, he has a lot to learn and has to do it quickly, being a king isn't easy or safe, he would need training both in politics and combat to be able to defend himself, most importantly the loyalty of the army, but that is something I can't really help with...' I concluded my thoughts on him, then move to Gilda, of her I didn't have much to say, she was too young to tell what she even liked, let alone what she was good at.

'Gilda has room to learn, extremely good potential and could work if properly educated, she is much younger and probably easier to teach her everything she would need to know, but that same advantage is her disadvantage of being so young that she isn't fit to rule for many years until her brain fully develops.' what else could I say? She was just very young and playful like any other children her age.

'And lastly Sable, she's really sweet, curious and loves cats, no idea if she would be a good queen but she clearly would be kind, and I can respect that, plus I love her tiger pattern half, she's very unique in that way, what else... She complimented me and that was sweet, did I mention she likes cats as much as I do?' I suppress a giggle, imagining a queen surrounded by dozens of cats.

'I may be an idealist but I think you could teach them all and guide your griffons to prosperity, a prosperous nation isn't just defined by the king or queen, or the governing body, it takes the majority of the population to be educated to become truly wealthy, or that is what I believe.' and with that I was done explaining my thoughts on them.

He thought for a little while then decided finally.

'While I think Gilda would be great with enough training, we need a leader soon to stabilize the nation, and while I can't teach everything to Treble right away, I can guide him on what to do step by step while he is still learning to rule by himself, I will have Gilda learn properly too, she could replace him should anything happen, or just so they each have less work.' That made sense, however I would need to check up on them to make sure no one is trying to plot something and take advantage of them, those damn nobles worried me, hopefully the little scare I gave them earlier taught them a lesson, the old griffon should be back to normal by now.

'Sounds logical, you will be taking up two students then, good luck and finally I'm free to go take a nap.'

'Wait, give the Idol to Treble, oh and thank you for making me realize that I have them, they still remember me despite the centuries, they remember their founder, first if their kind.
I may not be able to directly assist you, but this nation will remember your deeds, that you can be sure of.'

With that I go back to reality hearing everyone muttering and whispering and getting impatient from me just staring into the ground thinking, turning and facing Treble who I approach, giving him a fist bump in greeting before pulling him next to me with my foreleg, sort of in a side hug.

I need to announce the choice, specially for the army who were the ones truly in charge, as they held the weapons and armor and trained soldiers.

"It's done! Your god, Boreas has already chosen a new king to guide you, king Treble!" The muttering stopped as soon as I started to speak, but then I handed the Idol to Treble and lifted him up into the air with my telekinesis, he was surprised and flapped to stabilize himself first before relaxing when he realized he was safe and he lifted the idol in his talons up high.

"Long live King Treble!" I yelled out happily.

I showed him to the entire crowd, who soon started to clamor happily.

"Long live king Treble!" Everyone, including the General chanted three times, before I lowered him back to the ground.
That was a good sign, but the expression on the General wasn't happy, it was grim, as if he knew something I didn't. That worried me a lot.

"You're all free to leave, and return to your daily activities. Thank you all for coming here, now please give your new king time to prepare for his coronation ceremony, with that I bid you all farewell." I bowed my head to the crowd, and walked towards the castle, gesturing for Treble to follow, now we had to talk to the current leader of the nation, General Steelwing, the most intimidating griffon around.

Hopefully he would approve and I could find out what was happening to him to look like that.

Somehow even after all the good things that happened today, I felt as if something was very wrong, why else would the General have that look on his face?

Author's Note

Hope you enjoy the new chapter! good night everypony :eeyup:

Chapter 55 Planning Defenses

After the ceremony we walked into the castle, closing the door behind us, Sylf was Steelwing we're both waiting for us, standing like statues next to the doors.

I was aware they were there thanks to my extra sense, but Treble jumped in surprise when they approached us, not expecting them there, his wings extended ready to fly but we were indoors, so he just ended up smacking me on the face by accident.

"Ow... Don't get them flappers open in here! Also hey you two, you gave the new king quite the scare, but hey he's barely just got his position so cut him some slack, he's a bit jumpy and nervous, aren't you dude?" I joked to defuse the tension I felt, hopefully Steelwing wouldn't outright refuse this, or everything I did would be for nothing.

"I... this is very scary honestly, I am doing this because grandpa said you can be trusted and I believe him, and mister Boreas has been nice to me so far, telling me I'm the key to helping the nation prosper. I want to help our city and country be as wonderful as I've read it used to be, I want it to be even better. For the first time I have hope, I have a way to make things right!" We shared a hopeful smile, nodded to him in agreement with his words, I will help him in any way I could.

"Exactly what I hoped to hear from you dude, and I'll help every step of the way, you're my friend too, and friends help each other when they are in need.
General what do you think? Will you accept the new king chosen by Boreas himself? Or would you rather keep ruling the nation yourself?" There is no point in dilating the discussion further, time to get straight to the point, the General has a worried and even saddened expression as he looks at us.

"Being the leader of the nation isn't easy young lad, you have to make difficult choices, sometimes you have to send good griffons to die, all to protect the citizens and the nation itself, you are aware of the war going on, right?" He asks solemnly, Treble nods slightly.

"I know a little bit, that we are at war with the island states and that despite our superiority in the sea, they have a larger army, is that right?" Treble answered with concern, his voice shaky.

"It's much worse than that young king, they have a larger army as well as more weapons and armor, they have a better economy so they can keep fighting far longer, and most importantly they are much harder to invade directly, as they are surrounded by seas." The General states grimly, his face showing how little chance Griffonstone had of winning this war, and they weren't the instigators, but now they had new allies...

"You are king now Treble, I support you fully, but I fear that if we don't deal with the Islanders we will cease to exist as a nation, they could be advancing on this city any day now, our forces are all deployed around the Guto river, denying them access to the port, but the spies we have within the island say they are preparing to invade, we dont have enough griffons to stop them, we just don't... The civilians have little to no experience and would be slaughtered, not to mention they lack armor or weapons." I gritter my teeth, growing worried and feeling a pit in my stomach at the news.

"Our allied provinces are mostly farming villages and they don't have any sort of armed forces, they don't even have metal tools, our nation is very primitive, we lack a good source of metal and the little we do have is hard to process because we don't have enough infrastructure." He concluded with a sad tone, I had to agree that if things were this bad we were screwed.

I could see the color drain from the face of the little king, I was feeling quite worried myself, what could we even do against an army? Was there a way to repel an army non lethally? Diplomacy?

"Do we know their numbers? And what about ours?"

"They an army 4 thousand strong, and we have one and a half thousand." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, I couldn't just fight them fair and square, their numbers were just much more than ours!

Thinking that I could help, I proposed some ideas about preparations to survive and even win.

"I don't know a lot about warfare but I can offer some ideas..." I got three nods in response so I continued.

"My father knows a large area spell that could inflict a very undesirable effect on them. But we don't have enough materials for it, the divine Hallow spell would work and areas could be set up to cause fear, but the spell would need a lot of expensive materials, probably over ten thousand bits worth of rare incenses and oils, and I don't think they have those here." I discarded that option, as good as it would be, the area would be too small and in the end it wouldn't really do anything to keep them away, nothing to prevent them from firing crossbow bolts from a distance so it would only work indoors.

"That could have worked but we sadly also lack such incenses, Griffonstone is quite poor as you must have noticed." I nodded, sighing sadly, hopefully that would change soon if we survived this, someday maybe I could be strong enough to face an army and my presence alone would be enough of a deterrent, just as Celestia was for all the other nations.

"I could try intimidation, and of course also fighting non lethally but against so many? Spells could work only to a point, I would run out of mana even if I wanted to kill them all, which I definitively DO NOT. I'd resort to using cantrips, they could work but I will need help.

"I will lend my aid in both spellcasting and direct fighting, if you need a break I can take over, but remember I'm not as capable as a battlemage as you, my magic is more complimentary than anything." Mom offered with a small reassuring smile.

"Yes thank you mom, but I don't want you to risk injury so we will definitively have to ask a dad for help as well as a favor from you General." I said cryptically, he gave me an expectant look but I continued my explanation first.

"Hold up, let me finish, I also could design a way of spreading a large shield over the entire city, but that would leave the farmlands and outer farms vulnerable to raiding and pillaging, and we would starve inside the barrier in the long run, but that would imply I had a way of powering such a barrier for so long, We will need to fight back, what else can we do? I refuse to let this nation get conquered after working so hard to help it get back on track! I will protect my investment." I huffed out a cloud of frost in exasperation, I definitively wasn't eager to fight off an army, to involve myself in such a war, but what would I do? Let them be attacked and overtaken after all I've done for them?

I couldn't let them do that, I maybe could intimidate, use strategy, take out priority targets from afar using long ranged weapons... No, I know I can kill, I don't want to, no way I will become a murderer.

Then again maybe I wasn't up to the task of saving them.

But what if they didn't give up? Would I be able to live with myself after taking lives? War is horrifying, brutal and it changes a person forever, I would definitively be negatively affected, I... I don't want to kill anyone, not if I have other options, I will use stun spells, I will use telekinesis, target non lethal weak points and incapacitate as much as I could, that could work.

"General? How many soldiers do we have on our side?" I asked the large griffon who seemed lost in thought.

"Our army is about 1500 strong as I have already explained, but we are lacking armor, about half of the soldiers have plate armor, while the rest have chainmail or leather armor, we just don't have enough metal to make enough for all, the enemy imports metal from Equestria in large amounts, but the relationship between the two nations deteriorated when Equestria opened trade with our nation, yet they still reluctantly trade goods, I am intrigued by the idea of you making a shield around the city, how would that work?" He asked with a curious and hopeful expression.

"I could design a spell matrix that would draw energy from one being at a time, the spell would need an artificial focus to be self sustaining, an enchanted gemstone of large enough quality and size, like a large diamond of another gem could work, in it I would need to carve the runes precisely, then every time one wants to use the shield, they would need to only pour their magic into the gem, powering the spell and sustaining it, by my estimations... For a shield of that size it would take about... One mana unit every second, at least with my understanding of shielding, the shield would also be pretty difficult to destroy unless they have magical anti shield weapons or anti magic artifacts, digging underground wouldn't work either."

I thought out loud, making the calculations in my head with the knowledge I had, it was limited, and the shield was too generalized, maybe a more specialized shield could be way more efficient? I haven't experimented more than with small scale shields made for a few, such a large shield however...

The shield would use extremely high amounts of mana per day, around 86400 units.

I knew the runes for a regular shield, and the invulnerable, slightly larger shield, but that one was just unnecessarily strong in this case.

"I can do it, but each day we would need to take turns charging the gem, it would only last a few minutes with the three of us, but it would also drain us of all magic and leave us unable to fight with magic, if only we had an artifact..." I looked at Treble who was holding the Idol still, but he looked tired of holding it by now, it was a heavy object made of solid gold after all, and he was not that strong.

"Hey Onyx? Sorry to interrupt, but Mister Boreas says he can be the spell's... catalyst? And if you give him the spell matrix and pour your magic into the Idol and cast the spell, he says he could even use the magic from griffons on the city, despite the lack of a focus that they have, griffons still have magic inside them and if the citizens offer their magic every day, the shield will always be on!" I smile at the amazing news, perfect! Now we had a way to protect the city.

But I had a question first. "How can the griffons give their magic to power the spell if they lack a magical focus? And would they suffer any negative side effects?"

"Mister Boreas says that the Idol is specifically made to connect him to the griffons, and now that they all have acknowledged him again, he is quickly regaining his connection to them, he will be able to ask them directly for their magic and sustain the shield for a long time, and since griffons normally don't have a use for magic other than to manipulate clouds, they don't need their magic for combat, unless they use storm clouds to attack, he also says that griffons have more than thrice the magic needed to keep the shield running, and their magic regenerates faster than the rate of consumption of the spell, so no one would be injured or even tired from it." This is excellent news! Yes it would make sense, their mana pool would be around 100 for adults and down to around 20 or so for young children, so if the consumption rate is about 17 and a half per griffon per day, the shield should be sustainable Indefinitely!

"That actually makes a lot of sense, we will take advantage of that so the shield doesn't depend on my magic and my companion's alone, because if that was the case, I don't think even between the three of us as would have enough mana to power it for more than an hour, and we would run dry and not able to help in the fight at all.

Time to get to work on that spell but I also wanted to ask for a favor.

"General Steelwing, sir I need you to get your blacksmith to modify a set of armor to fit my dear mum, and I want to ask you for a set that would fit an unicorn, for he is going to go into the fight as well, I know your army is lacking armor but trust me when I say that this unicorn is really going to help more than two dozen griffons, he can use magic to both weaken our enemies, strengthen our allies and even heal wounds during battle. Please sir?" I bowed my head down.

"You plan on fighting the invaders? To involve yourself in the fighting personally? I know you're a dragon and undoubtedly you can hurt a lot of them, but the odds are four to one, not to mention that you will have to probably kill and may die, battles are unpredictable, they are terribly dangerous on this scale, you are endangering your lives, you're not even from this city, so why?!" He asked both confusion and disbelief. I smiled slightly, the reason was simple.

"Because I made a few friends here, and I want to protect them, I want them to have a future for them and their descendants, your nation, and of course I also benefit from this, your gain is my gain, you'll see why very soon." His expression went from confused to impressed, and then to a smirk that I shared.

"You really are trying to gain as much influence here as possible, aren't you? There is no question now why you found the Idol and brought it back, you've surely impressed even our god with your ambition, well if you help us win this fight, we will owe you, at the very least my troops and myself will owe you any favors you want, as long as it's nothing too crazy, wouldn't wanna go into something worse than an army four times the size of ours, right?" He approached and offered his talon, for a handshake, one I promptly returned, he is strong, I may have some competition it seems, we are evenly matched but he seems to be putting a lot more effort, we end up calling it even, because I don't feel like overexerting myself.

Still he got my paw a bit sore, I respect that.

"You got yourself a deal, I'll get the armor you want refitted, but I need to send her." He says pointing to Sylf
"To the blacksmith to get the measurements, as well as the pony you came in with, he can get one of the steel plates readjusted, the sooner you two go the better."

"Can you add a horn guard for him? Unicorn horns are very vulnerable points so having a metal barrier around it to block direct blows would be wonderful, in fact I'll get him to the blacksmith myself and explain what he needs done, I promise you won't be disappointed by his powers."

"You have earned the trust of not only myself but most of the city too, no one likes the nobles, they already were seen as nothing but annoying, despite all of us being greedy, they are extra, they used to have their uses, funding the army, but lately they have not being helpful and even refused to stop trading with our enemies, but because of their wealth they were hard to punish, you however made them cower and most importantly you made them shut up."

"I just wanted then out of my way, don't usually feel like tolerating those who insult me to my face, I decided to go for a lesson in humility instead of attacking them, now they know they are just regular everyday griffons, if they forget I will happily remind them again." I smiled at Steelwing who laughed and patted my back.

"Hahaha you are a little terror Onyx! Don't change, good on you for not letting them walk all over you like most griffons here do!" I suppose I could be seen as a bit intimidating, but at least the people agreed with the punishment, griffons also raise porks for eating, so the symbolism was pretty clear now that I thought about it...

Our conversation concluded, and with Treble following close next to me and mom behind, we walk towards the door of the castle, walk outside and wait there, sitting down on the steps, I call dad over the telepathic link.

'Sorry to ask you, you must be relaxing at home but I need to ask you to come to the blacksmiths shop near the castle, please? I'm going to have you fitted in armor, I have to talk about something important to you in person here, so come over okay?'

'Mmhh? Whyyyy do you always gotta wake me up from my afternoon naaaps? Alright... I better get there then, you sound serious, are you at the castle's entrance? Want to wait for me there pweasee?' He is a goofball, never fails to bring a smile to my face, hopefully he doesn't suffer any injuries, physical or mental, I don't want him to have to fight directly, in fact he may just be healing and empowering our allies, I'm hope he will agree to that.

'Sorry daaad it's really important that you come here, you'll get an armor fitted to you, steel plate armor that you'll need to get used to.'

'If that's what you need of me, your majesty, will be there. See you in fifteen minutes, bye love you colt! Oh and tell our sweet wolf lady that she's more beautiful than any mare for me I have ever seen, would you?'

'Love ya too fluffy pon! We'll be here, and I'll tell her that right away.' I shake my head chuckling amused by his antics, turning to look at Sylf who is staring at me, looking a bit confused.

Giving her my most charming look I can manage, smiling warmly and relaxed and approaching her slowly, grabbing gently underneath her snout with one hand, while looking into her eyes with a loving look.

"Hey mommy? You're more beautiful than any mare I have ever seen~"

I try to not burst out laughing as her face quickly starts blushing, I approach her more as if I was going for a kiss, her snout is slightly open and she licks her fangs nervously, confused by what I'm doing, and completely speechless until I break all the tension by moving forward and starting to nuzzle her snout's side innocently like I usually to to show my affection, it's the equivalent of kissing someone on the cheek, in my old life, where I lived people often greeted each other with kisses on the cheek, specially family, here the equivalent was nuzzles or even licks, but licks were considered more intimate.

"I also love you a lot mooom!~ by the way dad told me to tell you that, just imagine it's from him okay? You're the second prettiest girl I know, so I can see why he thinks so highly of you." I pressed my head against her chest and just relaxed, purring contently on her warm and fluffy bossom, she is super jacked, her muscles feel like steel covered in warm soft fluffy black fur, she also smells wonderful like a forest of pine trees.

Did I just... Well she's a very sweet mom, the best I could ask for and we love messing with each other often. I probably would get grounded again or she would prank me in return.

"Bhahaha dude That was awesome, you're pretty brave to do that, the look on her face was priceless! She's still a bit red, are you okay miss Sylf? You... Uhm I think you may have messed up by pulling that prank bro, miss Sylf is definitively planning to prank you or something, I can just tell by the look she's giving you, andddd I should shut up now before she gets me next." Concerned, I pulled back from the hug and I'm faced by a mischievous smirk from her, she wasn't blushing anymore but she was back to her confident and proud self, she's not the type to stay embarrassed for too long, I know her, but she's not too difficult to fluster either, I wonder what thoughts go through that mind of hers that make her get so flustered at times... Maybe I'll dare to ask when I'm a bit older.

"Oh me? Prank my own son? That's just preposterous your majesty! My very own son? I could neeeever~" She giggled and booped me on the nose with her paw, making me look cross eyed at it and shortly after sneeze at having some dust get into my fussy nose, she clearly did it on purpose.

I sneezed about 4 times, all the while my mum giggled at me, a satisfied smirk on her face.

"Bless you~ hehehe that's what you get, maybe you'll learn to not play with girl's feelings hm? Don't think you're off the hook tho, but I have to admit you got me good, embarrassing me, your own mother, in front of the young king?! How scandalous... I think another prank at a later time will be needed, we are giving a bad example to Treble, forgive us, my son is a real pawful sometimes, but I promise he means well." I give a mock glare to her for blaming it on me, she just rolled her eyes with a smirk and stuck her long canine tongue out at me.

"I find that trust you two have the most amazing and fun I've seen ever, it's like you are the best of friends and have been for... A long time, I hope someday I can find someone that is so close with me too, having a mother... If that's what it's like then I really am missing out." He says with a few tears falling down his face, I move close to him and pull him into a hug, comforting him by patting his back

"You have close friends, Sable clearly close and she cares about you, and, despite him being like your grandpa or father in role, Mr. Gruff is also a good friend of yours, and now I am your pal too! Not to mention all the griffons who you haven't met yet that could be your friends in the future! I'd just recommend you are wary of nobles who try to take advantage of you, just be vigilant, but I'm not saying you shouldn't become friends with them as well." He smiled slightly, nodding and sniffling, returning the hug and then moving back a bit.

"I will come visit you in here of course, and you will visit me too at my home because once you become king officially and start running the country, you will have diplomatic visits near where I live, and from there you can visit me directly, we can hang out and play anything together, maybe have dinner with us and talk about anything that comes up." I encourage him further, his mood now uplifted, mom also nods smiling at him and moving closer to offer her affection.

"Onyx is totally right, you're always welcome in our home, son please explain to him how to get to our house from the castle, so he can find his way whenever he wants to visit." I nodded and told him what street to take and how to arrive there, while he nodded and asked a few questions, until he had memorized everything relevant, promising he would write it down later.

"T-thank you... I feel honored to be your friend, you will become very well known here, all of those nobles who claim to be from ancient bloodlines, you shut them up with that spell in front of everyone, you stood up for me so I can help the whole nation, I won't forget that ever, but yes I'll visit as soon as I can get this nation out of the hole it fell into."

"Well said, I think I we made a good choice today, but let's get prepared, because we have to make sure the nation survives! Oh there he is, hey dad, here!" I get up and wave at the approaching pony who notices me and trots closer, we all get up as he comes and get ready to go.

"Hey everyone! How did it all go? Sorry I went back to the orphanage to get a nap, where are we going?" He came up to us and greeted all of us one by one, the pony way of course with a hoof bump or a nuzzle for those who he was close with, mom and I.

After greetings were over we walked towards the nearby blacksmiths forge, while I proceeded to explain everything to him, his face went from amused by the pig joke I made on the nobles to happy that Treble being chosen as king, going to him and congratulating him, then his smile and optimism went away as soon as I mentioned that this place would be invaded soon, and that we would be helping to protect and defend the city, and he would be in charge of empowering and healing the soldiers.

He frowned, then just looked sad, seeing he needed comfort we stopped and held him for a while.

"Onyx? P-please... Tell me you aren't asking me to participate in a war, please, you aren't serious a-are you?! Did I misheard or misunderstand really badly?"
His tone is almost desperate, looking at me with pleading eyes, to tell me I'm just playing some prank on him or something.

It's not the type of pranks I like... "I'm sorry dad, this is not a joke, I'm serious, I wouldn't joke around with something as serious as this, specially with you, I know what I'm asking is a lot, but this isn't a war that Griffonstone asked for, they were declared war and threatened to either give up their nation or be invaded, what option do they have? They just want to continue existing."

It seems that was the wrong answer, as his eyes start to get misty and wide, I can almost feel his emotions, that almost choking sensation you feel in your throat when you're trying not to cry, that... I know it too well, I know he is feeling it now too.
But the weight of what I was asking of him was too much, he broke down crying soon later, shutting his eyes closed.

He spoke while crying, I expected he would say no, I was right.
"I-i don't wanna be in a war, I don't want others to suffer and die! What am I going to do? I can't fight... You saw me trying, I just can't, I wouldn't be able to hurt someone, I would rather just give up. I'm so sorry!" He sobs and mom whispers reassuring words on his ear, I just hold him and gently caress his side and back, I really understood him, I was like that the first time I went into the first dungeon, I was in denial too, but he is confused, we are doing this to save lives, not to lose them, and he was the key to save everyone, both allies and enemies.

He doesn't deserve to suffer because of my choices, he may have gotten stronger, he may want to help and be a chosen from a goddess but he's a kind and innocent pony who just wants to help others at heart, I am asking too much from him, if there was another healer here I would not bother him with this, but he was the best we had.

I need to tell him, it's my responsibility because I brought them all here.

"I understand that dad... I truly do, i'm really sorry for asking for that, you don't have to fight at all, that's not what I'm asking of you, we just want you to heal griffons who get injured. I promise you won't have to see any of the fighting or even be near it if you don't want, I'll try to talk them out of it, I promise okay? You are under no obligation to even be here... In fact if you want to go home I can send you there right now, Its far but it's within my ability thanks to the teleportation circle we have at home." He doesn't answer for a while, crying while mom and I hold him and comfort him, I could tell he was terrified of this situation, of violence and killing, of dying, of watching us die.

His crying slows and he regains enough of his voice to speak, yet its still faint and his voice is unsteady.

"If you help us, you will help save the city and every single griffon here, I have a few plans that if they work, we may just win without even having to fight, I just want your help in case anything goes wrong... But my offer still stands, I can send you home and mom and I will stay to make sure the city is saved, I promise you, it will be saved." I reassure with finality, trying to make him see things aren't as bad as he may think.

"I... I appreciate the offer to go home, and despite my mind screaming at me to accept and just run away, to leave this city to go hide, be cozy at home, I can't let either you two here without me, or abandon the griffons from this city to die trying to defend their homes or be conquered and... who knows what they will suffer? I-I'm terrified yes, and I can't stop acting like a foal, crying." He suppresses a choked sob and wipes his eyes with his fetlock and continues.

"Goddess I am like a little foal, I want to just escape home and be safely away from this, but I... I won't abandon you all, I won't let you all risk injury or worse, and not having someone to patch you up, I won't let you die, I would not be able to live with the guilt, you're my wife Sylf and I love you, and you're my son Onyx, and I love you as well." He takes a deep breathe and his voice now sounds more steady, he wipes his eyes once again from the fresh tears and blinks until he is able to see clearly again.

Sylf interrupts with a gentle squeeze. "And we love you back, always and forever, even if you do run away, we are not a crime syndicate, we are a family, and if you don't want to be here neither me nor Onyx will stop loving you or caring deeply for you, so choose what is right for you, not for us, its your right as a thinking being." I could only nod, she put everything much more concisely and easier to understand than what I said, he is in his right to deny to help and ask to be sent home.

But her words seem to only make him more determined to stay, somehow, maybe he... I hope he is realizing that things aren't as grim as they first appear.

"I will stay, I will help, I will heal and I will empower magically our friends from Griffonstone push back this invasion! I will also do my best to fight with non lethal attacks, I don't want to kill anyone, I... I can't, it's not something I want to learn to do, not something I want to get used to either. By my goddess I will fight and I will defend others but I will not kill anyone!" I felt a bit confused at his change in attitude but I smiled softly, maybe he fought his fear and won, I did the same, eventually being able to attack the things I used to fear, I still fear but I don't freeze or want to cry when I see a spider, even a monstrously large one, he won't run away now I see, I really owe him one, or a few after this is all said and done.

I give him a stronger hug now, smiling with pride at his newfound bravery, now we just need to get him ready.

"I'm really proud of you, I am so damn proud I could kiss you! On the side of your muzzle I mean but as I said before, I completely agree, I don't want to kill anyone either, so let me teach you a very very handy spell called bolt of stun, I'm sure you'll love it!"

"Now now son don't be hasty, I will kiss him first!" Sylf says and quickly moves in front and kisses him right on the lips, making him blush visibly before he returns the kiss, they start kissing soft for a minute or two, while I move close and give him a small smooch his the side of his muzzle at the same time, making both of them chuckle, the mood is lifted despite the previous topic, I wont let this misfortune ruin things for us, I will make this work, and if everything else fails I will safely get us back home.

After the small moment of tenderness we went back to talking about non lethal spells for a while, he had a different set of spells than me so it would be useful for him to learn some of my spells, he could if he put in the effort, I focused fully on explaining to him the bolt of stun, the main stunning spell used by the royal guards.

Then we went to get him and mom measured from snout to tail, armor has to fit well or it would not be protective enough.

I left the armor I had in my inventory to be refitted for mom, the large armor was meant for a large griffon, not too dissimilar from Sylf's size, the blacksmith was surprised from the armor appearing from nowhere and by the high quality of the armor, the decoration and the craftsmanship of it all, I simply explained it as magic and moved on, I suppose ancient Griffon Empire armor was of superior quality of what they make today, hopefully he would do a good job, but he reassured me that he was an expert and I trusted him, after all he had made the General's armor set and the plate and mail armor the soldiers wear.

Treble returned to the orphanage with us after that, but now the General had sent guards to watch over him, and they stayed outside the doors protecting from any possible break in.

I stayed with dad and mom all day, we taught him the stun spell, and we showed him it could be powered further to be more effective, with a heightened version it would work despite the targets armor, enchantments were the only way to completely block the effects of the higher level bolt of stun, anti magic or magic diffusing materials would work to stop the spell as well, magic resistance could weaken it to the point it was useless too, like I had.

We spent all evening training on non lethal magic, and he quickly learned bolt of stun, now the three of us could more easily disable non lethally enemies, without causing injuries.

After getting done with that I started to seriously work on my spell for a city sized shield, I had the basis for the spell, I knew a lot of the runes for shielding and I had experience with shield, but while before I used just already completed and prepared spells I needed to draw up my own, I started working on it right away, scratching with my claw on the wall, I almost got reprimanded for doing that but I told Gruff I would pay him for the repairs, I just really needed to write and we didn't have paper or parchment, and the spell was complex and long, I needed the whole wall.

I knew it would take me a long time, but I didn't expect to have to be up all night drawing spell matrixes and formulas that worked with the runes I had, it was a hugely complicated spell counting all the safety measures, I couldn't make a spell that simply expanded from the point of origin and pushed everything outside, not without risking it failing and killing everyone indoors in a horrifyingly violent way, I needed a spell that would slowly shimmer into existence already at its final position.

Ensuring the spell targeted only those who would be considered enemies was also a challenge, for that I used the connections made by Boreas with all griffons in the city, he was able to control those and he could check if there was any griffon not connected to him.

Another exceptions were all other species of creatures living in the city, like cats, birds, insects and other animals, were would they fall under? In the end I made the shield only target creatures larger than me, so wildlife or pets and just regular animals could travel freely and not become stuck inside a barrier, birds would definitively die if they ran into the shield so this prevented such issues.

The shield would also not cut anyone in half upon appearing, it made the enchantment so upon activation there will be a spell active on the area nearby that will push anything away without causing damage, the shield itself will fade into existence slowly and only once fully created it will become a solid barrier.

I made all of this safeguards because I don't want to accidentally kill anyone even if I mess up my calculations, the most important and more thoroughly checked part was the fail-safes.

I will really need to sleep after this is done to be fully prepared in case the enemy comes for us, a sleepy and sluggish mind can cost me my life.

Author's Note

Good evening readers! if you're reading this then I'm not straight :moustache:

Chapter 56 Windstream's Throne Room

I just got back from the castle, I was lucky that the good General had some spare parchment and an ink and quill to give to me along with a wooden tube to safely store it, now I could finally copy the spell I spent all evening and night making.

I had just finishing memorizing the finished version of the enchantment too, it was going to be costly to cast in terms of mana, but I had just enough for it.

This spell was for all intents and purposes just a desperate prototype made of a combination of other spells and my own knowledge of runes I had from both my studies and from the memories I absorbed, that I copied into the parchment given to me, reading it over and over to make sure the sequence was right.

This was really important, I can't emphasize enough how much could go wrong from a botched spell of this size.

So now I will explain in detail what can happen if someone attempts 'freecasting' spells that aren't properly designed with enough safeguards.

There was a reason why no one made spells for anything they needed on a whim, spellcrafting was like playing with a bomb, luckily a shield wasn't that dangerous, even a city size one, not dangerous to cast is what I want to say.

The truly deadly spells that could end the caster were usually modified teleportation spells with their safeguards removed, or spells that changed the properties like shapeshifting spells, again with their many safeguards removed.

In one you could teleport into a solid object and without a safeguard, you would not be placed nearby, you would instead be teleported inside said object, sometimes this would not really hurt you, like being stuck on a wall wouldn't cut you in half, it would make a hole in the wall that your body would occupy and you would become stuck.

But teleport into something solid and large that can't expand and remained more or less the same shape, one could end up trapped in an airless space, for example imagine being inside solid metal or rock, a hole the exact same size of your body when you appeared, airless, no wiggle room, extremely sharp edges all around that if you so much as a twitch could cut you badly, the material around the point of arrival would be compressed and become extremely dense, as the spell made a you shaped hole an instant before your arrival.

It was possible to survive in theory, but in a vacuum, the lungs get the air sucked out of them and unconsciousness happens in less than a minute with no air, death would happen a few minutes later while the caster passed out, I compare it to being teleported to the vacuum of space, but you are entombed into a solid and in total darkness.

Not a good way to go.

One of the blessings of the laws of magic was the fact that it was not possible to teleport inside another living creature, because as all creatures are inherently magical, even if they can't use magic, their bodies still have all a magical signature that disrupts every type of teleportation from happening directly inside or around them in a good half a meter radius. So safeguards only had to concern themselves with the safety of the caster or the ones coming along, in case of group teleports.

When it came to shapeshifting with magic, a lack of safeguards could just leave you looking like a malformed monster or be lethal, depending on what stage of transformation the spell fails at or is interrupted. I won't go into detail but anyone can probably guess it would be bad to suddenly lose your lungs while they are transforming into gills and end up with neither.

Shield spells have only real dangerous to those within the area of the shield, the most dangerous types of shields were those that expand outward like a pulse and push beings inside the area, outside.

Not only could they injure or kill depending on the speed they push at, they can get someone trapped inside a building or object, then the shield pushes them against said solid obstacle until they either die or break said object, most beings would simply die compressed against a solid wall, but other beings that are denser and stronger could simply break through said wall and only take damage.

Even if you were to survive, being pushed against a wall until either you or it breaks, I shudder in disgust at the thought of what that would even look like if the wall won... At least the effect would stop once the creature was dead.

Shaking my head and stopping the self traumatizing thoughts, I decided I reminded myself well enough about the dangers of casting spells not approved by the SSA (Spellcraft Safety Administration)

Its time to go face the god that will help me save this nation.

I grabbed the Idol from Treble who gladly gave it to me and headed out, walking to the center of the city at a relaxed pace, some griffons saw me and waved and I returned it with a smile and a wave of my own, the city sang a different tune now that they had hope again. But singing was still not allowed so maybe not literally.

The spot was I was looking for was within view now, a large statue of king Grover marked the middle of the city, the statue was very old and falling apart from lack of proper maintenance.

'King Grover, he was a good king, he did much for this city and the griffons, such a shame to see his memorial in such a state of disrepair.' I could only nod in agreement, he looked like an imposing griffon back in his day, if the statue was anything to go by.

'I have a feeling you two would have gotten along well.' Boreas then went silent for a minute and so did I, maybe he is right, but then again...

'Maybe we would, but that's not exactly difficult to do, I have a tendency to get along with anyone who gives me a chance, I mean I got along with you, didn't i?' I say jokingly to lighten the mood.

'My point exactly, you are easy to talk to, you are open about your feelings, usually you share what has you worried. I have the advantage of feeling your emotions when you hold me so Its not exactly a fair comparison but it's one of the senses I have to the outside.' I couldn't deny any of that, I suppose having my emotions bare was helpful to know exactly how to approach me.

'I figured as much, as long as you don't dig into my memories I don't mind you feeling my emotions, in fact I prefer you do because if I'm scared almost to the point of pissing myself, I would prefer you don't worsen it by accident. Everyday interactions would be so much better if others could feel emotions too, there would be less problems with communication and less misunderstandings.' As long as emotions aren't instantly treated as intentions, because I see how it could also get out of hand if now it's suddenly forbidden to feel some emotion.

'Now that you're here, you need to go into my realm to be able to cast the spell, tell me when you are ready and I'll pull you in.' I stopped my previous train of thought, did he just say I needed to go into... His realm? Where was even that? What does he mean by going in?

'I have no idea what you are talking about, what realm? Where am I going to go? Is it inside the Idol?'

'No, it's not inside the Idol, at least not literally, it's another dimension where I reside, it's where my real form exists, the Idol is merely a way for me to interact with the real world, you as a mage know what a scrying eye is, well this Idol is like that, but so much more.' He explains in a vague way that makes me understand without actually giving me much information, well played...

Now was he going to steal my soul once I went inside the Idol and keep my body? was I perhaps being a bit too paranoid?

I wont deny that I was... terrified of going in, I would be at the mercy of this deity, but this was the only way to protect the city.

I didn't have enough gemstones to form a full shield that would protect the city, the gems I had left were not high enough quality to make a double pentagram spell matrix that would work for a city sized shield, the least necessary for a shield this size I would need specially made magic conducting pillars to hold the gems at the same height, if it was done at an angle it would need to be a very strict and exact angle, enchantments for such a size... they were not meant to be done quickly, or by one person, they required precision, a tired little dragon like me definitively did NOT have precision or the patience right now.

I yawned, covering my maw, trying to shrug off sleep off me by rubbing my face, it worked for now.

The Idol is my only choice, and by magic I will make this work! I can't give up on them all!

This artifact was like... an extremely huge shortcut, and something that would work a hundred times better than my other idea.

I made my choice, it was worth the risk, if he wanted to get me he could have done so before, I am not defenseless either way... Right?

'Im ready, what do I do to go in?' I asked, trying my best to keep the fear out of my voice.

'I know I can't really say anything to reassure you, but you will soon realize I am not the kind of deity that betrays their allies, hurting you in any way would ruin my plans too, so please remain calm, I'll send you in now, you will disappear from your dimension, first place the Idol on top of Grover's statue, but keep your telekinesis on it, that way I have a connection to you.' his words reassured me somewhat, but I was still scared, I had no idea what awaited on the other side.

I did as he asked, levitating it up and placing it on the stable surface on the griffons back, as soon as I did I felt the world stretching around me, and then disappearing, I saw multicolor lights flashing by all around before I appeared in a brightly lit room, looking around me I felt as if this room was very important, I knew what it was, I had been in a place like this before, back in Canterlot many years ago.

Its a beautiful throne room, its incredibly tall, a large chandelier hangs from above in the middle, with two more on each to both north and south of the room, they are made of transparent, slightly pink crystal, having magical lights inside them. To both north and south of the room there are large full wall spanning windows that show a beautiful blue sky, various clouds floating by in different and sometimes quite strange shapes. The windows allow plenty of light inside, but the chandeliers still add a mysterious and pleasant light to the area near the ceiling, keeping it from being dark.

The floors are made of white mosaic with blue patterns that repeat themselves with the shape of feathers, they look quite detailed and beautiful, on the ceiling there engravings on the structure itself, I can make out a few runes but I'm unsure what they mean, at least in this context, it is as if someone had infused spells inside the very structure of this place, this was incredible, I moved on and started looking at the other objects here.

Various extremely detailed artworks decorate the throne room, painted on circular protruding shapes on the walls themselves, almost like as if they were meant to be windows to the past depicting what appeared to be different battles, oddly enough featuring the same four characters of different races, and in extremely highly detailed white marble statues of four different creatures were arranged in the room at each corner, as if they were meant to represent a group of equals... because why else would they be one in each corner?

There is a large griffon in heavy plate armor wielding a greatsword, his armor is stylized and looks extremely protective, probably weights a ton as well.

On the opposite corner the statue of a deer stag, taller than mom and more muscular than her wearing a chestpiece seemingly made of plants that covers his chest, sides and back, a quiver of arrows on his right side and even flowers coming out at random points along his living robe, with a bow that is supposed to be floating alongside him if it wasn't a statue, instead is simply coming out of the ground a little distance away, the stag's large antlers have various decorations on them, carvings too.

There was an Alicorn wielding a spear, she was feminine and regal, beautiful as well, she has armor, but lighter armor than the griffon, it covered her hooves, neck, back and sides but left her rear exposed as well as her underside, a bit unsafe if you ask me, but maybe she had other ways of protecting those areas and attacks normally would come from the front during a battle, still she was depicted with a smile, an almost flirtatious expression, and her pose accentuated her feminine features quite well, I had to put some effort to stop looking at her sexy flank, she was very lifelike.

And then the last statue, a dragon that looks about half a meter taller than even the deer's antlers, he is depicted wielding a staff with a large gem on top, he also wears mage's robes, with various accessories: bracelets and what seems like a chestplate, but it has crystals or gemstones embedded in it, all of them, look in peak physical condition, and just a glance tells me whoever sculpted this statues went into great detail about the anatomy, if a part would be visible, it was.

I don't know why I tried to look at those parts, I always keep my eyes away from there when it comes to other ponies or creatures, but because this were mere statues I didn't feel like they would mind me taking a peek.

This was interesting to say the least, and I felt my face cooling with a blush, deciding I had enough gawking at very realistic sculptures I shook my head clear and finally looked upon the large throne that was wooden a light color wood that oddly enough reminded me of the gigantic three where Griffonstone was built upon, the wood was polished smooth and shiny with various engravings everywhere as well as glyphs of unknown meaning upon it, I managed to recognize a few and they were related to the mind, the throne was also encrusted with large sapphires if the most beautiful shade of blue I had ever seen, making my inner dragon salivate.

The throne was facing away for me, and the light of the sun here was coming from in front of me, making it difficult to distinguish the figure sitting on the throne, but from here it was obvious that it was much larger in size than even General Steelwing.

"Hello? I'm Onyx, sorry for taking my time to look around." I announced, trying to sound formal but unsure who I was talking to just yet.

Slowly the chair swiveled around to face me, as if it had a hidden mechanism made specially for that, clever, that way he could always have the sun at his back, although they seem to have been looking out the window when I arrived here.

And a griffon who made Celestia look short was now looking at me, the most striking pair of steel gray eyes I've ever look into, they were piercing and intense, I was unable to look away, I felt myself start shaking like a leaf in the wind, adrenaline starting to get me ready to run.

I need to stop getting into situations like this.

Once I blinked and was able to take my eyes off his, I looked over his form, he was about a head taller than Celestia, his feathers were fully white, with his feline half being the typical lion color of light brown with a tuft on the tip of his tail, he wasn't just any griffon, he is the largest griffon I've met, without any of the colorful feathers, or any other adornments, he is also absolutely jacked, all while still looking perfectly proportional.

He is... Something else entirely, he's a griffon male, no doubt just like his statue in the corner, but the power he exuded is way more than what I could have imagined, more than anyone I've faced before, even Celestia.

I was wrong, he isn't weak, the only thing that was weak is his connection to the griffons in the material plane, but here it's a completely different matter.

It finally clicked in my brain that I was in presence of a god so I bowed low to the ground and stood still with my head lowered, the being before me could crush me like an insect if he so desired.

"I'm the same old griffon you talked to for the last few days, you even joked with me remember? Come on Onyx, I know I may look intimidating but I mean you no harm, I welcome to my plane of existence, the Windstream, where all creatures who have a passion for flight and freedom live, as well as those ambitious ones who always are looking for the next adventure and something exciting to do, for the ones who follow my virtues, but also for those who want to be with me when their time comes." He greeted me finally with a warm smile, he wasn't trying to be intimidating, get it together damn brain... I need to relax, not make a fool of myself!

I let out a shaky deep breath, he's not gonna hurt me, calm down now.

He's not gonna hurt me, why would he? I need to be logical here.

Even his voice had more weight to it here, it was not the same hearing it in person, and while his tone was reassuring he was still making my fight or flight instincts go into overdrive, and my body chose flight every time, I wanted out, but I needed to be logical and not let my instincts control me, dragon instincts were quite powerful, and I was finding that out now.

Seeing I was still struggling to calm down and not have a panic attack, his tone shifted into comforting and softer still, like one would when trying to reassure a scared young child, maybe it was not so much I was a dragon but that I was still not even a teen, instead a child and fear was normal when dealing with a supernatural being who I knew was hundreds of times stronger than me.

"Rise Onyx, please calm down, there was no need for bowing or being scared, I promise I won't hurt you, okay?" I nodded, lifting my head to look out the window at the fluffy floating clouds and bright blue skies outside, the sight made me feel a bit better, enough to gather my courage at least.

"I-i'm sorry, i didn't expect you to be so imposing sir, I was worried you would be angry if... If I didn't bow... I've been punished for not bowing before, i thought anyone stronger than me would want me to bow." I answer with a shudder, I still remembered the last time I tried to be casual about something like this and it didn't go so well, I slowly stood back up and stayed there awkwardly, but I was curious about the outside too.

"You have no reason to apologize little one, I invited you here because the throne is magically connected to the castle, it will work to amplify the shield enchantment you made and I will direct the flow of magic from the griffons in the city, my connection has rekindled every since every griffon saw the Idol, they remembered me, all of them remembered their old god." I nod, trying to relax and get used to his presence, his expression didn't hold any deceit and his tone was serious, so I approached slowly, getting within reach.

"Thank you mister Boreas, I... Am glad that I got to meet you in person, but who are the statues representing?" I asked while right in front of him, swallowing nervously as one of his talons approached me and gently patted me on the head, his talon was big enough to grab my head and crush it, yet he gently patted me instead, I would feel humiliated at being treated like a pet animal if it wasn't for the fact that it felt so calming and soothing, it made me slowly lose my fear of him, and...No one else was watching so what was there to lose? a few headpats wont hurt.

"I won't hurt you, see? You, you are really something special, you returned my Idol to Griffonstone after centuries, its wonderful to meet you in person, young Onyx, something tells me you are in a similar path to them, those statues are of my best friends, wonder how they are now, it's been... A long time, even for me." He had a thoughtful expression on him for a minute, then seemed to realize I asked him a question.

He pointed to the Alicorn mare and started to explain.

"Their names were Faust the Kind, the Alicorn of Harmony herself, she is quite a beautiful mare as you can see, she got her name because of her charismatic and selfless attitude, we as renown adventurers earned quite a lot of bits, and she donated most of her income to the poor and homeless, the lower class, the rest of her earnings were spent on supplies and food for our group, we all had a quota to meet, so we would always be ready for the next job. Well, that is how she earned her nickname." He stood quiet a second, reminiscing about something, before turning to look at the buck with the large and decorated antlers.

"Then opposite to her is Eixær, the large deerfolk buck, he is from a race of creatures that resemble deer, but they are similar to ponies in many ways, except they have a deep love for nature and the spirits that reside within the deep forest, he is a druid, probably the mightiest druid in existence, that I know of." He chuckled, as if remembering something about his friend. "He was quite naïve at times, got his foreleg ripped off by a cragdile once because he wanted to pet it, that really pissed off Faust who had to use her divine magic to regenerate him." I feel my mouth hanging open in shock, i was impressed at first, but something tells me this guy is not the brightest, then again couldn´t complain because I've almost been mauled by a jaguar once in the past, sure I was safe but... I didn't get my limb close to it, and its different than putting your leg near a gigantic crocodile that makes saltwater ones look like geckos next to it.

"The last one is... Inferno, an Arcanist, master of magic and a god level enchanter, in fact he is the one who made my throne and the Idol, they are both technically part of the same system, he also made the Bloodstone Scepter, in the end he left for the dragonlands, where he ascended as the deity of dragonkind, that's the last I know of him, He was... very protective of all of us, he would watch over us as we slept, and would sleep around us when we all had to sleep, keeping us warm and allowing us to not need a bonfire other than for cooking." That is... strangely wholesome for a group of seasoned adventurers that went on to become deities in their own right.

"That's incredibly amazing to learn! I didn't even know that there were sentient deer, I mean I had seen some but... near the frozen north, and an Arcanist? that´s a type of mage? If he made the throne and your Idol... he must have been incredible, no wonder he managed to ascend.
And what about you, mister Boreas? What's your story?" I didn't see a sword, he was not wearing armor or anything either, then again he is sitting in his throne and his castle, why would he need to fight?

"After our adventuring years concluded, I moved back to my homeland after, to the chaotic warbands of griffons where I had been born, local warlords fighting for land and resources just as the day I escaped searching for a better life, it was like nothing had changed in those twenty years we spent adventuring together...
I reached, conquered and claimed the very mountain where Griffonstone would be founded, I planted a primordial tree, an extremely rare tree that was considered extinct, on top of the beautiful hill overlooking the pine forests, and while it grew slowly, I single handedly at first, unified all the warring outlaw bands and tribes and formed the first Griffon Empire."

"As for what I do in a fight? I'm good at fighting with melee weapons, I know a little magic too, I have studied magic enough to know what I'm against, but I just prefer fighting with my greatsword, I wont go so far to say I am the best with a sword but I am pretty decent with one, not as cool or interesting as my friends, aren't I? That's just what being a fighter is like, no matter if I can use magic I much prefer the simplicity of wielding my sword."

"Nothing wrong with being a sword user sir, I bet you are incredibly good at it, I respect you more, because I struggle to learn to properly wield one, its quite difficult, I still have so much to learn...
I thank for you sharing with me more about your past, that certainly has motivated me to grow and become a better fighter, I have so much still to learn... But now I know where to start." And that is enchantments!

He stopped petting me and I opened my eyes, blinking in confusion, why did he stop? Oh... OH! I need to enchant the throne, I almost forgot I was here for anything other than stories.

"I have to enchant the spell now, I'm sorry to ask this but... can you help me by checking the spell is safe and done correctly please? I've checked many times but a fresh, non sleep deprived set of eyes could maybe catch any mistakes." I asked in a pleading tone and offered to him the scroll with the spell.

"Oh sure, I'm probably not as good as you in magic, since I am mostly a melee fighter, but it can't hurt to take a look." He grabs the scroll and starts to look at the sequencing and runes.

I yawn and stretch my legs, I need to get this done quickly or I will really start getting sleepy, I shake my head and slap myself fully awake, catching the attention of the griffon who cracks a smile as he watches me do that. A few minutes later he hands me the scroll.

"I shortened the sequence here, here and here for one rune instead of various for each attack, I changed the runes for other runes that will work better here and added one parameter you have forgotten to take into account, that is you forgot about the wind, you need to give the wind free access to flow in and out of the shield." I facepalmed, having forgotten that, he chuckled at my reaction and handed me the corrected scroll.

"That's everything, you had it almost perfect other than some minor aspects, but with my improvements the shield should be more resilient to siege attacks like large boulders or ballista bolts, it also will draw less energy, you don't need such a solid shield like this against griffons, but I must congratulate you in the safeguards you used, you thought about every single possible danger and accounted for it, some I didn't even know about! How did you manage that?" I smiled and checked the new sequence and replaced runes, this runes I didn't know, maybe they were ancient runes lost to time, but he helpfully clarified what they meant on the paper, the difference was my choices were too specific when he chose runes that would work just as well but less cluttered.

The new spell would work wonders, I couldn't wait to do this! I haven't felt so excited in trying a spell in a while, until now. "The safeguards are very commonplace in modern spells, the credit goes to the mages who designed them, I just took safeguards from various other spells and modified them to work for this enchantment, I made of course my own set of rules for the safeguards, for example this one here will push away anyone in the area of the shield, and this one goes a step further, if anyone gets stuck right on the shield despite having being pushed away, the shield will form around them instead of through them, preventing accidental deaths of griffons or other creatures having their body cut into two pieces, on top of that they will be unable to move inside the shield, the shield will only allow them to move outside, sort of like a one way barrier, this only applies to enemies, as animals like pets will pass unimpeded." I finished my explanation and he nodded.

"Very good Onyx, go ahead now, do you need me to get off the throne? I don't mind, just tell me and I'll make room for you to work." I shook my head no right away.

"No need sir, I just need to touch to engrave the gemstones on the back of the throne, with how many and how complex this is, it may take hours." I was glad he stopped, allowing me to concentrate on the very complex and lengthy spell matrix, the enchantment was made out of various parts put together, but the sapphires the throne had would work perfectly to hold enchantments, they were of exceptional quality.

I try to enchant the spell I made but I get a warning right away.

Your current enchanter affinity level is too low to make an enchantment of this tier and from this quality of materials, you have 0% probability of success.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS THIS?!"

I wasn't aware there was even a requirement to engrave an enchantment! What the fuck do I do now?! Does this mean I will fail if I try a hundred percent of the time? I wanted to slam my head on the ground in frustration.

"Whoa, what's got you so angry all of a sudden that you would cuss like that?" He asked in slightly surprise, but he didn´t sound angry at me having yelled, just confused.

"Oh, I-i apologize sir, it's... I can't do the enchantment myself, it seems my practice at home enchanting swords is not enough practice to enchant something of this level, I should have realized only enchanting about 5 different items with simple spells would not be enough practice for something of this scale, I apologize... I have failed." I let out a defeated sigh, moving away and giving the god in front of me his personal space back.

"Don't despair young mortal, I'll do it for you, being what I am has a few perks, I usually don't do this, but this is technically my domain and I'm allowed to do whatever I want in here." A pleased smile appears on his face, he puts out his massive talon, as if asking for something from me.

I realize he must want the spell scroll and give it to him right away.

"Good, now how do I put this so it works just right..." He gains a thoughtful expression before nodding to himself.

"I wish that the enchantment spell that is written upon the scroll held on my left talon is applied, with both the necessary quality of engravings, the material ingredients and the writing the closest it can possibly be to perfect, in the correct order and sequence the scroll indicates upon the Sky Sapphires that are encrusted on the throne I am currently sitting upon, all while still maintaining unaltered the original enchantments in the Sky Sapphires." His eyes glowed blindingly blue, I had to cover my own for a second, an enormous magical pressure overwhelmed my magical senses for about a minute, I kept quiet and still, and only opened my eyes with the light and pressure went away.

A very powerful spell was just cast, a spell so powerful it shook me to my core, not in a bad way, it just left my legs feeling slightly wobbly and my mind a bit rattled.

"W-what did just happen? What was that spell?!" I asked in astonishment, not even aware he could use magic, guess I was wrong about griffons, at least this one.

"Something I rarely do, but it's done, the enchantment is engraved and the magical paint is written on it, I'll let you do the honors, give the enchantment the energy it needs to start, at least the first four minutes. After you do, I'll send you back to the spot you came in from." I appreciated the gesture, despite him being the one who made it happen, I felt inadequate... But to be fair I am only eleven.

"T-thank you sir, thank you so much! But what spell did you use just then, to make it happen? I've never seen anything like that, it was incredibly powerful, I felt it in my very soul!" I felt excitement at the notion of magic that could just do something happen, just like that! It felt kinda like cheating, but magic as a whole is already cheating, is it not?

"That is one of the benefits of what I have become, think of it as simply wishing upon a star." He said cryptically, I wanted to protest, to complain and to nag him on until he told me, but I decided against it, I already have made myself look quite foolish in front of a god, I needed to move on and finish the spell.

"Yes sir, it sounds like a very powerful and useful spell, sorry I... I am very very interested in magic, it's a passion of mine, but that doesn't matter now, I'll finish the spell, but why do you need to send me back? I mean... Can't I stay a while longer and explore outside the castle? I'm curious as to what is outside."

His face grew serious and he stared at me intensely now. What did I do?! Did I just sign my death sentence?

His expression softened as he saw the fear on my face, I had trouble holding my composure by now, I wasn't easily scared but just a serious look from this griffon and I was already almost into panic mode. That's just how large the gap in power was between us, my unconscious mind knew that if I antagonized him enough, I was less significant of a threat to him than a baby rabbit was to an adult tiger.

"Didn't meant to give you that look, I just want to discourage you from wanting to explore outside this room, this realm is not meant for the living, the throne room is the exception, it is where I invite important beings when it is needed, and where I help teach and train the chosen kings and queens of the Empire, the Griffon Empire, it has been a long time since then." His answer was cryptic as always, but I felt like I had heard that name before...

That's it! The armor from those undead officers, it was called Griffon Empire, it talked about an empire!

"I see, but what is outside the throne room that is so dangerous? Sorry for my curiosity, I'm still only eleven, but I know when not to do something, and I'm not going to try to go out there." He nodded and relaxed his expression fully back to his neutral face.

"The outside has infinite skies, with the occasional home, there is also various structures that appear at random around, where one can challenge themselves by fighting against both sapient beings and monsters, the beings inside this structures are extremely dangerous so only the most skilled and powerful creatures dare to enter, but the ones who succeed are handsomely rewarded as you would expect, by treasure and fame." Huh... That sounds actually pretty familiar to me. "The fun twist I decided to keep things interesting is that the sapient creatures inside are also another inhabitants of the Windstream who sign up to become opponents, and they get paid a good amount if they manage to repel the challengers successfully, they are all paid per challenger defeated, but nowhere near as much as the challengers earn if they succeed." So... its sort of like a game? fascinating... I already felt excited to try this, but...

"But what if the challengers or the opponents inside are slain in battle? That would be terrible for their families! And is that all there is on the other side?"

"They don't really die, they are all already dead, no one can double die, not by any means available to them. They are trapped for a couple of days as a timeout, at least for the challengers, and then released back, they lose all the progress made towards clearing out the structures as well."

"The opponents, who are inside the structures just get send back home without pay if they die, to be replaced by other awaiting participants, this events are rare and highly showcased, so there is a long wait list for creatures wanting to be in, both challengers and opponents.
There is more to it too! you see this structures also have puzzles, traps and even hidden codes in them that allow for extra paths, hidden treasure, or more difficult fights with unique rewards." He explained sounding excited, actually smiling proud and sitting a bit straighter and taller.

"There is a system to classify the participants, measure their abilities and place them accordingly inside the structures, the strongest participants are the bosses and pseudo bosses, and then there are special enemies, and the weakest are common enemies, pretty much fodder, but the fun thing about this is that no one dies because everyone is already dead, and they cant underestimate even the lowest opponent in the structures, because they all have intelligence, even the monsters." He was really passionate about this, he must really have missed adventuring and fighting if he made all of this for others to enjoy, maybe for himself too.

"And of course its not everything! There are floating cities for those who want to have a more relaxed time and for those who crave... other forms of entertainment, there are race tracks for those who love running, and even water parks, icy slopes in the clouds and many many other things, I cater to all." I was really confused, why would I NOT want to go out there now? I wanted to visit all of those a whole lot now!

"You must be thinking: that sounds incredible! I want to visit even more." He shook his head.

"If you go out there, your soul will become bound to this realm like any other one who died and was accepted in it, you'll be able to stay and you will even keep your body there, like I do, but you wouldn't be able to come back to the material plane, I can pull only your body out of the Windstream, but your soul will stay behind." My eyes widened, now I understood why he didn't like the idea of me going out there to explore.

"Oh that's not the worst part. In case you are wondering, if your soul stays in the afterlife and your body comes out, your body will be soulless, it will not die, but you could become a host for the Hollow. A terrible being that inhabits soulless bodies who were meant to have a soul, it feeds on the pain of suffering and betrayal and subsequently the flesh of those cherished by the host's memories, and from what I know of you, if you were to become a Hollow, you would be..." He paused for a few seconds as if thinking and analyzing me.

"Just imagine an evil being who not only can use magic of the seventh tier, but can also bite through steel and stone with relative ease and knows how to use weapons, and with the strength you posses, and who controls you having no mercy or compassion and feels nothing but hate for the living and hunger for their flesh, your mind and body will become primed to hunt those who are closest to you, It will not hesitate to devour your family and then your closest friends, using your face, your memories and your abilities to their fullest, even tricking them into believing it's the real you to get them to lower their guard. That is why I don't want you to go out of here, even if I know you would enjoy yourself... You don't want to leave it all behind yet, do you? I know you don't want any of that." I was left speechless, trembling and starting to tear up.

I trembled, crying silently while looking into his eyes, thinking I could become such a monster and kill my loved ones... my throat felt dry like sand, I felt almost faint and dizzy, bile rising up my neck, I had to suppress the urge to vomit, not willing to disrespect this sacred room, not in front of its deity.

He noticed and touched me on the head with his talon, a soft blue light washed over me and I didn´t feel sick anymore, my heart was calm, and I was not about to break down either, now it was determination what remained firmly in my mind.

I still had to swallow back the bile in my throat but I only made a disgusted face and moved on, Ill be fine.

This definitively sounds like a good reason to NEVER go outside this throne room, I'd never want to cause something like that to happen over my curiosity, I am definitively never going to explore this place as long as I live.

"I apologize, I will never ever try to leave this room again!" He nods his head with a sympathetic smile.

"Good, because I am not allowed to intervene in case your body is possessed, I may be a deity, but I can't intervene directly on anything outside my own nation, even then I can't simply come out and start fighting on their behalf, that's not how any of it works, now there are things I can do, make deals is one of them, by the way, your soul belongs to me when you die." He said the last part so suddenly I took a few seconds to realize.

I did a did a double take, before seeing the shit eating grin he has on his face, I sighed, releasing the tension that last statement caused, phew! at this point I think one of my hearts will give out before I turn fifteen from all of this stress, I need a break, fuckin hell...

"I only jest, I'm allowed to lie, joke and deceive! But on a serious note, your soul is free, I am not allowed to just take souls into my domain after some creature dies without stating specifically that the deal I made with said creature is for their soul, and I never made a deal for a soul, Its just not my thing, I am after all here representing the freedom that is the right of all living things, It would be... really hypocritical of me to ask someone for their soul in a deal, even if they would have a really good time in my afterlife, not saying its for everyone, ponies most likely would prefer a more peaceful final rest, and so would some other creatures despite their different way of thinking."

"You took me out of the Abyssal Abyss, I told you that you had earned yourself a wish, that deal is already used up, you used it for me to make the enchantment you couldn't, I only helped you because we had a deal, now about you traveling out of the castle..." He had more to say so I paid attention quietly, he had returned the scroll to me by now.

"There is a way to safely do it, but I would need to go with you, and by doing that I would leave the Throne, you know this is what keeps me connected with the Idol, it allows me to both sense and connect with griffons and other sapient creatures in the city, or wherever my Idol is located, and now it also allows me to control the amazing shield you have designed." I nodded in understanding, his reluctance to leave the Idol now that it was back in the hands of the griffons once again was commendable, he could be out there in his realm having fun but chose to look over those who needed him the most.

"It all makes so much sense now that you mention it. But don't worry about me visiting this realm, I'm not ready for something like that knowing the risks, and I have much going on in my own life, not to mention having magic studies, fighting practice, and more that is going to keep me busy." I mentioned, trying not to reveal anything else about me than what he already knew.

"Now it's time to power the enchantment..." Without further ado I start pouring my mana into the sapphires on the throne from a few meters away, an indigo stream flowing from my half open maw and directly into the gemstones, spreading evenly between all of them.

A few seconds later, my mana is empty and I feel the lack of sleep catch up to me as the mental exhaustion of having my magic drained finally registering to my sleep deprived mind, who decided the best thing I could do was go to sleep right then and there.

I feel something is wrong, but I can't focus on that because I am barely conscious as is.

By completely emptying your magic and trying to use even more with a spell far beyond your current ability you suffer from severe magic exhaustion, your mana will regenerate slower and you will randomly lose concentration on any spells that require it, any spell you use will also be weaker and you risk suffering further complications by casting spells higher than fourth tier.

"Am... Sleepy, take me back please." I remembered to ask that before closing my eyes, not able to comprehend what the system just told me, I go to sleep.

Author's Note

They were roommates.

Chapter 57 Exchange of information

I slowly started to wake up, I was laying in bed back at the orphanage, it was late in the evening, near sunset by the looks of it on my window, curiously no one had tried to wake me up all day, still I didn't feel quite right, I had a dull constant headache.

I remember in my dreams I was back at the castle... I was safe there, I remembered that much.
How should I call that place? I can't keep referring to it as the second dungeon, nor can I call it the castle.

This place had nice fields full of various veggies, and plains of wild flowers and green grass, a nice forest too...

Harvest sounds simple, easy to remember and fitting, a quaint little village who once was the home of hard working earth pony farmers.

I name it Harvest Village, and Castle Harvest, maybe I could grow some plants inside the castle that I bring from the material plane! At least some decorative plants that grow indoors.

I realize I have slept for most of the day, I did really mess up my sleep schedule now by falling asleep so early, didn't I? I still felt a bit sleepy somehow.

I yawned wide and started to stretch, getting to the door of my room, oh right I was sharing the room with Treble and Sable, but both of them were absent at the moment.

But that wasn't important right now, did... Did the spell work? I went to a window, peeking out and letting a big sigh of relief.

Just as I theorized, a shimmering, barely visible rainbow dome was covering everything, I let out a small cheer at my success, all that effort bore fruit!

Now to check if it's working properly!

I ran to the kitchen and there they were, everyone was here, I suppose someone must have brought me back and put me in bed while I was passed out.

As if I couldn't feel more thankful to them, a wide smile on my face as ran over to them.

"Good evening sleepyhead, you really made it happen! I am really really proud of you, my silver knight." Mom was the first to greet me as I came into the living room/kitchen. Everyone was giving me a big smile, thankful the city was safe, at least protected from intrusion.

But I couldn't take credit for it, after all I had failed to enchant the spell on the throne myself, I had no chance.

Still as I approached her and dad, I got pulled into a one legged hug by her, followed by her head going over my own, she held me like that for a little while and I patted her side all the while.

"Mister Boreas talked to us, after you passed out in the middle of the city, he said he got you out of the Windstream to keep you safe, he said that falling asleep in a realm not made for the living is not safe, we took you back to bed right away because you were too tired to wake up." Sylf filled in on what happened after I powered the spell, I can barely remember doing so, and I still felt my magic was weak.

"I'm pretty sure we gave him more power by doing this, but if he protects the city then... I suppose it's a good thing, he seemed like a decent being when I met him earlier, what do you make of him dad?" I asked the unicorn stallion, who simply shrugged.

"I dunno, I talked with the goddess Faust about him, and she said she was going to have a talk with him, maybe she has something to say or something, but she told me that helping him was the correct plan of action, at least until we have repelled the army coming our way, and that he better visits her when things go back to normal and calmed down." I could only nod in agreement, we had options, sure but nothing else would ensure our safety better and with less bloodshed.

"And the enchantment... Does it work? Have you tried throwing rocks or... Just walking in and out while carrying something? You should be able to take in and out any items you are carrying, as long as they are moving at the same speed you are, you should be able to pull even carts or carriages inside the shield, but just carrying something on you should be enough of a test to see if all the other things work right, by if you throw a stone at the shield from outside, and you're not holding it or near it should bounce off." I explained in detail, but then shook my head.

"You know what? Don't tell me, I'll go test it myself, I want to ensure the results." Answered before they could, I really want to see the shield.

But first I went and greeted everyone else here, Sable, little Gilda, Treble and even mister Gruff, giving a short hug to each, and after that I had breakfast myself. An omelette with some cream cheese and wild garlic, all made by Sable.

"Thank you for the breakfast, now I will go and give the shield a bit of a test run, after that I'll tell Mr. Boreas he can turn it off until it's needed" I got nods from everyone after that and headed out, walking towards the edge of the city, specifically towards the entry/exit and I was greeted by the two guards, giving them both a thumbs up.

I kept going and walked outside, I could pass in and out of the shield without issue, i could definitively feel it, as the shield sensed my magic and automatically allowed me to pass through.

"Hey lads, I'm going to test the shield and see if it can stop attacks from rocks and things like that, please don't be alarmed when I throw rocks at it, okay?" I decided to warn them, no sense if startling the soldiers.

"Understood! Try without any worries, we were all debriefed about you, and your important contributions to our city, you have our thanks, we were there for the ceremony and we all agree with our god's decision, even if you had a talon in it." One of them answered with a smile and his fellow guard agreed with a nod.

"You have the army's full support, that's for sure, and we will hear you out any time from now on."

"Thank you both gentlegriffs, I really appreciate that! okay now... Let's try this shield."

I look around for a rock and find one slightly buried on the ground outside the city walls, on the dirt path heading up the hill.

It's not a big stone, not bigger than the palm of my paw, but it should be enough to check the shield works, as the rock is heavier than a regular arrow, it should be stopped and harmlessly bounce off or break.

I prepare and then stand on two legs, moving my foreleg back and prepare them throw the rock as hard as I can, it makes a whistling sound as it flies quickly towards the shield, hundreds of kilograms of power behind that throw, it arcs and hits the barrier fast, shattering into dust and falls down to the ground outside the barrier.

Perfect! I feel inspired, maybe...

I could make a personal shield that expands out very fast and pushes enemies away while dealing force damage, it would not be too difficult to do, in theory.

Both deflecting attacks and pushing melee opponents back... It would be an amazing power.

I prepared and shot a firebolt at the shield, it impacted and dissipated against the shield harmlessly, I feel a pang of pain in my head after using that cantrip, something's wrong with me?! That's not supposed to hurt, it never did before...

'System, what is causing me pain when I use magic?'

You are suffering from magic exhaustion, casting spells causes pain to you because it strains the magic pathways inside it, try to limit or stop your use of magic for at least another day, or you risk worsening your condition, not to mention increased pain and in severe cases, damage to the mana pathways in your body and brain.

Oh fuck my life! Now I'm helpless when I need my magic the most, I better listen then if I want to be of use anytime soon, I'm not dumb enough to just worsen my condition now by trying to cast anything else.

I sit down in the dirt with a frustrated groan and get comfortable, waiting for my headache to go away, thankfully it slowly goes away, it wasn't bad either but surprising.

'Mister Boreas? You can shut off the shield now, it works wonders from what I tested, I'm super glad for it too.' I say trying to pretend I was fine, I was happy the spell works of course, but not that I couldn't enchant it myself, that still fell like I failed.

'I seriously doubt they will have battlemages on their ranks, but it's good that you decided to cover all the basis, the shield works wonderfully, you think you don't deserve the credit, but you designed it, this is not something most prestigious mages would be able to come up with in weeks, let alone a single day, even if you based your works on other spells, it still is a marvel of design.'

The shield fades away until its off, motes of rainbow light float on the sky and slowly fade too where the shield was.

I felt my face cool with a blush at being complimented, but I was still feeling a bit like a failure, I was unable to do the most important part myself.

'But... I couldn't enchant it, I'm not skilled enough when it maters.' I lamented, feeling disappointed in myself, I could have been doing so much more and I didn't.

'The fact it would just take you practice while most creatures can't even enchant a single rune on a gem or item speaks volumes about your talent, natural talent, do yourself a favor and practice enchantment, make powerful enchanted items, if you practice enough you will become an amazing Arcanist, dont give up on something just because you couldn't do a Grandmaster level enchantment on a God level object, as far as I know, only Inferno could have enchanted my throne, the Sky Sapphires on it are far above anything you will find on in this dimension.'

I can't help but be amazed by this, so his throne and the sapphires in it are god level? I didn't expect my enchantment I designed required grandmaster level. He was right tho, instead of pouting and sulking about my failure I could get my shit together and practice more, learn to enchant more and more difficult spells, for now I could only do cantrips and tier one and two spells, but... I could improve enough to eventually make any type of enchantment possible!

I was limited to tier 7 spells, I needed to grow more in power to be able to cast anything of a higher tier, but when it came to enchantment, I was only limited by my skill, I could grow so much more! At least to seventh tier.

I just wanted to know something really badly now, something he didn't explain. 'Just to clarify, what's an Arcanist? I've heard that word before from you at least twice by now.'

'You don't know? How odd... back in my time, Arcanists were not unheard of, to put it simply an Arcanists is a mage that has obtained a deep understanding of multiple branches of magic and ancient knowledge from an advanced fallen civilization, all with a focus on finding the right path to their own Ascension, it's been done before, although magic is not the only path to it.' there were ancient civilization? What happened to them? That didn't matter now.

'I bet you aren't exactly telling how you got there, are you?' He chuckled at that, I could feel the smile in his beak despite not being there in person anymore.

'Maybe you'll figure it out yourself? As I was saying, Arcanists want to reach the level of gods, the only one who made it, as far as I know is Inferno, he had a combination of immense natural talent, extensive studies and lots of field application and experience gained alongside me and the others, fighting day and night, slaying both beasts, monsters and enemy warriors.' he continued, giving the example he knew best.

'How did he became powerful enough to ascend and become what he is now? It couldn't have been easy, please tell me more.'

'Of course not, but we had very unique circumstances you see, the land was not as peaceful as it became now, before the founding of Griffonstone, two thousand years ago, evil was rampant, bandits trying to steal from you or kill you for your armor, wandering warbands looking to conquer, loot, kill or enslave, necromancers with armies of undead, not to mention nations forming and breaking in constant wars, attacks by beasts and supernatural monsters like the wendigo and many many other dangers, and we were right in the middle of that mess, and as our group had different races, we were seen as dangerous by almost all the races, including our own, for traveling with the others, that was at first.' he paused, reminiscing about that distant past.

'We proved ourselves, we gained a good reputation, and at the same time we placed a huge target on our backs, that same target helped us grow more and more in power as we fought would be assassins and bandits that were after us for our bounties, and improved our combat skills every day, rarely having time for a break, so we lived in the moment getting experience and growing stronger quickly, this is how, after all our work we became the best of the best, in not only combat but various fields that may be unrelated.'

'After we had amassed enough cash and fame, I became an artist and an athlete, giving myself some well deserved vacations from the fighting, I became the most renown artist of my time after I retired from adventuring, even tho I had started drawing and sculpting when I was with my friends on the thick of it, I only had time to get serious about it later.'

'I also became an elite athlete in various sports, not even the strongest of earth ponies could rival me, or the fastest pegasus, I ran marathons, I even tried running track and came up on top, ponies for the most part were the ones holding this competitions and events, in their respective tribes each has their own sports too.'

'But of the two of those hobbies, oddly enough I found my passion in art over sports, I feel it is my true calling! Also speaking of art, I didn't say anything at the time but... You seem to have really taken a liking to my marble sculptures, didn't you?' At that moment I started to feel embarrassed really quickly, I wanted to escape and I was tempted to do so by teleporting away, consequences be damned, but I didn't, i just sat down and covered my face and snout, that was by now glowing with shame.

'I-i was just curious, promise! I... I ain't a pervert or something, but since the statues were just that, statues, I didn't feel like it was wrong of me to stare, and satisfy my curiosity, s-sorry about that, I keep my eyes from... wandering next time.' I answered softly, a hopefully i wasn't in trouble over this. I should have known he could see me, he probably has better senses than me too, fuck...

'Oh calm down lad, I'm just messing with ya! I'm not trying to punish you for it, I'm not trying to make you feel bad about what comes naturally to all of us at your age and older, it was just curiosity wasn't it? Its called puberty what you're going to start going through in months or a few years at most, you'll know very well what I mean then.' I let out a relieved sigh, glad to not be in trouble, that was the last thing I wanted, I was already anxious enough about everything that happened lately.

'W-what a relief you aren't mad, I don't want to admit to myself the truth yet, at least feel normal for now so when the time comes that I don't feel normal, I'll worry about puberty only then, now let's talk about something else.' I was recovering from the previous embarrassment, but still felt like a bit of an idiot for getting caught staring at that, I decided to ask about something that interested me greatly. 'Would you please tell me more about your friend Inferno? I was not raised by dragons so I don't know anything about dragon history, and I'd like to know more about such a legendary dragon, maybe It will inspire me to make more new enchantments.'

He was quiet for a few seconds
'Only if you tell me more about yourself, a fair deal, an exchange of information, I want to know why you have such power at your age, and what moves you, what motivates you, don't need to tell me everything, but at least give me a good idea of it.' I suppose it couldn't hurt to tell.

'Deal, I will tell you all I feel comfortable saying.' I don't want to anger whoever have me my second chance at life, hopefully telling my story wouldn't be a bad idea.

'Very well then, young Onyx. I'll go first.
Inferno, what he did outside of adventuring? He dedicated himself to research, enchanting and seeking the hidden knowledge of this world, ancient faded scrolls and books were his favorite discovery when exploring ancient temples or caves, he would become extremely excited when he found one of them, it was honestly adorable how he would celebrate that, he didn't care much about gold or gems like most dragons, he didn't show much excitement for them, but he still always had more than enough to stockpile them and used most of them to pay for his research materials and his magical ingredients. And of course eating the gems that wouldn't sell for a good prize.' He and I weren't so different, except for the fact he was probably leagues more intelligent and powerful than me.

'Some were rare items or parts from monsters, magical plants, etc. Others were less morally acceptable to obtain, subjects to experiment with, usually using himself and other times he used animals, but when we caught a specially bad person he was happy to take them off our talons, and I think we all knew where they would end up... We did not ask questions, but to be fair some crimes deserve the worst possible punishment, and while Inferno didn't enjoy causing pain, some experiments required living subjects to best test the result of complex spells, some deadly or dangerous that he couldn't test on himself, that's where the worst kinds of evil creatures became very useful.' After that, I wondered if all of Boreas three friends managed to ascend as he has? Most likely. I was sure at this point about three of them, including himself, I may find out someday about the deerfolk if I talked to some deer, but I was not sure where they live.

It was my turn to tell my side but I didn't feel like telling it all, I had an idea, while I didn't mention it earlier I had sort of clued on what he could do.

'Can you just read my mind and learn all I know that way?' I asked tiredly.

'I can only read your mind's superficial thoughts, for example I can tell you don't really feel like explaining everything even tho I just told you a whole lot... But if you want me to know you can think about everything in sequence, and it's not too different from telling it out loud...' fuck me, I guess reading old memories wasn't as easy to do without hurting the person you were reading from.

'Correct Onyx, I technically can, but you could suffer damage to your memories.' I figured, letting out a tired sigh I started to explain that was relevant, leaving out the fact about the show that it would have been too hard to explain, and who this entity that offered me the deal was, I'd rather not risk it finding out and punishing me for talking about it. I told him about the dungeons and about how similar they were to these 'structures' he designed for the entertainment in his realm, but with life or death consequences, I told him where this was all located, and why it all happened, and that linked to my reason for coming here and helping them, all I do, and ill I want is to survive, if that requires making the world an utopia, so be it, it was just a side effect of my attempts at improving my chances of survival.

He was satisfied with my answer, and even though he wanted to know the details he didn't push.

'You're stuck with a really complicated deal, I think it's cruel, despite what you still remember from your old life, you still are a child and yet... You fought and you won mere days after being born.
Let's hope that in the next fight things will be easier for all of you, I'll leave you to rest for now, I can tell your mind is still recovering from powering the barrier, goodnight lad, again you have given me much to consider and go over in my mind.' With that he was done talking and I managed a weak 'night' before I went quiet, looking up at the moon, letting out a sigh.

I knew up there was Luna... or Nightmare Moon, I wondered what was going through in her head at the moment... Maybe Luna was still in there struggling for control, or maybe she was fully gone, taken over by Nightmare Moon, I wonder what either of them were thinking, I wonder if I would get to meet Luna, if I would survive to see that day, if that day would ever come. I wondered if I had messed with the timeline too much...

I wanted Luna to be saved, she was one of my favorite ponies in the show, maybe she was less of a bitch than her sister, I can only dream. But still if she came back, her sister may mellow out, if the hope of her coming back was enough to make her want to change for the better maybe there was hope that Luna would fully turn her into what she was like in the show, what she appeared in the show.

I slowly got up and walked back up the hill, and into the city proper once again, it was dark and a few oil lanterns were illuminating the streets, hanging from simple wooden poles.

The guards wondered why I stayed there for so long just sitting down and starting at the sky, and just shrugged, what was I gonna tell them? That I spent hours holding a telepathic talk with their deity? That sounds ridiculous even to me.

I had theorized before that the throne where Boreas was sitting upon, is not a mere chair, but a highly enchanted and very powerful magical artifact itself, from the few runes I recognized it seems to be a hub of psionic energy as well as magical energy, perhaps a combination of both, and maybe that is what allows him to use the Idol to connect with all the griffons and other creatures in its vicinity...

He did say it was like a very advanced scrying eye, but that's the Idol, the chair instead seems to be able to link other beings directly to him, and even share their magic and who knows what else.

Certainly useful, but it seems to have its limitations, as he said earlier, I returned his followers to him, maybe he needs them to obtain the energy to power those artifacts or at least their most powerful abilities. I was not exactly sure of any of this, no point thinking about it.

I returned to my temporary home during my stay here, the door is thankfully open and there are still guards standing outside, I wave at them and they let me pass without a word, just nodding politely.

"Hey dude, you've been outside all evening, I though you were going to test the shield and come back, what got you so distracted?" Surprisingly it was Treble who was waiting for me, sitting on the table and reading a book, no one else was around us, at least not in this room but I could smell my parents, perhaps they were already in bed, hopefully sleeping.

I was not sure how to answer, so I just went and sat down on the table near him.

"I was having a chat with someone and lost track of time, I also stayed a while to watch the sunset, then eventually also stargaze and relax, the moon is very beautiful today." He gave me a look of curiosity, but decided not to pry, after all if I wanted to tell who I was talking to I would have.

"Hope you had a cool day, I like laying on a cloud and watching the sunset too, and stargazing to try to find any shooting stars, while not the most fun, it's still nice sometimes, you have more friends here? You're pretty good at making friends despite being a dragon, I've also hanged out with other griffons my age but never went anywhere beyond playing together, they didn't want anything to do with me just because I am an orphan, after they realized or I told them, they stop talking to me."

"Why would they stop talking to you for that? You're really awesome! We haven't hang out much since I was always busy here but I can tell youre fun to hang out with, just talking to you puts a smile on my face."

"Thanks, but I'm used to it, and yet I still wish I could have good friends or parents..." I felt a pang of sorrow at his words, I imagined what it would be like if Sylf had not found me that night over ten years ago.

"They think us orphans are purse stealing, dirty unwashed and that we will trick them and steal their bits, that's why the other griffons my age around here don't want to hang out, I only got my sisters and grandpa, we all try our best to prove then wrong, and I was glad that no one recognized me and the selection ceremony, or they would have been a lot more objections, at least I can say I was chosen by our god, that may... be enough to prevent issues, but it still sucks dude, trust me."

I moved closer and enveloped him in a hug, making him let our a soft squawk of surprise, his body stiffened at first at the unexpected affection, but slowly he relented and gave in to the hug, it was a gentle hug so that helped.

"I know I barely know you, and I know I'll not be here forever but I consider you my friend, you and both of your siblings, but if you ever need anything you know where I live, and I will visit too of course! I could even visit on my own now that I think about it... I just need to make a teleportation circle, something that will take about a whole month but maybe I can stay that long once the threat coming our way is dealt with." He tried to speak, but tears started to drip down his beak silently and onto my shoulder, he laid his head there for a few minutes, crying silently to himself while I held him and slowly caressed his back, right under his wings.

"D-dude... I-i didn't expect to get a hug, griffons aren't much the hugging type, but you give cool hugs, you're pretty cool, and I'm talking cold, but you're also awesome for this, thank you." He says weakly after crying silently for a while, his voice sounds pained but slowly gets less sad as I keep hugging him a while longer.

I smile weakly, feeling tears falling down my face as well, just imagining his loneliness, not having Sylf, or Coconut around...

Would I be alone still? Would I be alive?

I certainly doubt I would be alive, I don't think I could have fought and killed that gigantic spider back then, not when I was days old.

I blink slowly and clear my vision, taking a deep breath to stabilize my emotions, I don't have to imagine losing my family, I did once before, but if I lose my current family I would... I don't honestly know.

"I-i never thought anyone would want me around, I'm not lame, it's just that no parent wants their child to associate with an orphan, lowlifes.. they call us, but I've never stolen a single thing, and I taught Sable and Gilda to not steal either, we don't need to when Grandpa puts all of his effort into keeping us fed and happy, and I still plan to help him, working as a king or working by selling scones on the street, I have not changed my mind that I would help, it's the least I can do for him." After that we slowly break up the hug, he gives me a determined look, he clearly means what he says and he wants to help them.

"You'll make an awesome king, the most awesome one ever, it's fun to hang out with you, you're my friend and I really mean it." We share a fistbump and a genuine smile, then I get an idea to cheer him up even more.

"I could teach you how to wield a sword or even a warhammer, I'm self taught on that last one and I'm not very good if I'm honest, but I'm willing to try.
It just takes a whole lot of strength to swing around the hammer, so make sure you exercise every day and increase your physical strength, that will help you be able to easily swing any weapon around." His eyes sparkle in interest when I talk about learning to use weapons, like every teen he is very interested in the topic.

"You can do that?! Please teach me! We could even start now! I've got to read this books that we found in the library of the castle... But learning how to defend myself is a good way to spend time instead, I'm sure mister Boreas wouldn't mind." I shrugged and nodded.

"I don't know what mister Boreas thinks about this, but I'll teach you how to fight with one no problem, just remember that a stick isn't the same as a sword, you need to be careful where you point it at, and not to move the sharp edges close to you because you risk cutting yourself, with me that's less of an issue but you... You're fluffy and that doesn't protect you much from swords, it's better than nothing of course, but not enough. Now follow me."

We went to the backyard that had a few planters with herbs and where Gilda and Sable were playing around, the cat, Ashy was also there napping in the corner on top of a rock, sadly there was not enough room for them to play and us to fight here, so they had to go.

"Hey big brother, oh Onyx! You're back, you took a long time there, your parents said you would be fine though and left to their bedroom, I think they went to sleep." I waved at them and approached, Gilda also waved at me and said hello cheerfully, then the two girls went back to playing together.

"Please make room for me and Treble, I'm going to teach him how to fight with a sword, he is old enough to learn by now and he could practice with me." I asked them in a pleading tone, both looked at me and then each other and nodded slowly.

"Okay, but only if we can watch from the doorway. We promise we won't get closer!" Sable demanded excitedly and Gilda nodded and flapped her wings clearly also interested to watch us.

"Sure as long as you don't try to interfere or get close... I'll make sure that the sword will be covered at all times anyways but it's better safe than sorry." I then take my shortsword out of my inventory, it's in its proper scabbard, I tie the sword to the scabbard firmly with the rope that holds the scabbard around me and then I grab it in one hand and shake it, checking if the rope I used will hold the scabbard and blade together, and thankfully it does so I hand the sword to Treble.

He quickly grabs it and stands back, holding it in one talon and trying to get used to its weight and balance by lifting and moving it around in one talon.

"Now we will be fighting with the scabbard on, no sense in hurting yourself with the sharp edge if it bounces off something, that is always a danger with a sword, if you can't control it's edge at all times you will end up injuring yourself and your allies, understood?" I ask in a serious tone, but not harshly and I don't raise my voice or yell at all, I think a firm but gently approach works best, it does for me.

"Yes I understand, always watching where the edge is and not allowing it to be against myself, or those who are on my side, got it!" He nodded firmly.

"Okay now attack me with it, full force, don't worry because the scabbard will keep the blade from hurting me or yourself, go ham!" He hesitated, looking at me questioningly to check if I was being serious, I nodded at him with a small smile.

"Okay then, if you're sure... Here I go!" He then rushed at me and tried to do an overhead swing, aimed at my neck, which I simply crouched under, but he didn't relent, recovering and going to attack my legs from the other side next, something that was harder to simply dodge, so I jumped over it, his attacks were very telegraphed, he didn't try to feint or use a neutral stance, he revealed his attack angle before moving by the way he holds the sword, I could tell which side he was going after.

He seemed to realize that as well, and instead pulled his sword back and tried stabbing at me with it aimed at the base of my chest, this was actually the best way to go about it, against a dragon.

I lifted one of my claws and grabbed the sword by the scabbard before it the point could hit my neck, he stopped pushing the sword against me, and stepped back, I released his sword.

"Excellent, this last hit works much better than the previous ones, as a dragon, stabbing at me works better than slashing because my scales can deflect mundane blades made of steel, but stabs can manage to get past and hurt me if enough pressure is applied, at least... Last time I checked, I believe my scales have hardened since that time." He smiles proud at my praise, puffing out his chest and extending his wings, then he can't help but start bouncing in place in excitement.

"I want to go again! Please? There are so many moves I want to try, I've read books on knights before and how they fight, they were old and I didn't understand many times but they showed pictures, that's where I learned that stabbing hits are good against armored opponents, if I can find a weak spot in the armor there it can deal good amount of damage!" He waved his sword around a bit, clearly wanting more practice, he also didn't seem tired yet, he is very very excited to learn, how could I say no?

"Okay dude, I'm ready, come at me with all you got! Remember, don't hold back because I can take it." He did, this time he flapped his wings and took to the air, flying away from me and then coming back in a dive, picking up speed and momentum before grabbing the shortsword with both talons and putting all of this bodyweight and speed into the attack.

I could have dodged but that would risk injuring him as there was a wooden fence behind me, so I took him hear on, catching him midair by his shoulders, but he made a stabbing movement and still hit me quite hard with the sword, right into my neck in the middle where the windpipe is.

Onyx has taken 16 bludgeoning damage!

I admit that hurt a whole lot more than I thought it would, and sent me reeling back from his momentum, I may be strong but I am not heavy enough to remain standing after a divebomb like that, let the momentum carry me, and I was thrown into my back and left laying on the ground while grasping my throat where I was hit, thankfully my windpipe was not bent in, I could breathe just fine.

I lost, in a real fight I would be gasping for breath and maybe bleeding too, or worse depending how far the sword went in. I rubbed the spot with a frown.

He immediately rushed to my side in concern, standing over me and checking up on me to make sure I wasn't hurt.

Of course I could have fought back or even stopped him better and more safely, but I was overconfident.

"Onyx! Oh gosh I'm so sorry! Please tell me you're okay, I didn't mean to hurt you... I thought you would stop it like you did before." His tone was of genuine concern and worry, the girls also approached equally concerned, asking if I was hurt.

I continued to lay there a while longer, before answering.

"I'm just taken aback by how strong you are, can all griffons do that? That dive bomb combined with the whole body stab is a really dangerous move, if it was a real fight and the sword didn't have the scabbard on, you could have hurt me badly." I chuckled while rubbing my neck again, I was glad my neck was fairly muscular otherwise I would have taken some real damage, still that will leave a nasty bruise, and soreness.

"You tryna become a dragonslayer huh?
Quite the title for a king, but very bad news for me." I joked, chuckling to myself, I sat up and dusted my back with my tail.

"No no! I would never try to hurt you, you're my best friend! I'm so sorry, you're hurt! I-ill yo get your father, he can heal you right?" He said frantically, trying to run back but I grabbed him by the tail, he let out a pained squawk and hovered midair before falling to the ground and landing on his butt, then turned to me with a hurt and angry expression, blushing in embarrassment.

"No need to, relax! I've got a way to heal myself right here." Before he could complain to me about grabbing him I pulled the Amulet from the inventory and held it in my claw, it was warm to the touch and I felt a friendly presence from it, like as if it was greeting me, I ignored it and willed it to heal my neck bruise and a glow emanated from it and the pain was gone, I barely felt any more tired, but my neck was as if nothing had happened.

"Whoa! You're fine now, that purple spot on your neck is gone... Just like that? Also... Please don't ever grab and pull my tail like that dude, that's just painful and very embarrassing! Next time I'll not let it go." I felt surprised by his angry tone but I nodded my ears lowering as I felt bad for making him upset at me, he was right to be angry, pulling some creature's tail is not acceptable, it's very rude and painful, griffons more so than ponies as their tail is fully alive and not a knob with hair coming out of it like a pony's, but still it was rude to do, and something that was sure to at least annoy the tail's owner.

"I'm really sorry bro, I just didn't want you to go wake up my parents, I want to let them rest, I promise I'll try not to grab your tail again, if I do, you have the right to punch me in the face and I wont defend myself, and yes just like that, this amulet is special, but don't worry about that now, just... Let's go back to training, I still gotta teach you how to swing a warhammer, in case I get injured I have this thing to heal back so you better do your best, okay?" I excitedly encouraged him, pulling the warhammer hammer out of the inventory and placing it on the ground.

It seems the fact that this weapons were of a higher level didn't really affect his ability to use them at all, maybe a special ability? It was not really my concern, but I took it as a good sign, he definitively could use a shortsword very well for someone without formal training.

We switched to training with the heavier weapon, he again lifted it, and held it to get used to the weight, this was much different, a much less balanced weapon, that relied more on brute strength than on dexterity, it was a bludgeoning weapon meant to crush armor, to break bones and to tenderize the muscle under scales or though hides of creatures and monsters alike, did I really want to get smacked by it? Definitively will need to dodge better or I'll get seriously hurt if he lands a good hit. I wasn't exactly a melee fighter.

A few minutes later we began, I dodged far better now, an uppercut came aimed to my chest, then he pulled back and tried to bash me over the head on the return, but he was far slower with the warhammer, I was able to easily dodge and even when he tried to correct he simply couldn't reach me.

"Swing faster, don't be so obvious with it, try making feints!" I corrected during the fight, he goes to strike but slows down mid-swing, making me dodge prematurely by jumping, then while I'm midair he attacks for real with a grunt of effort, I can't move midair, I can only position my shoulder to absorb the impact.

"Oh fu-" I don't have time to even finish the sentence before the hammer impacted me on the shoulder, thankfully the muscle in that area is thick and dense enough to absorb the full impact, and the weapon bounces off.

Still that was quite scary, if he had hit harder and somewhere less protected, and from another angle I would have definitively gotten hurt, heck if I wasn't a dragon I'm pretty sure this impact would have shattered my bone anyways, muscle or not, but I was built different, still once firmly on the ground I surrendered, lifting my paws defensively and sitting down.

"You got me mate, well done! nice feint, I fell for it, didn't expect you would learn to do it so quickly to be honest, and you also aimed higher than I expected, I'm surprised you predicted I would jump over your hit, to be fair I'm not exactly experienced with melee combat, but I have at least some practice, you ever practiced before? Because you're very impressive." I asked him, smiling proudly, he would be an amazing fighter, that was for sure.

Being good at fighting when you are a king is important, because when everything else fails, you can only trust yourself.

He shakes his head at my question "I never really lifted one of this weapons before, but I've read all about them on the books from the abandoned library in the center of town, the books there are for public use and I found some ancient books on swords and various other weapons and how to use them, how to swing them and the many different techniques you could use to fight various types of opponents, I think they were some kind of manual for training an army..." He handed me back the weapon, and I stored it back with a thought, he was panting a bit by now from the exercise of swinging around that hammer, but still able to talk normally.

"You are impressive, keep practicing, ask one of the guards or even the General himself if he can give you lessons, I know it's a lot of work on top of already being the king, but you should take advantage of your talent, even if it's for self defense." The teenage griffon nodded eagerly, flying over to me and pulling me into a strong embrace, him this time was the one to start it, massaging my shoulder with concern with his talon, I just returned the hug far gentler, he even enveloped his wings around me.

I have to admit griffon hugs felt amazing, their feathers are so soft!

"Thank you, I definitively will, but is your shoulder okay? That was a strong hit, I know if I was hit that hard I would have broken something, yet you seem fine, hmm yeah maybe because... You're quite muscular, I can feel the muscle on your shoulders under your thick scales, seems I need to start working to make my body stronger too, or by the time you're my age you would have already left me in the dust. I need to keep up!" We both pulled away from the hug and stood in front of each other.

"You will become really strong once you get the proper training too, don't worry, also strength isn't everything when fighting, you saw how I'm much stronger than you, no offense, and you landed a hit on me, both with sword and with hammer, if the sword had not had its scabbard... Let's just say I don't know if my scales would have resisted the stab or not, and that Treble is why swords are always better for one on one combat, they are lighter, faster and can hit vital points on the body with less strength, and also less effort than swinging around a warhammer, you saw it yourself, you can't easily switch stances with a hammer."

He paid close attention to my words, and nodded in understanding, giving an answer of his own. "That makes sense, yes if I have a sword I can for example aim at the eye or the neck, maybe even the hearth, but with a hammer you can only target the head if you want to be lethal, or the joints if you want to immobilize, just anywhere in the body hurts a lot, it's less precise, more brute force and takes more advantage of your strength, if you are strong enough you can crush even armored creatures, you can break walls and doors too!" I was left speechless, he took the words right out of my maw... How the frick did he knew all of that? Oh, right, the manuals.

"Thank you very much for not taking out an eye, even with the scabbard you could have gotten at least one, I'm glad that we're pals, I would be terrified to fight you for real once you have more practice and have gotten stronger, I will make sure to practice extra hard." He looked unsure if accepting the praise or not.

"No way! I would never fight you outside of practice or a sparring match, I would never want to hurt you seriously, first of all you're my only friend... second I know you're not really a melee fighter, and you could have simply stopped me before I got anywhere close to you!" He had a point.

"Yeah true, I honestly know very little about fighting you close, I got my ass kicked more than a few times when tryin to fight, and I still don't feel like I have improved much, it's not easy, I can't be amazing at everything because I just don't practice enough, but spellcasting... That's where I can hold my ground, so in a real fight I would immobilize you and then I will knock you out before you can even get close, that's how it would go." I say honestly, its how it would go if I used my magic.

He smiled knowingly and patted my side. "Oh I know, from the moment you brought the Idol back I thought that you must be really skilled, I just wasn't sure at what, at first I thought at climbing because you got no wings so how else would you get back up? You could have used a rope but no one without wings that used a rope could survive, many tried it's just... They usually fall to their deaths because of poor quality equipment, or the jagged edges of the mountains. But you... You made it back!
Theeen you made the shield around the city to keep us all safe, right there I knew you are most talented at magic."

"I do my best, I want to become the strongest magic user of our times, but that's a far distant objective." If for no other reason than not being bullied by other stronger beings, to be honest.

"The ones who passed away trying to retrieve the Idol, They and all the other adventurers who have died while doing what they loved, are with him, soaring the Windstream and probably having fun fighting or relaxing in one of the cities, I know for a fact those who are ambitious and value freedom, the ones who love flying and sports, even art, they are welcomed by Boreas, although I'm sure their belief also plays a part." I'm sure it won't hurt to tell him that... I wasn't sure still what happens if I was to die exactly, for that I would need to experience it here, not looking forward to it, I need to stay alive or risk losing my powers.

"Lord Boreas told you this? How do you know?" I nodded to his question, and answered right away.

"He told me a few things and I deducted others, but he has a place for all of you griffons once you die, still you have to live a life that follows his values if you want in, I guess... I had a talk to him face to face to be able to enchant the spell that will protect the city, it was a very enlightening conversation, I'm sure you will meet him personally too for your education about being a king, maybe. Not exactly my place to say, so if it doesn't happen don't blame me."

He looked wide eyed at me and his eyes sparkled with curiosity.

"Awesome! What is he like? I bet he's big and strong, like General Steelwing, am I right? You think I'll get to meet him?" I chuckled at his enthusiasm, he was not wrong, just slightly off the mark.

"I don't know if you will meet him, but he makes the General look small, he's also much stronger looking, but I bet he is much stronger than what he even looks like, since he is... A god, an ascended being, honestly? He can be very intimidating without even meaning to, or maybe I'm just very cowardly, the latter is most likely because I have a slight fear of powerful beings, just... Bad past experiences, don't worry about it, I think it's a good time to go to bed, I'm getting sleepy and I really need some rest now." I yawn wide, I had an eventful day, I had slept before but not enough, and my mind was still drained because of overusing magic in such a way.

"I hope to meet him, while alive, maybe he will teach me personally like you said, but I want to meet him too... Alright my cool new dragon friend, go right ahead, I know you missed some sleep so I'll stay and play with my sisters a bit until I'm tired enough, we will all try to be extra quiet from now on." I smiled at the offer.

"Thanks, goodnight to you." And with that I turned and left the backyard, heading straight the room my bed is in, before laying down in it and getting comfortable, it was about 1am by now and I needed to sleep properly a night to recover. So I did that, this time I was alone when I appeared in Castle Harvest, at least no one was here exactly, who knows? Maybe my parents were in some other place, but I could dream easy for now, it was safe here and I could read some books on gardening, if anything to pass the time and entertain myself.

Chapter 58 Cultural Differences

Author's Note

This chapter has NSFW scenes of sex and such, be careful, but it's not like there isn't a tag on this story that says sex, this is just extra warning.

Anyways Onyx will learn more about their parents in this chapter than he ever expected to need to know, sometimes not knowing how a relationship works can lean one to believe they are doing good, when in reality they are hurting others for no reason.

Chapter 58 Cultural Differences

The next day

In the forest below the city of Griffonstone a pair of griffons bearing civilian clothing sneakily stood, looking up at the enormous tree, from within the treeline, near one of the farms around the city proper, they spied on the city for a few minutes, they came to the realization that the city was extremely vulnerable to invasion, the citizens flying around and the ones on the farms were completely defenseless against a professional army.

Their Intel gathered, they flew quickly back to their camp that was a few hours away, landing near the largest tent in the clearing, the General of the Griffish Isles expected them within. The guards blocking the door to the tent stepped aside after seeing them and they entered.

Inside there was a large table with a map and a few griffons, as well as a pony, all wearing red uniforms with black bands and symbols, the Isles were a coalition of two nations, one of them composed mainly of ponies and the other of griffons, the ponies, normally would not have participated in the war but they had a lot of gain economically from the acquisition of another nation to serve as their workforce and to gather resources from, as the ones within the Isles themselves were quite limited.

The most decorated griffon gestured them close and spoke in an authoritative voice, he wasn't particularly tall but he was quite strong.

"Scouts, what information has your observation of the city managed to confirm?"

They both saluted and one of the griffons stepped forward and spoke in a professional tone and.
"General Falcon sir! Just as our previous recon and spies have informed months ago, the nation is vulnerable, their numbers are less than two thousand armed and trained and less than half have proper plate armor, they will fall easily to our crossbow fire or in hand to hand combat, of course we can expect casualties, they are still griffons like us sir, but they won't be able to put up much of a fight outnumbered four to one." He informed while the general just nodded and looked thoughtful for a few seconds after he was done, before explaining.

"Our spies have pulled out of the city a month in advance in preparation for the invasion, choosing instead to misdirect the rest of the enemy's army towards Guto port and along the river, making false rumors about an invasion coming through the river deeper into their territory, taking the road would have been faster but also much more obvious and the enemy would have amassed their forces, but now with the city defended by a smaller contingency and no way to protect themselves, they will fall, thank you scouts for your work, go take the day off."

"Sir, thank you sir!"

With that they both nodded, saluted and left swiftly.

The general began to theorize, first going over the verified Intel.

The army was of course not able to simply fly all the way across the forest, they needed to carry their equipment and supplies that were too heavy to be carried un the air, and that meant using ships to disembark the supplies on the shore of the very large Ulfren forest before making the long trek towards the city, but once their supplies were close to the city, they could make camp and prepare to send in their entire invasion force to completely wipe out or capture the defending army and take the nation in one fell swoop, there was nothing that Griffonstone's military junta could do with their main force diverted to the river, the plan was going into work soon.

They lacked the numbers and they most importantly were poorly fed and lacked proper equipment to make a cohesive defense, this same day they would reach the outskirts and make camp out of view from where to launch their attack from, once a quick victory was achieved, they would reinforce the city and await the rest of the enemy forces to return, by then they would have no choice but to surrender, as they would not allow their families to be hurt.

General Falcon had a confident smile, turning to his subordinates.

"Any thoughts Commander Thunder? You represent Trottingham, I know there is only a small number of ponies who will help with the invasion, working on logistics like we agreed so no word reaches Equestria about your involvement, but even then you are free to voice your opinion of you so desire it." The white coated and light blue maned pegasus looked thoughtful and unsure, bothered by something.

"I'm concerned about a confidential report that was shared only to high command, you know of what I speak of, right?
The one involving the boarding of that caravel several days ago, we were made aware of those individuals, you know that ship is from a Griffonstone and Equestrian joint operation, do you? And that means that whoever those three were, they came from Equestria and likely are already at our target. That concerns me because we have no Intel on them, absolutely nothing..." The mare looked down at her hooves while sitting down, then looked at the General expectant for an answer.

"I have read that report, but those three are just that, three meddling fools who should have stayed in their cozy Equestria, the wolf may be strong, but she can't in any way make up for the weakness of their army, in the extremely unlikely case she even tried to fight.
From what I know she could very well choose to flee the moment she sees our troops flying at them, if we catch them we will let them go, our fight is not with them, unless they decide to side with their armies." The answer from the general seemed to improve the mood of the pegasus mare, who nodded with a smile.

"Thank you General, if they surrender we will personally take them back to Equestria and even compensate them economically to ensure their compliance, from what the large wolf said, they are on vacation and maybe business, but it was hard to tell from the reports. However if she is Royal Guard, like theorized, then it's much more likely we will need to hold them for a time, until the political situation is resolved and her giving a report doesn't worsen things for us."

The mare answered, seemingly thinking out loud, her mind going into the very real possibility based on the reports, because no mere civilian could simply overwhelm a group of griffons and threaten to kill them if they tried again, the fact that the soldiers almost pissed themselves in fear and believed her was proof enough in her eyes that this was no civilian.

And curiously that a dragon, a creature known to usually like to live in cities, they much prefer the harsh environment of the volcanic areas to the deep south.

And a regular unicorn stallion to complete the group, it was anyone's guess as to why stallion would be heading out of Equestria, with how timid they were, could they be family? That's what the report said the wolf called them, family... How odd she thought.

"I wouldn't worry so much Commander, they won't get in the way, I'm sure they probably left by now, no one would enjoy visiting there, Griffonstone is an uneventful, boring and poor city that has been on a downward spiral of decadence for generations, they probably left as soon as they set foot in the city, now let's focus on the invasion, everything is in order, time for packing up and walking the rest of the way, we will be there by noon, come on everyone." The General pulled them out of their thoughts and they packed up their things, not much was carried so it took them only a few minutes.

Then they started the long trek towards Griffonstone.

Four hours later.

Thunder was tired of hiking, not physically but the forest sameness was getting to her, she let out a loud sigh of relief when they arrived at where they would set up camp, she of course was on the back of the army, more protected along with the other officers and the General, the army was ordered to not fly over the treeline as to not alert the enemy, but even then they could be seen moving in the trees if a griffon were to fly overhead, but for now they didn't encounter a single soul on their way here, other than some wild animals of course.

"Finally, that was a long walk, my hooves got sore and I got bitten by at least a dozen different mosquitos on the way." She whined and sat on one of the recently unpacked seats that the griffons had brought out for them, they placed a table and they all sat down outside, at least until their tent was mounted and ready, which would take a few more minutes, they were served some refreshments too.

"That's just the Griffon Empire for you, they are nothing but wilderness and poor as dirt, they didn't even bother to place some guard towers around the outside, or to clear the forest further, their farm land is pitifully small, from what our spies informed, they prefer hunting from the forest to eat, because some can't afford produce from farms! Can you believe that? Once they are under our rule, the citizens will be very grateful because things around here will greatly improve." He smirked, looking up at the large hill with the primordial tree upon it, it was hard to make out details behind the cover of the forest treetops, before taking a sip of his water, he would have preferred some whiskey but the time for drinking was after the city was theirs, and everything was secured.

The tent was built not long after, it was made a bit away from the city so the enemy would not be able to reach it easily, as they were the most important individuals in there, they must be protected at all costs, the other soldiers knew this and kept them guarded by about a dozen highly skilled elite units at all times.

They walked into the command tent, pulling out a map of the area and the city itself, it was fairly detailed, showing the location of the castle and the barracks within, even the armory was located within the castle, because the country was governed by the military, the castle itself was a military building, with anything from armory to training areas around it, and a blacksmith not far from the building, it was surprisingly a condensed and well thought out center of power, but the problem was it's puny size, it was far to small for most things and the entire military couldn't be stationed here, they usually kept a good portion at their port, a long walk away.

A few hours passed, the army prepared, made tents and prepared field hospitals, unpacked supplies and equipped themselves, the air around the camp was tense with anticipation, the time for battle was near, and everyone knew that there was a real possibility they would not see tomorrow, even if they greatly outnumbered the enemy, they weren't dumb enough to know that even with their numbers, the enemy had the advantage of defending, and defending is often easier than attacking.

The Commander of the second division of Trottingham's army, now leading the logistics force on the cooperative invasion of Griffonstone, Thunder Flash, felt anxious and worried, she and her ponies weren't even about to fight, but she felt things were too quiet, no griffons had been spotted going out of the city, if they didn't know that they were already here, they expected at least a few traveling griffons to fly out, going to the port or just out hunting, maybe some at the farms, but the farms were empty and desolate, as if the workers there had just up and left hours ago.

They must have spotted them then, but why didn't they just try to negotiate, considering they had an army that was too large to be defeated by the local under equipped forces?

They were ready, she and her ponies, also soldiers from Trottingham that were paid a handsome sum by their allies to help in logistics, retreated back to a safe zone further back from the fighting, as well as the other officers, the army already had lower ranking soldiers who were briefed in their exact course of action, they didn't need to worry about anything else, first they would rain crossbow bolts on the enemy formations until they thinned the defenses out and then they would dive in and go into melee, where their superior armor would give them the upper hand, to either kill or capture all the opposition, they had strict orders to not kill civilians unless they attacked them first, and if they had no weapons it was considered better to knock them out, if possible.

The plan was set into motion, trumpets were blown rhythmically, indicating the start of the invasion, she watched in awe as the armies spread on two groups surrounded the city from the air, approaching closer and closer until they tried going into range, but then something unexpected happened.

Something she had never seen before, she had a good view of the city from here, in a clearing, she and the General were intently watching as a massive sphere suddenly materialized, as if fading into existence, not too slowly or too quickly, around the primordial tree, and by extension the city, it was shimmering multicolor and completely opaque, nothing could be seen from outside, it clearly was magic, but... She never had seen any magic of such a size, she was a pegasus, and didn't know much about magic herself but she had unicorns under her command, she told one of the attendants they had to round up every unicorn and get them here so they can explain.

"What the bloody hell is happening?! What is that? How can they have magic?! And what kind of magic is so strong it can protect a whole city? Commander can you explain? Ponies have magic, right?" The desperate voice of the General was the only one now, but she didn't answer with words, she just shook her head at him with a desperate shrug.

Just what the hell was this?! The griffons, the mighty four thousand strong army tried to fly into it, but they just crashed into the barrier like a bird on a glass window, none of them were really hurt from this and they tried shooting inside and all they got was bolts bouncing back at them, a few injuring the wings of some griffons who had to return back and land.

The entire army then tried, almost as one, to use their swords to stab into the enormous dome shield, grabbing their swords in both hands and stabbing down with all their might as they flapped their wings, staying stationary mid air.

Nothing, her pegasus eyes were sharp and they could see that... Sparks flew out of the point of impact, sparks of the swords losing chunks of them, others bent their swords, making them way less effective.

The higher ranked among the attackers told their fellows to stop trying to attack the shield, as to not damage their weapons further, it was clearly useless, the mysterious shield did not budge, it was like trying to stab a mountain to death, they couldn't even chip at it.

What could they do against such an obstacle? They did not have any siege weapons with them, but they could... Fabricate one from the various trees around, it would take time but they could make a few siege catapults and use the various large rocks from the forest as deadly shield shattering attacks!

The pegasus was shaken gently by a unicorn mare, behind her there was a dozen unicorns, all of them mares, unlike in Equestria, in Trottingham stallions were not allowed into the military, not in combat positions at least.

She turned to look at the unicorns, who all saluted her in unison.

"Reporting for duty ma'am, what do you requiere of us?" The lead mare answered, and Thunder simply pointed to the rainbow dome, making the unicorn frown.

"I must apologize, Commander, but I know very little about this I know it's a shield spell, and that most likely a unicorn is casting it, but... I have never seen or even read about a shield of this size, our magical education in the army is not as extensive as the Equestrian armed forces or Royal Guard academy." She takes a small pause and continues shakily.

"I only know this: whoever is channeling this spell, they must be incredibly powerful, a normal shield uses little magic, but the larger you make a shield, the more energy it will use, also the tier of a spell of this size can't be the same as a personal shield for a single pony or a small group, this... It's much more advanced and I have no idea how it's even possible, this spell is... Unknown to me." She looks apologetically to the commander, who doesn't seem upset at her lack of knowledge, and thanks her.

But another unicorn mare butts in. "I find it very strange that the shield is that color, a pony usually has a magic aura that always has the same color, it's not changeable, for example my magic is light blue, if I use magic on anything, the effects of that will form a light blue aura or effect on the target, for shields it's the same, the color of the users aura is the color of the spell, but this is rainbow, nopony has a rainbow aura. That can only mean one thing in my mind." The eyes of everyone in the room widen at this, but some look unconvinced, while the griffon General looks confused.

"What does it mean? Our with it, I don't know a lot about magic or what you're implying." He said grumpy, and the mare nodded and apologized.

"Of course, excuse me, what I mean to say is that this spell is being powered by various different creatures, and from what I can see, the colors don't repeat much, so there is probably over a thousand creatures that are powering this spell... I can't say for sure, maybe this is just some other effect I don't know about but it's my theory, because the magic color aura is not something that, as far as I know, can be faked of changed." This made everyone feel very confused and start discussing among each other.

"Then this means that the griffons are somehow casting a spell?! But we don't have the ability to use magic!" Argued the General.

"We don't know that for sure, maybe there are other ways, non unicorns for example can use items that are enchanted, and so can griffons, also all living creatures here have magic in them!" Argued the commander back, after hearing the unicorn's explanation.

"No way, no griffon can cast a spell, those are just fairy tales from the old days of the Empire, the same empire that will finally fall today!" The second griffon advisor exclaimed, he was silent until now, seemingly glad to just relay the General's orders to his subordinates and command the troops from the back.

"Arguing is pointless, the fact that we can't get past the shield is the largest problem now, we need to lay siege, do you have any plans for this, Commander Thunder Flash? You're in charge of logistics, how long do you think it would take for you to get a few catapults made? You have siege engineers, right?" He asked and the mare nodded right away.

"It could take about a week, to make two catapults of moderate size, less for smaller ones, but against such a shield I fear that the small catapults wouldn't work, we will need a moderately large one, so about a week." She answered, but the General looked pretty unhappy about that.

"No time for that! The rest of the griffons stationed elsewhere will have time to gather and form a defense by then. We need to use hammers or stones, have them hit the shield with them, swords will only break. There is no way this shield can be maintained for so long, maybe we can have the unicorns in your group trying to fire offensive spells at it? It could protect only against physical attacks but maybe... Magic is the answer to counter magic!" He smiled, as he came to the realization in his mind.

But the Commander frowned deeply, almost scowling at him. "I was told to not interfere in the fighting itself, if the griffons see us joining in the battle, there will be political ramifications for Trottingham! The Equestrians will know we are involved and they could stop supporting our economic endeavors, sorry General but I refuse, it's not what we agreed to."

The silence in the air was tense, the ponies all getting angry glares from all the griffons, their prey instincts kicking in as they backed away and got together, fear evident in their eyes, they were severely outnumbered, there were about a hundred ponies only, mostly earth ponies and pegasi, of course only the ones nearby were being glared at, those being the unicorns and the Commander, yet she remained stoic and unaffected by the glares, returning her own defiant look at the furious griffon.

"You really think that you can refuse my orders? You will do as I say or you will be detained for desertion, as well as your little group of ponies." He threatened, still glaring.

She did not back down, her mane bristling in anger. "I am a representative of a nation that is allied to your own, if you think of doing something to any of us, if any of you even so much as lay a single talon on my fellow ponies, you will find that Trottingham is not an enemy you want to make, we may only be a single city but we are the largest city on the isles, and I'll make sure that your career is over once we go back, now back the buck off mate, before I knock you the buck out!" At this, the griffon seemed to lose his nerve, slowly backing off and stoped looking at her, letting out an angry groan.

"Have it your way, but you aren't part of this anymore, you can go back to your ponies, I don't want the advice of cowards like you on this, if you really don't want Trottingham involved, then stay back and don't come near me again, when the rest of the Empire's army returns and surrounds our flanks, we will not help you." He dismissed her out and she gladly walked away, followed by the unicorns, she looked at them all with an apologetic expression as they left to the back of the camp, with the supplies.

The ponies had tents set up for themselves, but most were working, unpacking supplies and organizing everything, she walked into one of the tents asking the earth ponies inside if they had any spare tents for her, even smaller ones, she was met with salutes and several offering their own tents, she accepted as long as they had extra that they could set up for themselves.

After she was guided to her new tent, finally she closed it and sat down, turning on the crystal lamp inside.

This was a mess, the invasion was stopped to a standstill, the shield, from what she could see, had not changed more than the colors of the rainbow slowly shifting, it had a wavy, irregular design, the best she could describe it was like... The waves of the ocean.

Suddenly she saw a cat approaching, it came up to her tent door and started to paw at it, as if asking to be let in. She giggled at the absurdity of finding a cat here of all places, maybe it got scared by the griffons and ran from one of the farms nearby, maybe it sensed she was friendly or maybe it was just a stray cat.

She decided it couldn't hurt to pet the little cat, it was a young cat, not a kitten but not an adult either, her sister had one as a filly and she loved to pet it and how playful it was. Maybe this cat would take her mind of this mess, she hoped that bastard Falcon wouldn't suddenly backstab them out of anger for their failure to deal with the defenses, she wasn't sure even siege catapults or battering rams could do the trick.

Shaking her head, she opened the tent and the cat, shyly walked inside, looking around in curiosity, it was clearly domesticated and had an owner, even if it lacked a collar it was perfectly healthy looking, the fur was bright, the little guy was gray, almost silvery looking from how shiny it's fur looked.

"Oh my gosh, you're adorable! Can I pet you little kitty? Come here kitty kitty." She said softly to the cat, who meowed a few times, and purred loudly, its tail raised straight up, it slow blinked at her and approached the rest of the way.

It walked over and rubbed its head on her hooves, purring all the while, she giggled and gently patted it with her fetlock, then she looked around for something that could be used as a toy, finding a mane lace front one of the occupants of this tent, she took it in her wing and started shaking it around, the cat was confused at first before... She could swear it smiled a bit, and started jumping around and batting at it with its small paws, at this point she was really having fun, forgetting the stress from this expedition and all going around her.

She and the cat played around for a good thirty minutes, before it seemed to get bored and just jumped onto her back, she couldn't help but laugh at the situation, the small feline went into loafing position on her back, right between her wings, it was a sensitive spot but she didn't mind as it was still and small, she did the same herself, laying into a loafing position on the sleeping bag on the floor.

Thanks to my beloved Sylf I became invisible and walked out the city, down the main road and headed right into the enemy encampment, most of them were trying to break into the shield, but using their talons, as well as rocks and sticks to hit it, the strain on the spell was negligible, even with all four thousand griffons hitting it from all sides, they were simply too ineffective and weak, Onyx compared it with hitting a steel wall with a cardboard sword, you could have one pony hitting it, or ten thousand hitting it, but it would still not even make a single dent.

I was able to walk out unimpeded, seems like griffons prefer attacking from above so only those who got tired actually landed on the ground around the shield, I was now fully inside the area, invisibility would last a full hour unless I tried to interact with other objects, I would not need that much time either way.

Onyx already was guiding me, he scouted ahead in his animal form, as an adorable little cat no less!

'Just keep going a until you come out of the griffon section, the tents will change from the green camo ones to the smaller gray ones ponies use, it's at the back of the camp, I'll tell you which tent is at.' I mentally affirmed and continued on, there was a fancy tent and behind it there were tents with different designs, smaller for one, meant for ponies like me.

'I see different tents behind a fancy one, where are you? From here on, all tents are meant for ponies from what I can see, can you more or less tell me what I'm looking for?' I ask him, feeling a bit lost, there are several ponies going around here, moving things around and chatting amongst themselves, they seem tense and scared.

Why are they helping this invaders? I'm sure they aren't bad ponies, right? They seem just like they're doing a job, but something bad must have happened recently, maybe they do regret coming here, I hope so at least.

'Look into any tent that has its flap open, inside one of them look for a white mare with light blue mane and tail, she has a cloud with a star and a lightning on her flank, she's laying down in loafing position at the moment, when you see her, make her know you're there and ask permission to go in.'

'Thank you, I'll have a look around, from there the mission proceeds as planned.' I walk around, checking for opened tents, there are only a few, most of them are occupied by a few ponies, but they are designed to fit 5 ponies close together, not meant for luxury, but we as ponies could sleep well close together, it came naturally.

Eventually, near the center of the pony section of the camp, I found it, to be fair the section was tiny, compared to the huge section ser up for griffons, there must be around 30 or so tents around, and some of them have supplies on them.

I grab a rock from the ground, dismissing the invisibility, but first I look around to make sure no one is looking at me.

I poke my head into the tent to double check, it all fits, she seems to be having a nap with my adorable little cat son between her wings, honestly this is too adorable but I must ruin it.

"E-excuse me? Miss?" I say softly, the mare's ears immediately perk up and she looks at me, wide eyed.

"W-whut?! A stallion?" She unashamedly lowers her head to look at my jewels, I raise an eyebrow at that, not even an ounce of shame? I'm married.

"Yes I am, names Coconut, please to meet you miss, I found myself here after going for a walk out of Griffonstone, and when I wanted to come back I see a lot of griffons outside the city, bashing the shield with a rock, do you know what's going on? This... Is really worrying, those griffons look angry and mean, they're not like the nice ones inside the city, I'm afraid to even go near them." I usually don't like to lie but this is important, I need to do my best to convince a fellow pony that what they are doing is wrong.

I feel my nose twitch, an odd scent lingers in this tent, it's strangely nice, I sniff the air a bit. Certainly interesting, I suppose this mare just smells very nice for some reason.

"I-its... very dangerous, please don't try to go back for now mister Coconut, my name is Thunder Flash, what were you doing in Griffonstone if you don't mind me asking? And... What do you know about that shield?" I frown slightly, not liking her answer, but I don't see a reason to lie.

"I am here to help, of course! The griffons here needed my help, and as a representative of Harmony, my family and I decided to make the long journey to provide that much needed help." I explained, she seemed confused for a minute, before her eyes widened in realization.

"You are that pony that came on the caravel! The Cirice right? I red that report a few days ago, and what did you mean you came all the way here to help them? How could you, a single pony and another two make any difference to this city? It has been falling apart since before you were even born." She answered apathetically, almost glaring but not quite, it was clear her anger wasn't directed at me, but the city itself, or the nation?

"Ohh! Miss Thunder you found my precious son! I just realized you have him on your back, thank you! Nevermind that city, I'm sure they'll be fine for now, I'm really thankful that you found him, him and I got separated during our walk when we heard a noise in the forest, but seems like he found a nice pegasus to cuddle with, didn't you little Onyx?" I cooed as the little cat jumped down from her and ran over to me, nuzzling and rubbing the sides of his head on my muzzle, I couldn't help but let out a genuine laugh and nuzzle back at the little feline, I didn't need to act to show affection to my son, specially in this small adorable form.

"Oh so the little kitty is yours huh? No wonder it was so friendly!
You seem like a very nice stallion and I'm sure you would make a good father, I mean you already do a good job with the little one" Thunder said with a little giggle, smiling at me now a bit more, she was more relaxed now, moving closer and standing beside me, then slowly she started to nudge me, I didn't mind it, it was a bit intimate for somepony I just met but I was used to, but still I'm getting the feeling that this pegasus mare isn't just trying to be friendly for the sake of being friendly... I felt strange after a few seconds, something was making my mind feel slightly hazy, I blinked and shook my head to clear that sensation away.

"Thanks a lot miss Thunder, you and him seemed to get along nicely, he's a very good judge of character most times, so I'm sure you are a good mother too, and you seem like a wonderful mare." I answer honestly, hoping she would realize maybe she wasn't and repent from doing... Whatever she's doing here, she clearly was with the griffons that came here to invade.

I felt a strange warmth spreading from my mind, why does it feel so right? Like shivers going down my spine but... It felt good.

"How about you tell me more about the city's defenses and... In exchange you get to have this pegasus all to yourself for as long as you want~ what do you say about that stud? I've seen what's between your hind legs, you've got a lot to give, and I've felt quite lonely in this expedition, with all of us being mares... You're here to save me from my heat, aren't you?" She said in a soft tone, almost a whisper, very arousing and sexy, I couldn't help but blush profusely at her words, swallowing and trying not to think about what she just said.

I felt that tingling reach down my spine funny and spread to my loins, my sheath and balls felt warmer than normal, it was subtle at first, but one of her words made me realize what was happening to me.

She's in heat! I needed to tell her off, now!

"I-i'm married miss Thunder, I-i can't do that, my wife... She would be quite displeased and... I don't want to make her upset." She was quite hot too, I tried to not look at her, blushing and biting my lip, trying to keep it down, it worked for about one second, but my body responded to my most base instinct, i felt my shaft extending out, I couldn't stop it, I didn't.

'D-dad? This isn't how the plan was supposed to go, you're... I- Maybe I'll go outside, by the time I come back you better be back to normal.'

'N-no wait Onyx i-i'm sorry, don't look!' I tried to stop him but I couldn't think of anything to justify myself, I didn't want him to look at me like this, either.

Why is so difficult to just walk away? I should have done that the moment I realized.

'It's gonna be so hard to get that out of my mind now, thanks dad.' I wanted to die of embarrassment, Onyx ran outside after watching me pop a boner, and Thunder seemed to realize something was... Different. I couldn't resist the scent of hers, her heat was driving me on, I know I should have ran outside, left this place and cancelled the mission and sent Onyx alone for retrieval but...
I want her so badly!

In the silence that followed, the only noise that we both could hear was the sudden wet smack of my dick against my belly, I stood still, my eyes closed and not daring to open them, if I looked at her again I would be helpless to stop this.

"W-whoa... You're f-ffricking huge! Goodness, i-i don't know if you'll even fit in me, but I'm definitively trying~ Hnnff gosh just look at that, I'm already getting wet! so you're married huh? How long has it been since you last put this weapon to good use? Because it seems to me that you haven't lately, I can tell just by the scent." I felt her warm breath suddenly near the tip of my shaft, deciding to open my eyes, because that just wasn't normal, she was there, Thunder was laying under me, on her back with her wings spread to her sides, her muzzle dangerously close to the flat tip of my dick, I swallowed, I was so bucking pent up ever since that night on the Cirice i had not had sex even once, and i was extra hard right now after the scent of her heat reached the deepest parts of my mind, I felt as if my shaft grew an extra few centimeters from the extra naughty thoughts I was getting, it pressed on her lips now, I couldn't believe how wonderful and soft they felt.

I need to get out of here, goodness, what am I doing?! I need to get it tog-

She started licking, her muzzle opening wide and taking the whole head of my stallionhood directly into her muzzle, licking and sucking it all over, my mind went blank, as carnal pleasure overruled anything else, I couldn't do more than let out small whimpers of pleasure when her tongue moved over it, and that was almost constantly.

Suddenly I heard Onyx's furious voice coming from the door, and the mare under me slowing down her tongue and mouth.

"Okay enough! this is not like we agreed to do this dad! You were supposed to convince her to surrender and the ponies to change sides, not convince her to suck your cock! Ghhrr stupid!
Now I have to go to plan B, you know mom wouldn't be happy about this! now come along, I'm gonna have to float you over... Along with this mare because you can't walk with that! Hmph ponies are a bunch of perverts, I should have done all of this myself from the begging." He glared at the both of us, but it was brief, he tried to not look in our general direction, he looked very embarrassed and angry.

Suddenly the both of us were lifted into the air, levitated by Onyx's mighty indigo color aura, Thunder was under me still, her entire body unable to move by his magic, while I was given free movement, on my forelegs and head, not the rest though.

"Son... I'm so sorry! A-ahh b-buck! S-she... I... I just am not used to being hit on by mares, I... Uhm... You're not angry, are you?" That's the best you can come up with, bucking idiotic brain?!
I felt really bad for having accidentally showed him that, I was trying really hard to stop that from happening, but the heat... Her mere presence made it hard to focus or think, even with the clearly upset dragon talking to me.

"I'm bloody angry yes, father I was informing mom about what happened, I just don't know what possessed you! Ugh I better keep quiet before I say something hurtful that I'll regret later." He sighed sadly and looked away from us completely.

He looked outside at the large fancy tent a few dozen meters away, on the back of the griffon section of the camp.

"I'll teleport us back to the city, because I remembered just now that the fancy tent over there has guards around, the targets are inside and they have about ten heavily armored griffons with good quality weapons, carrying two ponies while trying to fight ten is not easy." He said after taking a look at the tent, I nodded dumbly, trying to not make more noises, it helped that she couldn't move as his telekinesis has holding her still and unable to even talk.

"Okay by me, but please have the decency of letting me pull out of her muzzle before we head back, please?" I begged, giving him a pleading expression, my ears lowered, he didn't bother looking at me.

"No way! mom will be the one to judge you and that mare, good luck." And after that, motes of light appeared from the area around us as suddenly we appeared back inside the shield, right at the room that my beloved and I were staying at and sleeping in the orphanage.

She was right there, she knew all by now, if what he said was true.

Surprisingly enough she laughed as soon as she saw us like that, to the point she was almost crying, rolling on the ground, I could only blush and look away from her, very ashamed of... Not bring able to properly say no, I was extremely confused by her reaction.

"Oh gosh! He must have been really pissed off if he forced the two of you stuck like that! Who's this mare you caught yourself? She's pretty." Sylf said with mirth in her tone of voice, then she sniffed the air, a thoughtful look crossing her face.

"I hope you punish him well mom, he deserves it for cheating on you! Imma go get some very important griffons from their camp, I need to get my head busy with something else." He quickly ran out and closed the door behind him, I looked over at the pegasus mare, and pull out the tip of my dick from her muzzle, taking a deep breath and calming down, it slowly retreats back inside the sheath, going back to normal.

She finally was released from Onyx's telekinetic hold, she stayed gasping for air for a few seconds while Sylf talked to me.

"Would you tell me what happened exactly? Onyx was not very specific but he said that she started it, and that you tried but then gave in, he seemed quite angry about it, but you young stud, should be more open about your needs, I know we can't do it here, but we could have taken a stroll along the forest or something, ya know? I'm sorry I haven't taken good care of you lately, I should have realized sooner my love." She approached and nuzzled onto the side of my head, which I returned and gave her kisses all over her own snout.

She was much more forgiving what I expected, only Onyx was furious with me, I wonder why exactly? I really need to talk to him.

"Gaahh! What just happened?! Where did that dragon take us? Coconut you... You bucking tricked me! Where is this? Oh buck me... She's your wife isn't she? I'm a prisoner, aren't I?! Buuuck! I should have known a hung and handsome stallion wouldn't just suddenly pop out of nowhere right when I was having the worst of my heat, yet I fell for it and I didn't even think twice." We both stopped our affection and looked down at the mare, who was still laying on the ground near me, she was blushing beet red, her face was kinda angry but also looking resigned, as if she had given up, it was... Odd to say the least.

The scent of my wife helped mask the pheromones for now, but I didn't know how long it woul last.

"You are our prisoner yes, but you don't have to be, we just want to know why you ponies have decided to help the Isles griffons attack this nation, you are ponies like my husband, do you really want to go to war with another nation? My husband was supposed to help convince you but it seems that he... Had his head elsewhere at the time." I lowered my ears and avoided her gaze. I wasn't happy about my actions.

"Sorry love, I failed you and Onyx, I'm really sorry, I just wasn't expecting her to say that... I-i got caught off guard by her heat, the scent of it." She just giggled, looking at me with a loving smile, helping me calm down somewhat.

"It's not your fault silly, there is a reason why stallions need a herd, a single mare can't properly take care of a stallion's needs, at least not in our situation, and you have done amazingly so far to actually keep yourself in check all the time, Onyx on the other paw... He looked very upset with you.
You will need to have a talk with him later, now let's worry bout this really sexy mare here." I felt bad about Onyx, I don't know how I'm even going to apologize properly.

I nodded and looked at the pegasus, she was still laying down, still a bit too comfortable underneath me, and far too close to what's between my hind legs.

I moved away and went to lay on the bed, belly down to make sure I wouldn't be taken by surprise again, if anything this way I could hide it if she got me again.

Thunder simply sat down on the floor, crossed her forelegs and let out a sight seeing the window was closed and the door was too, and Sylf was between her and the door anyways.

"I ain't trying to run, I'd rather stay with you than be with the griffons outside, who will probably not be happy to find out that ponies are among their enemies..." She said in a soft tone, looking at me with a hopeful expression, then at my wife.

"You seem like decent folk, and a cute couple, look lady wolf, I wasn't trying to steal your husband or nothin' i just wanted to help him and myself! Promise, he looks pretty damn pent up and so am I, I ain't even in a herd and I could tell, as if by instinct... It's this heat that's driving me up the wall, you must also know what it's like, right?"

" Also... Its In a pony's nature to want to help our fellow ponies, specially stallions that look as adorable and virile as him. I would like to get to properly know you too ma'am, my name is Thunder Flash." She raised her right foreleg and offered Sylf a hoof shake.

My wife returned it with a small smile right away.

"And I'm Sylf, commander of the Equestrian Royal Guard, here on unofficial business, good to meet you, Commander Thunder Flash of the second division of the Trottingham army, about my husband... I do know I've neglected him, and I can see why he was so eager, you're a very beautiful mare, very fit, and yet you have a nice perfect and big flank, and you're just really good looking, I can understand perfectly why he would... I-i would too if I'm honest~" This seemed to make Thunder go slightly pale, mostly at the fact that Sylf knew who she was, I suppose being in such a high position meant that you needed to know about other nations officers too, or mom really did her homework before coming here and didn't inform us.

"W-what the buck?! How do you even know all that?! Oh gosh darn it! You really came prepared... I suppose it's not exactly confidential knowledge who I am, you must have read about it in some dossier on our nation, now you must wonder what am I doing here?" At that question, both me and wife nodded, she sighed.

"Would me saying I refuse to answer mean bad things?" She asked with slightly concern.

"Nah, but if you want, you get to remain in good terms with us, still you're a prisoner of war, but if you don't want to talk we will just give you over to the griffonstone army here and let them handle you as they see fit." I could only nod to that, agreeing.

She shook her head quickly at that option.

"No no, I'd rather talk and stay with you, you're both Equestrian and you seem rather friendly, most mares would be furious to have their husband seduced by another mare in heat, even more so because I sucked on his tip... Also you even complimented me, thank you, that means a lot!" Thunder was blushing by the end and smiling shyly at Sylf, who had a wolfish grin on her face.

"Tell us what are you and your fellow ponies doing here, and I'm going to show you what this can do~" my wife said in a sultry tone, her obscenely long wolf tongue lolling out of her maw, licking at the air in a suggestive way, Thunder's eyes widened at that and she nodded dumbly, starting to talk.

"The Isles and Trottingham made a mutually beneficial deal in which we, upon defeating the Empire, would divide the land in a 75/25 with us gaining a 25% of the empire, specifically the port, from which we will greatly benefit, in exchange we were to provide logistics and supportive siege construction and rebuilding of damaged buildings." She sighed and shook her head, me and Sylf encouraged her to keep going with curious looks, this was very interesting to hear, and I'm sure there will be consequences for them.

"Me and other hundred ponies were selected for this mission, we could have refused to be honest but the pay is immense...
The ponies with me are soldiers but they have mostly logistics training, most have cutie marks related to it, and a few construction ponies and engineers, although they do have basic combat training, we aren't here to fight, and yet... General Falcon threatened us with desertion if we didn't help him try and break the shield." So she wasn't exactly an innocent forced to participate against her will, at least not at first, but this General seemed like trouble, all in all, this invasion... It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be, we didn't have to fight for now, all thanks to both my genius of a son and the griffon god Boreas who interceded for us and helps manage the defense dome shield.

Focusing back on the mare, I kept quiet, I was certainly not happy with her, all of this was for bits after all, greed was what caused this war, and the want for more land and wealth from both nations.

She was greedy as they come, but at least cared enough about me to be worried about my wellbeing when she first saw me, I couldn't really dismiss her entirely could I? Sure she was greedy but she cared, at least for other ponies, maybe she didn't see griffons as equals, a sentiment sadly shared by many ponies about other races. Even if subconsciously.

"You did well to tell us all this, miss Thunder Flash, from now on, you are our prisoner and you will obey whatever we tell you to do, or we will give you over to the griffons... And who knows what they'll do to a sweet, cute little mare like you?" My beloved has a very predatory smirk on her face, one that she makes when she's getting exactly what she wants.

"Please let me stay with you! I'll do anything!" She begged with pleading eyes towards the dominating canine, who only smiled a bit wider.

"Come here then, little pony, give big wolf momma a proper kiss, all while my husband watches~ let's give him a show that will leave him throbbing and leaking, what do you say?" My eyes widened and y felt something else respond to those huskily spoken words, the previous arousal from earlier came back with a vengeance, specially when Thunder approached wordlessly and they started making out, slowly at first but then they really got into it, both of them were enjoying it clearly.

My wife, perverted as she is, turned the both of them around so Thunder's backside was facing me, and I got a good view of her winking marehood, her tail flagging, she was already wet before, lines of her juices going down her hind legs were visible, but now it was glistening again with desire. Her pheromones drifted over to me again from this angle and I inhaled them gladly.

I was entranced now, the sight of the two beautiful females in front of me kissing and displaying their neediness, Thunder just offering herself to me... I had to sit down on the bed to let my cock free with a sigh of relief, it felt much more comfortable like this, It was torturously arousing.

I will need therapy after all this is done and dusted, worst thing is I can't simply modify my own memory without jeopardizing the mission at this point, and i honestly don't even think its possible to modify my own memory.

I focused on the present, stood outside the tent surrounded by elite griffon soldiers, they were all still like statues, this guy's weren't pushovers that was for sure...

I steeled myself and went in through the curtain like doors, they moved a bit but everyone simply assumed it was the wind, griffons unlike ponies don't exactly have mages on their ranks, and they don't usually encounter magically proficient individuals, since ponies and griffons have been at peace for centuries, they simply didn't have to deal with magic often, and while they may have countermeasures in their capital and their palaces of important politicians, here out in the wilderness away from their home, they had no such thing.

I walked inside the tent, it was spacious but not overly so, there were maps and diagrams, a few tables and a few of large beds, with their respective beside tables with lamps and in the middle there were the two griffons i came here looking for, the General and his advisor, they were pretty fit but not that big at least compared to General Steelwing, that didn't matter however.

I used a spell to completely block all sound coming out of this room, thanks to greater invisibility, casting spells didn't make me visible, I smirked under my robes, charging a bolt of stun in each palm, walking on two legs behind them and gently placing my paws near their heads, they were sitting together discussing plans and how to possibly break the shield.

Absolutely worthless, all their plans meant nothing, the shield can only be penetrated by a spell of the ninth tier or above directly, and brought down if enough spellcasters used spells of around 6th tier or above at the same time, but they would need a lot of spells, I didn't exactly know how many, I probably couldn't bring down this shield myself even if i attacked until i ran dry.

I released the upcast bolts, knocking the two griffons unconscious immediately, I checked they were still alive, they are.

I then stared to grab any documents that seemed important, putting them all in a cardboard folder I found on the table, the plans, the backup, the numbers and maps, everything that seemed important I grabbed and put in there. Then it went into the inventory and I send a small firebolt to the ceiling, the tent seemed to be fairly flammable, so I grabbed the two targets and prepared my teleportation spell.

Just before we left, the guards outside noticed the fire and rushed in, looking at me with two griffons stacked over my small frame, I stuck out my tongue mockingly before vanishing in motes of indigo magic, appearing right where I was meant to, the Griffonstone castle, where General Steelwing was awaiting me with a few other soldiers ready to take the opposing General and his advisor.

"Ah, sir Onyx, you have returned with the enemy's leadership in tow, how fortunate, did you encounter any opposition?" I shook my head, letting out a short humorless laugh.

"Nah not really, there was only one little issue that... It's resolved now, hopefully.
The first stage is a success, now I will go back into the field and start stage two, gonna take back here all of their supplies and then... I'll burn down their tents and make it absolute hell for them~ i won't let you down General!" I saluted, eliciting a healthy laugh from the large griffon.

"By Boreas little dragon, you're hilarious! And you're even more incredible, with all you've done and you're doing for Griffonstone, you'll have statues made to your image, of that there's no doubt, you have my thanks again, and all of our troops and the civilians also owe you and your family eternal gratitude." I smiled at that, shaking my paw dismissively.

"Oh it's no big deal mister, I also benefit from this deal, just make sure you remain loyal to both Boreas and King Treble, this city had a bright future ahead and I will be the one to earn from this, don't you worry because by then the King will be older and he and I will make our own deals." I answer with a confident smile. "I will need your support as well when the time comes, so don't be so thankful just yet." He nods at that with a smile still.

"Do you want anything right now?" I nod at the question.

"Sure, I could use a break for having lunch, bring me a bacon cheeseburger made with pork meat too, and potato buns, oh and can you add pickles and spicy sauce on it? And a side of potato fries too. I'm going to sit on the dining hall, and I'll wait for the food there, I could use some rest and I have the feeling I don't want to return to mom and dad for now..."

"You heard him, go fetch what the young drake asked right away, make the cooks prepare it using the finest ingredients!" General Steelwing ordered firmly to his aides and they ran off towards the kitchens.

"Oh and I'll have a water with that, forgot to say, with ice if you have it." I added, remembering that, another griffon ran to request my drink and I just laid my head on the table, I wasn't tired or anything, I was just struggling within my mind, trying to forget what I saw and heard earlier.

I hope they have therapy for this back in Canterlot, the words of that mare stuck with me, combined with the view, it was way way too much for my mind to process, I had a lot of nasty emotions and fears from that conversation.

I laid my head on the table, covering myself with my arms with a frown on my face.

I wish I had a whiskey right now to sip on, that would maybe work better to take my mind off of that.

"Sorry to bother you, Onyx, may I sit with you?" I heard the General's voice right behind me and to the side, I nodded, not really caring at the moment, maybe he could distract me.

He moves and sits next to me with the clank of armor.

"You saw me moping, didn't you?" I say, looking up at him, he simply nodded.

"Something has you really upset and I can tell it's affecting you a lot, I'm here if you want to talk about it, did something bad happen during the mission? Did you see something that... You maybe can't forget? Or you had to do something that you regret?" He asked softly, putting one of his talons on my shoulder in support.

I shook my head.

"No, nothing like that, it was nothing bad, I didn't have to hurt anyone and I didn't see anyone getting hurt, it's just... You will think it's stupid if I tell you, I feel really confused about the whole thing and I want to forget what I saw." I sighed, I wasn't exactly sure myself what I was feeling.

"I promise I won't think it's stupid, I won't laugh at you either, if you want to tell me, I will try to give you advice as best as I can, I'm a father too, and I have two beautiful little ones, I give advice anytime I can to them on anything they need if I can." He reassured me, he's giving me a warm fatherly smile I haven't seen on him before.

I decided I could maybe....trust him.

I explain to him, what I saw, what I heard, what I felt, all of it. He didn't answer right away, I also stayed quiet after that.

"That's... Something no father wants their son or daughter to see, I'm sure your dad didn't mean to, it's not something that one can control, this mare was responsible for it, and I'm sure your father feels very sorry for not having been able to control himself, still I... I think you two should have a talk, you clearly are very much affected by it, you must be really confused, maybe even traumatized by it." I stayed quiet, unsure what to even say, should I confront him? Should I yell all my thoughts and fears to him? I felt like doing that right now, to get any of those doubts and fears out.

"I'm going to give that stallion a talking to, I won't let him get away with this, he and that mare... No one will cheat on my mom! Heat is no excuse for cheating..." I exclaimed, feeling determined to stop them, forcefully if I had to.

"Wait, you said... She is in heat? That makes this a lot more different, you can't blame either of them Onyx, please don't act without thinking, you'll hurt your father's feelings and even your mother, neither of them did anything wrong, it's hard to explain so please pay attention to me, I will explain." I glared at him briefly, making him look nervous, but he shook his head.

"Fine, explain, I still need to talk to them all... It all made me feel really upset, I don't know why." I sighed and stayed quiet waiting fit him to elaborate.

"Heat makes creatures of the same species but opposite genders greatly attracted to them, it can be called rut for makes or just heat for both, the female in heat will produce intense pheromones who have a great effect on males in reproductive age, they can sometimes work cross species, if for example you live with ponies all your life, you will adapt to their pheromones and they will work on you once you reach a certain age, but for male ponies, the female heat is like a... Dinner bell when you are very hungry, they are not forced to obey it, of course, but they are highly encouraged to from their own minds and bodies, they have a very strong urge to follow that siren's call." I nod, feeling a bit less angry, I knew he was right, I was just feeling so upset at the fact that he didn't resist, but I didn't know enough, just how often did mom and dad...

"Also... If I remember correctly, ponies are much more open about sex, even if they're part of a herd, if no herd mates are available they will seek another pony or sometimes other creature who wants to, I had to study this because I had... Sex with ponies before when I went to visit Equestria, many mares form groups with other mares to try to stave off loneliness, they have sex with any stallion they can get their hooves on sometimes, or other males like me, remember Onyx, a stallion is expected to have multiple partners, it's normal for them, and your father only has his wife, give him a break young drake, you will know soon what it's like to feel like that, maybe."

Maybe I should have thought about that sooner before getting so angry at him, maybe he didn't get laid in a long while, most likely because he doesn't want to make me uncomfortable. I let out a sigh, feeling less and less upset by the minute, and more like I was too harsh on him.

My old human values of monogamy are colliding with the reality of ponies and other beings from this world, and it's not even my relationship! Mom was laughing, she looked happy, not angry, she probably knows this would happen and was okay with it all along! And I guess I cockblocked him for no reason.

"I guess.. that makes sense, I need to get over this dumb old values, I was just so scared and worried, angry... I don't want them to stop being close like they are now, maybe I just didn't know enough, was it even my place to say what one of them could do or not? I didn't know even if mom allowed him to do this or not, maybe she was totally okay with him having sex with other mares..." I wanted to cry, and I wanted to scream in frustration at myself.

I settled for groaning and covered my face with my forelegs. I had no right to even ask about their private personal lives!

I sighed, feeling a bit better, Id rather feel regret at my harsh words and outright insults than feeling worried that my parents would break up over this, still I really want to hug them both and apologize, maybe let out all my fears and doubts and emotions with them...

"It's fine, you love them, and they love you, everything will be okay in the end, they'll understand why you are upset if you tell them your feelings, they would probably even reassure you, ponies are of herds, maybe your mother is okay with that or maybe not, maybe it changed, only talking you can know, oh! Looks like your lunch is finally here."

He was right, a soldier approached bolding a large tray, a cheeseburger just like I wanted was on it, as well as a large amount of fries, and from the heat emanating from it all I was sure they were just fried... In pork lard, my nose didn't fail, it seems they use pork lard over oil, and of course beef tallow is not a thing here, because cows are people, they keep mostly to themselves but I've seen them around in the Sweet Apple Acres, maybe next time I'm going to go greet them.

A glass of water with ice cubes was served as well, the sight of this delicious food got my mood up right away, I smiled and thanked the soldier.

"Looks great, thank you! Now let's see how it tastes!" I grabbed the burger in my paws, the lovely part of having a burger was grabbing it and feeling it in you grasp, holding it gently, it was the experience of being face to face with the delicious combination of ingredients, by themselves all of this ingredients were considered healthy, nutritious even! But together they created the most beautiful of 'unhealthy' foods, the burger!

My smile widened while holding the burger, praised be whoever created this! And whoever cooked it for me of course.

Burger places aren't that common in Canterlot, and almost all of them only serve the affront to nature that is a hayburger and hayfries, a true downgrade to the magnificent flavor of a real cheeseburger with bacon cheese and a patty of meat, an 80/20 mix to be specific.

Soft moans of satisfaction left me I bit into the delectable dish, it was perfect, it was greasy, it had crunchy bacon, toasted potato buns, the sauces were balanced and the pickles were properly made sweet pickles with a hint of herbs like dill.

I was given extra sauce too, I dipped the fries in it and ate them, alternating a bite of burger and a few fries each time. I felt all of the issues from before melting away as I ate, food was truly the superior form of pleasure. I made sure to take my time so I could continue eating for longer, but eventually I finished it, I could go for an extra one but I didn't want to bother the poor cooks so much with asking them to make another.

I grabbed the napkin and wiped away the sauces and grease around my lips and chin, letting out a small satisfied belch, and then a sigh.

"Goodness, I feel so much better, maybe not having had such a good meal in a while left me prone to bad moods... Anyways my compliments to the cooking staff, I really enjoyed that, and thanks for the advice General Steelwing you are truly a bro!" I smile at him and he nods with a smile of his own, I offer him a fistbump and he reciprocates, the difference in size is hilarious.

"Oh just call me Steelwing, It's good to see you in good spirits once again, seems that you really needed that comfort food, didn't you?" I nodded slowly, feeling contemplative.

"And that talk we had certainly helped a lot, but yes, I had not had a proper burger in... A long while, a few months or so, we just usually make simpler dishes at home to eat quickly and go back to our things, it's been a while since either of us took the time to make a truly elaborate dish, and burgers do take some work if you want to make everything yourself, I could tell this one is fully made in the same place, the buns were still hot inside."

"That they are I'm sure the cooks relished in the idea of making a burger for you, they usually make boring food for soldiers and a change of pace is nice, they're pretty talented too because they cook for foreign dignitaries that come to the castle, they have to at least know how to make foods from other nations and to suit other species, I'm surprised you didn't ask for gemstones sprinkled in your burger, since you're a dragon and all...."

My answer was a shrug. "I eat gems every day already, having more would be useless, I wanted a pure, unadulterated burger and I'm glad I got it, now time to go clean those bastards of all of their supplies, what I can't take back i will simply destroy. Oh first let me run to the bathroom!" He lets out a small chuckle at that but nods.

"To that way, all the way to the end and you'll come across two doors next to each other, those are the bathrooms, good luck after that! I'll go check on the prisoners you captured." He says getting up with me and heading to the opposite direction, meanwhile I go follow the call of nature and maybe if I can, take a shower to be ready, and get back out there.

There are still several phases, phase two is to clear out the enemy supplies, then if possible take the ponies inside the shield so they have no logistics personal, phase three is to attack after they are weakened, I offered to do all the phases but three, because it would be very difficult to fight all four thousand angry griffons by myself, but maybe their morale would break once they realize we have their supplies, their highest ranking officers and their logistic ponies.

The idea was to make them want to give up, not to kill anyone, even the soldiers agreed that killing fellow griffons was... Distasteful, specially because many of the griffons living here had families in the Isles, they were after all part of the Empire at some point.

Chapter 59 Don't bring a spider to a bird fight.

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 60 How NOT to negotiate

The next day

I slowly blinked awake, I felt very comfortable on the stone table, and I slept in until noon, yawning and getting up to stretch, i realized i was right where I had gone to sleep last night.

I missed having a proper stone bed to sleep on, as I always said, hard surfaces are the best sleeping spots, I felt energized and good, and jumped off the table and looked around the room, there was no one here, all of the soldiers normally guarding the castle, they were nowhere to be seen, I was confused and surprised at this fact.

Walking towards the door and slowly pulling it open in, I poked my head out and looked upon the city, there they were, the soldiers were amassed along the city, there were tents set up, possibly for the injured during the fight.

What was going on out there? I ran out and closed the door behind me, heading towards the exit, on the way I decided to contact my family, I think I had given them enough time for themselves for now, checking up on them would be fine maybe.

'Hey you two, Onyx here, anyone knows what's going on? I just woke up and there are soldiers here, seems like they have set up camps, either of you know what happened?'

'Good to hear from you again my darling son! Yes come out outside the shield and look, the enemy is being routed, they are in talks about surrender, come quick!' momma was the first to answer.

'Hey Onyx... We did have medical tents set up and we had griffons ready in case of a fight breaking out, but things are going smoothly for now, hey... Again I'm sorry about what happened before, we still should talk about that and you can tell me what had you so upset, okay? All of us should, anyways we will wait for you here.' This time Coconut was the one to answer and I agree with him, we need to talk, as a family, because some things I'm concerned about and dont know, i dont want to annoy them.

'Hey you two, I love both of you, remember, I'm sorry too dad I... Overreacted and I insulted you, I was just so angry I couldn't help myself, and I'm sorry, we will talk later, see you outside.'

I trotted down the tree-city and headed towards the lower district, then walked out through the main path down the side of the mountain, I needed to get to the camp the griffons here in, most likely.

Once outside I saw that the griffons truly were in the invaders camp, and there I saw the leaders siting and talking while their armies were sitting in their camps relaxing.

Huh? I wasn't expecting this, not at all.

I equipped my Robes and, using a short range teleportation spell I appeared to the side of the leaders discussing, right next to my parents which I eagerly hugged and nuzzled after pulling the hood off my robes.

"I missed you two, a lot!" I said in a happy yet soft and tender tone, near them, shyly standing a few meters away was Thunder, looking shyly away from us as we hugged.

"It's good to finally be with you again my silver cuddlebug!" Mom exclaimed happily.

"I'm glad you're feeling better son, I missed you and your refreshing hugs" dad said with a smile. "Oh and Thunder here, she's gonna be a trial member of our herd! But we will talk about that later, because everyone is staring at you... Maybe you should talk to them." I turn around and see he is right.

Seems I had everyone's attention, some were glares, others were smiles, I shyly stepped forward.

"Ah, Onyx has finally graced us with his presence, did you have a good night's sleep? When you fell asleep, I didn't want to disturb you so I left you there, you clearly were overtired and I heard somewhere that dragons enjoy sleeping on hard surfaces so... Let you sleep on the table." I approached and offered Steelwing a fistbump, surprisingly, next to him was Treble, who I also fistbumped.

"Heey General Steelwing! I did sleep well, in fact slept until just a few minutes ago!" I chuckled while rubbing the back of my head. "Hey King Treble, how are you friend? Seems I really missed a lot this morning huh?" I ask awkwardly, looking around, the Honor Guard of General Falcon giving me harsh glares, now they are wearing normal, non decorated sets of steel plate armor.

Very awkward to be here after what I told them.

"H-hello you all, I'm Onyx, advisor to King Treble and General Steelwing, I see some... familiar faces here, I just want you all to know, I wanted to protect my friends in Griffonstone, that's all, although... I'm still really upset with some of you, I have been wronged and I won't let it go." Everyone went quiet, until General Steelwing let out a hearty chuckle.

"Hey be nice to them Onyx! This lad here is the reason we are on the negotiating table! He is inexperienced when it comes to fighting but he more than makes up for it when it comes to magic! He volunteered to help us and made this conflict much easier on our nation." He praised me, while I just gave him a small glare.

"I don't think telling them that is a good idea, now they'll send assassins after me, you doofus!" I groaned angrily and turned around, my forelegs crossed as I stood on my hind legs. "As if I already hadn't bled enough for your country..." I said in an angry whisper, mostly to myself.

"You may think that, but despite your support for Griffonstone, you will not be targeted, you have returned the Idol, have you not? You have reconciled the griffons with Boreas, many still believe in him, even back home, if our citizens were to find out we had you killed, they would riot." Surprisingly, General Falcon said with a neutral tone.

"What? But I thought that only the griffons here believed in Boreas..." I was answered both generals shaking their heads, while General Falcon groaned as if I was an idiot.

"No, of course not! The Idol was in Griffonstone, but the belief is widespread through all of the Empire, the Empire that Boreas himself founded during his life, and although our nation broke off from the Empire some months ago, the griffons in it still have a belief in the god of wind, the different regions of the empire believe on one or another aspect of Boreas, but all of us believe, well not all, a portion of the population, religion in griffon culture is a private affair shared between close friends or family, we don't have churches like ponies do." I looked dumfounded at him, but Steelwing nodded, confirming his words.

"So... Them why did ya want to even conquer this city? Wouldn't that be kind of blasphemous? Or something..." Ah, I'm starting to see it now.

"No no wait, I think I get it! You wanted to conquer it, so you could have someone find the Idol from your nation and gain his favor, and on top of that have a whole new city under your nations banner, am I right?" I asked, but slowly I started to grow angry, and feel increasingly worse emotionally, all of this for greed, wasn't it? Sure I wanted bits too but I wouldn't invade a nation for it!

"That's the short of it, among other reasons young dragon, yes you are right, the higher ups care more about land and resources, they also want to get the favor of our god to have more legitimacy as a new independent nation, but from what General Steelwing tells me, it's too late for that." The shorter general lets out a defeated sigh.

"You say all this about not having me killed, and yet your damn honor guard almost killed me last night! Even after I purposefully went easy on them, to not hurt them! They gouged out my eyes and cut off fingers, and after I was defeated and trying to escape, back in my natural form you see in front of you, they stabbed and stomped me, trying to kill me, I-i... I just wanted to help my friends.

Why couldn't they just capture me? Why didn't they stop assaulting me when I was on the ground? Do I not get any mercy... Why? I can't let them get away with it, not without payback.

"You asked for it, you lying snake! You attacked our camp and you trampled griffons in their sleep, although no one died or was seriously injured you clearly were intending to kill, and you claim you were maimed? You look fine to me, not begone and let my and General Steelwing formalize this agreement." He dismissed me completely, that was the last straw, before the true negotiations began.

An hour later, back at the Griffonstone Castle

I let my anger and indignation get the best of me today, and I may have threatened the life of both the General and the leader of the Isles, and I shot all of the soldiers who hurt me, just to get even, they couldn't fight back or anything because i paralyzed them first.

I seriously doubt they will try anything after what I did, but I was able to 'negotiate' a deal with them, 10 million bits in reparations paid monthly in 100 thousand bits payments all deposited in the Griffonstone's vaults.

If they do send assassins after me, I will have to install glyphs...

Once in front of the castle, I pushed the door open and headed in, walking towards where I've seen the griffons come with the food. "Come on you three, I think this way is where the kitchen and cafeteria is, but I'm not exactly sure." They shrugged and followed me.

"Don't know to be honest son, but what was that back there? You really got a very scary look about you, and what you did to those griffons... That weapon, what is that? I've never seen anything like that, so small and causing so much damage, although i suppose magic is... Stronger in many aspects." Mom asked me with a thoughtful expression, before I could answer, she asked more.

"Also I didn't know you were so hurt! You should have come to us for help right away, you know, you know that you have to be careful, you promised Onyx! You promised you would ask for help if you were in trouble, yet I didn't hear anything over the mental link you have control over, why didn't you ask for help?" I lowered my ears and looked down in shame, she was right, I... She told me to ask for help when I need it, I was overconfident and it didn't even occur to me to ask for support.

"You and dad spent a lot of time with... Thunder here, I thought you wouldn't want to be bothered, who knows what you were doing? I didn't want to get in the way... I already feel like I'm too much of a burden usually, but interrupting your fun? That's going too far."

Before she could complain I answered her other question too.
"And that weapon is something called a P320 Pistol, it's something similar to a crossbow but it has a self propelling cartridge instead of a bolt that uses tension, so it fires smaller metal 'bolts' at much faster speeds, they are very good at making holes in things, including creatures." She was quiet for a minute before answering.

"I see, it looks really powerful for something so small, I'm glad you showed those stupid griffons who hurt you what it's like to be on the receiving end too, they deserved it! You're still so young and those terrible griffons have overlooked that when they hurt you, I mean they could probably tell you're barely out of your hatchling stage, and tried to kill you anyways, they almost succeeded!" The two ponies surprisingly nodded in agreement.

"I say they got off lightly, maiming a foal is punishable by death back where I'm from, but I suppose since you could heal yourself, the sentence would be reduced for the perpetrator, I don't know, still I think you didn't do anything too extreme, a foreleg wound doesn't seem bad compared to what you went through..." Thunder added, surprising me.

"And about you bothering us... Listen Onyx, your life was at risk, you said it yourself, if you say you need help, I don't care what I'm doing, or what someone else is doing to me, no matter how good it feels or how much I want it, I'm going to stop right away, and I'm going to run to help you, understand?" She asks patiently, and I nod meekly. "I know you would do the same for me if I was truly in an emergency, always together remember son?" I approach and we share a loving hug, I knew she means it, her love is unconditional, and mine for her too.

"I should have, I know... I didn't expect to be overwhelmed like that, I was stupid and overconfident, I tried to not hurt them mom, I tried... So hard to just push them away and scare them! They hurt me very badly in return.
I know I looked scary but... Its just so unfair, I don't want everyone to think I'm just some pacifist idiot who let's everyone get away with trying to kill me." I sighed, emotionally exhausted after my outburst with the griffons.

"You've made your point with them clear I believe son, if they were to try anything after that... They know the consequences now." Father is right, I shouldn't worry anymore about them.

"Maybe if they fear me... They won't try again, and if they do, they will have to ho through much much worse. I did enjoy it a bit to be fair, revenge... Its like ice cream, because you know? it's cold and sweet." I chuckled to myself at my stupid pun, that I ruined further by explaining.

Coconut's ears perked at my declaration, he let out a snort at that, I chuckled at his reaction and we both ended up sharing a laugh.

"... Onyx you dork, when did you come up with that? Revenge is like ice cream, really?! Come here dummy!" I was taken by surprise by the sudden squeeze hug around my neck from dad, then he started to tickle me with the hard edge of his hooves, I squirmed and gasped in surprise, before being overwhelmed by uncontrollable laughter at my sides being tickled, he was stronger now and could hold me fairly easily unless I really tried, but I didn't try, I enjoyed every second of the spontaneous and extremely fun 'torture'. I could do with some lighthearted fun now, I still tried to playfully bat away his hooves.

Mom joined in by nibbling my neck softly, it was ticklish as well because I got all sensitive from the previous tickling, and soon we were all on the ground tickling each other and snuggling, laughing uncontrollably and panting for air like a bunch of idiots, I felt so much better now, fuck those griffons, it didn't matter now, I'm sure Treble and Steelwing will take care of the other details.

All the while I could tell Thunder was looking at us with a warm smile, and warmth in her eyes, yet she hasn't joined in, maybe she was unsure about me or she just didn't feel ready for that kinda silly fun games we had together sometimes, or she was shy.

But what worried me the most now was that... Dad was slowly catching up to me in the tickle score of who tickles who the most, I used to be the undisputed champion but now... I'm getting somehow more ticklish as I grow older?! That makes no sense, don't it? I hope it's not some weird puberty thing... Eh who cares I'm still going to enjoy taking both of them by surprise next time, can't let them out do me in my speciality, claws beat hooves or paws!

"T-thank you dad, mom, I feel much better now! You both... I love you so much! But we really need to talk, oh look! That's the cafeteria we've been looking for, it was just right through this door all this time heh." the both of them give me a kiss on each side of my head, making me blush slightly, before we walk in, the pegasus following close behind.

"Come on, here Thunder! Give me a hug too! You're with us now remember?" dad nods at that, I look between them, both of them give me a smile and a nod, so I look at Thunder and nod to her with a small smile, which she returns.

"T-thank you, I just didn't want to make you uncomfortable Onyx, I... I know what I did was wrong, I'm sorry, I didn't know you were... L-lets sit down and talk, what do you all say? I-i mean let's find somewhere to sit before we can talk about what happened." We all agree with her there, the cafeteria was mostly empty, but the cooks we're here.

"Who wants to go first, or should I?" I asked right away, I was in a decently good mood, I sort of...etc out some steam by shooting those guys.

The others all nodded so I just started.

"So the plan was I would go on and trick miss Thunder here to relax and let her guard down in my cat form, and that worked very well, right miss Thunder? You and I... We got along nicely, you even smiled and patted me, I liked that." I started, looking at the pegasus mare with a slight smile, her eyes widened and she gasped lightly.

"Wait... You're saying that you were that cat?! Oh my gosh! You're able to transform into a cat!" She looked very happy and seemingly in her excitement she wrapped me around her wings in a hug, I giggled as she realized and gently pulled back her wings.
"S-sorry hehe I... Got a bit too excited, I just really like cats, my sister has a cat and it's super cute! Sorry to interrupt, keep going Onyx, and yes you are adorable as a cat, we did get along well, I must say now I realize why you looked slightly odd, you were also a bit silver, at the time I thought your hair was just really pretty but maybe you keep a bit of the beautiful shine from your scales even when you transform?"

I giggle and smile at her enthusiasm, it's pretty cute.
"You really like cats huh? Then you and I will get along very well! Yes I can transform into any animal I touch, although it doesn't work on ponies or some other creatures that are highly magical, for that I need a more advanced spell, transforming into animal is an ability not a spell, at least the version I used to become a cat, although there is a spell." She claps her hooves together happily as I explain, feeling more relaxed.

"I wanna see you do that sometime! But... Let's talk about what we have been putting off for now, you said you wanted to start to..." I nod and focus my mind on that.

"Yes, well when dad came in, he was supposed to... Talk you and convince you to join the good side, make you and the ponies side with us, them we would take the supplies back into the city and from there we could wait for the Griffons to surrender." I felt unsure how to continue, but I decided to go with it.

"But when you two talked the conversation started going some other place, then you Thunder started to try to seduce dad and then he tried to resist, not very much effort on his part but I never don't recall you asking for his permission to do that, you simply slid under and started to... Kiss him down there, no warning and no asking either, that bothered me, just like the fact that you were letting her do it without pushing her away, cheating on mom, I thought you didn't love her anymore or you were trying to have sex behind ber back, that's why I was so insistent on telling her what you did... A-and why I wanted to stop you two." I explain my point of view, but I was suddenly hugged tightly by Sylf, who doubled down and nuzzled me, licking the top of my head like a wolf mom would like their puppies, I couldn't help but start giggling at the intense treatment she was giving me.

"Oh you poor sweet angel, you though my relationship with him was so strict? Im so sorry! I never told you very much about us, didn't I? Oh Onyx we are both very sorry... You see son, your dad and I, we are married yes, but both of us have a deal, if we want in the heat of the moment, to have intense and lustful sex with other ponies or other beings, we can and we can even invite them to the relationship as a form of trial member to see if they fit, look Onyx we haven't really formed a herd not because we didn't want to, but because we just don't have anyone who would want to, we also didn't exactly ask around." My eyes widen at this, I had no idea! I thought mum was opposed to the idea of forming a herd.

"B-but you said you didn't want a herd, just a stallion for yourself!" I exclaimed in confusion, sure this was years and years ago... Maybe I just have been left out of the loop?

"At some point, I did because I didn't know how what it was like, I had never been with any stallion and turns out I was wrong! I can't handle a stallion all on my own, even I, I... Well I really really like to have sexytimes with your dad, but I have a really busy schedule as a commander of the guard, and if not with that I have barely enough time to look over the twins, when do I fit the time to satisfy him? I simply don't have time, sure sometimes we do, but its... Not easy while the twins and you are in the house, no offense I just doubt you want to catch us in the act, nor do we want you to, and specially not the twins!" She scratches the back of her head with a paw, blushing and looking away.

"S-so yeah we kinda need some more mares or... someone who can help with both raising the foals, cooking, washing the dishes, and specially looking after his needs, that's the issue with having only two in a relationship, and why ponies love their herds, when you also are poorer, having more mares to do all the work around the house beats hiring maids, that we can easily do with how much we earn, but..." She gives me a meaningful look, then looks over at Thunder.

"Yeah, I keep a bunch of... Less than legal stuff at home and if the maids were to report us we would get in trouble, the weapons and armor alone would have the guard at our house, even if you're a Commander they would be confused as to why you have so many weapons... None of which are registered, also I would prefer if no strangers have access to my hoard or my room, or the garden or any of that." I nod slowly, I get it now, being in a monogamous relationship was much harder, and it made things a lot more tedious, left some unsatisfied and frustrated, and it meant less sleep.

"I understand now, I... Owe you both and apology, dad, miss Thunder." I now my head and lower my ears, I knew I was being overly rude to them before, I was... I felt betrayed on behalf of Sylf, but it was not my place to be.

"Onyx, you don't have to be sorry, you're right to feel upset at me, I should have had better control over my heat, and I maybe would have not done any of that if I knew you were... his actual son and were there hearing us, I swear I thought you were a cat, I also did... As you say I took advantage of him without ever getting his spoken consent, and for that I apologize to you too, mister Coconut, I should have listened to you when you said you were married, yet... I let my instincts and what your eyes said guide me." Thunder said with her ears lowered and looking slightly ashamed.

"I did want it, I... Sure I was reluctant because I didn't get permission from my wife, but I knew that she would be okay with it, I was more trying to stop you because Onyx was there right next to you, and I'm sorry for that son, I didn't want you to see that... At first I really wanted to stop and not get in 'the mood' in front of you, that I regret you had to see, I could barely think... You don't know yet how heat is, how it messes with your mind and perception, it's as close as mind control you can get in nature without actual illegal magic or alchemy, still I... Didn't meant you to see or hear any of that." Coconut let out a sad sigh, before nuzzling me softly on the neck, giving me a sad smile.

"Either way I was never angry at you over this, I understood from the start why you were angry, at least why you would be, first at seeing me like that and at feeling betrayed and that I messed up the mission on purpose, I... Never meant any of that to happen, but I'm glad you understand now, I'll make it up to you somehow, okay?" He offered softly in almost a whisper, and I could only nod, he would not take a no for an answer, I could tell by the way he spoke.

"Can I... Hug you too Onyx? I-i feel like I owe you a hug at the very least after all the stress and anxiety I put you through, i also feel thankful you brought both of us to your mom, she... Welcomed me much better than I expected." Thunder asked with a blush, looking shyly at me but with a slight smile and hopeful eyes.

I didn't have to think more than a second, before nodding and approaching her, her smile widened and she flew over and enveloped me in her hug, using both front hooves and wings, closing her eyes with a smile on her muzzle, I returned the gesture, hugging her across her barrel as we both stood on our hind legs, I nuzzled her neck and fluffy chest with a content purr.

She was a good hugger, I could see myself trusting her in time. "You're fluffy, warm and your wings are very soft, I am glad you're on our side now." I softly whisper in her ear, which twitches and her eyes open, a large smile firming on her muzzle.

"And you're very refreshing, even cold, like a cloud full of snow in winter, your scales are smooth and soft, but... Is it normal for you to be this cold? I thought dragons were full of fire and hot to the touch." She asks with curiosity, and a slight undertone of concern.

"That, Thunder is because I'm not a dragon as you know them, I'm an altogether different species of dragon from the ones in the volcano lands, or dragon lands. I hail from the frozen north, far far north where only ice and snow permanently cover the land, and Caribou roam in herds." I thought about going back and visiting, it could be an interesting experience!

"Ah, that makes sense, I heard of the frozen north but no one ever would dare travel so far out, some Trottingham citizens visit Equestria often but usually only the largest cities like Canterlot or Manehattan, I've had an aunt who went to Las Pegasus to play in the casinos and wasted all her money, don't like that city very much..." I nod in agreement at that last.

"Don't much like casinos either, a game where you waste money to give it to the rich? I'll pass, Id rather invest it or buy some tasty confections with that, or something fun at the market, why waste money at the casino when you can play the same games at home with friends and family, and even play for bits if you want, but the money goes to actual friends or family instead to some unknown rich pony living in some tower." I snorted at the stupidity of those fools who wasted their salaries on gambling, and gambling in a rigged casino that basically ensures the client will lose.

Suddenly we interrupted by a group of griffons coming out with trays and placing them on our table, filled with food and water.

"Excuse us, we just couldn't help but look over and we find the heroes of Griffonstone, chatting amicably, we took the liberty of preparing you a selection of omnivore and herbivore dishes with our best ingredients, for the two ponies we made asparagus cream soup and cucumber sandwiches with fresh daffodils, and for the omnivores we have a prepared fish and chips, with garlic and onion mayo dip and a potato leek cream soup, and for desert there is lemon curd with sweet sponge cookies, enjoy!" An older griffon wearing a chef uniform announced politely with a slight french accent, with a small bow of his head.

"Thank you so much, what's your name mister? I've absolutely loved the burger and fries you all made for me the other day." He looked at me with a friendly smile as I spoke.

"My name is Hulbert, the head chef of the castle, we serve the army usually but also foreign dignitaries and officers, your group I consider a step above any of that, we are aware of all that you did for Griffonstone and the Empire as a whole, my most sincere thanks, now I'll leave you to enjoy the food before it goes cold." With another small nod he and the staff leave towards the kitchen and we are left alone and in silence, everyone is slightly shocked at the sudden free meal, even, even when I smelled the food all the way from the kitchen, still didn't expect it was for us.

"Charming old chap, isn't he?" Casually said Thunder, looking at the griffon. She got a round of nods

"Yeah, but let's do like he said, don't want my fish or fries to get cold, now enjoy my dears." I added and dug in, starting to eat with gusto, this fish it was wonderfully cooked, tender and delicious and the batter was spiced up nicely, as well as the fries with the dip, it all completed the meal and made it perfect. "Mmmmh~ sho tasty!" I exclaimed with a mouthful of food, then blushed as dad gave me a gentle telekinetic boop while glaring at me with no real anger.

"Manners colt! Don't speak with your mouth full." He chided before taking a bite of his sandwich, making and all happy moan, he however didn't speak with his mouth full.

We had a wonderful lunch and by the end we were all full and sleepy, we thanked the cooks and I left them a few hundred bits in tips before we all headed back to the orphanage and into my parents room, where we somehow all fit on the bed, the room had been cleaned well thanks to both mom and dad knowing prestidigitation.

I was in the heart of the pile, emanating cold to keep everyone fresh and with the pegasus mare laying on top of me, she was light, much lighter than dad so I barely felt her weight on me, the problem was breathing, with all of them covering me I had little room to breathe so I had to have my head out of the pile.

The scent of my parents always brings me comfort, the pegasus mare while new and different than them, had a nice scent to her too, I could get used to it... She smelled sweet and made me want to hug her more, but I settled for just wrapping my forelegs around her barrel before taking a nap with all of them.

Hopefully nothing bad will happen to any of us after my less than friendly form of negotiation today, but the war was over, and that's for sure.

Author's Note

Hello and thank you for reading this chapter! No sex in this one, just chill vibes, the family is perhaps growing too! Who knows? Also Onyx did not kill anyone, he just shot a few griffons who messed with him, and had them healed after, making them agree to his terms more readily.

Chapter 61 Back home

Year 983 July 25

I woke up feeling very warm, more so than I like, with three around me, I had to let my misty breath out on myself, cooling down my body quickly, I see the others shiver a bit at the cold mist, so I stop producing it.

Now I feel less like a melting popsicle, this summer is hot, but having two ponies and a big wolf using me as an ice pack makes it a lot less bearable, not that I mind them, but I want to jump into ice water to cool down right now... That's the first thing I'll do once I get home, a super cooled tub of water, then I'll jump in and let it freeze around me!

Smirking at the idea, I slowly and carefully slide down from the cuddle pile and gently lift the pegasus sleeping on top of me, keeping her level so she doesn't notice I'm getting out of bed, then once I am fully extracted from underneath and in between the three, I lower her in the middle to take my place, the bed creaks a little bit as I climb out on all fours, but they are sound asleep.

Finally out of the bed and successful in my sneaky escape, open the door quietly and go out, closing it behind me, only to find that the griffons here don't seem to have naps, as everyone else is sitting on the kitchen/living room and having some tea.

As I approach them, I give them a nod and a soft. "Good evening everyone."

"I've heard a great deal about what you did here, young'un, Treble has told me, I ought to thank ye, for your help around town, you brought an old and bitter bird something I haven't felt ever since this stupid senseless war started, hope." Grandpa Gruff said in a soft tone, mindful of the ones sleeping in the next room.

I decided to sit next to him and continuing the conversation.
"That's what I am here to do, don't get me wrong, I have my own motives and I like bits as much as the next dragon, but if we really want to earn bits, we need to help the nation transform and prosper first, and for that we need education first." I may not be an expert but from what every developed nation has back on Earth, this is a good first step, education for the griffons, giving them a starting point, because here most things are taught by their parents, no griffon goes to school and they usually follow in their families steps.

"And from education we can get many wonderful things, like technological innovation and science, arts, medicine and of course, magical research! The magic that suits your species better which i assume is wind and storm magic." I theorized, I didn't know much about griffons after all.

"I am not aware of any griffons who can use magic, not more than cloud and weather manipulation, but maybe we are missing something, like we were missing our old relic, another mystery for you young'uns to solve. Now would you like some green tea? Sable made extra and it's still warm." A mystery indeed, if I figure out how to transform myself into a griffon in the future I could certainly give that some thought, I am really sure it's possible, old Boreas himself said he knew and used magic as well as his greatsword after all, isn't that right, oh mighty one?

'You're begging for me to tell others about your embarrassing secret, stop calling me old!' I quieted my thoughts right away thinking of a way out of that.

Wait no, please mister Boreas? You aren't old! You're a young, and heroic griffon who is very talented and strong!

'Much better kiddo, and don't forget it.'

No fair... you said you wouldn't bring that up anymore! Please? What would make you drop that?

'Chin up Onyx, I'm just messing with you!
I am an old bird, even older than Faust, for only a few years mind you! But I'm not gonna tell anyone you dummy, do you always worry so much? You know everyone checks everyone out? It's normal, most creatures in this world go around naked at all times, and it's the most normal thing to check, it says a lot about who you're looking at, like health, hygiene and for adults there's more reasons...'

Oh yeah, I can guess.

'I'm sure by the time you're sixteen you would have done so much more embarrassing things that you would probably think you were an idiot for worrying about me revealing to others that you were taking glances at a statue's "details". You're so easy to tease though, it's funny!'

Dude... Fine, I guess you're right, I shouldn't worry so much, no one would probably care, I'm pretty sure it's normal, yes.

Soon I'll be out of Griffonstone and away from you for a long while, but I'll miss you... in a way I feel we became friends, at least good acquaintances, yes? Well whatever you wanna call it, you're cool.

'Oh, I thought it was obvious, we are friends!
Not super close friends but we shared our stories and we had fun and laughed together, I can happily said you're fun and entertaining to watch, and you're not a pushover, not that I thought you were weak at any point, but after what you did to those griffons and the Pale Spiders?'

They had it coming, the invaders more than the spiders.

'Well you definitively have a bit more of my respect, if what they had done to you, was done to me back when I was on your realm, I would not even have shown them any mercy, I would have slain them on the spot, but you're against killing, aren't you? You have a lot of compassion even those you wanted to get revenge on.'

I guess... Don't feel quite ready to kill, you know? I'd rather not see their dead eyes when I go to sleep, and I don't want nightmares haunting me every night, or regretting it later, I'm too young for that. On top of everything else I've been through.

'Fair enough Onyx, now you should probably answer him, I think you've spaced out for a few minutes while we talked.'

I blinked and brought my mind back to reality, Gruff was looking quite worried at my lack of an answer, I nodded to him.

"O-oh sorry! I got lost in thought.
Yes please, don't worry if it's cold, I much prefer cold tea and beverages, in fact I hope you don't mind if I cool it down fully. Oh sorry for spacing out, I swear I'm fine." I give him an apologetic smile, he nods and shrugs.

"If ya say so, come on Sable, serve the young drake a cup, please?"

"Oh no need, I'll do it myself, just put the cup where I can see it, I am not a hatchling anymore I can serve my own tea." I answer before she can do anything, then she leaves the cup on the table and the kettle still was on the stove, I just float it over to my claw and pour carefully on the cup, filling it with green tea.

"Smells delicious, now... To fully cool this down, you know I like refreshing beverages the most? This will do nicely." I grab a spoon from the table and start to stir the tea, while gently blowing on it, a steady stream of cold misty air going right into the cup, and while mixing I cool the mixture completely in a few seconds.

I could have used prestidigitation, but I like using my own body sometimes, it's like the difference between running and using a motorbike, I like giving my third lung something to do, the precise control used for this is a good way to train my ice breath so that I can control it better in the future.

Once the tea was near freezing, I took a sip, finding it perfectly cold, Its perfect!

The only way this would be better is with extra ice, it didn't last more than a minute, and I was out of tea, I set the cup down gently and closed my eyes, enjoying the cold going down into my belly, cooling my body from inside pleasantly.

I think I will be going back to Canterlot sooner than I thought I would, I just want to be home and relax after this debacle, gosh I miss my bathtub.

"Thank you for the tea, and thank you for letting us stay in your home, I greatly appreciate all you, and I mean all of you, have done for me and my family during our time here, I bet in that tavern I wouldn't have made such wonderful friends, Sable, Treble and Gilda, and even you Mr Gruff, we gotta meet again, maybe next time we invite you to our home, what do you say?" I felt truly glad to have met them, and yes it would be awesome if they met my friends too! I couldn't wait for our next sleepover.

Mr. Gruff chuckled with a smile, coughing a little after, probably had a dry beak or something.
"We may take you up on that offer, I haven't been outside Griffonstone much myself and I'm sure this three would love to see another city, but traveling ain't cheap, although maybe our fortune will finally change."

"I can take you to visit whenever you want, it takes very little to teleport back home and half my magic to get here, and if you want me to be able to return here, I will need an object front this house, something that is significant, like a piece of the wall or a bit of dirt from the backyard, out it in a small glass jar and label it, I did the same with all the other spots." This would allow me to travel directly without having to make a teleportation circle, the circle would be better, it would cost much less but with my robes and the distance the difference was not that severe.

"Oh, right you are! I'll get it ready for ya right away, meanwhile I have ta ask, if we travel to your home, is there enough room fer all of us?" I'm pretty sure there is room, there is just not enough beds, at least not unless many would share a bed, including myself, but we could always just get more beds for the third floor where the teleportation circle was, sure it was usually used for training but as long as the area around the teleportation circle was clear, the room could be used.

"Good question gramps, we have room but we don't have beds, but I can get you set up in a room, you and Treble could sleep on the third floor while the girls sleep in my room, you would need to share a bed there though. I could get an extra mattress but it will be small because my room ain't that big... Don't you worry, we will find a solution! I have some ideas, you'll see when you go."

Treble and the other younger griffons looked very excited at the prospect of going, Grandpa Gruff was more neutral about it, probably just wanted the kids to have a much needed change of perspective, and I could fully agree with him, visiting new places is fun.

"Don't worry about me, I can sleep anywhere! I just want to go!" Treble said excitedly, while the others agreed with a nod.

"Whoa calm down, I don't think you can go for now, now you have responsibilities back home, when we are free I'll send a letter, still you can send letters to us too, do you have anywhere to write? I'll write down my address, it's good that you speak the same language as ponies here, makes it all much simpler."

Two hours later

After giving my address to the old bird, we spent a while longer talking before my parents and Thunder finally woke up, they had another batch of tea done, before they went back to the room to pack their bags, Thunder had very little items that she had someone retrieve from her tent, so it took almost no time to add it to dad's bag.

With our bags packed and ready, my parents insisted that they want us to be back in Canterlot tonight, and tomorrow morning they want to travel to Ponyville, of course to get the twins back with us, we all missed them by now, specially mom.

Thunder was along for the ride as well, she insisted she wasn't interested in going back to Trottingham as a Commander, because she realized everything she did, the ponies who were with her departed back with the griffons, reluctant but they didn't want to have to find their own way back home, and they knew the griffons would at least keep them safer than walking to the port and finding their own boats.

Griffonstone was kind enough to return part of the supplies for the soldiers and Trottingham's ponies to eat during their 2 day trip back to their island, this helped soften the blow of what I did during negotiations considerably, also the fact that the deal was sweetened by Treble and Steelwing agreeing to recognize The Isles as a separate, new nation as long as reparations were paid.

Thunder was still in trial mode, she needed to prove her loyalty to our family before she was let in our secrets and given full trust, but she definitively was doing things right by showing kindness to us and opening up about herself, turns out she's 28, her parents and sister live in Trottingham, and of course she was a Commander of the Trottingham Armed forces, second division, that being the aerial combat unit, in which she specializes in, I was curious to know what she could do in the air, but now wasn't the time for demonstrations.

It was time to go home, I hope I don't come to regret trusting this pegasus, only time will tell I guess.

Now everything was packed and ready, our inventory full almost to the brim with loot, I feel like I could open a museum by now with armors showcasing many different historical periods, but I felt like I would get in trouble for that.

We said our goodbyes, griffons weren't usually as touchy as ponies but I was surprised when even Grandpa Gruff gave me a farewell hug, sure it was brief with a pat on the back, but it was appreciated, I hugged him back. "Take care grandpa, you have made our stay here a much nicer one, thanks."

"Then ya better come back to visit once in a while." I nodded at that, we shared a small smile.

Dad had to return the armor modified for him in case he needed to fight, because he never ended up using it with our final plan, the armor was not very comfy either way because he was a pony, so it was a good thing he didn't have to wear it to battle, the padding was a bit too tight for his bulkier frame.

"We will keep in touch! Remember to send us mail! We'll do the same, bye bye now!" Mom said with a polite nod, while the rest of us waved, giving our own farewells, we were already surrounded by the energies of the spell, then it completed the process and we changed locations, leaving behind glowing motes of indigo magic floating in the air.

The air was different back home, the pressure too, I felt my ears pop slightly at the higher pressure, but that went away almost instantly, this was not much of a bother the rest of us, but Thunder Flash on the other hand, she was...

Uh oh.

I quickly lifted her up and gently carried her away from the teleportation circle before she could barf over it, it would have probably disrupted the spell, or the cleanup would have, wasting a month of work.

She emptied her stomach not soon after, over the wooden floor, luckily we hadn't had dinner yet.

I gently rubbed her back, whispering reassuring words on her ear while holding her from the side, she was fine now, probably only a bit dizzy after that, the worst of it had passed, teleporting the first time was really disoriented and caused a strong sense of nausea, I was lucky it wasn't that much for me.

"Agh, that's nasty, I feel so gross! Can you take me to the bathroom? I need to rinse my mouth right now and take a shower." She said in a disgusted tone, making a disgusted face.

"Sorry, I should have warned you but the effects would have been the same, the first time teleporting is rough, specially such long distances and different altitudes and air pressures, it messes with your senses if you let it, now come on, here's the bathroom." I comment in a gentle tone while walking down, turning the lights on as I go, for its night and it's very dark in here.

This time I hadn't forgotten to turn off the lights before going on vacation! Even if we don't have an electricity bill, and all lights can be recharged by magic from an unicorn, mom and myself could too, and others who could channel magic directly.

I guided her down the stairs, and into the first floor's bathroom.

"And here we are! This is the main bathroom, on the first floor, the second floor has more bathrooms but those are private for every room's owner, get comfortable and feel at home, you can shower too! There are towels for you to use.
I'm sure you wanna get that sick out of your mane, and all that sweat, I know ponies do sweat, unlike me and mom." She nodded quickly, not really wanting conversation at the time, I looked apologetic and closed the door, leaving the bathroom.

My parents came to the first floor too, looking at the bathroom's door, then at me. "Good job guiding her here, don't worry about the third floor's mess, I cleaned it up with a spell and it's all pristine now, how about all of us go take a shower? I mean... You go to your room and we bathe with Thunder in the jacuzzi." Dad offered with a pleading look my way, and I quickly agreed. I should let them get to know each other, and the jacuzzi was quite wonderful, honestly in here we were at the same level of comfort that they had at Canterlot Castle, our bathroom was just much smaller, but that was fine for now.

I would have complained about not being able to join the jacuzzi but to be honest? Warm water wasn't to my liking, bubbles felt fine sure, but I really need to cool down my core temperature to feel better, it's not that I'm in danger or anything but I could be colder.

"Yes that sounds very much like an idea, see you later! I'll take my time now that I can, I need a refreshing cold shower." I didn't bother to take off my clothes for now, this robes were just amazing, they would just not get wet or dirty and they held no smell at all, the enchantments on them were flawless, that Starswirl guy really knew his stuff, or maybe this were not that difficult to make once you knew how to, but sadly that information wasn't passed down to me, maybe they were not that easy to replicate.

What matters is that my robes that I used to reduce the cost of spells by half, didn't get dirty with use, liquids slid right off as if it was hydrophobic.

I walked up to my room and ran into the bathroom, this time unequipping the legendary robes just to have my body get direct access to the water and because I just enjoy being naked in the bath, and turned on the cold water, letting it fill the bathtub.

I waited a few minutes, impatiently tapping on the floor, before putting my claws into the water.
"Frost paw" I whispered, it wasn't really needed, but it made the spell require less thought when casting, during battle it was another story, one would often not say what spell they were using to not give it away, but if it was opportune...

The water near my front paw started to cool and freeze quickly so I moved it around, constantly channeling the simple spell, causing the bathtub to cool faster until I had the consistency of slush ice.

Once that was done I jumped right in, carefully to not slip on the wet tiles and end up breaking anything around me, I felt immense relief once my overly warm body was submerged, I even went as far as to slide my whole head into it, holding my breath.

Glorious cold, how much did I miss you! I could have done this anywhere else but at home? It was more comfortable because I owned the place, kind of. I found do pretty much whatever I wanted here, as long as it followed a strict set of rules, in all honesty rules were just basic common sense, like don't walk around wet on the wooden floors.

There is no spell to fix a ruined wooden floor, at least not with my class of mage.

Maybe as a druid, but I didn't fit all the requirements yet to become one with nature, for one I didn't have a connection to any forest, not more than passing familiarity, my knowledge of plants and animals was basic at best, no connections with any forest spirits either, the only requirement I met was my ability to befriend wild animals quite easily, and my love for the outdoors, I still preferred cities but being out there... It had some charm to it.

Some nice bath thoughts, as I lay at the bottom of the bathtub with my eyes closed.
The book "On Class Change" detailed the steps necessary for becoming a druid, just like any other class, I was interested in a few already, but I was too inexperienced, fighter was the easiest, just learn to fight with a weapon properly, and i was already over halfway there, i was just missing proficiency with longsword or greatsword and at least a ranged weapon, I need to spar with Shining again, I wonder how much he has improved over the last half a year he's been at the academy.

Back to classes, I had looked over other classes too, I wasn't exactly planning on changing my focus now, not while my talent was clearly with magic, but just checking what other classes required could be useful if I wanted to teach my parents or friends, I could help them be the strongest versions of themselves!

Classes like Ranger were very specialized in tracking and survival in the wilderness, not too dissimilar from druid but more focused on non magic based abilities, like actually learning to track using your senses and putting together a mental picture of where the target had been and what happened just from clues in the environment like broken branches or footprints, as well as other things like being an expert bow/crossbow user that were part of the requirements, there is also the tamer subclass, that specializes in controlling many beasts and even monsters found through the world.

An expert tamer could control, depending on their level, animals from small and weak, to large and extremely powerful, ironically mom would fall under that, she is a beast type of creature, of course she is sapient but her kind don't normally speak, maybe thats why the world's magic considers her a type of beast, and why i can use both, the basic Polymorph spell, and my Animal Form skill to change myself into a Black Wolf if I want.

Kari is also considered a magical beast, despite the fact she has no way of using magic, maybe her species is a combination of others, a scorpions stinger, a bat's wings and a lion's body... I guess her species could have been the result of some magical experiment made a long time ago, or the natural magic from the Everfree? Only theories... Anyways I have a little fun plan to try with mom.

I should surprise her by transforming into one of her kind! It's not been a form I used every since showing the spell to Celestia because it's just not very strong, nothing wrong with it but my natural form is stronger in every way, using Polymorph did remove my passive abilities like magic resistance.

Speaking about Celestia, I wonder how she's doing lately, the last time I met her we sort of ended our talk in good terms, and despite how terrible it started I want to think she has trying to improve the way she is, letting go of the bitterness, I hope Cadence can soften her heart too, oh I'm sure it will, she's not the Alicorn of Love for nothing!

I smile warmly at the memory of her, giving me a hug in my birthday, and a small kiss on the cheek, I feel truly lucky she appreciates my friendship.

I miss that filly, I wonder if she and the others want to hang out soon, I have to much to tell them all and they'll be really excited to know, I bet they don't know many griffons, and definitively none of them has gone to Griffonstone ever! I wonder if I could take them there to visit once the city has a bit more amenities.

I interrupted my wandering thoughts to surface and breathe for a few seconds, grabbing the sponge and going under again, scrubbing myself all over, where my fore legs couldn't reach, I used my magic to hold my sponge, I opened my eyes and looked around underwater, the ice around was already mostly melted so nothing poked my peepers, I blew bubbles from my nose, then poked my snout out of the water to breathe, before lowering it back and stayed like that, looking at the water around me, the water was still very cold, colder than my body thankfully.

Thinking back on what Boreas told me, to practice and improve my enchantment skill, why not do that after my shower? I could grab a quick bite to eat and then draw some runes, maybe I could make said food for all of them too, but what? Was there even anything in the fridge after a full week? There were for sure eggs butter and cheese, maybe some frozen veggies I could thaw and chop up.

I have enjoyed myself enough here, as much as I'd love to stay in my little fishtank until I fall asleep underwater I have things to do.

I rise up front the water, pull the plug underneath me and let it drain, then I climb up and stand outside the bath, drying myself with the towel, then hanging it to dry on the rack, before walking out.

Now while at my room I feel tempted to jump into bed, but I don't, and walk back down, heading straight to the kitchen and opening the door, I find that there is enough ingredients to make food for everyone, a few veggies too to have a filling for the omelette other than cheese.

Time to whip up some dinner! First I thaw and cut the veggies using my magic, carrot, bell pepper and onion, and dice them into small cubes, having them prepared with some mushrooms that already were precooked.

I grab a nice and big wok, I turn the stove's magical heating to max and let it heat up fully, then add a splash of olive oil, and pull the wok out of the heat, adding the veggies in right after the oil starts to slightly smoke.

I grab a wooden spoon and start to stir so they don't get burnt, tossing the veggies while I stir, and putting the wok back in the stove, doing a classic stir fry while softly singing to myself.

"In a few weeks I will get time
To realize it's right before my eyes
And I can take it... if it's what I want to do
And I am leaving and this is starting to feel like
It's right before my eyes
And I can taste it
It's myyy sweet beginning 🎵"

I feel my voice grow more confident as I remember the music, and the music flows through my soul, my mind somehow knows the lyrics by memory as I sing, I can even somehow hear the instruments, but I'm sure it's all on my head, yet this has happened before.

I add a splash of soy sauce, and sprinkle sesame seeds, then go back to stirring, no magic this time, I'm doing this dish the old fashioned way, like I used to do back at my job when I was a 19 year old human, making chinese food, this isn't exactly chinese food but this... It brings back memories.

I didn't let those sudden memories stop me from singing my heart out loudly now.

"And I can tell just what you want
You don't want to be alooone
You don't want to be alooone! 🎶
And I can't say it's what you know
But you've known it the whole time!
Yeah, you've known it the whole tiiime."

I see the veggies are cooked enough so I set aside the wok and grab a pan from the rack, adding a splash of olive oil and put it on the fire, and quickly grab a bowl and a fork, taking eggs from the fridge with telekinesis and one by one I break them over the bowl, careful to not add bits of shell, and I start whisking them to fully mix em, along with a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper.

"Oh Maybe next year I'll have no time
To think about the questions to address
Am I the one to try to stop the fire?
I wouldn't test you
I'm not the best you could have attained
Why try anything?
I will get there
Just remember iii know."

I place down cheese on the pan and let it melt and form a crust, smiling wide as I sing, once the cheese is ready, I pour the eggs on top, almost filling the pan then putting the lid on and let it cook.

I feel the electric guitar playing in my head, crystal clear, as well as the drums and my voice just joins in, loud and clear, I don't care if anyone hears me, hope the neighbors don't mind.

"And I can tell just what you want
You don't want to be alooone
You don't want to be alooone! 🎶
And I can't say it's what you know
But you've known it the whole tiiime
Yeah, you've known it the whole tiime 🎵"

I uncover the pan and shake it around to check if it hasn't sticked to it, and it hasn't! Perfect, not only need to place it on a large plate and serve, I grab said plate from afar without moving, and bring it to my claw, where I carefully use it as a lid for the giant omelette I just made.

While I sing, I carefully flip over the pan and catch it on the plate, it falls peeerfectly in the center, and now the beautiful cheese is facing up, making a lovely crust of crunchy toasted cheese.

Suddenly I hear another three voices joining me in song, coming from the side door and the dining room, I recognize them as mom, dad and Thunder, clearly they must have liked my song a lot, I blush as I realize they heard me at least part of it, but I don't stop myself, and we sing the last few lines of the song together, as they come into the kitchen, smiling right back at me.

"And I can tell just what you want
You don't want to be alooone!
You don't want to be alooone! 🎵
And I can't say it's what you know
But you've known it the whole time 🎶
Yeah, you've known it the whole time!"

We finish the song and the music fades, was it all in my head, right? Yeah... Maybe a check up with a psychologist wouldn't hurt.

"Wooo! That was sweet! Your singing is wonderful Onyx! What was that song? I've never heard it before, but I quite like it!" Coconut cheered and stomped his hoof on the wooden floor, Thunder joined in the pony style applause, mom tried but upon realizing her paws didn't make a noise, she just nodded her head with her usual motherly smile.

I couldn't only blush and rub the back of my neck, unsure what to answer at first. "T-thank you guys, I didn't think you would be out of the shower so soon, I mean I did take my time in the bathtub too but... Well I decided to come make dinner for all of us and that song came to me from my memory."

"It was very nice, do you remember the name?" Asked Thunder this time.

"I think... It's called 'what you know.' But I don't know where I heard it before, sorry miss Thunder." I lied, obviously. Of course it was from my old life, if I ever go back home I'll try to recover my music, if my things are still somewhere, or maybe everything I used to own was sold or thrown away.

Before I could get sad again I focused on the present, dinner!

All in all, I am happy with how the food came out, I put the veggies in another smaller glass plate and head to the table, carrying four sets of cutlery, plates and glasses, as well as a bottle of water from the fridge, all levitated in my tk, while everyone else walks to the table and finds a spot to sit.

"Alright everyone, for dinner today we have a big omelet with cheese crust, and stir fried veggies on the side, hope that you all enjoy, and excuse the simple meal, we don't have much else, may need to go restock at the market tomorrow." I serve everyone a generous portion of veggies and cut the omelet in four equal pieces, serving one to each.

"This looks delicious! Much better than having rations during our trip to Griffonstone, oh I missed home cooking so much... Thank you Onyx! Reallyy~" Thunder said excitedly and clapped her front hooves together while sitting on the chair, giving me a happy smile.

Mom and dad nodded and we dug in with eagerness, even Thunder seemed to have regained her appetite, we didn't take too long to finish, and the food wasn't very filling either, but it was meant to be a quick and simple meal, just enough to not go to sleep hungry.

I decided to go sleep after, as I just don't feel like practicing tonight, it was around midnight and my mind wanted the sleep, who was I to deny my it it's needs? I hugged my parents goodnight and gave both of them a small kiss on the side of their muzzle, and offered one to Thunder who surprisingly agreed, kiss and all. She was growing on me, she is also very very pretty, I approve... Wouldn't mind cuddling with a pegasus more often, I hope that she ends up joining us, her wings are amazing for hugs.

Those are my last thoughts as I slip into the dream realm, I knew I was going to be in that same castle and have peaceful and safe dreams once again, even if I rarely remembered them, I chose to be there, with time I knew I would be able to control more about it, even make my own lucid dream.

Author's Note

Thank you for reading! This chapter is a bit more about character interactions and inner dialogue as they go back, Having a teleportation circle at home really helps.

Chapter 62 Trial by combat

Year 983 July 26

I was shaken awake lightly by Sylf, blinking my eyes open and yawning, as I quickly became fully conscious.

"Morning sweetheart, are you ready to go pick up the twins? The Apple family must have woke up a while ago now, with some luck, maybe Pear is around the house, I'm sure by now Bright is hard at work with Big Mac." I saw both Thunder and Coconut behind her too, looking slightly sleepy but ready.

"I suppose you all want me to take you there? Gosh I was sleeping so comfy back in my bed... I'll do it, but only because we all miss the twins." I nod, getting out of bed and stretching, then heading to the bathroom.

"Bathroom first, then we go, okay? I guess we can have breakfast in Ponyville, although asking the Apples for food every time we visit seems a tad bit disrespectful... Maybe next time we should invite them here and make something delicious for them?" I think out loud, not wanting to make our family's friends feel annoyed at us, I may need to talk with Granny Smith about this, and Pear too... She's so sweet and motherly that I can already imagine she will think I'm just being silly.

They nod and wait by the door, while I go and do my business in the bathroom, then I wash my hands and face, casting a quick spell to get all the water off the floor, at least the bathroom floor is made of tile and not wood, but it's better if I dont end up tracking water back into the wooden floor.

Coming out of the room, I remember there is something I forgot to do when I arrived. "Hey everypony? I'm going to go to the basement to leave all the metal ore I got before, as well as a bunch of armor sets. Remind me later to buy armor stands, at least a dozen of them to place the armor around, it would look wicked cool to have full sets of armor standing on each hallway." But I of course could also sell it, I was unsure about the legality of that.

"Oh, sure son but please hurry? I... I really miss my little pups, you wouldn't deny your mother her right to see her own babies, would you?" I was hit by the most intense and adorable pleading expression she ever used on me, and I reluctantly admit, it worked very well.

"Y-yes momma, you're right I'll be right back! Wait for me on the third floor! I'll teleport us from there."

I ran down the hallway and then down the stairs at full speed, before I missed a step and turned my run into a hard tumble, lading directly on my snout, then hitting my back hitting the wooden floor, leaving cracks in the wood edges of the steps, I managed to stop myself from hitting the wooden railing on the turning point, if i did i would have broken through it.

Your thick scaly hide has absorbed most of the impact.

"Ow..." I got up, shaking myself and rubbing the top of my snout where I hit the hardest. "Fuckin stairs will be the death of me... I swear. Note to self no running down the stairs, how am I going to fix all this? Whatever..."

I shrugged and walked down the other half of the stairs and into the first floor, going over to the strong metal hatch door leading into the basement, unlocking it and opening it carefully, before descending down into the dark depths, upon reaching the bottom I tried to turn the lights on and upon them not working, I had to powered the empty gem within until it turned on.

That did the trick, as the treasure room was lit in a nice and warm yellow light, the gems and bits were all in a chest, and there was an empty chest left here for anything I wanted to put in, I decided to drop all the ore I mined in there, but the different sizes and shapes of the ore meant that the chest would remain partially opened, and that was fine, I'd need to take them to the blacksmith later to have them processed into ingots after refining.

I left the platinum in my inventory, deciding it was not a good idea to lump it all with the Mithrall ore, because they looked fairly similar and I could get visually confused.

After that I decided to drop all the armor I was carrying here too, making an effort to place the sets of armor together so they don't get mixed up.

With my inventory now much less full of heavy things, I decided it was fine, but I definitively need to drop that gigantic cyclops skull somewhere... The problem? It was too large to fit inside the house, the ceiling wasn't tall enough.

I may just need to leave it in a museum or give it to Griffonstone, I wonder if it could have any other use.

For now it will remain in my inventory, but I need to find a place for it soon.

Already wasted enough time, must take mom to her little ones right away!

I climb up the stairs and get out of the basement, before slowly lowering the reinforced metal door and locking it in place. Then I ran up the stairs and got to the third floor, without tripping this time, much easier when going up than down.

"Are you okay? We heard a lot of crashes down there, did you... Fall down the stairs?!" I couldn't help but look embarrassed at that, mom simply rolled her eyes with a smirk.

Dad however approached and looked over me concerned, poking and feeling around my back, head and sides for any injuries after asking me that and seeing my reaction. "Please dad, calm down, I'm fine I promise! Just fell a little bit, it didn't hurt at all, the only thing that was wounded was my pride, and not even that much because no one saw me!" I joke at him, he looks a bit unsure before nodding, seeing that his check up didn't show anything.

"You sure? I mean... You look perfectly healthy, and I have a good eye for that ever since i got my powers, okay then I'm glad you're fine, but please be more careful next time, okay? You could get seriously hurt if you land wrong, trust me, many patients I've healed have had broken bones from falling down the stairs." His concern form me is adorable.

"I know, but don't forget I'm very strong, the stairs got damaged first before I did, don't worry!" I just hugged him around the neck and gently caressed the top of his muzzle. Ponies so far all I've met, really like getting their muzzles and necks gently petted, they're no different than me in that regard.

He chuckled at that "Seriously? You broke the stairs? That's coming out of your allowance young drake!" but I focused solely on petting him, I made sure to get the back of the head as well, all nice and gentle making him close his eyes and lean closer to me, lowering himself to give me better access, his tone was playful when he said that but I would gladly pay for repairs, wouldn't be much I reckon. "Waait a second, I don't get an allowance!"

"Exactly, now you silly colt, let's go before your mother gets worried, as much as I enjoy those claws of yours..."

"And that feels good huh? From what face you're making, I must, can you do that to me next, Onyx?" At Thunder's suggestion I give her an eager nod.

"Of course, if you want me to, i love petting ponies! Of course I also love petting wolves, don't worry momma I'll pet you too!" I chuckle but stop petting soon after, it's time to go.

"Im not worried, I know you love me just as much my cutie pie!" I let out a small snort at her pet names.

"You're right but let's focus on going to Ponyville, okay? I'll take us there if you're all ready." I receive nods from both of them, I gesture to Thunder and Sylf to approach too, giving them headpats and chin scritches, both of them close their eyes, Thunder seemed nervous at first but she relaxed visibly as I kept going, mom was just used to it and is happy to get them as usual.

"Now please everyone try to stay still and relax, Thunder? Don't worry about the nausea, it won't happen again, I promise okay? That was just because your first time teleporting always messes with your senses, but now your body's magic is used to it." I explain while preparing the spell, spreading my magic to encompass them.

"i-ill trust you, you are a very nice colt and your parents love you very much, that... petting you did for us also felt nice, okay, I'm ready." Finally she felt ready and we were all relaxed and still, making the spell easier to cast, the target, Ponyville was close enough, the strain of teleportation was much less anyways even for a first time, when distance was shorter like now.

We vanished and reappeared instantly on the door to sweep apple acres, I chose that so we didn't scare anyone with a sudden appearance. It went smoothly, I checked and everyone was fine, Thunder smiled at me this time, she was happy her trust wasn't misplaced. "Here we are! Sweet Apple Acres, the bestest Apple Orchard in all of Equestria! And the home to our friends, the Apple family." I announced happily while my parents nodded to Thunder, who just gave us a small shy smile.

"D-do you think they'll be fine with me coming in? I don't really know them." She asked shyly, looking down at her hooves while one of her wing rubbed the back of her head.

Mom was the one to answer first, not a single doubt in her mind. "Of course! They're lovely ponies, they are accepting, kind and sweet, you won't believe all the things they did for us, they allowed us to even marry here in this beautiful orchard, it smells wonderful with all the apples! I just knew it was the perfect spot. But you, they'll be happy to meet a new friend, come on now, I miss my pups."

Sylf pushed Thunder forward playfully before we all went back to walking normally, side by side.

We spotted Bright Mac and Big Mac, the older stallion was bucking the trees while Big was taking the baskets back to the large cart, heading straight towards us in fact!

He clearly saw us and waved with a hoof, holding the bucket with his mouth, we stopped and waited for him to approach and leave the bucket at the cart.

"Hey Big Mac! How are you sweetie? It's been around a week, I want to introduce you to Thunder, she's now in trial to be part of our herd." Mom excitedly greeted him, approaching and giving him a small friendly nuzzle, which he returned, then I gave him a fistbump and dad did the same, before the pegasus mare shyly approached and smiled at him.

"Howdy, miss Sylf, Mr. Coconut, Onyx." He said as he greeted us, before turning to the mare.

"It's good to meet you, Big Mac, you're a hard working young stallion, how old are you?" She asked while offering a hoof to shake.

"Good to meet ya, miss Thunder, thank ya kindly, I'm twelve this year, ah started to help mah sire around the farm with carrying back the apples." He answered her, shaking her hoof gently, a small smile on his face.

"Oh, then we better let you get back to it, we will talk more later when you're free." Mom answered as he realized we were interrupting, the rest nodded in agreement.

"Eeyup, I better go before he gets too far ahead, talk more later." The young stallion agreed, before turning around and trotting back to the fields.

"See you later dude! Please say hi to your sire for us!" I yelled out as he left, I could see him nod and turn to me with a smile, after that we all headed further near the farm, Thunder was looking around, having never been here, she looked at least interested enough on our surroundings to not be bored.

We walked into the fence door that led into the smaller area of the property, where the animal pens were, here was a sort of dog house, just much much larger, looking more like a shed, made of wood and with even a window and a door.

Inside the large form of a manticore was looking right at us, the magical beast stood up and walked towards us, her large muscular form being immediately familiar to all of us, except Thunder that is.

The pegasus mare immediately upon seeing the approaching manticore, went pale and her mane and back fur stood on end, completely bristled and her face morphed into one of absolute fear.

"Wait, Thunder! It's fine she's friendly!" I was the first one to notice, as my parents were busy running over towards Kari to greet her, and didn't even look at the pegasus who was trembling and looked like a deer frozen in headlights, I approached and gently hugged her from the side, making her jump a few meters into the air, with me holding onto her.

"WHAT THE BUCK?! LET ME GO! Its... Its coming right towards us! I've read about manticores before, they are carnivores, and they eat ponies!" She said in a panic, trying to get me to let go, smacking me on the face with her wing like an angry pigeon.

"Hey seriously stop, calm down! This is Kari, my family's long time friend, she's very friendly and sweet, she saved my life before, and she lives on the farm as a watch...lion? She watches over the farm, protects the ponies from beasts from the Everfree like timberwolves and keeps other manticores away." I explained in a serious tone, grabbing her in a hug from behind, lifting her up easily and holding her against my chest as I stand on two legs, despite the fact she's bigger than me, she's not very heavy, I could probably lift her up in one arm but it would get difficult to keep balance.

"Y-you mean she's friendly? Really?! Y-you promise?" She asks with trembling legs, but she relaxes noticeably when I nod and give her a reassuring smile and a pat on her neck. "I... I see, sorry for panicking a bit, Coconut and Sylf are both really... Friendly towards her, look at them, they're both nuzzling and hugging her, are you sure she's not part of their herd too? I-i don't meant to interfere, I just didn't know..." She said while I held her like someone holding a large dog, her wings got in the way a bit but she put them to her sides and spread them slightly.

"Nah, she's not, I mean at the time mom and dad weren't sure they wanted to even form a herd, and to be honest? I doubt Kari would be able to move in with us living in Canterlot, i'm pretty sure the guard would be called on us and they would try to take her out of the city, I don't think it would work... Which sucks because she's a real sweetheart with a heart of gold, and! She also has a son, who is the sweetest and friendliest cat I've ever met, well... Manticore I guess." I explained the situation,

"I see, thats a shame, from what I'm seeing, they get along well..." There is silence for a while before the mare snorts a small chuckle.
"Hey Onyx? Why are you holding me like this? I'm not a teddy bear or a puppy, you know?" She said softly, but didn't really try to get free, I nuzzled her head from behind a bit and then lowered into a sitting position, before baking up and going back to all fours.

"Oh, it's just nice to hold ponies like that, you're all very soft, fluffy and warm, and I never held a pegasus like you, sorry... I'm also fascinated by your wings. They're very beautiful! Someday, I will also grow wings, and when I do... Can I ask you to teach me how to fly?" I ask, a hopeful smile on my face before she turns to face me.

"Thank you for that compliment! I try my best to take good care of them and preen my wings every day, I have to say your scales are very smooth and your body is refreshingly cold, for the summer like now... It feels good to be hugged by you, as for me teaching you? Yes, it would be my pleasure Onyx! Hopefully I'll still be part of the herd by then." She is clearly worried and cares about being part of the herd, I am starting to like her, a plan starts to form in my mind... I just need to find a way for her to prove herself.

"Trust in the process, I think they are just waiting to fully accept you into our family for one reason, the foals, the pups, they want to make sure you are good with them and that they can trust you with them, so just be yourself and treat the twins with patience and kindness and i will vouch for you, i consider you a friend already, now lets go introduce you to auntie Kari, they're waiting for us." My little pep talk seems to have worked, she is giving me a much less nervous look now, still a bit reluctant about our feline friend, but she follows beside me as we approach.

"Hey auntie! How have you been? Missed you!" I smirked and coiled my legs, before pouncing quickly and landing right on her face, hugging her head, she was faster though, and grabbed me midair in her forelegs, before sitting down and squeezing me against her muscular form, I couldn't help but laugh happily as I was squeezed hard, almost pushing the air out of me, but I was strong too and could keep up, hugging right back almost as hard, she let out a happy feline purr like growl of her own, then followed it by making various lion noises, bassy meows and soft roar like noises, but thanks to my Animal Friend perk, I understood everything.

"Little Onyx! How wonderful to see you again! I've missed you too, and so has Wishpaw, he's inside the house playing with your brother and sister, how was your trip? I bet you met a lot of creatures, considering the new pony that you were talking to and is waiting there, will you introduce me to her? Maybe you should... Do that thing so she can understand me too."

"Oh Karie you have no idea! I met a bunch of griffons, you know? They are half feline, half eagle creatures that have wings, they got eagle like front talons and feline hindquarters. Also I explored a cave full of giant spiders and even killed a few! Not to mention I met an adorable beluga whale on the sea while traveling there, we saved the city from... Well it's a long story, why don't I introduce you to my new friend here? Give me a second auntie, I'll use the spell." I walked over to Thunder and gently placed my hand on her head, casting Speak with Animals on her.

"Ready, go ahead she can understand now, oh also! Kari, this is Thunder Flash, Thunder? This is Kari, she's my honorary aunt! Because she and mom are sisters in battle you see? It's a long story I'll tell you another time." Thunder approached shyly, slightly afraid still of looking my aunt in the eyes.

To be fair, the aura of intimidation from the manticore was very powerful and more so because she was a berserker barbarian, it was clear that the aura was being suppressed on purpose, I gently approached and rubbed the side of the pegasus to help relax her.

"H-hi I'm Thunder, nice to meet you Kari, I'm... Trying to join Sylf and Coconut's herd, Its nice to meet you." She managed, offering a hoof to the manticore, who gently extended her paw, and without extending her claws, grasped the smaller and more delicate hoof and shook it for a few seconds.

I felt I could die from the overload of adorableness their interaction made me feel, it was also funny, but I didn't think Thunder would find it okay if I laughed at her.

"Very good to meet you, Thunder pony, I believe you will be good for them, don't worry, I have no doubt you will be in their herd soon." She reassured and nodded her head. "But now I say, you should go greet the others, i look forward to seeing you again, you all, we could talk more during lunch."

After that we walked towards the house, mom was at the front, we just walked to the door and she stopped, lifting her paw a bit, then lowering it, before a lightbulb seemed to turn on in her mind as she summoned her ghost hand and knocked on the door three times.

Then, a minute passed before Pear opened the door, her eyes widening as well as her smile at seeing us. Before anyone could say anything, she pounced at the two in a strong hug, an earth pony hug, they both squirmed a bit before relaxing and returning it, this again, my hearth can only take so much cuteness at a time!

I just had to run in and join into their hug, getting giggles from the mare as i gently nuzzled and hugged her around the barrel.

"You're back! How lovely to have you all here, my dear friends, that includes you silly dragon colt~ huh? Who is this lovely pegasus I'm seeing? I haven't ever seen you around Ponyville, you came with them, didn't you?" Pear Butter's voice was soft, friendly and kind, then it turned curious as she looked over at Thunder.

"H-hello miss, Pear right? I'm Thunder Flash, I'm from Trottingham, that's why you have never seen me here, it's lovely to meet you, and yes I am with them." Answered the pegasus in a more confident tone than she did with Kari, probably more at ease when dealing with a pony.

The hug we shared comes to and end as we start talking, this time dad helps her explain. "This cute mare here is going to be in our herd, I mean Sylf and i, we are formally married, but that doesn't stop us from forming one, with us as the head of the herd, and this sweet mare here... It's a long story, but she's with us, may we come in? I think all of us want to go see the foals." At his words, Sylf and I nodded quickly, Thunder also nodded, she must want to get to know them.

"Of course! Come right in, the foals right over there playing with some toys that we bought for them, some are also from Applejack and others from Big Mac."

We walked in, not much further and there they are, behind the door, the living room, on the sofa there is a small manticore with a smaller winged puppy sleeping under, who at the same time is holding a small plushie of a pony, they're taking up one side of the couch, on the ground the rest are playing with wooden blocks, Applejack and Wander are forming words with them, both of them see us coming and excitedly get up, approach and hug.

Of course Applejack hugs her mom Pear, while Wander hugs Sylf, smiling at her before going and hugging Coconut, an finally me, she looks unsure about Thunder, seemingly shy because she doesn't know her yet. "Hey my sweet little pup, how have you been? Momma really missed you and your brother, your daddy and brother missed you a lot too." Mom's voice was soft and kind, yet she didn't make a baby voice, she just spoke normally, and Wander seemed to understand her, because she had misty eyes and her expression softened before she ran over to mom again and looked up at her.

"Mamma!" The little wolf filly exclaimed in delight, the room was very silent after that, then Sylf sat down, allowing Wander to run towards her belly and start nuzzling and looking for one of her nipples.

"I love you so much Wander, come to mamma." I felt my hearts practically melt at the sigh, I can't believe that Wander spoke! Were this her first words? it made perfect sense as she was two years old now, she just needed someone to help her learn to speak, Lightning also probably could speak too, did someone taught them here?

Maybe I should help them learn too, maybe they just needed to have other ponies to talk to, and hang out with. The wolf filly, half pony half wolf hybrid, was eagerly drinking her mother's milk, of course we gave them their privacy.

I found the manticore and winged wolf pony sleeping both like cats in the sofa hilarious, maybe they picked up some habits from the foals around here, and, I guess kitten.

"So... Applejack? What have you been doing lately? Having fun with my brother and sister?" I asked the filly who just went back to playing with the blocks.

"Yup! I helped Wander and Lightin' to learn speak, mom helped us, but dis first time they speaked, I ain't heard them speak before." The filly spoke in a thick southern accent, her voice is very high pitched and her grammar is all wrong, but she can actually speak proper sentences, at three!

"Thank you, you sweet little filly, I appreciate it!" I hugged her and ruffled her mane softly, making her giggle. "You are the best cousin I could ever ask for! I'm gonna give you a gift, tell me, what would you buy if you had all the bits you could think of?" I smiled at her warmly, which she returned, her eyes full of hope at my mention of gifts.

She thought for a moment closing her eyes and concentrating. I had no idea what a filly could want, let alone a pony filly, ponies rarely ever wear clothes so I doubted it was a dress, but they did have dresses, they used them for fancy events or parties usually, accessories were more common for the everyday pony.

"Ah want... A big plushie that looks like Kari! She looks very cool, and ah am sure that a plush of her would keep me safe when ah sleep" she said in a soft tone, giving me a pleading look, I wish I could make her wish true, I don't know anyone who makes plushies, let alone someone who is good at it, I will need to ask around, but how am I going to... Would they even know what a manticore looks like? This was tricky.

"I will try, I don't know anyone who makes custom plushies, I'll... Ask around, there has to be someone." I feel quite unsure, damn now I feel like I lied to her, I'm an idiot.

"Ah don't know, sorry cousin Onyx, ask mah mom." I nod before patting her head once more.

"I will, I'll try to get you one soon, okay? Now I'll let you keep playing." She nodded and I went back to check on the others, now Wishpaw and Lightning are acting just like cats, I approach and lay in the couch too, and like a snake, I slide across the long sofa towards them, nuzzling their heads until they start to wake up, yawning and stretching.

"Hey you two, it's daytime, sorry to wake you up, I'm just wanted to say hello." I speak softly near them, they both blink their eyes open and stare at me, cat like eyes dilating as Wishpaw recognizes me quickly, Lightning also smiles in recognition, before gently nuzzling my face, both of them do, my little brother acting like a puppy starts licking me, tickling my nose and making me giggle and want to sneeze.

"Hahah nooo, not my nose!" I laughed and covered my snout, sneezing because of the odd sensation, making them both giggle.

"Hey Onyx! You're back, and you woke me up from my nap. You will get used to that, he does same to me when he's happy, its kinda like what mom does sometimes, but she says she's giving me a bath, anyways! it's nice of you to come visit. I've missed you..." Wishpaw said in his manticore language, it was a bunch of meows, purrs and growls, yet it sounded natural to me.

At least he can understand me just fine if I speak in Equestrian, I think, based on my knowledge of magic that some animals are actually able to speak in Equestrian, they just don't have the vocal cords to do so, but they understand it, and that's why the spell works.

I pulled both of them and laid them on top of me, causing the small manticore to purr, I joined him on that, both of them were like little brothers to me.

I love them both very much, I would do anything to keep them safe, and keep them happy.

"I love you two... I missed you, and you Lightning, you sweet little colt, come on, dad and mom are waiting for you there! Let's take you to them." I sit up on the sofa, leaving the manticore on the couch and taking the wolf foal with me by placing him on my back, then coming closer and sitting down next to my parents and placing him down there, maybe he wanted to have his lunch too? It was about noon.

"I love you too big brother! now if you'll excuse me I'll go back to sleep." Wishpaw announced before laying down and grabbing the plushie that Lightning dropped to cuddle with while he slept. That's just what any cat would do if it could speak, I somehow wasn't surprised, I smirked and turned to mom who had my little sister on her back, fast asleep.

"She's lights out after her food, huh? I missed her but I think I'll let her sleep. But look at who I have here with me you two, this little colt also missed you, I don't know if he's hungry or not." I nod my head back at my brother who upon seeing mom and dad, smiled wide and made baby noises, just like his sister, he was super adorable!

"My precious little pup... I missed you so much too, I love you, dear Lightning." She whispered as she approached me with her head gently pressing against the litte winged wolf pony, both nuzzling, and the two year old started licking mom's snout, making her giggle adorably and smile even more.

"Maybe he's also hungry, they've been without momma for a week, and they still need the nutrients from milk, hey Thunder? How do you feel about holding my sleeping daughter for a while while my son is suckling?" The pegasus perked up, then saluted and walked over, nodding eagerly.

"I would love to hold her, please allow me to." She spoke with confidence and care, approaching the side and grabbing Wander gently in her wings. I was aware of how soft and comfy they felt, and yet I felt surprised at how strong the appendages were, easily able to lift a wolf pony hybrid filly and hold her comfortably, then she walked over to the sofa and sat down, holding her there.

She received a happy approving smile from Sylf, who then sat down on the floor and relaxed, I allowed Lightning to float gently to the ground in telekinesis, freely approach mom's belly area, soon after he was feeding too, I turned and let them have their privacy.

"So miss Pear Butter, how have the twins behaved lately when we were absent? I hope they weren't too much, i must really thank you for looking after them, from the bottom of my heart, we really are thankful, so if you ever need anything, myself, my wife and my son will do our best to help." Coconut offered his thanks and our help for them, getting a nod of confirmation from both mom and myself.

"Agreed, I'll do anything to help." I added, a fist to my chest in salute as I stood on my hind legs.

"I'd gladly help too, dear friend, thank you for keeping my little ones so well taken care of, we love you, goodness I forgot! Where is granny? I forgot to go greet her..."

"Oh shucks y'all are fine! Thank you for offerin' though, and don't worry about granny none, she's making lunch for us and will be done anytime now, she would prefer if ya went and said hello after she was done cookin', because she doesn't like bein' interrupted in the kitchen, that's why she sent me to greet y'all." That makes sense, I also don't like interruptions while I'm cooking, it takes me out of the zone. "The twins are really playful, they were a bit of a hooffull but they also didn't really go around outside far from the house, had Kari watch over them while they played outside, so they never were let out of an adult's sight."

"Oh thank you for taking care of them, they are mostly well behaved so far, but they are very adventurous and like to go exploring, sorry about that my dear Pear. It's a good thing that they didn't try to go further out from the house, I think we should take them out more back in Canterlot, take them to the park and around te city so they can see more, maybe that will be good for them." Mom is right, we need to help them learn... See the sight of the city and expand their horizons, but also not let them get too far, they're still very young and defenseless.

"Mom? I think Thunder can do a great job at looking after them too, she could even teach Lightning to fly, little by little, he's half pegasus after all." I added, looking at the pegasus, appraising her body.

Lithe yet muscular, her body had the right curves in the right places, her back had specially developed flight muscles, I did not look at her flanks, not more than a passing glance, but I could see why both my parents liked her so much. I blinked my eyes and looked away, pretending I wasn't staring, thankfully she was busy paying attention to Wander, running her soft primaries on the back of the sleeping filly.

It was an adorable and tender sight, it made my cold heart want to melt, both of them.

Sylf agreed with me at least. "Totally agree my sweet silver knight, she is very good with pups, she's very gentle, do you have experience looking after them Thunder?"

"A little, before I started the academy I worked as a foal sitter for a few months, it was not much but I learned a lot, and honestly? Its wonderful and not too difficult, but I didn't have to stay with the foals more than for a few hours, I know it won't be as easy, but I'm willing to learn and I'll do my best."

"You will do fine, I know you will, just follow your motherly instincts, and also follow your heart." Mom answered her with an encouraging smile.

The large wolf approached the mare and filly, and booped the pegasus snout to her muzzle, before giving her a small kiss on the lips, making her turn red and her eyes widen, a second later the kiss was returned, softer and gentler but with just as much love and passion.

Suddenly granny Smith came out of the kitchen and looked right at them kissing, she chuckles as she approached the group, who turn to look at her, the two lovers blushing and trying to look innocent.

"Well howdy! Seems to me ya found a new herd member? congratulations you three! Now come 'ere and properly introduce me to this sweet mare." The elderly pony said in a cheerful and happy tone, dad had also approached the two mares, carrying Lightning on his back, who was asleep.

"It's wonderful to see you again granny! Yes we have a new member that we met in our vacation on Griffonstone, she's gorgeous and as you can see, she's good with our foals, plus our older son Onyx also gets along with her." He looked at me with a smile as he said that last part, I nodded and gave them a v salute.

"Ha! Yer one lucky stallion from what I'm seein' what's yer name lass?"

"A pleasure to meet you madam Smith Apple, my name is Thunder Flash, and I'm from Trottingham." She answered softly, as to not wake up the filly she was holding, yet loud enough for granny to hear.

"Not one fer titles or fancy words, just call me granny Smith, ah lived most of mah life on this 'ere farm, ah heard of Trottingham, now yer accent makes sense, we ought ta go have lunch now that we all are acquainted, food is ready, come on, let tha foals on the couch with the cat, he keeps them company." Oh I'm sure she's referring to THE cat, the most adorable cub that is my adoptive little brother! Or cousin, either way I love him too.

We did as she told and carefully placed the two sleeping twins together near Wishpaw, who pulled them both into a cuddle and fell back asleep afterwards. I giggled at the sight and followed the others to the kitchen.

Pear had left to go to the field and get her husband and son back, while we went and took a seat in the kitchen, good thing they had a few extra chairs.

We waited until the two stallions were back before we started eating, the dish today was tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches. I'm glad there were no grasses or hay, not a big fan of those.

"So how was your trip to Griffonstone? Did you find her there?" This time Bright Macintosh was the one to speak up, halfway through lunch, looking at dad with a curious expression.

"It was a really interesting trip, you have no idea of everything that happened, but to make a long story short, we had to deal with griffons from a different nation twice, first they boarded the caravel we were traveling in, and my wife stepped forward and told them off, she got them all flying away in no time." He took a deep breath, thinking for a few seconds. The others give us concerned looks, but they don't interrupt.

"Then my son and her came across a beluga whale, a marine animal that we ended up befriending, she was a very kind creature I gotta say, dedicating her life to saving other 'land dwellers' as she put it, from drowning in the ocean. Then after arriving, we had to walk for the best part of a day to reach the city itself from the port, the city was on top of a large hill, and on that hill is a giant tree, it's so massive that it rivals a mountain like the one Canterlot is built on, they even have a castle on that tree! And it's not small either." Their eyes are wide at imagining such a place, expressions of wonder and fascination on their faces, maybe someday tourism to the ancient city would flourish, I could see it, it was a beautiful place despite the economic circumstances of the citizens.

As long as tourists are respectful, tourism is a good thing in every sense.

"Then we stayed at the house of a sweet old gentlegriff, he told us to call him grandpa Gruff. He runs an orphanage where we also met a few young griffons, one of them around Applejack's age and the others were around Onyx age, a bit older. From there the story gets a bit more complicated, I think my son here can explain the rest better than me, because it's... His doing mostly, what happened." He concluded and everyone turns to me, I felt a bit embarrassed to suddenly be the center of attention, but I swallowed my nerves, no need to be afraid, they're all friends and family!

"Me and my father, we were on a mission actually, and that mission was to help the griffons of that city, or the entire nation, to prosper and be happier, to just help them... You could say it was a charity, I want to make the world a better place, and bring harmony to it, and while my dad went and healed the poor griffons at the hospital, the wounded and sick, I went and delved into a deep chasm between mountains, looking for an ancient and important artifact called the Idol of Boreas." I stopped for a few seconds just to check if they were following my tale, they clearly were and to be fair this sounds more like something out of a fairy tale probably for this ponies.

The pain was all too real for it to be one though.

"I managed to obtain it, but I fell into the chasm, and then returned after reaching the bottom, magic is very useful. Then I went back to the city and found out that there was a griffon that communicates through the Idol thingy, after that I helped him choose a new king for the griffon nation, the Empire, who's capital is Griffonstone, and that king is a good friend of mine I met at the orphanage earlier, he was nice enough to play with me so we became friends." I smiled at the memory, and remembering our sparring match, that was real fun.

"After that, when we thought everything was going to be fine, we get invaded by the griffons from an island nation to the northeast, and we have to repel an entire army of four thousand! Luckily for everyone, I managed to combine various spells I know and understand very well, along with theory and my knowledge of runes into a new, much larger and very complex shield spell that can protect and entire city, and I got the help from a very special griffon to do it. He and I, mostly he, enchanted the Idol itself with the spell and it uses the citizen's very own magic to power the shield spell, then we made the invading griffons want to leave by stealing all of their food during the night, and sabotaging them in a few ways." I stop to think how I'm going to explain Thunder's involvement without making her sound bad, I decide to simply say that she was working on supplies.

"And that's where we met Thunder here, she was one of the ponies that Trottingham sent, she strictly was not allowed to fight, and she didn't want the griffons to fight either, they threatened her and the other ponies if they tried to escape, but dad went to her and convinced her to leave with us... I mean kind of, things got a bit more complicated for another reason." I chuckled awkwardly after having to remember that, I felt embarrassed but I didn't feel as strongly as I did back then.

"After that Thunder met mom and the three of them got along nicely, and the invaders gave up after that, they couldn't break the shield no matter what, and then we got back home, and that's the story of my trip there, it was certainly eventful, wasn't it?" I conclude my small tale, going back to eating before the food gets fully cold.

Everyone took a few minutes to process before they started asking questions.

"How did ya get the other griffons ta surrender really?" Big Mac was the one to speak this time, curious as how one could stop so many soldiers.

"We captured their leaders, we stole all of their supplies, and we turned their allies, the ponies from Trottingham into our side, at least temporarily, we also caused havoc in their camps and humiliated their best soldiers, so in the end they surrendered there were negotiations, things went well, all in all."

"Am glad, colt, I hope nothing bad comes outta that mess for you and your family, but i would advise caution, those who were wronged by that defeat, they'll want somepony to blame and y'all are the obvious targets, just sayin' you should watch yer backs from now on, at least for a while, kay?" Bright Mac said with concern in his voice. "Keep a watchful eye on the family, is what matters the most, now lets go eat before food gets cold."

I nod in agreement, he's totally right, they could very well send spies or assassins after us, or someone to try and capture my family, just to ensure we aren't a threat to their leaders or plans again in the future. What we did... There could be consequences for all of us.

We ate in silence after that, the Apple family had worried looks on them, at least the adults, little Applejack didn't really understand what I was talking about much, she was just interested in the fun of the story.

After lunch we went outside, the other foals just wanted to play, but I asked Bright Mac if I could help around the fields, I wanted at least to get some exercise in, I wanted to test my endurance and physical strength in any way, mostly to prove to myself that I wasn't some lazy ass, weak nerd that doesn't go outside and spends all day reading books on magic and gardening, but to say otherwise, it would be a lie, i was all that and worse.

"Alright Onyx, you wanna help? you are on bucket picking duty, you gotta take the buckets filled with apples and place them on the cart back there on the middle road. got it?" Bright explained, my task was very simple really, I have to help his son carry buckets full of apples.

"Yes sir! No problem, ready when you are, I also promise to not use magic." I got a headpat for saying that.

"Good colt, yes we have to do this the earth pony way, we don't use magic to speed things up, we're keeping it real here, now I'll start bucking trees, and once am done with each tree, you two will take the apples jack, ready?" He got a nod from both of us, before he positioned himself with his hindquarters near the tree, before jumping with his hind legs and then kicking back, hard, the sound of hard hooves against wood resonated almost like a gunshot, and all the apples from the tree fell, at least the mature ones.

It was clearly some sort of magic, earth pony magic or something, because there's no way that they would have fallen otherwise... I did not know much about earth ponies, but they are incredible in their own way. The buckets below filled to the brim with big juicy apples, and they are big, I'd say each of them must weight around 20kg, lifting one and standing on my hind legs confirmed it.

Without a word, I grabbed one of them in my maw, holding the handle gently without biting through, and letting the weight rest on my fangs, I was surprised that I didn't feel any discomfort by having the weight rested on my sharp fangs, but i guess it made sense, I could crunch easily through metal and stone, crystal and more, having 20 or so kilograms pulling against my fangs was nothing.

I grabbed also one bucket hand on each hands, then turned around and grabbed a fourth one with my tail, once I was sure that I was holding them firmly, and my balance wasn't screwed, I turned around and walked towards the cart, Big Mac carrying one bucket in his mouth, it's pretty impressive since ponies, as far as I know, have regular teeth, i think.

We both work in silence as carrying a bucket in my mouth makes it hard to talk. One by one I place the buckets on the back of the cart, starting by the one in my maw, then my claws and tail finally. "That wasn't so bad! Let's go get more, your dad must have already got a few more trees finished, we gotta hurry." He nodded and we ran all the way to grab more filled buckets.
Bright Mac continued kicking the trees, stopping only to check up on us once in a while.

We grabbed another five buckets and placed them on the cart, a few more trees and the cart would be full and ready to take back to the farm.

I wasn't sure what to do with it back at the farm but I trusted someone would tell me when it was time.

We made good time, between the two of us, we are now going at the same place as he is bucking the apples off the trees, now my tail felt more used to the weight and I could walk faster on two legs, it was all about balance.

After a few more runs, the cart was full to the brim. "Where do we carry cart to? Will you guide me?"

"Eyuup, do you want to carry it? Just warning ya, it's heavy." I nodded eagerly, then he gestures to a harness, I stepped into them and he helped me strap them to my body, thankfully I wasn't too different from a pony in body shape, still I was smaller than Big Mac and he had to tighten the straps a bit more, but after a minute of fiddling with the harness I was fully secured to the large cart.

"It's time, you lead and I follow." He looks at me, a bit unsure, but I nod and start walking, then the contraption on my back becomes taut with tension and I start to pull, I slowly start to pull it forward, it feels... Oddly pleasant to pull something, I decide to go a bit faster, until I'm going at a normal walking pace, thankfully for us, the fence is open for the cart already, and I just have to keep walking.

"We're going to the barn, there we have a to put the apples into large trays to sort them by quality, got it?" Big Mac explained and pointed to the open barn to the side, I nodded and turned that way, pulling the cart slightly to the side following the defined and well worn path. By now I was used to its weight, I knew I could go much faster, the weight was definitively something, yet not an issue.

"This is much easier than I thought, maybe you need to get a bigger cart to carry more buckets at the same time, don't you think?" I admitted casually, there were about half a ton of apples on the cart only, I could definitively feel the weight and I had to put in effort to pull it, but it wasn't enough to get me tired, not anytime soon.

"Ya think so? Maybe we should've, I'll talk to my sire about it, ya sure are strong for someone of your size, if ya want a real challenge, Bright told me that the railway ponies are the ones that have it the hardest, they sometimes have ta pull entire train carts and even engines that aren't workin', I reckon even you will have a bit of a challenge hauling them big metal trains, takes a few earth pony stallions to even budge them." He explains while I pull the cart to the end, then starts to unload them on the large tray, I simply use a short range teleport to get out of my harness, making Big Mac jump a few meters into the air in surprise.

"What in tarnation?! Onyx, you said you wouldn't use magic." He let out an annoyed grunt and a sigh, calming down quickly.

"Oh sorry sorry I didn't meant to scare you, I just didn't want to have to deal with the harness around me, and I wanna help unload the buckets into the tray." I defended, lifting my forepaws defensively, standing on two legs.

"Fine... I guess it don't count if you're not doing any work with it, but ya still need to undo all the straps before putting it in and then redoing them again, you know?" He questions my decision while I grab four buckets at the same time and unload them all together, before quickly grabbing another four, at this pace I think I'm going four times the speed he is, being able to go biped or on all fours is very useful, both ways to walk have their own advantage and disadvantages.

"Yes, I know bro, relax I'm just in a hurry to help, I want to go back to Bright Mac to give him the empty buckets, I'm sure he will need them to harvest more apples, right?" I get a simple nod in return as he is busy carrying apple buckets, soon I get a new one in my maw.

I am stacking the empty buckets back into the cart, and a few more buckets emptied before the cart is empty of apples, and all are on the tray.

"Good job Onyx! Yer pretty good at this, you would make an amazing farm hoof, in fact I think you could take care of taking all the apples back yerself while my sire and I do the apple bucking, what'd ya say? I'll ask him if that's okay, let's go, ready?" I could only shrug at that.

"Why not? This is fun and easy, and I definitively need the exercise, it feels... Good to help around the farm, the weight of the apples is reassuring, so yeah I'm in, let's go ask him." He gives me a thankful smile and I return it with a wink, before approaching the cart and undoing the straps to the harness, placing myself in it and tightening the straps once again, but not very tight this time, the empty cart was about one sixth of the loaded weight.

A few minutes later we are back at the orchard, where Bright is waiting for us by the road, having brought the remaining apples he bucked in our absence. "Ya did some splendid work, ah I think we could finish all the field on this side today if we keep going at this pace, ready?"

"Could I help ya bucking the trees while Onyx here takes back the buckets back to the barn? He says our cart is too little, ain't it about 600 kilograms fully loaded? Ah can barely pull it as is." Big Mac stopped his father and explained, pointing at me.

"I just think if it was a wagon instead of this cart, we could load over one ton and carry it all at once, that way we don't have to go back and forth, and wasting more time, of course it would take a lot of effort to carry the larger cart, but between the two of you, it could be done, such a wagon is designed to be pulled by two ponies, possibly three, but since you're both earth ponies... I'm sure Big Mac will grow into a strong stallion like you, mister Bright Mac." They both stared at me intrigued, thinking over my words, I had in a way, challenged their pride as earth ponies, put in question their strength.

They were proud earth ponies both, following tradition, and hard working, yet also cautious, they wouldn't go out of their way to injure themselves pulling a wagon heavier than they could.

"Ah see your point, young drake. Ya proved yerself, clearly not speaking from overconfidence, and ah know ah could, with the help of a fellow adult earth pony, easily carry a wagon of the size ya mean. I've seen them be used to transport heavy cargo, or by ponies who like the sturdy an' very high quality for everyday use, so I clearly see yer point." He paused, looking at his son.

"But mah colt here is still too young, he's barely in his teens, and I don't wanna make it harder on him or goddess forbid, him gettin' injured, ya understand? Maybe when he's older we could. And yes Big Mac you can go ahead and start bucking the trees from the next line, now young Onyx? You'll need to work extra hard now to keep up with both of us, still mighty impressive work carrying four bushels of apples at once, that big tail o' yours is very useful."

"You bet, my tail is amazing! It think I could carry more than two of the buckets if it wasn't for the fact that I need to balance my weight, I would fall on my back if I put too much weight on the tail, I also would fall forward if I don't put enough weight... That's the big issue with being small. I can't wait until I get big and heavy so I don't need to worry about that, then I will really be able to carry as much as I want! Now let's go, I'm ready to carry as many buckets as I can."

"If yer already this strong, ah can't even imagine how much stronger yer gonna be in a few years! Anyways, whenever you get tired give me a holler and we can take a break, got it?" I nod with a smile, then we start, moving, Big Mac bucks the next line of trees, he needs two or three kicks before he can get it down, unlike his dad who does it in one, but he doesn't give up, putting his all into it, I decide to try something, adding two buckets to my tail, I can take all five in a single trip, and by leaning forward a bit, I can balance myself to walk on two legs, it's not too difficult to do.

Using this odd method, I am a bit faster overall, but I have to walk slower to not lose balance, it doesn't matter though as I am fast enough to keep up with at least one of the earth ponies, it takes me four trips to fill the cart to full, I yell at them to wait while I empty the cart. Getting confirmation they heard, I run back to the cart and strap myself to it, then I start pulling.

"What a wonderful day, I'm tempted to snack on an apple... No, that would be wrong." I say to myself, while happily trotting forward, my tail grabbing onto the cart and helping turn it as I went into the barn.

After undoing the straps holding me to the cart, I filled with apples the next large wooden tray, then back for more, to the orchard.

I kept going back and forth, loading and unloading apples over a dozen times, then I started to get tired, this was draining my stamina, I felt really hot too, as the exercise generated heat, wanting a cold shower, it seems the others wanted something to drink too, as the next time I headed out they told me it was all for today, then headed out back to the house, where I followed, panting with my tongue out, feeling too hot and thirsty, I was tired too but not near my limit just yet, I just needed water, something cool, urgently!

I needed water, cold water. Reaching the house next to them, I ran inside and to the kitchen, ignoring everyone, and opened the faucet, it was refreshingly cold, at least colder than my body, so I lapped at it like a thirsty dog.

"Onyx?! Why don't you grab a glass? Here, please use this. You're acting like you're dying of thirst, why didn't ya take a break earlier?" Pear handed me a glass of water, and I gladly took it, much easier to drink from a glass than catch water into my maw sideways.

"S-sorry ma'am, I just feel too hot n' thirsty, if it was up to me I'd ask you to spray me with the water hose, but I think I'll settle for using a spell to cool myself, do you mind? I'll go do it outside for a little while, don't worry." After answering her I filled my glass and drank it in one go, before sighing and walking out.

"Go ahead. I'll prepare some snacks and ice drinks for you and the others when you're back!" She exclaimed as I walked out the house, once outside I headed towards an empty area of the farm, making sure no one was near and no items could freeze here, before starting to focus on a spell.

"Freezing Sphere." I said softly to myself and opened my paw, holding a small globe of ice appeared on it, I decided I may as well... Have a refreshing snack, after all, I'm immune to cold, and any of its effects.

But just in case, because I knew this spell had a good amount of expansive force, I launched it up gently, it flew up a few meters and then landed, right in my open maw, where it hit the back of my throat, oddly enough it did not activate right away, so I swallowed.

Mmm, tastes frosty! Ice unflavored water based ice cream. Then I felt a pressure building up in my belly, I opened my maw and feeling the urge to burp and the spell exploded, sending a powerful high speed stream of supercooled air out of my open maw.

It felt like throwing up, but instantly, lacking any of the discomfort, chunks of ice rained down around me, from all the water I drank earlier. I was glad at least, that the pressure came out of my maw and not the other end, this felt nothing like my ice breath, maybe I should use less powerful spells next time.

Your body is Supercooled.

Supercooled: your body's temperature is near absolute zero, your innate affinity to low temperature means your body operates much more efficiently.

Your body's stamina regenerates faster thanks to your supercooled state, your mana recovers faster thanks to your supercooled state.

Your wounds regenerate slowly over time thanks to your supercooled state. You can ignore any attack that deals damage by increasing your temperature, like Plasma and Fire, until your temperature is increased to above freezing, either by said spell or from another source, including the environment.

You deal Cold damage to those that you come into direct contact with, proportional to the surface of your body that is touching the other creature.

Your mind is able to think twice as fast, allowing you to perform any action over twice as fast, decreasing both reaction times to anything depending on your temperature, the lower it is, the faster your neurons can communicate.

Extra properties of Supercooled remain to be discovered by further testing, the current displayed information is what your mind can deduce from your own observations.

I discovered something incredible! And I felt completely refreshed, from my stomach to all of the other parts, from my snout to the tip of my tail! All of me felt incredible, I feel like I can take on anyone like this.

Better not let this get to my head though! This... I knew all of that I read, I realized it quickly after the spell went off, first I felt my mind was able to both perceive and respond much faster, obviously it increased my reaction speed, my regeneration I could deduce because I felt less tired, I felt my soreness from working and my mana from using the Freezing Sphere spell recover fast, I also can deduct that heat will not affect me while I'm so cold, I would need to lower my temperature first before anything hot can burn me, and of course, being so cold meant that touching a normal creature would give them frost burns.

Now I was so cold that my body was causing the air around me to condense into vapor, it was like clouds forming all around me.

I went inside, feeling refreshed, I saw my parents having a conversation with Thunder, granny Smith and Pear, while in the kitchen where I headed next there were Big Mac and his sire enjoying some snacks and drinking apple juice, I sat down next to them with a big smile. "Hey guys, did you two take a shower? I kinda did too, something much better than a shower or a bath." I grabbed one of the glasses with apple juice and held it in my paw while they watched, the apple juice inside froze solid quickly.

"Cool huh? I learned a really neat new trick very recently, and this is just one of its perks, frozen juice?" I turn the glass over, making the frozen drink fall out into my other paw, I hold it with two claws and offer it to them, who look dumfounded at it, then at me.

"H-how did ya froze that like that? And... Why are you making so much vapor? Is like a cloud is following you around everywhere!" I smirked, feeling extremely excited, by now I felt fully energized again, and my mana was back to full too.

"It's condensation, around me is just colder than anywhere, the humidity in the air is turning into small clouds of water. Are you going to eat this frozen juice or not?" I god confused looks from both of them, then both shook their head, not interested in my frozen treat.

"Suit yourselves..." I placed the juice chunk in my maw, and bit into it, crushing it into snow and then swallowed, letting out a small burp. "Delicious, now that I had such a tasty snack, would you mind if I went back to work? I think I can finish the whole field before tomorrow morning, I feel good as new! I'm practically sparking with energy, do you have any more work for me if not?" I offered, eager to go out and have some fun, to put my newfound power to the test, although working the fields would not exactly challenge me much.

"What's got into yer head young drake? Who are ya trying to impress? Not any filly your age here, so who? Why don't you just relax and rest for today? Have some snacks with us. As if we didn't do about three days of work in a single afternoon thanks to yer help, now ya wanna run out there and do way more?! There is nothin' to do, we don't work at night, we earth ponies don't have no fancy night vision, pegasi can see better than us at night, dunno about yer kind though." Mr. Bright answered, looking at me with a confused and curious expression, then just basically told me to relax, I would have agreed if I wasn't feeling so extremely energized, I just bounced in place, doing a good impression of a certain pink earth pony.

"I don't want to impress nopony, I want to do something fun! I can see pretty good in the dark, as long just not that far, sorry for being a bother guys, mister Macintosh, I should go annoy my mom or dad instead, maybe one of them can put up with me, enjoy your snacks!"

I stood up and gave them both a polite, exaggerated bow, before running to the living room, it was getting near sunset, in a few more hours it will be dark out, as I walked out, I heard Bright Mac talking in a joking tone to his son. "Ah though he would be asleep by now after all he did today, but whatever he did after coming back, left em with more energy than when he started!"

Mostly everyone was in the living room, sitting and talking amongst themselves.

I looked over the gathered ponies, and it seems that Thunder was the one free from foals at the moment, as dad had gotten the twins playing with his mane and tail, by pulling on it and making him wince before stopping them, while both of them are laying on his back. Funny, if he was free I'd ask him for a sparring match, but I felt he was far too gentle a soul to actually try for real, he is just not a fighter, he wouldn't even hurt an enemy, I am glad he didn't have to fight at all in Griffonstone, my plan saved him from having to.

I looked at Thunder, curious to learn more about her, how strong was she? how would she fare in a fight? 'Inspect'

THUNDER FLASH

Evolution Path: Aerial Fighter / Rank: Expert
Level: 20
EXP: 1600/3831
HP: 168 HP Base: 20 +5 x lvl + CONx2
MP: 150 MP Base: 30 + 5 x lvl + INT
STAMINA: 178 Stamina formula: STM: 30 + 5stm x level + CONx2
Carry Capacity: 192kg
Species: Pegasus Pony
Gender: female.
Age: 22 Years old, adult stage.
Job: Soldier (former), Weatherpony (former), foalsitter (former).

Skills: Persuasion, Athletics, Perception, Survival.

Feats: Wingblade Proficiency (expert level). Spear Proficiency (Apprentice level)

Perks

Pegasi agility: this pegasus is able to quickly dodge enemy attacks using her wings to boost her speed, this increases her likelihood of dodging any attack she can see coming.

Pegasus magic: evolutionary adaptations from living in the clouds, have made pegasi naturally resistant to both the cold of high altitude and the static electricity from clouds in the form of lightning.

Weather Manipulation: she has the ability to manipulate clouds at an individual level, and even storms at a collective level with teamwork.

Military Training: an intense training program has conditioned this pony to think faster during combat, be less likely to panic, and come up with strategies on the fly.

Blade Maneuvers: can disarm, parry, feint and trip an enemy with any weapon she is proficient with, the chance of success is higher if the opponent is weaker or distracted.

Precision Strikes: this pegasus mare knows the vulnerable points on another pony's body, and will seek them to deal incapacitating or deadly attacks, this only works if the opponent has no armor covering those points, or her weapons are able to pierce said armor.

Fighter's Spirit: adds your Constitution multiplied by 2 to both your HP and your stamina.

Resistances and weaknesses: Resistance to lightning, Resistance to cold.

Condition immunities: none.

Current conditions: none.

Senses: pegasus eyesight.

Stats (each level up gives 2 points to allocate, point allocation can only be done once level 20 is reached, an exceptional action can give direct bonus points)
Base Stats / Bonus (From actions) / Allocated points / Present Stats
Unassigned points: 40
STR 14 / 0 / 10 / 24
DEX 18 / 0 / 12 / 30
CON 14 / 0 / 10 / 24
INT 12 / 0 / 8 / 20
WIS 14 / 0 / 0 / 14
CHA 20 / 0 / 0 / 20
Total 92 / 0 / 0 / 132

Very very interesting, she was strong... Maybe she could put up a fight, if I did not use my magic.

"Thunder? Would you please come with me? I need you for a good while." I approach the mare and speak this near her ear, then I move a bit back and gesture to her to follow.

She hesitated, looking at both my parents, before shrugging and following after. "Sure Onyx, why though? What did you need of me?" She looks curious at me and gives me a small smile.

"You and I will fight, one on one in gladiatorial combat until one of us surrenders, what do you say? I promise to not use magic, after all, it's not fun if you can't do anything." Her eyes widened at that, she looked questioningly at Sylf and Coconut, both of them nodded with a smile, then she turned to me.

"Thunder? You have been issued a challenge, the result will help determine if you can remain in our herd or not, you see Thunder, I value Onyx very much, I don't value anyone more, mind you, but I really love him, he has been with me for over ten years, through thick and thin, pain and joy, so if he issues you a challenge, I think it's an excellent chance for you to prove your worth as a warrior, as part of our herd, you need to be able to protect our foals from any threat so this test is actually perfect, do your best please, and don't worry about my son, he CAN take it." Sylf announced out loud to everyone, a confident smile on her face, Coconut looked unsure, but ended up nodding in agreement with her.

"My wife is right, she and Onyx are very close, they go way back, I met them together, and they are very very close, I love both of them, so if both want this, then so do I, and... Onyx can get really insistent when he wants something, trust me.

With the fight decided, Thunder finally nods in understanding, steeling herself for it.

We all walked outside to the front of the house, it had a large open space, with no air obstacles either, the spectators took positions to watch around the edges near the house, while me and Thunder stood by the middle.

"What's your preferred weapon Thunder? Want a shortsword? Longsword? Or dagger? I have a spear and a halberd too if you want one of those." I offered, she hesitated, thinking about it, but confused too as I was clearly not holding any weapons.

"I... I accept Onyx, let's go outside, and I'd prefer my wing blades if you had them, but I left them back at your house, so I'll take a spear, I'm good with those too, but you don't have a spear on you either, why are you offering?" I extend my forelegs forward, as if offering her something, standing on two legs.

She stares at me as if I just lost my mind, I snort and let out a laugh, before going back to normal. "Got you! The spear is actually in my maw, look!" I open my maw wide and make the spear appear, held in my maw, it appears instantly, thanks to the inventory system, something else I'd have to explain later.

Her eyes widen as she looks at it, before gently reaching to grab it with her wings, once she takes it off my maw I go back to smiling mischievously. "That look of confusion on your face is delightful! Now, are you ready? I'm ready, remember, you have to try to kill me, don't go easy on me, because I sure as heck won't go easy on you, keep your neck away from my claws and my fangs if you want to win." I warn her, standing with my legs coiled like springs, ready to dash forward or jump back. "Attack when ready, no signal needed, I'm already prepared."

I stood there, waiting for her move, she hesitated looking back to mom and dad. "Don't hold back against him Thunder, he's serious, try your best, he's not an easy opponent and I can see in his eyes that he has a newfound confidence I haven't seen before in him, so be careful because he must have a good reason for it, I give you full permission to try your best, my husband here will heal either of you, trust me, no matter what he can heal you, and so can Onyx." Sylf added before Thunder finally seemed to understand.

"Come on, prove you are worthy to be part of our family, prove you have what it takes to defend the foals!" I snort frost out my nose and maw, smirking and extending my retractable claws to intimidate her. She doesn't look scared it seems, good.

Finally she decides to attack, launching herself up and flying in circles around the area, not too far. Then suddenly she rushed from one side of me, before quickly switching at the last second her angle of attack, instead of attacking from the side she attacks from above, an angle I couldn't just duck under or push away with a swat of my paws or tail, both gravity and angle was aiding her strike.

I let her get very close, before moving to the side in the last second, her spear tip hits my side but, because it was not falling straight down on my back, it didn't do much of anything, angles are very important to pierce my scales, if a spear hits a glancing blow, I barely even feel it, a direct hit on the other hand could have pierced, or at least caused pain and bruising.

Surprisingly she is quick to recover, before the spear tip could even hit the ground, she swings it around like a staff and slaps my underside, an undodgable attack at this distance, but still I try to sidestep it further by jumping away, yet it's too late for that, it ends up slapping my lower belly. Wow... Why there Thunder? Right for the kill huh?

Good thing all my goods are stored away safely inside my body, or that could have hit a very unfortunate spot.

It gave me a big advantage in combat, unlike ponies who needed large amounts of extra padding if they wanted to survive a single hit back there and keep fighting, I could shrug most attacks. It was still a tender area, but nowhere near as vulnerable as a pony or griffon.

My counterattack is swift, my long tail swings sideways and slams into her forelegs, bucking them under her and forcing her to fly or fall on her face and get overwhelmed by more attacks.

She chose right, dropping the spear from her wings and flying, and catching the spear with her forelegs, my tail however wasn't idle, and quickly coiled around her hind legs, I tried to swing her around and slam her against the ground, but her wings prevented her from hitting anything, powerful enough to slow her inertia, and the spear held in her hooves came down hard on the base of my tail, it was painful, and the downed angle and strength of her hooves was enough to make me drop her to not get stabbed more.

Onyx has taken 10 piercing damage.

She didn't let the opportunity go to waste, at being free she started trying to attack relentlessly, attempting to stab my tail and back, but free from her, I could deflect the hits and try to swat her away, swinging at where I could see she was, making her have to move away and block with the spear a few times or risk getting smacked by the scaly limb.

She took to the air and tried to do an aerial attack again, coming down for my neck this time, but I lunged forward, meeting her charge with one of my own the spear was coming right towards my head, point first and fast, but I had a plan, and she failed to realize it, the spear sunk a good few centimeters into my flesh, making a hole in the inside of my lower jaw as the spear came at a downward angle, however it was not strong enough to pierce the exterior and come all the way out, it was stopped by the scales from the inside.

But that was part of the plan, I bit right through the wood of the spear, severing the tip, the pointy metal remained lodged inside the flesh of my lower jaw, it was very painful, a price to pay for disarming my opponent, but it didn't do more than make me frown at the intense stabbing pain.

Onyx has taken 18 piercing damage.

But I'm used to much worse kinds of pain, at least relatively small pain like his, I pull the intruding spear tip from my maw with a yank and threw it on the floor, while Thunder is left with a wooden staff with its end bitten off. She stares at it, then at me as I spit a glob of sour blood mixed with saliva into the dirt. Thunder looks more worried by the second as she stares at my slightly angry eyes, her expression is apologetic but determined to win, I rush her this time, without a proper way to hurt me she was not much of a threat anymore. I stand on two legs, ready to fight using my claws too, and using my tail as counterbalance.

She tries to hit me with the wooden staff quite hard, but I simply grab it out of the air as it came down, my clawed paws not getting any damage from the impact of the wooden staff, I then pull it from her grasp harshly, we struggle for a few seconds before I win the tug of war with my superior strength and get to keep the wooden staff, she then turns to buck me in retaliation, now fully disarmed, but she ends up only kicking air as I move back and out of the way, and bring the sturdy wooden staff down on her, much harder than she did with me.

Right on her flank too as she was turned with her backside towards me after kicking, the impact is strong enough to send her stumbling to the ground landing on her belly and her chin hitting the floor, the staff left a red mark on her flank.

Thunder has taken 16 bludgeoning damage.

"Aahhg! You brute! Why my flank?!"
She cried out in pain and indignation before quickly getting up and glaring at me, I gave her an apologetic look, but gave her time to recover and prepare, I decided to go easy on her, but at some point I would have to attack harder if I wanted to win.

"Now we're sort of even, you tried to hit me in my inexistent balls! I won't go easy on you forever Thunder, this is a real fight, and I'm sorry but I will have to hurt you if i want to win, and so will you." I warn her, before grabbing the staff in both hands and swinging it sideways quite hard and fast, she was at least still able to jump over with the help of her wings.

She kept to the air to be out of my attack range. "You should come down, I don't have wings you know? if you'll be flying around I may as well use my magic too, but sure, if you want to do it this way ill smack you back down!" I provoked her so she would come down lower.

My provocation worked, she glared and snarled, rushed me in a diving strike, using both of her forehooves, aiming right at my head, but I didn't try to dodge, instead I stood in a batting position, with the staff ready, and right when she was going to connect with my head, at the speed she was going it would have been possibly deadly for a regular pony.

Instead the wooden staff swung just at the right time, as my perception and reaction time were empowered by the supercooled condition, It was like watching a car crash in slow motion, as the 'bat' slammed against her left knee join on her foreleg, cracking the bone and almost severing the limb, then the arc of my swing continued, with a lot less force, she was sent flying directly into the ground face first to the left as I had swing left right to left, she skidded along the ground for a few meters, getting covered in dirt too. Ouch, that really looks painful.

Thunder has taken 40 bludgeoning damage. Left foreleg crippled.

Before she could do as much as scream in pain, I rushed her, dropping aside the broken wooden staff of the spear, and I locked her body in a chokehold, causing her frost damage and extra pain to her broken leg, she struggled and squirmed in my grasp, her wings trying to move and flap, but I wrapped myself around her basically, grabbing her barrel with my hind legs and my tail holding her hind legs like a coiled snake.

Thunder has taken 5 cold damage.

"AHHGGH! YOU BROKE MY HOOF! LET...GO...OF...ME!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, making me pin my ears to my head, she was loud, but I needed to get her to surrender.

"Not until you surrender Thunder, you are defeated, and I know you need to be healed right now, surrender!"

"NO... NO no! I won't give up, I want to... I want to impress them, don't you see?!" She screams in denial and then exclaims desperately. She spits out some blood on the ground, must have hurt her mouth either from the hit or the impact, most likely she bit her tongue.

"I-i want to be part of the herd! But if I fail now... I wont be accepted, please, give me another chance!" I could hear her voice cracking in desperation, she started to sob loudly and cry, wiping the dirt off her face with her still intact hoof, which I let free, she was shaking and probably in shock at having her foreleg broken so violently.

"Answer me this, what would you do if I was an assassin sent to kill the foals and I had you in this same situation, you were unable to get free like you are now, how would you save the foals? How would you prevent me from killing them or trying ever again? How would you kill me?" I asked her the important questions.

"I would... I-I would bite your legs holding me, I would... try to fly and grab you with me, and then when I got as high as I can, I would drop you, and if you manage to grab me, I will try to kick you off or if that also fails I would ensure you fall down first with me landing on top of you, that way I would ensure you would die and everyone else is safe, even if that means... That I could die from the fall too." She said between sobs, I was barely able to understand her, but I got the gist of it.

Her plan was solid, but still far too risky to herself, she however, was clearly willing to put herself into danger in order to do what was right, and save the little ones at any cost.

"I see, you have a plan, it's important to always have one. Now give up and you'll be happy with the result. You have already proven yourself in my eyes, you have passed the test!
Now, I don't want to hurt you anymore, but if you attack I will be forced to pin you down, in a far less gentle way." I give her a serious look, she is clearly not happy to be in so much pain, her face is still full of tears of pain and fear of rejection. I would definitively not hurt her again, she had already lost a third of her health points.

I could have been so much gentler and still win over her, but she needs to learn, and pain is a better teacher than words.

"Do you surrender?" I get an eager nod this time, the fight has left her for good.

"I-i do... It hurts too badly! Aaghh! Onyx... I should be furious with you for breaking my bloody leg, but I agreed to this duel, still... The pain is... AAAAGGHH!! Almost too much! S-so YEESSS get me help please!" I nod to her right away and walk towards the spectators near the house.

"Some healing, please? Thunder is seriously injured!" I begged to the stallion who came running to help, no needing to be told twice.

"Try to take deep breaths and relax, your pain will be gone soon dear!" He answered while preparing his divine spells.

"I-its ghhhaa! Hurts every second when I even so much as breathe... I've never felt so much pain before." Thunder says while crying in pain, holding her broken foreleg up, I am standing next to her, helping to keep her standing up on three legs.

I may have gone overboard with my last attack.

"I'm sorry for the way I hurt you Thunder... I needed to win and you kept flying into the air.
I needed to know you wouldn't give up easily, and you did not disappoint, now while dad is healing us, I want to officially welcome you into our family."
Meanwhile Coconut was busy using healing spells on us, a single spell for each was enough to get us back to full, he had improved a lot with his healing spells, it was wonderful to see. He had used a much stronger spell on Thunder to fix her broken foreleg, but the spell was able to both put back into place and seal the broken bones, as well as the flesh and skin around that got torn off by the hit, and even go as far as to grow the fur on her leg back to normal.

Her other legs were also healed and she let out a loud sigh of relief, while Pear handed her a handkerchief so she can dry her tears and wipe her nose. "T-thank you... For vouching for me Onyx, now that I'm healed, I understand why we had to fight, you needed to make sure the foals would be safe with me in case someone with bad intentions gets into the house." I nod at her, she manages a weak smile, then carefully moves her hoof around checking if it still hurts, gently putting weight in it, and prodding at the previously broken part with fascination. "I... I need to train more, to get stronger so I can be on the same level as you, we need to spar more in the future, but next time... But with armor okay? But you're buckin' cunt... You made me look like an idiot in front of my herd! And you broke my leg on top of that, making me cry and scream and whine like foal, ugh you hit way too hard, please never do that to me again, okay? When we train, just... Pretend im some foal if you have to."

"I know, i was cruel of me to hit you so hard, but to be fair, that was because I was using that solid wood staff, I'm strong, but I ain't good at actually hitting with my claws, my tail is my strongest direct attack, as well as my maw for biting, something I wouldn't do to you ever." I bowed my head apologetically, it was clear she was frustrated and a bit upset still, but also thankful for me vouching for her, still she was right about me being a cunt for hitting so hard.

"But I really wanna make it up to you, I'm so sorry for hurting you like that, if you ever feel resentful and want to hurt me back in any way, please tell me and I'll let you do it, I promise, anything as long as... it has nothing to do with my eyes. It's not good for resentment to fester. Now... Would you please give me a hug? But if you want to hit me first, go ahead too." I asked with a slight smile while sitting down in front of her. I meant that, if she wanted to hit me or stab me or something, I would let her, just as long as it wasn't too extreme, I feel like I deserved a good beating from her for the pain I made her go through.

She nodded, huffing and punching me right on the nose with her newly healed foreleg, hard.

Onyx has taken 10 damage!

It was enough to make me bleed a little bit from my nose, but I took it without flinching, only a small pained squeak left me, but I rubbed my nose and after a few seconds I felt fine, only an slight aching remained.

Then she hesitated for a few seconds before wrapping me in a warm wing hug, using her newly healed hooves too, she spoke into my ear as well. "Onyx... We're even now. The feeling of being part of this, of a herd, and the fact that Coconut healed me, it felt wonderful, I never felt anything like that before, now I want to hug you and maybe let my emotions out... I-i feel really glad to be accepted." She spoke softly near my ear almost at a whisper, I returned her hug and we nuzzled our heads together.

I honestly still felt a bit guilty, but the slight sting of her punch on my face made me feel things were a bit less unbalanced now.

She had fresh tears running down her face, but this time they weren't of pain or fear of failing, it was genuine happiness, I felt what she was feeling too, a strong sense of belonging, I held her softly. "We will be there for you, when you need us, we will make you feel like one of us, I promise." I wiped the tears off her eyes with the back of my hand, letting her get those emotions out, I also gently brushed the dirt off her chin and underside, she would need a shower.

"T-thank you, all of you... I hope someday we can visit my family back in Trottingham, they'll be glad I finally got in a herd..." She chuckled while blinking her eyes clear and sniffling a bit.

"That would be a good place to visit next time we go on vacation, right mom? Now... that we all know you are very trustworthy, I think it's time you learn more about us, you have proven yourself more than enough, you see it's not just about protecting the foals, there is more to us." I look at her with a serious expression, she looks confused so I continue to explain.

"My parents... Coconut Cream, he is both an ice cream maker by trade and a chosen by the goddess Faust herself to bring harmony and to heal those who are in pain and suffering, and mom is a Royal Guards Commander, she has the same rank as you did, while I'm a combat mage of some skill, we also have to fight monsters very often and risk our lives, that is also why i wanted to test your combat skills, do you still want to join?" I confessed, my parents at her and all give her a nod confirming my words.

"It's exactly what I was thinking of telling her, you are officially part of our herd now if you want, Thunder, so congratulations!" Sylf said with a smile and approaching, giving the pegasus a hug, one who dad joined in too.

"I need you to explain everything in more detail first, what do you exactly mean with fighting monsters? And why you have to fight them? Please don't leave out any details please." She said after a few seconds of thinking over my words.

"Okay, excuse us for a while, I'll explain it to her in the barn in private, be back later." I got understanding nods from the others and the two of us headed for the barn where I used a silence spell to get more privacy.

"What I'm going to tell you is a big secret only reserved for the family, so try to keep it between us, Sylf and Coconut know already but if you want to be a part of, you must know too, if you want to, and this is not obligatory to be part of their herd mind you, but let me tell you all."

"Please explain, I will not reveal your secret, I promise." She answered with a reassuring, patting my back with her wing.

It took half an hour but I explained everything I knew about the system, the deadly dungeons and how I could share my power with her, which was both a blessing and a curse to risk our lives every time the system considered it opportune.

All the truth was laid bare, even the fact that I was formerly human in a vague way, I also explained her all the benefits from being in the group.

"Waaaait, are you saying you were some other being before being a dragon? well... What even is a human like? Hold old were you? I... am very confused, but you know? it kind of makes a tad bit of sense, usually foals your age don't act like you, they don't speak the same way either." She said with a thoughtful frown on her face, considering my earlier explanation.

"I was a guy, you know? a stallion, not exactly anything like a pony tho. You know when I stood on two legs during our fight? A human looks kind of like that all the time, except no tail for balance, and less stubby limbs, no scales, almost no fur anywhere other than the mane, and... I had the same type of claws I have now, except I had one extra finger, and no webbed toes or sharp claws like this ones either." I emphasize by lifting one of my paws and extending the claws out. "I had a much less prominent snout, rounder head, do you know what a monkey is?"

"Yeah, but I've only ever seen one in the zoo of Central Trottingham, however they had fur and tail, so basically you were a very strange type of... money? Honestly sounds fascinating, I think monkeys are kind of adorable, but I cant quite imagine one like you describe." I nod my head at that, it was not a bad description of a human, if a bit simplified.

"I was around 20, I think, its been so long... I barely remember my past self, it feels like an old, distant dream that I had a long time ago, I was killed, then I made a deal and I was returned to life as this pint sized lizard I am now, and humans don't have magic, so learning magic for me is like... Its hard to describe really, imagine you live your life thinking you will never fly, then suddenly, one day you sprout wings! And now you can learn how to fly, you can't just fly but you learn and love every second of that process, and then the entire sky is open before you, with countless places to visit! as a pegasus, I think this is quite a good example to give you, right?"

"Huh?? Y-you DIED!? That's... really hard to believe, I would not believe you at all, if it wasn't for your eyes... You lost someone too, didn't you? It never quite goes away, i-i still miss my grandparents, I still sometimes cry when I think about them." She stares into my eyes intently, and I return her look with one that grow a bit sad at her remainder, she's right... I did lose someone, more than one, when I died all those years ago. Her eyes also look sad when she talks about her grandparents.

"...I had a family before coming here. I remember them all clearly still, it's thanks to mom and dad now, that I am emotionally stable, but I didn't forget about them at all, slowly over the years, I've come to accept that I can't see them again and moved on, but what makes me feel more or less... at peace, is that I know they should be fine, alive and well, even if I can't be with them ever again." I felt her wings and hooves wrapping me in a hug, in return I pressing my head against her fluffy chest and returned the hug, I missed them sometimes, but I had so much more here than I did back there, it was selfish of me to feel this way, yet I couldn't help but worry about them, maybe... In the future I could check up on them, when I'm stronger, when I'm able to defend myself better.

"I... I can empathize with that, not just my grandparents, I have my parents living in Trottingham, and I know they'll be fine without me... But the thought of never seeing them again, it hurts to imagine. I love my parents, my sisters and all my family. I'm really sorry Onyx, I promise you, I'll try my best, now that I'm part of the family, you have placed a great amount of trust in me by telling me, you told me some very personal things, that I will never tell anyone about." She whispered softly on my ear while she held me in that hug, I closed my eyes and enjoyed the moment, not needing to say anything more, we stayed like that for a few minutes, it felt peaceful, calming and it made me feel like everything would be okay in the end.

But all good things come to an end, I nuzzled her neck and chest a few times before moving back, I still had a few things to show and explain to her after all.

"Thank you... Now, let me show you some more things, that's what I brought you here for, I almost forgot."

I take out the poisoning dagger from my inventory and it appears on my claw suddenly, making her eyes widen in surprise and slight concern. "Don't worry! I wont stab you. This is an ability to have a large extradimensional space to store and take out weapons, is an extremely huge advantage in almost any situation, you can pull a weapon out at any time, you just need to be familiar with the weapon or thing you want, to know its there and think about having it, if its there it will appear, or you can also search manually one by one but I don't recommend doing that, because some things there are very dangerous, and that requires using another method that needs way more explanation first." I concluded, showing her the beautifully decorated dagger, before putting it back into the inventory.

"So that's how you pulled that spear out of nowhere! I thought it was some magic at first, it's not?" I shake my head to answer her.

"No, it's one of the abilities you will share with me, all of those abilities are mine and I choose who I share them with.
The only real disadvantage to all of this was having to fight sometimes in the deadly depths of the dream realm, in self contained pockets of coalesced negative energy, you will grow stronger very quickly by doing this, but also risk your life." She had an unsure expression at this, thinking for a minute before answering.

"And if... I hope it never comes to this but, if we... lose, who is going to care for the little ones huh? They would be left to fend for themselves, alone in a house with no one coming to check on them, for me that is unacceptable, sorry." She said in a slightly somber and serious tone, looking into my eyes.

"You've got a point, well... Would you accept that responsibility? Although... We will still train together and spar, if that's okay with you? Thank you by the way for making me realize this, if we have no one to look after them if we die... That was very irresponsible, I didn't really think about it until now." This was a difficult topic to talk about, none of us wanted to think we would actually die. But leaving the foals to die of thirst without anyone to help them alone in the house, it was stupid, not to mention incredibly cruel to do, even if we died, they did not deserve to suffer the same fate, it was simply logical to have someone look over them, ensure at least they would live on.

"I accept, but... Don't you dare to die or let either of them die, or ill somehow get there and drag you back to life just to kick your flanks! I want us to be together, and happy... that's all I want, being a part of your family and live a good life, I think I'll be able to save and protect way more ponies with the lot of you than if I was still just a soldier back in Trottingham, but I'm worried about my sister and my parents... I hope my superiors don't bother them because I deserted." She said in a worried voice, I moved closer and nuzzled against the side of her head, while pressing my body to hers.

"I'm sure they'll be fine, and if they want, they can move to Canterlot or another nearby Equestrian city, we have more than enough money to buy them a few houses, maybe one here in Ponyville? Prices are cheap here right now, and some other places have good house prices too, except Canterlot and Manehattan." She smiles at that, thinking about it, then shrugs.

"I'd have to send them a letter, maybe ask about them, I don't know if they would ever want to move, they have their entire lives there... Friends, jobs, you know?" Ah, that makes perfect sense, i nodded and went quiet, then I got an idea.

'System, is there any way for her to share in my gift without her having to fight in the dungeons with the rest of us?' I mentally asked the system who I rarely even talked to, it's robotic, dull and lifeless voice doesn't inspire much confidence to me, but I must admit its useful at times.

It is possible, however only an active party member can earn power through experience from slain enemies from another party member, but she still will have the inability to grow old that you posses, should she become an active party member later, she will share in the experience points earned by other active party members, but she will also be recruited to help you complete your duty and delving into the worst parts of the depths of the world of dreams.

Inactive party members don't have access to the inventory system.

You can add party members to active or inactive, they can also become inactive if they so desire by themselves once added to your group. The only one truly forced to fight is you, as it is your given duty.

I explain to her everything the system told me, and she accepts to join but as an inactive party member, this allows me to get a look at her info and stats, but she is not going to gain any of the experience those active in the party get, still it's good to know we have someone to help keep my little siblings safe. I do love them.

"That's it, you're in! Let's go back to the others and celebrate, shall we? And thank you, thank you for doing all of this for us, and for offering to look after our little ones if something happens to us... I hope it never does but it's impossible to tell, because it's extremely dangerous every time, I'm afraid the next one will be much harder than the rest.

"Don't worry, I know you will succeed and you will come back every time, you and your family are the strongest I've met, if anyone is going to be able to save the world, it's all of you!" She compliments, and gives me a wing hug at seeing my downcast expression, my worry and fear, thinking about what could happen, it's painful to think we can die the next time we are called to fight the hordes of horrors from the other side.

After that we go back to the others, who are gathered and preparing for something, maybe dinner?

"Congratulations you two! you found a really wonderful pony, hopefully with her around, things will get much better! I'm better that soon, you'll have foals of your own miss Thunder! We... May need a bigger house soon." I joked and everyone chuckled while I approached the pegasus and gave her a gentle hug, whispering in her ear. mom and dad kissed Thunder on both sides of her muzzle, we stayed like that until both of our emotions calmed down enough to be back to normal, then the rest all came over and congratulated us on the new family member, well they congratulated my parents and the pegasus, I just watched them with a genuine smile.

After that we ended up celebrating, cheering them on and sharing a round of drinks, Apple Cider to be precise. It was nice and cold, from the condensation coming off it, but I was still 4 years away from being allowed to drink.

We ended up lifting Thunder up into the air by her hooves, basically making her stand on top of our backs, which she found fun, she kept balance with her wings and cheered while Pear only clapped her hooves, laughing along with the foals and her husband. Pegasi are really light compared to other ponies, I was growing to like their wings more and more.

We had a wonderful and fun evening, and then we had dinner not soon later, I decided to sleep on the sofa, while my parents went to sleep on a haybale on the barn. Thunder even got to take a shower with both mom and dad right outside the barn before heading in with them to sleep.

I did not want to imagine what they had planned for the night to celebrate Thunder's official position as both of their herdmate. Honestly? I hope they enjoy themselves and have fun.

But I'm also glad that both my parents know the silence spell.

That aside, today has been a really eventful day, and now it was official, we had a new family member!

Those were my last thoughts as I drifted into unconsciousness, not long after that battle my body went back to it's normal temperature, so it was safe for me to sleep with the foals on the same couch I was laying on, some of them on top of me, others on the other side and others near my head.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, this chapter has a few things happening, and Onyx learned to use a new power up, he will be way more willing to experiment with his body after having learned this. Oh he also gets to have some personal talk with Thunder

Chapter 63 Friends and Enemies

I woke up early with the sunlight hitting me right on the face, the window was left open, it was nice and windy at least, I covered my eyes and blinked the last vestiges of sleepiness from my face, it seems the sun doesn't bother my little siblings, none of them were awake, I looked over at the wall where the Apple family had a simple circular clock that ticked away silently.

Its 7am a bit early but I didn't go to bed that late last night so it was fine, I felt fully rested.

I smiled to myself, watching my siblings sleeping around me, all of them had decided to use my tail as a pillow, probably enjoying the coolness emanating from it, I relaxed and closed my eyes, letting the sunlight warm my silver scales a bit. Early mornings are nice and cool out here near the wilderness.

I stayed like that for an hour, listening to their soft breathing and looking over their small forms, they really are adorable, must resist the urge to pet...
Maybe it's time to get up.

I got up slowly, trying to not disturb the seat and placing them gently on the couch without waking them up, good thing they were very deeply asleep it seems.

I walked to the window and closed the cloth blinders, making the room significantly darker. After that I walked outside and headed for the outdoor shower, turning it on all the way and stepped under it, where refreshing cold water started coming out, I showered there and got the grime from last night's battle out of my scales, i noticed I had some dried blood near my mouth. Healing does not remove stains obviously.

I made sure to wipe clean my entire body using my claws, then I took the shower kit out, levitating it in my telekinesis and applied a bit of soap to myself before scrubbing myself fully and washing off the soap off. Finally I brushed my teeth and then turned off the water.

After the shower I used a short cantrip to dry myself and walked off towards the exit of the farm and on the way I saw Big Mac loading the apple cart. "Hey dude, good morning, would you tell anyone who asks that I went to Ponyville for a walk? I feel like going over there for a few hours, don't worry because they can always contact me if they need me, my parents I mean."

"Eeyup, have fun partner!" He smiled and offered me a hoof bump, which I instantly bumper with my claw made into a fist.

After that we both went our ways, I headed out and he went back to work. Ahh... The joys of unregulated child labor, ponies started early, they could do anything they wanted really as long as they went to elementary school, highschool was optional.

I smiled to myself, a skip in my step as I followed the sign that pointed to Ponyville proper, the farm was large, there were apple orchards and fields with cows too, not far from the farm there is an old looking treehouse and then closer still to the town, there's a school, or so it looks like.

I pay that no mind and walk across the bridge over the small canal that surrounds the city. After it, the dirt path widens into a street, many houses around, most of them I don't know, but not far from here I see a bakery I recognize, a gingerbread house, decorated completely to look like it's made out of candy and other sweets.

Sugarcube Corner, the place where Pinkie works! I dont think I've seen pinkie here at all, but maybe getting some breakfast for once would be good, I luckily have bits left from the trip to Griffonstone.

A few ponies were walking around, some went in the bakery and others just passed by, some gave me scared looks, others seemed to recognize me, most were mares but I didn't know any of them just at a glance.

I shrugged and just waved at the ones who at least gave me friendly looks, giving them a smile of my own, I was glad not everypony here disliked me.

After gathering my courage I entered the store finally, a small bell ringed above and a few ponies turned to look at me, I just ignored them and went to the counter, looking at the various cakes, pastries and even milkshakes and fruit salads.

I licked my lips in anticipation, this looks delightful! They even had eclairs! Not a large selection of eclair flavors like they had back in my favorite Canterlot stores, but they had the classic, vanilla cream with chocolate dip eclairs.

Maybe not the best for breakfast, but who's going to stop me? I'm all by myself. I knew what I wanted.

I stepped up to the pony at the counter, seems there was no one in line at the moment, I blinked in confusion, this pony, I knew him! Wasn't this Pinkie's employer? Mr. Cake? I think.

"Hello there young one, want something for breakfast?" He asked in a gentle tone one would use for a foal, his voice was warm and kind, I could sense he had nothing against me, and considered me like any other foal.

I smiled at him and nodded eagerly. "Yes please mister, can I get a banana milkshake, two eclairs and a portion of carrot cake? And please, I want my milkshake with no extra sugar, just banana and milk. Please?"

He nodded with a friendly smile. "Sure, that will be 10 bits young dragon, you're the first dragon that ever visits my store! It's wonderful to see you like sweets too." He says with a cheerful and excited tone as I take out my pouch of coin, and open it, feeling around for one of the small coins.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Onyx, and yours mister?" I say while finally finding my ten bit coin and handing it to him, storing my coin purse back where it belongs, tied around my neck, at least until I was out of sight, using the inventory around others all the time would get suspicious.

"My name is Carrot Cake, nice to meet you!" I offered him a fistbump and he returned it, his smile widening at my little gesture.

"Good choice of snacks Onyx, go take a seat at one of the tables and I'll be there shortly with your food, thanks for buying at Sugarcube Corner!" With that he turned and went to prepare the milkshake. While I went to sit on one of the free tables, feeling happy after having one of the ponies I remembered from the show being so nice to me, I knew it was probably because I was a client, but it still felt nice.

While I wait, I look around the store, admiring the decor, it all really looks like it's made out of sweets, except of course the floor, it just looks like wood.

I look around trying to find any ponies I recognize from the show, there is about a dozen, but I only recognize two. Cheerilee and Bon Bon. I feel my tail wagging involuntarily in excitement at the thought of meeting more ponies, but I decide against trying anything.

I tap my claws on the table looking at them discretely, Cheerilee is the older of the two, I'd say she's around 20, and Bon Bon was around my age from what I could see, maybe, she's just a filly as far as I can tell.

Finally my breakfast arrived, I handed the stallion a 10 bit tip after he placed the food on the table. "Thank you Onyx!! That's very generous, are you sure? You didn't even taste anything yet..." He exclaims but stops himself and asks me in a slightly doubtful tone.

"Yeah, I'm sure, you made me feel welcomed that matters a lot to me, I've been to many stores who's employees gave me looks because of what I am, but you make me feel at home here, the food smells delicious too, so I'm sure it tastes just as good, I've got a very good nose." He looked me over with a confused frown.

"But why? You're just like anypony coming here for the first time, maybe even friendlier than most, I haven't seen you do anything wrong, well... I'm sorry those ponies gave you bad looks, you're always welcome here in my shop, and if anyone gives you trouble, just let me know okay? Now enjoy your food, please tell me when you're done if you have any complaints." I felt moved by his words, he made me feel more than welcomed, I nodded feeling a bit speechless.

"Thank you... I'll keep your words in mind and I'll let you know." After that he left and I started, first I took a sip of the milkshake, smiling at the delicious taste of banana, softened by the milk, it was barely sweet, almost neutral, perfect to accompany the other very sweet foods, I bit into an eclair, humming in delight as the vanilla pastry cream inside basically exploded all over the interior of my mouth, combined with the dark chocolate and the delicious freshly made choux pastry.

It's pure bliss, I eat it slowly, enjoying every bite, while closing my eyes. "A healthy and balanced breakfast..." I said to myself, grabbing the other one and taking a small bite, before sipping more milkshake. Maybe...

I grab my bag of snacking gems and sprinkle some into the milkshake, it adds a bit of crunchy fruity flavors, from each small gem variety, it's the equivalent of adding vitamin gummies to your cereal really, it's not good, but it's not horrible either, and it helps my scales and body grow stronger and healthier.

Finally I'm left with only the carrot cake, and I have to say, it smells delicious with all the spices on it, as well as the scent of baked carrots and the cheese cream frosting, it's the ideal combination. Using a fork, I take a decent piece and bite down on it, letting the flavour spread slowly over my tongue.

It's divine, the combination is just something that makes you want more, I quickly finish my slice before I can satisfy my desire for more, I'll need more of it...

I get up and go back to the counter to buy a few more slices, and no one can stop me.

The feeling of sleeping on straw beds was not something I was used to, but after last night, that was no issue, hopefully the Apples won't come here anytime soon because it was a bit of a mess.

I yawned and stretched, Sylf and Thunder beside me comfortably sleeping, I smirk at the memories from last night, the satisfied expression on their faces, and their adorable and sensual noises while we made love, over and over again, i truly was a lucky stallion, and looking them over, I wanted to go at it again now, but after last night I thought best to let them sleep.

I never expected to have a herd of my own, it was a dream come true for any young stallion.

Yesterday night, Thunder had proven herself in all ways possible, that she was willing to do anything and go any length she could to be part of the herd, and even after Onyx dealt her an extremely debilitating blow, she kept trying to fight. Had he gone overboard with that? Yes he had, but he also regretted it right away, I could see it on his face, but she passed the test, she persevered and even explained her plan for victory even if it meant risking herself, all to save the most vulnerable. She is far more brave than myself, she really is.

I knew then that I could trust her with our foals and all of our secrets, maybe I could give her foals of her own to watch over... Some nice thoughts for the future, her heat was over naturally the second day we spent together, I had managed to resist the allure of her needy winking marehood, we weren't ready for more foals, we just weren't, I knew that much, not until things got a bit easier, once I was back home I needed to reopen the ice cream parlor or ponies would think it was permanently closed, we don't really needed the money but it was my job, I enjoyed the joy of my clients when tasting my creations.

I felt joy helping ponies who were injured and sick too, even more so, but I didn't want to leave behind my special talent, it felt wrong, I enjoy making ice cream, I enjoy giving relief in a hot day with a cold sweet treat.

But I knew I was only limiting myself, maybe I could hire an employee and dedicate myself more to help ponies? I could still make ice cream and have my business on the weekends... Yes that made sense, but I still need to give the foals time, I could maybe have free hours for that.

Being a father is not easy at all, and all of this responsibilities... I was glad to have my vacations on Griffonstone, despite all the trouble it all was rather pleasant and different, a welcome reprieve from responsibility.

I even got myself a hot new marefriend who has an incredible rump, now I have two hotties who thirst after me just as much as I desire them, I was truly blessed by the goddess...

Maybe i should offer her a prayer of appreciation! I smiled, pulling out the Amulet and holding it in my hooves, closing my eyes and relaxing my mind, emptying it from all distractions, mainly the alluring scent of my two sexy lovers.

'Goddess Faust, I thank you for the good fortune of having sent this wonderful mare my way, you have made life for me and my wife very exciting and fun lately, and you have helped me be a really really happy stallion, so thank you! You're truly the best goddess there is, I will serve you for as long as I exist!' I prayed in silence, sending my thoughts into the amulet.

A few seconds later, I heard her beautiful voice in my mind. 'Oh you silly stallion, you know I don't control fate right? That's waaaay above my power, sure I can influence something but what happened to you was complete coincidence, if anything the one you should be thanking is yourself, and the one who helped make the plan, your son.
But you have my blessing either way, for you and your herd, from what I've seen, she's quite a beauty and clearly in love with you, not only you but also your wife, this... I'll be honest, love is not my domain or my field of expertise, but I know you helped her return to the path of harmony, even if it was in a very... unconventional way.' I could hear her melodious laugh in my mind at the end, it made be blush quite a lot, she knew, HUH?!

'Y-you saw that? Uhh... I-i didn't know you were watching me so closely, b-but you at least enjoy it?' I asked her trying to sound confident, while my face started to turn red, it was a big gamble because I was being far too personal by asking her something like that, but I felt... I knew in my heart she wouldn't be angry, at least she wouldn't do anything to hurt me just for being myself.

'Coconut, there's nothing quite as wonderful as watching ponies following their hearts to do good, it's harmonious to love each other, I'll be honest, yes I do... I enjoy seeing that smile of yours, those eyes full of love, warmth and kindness for those you love, I couldn't help myself. Please tell me, do you mind if I do watch you? I can stop if you want, I promise I will respect your wishes.' Her tone was reassuring and also oddly shy and pleading, as if she expected me to tell her to stop, but... I had no reason to complain, it was extra exciting to have someone who appreciated the show, specially such a lovely mare like her.

I like her... I always did, every since I laid eyes on her, I just couldn't bring myself to admit it for fear of upsetting my wife, who at the time I wasn't sure if she would be okay with this.

I smiled to myself, who was I to even tell her to stop? She's a goddess after all! And I wanted her to watch.

'Do you ever feel like doing more than just watching?' I dared to ask, with a hopeful tone. I knew that my question was way overly suggestive, but she admitted to peeping on my intimate moments, so why couldn't I have a bit of fun with her? Our bond had grown over time, but it always had been me doing her bidding, so I wondered, why not switch the roles and have her answer me?

'Yes... I do, you are my champion. Do you know the thrill of doing something that is normally forbidden or scandalous? Because that's exactly what I feel when I watch you making love to your mares, I can imagine what you think of me right now... And... I agree, those thoughts, they're getting to me too just by being linked to you... Maybe we can do more than imagine sometime, I will open my mind to you now, so you can feel my own emotions, just like I feel yours, my beautiful champion of harmony, you are strong, brave and kind~.' I was blushing but not out of embarrassment, instead it was from my lustful thoughts and desire I suddenly felt from her as well, here next to my two beautiful mares, and lusting after the one I worship as a goddess! The same goddess who just admitted to enjoy watching me make love to my herd, and the same goddess who confessed she... That she likes me back.

I was a bit speechless to be honest, I needed to make sure she means it, am I dreaming? No no, this is real. I gently bit my hoof, confirming with a since that I'm not dreaming.

'Goddess? Y-you really mean what you say? I remember my wife used to tease me about... Us, and I thought she was being silly, but I never expected you to... You knew from the start, didn't you?' I needed to know if she meant it, she could be playing a prank on me.

'Tis no prank, you're attractive, I like your personality, you... are sweet and a wonderful father, you're caring with others, no matter their race, and you have saved countless from an early and painful death, it's hard not to like you, and you may not realize but you have grown quite nicely since you started your adventures, you look as strong as a hard working earth pony, and you're probably about as strong as one, your horn has grown too, it looks far more elegant, why do you think Thunder was so smitten by your looks? It wasn't just because she was in heat when she met you, it's because you're extremely attractive! And you're also one of the most well endowed stallions I've seen...'

I could feel her warmth coming from the amulet, she even let me feel her emotions, she meant what she said, I struggled to form words, but I felt doubts, where did this put us? What should I even say?! I felt myself breathing faster, my heartbeat increased and I just had a sudden urge to get up and pace around the room nervously, however I was trapped between Sylf and Thunder.

I managed to come up with an answer after a few panicked seconds. 'I... I have no idea what to say, my goddess, you are incredibly beautiful , so... Yes you are allowed to keep watching me anytime, I am unsure what else I could do that will help you, i-i'm incredibly thankful that you said this to me, i-im nervous but I'm also giddy, if I was with you I would hug you so much right now!'

I could tell she was happy I accepted her checking up on me. 'Thank you! You really make me feel very much like young mare again, chasing after a stallion and trying to earn his interest, and even sneaking a peak at his very active sex life, one that I rarely ever have, to be honest.' Her tone was a bit frustrated at the end there.

I was confused at this, how could this be?! 'But you're the goddess! Don't you have lots of ponies living with you on your realm? My parents were there... They were happy and I was even able to say goodbye and get to meet my mom, remember? All thanks to you. I love you, my goddess, I really do.' I said in a honest tone, I was forever thankful for that moment.

She took a few seconds to gather her thoughts before speaking. 'You are right, but you're forgetting something, my dear champion... Ponies here don't have real physical bodies, they are given physical form by divine magic and their will to keep existing, they are ghosts, that same divine magic allows them to live and remain looking and feeling mostly real while in the afterlife, but it's complicated... They can have intimacy, they do, but, how do I put this? Have you ever tried using your own telekinesis to... Pleasure yourself?' I could only blush, looking shyly at the ground and nodding to her.

'I... I did try, its not bad, but you can't really feel with it, it's just differences In feedback, it works yes, but it's like tickling yourself... Ah! I think I understand!' So she doesn't get nearly as much out of them because they are all basically... Part of her.

'Exactly, now that magic that works as a vessel, it allows them to enjoy their afterlife here but like you say, it's like tickling yourself, it doesn't feel as real as someone else's magic, and specially not as good as someone's real living self... I would ask you to come, and show you goddess just how good of a choice she has made by making you her chosen~ But last time that happened my daughters were born...' Her tone shifted quickly from lustful to sad, then angry and then sad again, she was letting me feel her every emotion, she trusted me enough to do this.

'And I don't think I feel ready for having more daughters just yet.'

I was left unsure of what to think, who were this daughters she meant? Why was she sad to mention them? 'I don't mean to pry... My dear goddess, but I'm curious as to what happened, who are they? And who... Was the father?' I asked in a gentle mental tone, making it clear that she could refuse to answer if she so desired.

She was silent for a while, deep in thought from what I could sense.

'You know one of them, but she has a sister too, both of them have fallen so far from what they were... One specifically, the older of the two, a long time ago, around a thousand years, she decided only herself was worthy of glory and praise, she pushed her little sister down from equal and delegated her to less important tasks, she was jealous of her sister you see, of her beauty and her abilities, and she made up rumors to get the ponies on her side, she made them fear the night, she made her innocent, sweet and loving little sister be shunned and feared, blaming anything bad that happened at night or dusk on her.' Her tone was one of indignation, sadness and regret.

'I was not allowed to interfere, not directly, I tried in vain to dissuade her in dreams and with visions, but it backfired, and made my eldest daughter start to believe her own actions were justified, thinking the dreams were an act put on by her younger sister. And, regrettably, her plan worked perfectly, she made her sister out to be some monster that didn't deserve her place as princess, and, poor Luna... She fell into depression, she secluded herself for months and that only fed the common pony belief she was some sort of creature of darkness and evil, until one day, something took a hold of my dear daughter... Something truly evil and not from here.' The Nightmare... This was what Onyx was talking about!

'This pony, Luna, is who became Nightmare Moon? From the old legends? I... I'm so sorry you had to see your own daughter turn into such a being! I promise I'll help somehow, maybe she can be convinced to-' I wanted to reassure her and offer my help.

But she interrupted me. 'No, I'm sorry but... You can't! She's not a misguided mare like Thunder that you can simply convince to change for the better by simply seducing her, she is truly a corrupted and evil being who has taken over my dear Luna's mind and soul, there is only one thing that can maybe save her... And it's not your wonderful charm, please don't worry about this no more, we have deviated from the topic, I lost myself in old memories of my daughters, Luna and Celestia, my previous lover who sired them, you don't know him probably, but he is a deerfolk. His name is Eixær, my daughters both inherited from him the ability to control the moon and sun, and Lulu inherited his talent to enter and manipulate dreams, although she was much better than himself in that aspect.' I was left completely speechless, is Celestia her daughter?! Whaaat? I must have misheard.

'So... Celestia huh? She's your daughter? I'm sorry my goddess, I don't have a good impression of that mare, I used to, but... Yeah she hasn't been the nicest pony to my family and it changed my view of her.' I said in a soft, honest tone, I trusted my goddess enough now, I know she wouldn't hurt anyone for speaking their mind.

I felt a long and tired sigh coming through the Amulet into my mind. 'Oh my sweet Coconut, I know... Trust me when I say I have been very disappointed in that mare for a long long time, what she did to her sister, even if she regrets it every day now, it made even me... Furious, and not to mention her way of treating those who did not submit to her authority, her xenophobia, it makes me sick.' I could feel a pulse of anger, my goddess was angry at her daughter, yet I could also tell from the way she spoke that she still loved her.

'Yet somehow your son managed to soften her stone heart, by promising the only thing she really wants now, to have her sister back. Yes despite what she did and all the pain she put her through just for her own benefit, she feels empty and incomplete without Luna, they are after all, the only ones who can keep eachother company, the passing of time has had a great toll on Celestia's mind, she has no anchor, no permanency, not without her sister by her side, and she realized this after she was gone for a few centuries.' Her tone was sad and held a hint of pity for Celestia, I could see it now, she has been so alone... All those she meets eventually pass away and leave her even more alone than before.

'Still, I can't forgive her for what she did to him, not unless she truly apologizes, but from what Onyx told me, she is changing for the better, she is changing her policies, maybe... All she needs is to open up and make some friends, you know? I used to be often sad and feel lonely but my job as an ice cream maker, selling ice cream to families made me feel like I was part of something, it gave me joy and filled that empty spot that my father's passing left, I still... Of course I still missed him, but knowing i continued something he started, it made me feel like he was still with me in a way, maybe she needs a new job. Hah! Imagine, the princess gets a job at a Hay-Burger place!' I snorted and chuckled to myself, that would certainly make headlines.

"Mmhh? Sweetheart? What are you laughing about there, mm?" My beautiful wife says softly, blinking her eyes open and looking at me with a loving smile, then she sees I'm holding the Amulet, thankfully, after that serious talk with my goddess and all we talked about, my body had calmed down fully.

"Ah, talking to your goddess early, are you? Maybe I could join in, after all I said I would and maybe now it's a good time." She lets out a yawn and stretches her long wolf legs and back, before gently placing a paw on the amulet too.

"Good morning love~ yes indeed I am talking to her, and you're welcome to join in." I say with a smile and give her a small kiss on the snout, right on her soft lips, making her smile and give me bedroom eyes.

She is now also connected. 'H-hello? Can you hear me? Goddess Faust, right?' she asks shyly, surprising because she's usually very much assertive and not shy at all.

'Its good to finally talk to you, miss Sylf, I've come to appreciate you a lot every since I met your husband, you may call me Faust, no need for honorifics, it just brings me joy to be in contact with you, please be at ease, I'm just another mare, one who has a role to play and loves her work, but sometimes wishes she could have a tad bit more fun like she used to.' A warmth that feels like a hug emanates from the amulet, directed towards Sylf, who relaxes and smiles genuinely, like a weight as been lifted off her.

'You really mean that, don't you? Then you should call me Sylf, I want to get to know you, Faust, you have had my husband's rapt attention and he clearly likes you, I know him well enough to know when he has the hots for a mare~' she giggled cutely, making my face warm up, and from the amulet, a similar emotion came through, my goddess was blushing too at my wife's words, and she knew it.

'Sylf! Don't tease her like that, she's sensitive!' I complain half hearted, knowing she was right.

'Hah! I knew it, you two like each other, right? I told you she wanted you too! When I heard of you, didn't expect you to be such a sweet and shy mare, well Faust, you have my blessing for anything you want with us, if you perhaps didn't know... I'm very open to new and exciting experiences, and I think you may have more experience than me when it comes to this.' Sylf spoke in a seductive and confident tone, she was back in her element, after knowing goddess Faust was truly as kind and friendly as I told her.

'You knew all this time? I... Should have expected that, from what your husband tells me, you have a nose for details, I can't wait to meet you in person too, I... Oh gosh can tell what you're thinking about!'
A slightly embarrassed but very aroused burst of emotion came through the link, directed at my wife in particular, seems like she made quite the impression on her, whatever she had gotten off her mind, I could take a guess...

'Sorry to disappoint, but honestly I have little experience when it comes to love, I have officially taken one coltfriend before, the same one who was our companion when I was just a young, starry eyed adventurer, all the way until I ascended, and our relationship wasn't the most formal there is, because our entire group was more or less a herd, not the kind of herd you are thinking off, with one stallion and many mares... It was more the other way around.' She said with a slight hint of embarrassment, but also a deep sense of nostalgia and longing, she clearly still missed them, all of them.

'I think it's about time I let the past rest, I should not let my duties completely consume me, so yes you two, we can be friends, we can even meet! Coming to visit me is always an option, even Thunder is welcomed, I just hope she can be eased into it, and Sylf? Thank you for not treating me in an overly formal way, the way you speak to me, the way you tease me~
It all makes me feel so much like I'm a young mare again, I still remember those years, all the good times with my dear friends...' I could tell she was tearing up, my wife and i, we looked at each other and nodded, we knew she needed comfort and someone to be her friend, other than her subjects, not only someone who would worship her, but someone who would treat her as a friend.

'You wanted more friends, some who treated you like equals, isn't that true, my goddess?' I asked softly, my strong love towards her communicated through the Amulet.

'Coconut, please let us discard formalities for now, when you are in front of others outside of your family, please be formal and call me goddess Faust or just goddess, but when we are alone I want you to just call me Faust, there is no law that forbids having friends, mortal or not, as long as I don't let any of you take me away from my duty to the world, and that is to spread harmony, and making friends is the best form of harmony there is!' She said cheerfully, a sense of excitement coming from her.

'Then allow us to be your friends, what do you say my beloved wife? Now that you got to know her, at least her voice, would you like to be friends with her?'

'Heck yeah Im in! It's not everyday that I get to befriend a literal goddess, let alone one as friendly and adorable as you, Faust! You can be my goddess too, you know?~' Sylf excitedly answered, her eyes sparkling with both genuine happiness and playful mischief, she was a wolf through and through, her smirk had a predatory edge to it that was familiar to me, she wanted to "play" with her new friend, not necessarily in a sexual way, but she was very physical in her affection, similar to a pony but different.

'Thank you both! Your words make me feel a lot happier, I don't usually get to talk to others as friends, as equals and it's very refreshing to do so, Sylf? Would you help Coconut to convince your son to meet with me too? if he ever agrees and he has time, would you please all come to visit me though the Amulet? I need to thank him for what he did for my wayward daughter, I think he is the key to make her come back to the path of harmony, and I... Well I want to get to talk to him in general, he gave me hope for not only my daughter, but for the future of the world.'

'Consider him convinced, my dear silver knight always listens to his momma, he is a bit shy around those with power over him, but I think he got over it after meeting this Borealis guy, i think that was his name, inside another artifact.' At that, Faust giggled and i could fill her amusement from our connection to the Amulet.

'Hahah you must mean Boreas! That old griffon is definitively a bad influence, he loves to prank others, I wouldn't be surprised if he found a way to embarrass your son with something taken out of context he said, he's tricky like that, but he's a good guy, always ready to raise his sword for a good cause, he may be a bit overly ambitious sometimes but he always has a noble goal behind that ambition, in many ways he and your son are similar, aren't they? Onyx does have that air around him of someone with defined goals, some ambitious ones I can guess.' I looked over at Sylf and she looked to me, then we both shrugged and nodded.

She was right, no point in denying it, and also Onyx seemed happy when talking to this Boreas, so then there was no point in worrying, I bet they became friends too! 'You could say that, Onyx has some nice ambitions, he wants to become the best mage of the current age, he wants to learn and grow in both magical and physical power, and he wants to improve the world to make it a better place for everyone, and he has already made good on one of his goals, but most importantly, he wants to live happy with his family and friends, that's what he told us, isn't that right honey?' it was Sylf who answered me, she knew him far better than me.

'Yes, that's correct dear, and I believe he will be successful, there are a few obstacles but he will overcome them all and become the very best, I trust him fully, he already makes us both proud... Although, he struggles sometimes with ponies who don't seem to understand that dragons are intelligent just like them, and they treat him like he's a danger to everypony. Bullies tried pushing him around but they couldn't hurt him so they let him be, still it made me pissed off.' I let out an angry huff, but my loving wife approached and caressed my neck with her canine snout, helping me calm down, i have gotten a bit furious at the thought of my son being harassed by those ponies, even if they are just dumb fillies, but he himself told me to not interfere in any way, that he doesn't mind them, I sigh.

"Mmhn? Mornin' loves, what hour is it?" Seems like Thunder has finally woken up. "Mmhh, what's got you two looking so serious?" She asked after doing a fairly adorable stretch on the straw bed we were sharing, it was more a pile of straw but it was comfortable, not nearly as good as my bed though.

'Its time for me to let you go back to your day, my friends, farewell, it's wonderful to know that I get to call both of you friends now, next time, hopefully we will speak in person, and, you three should go take a nice long shower, the smell of sex is quite overpowering!' Then, with a fading feeling of amusement as the last thing that came through the link to the Amulet, our communication with Faust was lost, and the item went back to the inventory on its own, as if it was never here to begin with.

The three of us looked at each other for a few seconds before bursting into laughter together, while Thunder sniffed the air with curiosity, I could tell by her expression she knew it too, yep, we smell.

It was around noon by the time we went outside to shower.

Far away, in a conference room, a group of griffons and a few ponies were meeting, discussing the newly obtained Intel from the General of the army that was sent to conquer Griffonstone, and all what happened there.

Nobles, ministers and advisors as well as the Queen herself were discussing in raised voices.

The information brought back by the General was indeed alarming, an ultimatum to pay reparations was made by a dragon theorized to be no older than 13 years old, a strange, never seen before dragon, looking similar to silver in color, with magical powers rivaling those of unicorn mages and dangerous weapons. He assisted the Empire's efforts, the same creature was responsible for the recovery of the Idol of Boreas.

The dragon in question had a name, Onyx. She never heard of him before, but it was clear that they were Equestrian, from the pony that accompanied them to they way they spoke, they had an accent.

Queen Dahlia couldn't believe he threatened her directly, her and her family if they did not paid the sum of ten million bits. It was of course not very much for her nation, but it was unheard of from a nation that was clearly militarily inferior to themselves to demand payment, either as tribute or as some form of reparations for nothing, as her forces had not even hurt a single enemy combatant.

She could not tolerate this, her careful planning and spying for the perfect opportunity to conquer Griffonstone was wasted because of him.

The only wounded was Onyx, he was confirmed to have been hunted and almost put down but the Honor Guard, her special forces that she lent to protect to General. This was clearly what caused him to demand payment, supposedly in behalf of Griffonstone, but she wasn't stupid, the money was for himself.

What happened was hard to believe, it was a show of force by this creature, it was trying to tell them all that he could do anything he wanted, more so after he was made aware of the fact that getting back the Idol was a great achievement that would get him popularity with the common griffon, which regrettably it did, even within her nation he was being spoken about in a positive light for his feat.

"I want all of the information we can obtain on him! We need pony agents, specialized in espionage and infiltration, I want this dragon and his family found, i want to know everything: where he lives, who he knows, and even his schedule, this Onyx, he made a threat to our very existence as a nation! Liked by those who believe on Boreas or not, there are consequences for such actions." The red and white feathered griffon demanded in an angry tone, slamming her talon on the meeting table.

The intelligence specialist nodded right away and bowed his head before he started to speak. He was a middle aged gray and white griffon with dark eyes. "Yes your majesty! My team and I have already made a profile on him, he is an orphan clearly and adopted by both pony and unknown race of sapient wolf, we know his age is 11, by his own word.
We theorize that Onyx and his family hail from the Equestrian city of Canterlot, judging by their accent, at least the way his adoptive mother spoke to him, his accent is very weird, and odd mix between Canterlotian and something else entirely, like someone from another nation who had learned to speak a long time ago but still retained a smidge of their old accent, the stallion hardly spoke so we aren't sure, but we suspect he could be from Canterlot too." He concluded helpfully, making the queen smile.

"Excellent, please keep going, what else do we have on then?"

"We have narrowed down their city of origin to the Golden City, we know he is able to use magic, and most likely has helped in making the shield, but we cant be sure, the spell he used to teleport away it's a spell that very few ponies ever learn, not even trained equestrian war mages use it because it's too difficult to cast." He looked at the queen in the eyes as he said that.

"Specialist, what tier is this spell? Do you know more?" The Queen asked, a concerned look on her face too, she knew how magic worked, each tier of magic was a new world in terms of power and difficulty to cast, from what she was told, most unicorn ponies could cast tier 0 spells, like prestidigitation or a basic shield that would take a few hits to break, it wouldn't stop a crossbow but it would stop a stone thrown at them.

Tier 1 was where most of the average unicorns would stop learning, because there wasn't many reasons for the average pony to learn more advanced spells.

Tier 2 was used by some of the rare unicorn blacksmiths to heat the metal they were working with without the need of a forge, but unicorn blacksmiths were rare and their services were extremely expensive.

Tier 3 was where most cutie mark related spells would usually be, they were powerful but very specific, having advanced scanning spells and medical scanning spells as well as what was used in some tip of the line industrial processes.

Anything above tier 3 were only practiced by dedicated mages from a nations court, Trottingham had such a court, a mage's court that oversaw magical development and safekeeping of magical artifacts, and of course, Equestria had the most prestigious and largest institutions when it came to both magic r&d and military applications.

"Your majesty, the spell is of the sixth tier, there is no one outside of Equestria who can use such a spell, and the identify of the Equestrian Archimage who can is unknown, only the princess of the sun herself knows who this pony is." He spoke in a solemn tone, and the queen stared open mouthed, without saying a word, before she schooled her features.

"Very well, continue your profile."

"Yes your highness, we know he has some very dangerous weapons that he can hide very well, from the detailed report from the Honor Guard and General Falcon, they have the following properties." At this the griffon paused and read from a file.

"The weapons are small in size, something that would feel small for most griffons to hold or operate, its said to fire a red hot bolt-like projectile, causing intense pain and penetrating deep in the body of a griffon, it makes a horribly loud sound when it fires, unlike a crossbow or a bow, its a hundred times louder, causing pain to the ears of every griffon nearby, even of the dragon, as he was clearly seen wincing in pain and pressing his ears to his head after each of the loud bangs.
The weapons leave a strong scent on the area, as well a residue similar to smoke, our theory it's that it's a type of flammable powder that helps the weapon function, but we have no idea if it uses magic or not, but it's very likely that if does, as the user is a skilled mage." He took a minute to let all of that set in, before continuing.

"We can only theorize that the dragon, Onyx has more of this weapons, possibly invented by himself, or even deadlier ones that he can call upon with his magic, this weapon caused crippling pain to all the Honor Guard, and the General, enough to break their morale and accept his terms unconditionally. We can only theorize how painful the wounds would be, and we can't study them either because the unicorn stallion with the group used a few magic spells to heal everyone back to normal after, not even leaving a scar." Everyone looked in awe at the intelligence officer, interested in this pony who could heal anything so easily.

Queen Dahlia frowned, remembering the previous report about the words the dragon exchanged with the griffon. 'If you don't pay what we agreed upon, the next ones to suffer will be your ruler, and their nobles, until they decide to accept my request and pay what they owe, but their pain will be a lot worse than what you are felt today.'

Those were the words he used, before he and his family left. She wanted to have some leverage, if he dared threaten her and the other nobles, she needed to find a weakness, he may be one of the strongest mages she found, but his family, his friends, they were fair game, she needed to find him, and by extension those he cared about.

Yet something have her pause and something to consider, that stallion with them, the deeds attributed to him are amazing, from what some soldiers said, he was able to heal wounds easily, but what mostly everyone didn't know is that magic didn't work like that. There are no magic spells to heal someone, not ones that were in use at least, and if even Equestria preferred buying expensive alchemical ingredients from the zebras, that meant that the unicorn was unique or somehow had gotten his hooves in some very secret or lost magic, and while magic wasn't her speciality, one does not become a queen of a nation without learning a few things, she spent years learning all about other nations, magic being the most important factor when it came to why Equestria held dominion over most of the known world.

If he could be captured, he would be an incredible asset to her nation, she could justify her entire plan of action just by the fact that this unicorn would be a great boon to her nation.

"We need to get a hold of their location at once! What about the turncoat from your nation, minister Swift Scroll? She deserted to join their group, could she be convinced or bribed to return and provide us with valuable Intel? Can we use this mare's family as bargaining chip?" The queen asked the earth pony mare on the other side of the table, the representative for Trottingham's interests in the meeting.

"Your majesty, we can't exactly make use of them in any way unless we get into contact with her first, while it's true, miss Thunder Flash did desert her position, I believe we shouldn't do anything drastic until we at least know where she and this dragon are located, but i see your point, it can be of great benefit to us to have a way to negotiate her return to our ranks, if we promise her family's safety in exchange for her information... Maybe we will regain control of the whole situation, you want a way to keep this dragon from interfering with your plans, do you not?" She asked the larger griffon, who just nodded in thought.

"I want him to retract his words, I want him to be humiliated like he humiliated me, there is already rumors that he prevented the invasion singlehandedly, now there is a group of griffons who believe the Empire is back in charge!" She growled in anger and slammed both talons onto the table.

She couldn't take such disrespect, the Empire may have a king now, but they still are merely a shell of their former selves, all her work will not be crushed by a single hatchling, a cub, someone who probably didn't even experience puberty yet, she was to be the Queen of the griffons, all of them, not just the Isles.

But now she had to play the waiting game, Trottingham would provide the ponies who would travel to Canterlot and infiltrate the city. For now though, she realized the wisest course of action was paying the required amount per month, that way he would not grow suspicious, but only until they had the leverage over him that they needed.

"Swift Scroll, I will leave the intelligence gathering to your ponies, they will be far more discrete, but once you find his house and gather enough information, you must inform my intelligence specialist and we will form a plan together, now everyone, this meeting is concluded, you may go about your day." And with that, everyone bowed to her and left, after she did of course.

Soon, he will make him and his family regret the day they crossed her, the board was set and the pieces were begging to move, she thought as she walked off towards her royal bedchambers.

It didn't matter how magically capable he was, he was merely one being against an entire nation of very capable griffons and ponies, and both allied nations would work together as a team to make his life a living hell, like he did with hers.

"Soon, you orphan bastard, you'll find yourself miserable, I will take everything you hold dear from you." Queen Dahlia whispered to herself as she watched the setting sun out the balcony of her room.

Author's Note

Not much happened on this chapter, but the problems aren't over, interfering with a somewhat rich nation has consequences after all, specially when you demand money and threaten the royals and nobles from said nation.

Chapter 64 Unpreparedness and Overconfidence

Year 983 July 27

Breakfast was pretty good, a bit too sweet so I decided to have a different approach towards lunch.

I will hunt my own lunch, forage, maybe just eat anything that smells edible, and for that I needed to go into the forest, the Everfree was much more appropriate for this, as it has a large density of animals and plants, as well as huge biodiversity.

I had gone back to the farm after breakfast, only staying a bit longer to go say goodbye to the Cakes, by that I mean the ponies, not the actual cakes! Mr. Cake was kind enough to let me into their amazing kitchen to meet Mrs. Cake who was a lovely and kind mare, we talked a bit about baking and what sweets we enjoyed the most, and then I told them I had to go.

After that I headed back and met with my parents and my good friend Thunder, as well as Kari, all having some friendly conversation by the door of the household, and I told them my silly idea of going to find myself lunch.

Momma said if I could catch something for her, but she and Thunder decided to stay with Kari to play with the foals and keep them company, not to mention feed the hungry little ones, Kari had to feed the cub and mom had to feed the twins.

I stood at the edge of the Everfree Forest, next to me was my dear father, he was looking a big nervous, but not truly scared.

"So, you ready dad? Just watch your step, be careful where you place your hooves, I've read in some books that in this forest, there is a blue flower that if you step on it or touch it with any part of your body, you will catch a magical condition and while it's usually funny, it can be quite bothersome, embarrassing and also dangerous. I'll tell you if there is any animal nearby who can be dangerous, okay?" I warn him, also reassuring him that I'm with him, and he's safe.

"Y-yeah, I trust you, now let's go before I regret coming along, this place looks spooky..." He says looking into the treeline with apprehension, I just shrug, it looks like a regular forest to me, back home we had similar places, the trees here were a bit thicker and shorter and the leaves darker, but it wasn't some unnatural or scary place.

"Follow me then." I said simply and walked across the bridge into the Everfree proper, a small clearing around and a path headed deeper in.

I follow that path, it goes into the right direction and seems to be well traveled by most likely animals, doubtful it's ponies. I decide that it's not a bad path to follow, sniffing the air as I walk, the scent of many animals is apparent, but I'm unsure what most of them are, there is no timberwolves nearby that's for sure, however I did not lower my guard, there are lots of other deadly creatures in this forest.

Around us, the sound of various birds chirping and bugs buzzing, I even saw a few parasprites flying around, and a crow catch and eat one right out of the air, nature certainly was more wild here.

I shook my head and looked back towards the path I was walking, the forest has natural pathways, animals also prefer to use the easiest trail sometimes, it made getting caught by surprise much less likely.

"Whooa, this forest is very dense, it's hard to see far with all the plants and trees around, are you sure we won't get lost?" Coconut asks with a slightly concerned expression, I just shake my head, suddenly I feel an odd smell, and it's coming from deeper into the forest.

"No need to worry, I've got a map! I don't think you all have it, but I do, and it shows where I've been and where I am, so I can see and compare to previous locations, I can't get lost. Also... I smell something weird here, it's like... A chicken, and something else that isn't a chicken, not sure what it is, let's keep going, whatever that smell is, it can't be far." I urge him to follow, looking intently further into the forest, what the heck was that? It smelled bad, farm chickens smelled far better, and that's saying something because they stink.

We kept going further away from Ponyville, still following path, it did narrow down into a much smaller one by now, trees were closer, the sound of various insects, frogs and birds was constant, it was summer, mosquitos were very active too as well as flies, but neither of those even landed on me, probably not very attracted by my colder body temperature.

The unicorn with me, was a completely different story, I saw him constantly having to slow down and brush away bugs with his hooves and his tail was constantly swiping at the annoying bugs, not to mention the huge amount of spiderwebs we were constantly running into, the bramble wasn't a problem for me, but it was annoying for my companion.

"Okay let's stop for a second, I'll help you get rid of those bugs, stay still." I stopped and turned around and he stopped too, nodding with a thankful smile.

"Please, It's getting really itchy with so many bug bites." He was the only one with blood that was edible for the blood sucking insects from the forest, I was basically an alien to them... In more ways than one.

"Ice shield." I formed the spell in my paw and gently booped my dad, a faint transparent slightly light blue shield shimmered into existence around him, creating a barrier of frost, both keeping him cool and protecting him from any form of bugs, most of them hated the cold and couldn't even see him through the spell.

"That's gonna keep the bloodsuckers out of your mane, next time we come here you should bring bug repellent." I smirked and patted his head before turning and continuing walking, it was peaceful for a while, but the scent got stronger and even dad could feel it now, whatever thing was around, it was close, then I heard it, chicken like noises, but they sounded distorted, something was not quite right, I felt a strong sense of dread going down my spine, something told me that sound wasn't normal.

It came from the trees next to the path, up there, a large chicken like creature was devouring a squirrel, beak tearing into its flesh while the head of the smaller animal hanged on by a thread from its lifeless corpse, the strange, half chicken and half lizard thing was standing on a thick branch, it was slightly bigger than a regular chicken, and it had red tipped scaly wings too but they seemed only suited to glide rather than to fly, and yet I knew that didn't mean much here, where pegasi could fly with wings smaller not much larger than their hooves in length.

It seemed to be too distracted to see us, because it didn't even bother turning to us, despite it being a bird, a chicken, it clearly had carnivore fangs, small but sharp, it was easily chewing bones and all, the noise of tiny bones breaking carried far.

'Very carefully step back, I'll take care of it, maybe it can make for a nice meal.' I commanded telepathically, while backing away quietly.

'Understood, be careful son, it looks scary.' I nod briefly in agreement, he's very much right, its never a good idea to underestimate your opponent.

'Inspect' I say to myself, while looking at the distracted creature.

LvL 20 Cockatrice
50/50 HP

Cockatrice are dangerous, fearsome creatures who have the body of a snake and the head of a chicken, they are omnivores but usually eat carrion and hunt small animals.

They have sharp beak full of small razor sharp fangs, as well as sharp claws, but their fearsome and dangerous reputation comes from their special ability that it used to defend itself from larger predators.

Perks

Petrifying Gaze: Looking into the red glowing eyes of this creature produces a magical compulsion to not look away, which can be resisted by a strong enough creature, those who stare into the eyes of a Cockatrice are stricken with fear, the main effect of its ability starts to manifest, if a creature is able to resist this unnatural fear, and can somehow convince the Cockatrice to look away and break eye contact, the petrification is undone. Killing the Cockatrice will undo any petrification it has used before during all of its life.
Petrified targets are in stasis, they do not age or form memories while petrified, for all intents and purposes, their existence pauses. Breaking their stone form will cause the same damage once they are back to normal.

Limited flight: this creature can glide and takes no fall damage if it's conscious, because it can flap it's wings to slow it's descent. It can also fly short distances upward for climbing trees.

Resistances and weakness: none.

Condition immunities: none.

STR 10
DEX 14
CON 14
WIS 8
INT 6
CHA 4

Seems like a very dangerous being, but... If I could maybe learn more from it... Or gain its form, it could be an useful weapon, and who knows? Maybe it's eyes could be an useful component for enchanting, if I could infuse the effects into something and weaponize it... The potential was huge.
Physically this rooster snake was harmless, relatively speaking, but its perk to make threats harmless was most admirable, it would be a good subject to study, to capture alive, but now I was hungry, and I could tell this thing, while smelly, probably tasted like chicken.

Petrifying Gaze or not, this cockatrice was going to be my meal. I held my paw out towards it, focusing on a spell, silently gathering mana in my mind and forming the runes necessary, I would take it safe this time, going for the stronger version, it was honestly, extremely overkill, but I couldn't risk this thing even moving its eyes or head at all.

Once ready, I released the spell, and runes glowed in the air around it, and at the same time, the creature was enveloped in a specialized magical energy field, It was strong enough to hold any creature up to the size of a pony. Now it was completely stuck in place, facing away from us, it could not even move it's eyes.

I smirked and approached it, pulling it down the tree with my telekinesis, and holding it floating in front of me, facing of course away so I didn't see into its eyes. "Relax, its safe to approach, just don't look at its eyes, I'm keeping it facing away from us anyways." I call out to the nervous unicorn, who is a few meters away from me, but approaching.

"Are you sure this is the thing you want? it... stinks." He said with a disgusted expression, looking at the cockatrice.

"Well... yeah, but the skin is probably what it stinks, maybe it has some scent gland to make it stink. Hmm, looks like its a rooster, male huh? maybe I could cook some dish I know with it, Coq au vin.
I'd need some wine, shrooms and bacon, I have some salted bacon, but we will need wine and mushrooms from Ponyville. Darn... its gonna take a long time to be ready, but I'm sure marinating it in red wine for a few hours will take away some of the gaminess out of the meat." I think out loud, while pulling out my shortsword, holding it in my claw, I grab the cockatrice by its head, covering its eyes and keeping it's beak shut, and aim the sword at its neck.

You have obtain additional information on this magical beast by touching it..

"I-i dont speak Prench Onyx, but... I think I got that, i'm sure Sylf will love it, now... allow me to look away, I don't want to see what you're about to do to it." With that he turned away.

"It will take too long, I may need to do something else for now, using the snake part, but I've never made snake before... I honestly have no idea, I guess trial and error it shall be." I swing the sword in an arc, cutting off the head of the cockatrice rooster, It was surprisingly easy to do, the Hold spell failed right after that, as it required a living creature to function.

Cockatrice has been slain, party earns 5000 exp!
Onyx lvl 34 38804/49196
Sylf lvl 34 24181/49196
Kari lvl 34 19440/49196
Coconut lvl 31 22117/28470

The head and body were now separated, both held in my indigo color field, I quickly turned the body upside down, allowing the blood to flow out, while the head, I carefully wrapped in a cloth after the little blood still inside drained off thanks to gravity, it took a few seconds. I kept the head in the inventory, safely and even if the petrifying effect persisted for a few minutes, it should be safe while the cloth is covering it.

With the body headless, it went limp in my telekinetic grasp blood still flowing into the ground. "The head's gone, now just gotta wait for it to bleed out completely, fucked had a lot of blood in it, you can look if you want."

He turned around and saw the dead snake chicken, frowned with a disgusted expression, but didn't turn away from it anymore. "I guess this is what hunting is like, right? I suppose its not that bad if you know you that you are doing it to eat, I mean... pegasi do eat fish from time to time, some ponies enjoy fishing, but never hunting, I think."

"I'm not surprised, ponies don't like meat, only fish and only some, not even all pegasi do, now... I should get to butchering this thing, it could get a bit gruesome, just saying, in fact, would you keep watch for me while I do this?" I get a nod from him, and he turns away, looking to the forest and slowly going back and forth.

I start by plucking out all the feathers from this thing, there isn't many of them, so its not too difficult, then using my index claw, I cut off the wings, only leaving the larger muscle, having to break off the joint to pull it off cleanly, my onyx black claws are sharp enough to do this without much resistance, specially so because I'm putting some good force behind them.

Next I have to take off the bird part from the snake part, for this, I need to simply cut the creature right from below its legs, all that is higher is part bird, even if most is covered by scales. I started cutting, going all around until its separated, I quickly peel its scaly skin right off, tearing it from the firmer muscle underneath, cutting as needed, I didn't want to eat the scales, so I discarded them on a pile next to a tree, if scavengers came sniffing, I was ready and I had someone to watch my back.

I separated the animal in two parts, slowly cutting the flesh apart, then severing it's spine, and carefully opening the thorax by prying apart the ribs, they snapped easily enough when bent backwards.
I stored the longer snake half of the cockatrice into the inventory to process later so it wouldn't get in the way or get dirty on the ground.

The next step was to remove the organs, they were okay to eat, but I didn't have time to prepare them or any dish, and as much as I knew there wouldn't be a problem eating them raw, I decided to only keep the heart and liver, I like those.

Now without organs, only de-boning was the last step to have the entire chicken prepped. I sliced carefully the chicken breast from the carcase, and cut apart every piece of meat out of it, using that same carcase as a plate or bowl because I forgot to bring any, just as i forgot to bring a kitchen knife or a de-boning knife and had to use my claws. I'm not perfect.

It took a few minutes, but I had the full chicken de-boned, wings and legs too, although the legs were a bit trickier, it had been a long while since I last de-boned an entire chicken, I was rusty as hell.

With the chicken meat neatly packed in its own carcase, I stored it in the inventory and pulled out the snake half, peeled off the scales and hide off it and sliced it open, removed the guts and dumped them, before rolling it and storing it.

"Everything is ready! Let's go back to the farm and I'll cook this m-" suddenly I was blindsided by a large creature jumping out from behind the bushes and into the clearing, throwing me off balance and making me fall into my side, before I can react, I'm pinned under the large paw of a Sabertooth tiger, or what it looks like at first.

There was no smell, branches breaking, no leaves rustling, nothing. One second I was talking and un the blink of an eye I was staring death in the face.

Onyx has taken 6 damage. 268/274
Bestiary entry for Chimera added and additional information compiled.

It was heavy, and it pinned me down hard, my ribs would have cracked from the impact if I didn't have an extremely dense skeleton, yet it pushed the air out of my lungs and left me very shocked and surprised.

It came into my close proximity so fast I didn't see it coming, even with my blindsight, it was definitively strong, I couldn't do more than struggle, thankfully it's claws couldn't pierce my scales, it was certainly trying, but at least while it was pinning me down, it didn't have a good angle to stab it's claws.

I couldn't move or react, my brain was still trying to process what happened, I was unable to form a plan.

I was centimeters away from a hungry looking predator, then I noticed it has a goat head next to it. "Little morsel, you and this pony will be our lunch today! I have been following the two of you since you entered this forest." It spoke in a very smug feminine voice, then I looked beside it, somehow it had grabbed my dad with its... snake tail?! The snake was coiling around his neck, tightly and keeping him there. At first he was able to keep the snake from choking him, using his hooves and pushing it back, keeping his neck free.

It was more or less an even match, until the snake tail bit him right on the side of the neck.

Coconut is paralyzed, he can't move or use magic!

Coconut is afflicted by paralyzing poison, his heart and lungs will become paralyzed if he is not healed within the hour.

I felt my blood turn to ice, as right before my eyes he was paralyzed and left struggling to breathe, his resistance waning as the powerful snake choked the life out of him, now helpless and unable to struggle, he was going to die if I didn't stop it right away.

The gravity of the situation finally reached my mind.

I couldn't let this happen! If air was cut off, he could suffer brain damage or worse! It was a deadly attack, one we were unprepared for, but why?! This monster could have picked up anyone else in this forest, why us?! Why hadn't it killed me yet?

It said it was stalking us all along. It was extremely hard to detect.

It didn't matter what it was doing, i had to stop it now!

Pulling my mind out of the shocking attack, I focused on forming a spell, one that would certainly get that snake off my dad, but that I needed to be careful or I would kill him instead of the monster.

Not even two seconds later I was ready, I extended my index claw.
"Disintegrate!" Growled out, aiming at the base of the snake.

All the while the sabertooth head looked at me, focused but seemingly amused by my reaction, far too calm and confident on itself to have killed me right away.

Little did it know, playing with its food while it's alive was a very bad idea.

The impact landed, severing the snake tail and turning the entire creature to dust, instantly freeing the paralyzed unicorn, who fell to the ground with a soft thud, wide eyed and breathing erratically, he could not even blink his eyes, but he looked at me with fear and worry, I tried to give him a reassuring look it wasn't all safe just yet.

Chimera has taken 80 damage, critical hit! Snake tail destroyed. 220/300 HP

The deadly attack seemed to finally make the monster realize we weren't harmless and defenseless prey to be toyed with, making its eyes widen and it's pressure on me lessen considerably, giving me enough time to think of a follow up attack and a plan to kill this damn murder cat, don't get me wrong, I love cats but this thing... It was deadly dangerous, and if it didn't flee right now I will have to end it's life.

I quickly came up with something, simple and straightforward. Forming another extremely powerful spell in my mind, I looked into the eyes of the Chimera, they were full of shock, fear and anger.

"Y-YOU KILLED SISTER! DIEEE NOOOOW!!!"
It seems the anger won out on the end, as a loud terrifying roar came from it's maw, right on my face, before it bit me, right on my head, its huge fangs have no issue piercing through my scales and flesh, only being stopped by my skull. Again it could very well have crushed my brain box and killed me instantly, if it wasn't for having bones denser than the gemstones I usually consume.

Onyx has taken 60 damage! Critical hit, internal bleeding and major lacerations in the muscles and arteries of the head, bleed out detected. 208/274

Severe bleeding detected, health lost at 50 per minute.

I roared in agony, trying desperately to claw out the beast's eyes, but it wasn't having any of it, it's powerful paws swiped down my forelegs like I was nothing. I needed to keep focused. Focus on the spell! "Ghhhaa!! LET GO OF ME!" I couldn't stop myself from screaming in pain from a brutal bite.
In my desperation, I summoned my dagger and stabbed it over and over, as hard as I could on its head eye, and neck, however, it was extremely strong, the dagger didn't penetrate much more than a few centimeters, its hide was as thick and hard to hurt as mine.

Chimera is immune to poison!
Chimera has taken 17 piercing damage! 203/300
Chimera has taken 14 piercing damage! 189/300
Chimera has taken 18 piercing damage! 171/300
Chimera is suffering from bleedout, at a rate of 10hp per minute.

When it realizes it can't simply crush my skull and kill me, it started to shake me, it got my entire head on its maw, and bit me again, deep into my neck, severing many of my veins and arteries, tearing through muscle as if it was tissue paper, I needed to be quick, the spell was almost ready, I just needed to endure a few more seconds. My eyes were tearing up from agony and fear, i knew if the spell failed and I lost my focus... I would be devoured.

I tried my best to focus my mind, as my body was shaken violently by the head, I grabbed the head of the sabertooth and held as firmly as possible, keeping my body weight firmly held by my arms so the damn monster wouldn't tear my fucking head off.

Critical hit! Onyx has taken 120 damage!
Warning! Severe neck trauma, possibility of spinal detachment is 50% and increasing!
Emergency! Deadly bleedout detected, death will occur within the next minute if the bleeding is not stopped. 88/274

Once again I found myself feeling that terrifying sense of impending doom, not just a feeling that something bad may happen, but the sensation of getting closer to death by the second, blood gushed out of my open neck artery and sprayed around like a fountain.

The sound of tearing muscle, scales cracking and hide stretching and ripping, increased by the second, each little noise send a mind shattering pain impulse into my brain, that threatened to shatter the concentration right as I was about to hopefully save myself.

I couldn't even make a sound as my throat was ripped open too, this was my last chance to free myself, this spell, I have never used it, it's one of the worst types of forbidden magic, the spell was forbidden for a reason, it caused bone deep necrotizing wounds that only a high tier divine healing spell could cure, and that was only scratching the surface of how nasty it was.

No amount of pain will stop me though, I focused my mind in a laser like focus, the spell, it was the only thing that mattered, I pushed through the agony of near death.

Finally its ready, and I open my maw just enough to barely release it, a greenish light blue beam lights up my entire field of view for an instant.

I send the attack directly to the back of its throat, making the monster spit my head out right away as it roars and squirms in agony, dropping to the floor, thrashing around wildly, I back away quickly, holding my head that is barely attacked to my body with my claws, managing to walk on my hind legs.

But It doesn't seem to care about me anymore, the pain of the spell is so bad that it stops considering me.

Taking advantage of that, I pulled the Amulet quickly from my inventory and used it on myself, instantly sealing all my wounds, internal and external around my head. I let out a small sigh of relief, I wasn't going to die anymore, I continued to watch the Chimera suffer under the effects of the aptly called "Necrotic Beam of Death" or "Finger of Death."

It roars at the top of its lungs, those roars soon turn into horrified screams that sound far too much like begging for death, as the skin on its head and neck turns grayish green right in front of my eyes, then the flesh sloughs off in blackening chunks, the smell of advanced decomposition starts to permeate the area, it starts shaking and clawing desperately at it's neck and head, tearing off chunk after chunk of its decomposed flesh, before it finally stopped screaming, instead it makes a raspy whimper before going quiet.

The neck gives up a few seconds later and the sabertooth head falls right off it's muscular feline shoulders, landing with a splat on the ground, it eventually becomes nothing more than a skull surrounded by black, foul smelling ooze in a puddle.

Chimera has taken 100 damage, critical hit! Sabertooth Tiger head is destroyed. Attacks from the inside deal increased damage and bypass most defenses like armor and magical protection, as well as dealing thee times the normal damage by hitting near or at vital organs directly. 50/300

Chimera is suffering from dead blood, it's blood has become necrotizing and it will die in less than an hour unless purified by divine magic.

Even after all of that, it's still alive somehow, but as I looked at it over, I could see only the goat head was alive, it tiger neck was blackened and rotten partially into the shoulders, but it's vital organs we're still somewhat functional, however the sabertooth tigress was dead, nothing but a skull with rotten eyes, those eyes... They were looking right though me, I decided I don't want to look at them anymore and sent a ray of frost into each, turning them into balls of ice, pulled them out of the skull and crushed them with my telekinesis.

"M-my dear sisters... I-i always told them, eating sapient beings would get us killed one day." It spoke in a shaky voice filled with agony, then it paused, coughing up blood that looked more like tar, it smelled awful, rotten as if whatever thing it came from had died a long time ago.

My trachea, neck and head are fully reconstructed and healed, I was able to talk again.
"You are right, You three were extremely powerful, but you didn't kill me when you had the chance, you instead toyed with your prey before killing it, and look where that got you. Now, do you have a way to heal my father's condition?" I offered, looking to my dad who was on the floor paralyzed, but the goat shook its head slightly from side to side.

"I do not, sister's poison stops the heart, your father has less than an hour to live. Now, please kill me, the agony is far too much after-" I didn't need to hear any more of its words, a greataxe materialized into my extended right hand, I stood up next to the weakened monster and I sliced the last of its heads off, it's body stayed upright for a few seconds while it's head fell to the ground and rolled, I didn't look at it, just cleaned the blood off the axe and stored away.

"Your death will save him then, such a shame, had you surrendered after I killed your snake tail, we could have made peace, maybe we would have, one day, all laughed over this while sharing a nice meal, but you chose death, for whatever is worth, you were the closest I was to dying lately and I will not make the same mistake of underestimating this forest ever again because of you." I spoke to the goat head, holding it in my telekinesis, then storing it into my inventory.

Chimera has been slain!
Your party earns 99000 exp!
Onyx has leveled up to lvl 36! 29573/70842
Sylf has leveled up lvl 36! 14950/70842
Kari has leveled up lvl 36! 10209/70842
Coconut has leveled up to level 34! 17487/49196

Chimera's head added: Goat 2kg

A loud gasp was heard from the ground, followed by quickened breathing and panting, dad sat up and checked himself over, placing his hoof on his chest to feel his pulse. I ran over to him and sat down right next, but this time I placed a shield around us.

"Are you okay?! I-i'm very sorry I couldn't help you earlier! You weren't breathing well, I hope having gained power has fully purged your system from anything harmful, it should have, I need you to use your healer ability, check for anything left from the poison." I urge him to, holding him on a gentle hug.

"Just checked myself completely, I'm fine son, thank you for saving me back there, I thought I was dead but you managed to get it away, if you hadn't, I would have been suffocated very quickly, and the poison? Killing that creature... Somehow removed even the smallest trace out of my system, can you believe it? It's just like divine magic!" He said the last part excitedly, then his tone shifted back to worried.

"But back there, when you were fighting that thing, I could see you almost died, right next to me! I-i could see it bite into your head, I could see it's huge fangs sink into your neck, there was so much blood!
I was expecting the worst, I'll be honest, I... I thought the both of us were dead, for a few moments, I felt my heart slow so much I thought it had stopped, my breathing, it stopped almost a minute before you killed that thing finally, you helped me regain hope when I saw the head of that monster fall right next to me, even if the sight would have made me sick." He chuckled darkly, a humorless laugh of someone who is trying to keep his mind distracted from something that traumatized him.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you better... I should have expected some creature would come after us, but I put too much trust into my senses... My blood is everywhere around here and I'm gonna attract even more predators in search of a meal." I realize as I look around me and at myself, covered in both red blood and my own glowing indigo blood, I've become far too used to the sight, I need to stop getting caught unaware... But this damn tree headed monster somehow sneaked up on us, it thought that we probably were easy prey, had it gone for the killing blow right away, we would have been easy prey.

I let out a tired sigh, I could have prevented all this, I could have kept a decently strong shield on us active at all times, ready in case anything like this ever happened.

I could have kept a weapon ready, I could have brought more help, I'm sure mom wouldn't have been too upset at having to come, but she deserves to have free time with the foals and to hang out with her friends, and so did Kari, I could have handled everything better by myself!

Fuck... I almost caused both of us to lose our lives because of my stupid overconfidence, I'm NEVER coming here again without fully enchanted heavily protective armor and weapons.

"I think we should just teleport back to the start, we need to wash the blood off our bodies so dear mum doesn't finish the job that Chimera started, I wish I could have had time to scan it... It was way more powerful than me physically, and it had very good defense to physical attacks... Those things are truly monstrous! If it hadn't been playing around when it first pounced, and instead went for a lethal attack, it would have ripped my head right off without a doubt." I admit with a whole body shiver, I could still almost feel that excruciating pain of my spine stretching to its limit, and my muscles and tendons ripping like rubber bands being stretched too far once again.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." I stopped in place, and dad stood next to me, I felt sickened from that mental image of getting my head ripped off, felt whatever breakfast I had threatening to come out, I felt a bit dizzy so I leaned against dad, taking deep breaths I felt teary eyed and my mouth salivating excessively, a clear sign I was about to puke, but I tried to relax.

Everything is okay, dad is with me, the shield will keep us safe, I am fine, my body is healed and everything is where it should be, my neck is fine.

I touched my neck, gently massaged it just to reassure myself it was all okay.

I stood there for a few more minutes, taking deep breaths, gradually my stomach calmed down, that horrible sensation went away, I need to stop thinking such thoughts.

Even after all I've been through, and all the power I've acquired, I'm still not even a whelp yet, I'm still in hatchling stage, my scales are soft compared to what an adult dragon's would be, my magic and my abilities are my largest advantage, and I need to rely more on my equipment.

He stayed by my side, letting me lean on his body, now I felt better, making sure the shield was holding up, then I moved away.

"I-i feel better now, let's teleport back to the exit and take a shower on the river, okay?" I ask gently and then he nods, I stay leaning against him while I prepared the spell.

Focusing on my spellcraft, and creating the necessary runic formula in my mind and making sure both the location and the fact I'm taking dad along with me are taken into consideration. Not even a minute later and the spell is ready, we both teleport right outside the deadly forest, across the bridge heading into it.

I have been a stupid idiot to underestimate the Everfree, that mistake almost costed both of us our lives. I wanted to cry happy tears to be safely outside, but I instead looked at the small river the bridge crossed, and I jumped into the water.

Its delightfully cool, and it's fresh and clean water, seems like the really keep their water sources fresh and clean, this is the water that goes to Ponyville and around the village, i scrub myself clean and drink water, in that order, the blood and grime from going around the forest is mostly completely gone by the time Coconut decided to jump in, so I go to him and offer to help him wash, he nods and smiles.

"Sure son, just keep it to my back and mane, the rest I can do myself with my telekinesis, you understand?" I nod, standing next to him, the water here is shallow, not enough to submerge even myself, but good to relax by floating on I'm too of the water.

I learned to not purposefully annoy dad, I think he deserves much more respect than what I was giving him before, at first he was just some guy who I felt weird and slightly uncomfortable around, but now...

I love every single minute we spend together, he's my best friend too, he does his best and I appreciate that very much, that's what I think as I massage his neck, back and wash his mane, there are fish around us, curious or maybe attracted by the blood on the water, but they're all small and don't try to attack, maybe I should have just decided to fish instead.

Too late for that, better relax and enjoy the moment.
I scrubbed his mane and loosened all the dirt and the blood stuck to him, it wasn't much compared to me, so it didn't take too long, we stayed a few extra minutes in the water, I was enjoying the cool flow over my underside and legs, while he was only hooves deep if he stood up.

Just like he said, he scrubbed clean all other parts of his body with his magic, while I climbed out the water, I was done already, I stood on the sand and shook myself dry, getting the rest of the way there by casting prestidigitation on myself.

"This was a failure, we will be late for lunch as well... It's about 2pm and we haven't gone back, I hope the apples have made some lunch for the others in our absence." I admitted, I was better emotionally and mentally, but I still felt like I had messed up by deciding to go hunting, stupid overconfidence, to think I could just magic away any problem and not expect an ambush.

"Your intentions were to bring something tasty for lunch for Sylf, Kari and yourself, we were being cautious, if anything it was my fault for having my back turned just at the moment it attacked, I also didn't prepare any spells just in case... But yeah, I agree that this little expedition was a mistake, I learned something I didn't want to learn, what almost dying feels like, i-i know it won't be the last time either, look I... I don't blame you son, and I won't give up despite this, but maybe I need more training before tackling anything more dangerous?" He asked in a pleading tone, he was genuinely wanting to learn better, I could only agree.

He started to get out of the small river as well, walking to the sand where I was and shaking the excess water off his fur, but he still was wet so I did him a favor and used prestidigitation too on his body, removing the excess water.

"There you go, dry and ready, now as for training? I completely agree, we need specialized training, actual military training even, but I don't know if joining the guard would be a good idea, because we won't have time for anything else, you still want to work at the parlor and also heal I injured ponies, don't you?" At my question, he immediately nodded.

"Then we need Sylf's help, or... We could travel all the way to Griffonstone and have the good General Steelwing there to give us a proper training too, with exercises and everything, we have options, think about them and then when you're ready, let's train together! Thunder also wants to join, she said she wanted to spar together so that would be the perfect chance for all of us to grow our skills."

Now let's go back, but please don't tell mom that we both almost died? I'll get into so much trouble! I'll do anything you want in return, deal?" I begged, giving him my best pleading sparkly puppy dog eyes.

"Anything huh? Really?" He looks at me with a mischievous smirk, I can't help but swallow nervously, but after giving it a minute of consideration I answer him.

"Yes dad, aaaanything you want, and yes even that!" I confirm to him, his smirk widens and he nods eagerly, offering me his hoof.

"Then we have a deal, dear son, but you better don't back out of it later, 'kay?" We start walking towards the way we came in from, I kept the shield fully powered at all times, it was strong enough to deflect at least a couple of hits from one of the Chimera we faced before, it would easily get through but we would have time to prepare and see it coming, this would make any attempt at a surprise attack completely useless.

I nodded with a smile, and shook his hoof, then gave him a loving hug across his neck and nuzzled the side of his head with my own. "A deal's a deal, we will define a date and a place for it some other time though, preferably at your business... Just don't go too crazy this time please? I love trying new things, but don't forget I'm still only eleven and I have not fully developed my tastebuds."

He chuckled at me and shook his head, giving me a confused look. "Onyx, you're making sound a bit... Weird, I just want you to taste my experimental ice cream flavors, if you phrase it like that and somepony overheard us... You're doing it on purpose, aren't you?" He gave me a stern look, and I couldn't help but snort out a laugh, he couldn't keep his serious expression for long and chuckled too.

"Hah! Sorry, i just love messing with you sometimes, I prooomise I won't back out of tasting all your whacky ice cream inventions, happy dad?" I said with a less playful tone, meaning it this time, it wasn't so bad, it was fun, like a game he organized with various overly complicated steps and even puzzles, all in an effort to make it more interesting for me, and ice cream was always the reward.

I really appreciated him, and the way he was with me, he always tried to make me laugh and played with me, he even picked up on tickling me after I did it to him enough times that he decided to get revenge and learned how to.

"Very happy, now... There's something I want to tell you, that we should talk about." He said in a soft but serious tone.

"Glad to hear you, what do you want to tell me?"

"I wanted to say that whatever happens to us now, I want you to remember that I love you, Onyx, I'll stay by your side and help you with anything you need, as long as you want me to, if something bad happens to you, I'll make sure it isn't permanent, I can bring you back... If, and it hope it never does, but if you die, I'll get you back to life, I promise." He spoke softly, almost like a whisper in my ear, as I held his hoof.

I felt the stress and fear of dying I felt today, and every traumatic experience from not long ago, practically melt away as I started to cry on his chest, he held me, rubbing my back with a hoof. "T-thank you, I... I'm always messing up and you treat me with such kindness... I don't think I deserve it but you just make my life better, you and mom are wonderful and make me feel like I'm never truly alone."

I looked up at him with tearful eyes, smiling softly.
"I'll do the same for you, i-i promise I'll save you, I'll make you and mom proud, if anything ever happens to either of you, I'll bring you back, I will talk to Goddess Faust and ask her if I she can help."

"I know you would, in fact she told me she wants to speak to you, to all of us together, but specially you, would you go with us to meet her this time? I know you said you were scared last ti-" before he could finish, I interrupted him.

"Yes I will, I was dumb to be afraid, after meeting Boreas and talking to him, I know that she is probably tame compared to him, and I was incredibly silly to be so afraid... Boreas is a prankster, but he is also honorable and even friendly, obviously he takes his role as a god seriously but he's not above having a bit of fun, I suppose Faust is not too different, they're all good people after all, they are good friends, isn't that right?" By now I had stopped crying, only occasionally sniffling and having to wipe off my face.

"Exactly right you silly dragon, she's not gonna hurt you, ever she is really sweet, and she even said she wanted to be our friend, at least Sylf and myself, I bet she also wants to befriend Thunder and yourself, it's the feeling I got from talking to her this morning." I couldn't help but smile, that sounds nice, I love making friends and this would certainly be an interesting person to meet.

"I definitively will join you all, but first let's get back, shall we? Before we start to worry the girls." I offered, standing up and pulling back from the hug, feeling a lot better emotionally and mentally.

"Yes, are we teleporting back?" He asked while I prepared the spell, it didn't take long.

"Do you really need to ask? Teleport!" Indigo energy enveloped both of us, and we disappeared in motes of light and reappeared at the same time right in front of the Apple family residence, the crackle of energy must have alerted everyone inside because not soon after, Thunder, Sylf, Pear and Bright Mac came out to see us.

"You think that washing yourselves and pretending everything is alright is gonna keep you from getting into trouble?" Sylf spoke as she walked over to us, her eyes harsh and her expression serious, she glared at both of us, her lips raising with a slight snarl.

"Onyx! You, I told you countless times before by now, you should call for help, if anything happens, you should retreat right away, and yet you thick headed pup can't understand such a simple bucking concept?! Now what do you have to say for yourself?" She huffed angrily, walking around us.

Surprisingly, dad spoke up first. "We were attacked by surprise, it was way too fast, the monster used it's tail to paralyze me, then it tried to rip Onyx's head off, I couldn't do anything other than look, while I was also dying, it all happened in less than a minute, from the surprise attack to the monster being dead, Sylf my dear please! don't blame him, he has already suffered enough, it was my fault as a parent, for not having prepared any countermeasure against attack."

That stopped her, the expression on her face softening as her angry mask slipped, then the tears starting to fall, she rushed over to us and pulled both of us into a hug, sobbing loudly. "W-when I saw the alerts, I wanted to go, but it all happened so quickly I didn't even get to the Everfree!" She cried as she held onto us, she really sounded like a wolf at the same time she spoke, her sad howls echoing far into the distance.
"I-im so sorry for getting angry, I don't blame either of you, i-i just... I wish you would be safer, I want to know what happened exactly, please tell me everything." She begged at the end, looking at me meaningfully, her ears lowered.

"Mom, I understand why you were angry, I... Okay I admit I messed up, I should have kept us shielded at all times, at least a shield strong enough to deflect one or two strikes so we have time to fight back, but I got overconfident. Here is what happened." Then I started to explain everything, from seeing the Cockatrice and hunting it to gutting and preparing the animal and then suddenly when I was about done the extremely quick attack by the Chimera, that was much deadlier than any monster I had encountered before, it was faster than me, stronger than me, tougher than me and the only way I was able to beat it was by outsmarting it and letting it think it won.

"I should have gone... Dammit guys! You both are going to start intensive training tomorrow, no resting and no excuses! It will also include exercises to increase both your strength and flexibility. We need to get your minds to work faster to react to threats and also increase your muscle density and strength." We both nodded at that, it was something we could easily agree on.

"We both were talking about that, and we can agree that it's what we need, now how about lunch? I brought a snake half and a chicken, I think we could grill the snake on some coals and make the chicken for dinner, anyone can run to Ponyville and bring back a kilogram of culinary mushrooms and a bottle of red wine? Any variety or price as long as it's not sweet wine." My change of topic seems to bring everyone out of the previous tense and worried mood they were in, many expressed their relief to see us healthy and back here, and we got a few more hugs from all, including the foals, the twins were specially glad to see their dad and older brother.

Lunch was late but we got some appetizers front the Apples, a few salads with croutons and cheese, and of course a few of their desserts while I made a fire using the firewood the family had stored, they didn't mind lending us some wood to cook outside, and I found some unused thick steel mesh to cook over, since they didn't have a metal open grill.

Once the wood turned into coals, I spread them out with a shovel, evenly over the ground, then placed the steel mesh held taut and spread with some large rocks, and on top of it I placed the snake meat I had previously cut, I added some spices and lots of salt to it, rubbing it with some olive oil they gave me.

The Apples had a nice herb garden, and while they didn't grow spicy peppers they had a good amount of dried chili, for a meat like this I wanted it to be spicy, and maybe add some lime juice, lemon was the only thing they had but it was a decent replacement.

The meat cooked nicely over the coals, while I laid there in the sun, a nice homemade straw hat was given to me to protect me from the sun, while I laid on the grass comfortably. The buzzing of bees and other insects and the breathing of my siblings napping on me, as well as Wishpaw and Kari laying to my side, the crackling of the coals and the sizzling of the fat and other juices from the meat, it was all calming and relaxing. Only thing I was missing was a refreshingly cold drink, but I wouldn't change this moment, its wonderful.

Except for the fact that I was late, and we would be having this by around 4 in the afternoon. I should have just used the oven... Well at least everyone had some food by now, I didn't have to feel so guilty.

I stayed like this, almost falling asleep at some point myself, but the smell of the meat kept me awake, it smelled... Good actually, it seems like whatever bad smell came from the animal was on its scaly skin or it's organs, maybe some scent gland to alert predators that it was dangerous, who knows?

By now the meat was ready, I grabbed the large wooden board and the knife I brought with me, again leaned by Pear, and checked the meat, its fully cooked, crispy, fat rendered nicely and the meat tender and cooked all the way through.

This was a wild animal and there is no way I'm eating it anything other than well done, I have no idea what kind of parasites an omnivore snake chicken has in it, and as much as I have confidence in myself, I don't want to check how parasite immune I am.

Nor do I want to risk mom, who is definitively not a dragon, or the twins, Wishpaw, Kari, all of them probably want to try this. I cut a chuck of meat, pulling it from the ribs of the snake.

Using the fork I bring it to my mouth, tasting it slowly, the flavor is... Oddly similar to chicken, much more gamey, but also not unpleasantly so, the texture however is far less tender, the meat is slightly stretchy and stringy, nothing unpleasant it's odd, no real complaints, it's delicious, exotic but also familiar thanks to all of the herbs and spices.

I cut it into chucks, then get it all in a bowl to offer to anyone who wants to try, I think it's tender enough even for the foals, but I don't know enough about their diets, I should take it to mom and let her deal with that.

The twins had woken up by now, as I placed them on the ground, and they were walking closer. "Biig brothar!" The adorable little colt, Lightning said with a cheerful voice as he jumped up to my back, and flapped his wings a few times for stability, he got to my neck and wrapped his little hooves around it, hugging me tightly, he was surprisingly strong for such an adorable small foal.

"My sweet little brother, are you hungry? Did the smell wake you up?" I asked in a soft tone, I felt extremely happy and proud of him, but I tried to act calm, wouldn't want to scare him or Wander, she ran over and grabbed my front leg and shook it gently to get my attention.

"B-brother?" She adorably asked with a slightly doubtful tone, testing the word a few times more.

"Yes, I'm your brother." I explained softly, in a clear tone, to both of them, her unsure expression turned into a smile, and she started to prance around me.

"Brother! Brother! Brother!" She cheerfully repeated, before also jumping onto my back and grabbing my tail instead, she pulled it up, making me let out a surprised yelp, but I didn't want her to lose her balance so I didn't pull my tail down.

Now I understood why Treble got so upset when I tugged his cat tail, I should have been more considerate with him, damn.
It was really embarrassing to be on the receiving end, my tail's base is my no-no spot. "Come on Wandeeer, don't you wanna to play?" I started to wiggle the tip of my tail like a cat lure, hovering in front of her so she would let go of its base, it worked! She started following it wards my head where her brother was, she turned to him and stuck out her tongue and closed her eyes in a playful mocking display.

"You too behave and I'll show you what flying is like, okay?" I offered, giving them pause, they both looked thoughtful as if trying to understand my words.

"F-ffly? Flyyyyin." The filly tried to say, she got pretty close all things considered, I nodded happily, smiling at her.

"Flying is what pegasi do, what birds do, and what bees do, do you know birds?" Both nodded their heads.

"Bir?" I nod at Wander's attempt, but also correct her.

"Bird." I sit and wave my forelegs like a flapping bird, making both of them giggle, they're so adorable! I can't help but smile and chuckle a bit myself.

"Birrrd?" She tried again, and I petted her head, nodding again.

"Good job sweetie! Yes, bird, birds fly in the sky."

"To fly is to... Flap wings, in the air. Only ponies with wings, or birds can fly, and also some bugs, Lightning, you too can fly if you learn." I do the flapping forelegs again and then point to the sky, then stand in two legs and jump while flapping my forelegs, I look very dumb and they both laugh at me, but I just smile more.

"Big brother? Me... Fly?" I nod to him, before gently lifting them both into the air with telekinesis, making them float, Lightning as if by instinct, starts to flap his tiny wings, oddly enough this makes holding him up a lot easier, and I just have to direct his movement so they both fly together, they're both wide eyed, smiling wide and making excited noises, cheering.

This commotion wakes up the other two, who look on with smiles of their own, Kari pretends to be asleep after winking at me, and Wishpaw happily runs over and asks to be lifted too, of course I can't say no to such a cute cub, soon the three of them are playing in the air, I lift them and let them float guiding my magic by their movements.

They 'swim' in the air while I lay down, relaxed and with a happy smile, eventually the twins tire themselves out and both fall asleep, and Wishpaw is left alone and soon gets tired too and goes back to sleep.

This time thankfully they go to lay next to Kari and Wishpaw, leaving me to finish working on my task at hand.

That day we ate well, the cockatrice was pretty tasty and even the twins had a good portion, they loved it, apparently they could have solid food and that's what the Apples have been feeding them while we were gone.

The night was relaxing and I stayed until midnight stargazing by myself on the roof of the house, I needed to train, to practice, and to study on both magic and combat, days like this where I could unwind and play would be less frequent when I returned back to school, of that I was sure of.

I need to work on preparing enchanted accessories, something that can be work when going outside, jewelry, but what spell? A shield? A teleportation that takes the wearer back to the teleportation circle at home? That last one would be a lot more complicated and far more advanced than what I could currently do.

A shield would be doable, it could be set up so if someone approaches at a high speed and collides with the wearer or at least comes close enough the spell will stop the wearer from suffering any injury from the impact, be it from a weapon, a flying kick, or a thrown object, even a tackle.

One of this for everyone in the family would be a very good start, something that had a divine spell imbued in it would be wonderful too, but divine magic works under different rules so I don't know if it could work.

Today was... A bittersweet day, I have killed a sapient creature, I killed someone, I used a forbidden spell and decapitated... Her, afterwards to finish the job.
Could I have used another spell? Maybe... Disintegrate? Freezing Sphere or Cone of cold from inside the creature's maw instead? Any of those would have probably worked, but I needed it to let go of me, the worst pain I could inflict was necessary, it was necessary to warrantee it would let go.

At least that's what I told myself to be able to sleep tonight.

Those were some of the thoughts I had, right before deciding that I had enough stargazing and teleporting back to bed on the sofa, closing my eyes and drifting off into sleep.

Author's Note

Thank you for reading!
Yes I made the Chimeras extremely overpowered monsters that have high stealth, ability to produce no smell or sound when the sneak, and strong as heck, this hopefully will make Onyx start taking the dangers of the Everfree more seriously, it's a high level area after all. Lots of potential huge exp though.

Chapter 65 Morning run

The very next day, 6am

I shook my two partners awake, they grumbled and groaned but I managed to wake them up by splashing some water on them.

"Heeey! I can't believe you've just done that!" Whined Thunder while rubbing her eyes with her wings, then getting up right quick, I can tell she's a fellow soldier just from how fast she goes from grumbling to standing next to the haybale.

My hubby on the other paw...
"Ugh, what hour is it? Lemme sleeep!" I chuckle at his adorable grumpy attitude, before I started licking him awake, he starts giggling at my tongue going around his muzzle and neck, he eventually gets up too, not being able to resist the ticklish licks, not before yawning wide and stretching somewhat seductively, I try to not let my mind go there, instead heading to the showers outside.

"Good, both of you come shower with me, after that we need to get back home, we got a long way home from here."

The three of us headed out and took a quick shower, everything was packing and stored from there we gathered everyone, Onyx and the foals usually slept on the sofa.

We had a nice breakfast and then said our goodbyes, promising to visit again somewhat soon, but it was time.

Like I told my hubby and my son, today morning we start training, no excuses.

All of us walked off the farm, the foals comfortably laying on my back, and we headed into town, it was around 7am the sun was already going up because it was summer.

"What kind of training do you have in mind momma? I'm really curious as to what we can do in town."

"We aren't doing anything here Onyx, we are running a marathon though, you all brought enough water with you? Because you'll need it." I got three nods in response. "Good, keep it in your storage so it doesn't get too warm, now let's go, start trotting and head for the train station, we are going to follow the train tracks all the way to Canterlot!"

A gasp of surprise left Coconut's muzzle. "What? B-but... That's over 60 kilometers away!"

"Then better start running stud, why are you even complaining? Didn't you want to train and improve? You need to be at least on par with your son, now let's start trotting, I want to get home before nightfall." This was way more than royal guards were required to run during their training, but we needed better training, and if they got tired we could always take a break, I just didn't tell them that.

"I'm going to do it, even if I fall unconscious on the way, I'm done always being unprepared, I'm done with excuses... Yesterday was a true eye opening experience that I will not have a repeat off, are you with me on this dad? You said we would train, well this is training, stallion up!" Onyx spoke with conviction, and that seemed to get my hubby to finally get serious, he simply nodded and kept walking with us.

The way to the tran station was peaceful, a few ponies heading to work waved at us on the way, some seemed a bit skittish, but overall the reception was quite pleasant, we didn't stop though, and walked right to the station, next to the tracks there is a path that is used by inspectors to check the rails, a job often done by earth ponies from all over, it paid decently and it was easy to train for.

"Seems like the ponies here have really warned up to us, remember the first time we came to visit, my little silver knight?" I approached my son and rubbed my snout on his neck, making his serious expression from earlier soften into a warm loving smile.

"Oh yeah! Yeah I remember. They all went running and hid inside their houses, they didn't even come out to help us with directions, it was... A bit annoying to be honest heh." He chuckled and smiled wider.

"But now most of them wave at us when we walk by, and I've had a very nice experience at the bakery to yesterday, honestly I couldn't ask for more, they were shy but they opened up to us and now they're just as nice to us as they are to others ponies from here, they're wonderful people, ive gone to have breakfast in Sugarcube Corner and met this really sweet young couple who own it, they made me feel at home here." He wagged his tail adorably as he spoke, clearly having met this ponies made him feel joy, I knew it from his tone too.

"I like this village, Ponyville right? Reminds me of the place I grew up in... But it has expanded quickly the last few years, the ponies here seem just as friendly too, and about the training, I did say I wanted to spar with Onyx, and train too, this definitively counts, I've been in the army you know? This types of exercise weren't uncommon during training, although I'm not sure if we ever had to run such a long distance... But I'm not giving up, not without trying, I'm ready when you give the order ma'am!" Thunder gave a salute after using her wing, the usual pegasi military salute, it could be done with the hoof too, but using the wing was seeing as more representative of their race.

We kept walking across town, but the station was on sight by now, the houses were starting to be more sparse as we got close, until a few minutes later we are finally here!

The train station has some ponies who are sitting down reading the newspaper, or just waiting with bored expressions, I don't recognize anyone, but I see the path we are trying to take, it's across the train tracks, just ahead, it's well dirty path with grass growing around densely, there is enough room to walk without getting to close to any moving train.

"And there's the starting line, ready?" I ask after we cross the rails, getting out of the platform and climbing on the other, then out onto the path before us.

"Everyone, stretch and prepare yourselves, don't want you to get injured, this is going to be a long endurance run, so pretend you just woke up, and please go to the bathroom before we start if you need to, the station here has bathrooms, anyone needs to?" I look at everyone, checking up on them to make sure they're ready, in a way, I was the unofficial caretaker of the family, I was not in charge exactly, but I did look out for all of them, I guess that's just the way I am, Thunder was new but I already felt a nice connection to her and growing love towards the attractive mare.

"I-ill go, I drank a bit too much water, won't take long!" Onyx spoke up, then dashed towards the bathrooms, but the rest just shook their heads and stretched, the foals on top of me had already been changed into their fresh diapers and bathed thoroughly first thing in the morning, they remained mostly asleep all the time, it was far too early for them after all, I had them carried in special saddlebags that granny Smith lended to me, made for carrying foals around, I promised to give it back later.

A few minutes later he came back, looking much more relaxed and with a smile on his face, and everyone got ready. "Alright now for real this time, get ready, set? Go!" At my words, everypony started trotting forward, following the path clear for us, the ponies waiting at the station looked at us weirdly but shrugged, and I of course took the lead, jogging happily with a spring in my step.

It was not very often I got to exercise like this, my kind possessed naturally high stamina, and we are very fast and agile, this light jog was relaxing, everyone had a smile on their face too, as we just started, but I was sure they wouldn't be smiling much once they started to get tired, the bright sun shone above our heads, rising slowly to it's apex in the sky.

My son had asked if he could buy the hat off Mr. Bright Macintosh, and the stallion just shrugged and gave it as a gift to him, something Onyx was very thankful for, going so far as to give the earth pony a tight hug, it was funny because the stoic stallion just wasn't used to get hugs from others, so he reluctantly pushed him away after a few seconds, but all was fine, they get along well, specially so after my little helpful knight helped with the harvest, putting the whole process way ahead of schedule and increasing profits for the farm as they could fulfill a larger order.

Now Onyx was proudly wearing that straw hat and it helped him keep the sun out of his eyes and head, something the others and myself were a little jealous of.

We all kept the same pace and speed, the wind on my face, the dirt and grass beneath my paws, it was all a reminder that I really needed this, guard training and specially Commander level training was though, but it was a lot less on the physical side and more on the mental side, on strategy, intelligence and creative thinking, while I still had physical, it was not the emphasis, magic was also heavily tested, and lucky for me, my limited magical ability was considered above average compared to most unicorns, even those who trained to be the best, my combat spells were decently powerful and I had a good variety of them, and best of all, I could empower my attacks with magic, making my sword skills much more potent.

I though back on the frozen north, to my old home and my tribe, we used to go on hunting trips, usually running during most of the day like this, covering almost a hundred kilometers in a single day, this little distance back home? It was nothing for a wolf, but I usually stayed back at the den to watch the pups, I did however go on a couple of hunts before abandoning my pack when I found Onyx.

Still I was confident that I could do this.

The only thing that really worried me were the foals, hoping all the trotting wouldn't shake then too much and make them sick, but they remained asleep comfortably, and my body was shaking less than expected while running, not enough to bother the foals at this pace I was going.

"The wind on my body, it feels nice, not as nice as when I fly, but I must admit, I'm glad I get to run with all of you, we're all family now." Thunder surprised me with her warm tone and large smile, seems I had even more reason for liking her, she also loved running, I could see it in her expression. Her words made my heart flutter, to think of us as family... It made me want to run right over and take her and start loving right here and now, but I settled for giving her a look that promised a very good time later.

My husband did too, and Onyx, thinking the same as me, approached and as they trotted and touched his head against her neck, nosing her like he did to me often.

"I agree, it's refreshing to do this, I think I'll start going on runs every day for the foreseeable future, it just feels right. And you, I like you Thunder! You're definitively family too, although I'm not sure how... I'd call you, I mean, herds are complicated, anyways you're part of the family now and I'll make sure you feel extra loved with us~" The small dragon and the pegasus shared a nuzzle and her eyes shined with a genuine smile, then they moved away and focused back on running.

During the first half an hour, no one seemed even to get winded, it was pretty much just a relaxing jog, but after the first hour of running, Thunder was the first to start getting tired, she started panting more and slowing down, but she pushed herself to keep going, despite the tiredness.

She kept at it for another half an hour before she couldn't keep going anymore.

"H-hey wait! I-i think I'll need a break, how are you all not tired yet? Coconut, you're... Secretly in the royal guard, are you?" She spoke while panting, we all slowed down to match her pace, now walking instead of running, that way we could recover slowly.

"Oh dear Faust no, I'm definitively not cut out for that line of work, it's just... Every time we fight and kill something, we gain power from it, and that power makes me stronger in every way, every time, did Onyx explain to you how it works?" He answered her while we all kept walking, Coconut and Thunder we're both sweating by now, mostly because of the heat and the running, but me and Onyx were unable to sweat, he had his magic, but I had to stick my tongue out to cool down, it was something shared across all canids like myself.

"I... did not know it would make such a big difference! W-wow, that would explain why you never got tired during you know what, most unicorns don't have more than one round on them."

I snort a laugh at her comment, while my husband just blushes and gives her a look to shut her up, pointing to Onyx.

But the dragon just chuckles at the comment too, just making a face of mock disgust. "You ponies are always this naughty? Well, you done taking a break right? Because I want to keep running, I'm still not even halfway done, my body is full of energy and I want to put it to good use."

I smiled nodding towards him. "Sure, take a few sips of water and let's keep going, we still have ways to go."

Two hours later - Onyx

After three and a half hours of running, the city was only a few more kilometers away, the train had passed us on the way, a few ponies looking out the window seemed flabbergasted to see us running next to the tracks, but some waved back when we greeted them, at this point I was getting pretty tired, and so was mom, albeit she seemed to still have some energy left.

The two ponies of the group however were definitively not doing well, they were panting and visibly damp with sweat, trailing behind us, of course we slowed down to a walk long ago, so they would not pass out and they could maybe recover somewhat, but they had clearly reached their limits.

I decided to carry Thunder, who had it the worst of the two, on my back, mom could not carry the twins and dad at the same time so he had to endure the rest by sheer force of will.

"Comfy? Sorry about the small room on my back, I'm still too small to properly carry an adult." I apologized genuinely, her hind legs were dragging slightly on the grass.

"You have... No idea... How much better this is than walking, I could barely feel my hooves! I felt like I was going to pass out if I kept going, thank you!" She replied, panting at first but slowly getting calmer and catching her breath as she relaxed on top of me, her head resting over my own comfortably, my horns weren't long enough or pointy enough to get in the way.

"You did pretty amazing, I have to say, I'm impressed, for a pony you have good stamina, maybe it has to do with the fact you trained before, but how long has it been since you jogged such a long distance? Must be around 63 or so kilometers." I complimented her honestly, she of course was not perfect but she managed to keep up almost to the finish line.

"I... We did not ever run anywhere for over one hour, maybe only once we ran for two hours straight, thing is, we didn't really do much running, since I'm a pegasus I have to train mostly my flight endurance, and I have even better flight endurance, compared to running, I... I feel almost like I'll pass out if I try to move any more tho." She let out an exhausted sigh, her body was slick with sweat, and hot enough that it made me feel like I was melting, not to mention my own increased body temp from running for so long.

I nodded along to her words, focusing completely on getting to the finish line, I could feel my stamina draining slowly, I was almost all out, I was worried I may pass out too, just a few more hills to run up and down... Since we couldn't exactly jog inside a railway tunnel without risking our lives, we decided to run over the mountains, and around them if we could, making our journey far longer than it would have been otherwise, and it also meant having to go uphill several times.

"Tell me about it..." The unicorn's voice from my right spoke weakly, he looked really bad, his face looked a bit pale, clearly he should have stopped running by now, but he kept pushing. "I feel... I'm too tired, just a bit more..." He stopped talking, unable to finish the sentence, but kept running, seemingly on autopilot at this point.

All of this extra difficult terrain drained our stamina a lot. "I'm getting very tired too, I don't think I'll be able to keep going for longer, but if I stop now, I feel like I won't be able to get up later." I spoke up, panting and breathing quickly, my tongue out to try to catch some cold fresh air however, it just wasn't enough, so I pulled out my canteen and took long gulps of fresh water. "Ahh, that certainly hits the spot! Maybe... I'll get there!"

I feel more refreshed, smiling faintly at the feeling of coolness sliding down my neck and into my tummy, the water spreading it's cold soothingly, I drank until my belly was nice and full.

"Keep going everyone, we're almost there! Look, that's the station right there, soon we'll be at home and you can rest all day if you need, and take a cold refreshing shower~" Momma Sylf said in a cheerful and happy tone that motivated us enough to continue.

My hearts were beating fast, but steady, in rhythm, I was exhausted yes, but also felt as if I could get there.

It didn't take too long, and we reached the entry to the station, to Canterlot, there were plenty of royal guards around the station, and an unicorn mare saw us approach, and came down the platform to meet us a dozen meters away from the station itself, walking off the platform and stopping us in our tracks.

"Halt, what are you four... Wait, you have foals? Oh excuse me, carry on ma'am, they're very adorable little ones, aren't they?" The unicorn mare's tone softened as she noticed the twins, the two had woke up sometime during the jog, and we're happily riding on top of Sylf's back, thankfully they were smart enough to not jump off, they did however cheer us on, and it helped, because we somehow managed to arrive.

"Oh they're our little foals, our herd is very happy to have them, good evening to you, we actually recently just hiked all the way up from Ponyville, believe it or not, you're a sergeant on the Royal Guard, right?" Mom did the talking, the rest of us walked weakly and sat on the ground next to the two, I basically folded underneath Thunder, completely exhausted, while dad plopped his butt on the ground, then proceeded to lay on his side, before rolling into his back and laying down belly up, panting and out of breath, his legs were shaking, and so was his body.

The guard didn't pay us any mind and just glanced my dad's way a bit discretely before going back to her conversation, I was playing close attention, and ponies have large expressive eyes so it was not as subtle as she thought she was being.
"Yes ma'am, I'm sergeant Eversong, recently promoted, what's your name, if I may ask? I have an odd feeling that I've seen you somewhere before... Wait, you came here all the way from Ponyville? How? The train didn't pass recently, did you and your family get off early or something? Even then, that's odd."

Sylf seemed to consider her words for a few minutes, before shrugging and smiling at the mare.
"Maybe you recognize me because I'm also part of the Guard, I'm mostly in administrative duties as of late, but still have the occasional patrol usually when I coach some newcomers or rarely I get assigned guard for various events, my name is Sylf, pleasure to meet you miss Eversong, but if I may be so bold, are we free to go? My family and myself, as well as our foals have walked here all the way from Ponyville and we are exhausted, as I said earlier, I don't think they will be able to even get up if I don't get them home soon."

"You're... Sylf?! Oh my apologies Commander!" The unicorn mare quickly saluted and stood at attention.

"At ease sergeant! Now... I know I'm off duty right now, and I don't usually like to ask for favors, but you wouldn't mind now that you're here, carrying my husband home? I think he won't be able to get back on his own, the poor dear had to walk all the way without having anyone to carry him, since I have my precious foals with me already, and my son there has my herdmate on his back, since she couldn't continue anymore either." Mom asked the mare in a professional but slightly pleading tone.

Meanwhile Coco just laid there, panting but less intensely now, he realized that laying on your back is a bit exposing, because he had flipped over by now, but he still had shaking legs. At least he wasn't flashing everyone around anymore, at this point I didn't care either way.

I didn't know how long I could carry Thunder for as well, I stood up on four very shaky legs, but I still had a bit of stamina left, maybe not enough to run.

"Yes, only me leaving won't cause a problem, I was overdue for a break anyways." Her smile was genuine and cheerful. "Just left me inform the others, just stand by the entryway to the station, I'll meet you there." After that she left to talk to other guards, probably her superiors who nodded and after a few minutes she came back.

"Okay it's done, can you walk ahead and guide me? I'll be extra gentle with your husband, miss Sylf." The mare spoke in a soft and friendly tone, levitating the stallion and carrying him floating on her magic, he squirmed slightly in mid air before calming down, getting used to the telekinetic hold on him.

"Thank you, don't worry too much about him, he is one tough pony, just look at him, but we are all exhausted after that trek." We walked into the city, the city full of golden tipped towers, beautifully decorated buildings and just a very pristine and grandiose place, it was no wonder why property here could go over a million bits, compared to other cities where a lot or a house was less than 50 thousand bits, but of course there was a lower Canterlot area too, with much lower prices.

"So you came all the way from Ponyville right? Did you remember to pack enough for the trip? I mean it's a two day trip, what path did you take? It's still a very exhausting walk." Eversong asked while turning to look at mom.

"We... Jogged all the way, following the rail line, we started this morning, we didn't follow any real hiking path, just walked next to the railroad."

"... Hahah Good one commander! Well, either way I'm glad you all arrived safely, the forests along the railroad do have some dangerous fauna on them, bears are not rare, but thankfully they usually are friendly to ponies and don't attack unless provoked."
Eversong chuckled at what she perceived was a joke and commented about the wildlife with a gentle tone.

'Let her think it's a joke mom, if we go around saying we trained so hard they may think we were forced and that is dangerous, and they would be right, we are mostly fine but I'm getting super tired and sore, can't imagine either of this two are okay, they may even get sick or pass out.' I remind her gently via telepathy, we are trying to not get too much attention from the guard after all.

"Hah yeah, we did follow the train tracks and we had a nice long nights rest, but my two herdmates have not much practice running, they're still new to it, while my son here is a natural, maybe it's a dragon thing, and I of course, am a royal guard, and a wolf, you know I used to run for long hours when I was back home near the frozen north." Mom clarified, in a convincing tone, she was pretty good at lying, not as good as me, but she was good by now.

"Oh yeah, not many ponies do the journey that way, there is a shorter path to Canterlot but it's a bit more steep, so not many ponies do the hike, just be careful you all, the train tracks are dangerous and the railway tunnels specially so, I hope you never take the tunnels, always go around the mountain, even if it's a longer path, okay? Also, hope you don't mind my question commander, but what is it like outside of Equestria? I've never been that far north, I think only one expedition headed there, and then some dignitaries came to visit, some seem to be your kind."

"We sure did keep away from tunnels, we never got too close to the railroad, we are aware of the danger." She spoke in a certain and serious tone while going to the left and heading into the street our home was in, just another block and we're there!
"And back home... We aren't like you ponies, I can't speak for other races, but we black wolves, my tribe at least, some may call us Great Wolves or Dire Wolves, we often live in tribes, each tribe has a territory defined by the size of the tribe, usually territories are not crossed, but if one of our kind wants to move, they can reach an agreement, for example I... Offered my services to watch over some pups when I moved out, as long as you help in some way and do so meaningfully, you are then allowed free movement, I did odd jobs here and there, because I wanted to see more of the world." She pauses for a minute, reminiscing on the past I guessed, from the distant look on her eyes.

"I love my tribe, I do, but I felt my calling was elsewhere, but to put it simply, life outside Equestria is hard, wild, and very much unforgiving, you have to hunt and forage for food, you gave to be on guard to not become food or not to anger another creature or group of them... Me, being a wolf was advantageous, not many other predators would even dare to go after me or my kind, so in a way, I had it easy, I bet you would like to meet the caribou there, they don't speak Equestrian like you or me, but they're quite similar to ponies, they live further into the cold areas." I smiled at that, I remember seeing them! They were very odd and oddly cute, in a way similar to ponies, just larger and with a much thicker layer of fur, adapted better to their frozen environment.

"Maybe sometime you should write a book with what life is like outside, what was it like back at home and everything mom! Because that sounds really amazing, I can't wait to visit. Oh and we reached out home, thank you miss Eversong!" I spoke up first, getting the attention of both, while pointing at the house basically right next to us, we had arrived.

"Yeah! Your little one is right, honestly it sounds scary to live out there, with dangers everywhere, but also fascinating to read about or listen, you sure are an interesting family, but this is my stop Commander, it was a pleasure to meet you. Oh and where do you want me to place your husband? He is completely out by the way." I grab the keys and open the door with my telekinesis, pushing it open all the way and walking in.

"I just may write a book then, thank you for the help, I wouldn't have wanted to drag him by the tail all the way here, please come on in, this way." I walked in first, followed by mom and Eversong.

I placed Thunder on the couch, then gesturing to the royal guard.

"Just lay him on top of her, they are both already asleep so may as well let them cuddle in their sleep."
The guardmare did as she was told and placed the unconscious stallion on top of the unconscious pegasus, they snuggled almost right away, spooning adorably.

"Hah they're so cute like that, well thanks a lot Sergeant! If I have the time, I'd love to share a drink with you! Whatever you like, it's been a pleasure to meet you." With that, the unicorn guardmare smiled and gave a relaxed salute, before heading to the door followed by Sylf who saw her out.

"Glad to be of help commander, and I'd love that, have a lovely afternoon!" And with that she turned and left back to the station, walking at a relaxed speed, she seemed to be in good spirits thankfully.

She closed the door and walked back. We stood there next to each other for a second.

"I better take the twins up to the bathroom, they definitively need their change of diapers, and you should go get a shower while I do that, leave this two to sleep here, don't care how sweaty they are, we can always clean the couch later with magic." Mom spoke softly, the twinks were restless, upset, definitely needed that change, and a bath. Mom was now easily able to take care of them thanks to the ghost hand spell I gave her, by now she could use that spell as good as a person could use their hand.

"Yeah, I'm gonna take an ice long shower now, see you." I waved and teleported directly to the bathtub without another word. Opening the cold water all the way and placing the plug to keep the water from going down the drain.

I stood under the water flowing, directly on my head, letting out a happy and satisfied moan, closing my eyes and opening my maw to let the water flow into me, but not swallowing, just letting it wash my mouth under that pressure, it refreshed me and felt very good.

Onyx has earned 2 constitution points from having ran all the way from one city to the next.

Sylf has earned 2 constitution points from having ran all the way from one city to the next.

Coconut has earned 2 constitution points from having ran all the way from one city to the next.

Thunder has earned 2 constitution points from having ran all the way from one city to the next.

I smiled at that quip, my legs felt very very wobbly, and were still shaking, I was sure I would feel sore tomorrow, but I could still walk, if just barely.

I didn't need to walk anymore though, I was in the bathtub, I could lay here and rest, heck I could even take a nap here...

Once the bathtub was full I closed it and laid down into the water, my maw submerged but my nose out of the water, I carefully breathed out my frost directly into the water, turning it into slush near my maw.

Good enough, that should cool down the entire bathtub in a few minutes, I could already feel it as the slush melted into water again.

While I was laying there, I decided I probably will be better off getting to work, i procrastinated enough on my enchantment practice, and I had to take the metal ore I owed to the blacksmith to process.

It was way too comfy in here to move, but I gathered my measly willpower left after running, and dragged myself into a standing position, my legs shaky still, maybe... A nap wouldn't hurt, I am way too tired to carry around a chest full of metal, I'll just embarrass myself in front of everypony outside when I inevitably fall over and drop my stuff.

"Maybe tomorrow..." I let my body slide back down into the bathtub, using magic to cool the water down all around me into slush consistency.

I am very much too tired to think, I close my eyes and fall asleep right away.

Author's Note

The training begins, the first day is just to acclimate.

Chapter 67 Sparring and new ideas

Saturday 30 of July - Year 983

It was only two days until school started up again, I did not have time to do a sleepover after coming back from the Griffon Empire, mostly because I got busy with the extended stay at Ponyville and because I spent the other free day practicing enchantment.

I have improved somewhat, at least enough to be able to enchant three runes on a single item, as long as it was large enough to fit the engravings, making tiny engravings for smaller items was... Very tricky, I came to realize, the diamond tipped pen I had was okay, I just needed a different way to do some things.

But there is a way, something much simpler and obvious, something that I use all the time but I don't for some reason, use for writing often, I can easily write with telekinesis, and that means I can engrave with it too.

So that's what I did, practicing unicorn style writing and rune engraving, just by using it a lot during combat and everyday life, my telekinesis is both precise and strong. So it more or less came naturally to me, muscle memory of writing with my paws/hands came naturally and translated surprisingly well to writing with magic, I just had to imagine grabbing the pen with my magic like I would with my hand, while the feedback was of course much less, it works.

But for today, the schedule is different. I was enjoying breakfast with my family, sitting together at the table, I ate slowly, smiling as I watched the twins happily playing with each other, chasing each other around at the foot of the table, seems like Lightning always end up being 'it' during their games of tag, but he already knew how to use his wings to his advantage to move faster and catch up to the filly.

"So, is everyone ready for today's training? We are taking turns, first will be Thunder, she will fight me, of course we will be both wearing armor. I have bought a padded suit for training for both you and Coconut, but Onyx? You'll... Have to just take the hits, sorry son." Mom announced after finishing her breakfast.

I sighed in an overly exaggerated manner, trying to look pitiful. "Just don't be like Thunder and try to hit me on the balls, I don't have any balls, okay?" I ask in a joking tone, shooting the pegasus a playful glare with a smirk.

"You're not letting that go... Even after you kicked my ass and left me crippled? Gosh colt, you are petty." She shoots back, making me chuckle, she smiles and sticks her tongue out. "Not having balls should be now allowed in combat, how is a mare going to stop a stallion easily then? You're just not fair, only 11 and stronger than the biggest earth ponies... You better hold back against me, got it?"

"Fine! And not my fault I ain't got no balls, I mean from what I've learned going to a clinic is that I do in fact have them, it's just that they're inside, like your ovaries, just in a different spot, they're above my junk, and my junk is also, safely stored in its own protected compartment, which is protected by scale armor, I'm proud of my unfair advantage you know? The only way you're getting through my defense is if you're strong enough to break it, or fast enough to target something more vulnerable, like my eyes." I speak in a smug tone, giving her a challenging look.

"Hmph! Well as long as I get to fight with my wing blades, I should have a better chance to win against any of you, only reason you won last time was because my spear skill is lacking." She defended with a softer tone, but she smiled at us genuinely, eager to spar again.

"I've taken it into consideration, and I got us an entire set of training weapons! From spears, to longswords, hammers and even wing blades! It did cost me a few thousand bits, but the training weapons should, in theory, be balanced the same way the real weapons are, and weight exactly the same, so we can get used to their weight and train without a risk of maiming each other's precious bodies, we are all a family and we love each other dearly, isn't that right? Don't hold it so much against Onyx, my dear pegasus, he really did hold back during your battle, I promise." She gave Thunder a pleading look, showing her she meant it.

"Yeah, I know... He could have grabbed me much earlier and mauled me to death in seconds, but... I know he would never do that, he showed genuine concern after realizing how badly he had hurt me." I nodded, I wouldn't have even done that if she had surrendered earlier with the smack to her rear.

"And... I'm sorry for breaking your leg again, I'm not proud of that, I never want to hurt you again, not even a little bit." I spoke softly, then teleported myself directly next to her and hugged her gently, closing my eyes, enjoying her soft belly fur, and the way her hooves held me around the neck, as I was lower than her when she was sitting on the chair.

I really felt like crying again for some reason, it was a sudden and intense emotion, guilt, I can't help it but start crying over it, how could I have been so cruel to her to break her leg just to prove a point? That was... Just too much pain to inflict on someone I care so much about, it was needless, I could have just pinned her down somehow, or even cheat with magic to stun her. "I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have done that, I'm an awful person..."

"Hey hey! Calm down love, it's fiiine, you're a good colt, we are even, remember? No need to cry now... You really felt this guilty over it all this time? I've got an idea, look, if you want to make it up to me, why don't you give me a massage after training? You have those... Paws of yours, very strong but surprisingly gentle when you want to be, give me a massage and we are truly even, okay? Now come here, let me hug you properly like pegasi do." With that, she gets off her chair and stands in front of me, before moving to stand on two legs, I do the same and we hug, her front hooves around my chest under my arms, while her wings move to envelop my head, it brings a comforting and wonderful softness brushing against my head and neck, making me stop crying in seconds, and turning my frown into a slight smile.

"I would never hold a grudge against you for that, sure it hurt, but it's healed, I'm fine and better than before, you got punched too and we were even then, but a massage... It would seal the deal don't you think?" She spoke in a soft whisper to me, and I just nodded.

We stayed there, hugging and nuzzling, she ended up drying my tears with her wings and giving me a small kiss on the forehead, which made me do an purr of happiness.

"Thank you, for being so considerate to my feelings, I... I just feel happy that you joined our family, it was a blessing for both of them and me, and the foals, you are amazing!" I smirked and squeezer her a bit harder, making her let out a squeak of surprise then a chuckle as I let her go.

We stood there looking at each other, I felt better, much better now. Despite everything, I still feel really guilty after hurting those I care about, and with each day, I care about Thunder more, and I see her as truly one of us.

"You two are such an adorable pair! Come on let's take the dishes to the kitchen and let's go train, I can was them later, so... My beautiful pegasus, you ready to go train with me?" Mom asks, her tone playful at first but she had a genuine smile on her face.

"Let me take care of washing the dishes meanwhile, okay everyone? With my magic it will be done quickly." I offered, and everyone nodded in agreement.

"Sure son, so, ready?"

"Yes, let's go! But... Go easy on me okay? Even with the padding, try to not hit too hard, we pegasi aren't exactly earth ponies in terms of resilience."

And with that, they both head up to the third floor, where the training area is set up.

I levitated all the dirty dishes to the kitchen, adding all the food scraps to the organics bin to make into compost for the garden, them I place the plates on the sink, and fill it with water and a dash of soap.

All the while, dad is watching over the foals, and playing with them with a big smile, I can hear them giggling, sometimes running around and messing with him, they're in that age were foals love to play and run around, they sometimes pull at his mane or tail, but quickly stop when dad shows clear signs of not liking that or making a pained sound.

They are empathic little ones, they don't want to hurt their parents at all, or each other, it's surprising really how well they care for each other, often sleeping together snuggled when they aren't on their own cribs.

I didn't take long to wash the dishes and once I was done I decided to go watch the fight, it promised to be interesting.

I walked to the third floor, where sounds of conversation were audible.

The pegasus and the wolf faced eachother, both already wearing heavy padded armor over their entire bodies, and a fencing masks.

"Okay, we will do it this way, try your best to hit me, but try to aim at one of my vital points, if you succeed five times, you win. If you fail... Well you're getting a nice reward either way~" Sylf spoke with a serious tone that shifted to a sultry and suggestive tone by the end.

The young pegasus mare blushed at the tone, but smiled and returned the look she was getting with a confident one of her own. "You're on! There's no way I'm letting you win love, and I'm going to make you squirm underneath me after this is over." Thunder answered in a serious tone, before grabbing the training wing blades from the wall and putting them on her wings. At the same time Sylf grabs her longsword from the wall, the wooden one of course, both the weapons are made of wood, heavy wood, and enchanted to not break as easily, they also have no sharpness at all, and curved edges that don't do more than bruise even on unarmored targets.

However the weapons are still dangerous, if you get bonked by them, that's why there is training armor, heavily padded, and a metal mesh mask that protects the head completely, the shape is sort of like a dog muzzle, but covers the entire head and is made of mesh, it has a hinge to open and take it off, but it's locked by a cloth strap.

They both stood at a few meters apart, while my head poked out from the staircase's edge, I watched with rapt attention as they got into their attack stance, I probably shouldn't be creeping on them like this, so I decide to announce myself. "E-excuse me? Can I watch you two fight, right?" I spoke softly trying not to startle them.

They both turn to me and then back to each other, a small blush forming on their faces as they realized they've been caught. "D-did you just come up? Or have you..." She shakes her head for a second and then smiles. "Of course you can stay and watch us fight son, just keep your distance, don't want to inconvenience your second mom, do you?" Sylf finally said in a friendly tone.

"Yes momma, and yeah I've heard you two flirting, it's cute! Heheh the way you two look at each other, it makes me feel pretty happy to be around you two, now I'll go sit by the corner, while you two do your thing, okay?" I went and sat down on the corner, my ears perked forward like radar dishes, paying close attention to them.

"Okay you heard him dear Thunder, he finds us both cute!" She chuckled and looked at her, both girls gave each other loving looks, I felt my heart would melt.

They're so cute!

"Ready love? Hope you're faster than me if you want a chance of winning."

"Ready, Onyx, you give the signal."

I nodded, watched them both a second, clearly ready. "When I say 'GO' you start okay?" I got a nod from both. "3... 2... 1... Go!" I counted down, and once I said go, they went.

Thunder dodged to the side as Sylf dashed forward, longsword swinging down in a downward vertical slash, the swing was clearly not a serious attack, but it was still brutally quick, after dodging Thunder swing her left wing, aiming at the neck of her mate, but as if predicting this, or merely by instinct, the wolf ducked, bringing her sword up in an arc after the last attack, turning it into another upward strike that blocked the wing blade effortlessly.

Thunder groaned, jumping back and thinking of a window of attack, however the she wolf didn't relent and ran towards her with her longsword pointed forward as a lance, all while using her maw.

Thunder was not taken by surprise, and moved aside while pushing the sword back with her wing, deflecting the powerful strike strike to the side instead of trying to block it. Sylf just moved with the hit, repositioning to the side, before walking back to the center of the room.

The match was even, one would think, if they didn't understand the difference in power. Sylf was faster, sharper reflexes, stronger and more skillful, it was clear the older female was just playing, more so if you saw the wolfish smirk on her snout, she wasn't even winded, while Thunder had a face of pure focus and effort, and her chest was moving quickly with her panting and starting to sweat.

"Well done Thunder, I'm moving back to center so we don't run out space and you or I hit a wall, don't forget that this room isn't that big." The pegasus nodded, taking her time to get near the middle again, catching her breath a few seconds before the fight resumed.

Thunder rushed forward towards her herd mate, bringing her wings to strike at the head, ducking under the longsword's horizontal slash, but Sylf's attack was a feint, it shifted from horizontal to diagonal halfway through, blocking the wingblade with the guard of the sword, and pushing the wing back, the other wing however slashed from the side, hitting the wolf on the neck quick enough that she could not block it. "Hit, you got me good, i gotta say, I'm impressed!"

The fight paused as they repositioned, now mom was taking this more seriously, Thunder had a prideful smile on her face but didn't say anything or gloat, she knew that she was not fighting an opponent that could be underestimated.

"Again!" they both were tensed, ready to strike, then they started again.

This time Thunder threw herself at Sylf with her wings pushing her to much faster speeds, the wolf meanwhile placed her sword in a neutral stance, preparing for any possible attack that she could be hit by. The attack came from below, or that was the idea at least, as Thunder feinted up, before jumping between mom's legs and used her wings to strike at her opponents's chest.

That was the plan anyways, before she could get fully underneath her, the fluffy wolf lifted a leg and brought it down on the mares chest, holding her firmly in place but that allowed her to bring the wing blades to attack the wolf's legs, it however was not a vital point, and the angle she has doesn't allow for a truly strong attack. It would have obviously done serious damage anyways, but from her position, Thunder couldn't reach the vital points, extending her wings all the way and bending them inwards would allow for maybe reaching the chest but at that point, even with the wing blades, it would be a slash and not a stab, not getting through the dense muscle there.

"Buck! Alright I give up, I can't win against you, I barely got one lethal hit in, you're just so big and strong and sexy~ there's no way a little mare like me stands a chance against such a powerful and beautiful wolf like you." Thunder sighs and speaks with a playful tone, but I can tell she means it.

"That was a pretty good fight! But you're right that i'm big and strong, not to mention beautiful~ I could help you train, you know? But I can't exactly use wing blades, they are a weapon that works better for hitting unarmored targets and weak points, right? You should learn something else too, maybe keep improving with the spear, it can be pretty powerful on the right hands, you would even be able to stab through gaps in the armor once you practice enough." Mom sat down right under the pegasus laying prone on her back, putting her long front legs to each side, Thunder blushed slightly, as mom's head was right between her hind legs, but she was wearing padded armor so nothing else happened from that.

"I don't doubt your skill with your preferred weapons even a single bit, but I believe you will be much stronger having your spear skill improve to be in par with the wing blades, don't you think my lovely marefriend?" Thunder has a thoughtful look, thinking for a minute before nodding her head slowly.

"Yes, yes you're right! You think I could maybe learn from you? Or you know someone who knows how to use a spear?"

"I'm afraid not, but I could get you in contact with some of the instructors at the royal guards, maybe they would be willing to teach you, as a favor for me, or I could pay them... Either way I will get you someone who knows how to use a spear very well, I would even recommend you join the guard, but that is a commitment, it will take away most of your time." I certainly hope she doesn't join, but she's free to do whatever she wants.

"No way I'll join the guard, remember I promised to look after the twins, and guard duty even back in Trottingham was a full time job, here I bet it's the same." Thunder thankfully answers, making me let out a sigh or relief.

"I can get you some instructors anyways, good ones, don't worry you will become a professional in no time. Now Onyx dear, you're up!" Sylf calls out to me, I gulp nervously, scratching the back of my head.

Damn it, she won't hold back with me, will she?
I stand up on all fours, walking up to the training weapons racks, and look at the selection. I'm proficient with shortsword and shield, so I pick up both, going to my bipedal stance to hold them easier. "There is no padded armor for me, is there?"

"Nope, you don't need it, you have enough padding as it is, you are getting a bit pudgy from lack of exercise, and you have scales on top of that to absorb impact, so no need for padding big colt, now... Are you ready?" She asks as I stand a few meters apart, my weapons ready.

"Can I use magic to fight?" I give her a pleading look, my eyes glowing sparkling slightly with a spark of magic, done intentionally to make me look more adorable.

"Fine, but just so you can show Thunder what fighting you for real is, at least when you're trying to be gentle, because I know how terrifying you can be when you are fighting to kill." She nods slowly, giving me a encouraging look.

"Trust me, I won't hurt you, I'll just win." I smile confidently and stand prepare a spell mentally.

"Alright, I'll look really carefully, do you two need a count?" Thunder asks, sitting comfortably and relaxing, looking intrigued.

"Just say when we start, no need to count!" I answer, nodding my readiness, the spell ready for release.

"He's right, there's no real point on it." She shrugged and prepared her sword, aiming to slash at me.

"Okay... Then get ready? Aaaand go!" As soon as she said that, mom shot forward like a cannonball, but I just needed an instant, a spark of indigo formed on my maw and a ray of magic shot forward and instantly hit her on the chest.

"Hold." Her charge was stopped mid swing, right as she tried to hit me on the head with the flat of her blade.
Instead she remained motionless, unable to blink or move as the spell hit her, my eyes glowing with magic as I concentrated on holding her in place.

I turned to Thunder and gave her a wink, before turning back to my opponent, removing her mesh helmet and playfully booping her adorable wolf nose, them patted her snout and head, her eyes followed me, but she couldn't blink or do more.

"This is what you do when fighting a superior opponent and you have time to prepare a spell, you hold them still, then you can easily disable their ability to fight, for example you can tie them up further with restraints or you can hurt them, but I won't do that of course, still the spell isn't perfect, it wouldn't work for long and it requires a lot of concentration, I can't do any other magic that requires concentration while doing this, and if I'm hit, the pain is usually a good way to lose focus." I explain while walking around mom, then jumping on top of her and laying comfortably on her back.

"And that is why Equestria is the dominant nation on this world, they have trained unicorn mages that can use magic, and they have an unaging alicorn princess who is strong enough to push back any other nation's magic users or armies by herself most of the time." I explain, nodding towards the castle outside the window.

"S-so... She's really, unable to do anything at all while under this spell? Really? What is it?" Thunder asks, intrigued and curious, approaching Sylf and poking at her snout with her wings, then smirking mischievously.

"Hold, it's like Hold Pony but it works on larger creatures, Hold Pony is a weaker version of this, usually used by the guard to arrest somepony who is far too slippery and quick to simply catch normally, and it can be used by unicorns that have trained enough to learn it. As it's name implies, it holds a creature, while still allowing them to breathe, but the lack of blinking can dry out the eyes, so the spell is best used for a short amount of time, come on now, I'll release the spell, move out of the way or you'll get hit by her sword." I warn her, before releasing the spell and hugging Sylf across the neck.

Thankfully the sword doesn't hold it's momentum, and mom just drops it after a second. "That's not fun, I was unable to even blink... Well as he explained this spell is very good, but it wouldn't work on me if it was cast by someone weaker, for example a regular guardmare or stallion would cast it and it would just fail to hold me, but Onyx is..." She pushed me off her back, making me land on my back and then moved back and brought her sword down on my neck, or at least would have if I didn't bring my sword and shield quickly up to block the hit, I held her attack, my forelegs shaking with effort and my face contorted with effort.

I growled and pushed her sword away from me with a grunt, using my telekinesis to push as well as my physical strength, overpowering her and making her eyes go wide, she was pushed off me, I lifted her and pressed her against the ceiling, where her legs flailed uselessly, letting out a distressed whine she struggled to escape my hold.

"Bad wolfy! You stay there and think about what you did, attacking me while talking and while I'm relaxing? Hmph, not gonna work mom~" I teased her while my eyes glowed bright indigo and she was enveloped in my indigo colored aura.

"This is cheating Onyx! Lower me this instant young dragon, or I'm going to ground you for a month!" Sylf said in a begging tone, I knew she wouldn't do that, so I just laughed.

"Hahaha well you're ceilinged, how about that huh? You're a very bad girl, stay there and I'll go get your husband, maybe he will get pity on you and free you, now Thunder? You gonna take care of the twins right? I have to go study more enchantment." I asked the stunned looking pegasus, who stared at Sylf who was whining up a storm on the ceiling, sounded almost as dramatic as a husky who didn't get what she wanted, but it was more howls than barks and screams.

"Y-yes I'll go, but please lower her, she sounds upset or sad... I don't usually hear her making those noises." Thunder asks in a caring tone, coming over to me and nudging me with her wing.

I shrugged and lowered her to the ground, letting her free from my telekinesis, it was a bad idea because as soon as I did, she ran over to me and bit my tail, a bit hard, I let out a less than manly squeak of shock before glaring at her as I turned back. "You didn't think I would just let you go, huh? After holding me up, now say you're sorry or else." She said with an evil smirk, slowly tugging my tail and lifting my head, its not painful, but its embarrassing, I feel helpless trying to escape her grasp, wiggling to get free as I hanged from my tail, only my front paws were on the ground.

"Please stop that! not my taaail, let it go! Grrrr You know that my tail is an intimate area, right? Specially from the middle to the base of it, jeez are you gonna hold my tail hostage? Fiiine, I'm sorry for talking to you like a pet animal, and for holding you on the roof and teasing you, now... Be a dear and let me go, okay? I have to go get the weapons and armor from the vault and start to practice my enchantments..." I apologize and show her I mean it, she pretends to consider it for a second, tilting her head thoughtfully, then nods and lets me go, I could have simply used a short ranged teleport and escaped her, but then she would have caught me again, and she can bite quite hard.

"Good little dragon, now go and get a shower, then go learn everything you can, I want a new weapon enchanted by you, one that has a much stronger enchantment or more than one, if you can." She demanded, knowing I will do just what she wanted, maybe even a greatsword...

"Do you perhaps want to use a greatsword now? its larger than a longsword, and for how strong you are, it would just give you more range and power behind every strike, you will need to practice with it though." I thought aloud, scratching my chin as I sat there, now that my tail was free.

"I'd love to, that's what my trainer recommended for me to learn, but I wanted to learn a smaller weapon first so I chose the longsword, mostly because I liked the versatility of it, I could swing more freely without worry of it hitting the ground or unintended things." She explained, pulling her real longsword out of the inventory after putting away the training sword.

She held the longsword in her maw, feeling its weight and balance. "This one has served me well, I keep it sharp and well oiled, it holds an amazing edge thanks to your enchantment, but it's about time you make something different, like you said, a greatsword, and maybe it could do with an extra element imbued in it, maybe with one of the elemental gems you have?" That was actually a wonderful idea, it would be much more powerful with an elemental gemstone, instead of a regular one that held a charge, an elemental gem, while usually limited in charge, could be used as a sort of battery, but instead of holding raw mana, it could hold already elemental mana to be focused into a spell by the runes.

If a weapon was added a regular enchantment and used an elemental gem, it could work, with the addition of an extra rune to transform raw mana into the elemental energy the gem has affinity to, causing the sword to be imbued with said element or into a specialized spell or effect. "Yes, yes mom! You're a genius! I will need to do some tests, this way of enchanting is not something I know anything about, maybe it's not as easy this way, I'll need to learn by myself, slowly and with experimentation and practice, so don't expect anything soon, okay?"

"That's fine Onyx, take your time and learn, you are the reason I even work as a royal guard, to make sure you become the best, you study and you learn as much as you can here in Equestria instead of our in the wilderness, your chances here are much better, your future is much brighter, so get to it." She demanded, I knew she was right, all she did was for me, at least at the start, now it's also for her foals and her herd, she now has enough bits and resources to move wherever she wants, but she's staying for me and for the others, so I can get a better education, and the foals can get one too.

"Thank you, I'll start and enchant at my room while you spar here, see you at dinner time!" I greeted them, grabbing my things and walking downstairs to my room, where I set up everything I needed on the floor, ready to experiment.

Time to get working, I decided to take notes this time, making notes of every entry on the experimental process was going to help keep track of it all.

Attempt N°1

I used one of the electric gems I had and replaced the pommel of a shortsword, the job was not perfect, as the gem was held by resin, I have no forge or anything else needed to properly attach it, so I used melted resin, it would probably not hold on in a real fight, but that wasn't the point.

The electric gem looks pretty tasty with its shining beautiful purple color, but I knew it would be painful if I tried eating it, possibly deadly.

I inscribed one rune for focusing the elemental energy on the edge of the sword, specially the lightning element, it was necessary for the elemental gem's energy to flow.

A second rune for toughness of the metal, as usual.

A third rune for transforming raw mana into electrical energy, specifically high voltage and low amp, as well as a very quick frequency, it would be much better for a stun effect, although it would probably not work on everything, since many creatures here were very though and had a lot more body mass than what I was used to back at home.

This third rune was much more complex, having a more elaborate design with three individual values attached to it and requiring more of a special gem paste to draw but also allowing those values to be modified by magic, they could be simply shaped differently over the already made engravings, like the digital display on a clock that had the numbers but they could be lit up in different positions, this gem paste remained solid normally once dried, but it reacted to directed magic from someone who had at least manipulated the sword before, but anyone with enough skill could in theory modify it if they linked their magic to the weapon, everything had a weakness after all, in this case it was possible sabotage of the weapon before the battle, only when the spell was deactivated.

Of course there were ways around this, like hiding the engravings in a difficult to spot location.

The enchantment itself was a success, the use of resin instead of a proper metal support to hold the gemstone was honestly in bad taste, it looked dumb and ugly and like it would break off at the slightest hit against something, yet it didn't fail right away.

Test 1 of First attempt on enchanting: stunning non-lethal shortsword.

I held the shortsword on my claws, then channeled magic into it until the charge was fully, and selected the active rune that would channel the electric current to the edge, then I brought the edge to my other paw, lowering it until it made contact, completing the circuit with the ground.

Failure, I could feel the current but it didn't do anything, it was at most a tingling, of course... I'm not human anymore, who knows how electricity would affect me? I don't even have the same type of skin or muscle, and my nerves and organs were most likely, different.
I'm for all intents and purposes, an alien.

Conclusion: failure to cause any significant effects on self (for reference, I'm a dragon with cold affinity)

Test 2 of non-lethal stunning electrical shortsword.

I decided to tweak the enchantment by increasing the current and switching the frequency for a slower one, that meant I would be getting far more current through me, ten time the amount, the voltage stays the same.

I repeated the process, this time the electrical buzz of the sword was audible as I got it closer, when I touched, it send a very strong current that made my muscles tighten along my foreleg that came into contact with the edge of the sword, as well as a painful sensation going down my leg and into my body, crossing my body and going to my hind leg, it felt like I was burning, but not just that, also my muscles contracting involuntarily near that side of my body in a painful way.

I fought through that pain and managed to turn let go of the sword and then turned off the enchantment. This time it worked, it was painful, but not deadly, I felt my hearts were still working well, beating in an alternating pattern. Good, the shock was not enough to render me immobile but it was enough to stun me a few seconds, and make me unable to use the side of my body that was touching the electric edge.

Conclusion: partial success! The effect is limited in area, but it can pretty effectively shut down an opponent's defense or offense for a few seconds, and that is all it takes in a battle to decide victory or death, a more powerful version would be most likely deadly dangerous for another creature, or even for me if I pushed it.

Test 3 of non-lethal stunning electrical shortsword

I doubled the voltage, the amperage was tripled and the frequency halved, this was probably too much, but I had to find a proper sweet spot, and going overboard is usually the way to do it.

I finished modifying the parameters on the third rune once again, I doubt I will die from this, but... It will certainly hurt, if I die, I'm going to be really upset at myself.

This time I take a more cautious approach, levitating the sword in front of me, knowing that if I get stunned, my magic will cut out as most magic depends on conscious thought.

I touch the sword with the back of my paw, gently approaching until.

It hurt me, made me feel bad pain but worse yet it made my muscles on that leg involuntarily contract, it caused damage to me.

I yelped out in pain, dropping the sword from my magic and recoiling in shock, literally. That didn't do much damage, but it was very painful, it shocked me and made me close my hand forcefully, had I tried grabbing it, I would have gotten pretty hurt.

I guess that was a good enough proof that the sword was now past the non-lethal stage, it was definitively lethal, enough to cause bad pain, damage and possibly death if the target was stabbed with it or in contact with it too long.

I lifted the blade in my magic and turned off the enchantment on it, wincing at the tingling sensation on my left arm, I shake it gently and make a fist, before relaxing it, making the uncomfortable sensation go away.

Conclusion: far too powerful for non-lethal stunning, must decrease back to previous point and increase again by about 20%.

Test 4 of non-lethal stunning electrical shortsword.

A last tweak, the third rune should be set to the correct parameters.

I repeat the test, this time I set the sword and do it the safe way, using my tail instead of my foreleg, my long tail was pretty resilient and it was long enough that the electricity wouldn't have a large effect.

I looked back, lifting up my tail and with the very tip pointed down, I poked the edge, it didn't cause immediate pain but it made the long appendage coil itself without my control, the sensation of numbness spread over my tail and reached closer, all over the rear half of my body.

It works! It makes makes it difficult to walk, as muscles are locked up and I can't relax them, because I'm not grabbing the sword, the effect goes away quickly though, this time there's no damage as well.

Conclusion: complete success! The non-lethal sword is finished, it's actually still lethal, with it being a sword and all, but now if I touch someone with it, it's going to overload their nerves and make their muscles lock up uncomfortably, making them more or less paralyzed, but without actually electrocuting them. Now thinking back on it, using this enchantment on a sword with a sharp edge meant for stabbing and cutting was not the brightest idea I've had, but... Using this spell on a blunt weapon like a baton could be an amazing lol lethal weapon, without real risk of killing if used properly.

The risk was there though, that this intensity was way too much for the average pony, probably even lethal for them as they were a different species, and other factors like age or fat and muscle density, and of course their health and resilience to elemental damage and effects.

Experiment log ends here.

I finish writing everything down, after every test I describe what I do and what it feels like, the last one was the most satisfactory in terms of results, but I was a poor subject to try this on, a pony like an unicorn would be the ideal test subject, as unicorns don't have any resistances and their bodies lack any natural empowerment from their magic, unlike earth ponies and pegasi who have both resistances or simply increased thoughness from just being of that race.

I had just the right pony in mind for the job too, but of course I would have to adjust the power lower so he was not at risk of serious damage.

But for now that experiment was concluded, now... It's time to test another elements and their properties, now that I had a baseline for electricity, lightning, it's going to be interesting to see what element does what.

I was lucky to have so many useless shortswords laying around, so by the time I enchanted all of them, with different spells, I had a much better understanding of the process and my skill had increased a good amount, still I didn't have a way to add gems to weapons that was permanent, the resin trick worked only once because I only had a small amount of it, then I just enchanted weapons without elemental gems, deciding instead to practice my engraving skill to make the runes as tiny as possible on the sword.

The results were interesting. The smaller the engraving and therefore the writing with gem paste, the smaller the magical capacity of the enchantment, meaning that the gem paste couldn't hold much magic if there was too little of it.

This didn't really matter, not if you were able to embed quality gems on the item to work as a battery for the mana to power the enchantment.

By learning this fact, I could deduce that miniaturization of runic matrices could be possible, this much was obvious when I saw the examples I already had, done by far better and more skilled enchanters than myself: the Spirit Gem, and the Robes of the Occult.

This items, both were made with a method I didn't know about, one I could only theorize.

The Spirit Gem was both its own power source, as well as the item that was enchanted and the engravings were somehow made so small that they were mostly invisible to the naked eye, emphasis on mostly, because I could still make out runes and symbols all over the gem, there were hundreds of them, or more... Just how did they make it? Who made it?

I had no idea, someone far far in the past, I was under no assumption that I'd ever be that good at the craft, but understanding it would be at least a good plus.

The Robes were, more or less simpler to explain and rationalize, the material itself or whatever was imbued within were highly magically dense, able to gather and hold enormous quantities of magic, not to mention probably absorb the magic passively from the user to a rate that wouldn't inconvenience them to power the enchantments, reducing the cost of casting by half, it was a rune lost to time, the rune used to make it possible, to reduce the mana cost of spells, maybe I could reverse engineer it from the robes if I observed them more carefully, maybe they were secretly written somewhere within the fabric, or in a layer inside of it, I would definitively need to study this robes a lot more thoroughly.

Onyx has reached the Apprentice level in the Enchanter skill.

Today had definitively been a very very good day!

Author's Note

Thank you for reading!

Chapter 68 First Kiss

Sunday 31 July - Year 983

I spent most yesterday practicing my enchantment, adding and modifying variables, the sword mom wanted will have to wait, I needed to have a gem embedded on the pommel, for that I needed a blacksmith to make a base and enclose the gemstone with metal firmly, something I just didn't have the tools to do, I knew I could probably do it if I had a few tools and the metal bits already done but...

I didn't, good thing is we could have the pommel, that is able to be screwed on or unscrewed, done by itself with just knowing the diameter of the end of the handle of the weapon.

I already had drawn designs for the prongs holding the gems in place. For Sylf they would look good as fangs specifically the canines of a wolf, for Thunder they would be in the shape of feathers, for Coconut they would be in the shape of unicorn horns, and for me I just went with snowflakes in different patterns and shapes, some rectangular, other branching, snowflakes are very varied, and very beautiful natural shapes.

My fascination with cold is completely normal because that is my element, and what's not to like? I am attuned to it like ice to a glacier. I thrive in the lowest temperatures where others would die in seconds.

I smiled as I laid in bed, stretching and yawning lazily, it was a nice comfy morning of no school, and I felt accomplished from yesterday's experiments, I am in a good mood today, but now I need to head to Griffonstone to get the permits I need, at least the acknowledge of General Steelwing and King Treble.

I roll off the side of the bed, landing on the floor with a heavy sound of scales on wood, then get up and walk to the bathroom next to my room, where I do my morning business and then walk into the bathtub, I take a quick shower while I scrub myself nicely with a sponge and soap, then I shake myself dry and pat with the towel, after that I walk downstairs to get breakfast as usual, this time I wanted some tea, something floral.

"Heeey everyone! What's for breakfast? I slept in, hope you all had a lovely night." I speak as I walk into the living room.

Everyone is here, except the foals who sleep a lot, Thunder is by the touch with dad, and Sylf is sipping tea on the other smaller sofa.

"Slept in, didn't you son? Good, dragons should have more sleep than ponies. I have asked my goddess about dragon care and what I could do to be a better father to one, and she said dragons of all ages sleep for longer times, it helps them regulate their growth and to stay healthy and strong, just like it does for ponies." He explains with a fatherly smile, I decide to join them on the couch, as Coconut is spooning Thunder, I place my back against Thunder's underside and lay there comfortably, she wraps a hoof around my midsection and we both get comfy, the close proximity to the mare I now consider family makes me relax and make a softly purring sound.

"Morning you sleepyhead, like your father says, I'm glad you slept in, but you never really slept that long before, even when we were together, I think sometimes you slept less than me, I wonder why." Momma added to his words, looking at us cuddling with a loving expression. "You're all so adorable like that!" She exclaims, her tail wagging happily.

I nod and stick my lizard tongue out at her, opening one eye. "Look who's talking, you big fluffy plushie wolf! If you were to even fit in with us right now, I would demand you join us, but you're a giant teddy bear in canine shape and the sofa isn't that big." I pointed out with a small laugh then shook my head, focusing back on what she said first, I did sleep in nicely.
"I think it's because my brain is somewhat hybrid. Also, I don't think I'm the same type of dragon as the ones here, I've read that they breathe fire, but never read any about others having ice as their element." I tell them my thoughts, looking down at my own body, thinking further about my own self.

"I still have a tiny bit of human, a small part of my brain that includes fragments of my old memories, I don't really know how much, or what parts specifically, so yeah don't worry I sleep just as long as my mind and body want me to." I decide to turn around in her grasp and hug Thunder and Coconut's barrels with my forelegs, sadly too short forearms to grab both ponies at once in a hug, but I could at least touch the sides of his barrel too. "Whatever I am in my head, I'm sure I love the three of you, my life is wonderful thanks to all of you, just... Thank you for everything, and for giving me little siblings to look after." I said the last part with a mischievous tone, but I meant every word.

Having them around meant safety, not only monetary but also physical, and meant that I was more likely to survive the coming years, I felt in my soul that the next appearance of a dungeon was going to be the most brutal and dangerous one yet by far, and I couldn't let it be the end of us, but they have my back too and that gave me hope enough to be able to live.

"I speak for the three of us when I say that we love you a whole lot and we would do anything for you, isn't that right my dear herdmates?" He spoke while using his hooves to hug both of us tightly, feeling myself pressed against Thunder's fluffy belly and chest was lovely and comfortable in equal parts, I couldn't help the large smile on my face.

I can say for certain that this is my family now.

My old family... They'll be fine without me, they have each other and they will have to move on like I'm doing.

I'm not alone, not with this three here with me and the other 2 sweet little siblings sleeping on their rooms.

I knew Thunder probably feels the same way, I am growing used to her and she's growing on me definitely, at first I didn't trust her that much, when we first met in those very awkward circumstances, but she has proven herself loyal and loving, she's more like a friend to me, as I don't really need much babysitting unlike my siblings, most of her attention is directed towards them and that's perfect for me.

"Obviously, I think at this point we all know we are inseparable, now let's go get breakfast, I'm starving guys! And you Onyx dear, are you going to travel to Griffonstone to get some paperwork done, are you not? We need to make sure that we don't get in trouble with the guard because of those ores, to be fair I should have known there were laws against those, I don't know all the laws to be fair, I used to work only on patrols and learned the relevant laws for that, but not for this... Business deals are not my expertise." Sylf explained, while nudging us to get up, pushing everyone off the sofa with her snout, making both ponies fall on top of me, considering each pony weights around 100-120kg it was not an insignificant amount, I'm sure if I was a mere man, I would be in pain or even injured by this, but I was not even phased and I just nuzzled both of them more.

"Mooom! You didn't have to push us off! Well, now may as well get going, Thunder, dad? If I may?" I asked both of them with a muffled voice from underneath them.

"S-sure sorry Onyx, I didn't expect her to push us off, that was mean sweetheart! But I guess you have a point, time is of the essence!" He admonished her, getting up along with the pegasus mare and approaching her, poking her chest with his hoof while she just smirked at him, having gone back to the sofa.

"I'll get you back, you'll see..." The mare grumbled with a small blush on her face, looking at Sylf intently with less than pure intentions, I rolled my eyes with a small smile, of course that they would come up with something inappropriate to get even.

"What are you two gonna do about it, lovebirds?~" she teases and scoots to the edge of the sofa, jumping down and standing on all fours, towering over both of them and smiling smugly, she is about as tall as Celestia by now, seems like she's still growing.

They both look up at her, blushing slightly. "Well I'm gonna... N-no, can't say it with Onyx here listening, so you get off easily this time my love." He said with a small sigh, then turning to me and giving me an apologetic look. "I promised I would be more respectful towards you. Please let me know if I ever make you unconfortable, okay? after what happened in Griffonstone, I'm trying to be a better father figure and not get a repeat of that." He admitted with regret over this actions before, but I couldn't really blame him for it anymore, it's all in the past.

"You're fine, I'm over that already dad! Now... Let's go get breakfast quickly, I still have to get ready for my small trip, want me to cook this time, ma?" I ask, planning to make some delicious oat and dark chocolate porridge, with some diced strawbs and banana.

"Sure, let's go!" And with that we headed to the table and I to the kitchen, where I made breakfast, not even half an hour later, all of us were enjoying delicious oat chocolate milk porridge, a glass of apple juice and some diced strawberries and banana mixed into the porridge. A delicious and filling breakfast, specially after sprinkling a few teaspoons of small gems in.

After breakfast I started preparing to travel.

The next step was to gear up, putting on my mage robes, a bag with supplies was packed and stored in my pocket dimension, as well as something I wanted to bring to mister Gruff, a gift I think he would appreciate and would make his dish, the famous scones of his, more edible for non dragons.

Turns out that as a dragon, eating rocks is pretty common, the minerals in rocks and crystals have flavors that for others creatures can't get to because they can't break them down, griffons and ponies and other races don't exactly have the ability to digest or even bite into rocks, so is the case for griffon scones that lack baking powder, they're pretty much dense like rocks, it's possible to dissolve them in your maw if you let them soak in your saliva for a while, no better than hardtack.
Baking powder will surely resolve this issue, as long as he doesn't add rocks or twigs to the scones he should have a far higher quality and delicious product.

I brought with me around five hundred bits in case I wanted to buy something small, but I wasn't planning on spending much again for now.

I stood by the teleportation circle, having already said my goodbyes.

Magic surrounded my body in an invisibly vortex that I could feel, my own power, affecting the world, in this case, only myself and my bags, and in a flash of indigo, in less than an instant, I was thousands of kilometers away, on the backyard of the unofficial Griffonstone orphanage, it was unfortunate timing, because right as I appeared, a rubber ball bounced right on my head, making me blink in confusion.

It didn't hurt, but it gave me pause, I looked around and quickly spotted two girls, one around my age and the other much younger, I quickly realized who they were, right as they did, and both of them rushed to hug me.

"Onyx! You came back like you said you would, where are your parents? Did you came here alone?" Sable spoke in a happy and curious tone, nuzzling her beak to my neck and squeezing me pretty hard.

"Big shiny!" Gilda said in a childish voice while hugging my foreleg, her wings fluttering as she tried to pull my leg forward. "Go in!" She demanded.

"Hello you two dears, how has everything been lately my friends? I've come here on my own this time, my parents are busy." I answered with a happy smile of my own at seeing them, they were looking a bit better, probably a better diet.

But the little griffon reminded me that she was serious about me going in, and started pulling at my foreleg harder, making me chuckle but deciding to do what she says.
"Okay okay Gilda, I'm gonna go in and say hello to grandpa Gruff, don't pull my leg out!" I spoke with a pretend tone of alarm, as if she could do it, letting her pull my leg by not opposing any resistance for a while, before shrugging and walking forward, Sable let go of me and walked beside me and so did Gilda eventually when she realized I was walking where she wanted me to.

"Oh it's been great! Every since Treble got chosen as the new king, we have been having more regular meals! We have also new toys for Gilda and any other foal that comes by to play, grandpa can tell you more, but... It's really wonderful, what you did for us Onyx, I'll never forget it, no griffon here will forget it.
I promise, it's as if our fortune has turned around and now griffons smile more out on the street, they talk to each other, they hang out more too! I even made a few friends outside the orphanage, when before they didn't even want to talk to us." She speaks in a dreamy tone, sitting in front of me and holding one of my paws with her talons, looking into my eyes with hope sparkling on hers, hope and something else I couldn't quite place.

"All of that was your doing, I just brought back that golden relic thingy, nothing else." I just shrug, what else was I supposed to do? This only benefitted me and that's why I did it, not to help anyone.

If things are better for other nations they are better for me, and having allies is good, it's not like my actions were only positive for all, for the islander nation that tried to invade, I was the downfall of their attempt.

"You're kidding?!" She got visibly flustered and grabbed me by the sides of the head, shaking me around in exasperation.

I let her, relaxing my neck and letting her rattle my head around until I felt a bit dizzy, then she let go and using her talon, she patted my snout affectionately, making me smile at her in thanks.
"You're just gonna play dumb, aren't you? Well, I can't force you to see things as I do." She rolled her eyes and smiled, her face slightly red at the cheeks as she kept walking towards the door. "You're both the nicest and dumbest male I've met." She said in a soft voice that had something to it that I couldn't quite place.

"Let's go and at least say hi to grandpa before you go do whatever you are here to do, please? You'll make him happy, he has a lot of respect for you for what you did." Sable asked in a pleading tone, turning back and nuzzling my side to get me to agree. The answer was pretty clear to me, how could I say no to such an adorable and sweet girl?

"Of course! He was a wonderful host for our family, I can't ever thank him enough for letting us stay with him, and you as well, you helped make food, you were kind enough to hang out with me despite the fact that I'm eleven, and you are very adorable too. I should be thanking you Sable, you, Treble, Mr. Gruff and little Gilda here have been really wonderful hosts and you deserve to have happy lives in this wonderful city, and not struggle every day with hunger." This time I approach and nuzzle her side right under her wings, then look up at her face, showing that I meant everything I said. She looks pretty happy that I agreed and slightly pink on her face at being complimented, I could relate, I don't do well with them either.

"Now let's go see him so I can give him a little gift I brought for him." I smile warmly at both of them, then I approach Sable again and ruffle her head feathers, making them puff up, she returns it with a small punch to my shoulder with her talon and a giggle.

"You're just like Treble, he loves to mess with me whenever he gets the chance, you're lucky you don't have any fur or feathers or you would get the same treatment... Just you wait, someday I'll get you back!" She smirks and gives me a look that promises to return the teasing tenfold in the future, before opening the door and going into the hallway to the kitchen, where the three of us walk into and head to meet with the patriarch of the house, and there he is, sitting on the couch, reading the newspaper and having some tea.

He looks up from the article he's ready when we come in, then he smiles as he sees me there, I nod in greeting as I walk over to him. "Mr. Gruff, good to see you again so soon! How has the situation been at this lovely city? Hope that things have changed for the better, I come bringing you a gift, a small gift but it will prove useful for your business." I shake his talon when he offers it and then take my supplies out of my inventory, where the baking powder is stored, then start rummaging through the bag while we have a talk.

"It's grandpa Gruff for ya, young Onyx, what a surprise to see you visiting again so soon! Ya know? I never thought the day would come where I would look forward to tomorrow like I do right now, ya took this run down decadent nation and gave it hope, an' hope builds the future, it's made of hopes and dreams." Finally I find the jar and hand it to him, he holds it and looks confused, his head tilted to see it from various angles. "Wuts this now? Flour? Or some white spice I dun know about?"

"Oh no grandpa, it's baking powder, it's a very useful ingredient when you want to bake something to eat, I gift it to you, I want you to try adding it into your scones you make, for a whole batch, just add two teaspoons or so to the flour and mix it.
It should be enough, this jar here has a full kilogram of it, it should last you a while, and about giving hope? I just did what anyone in my place would have, trust me, I earned something from this too, don't take my actions for charity, it's something I had my reasons to do." I explain to him with a neutral expression, before giving him a friendly smile. "All of my plans require the Griffon Empire to return to its old glory and even surpass it, that I can assure you, now it's been a pleasure to talk, but I have business to take care of, see you later!"

He nodded, smiling back at me. "Am I glad you have our prosperity within your interests then! goodbye now young'un. When you come back, I'll have some tea ready, so please stop by!" He says as I walk out the door, I turn and nod politely before leaving without saying another word.

I walk out, it's lightly raining outside, cloudy gray skies, I smile at this, my favorite weather, along with snow.

I head to the castle, walking along the much cleaner city, all the debris and trash that littered the streets were gone now, there were still a few of the biggest pieces, but it was much better, and it seems that they were in the process of installing lamp posts, at least right outside the castle, all in less than a week since I left.

'Ah, look who decided to show up! I've noticed you as soon as you popped in, but now you're free to talk to, how interesting, don't you think? I wonder why you decided to come back so soon, my friend?' Of course, I sigh, mentally preparing myself to deal with him.

'Heya dude, long story short? All that ore I mined, turns out I need permission from King Treble or the General to be able to process it and keep it, otherwise it may be seized by the crown, and since we already showed the ore to the blacksmith... Well if I don't do what he says, he's going to inform the guards, and my dear mom will get into trouble badly, she may lose her job at the Royal Guard, and that would mean losing our house, and I like that house, so I came back to talk to them, and hopefully get them to sign a permit that allows me to keep the ore, something I really want badly, I need armor that's good for my family and I, so I'm back and with a mission, and how about you my high and mighty friend?' I answer truthfully, there's no point lying to someone who can read your mind like an open book, specially when he considers me a friend and I do consider him one too, even if we can't really hang out or do much other than talking whenever I'm inside his sphere of influence.

'That... Makes a lot of sense, I don't honestly know a lot about Equestria, honestly ponies weren't exactly the most neighborly, not that griffons were any better when I formed the empire, bunch of warlords with only short term goals.
The ponies had constant struggles amongst the three subraces for a long time until they were forced to come together into an alliance and later on, a nation, all of that from external pressure, this all happened as I was unifying my own nation, but I don't know much about their whereabouts now, after all I ascended when my nation was at its highest point and from there I just watched everything go downhill.' He gives me a little more context, while I keep walking, the black and red robes covering me and keeping me dry in the rain, except for my snout, paws and tail who didn't fully fit in the robes, mainly my tail.

'Then let me put things into context for you sir Boreas.' I decided to be respectful and explain the situation in Equestria.
'Now Equestria is ruled by a demigod princess who controls the sun and moon, she's a bit of a control freak, she may be improving in my opinion, but yeah she doesn't want "her little ponies" to suffer any inconveniences, she thinks they're made of glass or something, and acts accordingly, I can't really blame her fully, because she lost her sister to some otherworldly monstrosity, but it still annoys me having to deal with her laws sometimes, at least the most ridiculous ones, the only good thing is that the coming of age is legally fifteen, meaning that I don't have to wait till I'm 18 to legally travel alone, drink or work wherever I want.' I sigh and just shrug, at this point I'm halfway across the city, some griffons see me and wave, some come and say hello in person, I just give them a fistbump or a handshake depending on what they go for, and say a few pleasantries and move on, it's nice to be in a place where I'm treated kindly by the people.

Some go a bit overboard though.

This griffons sometimes stop me on the street and call me 'the chosen of Boreas' and I honestly don't see it, I just point out that the chosen of Boreas to rule over them is King Treble, I'm just the guy that got back the artifact back during a rappelling accident and of sheer luck, some seem convinced by my words, but still treat me with respect, while others just say I made it all possible so I should still be revered, and at that I point out that even if that was the case, I believed the King to be the one who deserves the honor, as he was actually chosen by the god Boreas himself, and that I fully support him and his decisions, that way no one gets the wrong idea that I'm looking to overthrow him or something silly.

It does get a bit annoying, fame doesn't really help me much, I mean I don't get paid for being famous, and no one is going to offer free services to me because I'm somewhat famous, nor will I let them, griffon are after all plenty greedy like myself, they don't really take exposure as payment, not do I believe in that bullshit.

I finally reach the castle, giving them guards outside a polite nod and lowering my hood, showing them my face. Both of them nod respectfully in recognition and open the door for me. "Welcome, Lord Onyx, the General and the King are training at the moment in the barracks and will soon be coming back to the throne room, you may wait at reception until they do, if you wish to talk to either of them."

I nod and walk inside, going to the long stone seats near the door, where I take most of the space by laying on my belly and stretch forelegs forward and hind legs backwards, sighing and enjoying the cold stone sofa, it's quite comfy honestly.

'Going up in the world huh? You're a Lord now! However you're being a lazy rump, that's not how a Lord sits now, is it? No one is going to take you seriously if you lay down like that Onyx!' The god of the griffons speaks in a mocking voice in my mind, his tone making it completely clear he's just teasing me, but it still makes me roll my eyes, yet I can't help but smile.

'Shut it, I'm just relaxing, it would be a waste not to enjoy this stone seat, it feels comfortable for my scales, I love sleeping on hard surfaces, but I rarely get the chance to, not that soft surfaces are bad, it's just I don't like sinking in when I sleep.' I mentally answer while groaning softly, closing my eyes and enjoying the moment.

'Yeah, I know, a close friend of mine used to love loafing around on any stone or metal surface he came across, I bet he has a bed of metal or stone now in his home, now pay attention, you have someone coming to talk to you, at least pretend you have more class.' He says, poking my snout magically and making me jump and let out a surprised gasp, but he gets what he wants, as I quickly get into a proper sitting position, my heartbeat increased from the unexpected touch.

I didn't know he could do that, fuck! That scared the hell out of me. 'Hey, you trynna give me a heart attack?! Also since when can you affect things outside with magic? I thought you weren't allowed to.' I ask with curiosity, sitting properly and straight, not feeling relaxed anymore.

'I have gained a lot of influence thanks to your actions, and while you are right that I can't just go around doing whatever with my power, I can play a prank on you, you are in a way, my champion, even if you aren't officially and you didn't get any powers, that means I can mess with you and Treble way more than any other creature, want me to turn you into a griffon?' He suddenly asks the last part with a serious and dry tone.

I blink in confusion at the offer, unsure if he's serious or not, before deciding I don't really want to change like that, I wouldn't be able to go to school and I would get in all sorts of trouble.

'No way, not only I like being a dragon, I also can't suddenly change or the school will not allow me entry, I will have to retake the entrance exam and I don't have any paperwork of being born a griffon!' I exclaimed mentally to the mischievous griffon deity, afraid of him actually turning me into one and I unable to turn back, I doubt my spells would even work on a spell created by a deity, they probably didn't even go by the same rules.

'Relax dude! That was a joke, goodness you're so easy to tease... You are perfectly capable as a dragon, and switching races like that would alter your ability to use magic, we griffons don't use magic like you do, and from what I can feel on you, you are a special case for dragons, as most dragons can only channel magic from their maws and breath, but you also have those channels on the paws.' He clarifies, I take a sigh of relief and not even a second later a griffon wearing armor comes around the corner, she gives me a polite nod before talking.

"Greetings Lord Onyx, the King has been informed of your arrival and he is ready to receive you at the throne room, please follow me." I nod back and jump off the seat, standing beside the guard.

"Great! How have things been since I left? Any other troubles? Have the Isles tried anything?" I ask with a serious and concerned tone, if they did... I'm going to have to do something about them, something I don't really want to do.

"Thankfully young sir, nothing bad has happened, no news other than good, Griffith Islands military activity has reduced massively in our territory and they don't even raid our ships anymore, looks like whatever deal you made with their General has worked, but General Steelwing surely will be able to tell you more, come through this door, the throne room is in there, head in." She gestures with her talon, then the doors are opened by another guard and I walk in, she goes and stands by the door outside.

Inside the throne room, it was very spartan, just a large stone throne with a large red cushion only, where my friend Treble is sitting, a tired look in his face, like he didn't get enough sleep, but his eyes light up when he sees me, recognizing me even in my robes. They're not exactly very concealing.

To the side, standing like an armored statue, is the only guard in the room, General Steelwing, who salutes me with a smile as soon as he sees me enter.
"Lord Onyx, good to see you again."

"Onyx! You came back so soon, that's amazing!" Treble stands up and runs over to me, I smile warmly and trot to meet him, we both stand on two legs and share a hug, he laughs happily and slaps my back, while I ruffle his head feathers, I nuzzle my snout against the side of his face and after a few more seconds, we move back.

"It's good to see you again my feathery friend, you look tired, are you okay?" I ask him with concern, after all, he suddenly had a lot of responsibility dropped on him, and a lot of stress too, running a nation couldn't be easy.

"Oh you have no idea how hard it is to be a king dude! Not to mention I just showered after training, the effort left me almost unconscious, training to be an elite soldier is... Really, really difficult, not to mention having to rule on top of it, I'm just glad that the General takes over during Saturdays so I can have some time to spend with my friends and grandpa, still I feel like my body is slowly getting used to training, still, I'm exhausted." He sighs, going back to sit on his throne while I approach and stand next to him.

"Well, how many times per week do you train? What about getting one extra day of rest? Maybe the whole weekend? I came here to ask you for a big favor my friend, I hope you don't mind." I recommend him, while just going for it and saying what I had to say.

"A favor? Sure! You know as long as it's not too much, I'll do my best to do whatever you ask for, and training for me is five days per week, but today and tomorrow are training days and then one day of rest and then another two days of training and then two days of rest. Oh and about having an extra day off? I will get time off once the nation is a bit more up and running, I just need to sort out a few things first, you know that site you said had amazing ore yields in the Abyssal Abyss? Well we are digging a large tunnel heading down there, making sure there is a way down that doesn't risk falling, it's going to take months to just open the way there, away from the strong current." He spoke with a hopeful tone about the construction project.

"Any news? Did the Islands pay their monthly reparation? How is the work on the railroad bridge from Equestria coming along? Up at the northern edge of the Empire?" I ask honestly curious, and hopeful.

He nods with an excited smile at my question. "Yes yes! The Islands have paid their monthly reparations and with those bits, I'm paying for the construction of the tunnel to the mine, it needs reinforcements and a lot of griffon workers to dig into the rock, it's hard work and we barely have enough tools as it is, but thanks to the extra bits, it won't be a strain on our treasury, the railroad bridge is however a different matter entirely, it's paid by the Equestrian Treasury, the workers are a mix of griffon and pony, working together, it's still a few years away, I suspect that our mine will be finished around the same time." He looks at the General for confirmation, and gets a nod from him.

"So what was it you wanted? You still haven't said, sorry for pushing but I'm tired and want to get some rest after, the General will take over meanwhile."

"I need a document that says that you allowed my mom to mine the ore I got from the crevice, this 'abyssal abyss' I need basically your permission to be able to have it worked on by a blacksmith, do you think you could do that for me?" I ask, bowing my head respectfully.

He grabs my head and pushes it up until our eyes are looking straight into each other's.

"Don't bow, you're my friend, now General, let's go to the table on the office next room over and write a permit for him, making sure it's clear he owns the ores he found, and that he has a right to mine within Griffon Empire territory, do you agree, right General?" He asked in a curious but no nonsense tone.

"Of course, he's a fine lad and he got the ore fair and square, he even told us about it, instead of keeping the knowledge over it to himself, now our nation has a possibly invaluable source of wealth for the future." The large griffon added, then we all walked to the office on the back of the throne, the next room over.

There, General Steelwing wrote the document, and both of them co-signed it, I read it over, making sure it was very clear that mom had in fact the right to those ores, including the platinum, before nodding to myself and storing the document in my inventory.

"Thank you, really thank both of you! Now I can get back home and only worry about going to school, my mom won't lose her job now, is there anything else I can help with while I'm here? If not, then I'll be going, or you want to go play, Treble?" I offer, I am here so may as well.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm far too exhausted after training to go play, and I don't think there is anything for now that needs helping, unless you want to help dig through rock on the tunnel to the future mining site, but don't worry about that, our griffons are working hard on that, have a wonderful time back at home, and please tell your family I say hi!" He dismissed me and I nod, smiling and giving him another hug before departing. Then I remember something at the last minute.

"Sorry, before I go, why do the guards and some others call me Lord Onyx? I'm just a civilian, no noble either, so why?" He looks a bit sheepish but smiles at me.

"I... Decided to make something for you, three things in fact, grant you full citizenship of the Empire, as well granting you a noble title, and property for your service to the nation, the property is a house, and it will be transferred to you upon your fifteenth birthday when you become legally an adult, I had the approval of the other nobles on this request, all of them decided that you deserve this, and so do I, as do the griffons of Griffonstone." He admitted, his unsure expression turned serious and determined, not giving the least bit of indecisiveness.

Was it going to be a problem for me in the future? maybe, but I could appreciate the gesture, it was something I didn't expect to get for helping them, I expected to get nothing in fact. "I accept! as long as I don't have any responsibilities associated with that title, also you can use my property freely until I turn fifteen. Really, this is extremely generous of you. I'll have something for you that you will quite like, I promise you won't outdo me when it comes to gifts!" I had an idea on a gift for him in fact. "But... I seriously got to go now, as much as I'd like to stay, I promised grandpa Gruff to have tea at his home before I return home."

"I'm glad you accept, this will be a source of great joy for the griffons living in our city, just knowing you have a home here and you visiting sometimes, you have no idea how much they adore you after the failed enemy invasion, the belief on the God of Wind has grown exponentially thanks in no small part to you, and they herald you as the one who manifested the miracle of the barrier." Ah, that explains why I get stopped on the streets and get called so many weird names even in whispers, I wonder how everyone found out.

"The barrier was all mister Boreas, not me, and you know it Treble, please tell me you didn't go around telling I had something to do with it?" I somehow already knew the answer, I smell it on him, more so when he swallowed nervously and looked away from my intense draconic stare.

"I... may have let it slip that you designed the barrier and you helped plan the defenses, sorry but the rumor is out of my talons by now, everygriff knows, from here to other cities. I thank you for your visit and look forward to that gift you mentioned, I'm still a griffon and I love a good gift!" Oh you feathery little fuck! So it's because of you that now everyone here knows more about me than what I would have liked. I take a deep breath and try to calm down, before sighing in resignation, he's my friend but he should have known better! Why would I want fame?

"Please don't tell anyone else anything else about me anymore, okay?" I asked in a demanding tone that clearly said it wasn't a request.

"Y-yes I promise, it was... I was really excited and proud of what we accomplished, of what you accomplished, and I wanted to give you the proper credit for it. I didn't know you would be inconvenienced, but I should have know! So many... I know it's not easy to be the center of attention, I'm sorry friend." He admitted his fault and apologized, I guess I could see why he would speak up about me, but I wasn't happy he made it a public announcement, an official one.

"I'm in enough trouble as it is because of helping your nation, I don't want griffons coming to me with everyday problems or I'll have to give up the title and property, understand?" He bowed his head apologetically and looked at me like a kicked puppy but nodded his head quickly.

"Y-yes, I... Is there anything I can do to make it up to you? I can talk some sense into the griffons here, if you think that could help?" He offered and I nodded, that seems like a plan.

"That's good, next time I come here, I hope you convince the griffons here that I want to be left alone and treated with respect, not adoration or fanaticism. Look, I don't mind if they want to come say hi, but I don't want it to get too out of claw, I like my privacy and if you ever want me to come stay here for more than a single day, you'll need to clear things up with your subjects so my family and I can feel comfortable in your city without getting harassed, it's all I ask." I ask with a significantly calmer voice, no anger in it anymore, I've made mistakes before too.

"I promise to make sure to not bother you, however I can only keep that promise within the city at most, my guards will mediate for you, and I'll announce that you are not to be bothered without first going through my guards." He looks at me seriously when he makes his promise, clearly meaning it, his talon closed into a fist on his chest.

"Thank you my friend, and sorry for my temper, I'll try to keep it under control as best as I can, just worried about getting the wrong kind of attention is all... Well, I'll take my leave now King Treble, goodbye." Having said what I needed to clear up, I give him a quick goodbye hug that he returns and turn around and walk back towards the exit, nodding to General Steelwing and closing the throne room door behind me with my magic.

Going downhill was faster, the sound of the rain had intensified and it was very nice out, if a bit humid.

I decided to linger around for a bit, going to the middle of town and standing there removing my robes and leaning against the statue of King Grover. I could calm down here, as it was raining, griffons preferred to stay indoors and I had at least a bit of time for myself.

Some griffons were flying around up in the sky even in this weather, I also saw that many headed towards the newly started hole in the ground that would become a future tunnel into the deep mines. Seems that not even rain can stop them from working if they wanted to, but most of the bird-feline hybrids were indoors.

I honestly didn't mind water, letting the rain wash over my scales, sensing every drop, it was nice, so I stayed for a few hours more just getting absolutely soaked. 'Quite the beautiful city, you know? maybe I shouldn't have gotten upset with him at all, I... I knew the risks of doing anything to help usually garners attention, I knew that others would notice and yet I did it all anyways, maybe the griffons around realized without Treble telling them, I'll go easier on him next time, I still need to get that gift done for him too.'

'I'm sure he won't hold this against you, but next time you see him maybe you can give him that gift you promised. And yes, it's going to get back to its glory days in a few years when the mine is completed. This is the nation I left everything behind for, I won't abandon them again, you made me change my mind on them and reminded me how much I cared and I want to thank you for that.' I could tell he meant that from his heart, I smiled and looked at the castle in the distance, it's beautiful really, far more minimalist than Canterlot's but also beautiful in its simplicity and design.

'I know you always did care, you just needed a reminder, now I better go back to the orphanage and then back home, I'll talk to you someday when I come back, I don't know when that will be, but it may take some time.' I stand back on all fours and start walking back to Gruff's unofficial orphanage, it's not far so it only takes me a few minutes.

'Please stay alive, my little friend, you have much yet to experience.' He spoke in a surprisingly caring tone of voice, I smiled and chuckled, it's good to feel like we are really friends.

'I'll do my best to not die, but if I do end up dying, save me a spot on your afterlife, it seems really fun in there from what you told me. I hope I get to experience being alive a long time still, so don't wait up.' I answer in a happy and unbothered mental voice, I mean it, having an afterlife of endless skies to explore and challenges to fight through without any danger of suffering real death? Sounds like fun.

'Deal, but seriously you better not come here for a few thousand years, if you come here sooner I'm gonna make you regret dying.' He spoke in a threatening tone, one that promised consequences that I definitively didn't want.

I ignored the fact he said thousand and not hundred, not ready to think about this philosophical nonsense right now.

I entered the house as he spoke, it was unlocked, inside the scent of tea was in the air.

A pot was ready, just like he said, and it was no coincidence as it's about 5pm.

I stayed a long time in the rain after all, just observing the city and the cloudy skies and thinking.

I sat on the table with the rest, Grandpa Gruff, Gilda, Sable and myself, I could see they were happy to have me, I feel welcome here with them, I feel something odd from Sable, I can't tell why but she's watching me more than usual.

We had tea, the four of us, mostly in silence, good company is sometimes enough to enjoy something as simple as a cup of tea.

After that, i had a few words of goodbye with the old griffon and with little Gilda, and headed accompanied by Sable to the backyard, where we had time to talk alone underneath the rainy skies.

"You're going back so soon? W-well... I thank you for your visit, you have made my day a lot better, I-i wanted to say... I-i think you have very beautiful eyes, I love how your slitted pupils look and they also glow in the dark slightly, it's... Honestly a-awesome." She stutters shyly, blushing and looking away after she's done, unable to look me in the eyes.

I feel my face cooling quickly as I blush too, what she said was really sweet, but I'm pretty sure she's trying to tell me she likes me, I wanted to compliment her too, but I wasn't good with them on the spot, so I fumbled terribly.

"A-and you are very adorable when you blush, you have lovely eyes, and... Your wings looks really pretty, as well as your black stripes on your orange hind legs!" I compliment her back awkwardly, although not stuttering as much as her, but I know my compliments are kinda basic and honestly they make me want to bury my head on the dirt.

I decide to add a bit of proof to my words, and I move forward, standing on two legs and pulling her into an embrace, or at least trying to, because I end up stepping on wet, very slippery and wobbly tile and so does my tail that I usually to stabilize myself, and I mess up slipping and falling onto my back like a turtle, pulling her down too right on top of me as I had grabbed at her foreleg to not fall.

Her beak pressed right to my snout in an almost kiss, and our bodies pressing together, I move my snout to the side when I realize, and now I feel way more embarrassed, and my face starts to get a colorful shade of indigo, even through my scales, I can see the glow reflecting on her eyes.

Those beautiful windows to her emotions, and surprisingly I see she is very glad this happened on her eyes.

We lay there, getting covered in rain for a while before I come to my senses and start to apologize.

"Uhmm... I-i apologize! I tripped on the wet tile, I promis-" my embarrassed rambling was interrupted by her beak pressed against my snout, and her tongue shyly poking my fangs, as she kissed me, she kissed me for real, not by accident, this was no accident, was it?

My eyes widened, I wasn't expecting this... But, as her smooth beak gently brushing against my lips, it felt tingly in a very pleasant way, it felt... Very good, and her tongue was licking my fangs for some reason, I was too shy to allow a deeper kiss that included tongue yet, but she seemed to understand and moved her tongue back.

We are basically the opposite in every way, and yet she didn't hesitate to kiss me, my eyes went from wide and shocked to focused, my pupils dilated and looking into her face, I started to smile and returned the kiss after a few seconds, having regained my confidence from earlier, I could taste the black tea and her distinctive and pleasant flavor of her beak, it was really unique.

It was my first kiss too that I could remember, it felt magical.

My smile widened, and I started chuckling happily after moving back and ending the kiss, feeling the worries about messing up fading and a growing sense of confidence, she giggled adorably too and I embraced her this time more confidently around her neck, she stayed on top of my clumsy self and we looked intently into each other's eyes.

After a minute, I spoke up first in a tone that was almost a whisper. "That was... my first kiss, and it was wonderful, I wasn't expecting it to feel so nice! T-thank you." I felt... Tingly and slightly euphoric for some reason, kissing really is as good as mom and dad make it seem. I get it now.

"S-so you liked it too? I loved it!" her adorable feathery tail wagged side to side while she spoke excitedly.

"Oh my gosh~ I-I was scared you would be furious! I liked you ever since I first met you, but I was scared that if I said anything in front of your parents they would pluck me feather by feather, you know? B-because I'm a bit older than you and... You're a male and ponies are more protective of their males, your sire maybe would be angry." She spoke nervously but also excitedly in a much louder voice than me, she's also blushing even more than me, this clearly was magic, there's no way a bird beak like hers or a dragon like me can blush! Not that it mattered.

I want one more kiss, this time I want to be the one that starts it, to take control.

"I-I didn't really know exactly how I liked you until just now, because... Honestly I don't know how to make the first move on something romantic. Whatever it is how we are now, but my parents, furious about you making a move on me?!" I snorted at the thought, they would tease me nonstop about it that's for certain.

"Pffff! They would probably throw you a whole party and everything, you're barely older than me, two years is nothing." I just start nuzzling the adorable griffon girl affectionately, with my eyes closed, enjoying the softness of her down feathers on her head.

"R-really? You think they would be happy? But what does this makes us? In the stories I read, a knight who kisses with a princess end up living together, happy forever after. But usually, in the stories they are both older... And neither of us is that old yet." Her hopeful idealistic view is quickly shattered by reality, she's right in the second statement, I can't nor do I want to be in a relationship other than friends. I will speak plain and truthful.

"I want to be close friends, but I did like that kiss and I would like to get one more, but will you let me give you one last kiss before I go?" I asked her in a soft voice, almost a whisper, not wanting to worry about stories or love, I liked her, maybe I had a crush on her, but I don't want to have any special someone, I'm not interested in that.

"Y-yes, but I'll miss you, w-" I interrupted her this time, stealing a kiss from her like she did to me, doing what I have watched countless times.

I smirked while I kissed her, this time I wasn't the one caught by surprise.

A much deeper kiss than the first, my larger maw was much more flexible and able to open more than her beak, so I was practically surrounding her beak from the sides with my snout, I made sure I pressed my lips to her beak a lot of times very gently, I kept my tongue close to hers.

Our tongues touched gently and shyly, we explored each other's mouths with curiosity.

Both of our mouths were very different outside but inside it was another story, having a curved palate, the only strangeness was the lack of fangs or teeth on her beak, that I was used to always being careful around in my own maw, but her having no fangs was not a bad thing, not in the least.

Oddly enough we had similar tongues, my own was longer and slightly thinner but hers was not as thick as a pony or wolf that I've seen.

As I laid there making out with her, switching roles now with me being the one to start it and my forelegs around her, my paws caressing her back, right between her wings, said wings were going straight up and fully extended, I lost myself and didn't realize that minutes had passed, she was the first one to get tired, and gently moved back, we separated and I licked my lips, enjoying her unique scent and flavor of her beak one last time.

She was blushing even more than before, there was a distinct look to her eyes and her expression that made it clear, she really enjoyed that kiss too, I felt a touch of pride in that fact, I didn't do too bad.

We stayed there, she was panting slightly, short for breath but I was fine, I waited for her to recover a while longer, then she spoke up first. "Onyx I... That was better than the first, definitively! H-how did you know what to do after just one kiss?"

"My parents, they're kissing at least a few times every day and many times right in front of me, I have watched many times and I copied what they did, but I was a bit more gentle and went way softer than the way they kiss, and honestly I learn as I go, it just felt right." I tell her the truth, while gently poking my snout against her beak, our gazes locked, I felt I could lose myself on those beautiful amber eyes.

"Oh! T-that I guess that makes sense, I really have no idea other than what I've read on a book on how a kiss was, until now that is, I hope it happens again in the future, I like you Onyx, next time want to go on a date together?" She asked with a surprisingly confident tone of voice, a date? A date could be fun, why not?

"We can go on a date, but... I want to clarify, we are just friends for now, okay? I like you and you like me, but I'm not ready for anything deeper than what we have now, I just don't feel ready, are you okay with that?" I ask in a soft and gentle tone, and surprisingly, she nods, she doesn't seem sad or anything. I let out a sigh of relief, regaining my smile, the last thing I wanted to do was ruin her good mood.

"I do, I know that those love stories i've read are just fiction, and I know you are still smaller than me, I... I don't regret kissing you though, but it's too early to think about being more than friends, I don't feel ready for more either just yet, I-I just think we can be friends who sometimes... Go on dates and sometimes we also kiss, does that sound okay to you, Onyx?" I nod with a warm smile, she returns it, I'm glad she understands me and that we think alike.
But I think it was time to prepare the spell to return, so I started forming the runic pattern in my mind.

"Well, I wanted to thank you for that wonderful kiss, I really enjoyed seeing you again Sable, but I must go home now, I have an important document to deliver and I want to do it today, so let me hug you one more time and I'll be gone, okay?" She looks sad to see me go, and honestly I was sad that we couldn't hang out more with her too, she is a lovely girl who gets what she wants while being sweet and kind, she's also very good at kisses, something I never experienced before, but now I want it again, I hope this doesn't become a problem.

"B-but... When will you come back again? Promise me you will at least visit twice a year or more, okay?" She begged, giving me a pleading look, basically on the verge of tears.

"Yes, I promise I'll come visit whenever I get the chance, it depends on what happens back home, and a lot of other things, okay? now... As much as I'd love to stay hugging all evening, you should get off me so I can leave, otherwise you'll fall face first into the floor when I disappear from under you." I warned her, and gave her a short affectionate smooch on the beak causing her to giggle.

I gave her one last squeeze, pressing her body to me before letting her go, she stood back up and moved a few steps back. "Thank you Onyx, stay safe, make sure you come back, please? When you do, I'll give you another kiss, I'll try to remember what you did so next time, I can impress you too." She spoke with a bit more confidence, making me slightly flustered.

"I-I promise I will, you take good care of Gilda and grandpa Gruff, your big brother Treble will take care of you, okay? See you later!" I gave her a wink and disappeared in colorful light the next instant.

I re-appeared back home with a crackle of magic, maybe I should look into making a silent version of the Teleport spell, that loud crackle was too noisy and I didn't want everyone to know when I teleported sometimes.

Yet I knew the amount of energy that dissipated after a teleport was enormous, having it dispersed as a shockwave was probably the most harmless way of doing it, but I could come up with another use, maybe kinetic or heat instead, to prevent the intense noise.

I appeared back at the third floor, my unofficial laboratory, where the magical enchantments were made.

I had a lot to think about, I brought my paw to my lips, blushing still from her last words. She's going to try to improve for me, that made me feel special.

But I couldn't stop thinking about what I experienced.

That felt... Incredible, no wonder my parents kiss so often, I suppose I already know they felt good, it's not like I haven't kissed both of them many times on the side of the face, but this was much different, it was with someone my size and around my age, it was not the same kind of kiss, either, it was far more intimate and I never felt something quite like it.

I smiled while prancing happily and heading downstairs to go give mom the document I got, today was interesting but I need to focus on something else for now, I think I'll stay doing some experiments with enchantment and then go to sleep early, after dinner of course.

"Mommy! I'm back, where are you?" I called out, unable to keep the cheerful note to my voice.

From her room she opens the door and comes out, a curious smile directed my way.

"From the way you're smiling, I'd say something good happened, and I doubt its just that you got the document you wanted, am I right?~" She knew right away something had happened, how?

"Yes! something wonderful happened, I got my first kiss momma, and it felt... heavenly, no wonder you and dad do it so often! Now I understand. But how did you know?" I admitted, unable to keep the pleased smile from my face.

I couldn't help but go back to thinking about Sable. I'm glad she thinks like me, remaining friends, at least for now is the best thing we can do, sharing a few kisses was surprising, but very welcome.

"You're smiling in a way that can only mean good news, the way your eyes are sparkling with joy, I could tell right away, you're also bouncing around like a hyperactive pup." I blushed a bit, realizing she was right about that last part, I was acting a bit too happy, but I couldn't help it. "Who was the lucky filly, or colt?" She asked in curiosity, a mischievous smirk on her snout, I didn't see the harm in telling her, the person I trust most.

"Sable, turns out she liked me since we first met, and I like her too, I don't think I'm in love with her or anything, but I definitively like her and think she's beautiful and adorable, but after kissing, I feel... I think I like her much more, is that not... wrong? I could use your advice here momma, I've never really done anything like that, and while I had crushes before and I fell in love, It never worked out, back then I mean, you know?" I asked her, honestly curious about what advice she could provide me, she had some experience when it came to love, while I honestly had none.

"Ohhh Onyx congratulations! Sable is indeed a really wonderful filly, she made us tea cooked for us, and she's good at it too." She cooed and sat down, then grabbed my cheek with her magical hand spell, pulling on it playfully while nuzzling my snout, I couldn't help but giggle and gently lick her own snout in return, we both ended up laughing from this and the nerves from talking about this dissipated like smoke in the wind.
"You don't have to fall in love right away with someone for a relationship to work, real friendship, as well as love, usually starts slow and grows over time, steadily, it can start... quite strongly too, like me and Coconut." She admitted, her face turning slightly crimson even through her black coat, her eyes unable to look into mine for a few seconds.

I giggled and just nuzzled her chin until she calmed down, deciding I should share what I felt too, in the moment.

"I kind of did the same, in that moment I just knew I wanted to experience more.
A kiss the way lovers do it, she kissed me first, it was absolutely wonderful, even if I was taken by surprise, but the one I started was even better, I wanted to try being in control I was curious as to what it felt like, both ways were sweet so yeah."
I paused, thinking how to best describe that situation to her in a short way.

"That's how it happened, and she liked it too! I feel happy mom, I more or less copied what I've seen from you all, the way you and dad kiss, and I have to thank you two, because it worked!" I cheered and jumped her in a tight hug, feeling honestly really thankful their helpful shows of love.

"Thanks for giving me plenty of examples by kissing right in front of me so often!" I spoke with a half sarcastic and half serious tone, making her chuckle and lay her snout on top of my head.

"You're very much welcome, I told you that you would find someone that you liked, what you two did is an adorable first step into what I can describe as one of the most wonderful adventures in life, that is love, even if you start as friends, it's a first step and for that I really congratulate you!" She sat down on her hind quarters and I laid my head against her neck, she really is happy for me, it sure makes me glad that I told her. I bet she has good relationship advice.

"Maybe you should go tell Coco and Thunder?, or you want me to keep this a secret?" She asked with a small smile, I just shook my head.

"I'll tell them later, for now, me and Sable are friends anyways, no need tell anyone, I told you because you're the person I trust the most, but if it comes up, ill tell them." I clarified with a small smile, Its not that I was against telling them, I just didn't feel it was that big of a deal for now.

"That's understandable, I'm glad you told me and I promise to keep this between us my dear. Oh by the way, tomorrow we are going to delivery this documents first thing in the morning, you can go do whatever you want now, but don't go to bed too late or you won't wake up in time, okay dear?" She spoke softly, then gave me one last lick across the muzzle like wolves do and turned to go back to her room.

"Kay! I'm going upstairs to do some research until dinner, thanks for the talk, love you!" I said my goodbyes and headed up, I had some things to work on now, some things have definitively piqued my interest.

I needed to draw what happened to me, I wanted to immortalize that moment of griffon and dragon kissing for the first time under the rain on a tile floor backyard, with the Griffonstone's towering branches and castle in the background.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading! Onyx has a wholesome time and gets a beaky kiss from a girl who likes him.

Chapter 69 Highschool's first incident

Monday 1 of August - Year 983

Father had decided he would go help ponies, to heal them with his powers, we shared dinner last night, then he left for the train station this morning. Mom recommended for him to visit Fillydelphia, an idea I was reluctant to agree to, but I had to concede that it was the largest city, with the most ponies in need of help, but I told him that he should be careful, and that I hoped that his goddess would at least look after him, help him if needed.

Oddly enough I heard her voice shortly after saying goodbye to him.

And by her I mean the goddess, her voice I heard one time before, it was soft and caring, yet I could feel the power behind it. She is definitively the goddess of harmony, Faust.

'I promise I'll keep him safe Onyx, you know he means a lot to me, I'm not just a voice asking for favors.' Her honeyed voice soothing me, yet I didn't fully trust her to do as she says, could she even interfere with mortals? I wasn't sure, but maybe it was a system of favors, that could be it?

Dad helped ponies for her by healing them, and she in exchange, offered him power and protection from whatever bad thing could happen to him.

'Oh! G-goddess Faust, right? I'll trust you, but forgive me for saying this, but if something bad were to happen to him... I'm going in there, to the fields of Elysium and I'm dragging you here to help me get him back, safe and sound, do you understand?' Despite my slight fear of powerful entities, I threaten her, being completely serious, I would not hesitate to get her help in saving my dad, even if it meant I would have to drag her out of wherever she is, yet somehow I will have to get that far.

This may be going too far, but if she is as good as he says, then I should not worry about her becoming angry.

'I would never abandon him to a bad end, If anything where to happen to him and I could not intervene for some reason, I would call you to help right away, I would keep you informed to where he is at all times, he is connected to me by his devotion to harmony and the amulet too, Onyx I promise to keep him safe as long as he stays in the side of harmony, and we both know he will. Also... I await patiently for the day when you and your family comes visit my realm, I want to have a talk to you about how I could further protect and empower you all.' So... She is offering more power, it would be foolish to not accept, I wonder what could she offer us? And most importantly, what was the price?

'We could do that, next time we are all together, is that okay? I need to go get ready for school now, so... Talk to you later, as much as I would love to ask about all the details on the way you have to protect someone, I don't want to be late, I hope that's okay?' I asked, getting a mental acknowledgment from her and silence after.

I get ready quickly and prepare my bags, books and writing implements I'll need for a today, getting sure I have everything ready, the correct books too.

The streets are packed with ponies and occasionally, although rarely another creature, everyone is returning from vacation and jobs start again, as well as school, the rush hour, when everyone either goes to school or work is now, and there are dozens of ponies around me, most of them walking the same way as me, towards upper Canterlot, although some head to the middle city, and are going the opposite way.

I sometimes wave at ponies I recognize, some I've crossed before, others are just family friends, but after living here I start seeing some familiar faces, the city is very alive today, but it doesn't take me long to arrive to the school, I am wearing my school uniform, it's a simple white shirt, with a small, red tie that goes around my neck.

Celestia's School of Magic is a four story building, having gardens around, and its open plan, students are entering now, and heading to their classes, teachers had already arrived early to prepare the classrooms and hang up signs, the school was packed with students, all heading to different classrooms, I remembered my classroom well, it was the one all the way in third floor, I had honestly forgot what classes we had today, but soon I would find out.

As I headed to my classroom, a slight bounce on my step in excitement from getting back to a routine of learning and hanging out with my two friends, I unknowingly approach a group of fillies my age, out of habit, I greet them with a friendly "Good morning!"

I don't expect a response, and keep walking towards my locker room to put my bags, not realizing that behind me, those three fillies I greeted earlier stepped up smirking and giggling, the sound was oddly enough not as friendly sounding as I am used to.

I turned around after placing my bags and closing the locker, knowing there were there, but I immediately recognized them and I could only sigh in frustration, I knew this ones well.

One has light yellow coat with darker yellow mane and tail, her name is Lemon Drop. The one next to her was a green mare with two tone blue mane and tail, who's name is Right Angle, and the third is pink coated unicorn filly with a fiery red mane with pink highlights, her name is Flaming Rose.

Had I not known them by now, I would have said they are easy on the eyes, their colors being pleasant and beautiful like pretty much every single pony in this world, as ponies often had very shiny, well groomed and healthy coats and manes.

That was not the problem with the three of them, it was altogether different.

They had very unlikable personalities, somepony or ponies, most likely their parents taught them that non ponies were monsters or something.

That's what I can assume from the way they treat me, I was not usually sure why this even happened, my only possible explanation as to why some ponies were so xenophobic was the fact that they were part of a very sheltered society, they had no hardships, not much crime, no wars, no famine as far as I know, no serious pandemics or other issues that transcend such issues, not that humans were much better when it came to xenophobia, humans not only hated other humans based on skin color but also nationality and a lot more, ponies hated other species, which was not exactly the same but...

I guess now I know what it felt to be a minority. Not that it was new, Celestia made me feel like I was some sort of potential serial killer that she had to intimidate into compliance that one time, that left a mark on my mind I wasn't sure I could forget or forgive fully.

Focusing back on reality and on the fillies in front of me, I greeted. "Hey Drops, Angle, Rose. Hope your vacations went well, good to see you three in a good mood, what do you have for me today?"

I knew they had something planned this time. "So lame, trying to get us to stop by being polite? It won't work, you deserve no politeness from us." Rose, the 'leader' of the little group spoke with a dismissive tone, and the other two nodded, gathering their wits. "She's right, you should not even talk to us, you know monsters like you don't belong on this school, now stop looking at us!" Lemon spoke, an angry look on her eyes, but she still had a bit of a mean smile on her. Right Angle didn't say anything, and just glared at me.

Then nothing happened, I was about to turn and head to my classroom.

"Now!" until they used a spell on me, I was splattered by magically created paint suddenly, my uniform, my saddlebags, and my face were covered in multicolor paint, the magic made it almost impossible to wash off right away, it would fade in a few hours sure, but my uniform would be ruined and I would look like a fucking clown during our class!

"Hahahah good luck getting that off loser! its magic that lasts for hours, and you look ridiculous! Clown." Rose mocked me and they giggled and ran off ahead into the class, playing the role of innocent little fillies, as I uselessly try to wipe off the paint from my face, letting out a small sigh of frustration. Why does this always happen to me? Why was there never a teacher or an adult around that said anything to them?

I let out a little sad exhale, they were definitively creative, from trying to intimidate me with words, to physical violence, to insults, and now resorting to actually using spells on me, spells that while not illegal, were considered a prank spell, or applied like they did, a self defense spell. Not as bad as pepper spray, but not good either.

I walked towards the guys bathroom, where I entered an unoccupied stall, once in there, I used dispel magic on it to make the sticking effect go away, and the paint dripped down from my face and head, as well as my clothes for a few seconds, then it all dissolved into light as the spell failed completely, unmade by my own, restricted spell.

I just shrugged, what can I really do about it? They're just dumb fillies, did I mention that this spell temporarily blinds you? at least having my blindsight was a huge help for cases like this.

I washed my face quickly to freshen up after exiting the stall, and I dried myself with magic, and now I was ready, well cleaned and groomed for class! Not that I had any hair to straighten.

I walked the rest to the way to the classroom, looking for an empty seat, there sitting by the middle, I saw my two friends, Cadence and Ruby, who I waved excitedly at both, they smiled happily and waved back.

Thankfully, I wasn't late, and the annoying three fillies looked at me with surprise that quickly turned into anger, their little prank had not gone as swimmingly as they had hoped at first, and now... they probably want to mess with me some other way.

lucky for me, and unlike them, I knew how to dispel magic, it was a spell closely kept secret by the Royal Guard, because being able to just dispel any magic done by a guard would make it a lot harder to capture a unicorn, and it could cause havoc on everyday magic systems, including home security systems using magilocks.

At least they didn't have time to think up another prank to play on me until the teacher arrived, Professor Inkwell, a white unicorn mare with brown mane tied in a ponytail, she must be around 55 or so years old, and was blind on her left eye, from what I've heard she was in some sort of serious incident that she herself helped solve, involving, worryingly, an invasion of shadow monsters to Canterlot a few years before I was born. Could this have anything to do with the World of Dreams? the other side of the veil... I hoped not, but where could have this creatures even come from if not from there? Better to not entertain those thoughts for too long, not when the teacher is speaking.

She greets the students and begins her class on the various runes and their meanings, something that I payed close attention to once I stopped thinking to myself, taking notes of every single rune she mentioned, and her explanation on them.

She talked about the intricacies of every rune, the way they were applied, and how they could be combined together to form spells, the spells used everyday, she explained which runes formed them. I decided to ask a question, something I already knew the answer to, but wanted to hear it from them, so I raised my foreleg.

She looked at me with a raised eyebrow and nodded, pointing her hoof at me. "Yes, Onyx, right? What is it?"

"What happens if you combine runes to create a spell, but instead of using the already established spells, you make something new?" I asked with a curious tone, her look turned stern, yet not fully angry.

"You do not do that, ever, do you know why, Onyx?" I shake my head, but another pony lifts her hoof, Cadence, the teacher points at her. "Yes miss Cadence? Do you know the answer?" Cadence nods at that. "Go ahead, explain to your fellow student why then."

"Because, if you don't use properly tested spells, and try to mix and match runes, you have a very high probability of creating a dangerous or even deadly spell in unexpected ways, a spell that could cause great harm to you or those around you, or worse." She spoke in a serious tone, looking at me with a worried frown, then to the other students and then back at the professor.

"That is correct, miss Cadence, you understand now, Onyx? the reason we don't drift away from well established runic matrixes is for the safety of everypony, runes by themselves are very simple concepts, but they have many variables, as well as hidden intricacies, which make learning them and using them correctly, a bit difficult.
The reason most unicorns don't usually learn past Telekinesis or their cutie mark related talents is because runes are difficult to master, and for casting other spells easily, you need either a cutie mark that guides you, or you need to study, learn, and practice a lot of runes and their correct order, is that clear everypony?" She explains, then ask the class.

"Yes Professor Inkwell!" The class answers almost as one, I smile, satisfied at the explanation, this mare knows a lot clearly, probably knows more about runes and magic, at least everyday magic and runes, than myself.

The class continues without interruption afterwards, I double check my notes and make sure I have all written down, and diagrams and drawings of the runes she explained and showed in my notebook, this class has been amazing, Professor Inkwell is a badass, she clearly is a powerful unicorn, and kind hearted as well, she treats me like any other student.

Next class was maths and physics, something that I really struggled on as a human, but I found myself much better at this time around.

Professor Neigh, an earth pony with crazy looking black mane and gray coat, he was nice enough, if a bit eccentric, but that just made his classes more fun and interesting, always pulling some interesting example for us to understand a concept, something that I really appreciated specially in math class. His class was uneventful, we did some math problems and many went to the front, completing math problems and physics problems on the blackboard, it helped build confidence if anything.

It had been 2 hours by now, and only the last few classes remained, 3 more hours to go, but for now it was recess.

The bell rung, and everypony ran out of the classroom, except for me Ruby and Cadence, who came to sit next to me, we finally had time alone. "Onyyyx, it's been so long since last we met! how were your vacations? Where did you go? everypony was worried because no one was at your house, we even went there to see if you wanted to hang out, but no one answered, we figured you went on vacation with your family." Cadence spoke first, pulling me into a hug with her small wings and her hooves, I got out of my seat to be able to properly go and hug her, and so did she and Ruby.

"She's right, tell us everyyything! I missed you, the others missed you so much too, when did you come back?" Ruby got up and trotted over, joining the hug, I just held both of them close to me, closing my eyes and enjoying their presence, their scent and their warmth close to me again.

"I've missed you so much you two, and the others... We have to get together and hang out this weekend, are any of you free? Okay explaining what happened and where I went will take too long, how about we talk about this in our next little get together, that sounds okay?" I asked while nuzzling them both, they're awesome, I am excited to see all my friends again too!

"Yeah, that sounds reasonable." Cadence answers with a slight nod, smiling at me with that sweet smile of hers, she looks so adorable... "It's also my turn to host, I hope you're ready to spend a full day in Canterlot's Royal Castle, it's gonna be soooo exciting! You'll see, even auntie will join us, we will have games and other fun things ready, it will also be your welcome back party, are you okay with that?" She asks with excitement and cheer in her voice, it's contagious because now I feel the same way.

"Yeah! Let's do that, I'll do my best to also help, if you want I can go help set things up, I'm good with magic remember?" I offer, bouncing in place excitedly. They stand beside me and Cadence nods, seeing my eagerness to help.

"Oh why not? I'm sure auntie would love to have you around, she seemed very interested in you last time she saw you at your house, teaching us magic."

"Hey how's Shining doing Cadence? It's been a while since we had time to spar, It would be fun to do it again, also I wanted to talk to you about something, do you know what's the deal with those three fillies that always seem to have a problem with me? They keep harassing me and I can't really do anything about it." I decided that I may as well ask her if she knew anything, because I didn't want any problems with them. "I just want them to leave me alone, do you think you could set up a conversation with them, so they stop bothering me?"

She gains a thoughtful look and then nods. "Sure, if they are picking on you, maybe you can talk it out, I'll get them to come over, they will most likely listen to me, you know why." She gestures to her wings, flapping them slowly to get the point across.
"And Shiny? He's doing good, he is becoming a very strong colt and he may even surpass you soon, but don't worry about him, you'll see him on the weekend and you will be able to hug him as much as I know you want to~" She teased, all of a sudden, I felt flustered by her words and avoided her gaze, but she had a knowing smirk on her face.

I give her a small glare, before speaking up in a defensive tone.

"Of course I wanna hug him! He's my best friend, and I miss him and all the others a whole lot.
Stop giving me that look... I-its not like that, we are just friends, he's your coltfriend already!" I don't realize I was raising my voice by the end, and end up almost shouting the last part, I blinked, my snout going visibly glowing in embarrassment, why did I raise my voice like that? I looked away, shaking my head, quickly thinking about another topic on the spot.
"I'm sorry for raising my voice Cadence, I just feel really annoyed from having to deal with those three fillies from earlier and I took my anger out on you, can you get them to come over so I can talk to them, like civilized beings? I'm tired of getting harassed every day, even after vacations they just won't stop. Please? I-I know its a lot to ask even after I yelled at you, I guess I've not got it all under control as much as I would have hoped." I spoke softly, my blushing going away and under control as I found a topic that really made me feel bad, I really want to get this over with, I don't want to deal with bullies, even after realizing they can't hurt me, they still try their best to annoy me to death and just make my school hours as miserable as they can.

They've already dumped my ink bottles in the trashcan three times, and they even poured ink into my books, I had to re-buy a few of them and it felt like a waste. Stupid pranks, I wish they would go back to trying to hurt me physically, that was at least amusing, not this tho.

Their attempts may get me to the point I snap and do something stupid like hurting them, I need to keep my emotions under control at all times, this I have some experience with, thankfully.

"Oh no, you have the wrong idea, I don't want to get in the way of your friendship at all Onyx, I promise!" She was serious, her eyes meeting mine, then she gives me a small kiss on the side of the snout, making my eyes for a second, then I smile and kiss her back, making her giggle in turn. Her lips are soft, and warm. I realize I'm getting a bit flustered again, but I don't care if I look a bit purple.

"And Shining really likes you, he talks about you a lot and how much he looks up to you still, I'm sure next time you meet, he will want to have another sparring match with you to see how he measures up now... I have an idea for that, in fact heheh~
Sorry about teasing you though, I'll go out now and get those three fillies to come talk to you, wait here and try to relax, I care a great deal about you, don't forget about that Onyx." She ends up giving me gentle nuzzles before walking out, while I stayed with Ruby Ray, sitting there, feeling confused about my emotions, whatever she did... It sparked a fire in me that I was all too familiar with, the same emotions I felt after kissing Sable.

I decided to not think about it now, there is nothing I can do about this with Cadence, she already has a coltfriend, doesn't she?

"You know she's right, Shining isn't going to stop being your friend just because he is getting close with Cadence, and he still sees you a friend and a rival, I know for a fact he is not giving up on either, so you better be ready." She stands beside me, placing her left leg over my shoulder and pulling me close to her side.

"You also have other friends who really like being with you too, me for example, as well as everypony else, don't forget that my silly shiny friend, and you better get ready for the weekend, because you will be piled on for all the time you were away, and not only by me, got it?" Ruby uses her magic to boop my nose, then pats me with her hoof on top of the head. "You are clearly lovestruck, Onyx." She adds with a smirk, I look away, not daring to make eye contact because I know I can't hide how I feel from her, she knows me well, even better than Cadence.

"Am not." Its clear that I don't even believe in those words myself.

"Well, everypony in our group knows you have a crush on her, what I wonder is if you also have... some feelings for... her coltfriend perhaps? I'm not deaf, or blind Onyx, the way you raised your voice and got all defensive about it, not to mention the fact that every time you get flustered, you literally glow like a hearth warming decoration in this colorful shade of bluish purple? It's very obvious better to just admit it, we all support you on this, In fact I think even they know." I couldn't stop myself from gasping in shock, they ALL knew?! All this time... I was speechless, wanting to disappear into nothingness, and yet I couldn't just go and skip class, not to mention the fact that using magic will raise plenty of questions.

I sighed, pretending I wasn't blushing more than before, and tried to play it cool, but of course I knew I was blushing.

Of course, because of magic, dragons could visibly blush, just as much as ponies, despite both having scales or fur in the way that should make it impossible to see, it was worse for me because I have bioluminescent blood flowing through my veins. There was no point in hiding it then, in a way, it felt good to admit the truth.
"Hmph. Fine, I-I like both of them, ohh I haven't told you yet, but I also have met a girl back in Griffonstone that I have feelings for, during my vacations, so Ruby, I can say with complete certainty that I'm a complete and utter mess when it comes to all of this romance stuff, I don't really... I don't know a lot.

I exhaled, feeling somewhat relieved, there was no secret now, nothing to hide, was there? At least when it came to my feelings, I wasn't ready to talk about my past with them, not that it seemed believable, the only reason my family even believes me is because I have proved to them my abilities and they have benefited from them.

Maybe this is how it should have always been, maybe I should not have hid my feelings from my friends, not this kind of things at least. Ponies are very much open about their feelings, and that explained why I was relentlessly and shamelessly picked on by those fillies, they showed the good and the bad without an ounce of moderation, maybe I should not back so much... But I'm not a pony, and I knew if I were to just act out on my feelings, I wouldn't be as nice to bullies as I am now, sure I didn't plan on beating up anypony but I would at least speak my mind.

"Despite keeping secrets from you, you stay beside me? I don't deserve such wonderful friends Ruby, I... I know you don't need me to tell you this, but thank you for making me see things like they really are, my feelings towards others sometimes confuse me, and I try to keep them to myself, now I realize maybe that is not the best idea if it makes snap at my friends out of jealousy. And no, its not jealousy about them being together, its..."
I looked down and fidgeted in my seat, unsure how to say this without seeming unstable. Even though I am pretty sure I could be considered unstable if I were to go to a therapist.

"I just fear that my best friend who I've known for years, started to drift apart from me because he found a fillyfriend, but I shouldn't be worrying about that, even if he did, he has the right to, I should respect his decision, and value his friendship right now. But a selfish part of me doesn't want to accept it and let him go, a part of me wants both of them." I sighed as I explained how I felt sometimes, they really are wonderful, what I did not expect, was getting smacked in the belly by her magic, It didn't exactly hurt much, but it pushed the air out of my lungs and made me gasp, yet clearly, it wasn't meant to hurt me, just get my attention, and show she was pissed off.

"Don't ever say that! Don't ever say you don't deserve us or any of that nonsense, its not true Onyx, and you know it... And also, you are within your rights to have secrets and not tell anypony, we all have secrets you silly colt, but revealing your secrets to others can make you feel like a huge weight taken off you, I'm sorry for the hit, but you deserved it for even implying that you are not deserving of us, and its not like I could ever hurt you, your scales are slippery to magic, I had to put a lot of oomph into that telekinetic pulse to even get a reaction out of ya." She spoke with a serious, slightly angry tone at my words, not happy in the least about my self deprecation. then she hugged me again, nuzzling my neck and getting lower, tilting her head and pressing it my chest, making me feel a bit confused for a bit, nopony did this before, but I can't deny that it felt comforting. "How about you make it up to me for what you said huh? I think you know what I want~"

"I'll do it no problem Ruby, I know just what you want my adorable and cuddly friend~ Next time we go out together, I'll get us both as many hayburgers as you want, from that good burger place that makes them just like you like em!"
I wasn't a big fan of hayburgers, I much prefer snacking on real fries and burgers, they have pork and chicken burgers around the areas with the most griffon populations like lower Canterlot, I had a map of the best locations back at home, a tour guide for griffons and other omnivores like diamond dogs and dragons.

"Ahh you know me well! Good colt, hey... Onyx? I think you will make a good coltfriend someday, oh, and don't think I forgot about what you said, you better tell me everything about this filly from Griffonstone you have a crush on, but that can wait until tomorrow, when everypony is present, so we can hear what happened in detail." I swallowed fearfully, then nodded, no way I could say no to her after everything, everyone knows Ruby is the boss.

Cadence... I like her, and I like Shining too, I am not sure how I like them yet exactly. Maybe its just a crush and nothing else, but what I'm sure off is that they're both my friends, no one is trying to take them from me. I smirk and chuckle softly to myself, it's kind of funny, maybe I am just as greedy as Celestia says dragons are, wanting to hoard all of the ponies for myself, I bet if she knew, she would have some snarky comment about how all dragons are the same or how I disappointed her, well, that doesn't matter now.

"What you laughing about?" She obviously hears me and ask with a raised eyebrow, now I obviously need to give her a reason, and I don't think I feel like lying to her.

"Its... funny you know? I can't really make out what I really want, maybe I don't just want one pony, and that is what causes me some confusion, I think that's why they say that dragons are greedy, because I have a crush on three, at the same time, what if I start liking a fourth? Just three is already a mess."

"Don't be ridiculous Onyx, you know that ponies have herds of around 5 ponies? sometimes more! You have no reason to be ashamed or think its anything but normal, I've been given the talk by my dam this year, turns out ponies form herds because stallions are born much less often than mares." She explains in a conspiratorial whisper on my ear, as if the last part about there being more mares than stallions was a large, well hidden secret. It makes me smile and honestly feel much better, hearing her say so, despite already knowing that the numbers were unbalanced, it felt... reassuring to hear she thought It was not a bad thing. "But I didn't know a colt could like another colt, that Is weird! My dam didn't ever mention that colts could like other colts, I'm sure it's fine, because maybe dragon colts do like other colts sometimes, do you know how that works?" Nevermind, of course it would be weird in Equestria for male ponies to be with other males at all, considering they're fewer of them.

"I guess it's a bit weird that I like another colt too, isn't it?" I let out a humorless chuckle. "Maybe I'm confused and I don't know what I'm really feeling."
I decided to thank her for her support nonetheless, as she clearly meant it and she wanted me to be myself, she is a really supportive friend.
"But nevermind that, thank you, I really needed to hear your opinion, as silly as It sounds, that topic was bothering me." I give her a genuine smile this time, using one of my paws to caress her red coat on her back. I couldn't blame her for not understanding same sex relationships, not that I did completely myself, I just knew I was feeling that way.

"You're welcome, also, if you're getting us all some hayburgers, that means you're also getting us ice cream after, I hope? And you shouldn't worry so much, you've been wonderful to us, all of us, I promise I'll never just up and leave your side. You'll be seeing me a lot too now since school's back in full and we have to prepare for exams together, hope you'll help me with the practical part, you got nothing but top grades on everything since we started, how do you even do it?" Ruby is clearly excited about my offer for her favorite foods, and honestly I too am excited to share dinner with my best friends in the world.

I couldn't just say that I was really smart and leave it at that, could I? It was honestly the truth, I could understand everything that was taught to me, and deduct the rest, I was able to read much faster too, and keep all the information, even now, the only things I didn't fully understand were the legendary artifacts, and it was not that I had no idea, I just was missing the biggest parts of the puzzle, the runic context of the runes used, most of them were unknown to me, at least three fourths of them.

"I'm a very smart little lizard, and I eat my veggies, on top of that, I was homeschooled from an earlier age than normal, does that answer your questions? I can help you practice magic if that's what you want, I can give you classes but I'll have to charge you a hundred bits per class... Kidding! You're welcome to come over whenever I can, just come check if I'm home and available, okay? Same goes for any of us, you're all invited!" I offered, giving her side a gentle and playful bump with my side.

"I will be definitively take you up on your offer, I find your magic classes very fun, it's both a learning experience and a chance to hang out with friends." She pauses, thinking for a minute as if remembering something.
"Wasn't your class where Shining gained his cutie mark? He still talks about it, how he bravely saved Cadence from a big, dangerous spell and earned his mark, quite the dramatic, isn't he?" She giggled cutely while covering her face with a hoof, I joined in, chuckling at the way she said it, imagining Shining dressed up in some tragic character from a theater play and reenacting his heroic deeds to save his princess.

"Hahahh thats not something I expected him of all ponies to be called, dramatic, but I bet he brags about his cutie mark story to his friends at the academy, a mark like that is very unique, he definitively has potential to be an amazing caster, specifically of magical shields... I think he's earned the right to be dramatic." I wonder how far could Shining get with his talent? Maybe he could cast the spell I designed by himself? It would work but it would not be anywhere as powerful as the version that protected Griffonstone, not without a similar multiphasic array made up of thousands of magical sources at the same time, honestly the power amplification of the Throne was something still mind-blowing for me.

If he could cast the spell himself, which I knew he could, he would only need some help with supplying the mana for it, a few high quality gems perhaps could supply such a spell for a few hours... A larger array of gems or a large enough group of ponies could supply it for longer, and yet I doubted that it could ever be as strong as what I am calling the prismatic shield of Griffonstone.

I was pulled from my thoughts as I heard footsteps approaching, four, quadruped and small.

Cadence, followed by three fillies, all holding a seemingly friendly conversation, they entered the room, and they all walked towards us, the smiles on the fillies turned to frowns when they looked at me, but they still kept following my friend, and they sat down in front of us, turning their seats around to face us, while Cadence chose to sit next to me.

"Onyx, go ahead and ask them, they'll listen, I promise." The alicorn spoke in a soft encouraging tone, looking at me.

I nodded, looking at the three fillies in the eyes one by one. "So why do you do it huh? I never did anything to any of you, even when you tried to hurt me before, I just ignored it and didn't even talk to you." I looked at the three of them, noticing they have slight frowns on their faces for having to talk to me directly, I was not sure what to make of them.

Flaming Rose was the first to speak up, her tone as unlikable as her attitude towards me. "You have sharp fangs, claws and you look nothing like a pony, and you act... Different, you never look worried about your scores, you never look worried about a test, it... It makes me really angry that you never even seem scared, even after we tried to beat you up the first time, you just stood there and took it, and you didn't look concerned!" She glared, anger growing as I looked at her with a curious expression, unsure as to what made her angry

"You're not like us at all. You're not one of us, you're abnormal, others may not see though your mask, but we do! See? Now anypony else would look worried and scared, but you just look... Curious." Lemon Drop continued, looking at me with some suspicion and a slight hint of fear in her eyes, so that was what this is about then huh? Fear, that's what it boils down to, they fear me and because they fear me they can justify their actions.

"So you bother me because you fear me for being different, is that it? I can't blame you, I am different, I am unknown, I could be dangerous... You know what? I would appreciate if you stopped bothering me, I'm not a pony, that's true, but I'm family with ponies, I live with ponies and I have friends who are ponies, what else do you want me to do?" I ask, genuinely curious, as to what it would take for them to stop.

"We want you to leave, leave the school, you aren't a unicorn, or a pony at all! You don't belong here, so leave." Right Angle spoke with a harsh glare, and a demanding tone, the other two mares nodded, agreeing with her.

I shake my head, there is no way I'm dropping highschool over some pathetic bullies.
"I'm not leaving, so either get used to wasting your time bothering me, with your minor inconveniences and pesky pranks, with your weak attempts to hurt me, or just accept the fact that I'm different and you can't change me, and you just need to accept me." I spoke in an overly friendly tone, just so they feel more freaked out, if they wanted a freak, I could be like that, I could make them really uncomfortable.

The three fillies looked stunned at my words, my insults to their attempts to hurt me. "You are defined by your actions, and from what I've experienced so far, your attempts were absolutely garbage, it's just the way I see it, now that's my way of being nice and giving you another chance, understand? Keep being trash and I'll have to put you in the dumpster." I speak that last part with a small smirk, showing I do have fangs, and they're quite sharp and long compared to a pony's teeth.

Their eyes widen in fear at my small and harmless threat as if I had threatened to kill them. "Y-you can't do that! My mommy is a noble, and... My friends live in upper Canterlot! T-they have noble families, ill tell the teacher what you said! They'll kick you out, and you'll be the one who's sorry!" Lemon said in her annoying, smug and ugly tone, one of a spoiled brat who always gets what she wants.

I seriously doubt the teacher will side with them, and they have no proof either, plus I have my friends to back me up. "I never threatened you, I just think trash belongs in the dumpster, if you behaved more like a pony and less like rubbish then maybe I wouldn't be so bloody confused, don't you have any sense? Any of you? Please, Cadence, Ruby, you two lovely mares, do you think I'm being unreasonable for asking to be treated with decency? I just don't want any problem, but when I get harassed every day for nothing, and I have to pretend that they're just playing so the teachers don't get involved... I have to say I don't particularly enjoy it." I spoke in a slightly exasperated tone, looking at my friends and asking if they have my back, thankfully both of them nodded.

"I always saw you as I see any other pony, I know you are you, and that's all I care about, be pony, dragon or griffon, any race, that doesn't matter, what matters is that you are my friend and you always treated me kindly, and I've known you for eight years now, eight years, and you never, ever hurt me, not with words or even while playing... Maybe a few hugs that were a bit too tight, if those count." Ruby was the first to speak up, her tone encouraging and honest, looking at the bullies, showing them she means what she says, that gave them pause, at least they seemed intrigued by her words, maybe they just needed more ponies to vouch for me, maybe Cadence could?

"Onyx, you and Shiny are the closest I've gotten to anyone other than my parents and my aunt, in all my life, all of our friends, they're like a family to me, you always have supported me, even with Shiny, teaching us magic, showing us love in your own way... You also helped him get his cutie mark somehow! How could I not support you?" She speaks to me, looking directly into my eyes with her own beautiful purple eyes, I see she loves me as a friend, my expression softens as I stare into her eyes, I could get lost looking into them, after all it's a fact that I have a crush on Cadence and her beautiful eyes are certainly reminding me of that.

"So yes, girls, Onyx is a sweetheart if you only get to know him, he isn't scary at all, he just looks different but he would never hurt you, even you, after all the times you've annoyed, hit, even tried to humiliate him in front of others, after all that, he still gives you a chance, I won't deny that he is angry at you, he is certainly being snarky towards you." she directs her words to the three fillies, who listen more intently to her than Ruby, now their ears are perked up in attention, eyes looking intently at the alicorn filly.

I guess being an alicorn makes most ponies listen to her, and she spreads positivity and love, in a way she is making use of her special talent. It's the only explanation as to how a group of fillies who feared me and hated my guts not even an hour ago, dedicating their lives to make my school day miserable, now are all of a sudden to her, fully paying attention.

"But he is surely willing to forgive you if you just open up to him, and just tell him you're sorry and you mean it, isn't that right, dear Onyx?" She encourages them, and me, to be better, I am tempted to say no, to tell them I don't want to forgive them and they should go eat a cactus plant, but I know better than holding a grudge.

I know their reasons for disliking me are also valid, more so than they may think, they have no idea how dangerous I really am if I wanted to be. "That's right, I just want to be at peace, you don't even need to say sorry, none of you need to, just say you'll stop and actually stop, that is enough, okay?" I end up saying in a pleading tone, Cadence and Ruby look like they want to argue, possibly to add that I deserve an apology but I stop them, I don't care really about apologies, apologies don't really help me, I just want peace.

"All I want is peace and to be able to calm down and enjoy school like everyone else." I add with a soft, pleading tone.

"If... You say so, Cadence, I... I trust you, you are a noble, and if you say it's okay... Maybe it isn't such a big deal that he is different, I heard my parents say that the princess is trying to improve relations with other races like griffons, maybe... He maybe is some sort of ambassador for the dragons? I don't know! Maybe that's why he was allowed in this school?" Lemon Drop was the first to speak in a hesitant tone, I nodded at her and smiled in a far less cynical and predatory way, Right Angle seemed somewhat convinced, but Flaming Rose was glaring at Lemon, definitively furious for her change of mind.

"A-are you serious?! You can't... You can't just change your mind like that! Just because he lied to Cadence and Ruby, he's manipulating you all, can't you see? And you too Angle?! Come oooon!" Flaming Rose fumed and almost yelled at the other fillies, who lowered their ears, looking indecisively between each other and their friend, then they realized something they probably didn't think about before.

What did I even do to her?

They were the only ones, the only ones who cared what I was, the only ones who bothered me and wasted their time and effort, and against them was a future princess, a princess who while not officially a princess yet, was definitively of the highest royalty only under Celestia, because of her status as an Alicorn.

Were they really willing to go against her, knowing they would lose their chance of making friends with the pony they valued as the most important one in the school, a future princess?

"Girls, please listen, we can even be friends! Maybe Onyx is not very happy with you now, but I'm sure if you were nicer to him, we could all be good friends and we could hang out and even do sleepovers together! I'll let you in on a secret, just in case you aren't convinced, come closer you two." Cadence spoke with a friendly smile, looking at Lemon and Angle, who both stopped looking at their 'friend' Rose and approached Cadence, who then whispered to each of them, making their eyes widen and their frowns quickly turn into smiles.

"What are you two doing? What did she told you, tell me this instant! I don't care if you're a future princess, you have no right to take away MY friends!" The fiery unicorn filly yelled out in frustration and anger towards both their friends and Cadence, I could immediately tell there was something wrong with her, then her horn lit up in a bright pink aura and she hurled one of the big saddlebags that were on the seats, hers I believe, to my friend Cadence.

She was taken by surprise, covering her head with her hooves, but I was not so easily surprised, and I caught the flying heavy bag full of books with my telekinesis halfway through its trajectory.

I could accept someone messing with me, but not my friends or family.

"Don't do that ever again to my friend, understand? I tolerate you messing with me, trying to attack me, throwing things at me or even trying to mess up my uniform, but going after my friends is a step too far, now apologize." I commanded, my eyes glowing with magical power. I wasn't going to actually hurt her, but I couldn't just let her do this, maybe a stern look would be enough to get her to back down and apologize. I had a bad feeling about this filly, I felt like she was... off, something was wrong in her, more specifically, her magical aura, it was fluctuating wildly, I felt it when she grabbed her saddlebags, what was going on with her?

My words had the opposite effect that I had hoped, only seeming to fuel her anger and hate. "Buck you! I don't take orders from you, you're not a pony, it's a mistake of nature that you can even use magic, you are a monster pretending to be one, and I don't care if either of you losers become friends! I DO NOT NEED YOU!" She then threw her desk towards us, I have to admit she had some decent power with her telekinesis, not many foals are able to throw a desk with such ease, but sadly for her, a basic shield was enough to stop the desk and make it bounce away harmlessly, landing on the ground, metal and wood making a noise that made me pin my ears back.

This was however, apparently a surprise for the other two fillies, who thought that they were the best of friends with Flaming Rose. "W-why are you doing this Rose?! Cadence... She's royalty! You can't attack her, I thought we were friends! But I won't stand with you if you are going to go this far and attack us, one thing is to try to prank Onyx and make him leave, but to go as far as to attack a future princess when she's near your friends... You're out of your mind!" Lemon spoke in a sad tone that quickly turned rightfully angry, and Right Angle stood to the other side, both beside Cadence in a protective way, I smiled despite myself, they chose to side with my friend and protect her by standing protectively next to her, even if it was a bit late in a real fight, and a real fight is what Rose wanted from the way she looked at them, and her horn lit up once again. Her magic was off somehow, it felt angry, like a reflection of her current mood, wild, unpredictable and dangerous.

I felt weary and activated a spell, sense magic, it helped me visualize the currents of magic around, see the magic flowing around me as it were.

Thanks to this spell, I immediately recognized a firebolt being formed in her horn, who taught this spell to the filly?! It was an actually dangerous spell, sure it was extremely easy to use and even a foal could use it, as it was a cantrip, but it was a restricted spell for a reason, anyone could use this spell, it was relatively quick to cast, and costs little to no mana to use, at most someone could get mental exhaustion from overcasting it.

I immediately put up a shield, a slightly stronger shield than the previous one, as magic had an easier time going through magic shields than physical objects going through a magic shield.

By using sense magic, I also realized that this filly was having some sort of magical health problem, or maybe one of the outbursts that sometimes happen to unicorns, something to do with magic build up destabilizing the magical core inside the brain. I shook my head, there was no time to worry about her, she was actually the danger!

The firebolt spell took about 3 seconds for her to cast, and it dissipated harmlessly on my shield cantrip, she growled and tried again, but the nature of the spell was not enough to bypass this shield, she would need a higher tier spell than tier 0, even then, firebolt was more than enough to seriously burn and even to maim somepony, even an adult who wasn't able to shield themselves from it.

"You're really leaving me no choice Rose... Better stop now." I warned, if she didn't I would be forced to stop her myself, even if the spell could hold her attacks back pretty much forever at my level of power, I didn't want to risk anypony coming in and getting hit by a stray spell.

"Stop it! Please, you're gonna hurt somepony! I mean it!" Cadence spoke up, her voice full of fear, I could understand her, she was stronger than Flaming Rose but she didn't know any attack spell, or at least was not willing to use any, I'm pretty sure I taught her basic spells to stun an attacker, but she may be unwilling to even do that, or couldn't in her panic.

"Y-you fake friends, liars! Take this! This will teach you what happens to those who side with a monster over me, you will BURN!" Flaming Rose yelled as she hurled a larger, more powerful firebolt, then another after another at the shield, now all of the attacks were twice as strong as before, but all attacks dissipated on impact, I had to upcast the shield at tier 2 to be able to safely hold all the stronger spells off.

It seems this was the only offensive spell Flaming Rose knew, I breathed out frost at her, making her back away in surprise with a shriek and interrupting her spell, she was after all just a filly, the cold was not enough to even hurt, but it was enough to scare someone who wasn't expecting it, like stepping into freezing cold water after being out in the sun during a summer day.

She was going to get into a huge amount of trouble for her actions, if she did this to me only, I'm sure she wouldn't have even gotten into trouble, but Cadence and the others? It was a different story altogether, the system was set to protect ponies, I hope that they don't count me using a little cold air as assault, but I doubt it, with Cadence being the target of this attack, there was no way anyone would even listen to any reason the filly had to do it, they were irrelevant, attacking royalty... I don't know the sentence that carries, but it sure can't be light.

"Stop it Rose! Please! You're gonna hurt us! I thought our friendship meant something!" Right Angle exclaimed, clearly emotionally hurt and scared, the other fillies were huddled together, crying in fear, I stood in front of them, focusing on keeping the empowered shield up and prepared to counter any magic that I couldn't simply shield from.

It's better to be ready, even if I knew she would have nothing stronger, I'd rather be over prepared than unprepared.

She tried again a couple more times, but she gave up after around the tenth attack, panting and dizzy, the effort of casting, mental and emotional because all of her attacks were empowered by her raw anger and frustration, and the sense of betrayal she felt from her supposed friends. In my opinion she was even worse of a friend to the both of them, after all she tried to attack them, all of them just because they didn't side with her.

"I-I can't use magic, my horn stings..."
Finally Flaming Rose collapsed on her haunches, no longer able to fight, sweat dripping from her body and steam came from her horn, I have to give it to her, not many foals know combat spells, even weak ones like this, and even less can cast over ten spells in a row without passing out. For some reason, the anger present just seconds ago seemed to vanish as soon as she couldn't use her horn, its like all the anger drained away with the mana, ponies... They're really really strange at times.

She rubbed her horn with a hoof, wincing at probably having overloaded her mana pathways from casting so much and so fast without previous training.

I couldn't help but think that there was something definitively wrong with her, I honestly don't know enough about the anatomy of a pony to figure out what or how, but... I would neutralize her and make sure to mention this to some adult.

Taking advantage of her state, I gestured to the door for us to run out of the classroom and head to the director's office, everypony gathered their things and left the classroom, all but me, I approached and used a weak stun spell on her, knocking her out fully for at least a while, making sure she wouldn't escape somewhere, then I catch up with the others.

"Let's go, run! We have to tell the teachers, she's dangerous and unstable, I knocked her out with a stun spell but I don't know how long it will last." I urged the others while we trotted out, getting nods from everypony.

At the office, or more like an entire area, where teachers rested and prepared to give their classes, many of the usual were there, surprisingly enough there was an unexpected pony, Princess Celestia.

She was sitting in front of the director's desk, having a conversation about students performance or something along those lines, however Cadence interrupted, stepping forward and quickly getting her attention, she turned, looking at all of us, and her gaze remained on me for a few seconds longer than the others, it was not a hostile look like last time we met, she had a small smile even, I nodded at her in greeting, while the other foals were too worried to even bother with a greeting.

"I'm so sorry Princess Celestia for interrupting, but there is an emergency, Flaming Rose attacked us in the classroom during recess, she used an offensive fire spell, aimed at all of us, if it wasn't for Onyx here, she may have seriously burned somepony! She is back at our classroom, she wore herself out after using the fire spell over ten times to attack us, and Onyx had to knock her out just in case she would try something again, please... Could we have someone go check on her and make sure she hasn't been hurt?" The alicorn filly interrupted with a pleading and alarmed tone, making every single pony turn to look at us, Celestia's face shifted between many expressions, first worry and alertness at hearing it was an emergency, then confusion and disbelief, and ending up in a barely contained anger, something told me it wasn't fully directed at the young filly that attacked us.

"I will deal with this, please everypony, stay here and relax, it's okay and you're safe, please Onyx come with me, director? Please give the fillies some water." I raised an eyebrow, confused why she would call me of everyone here, but I nodded and followed her along, she closed the door as we exited the room using her golden magic, I felt a little bit nervous, and hoped she wasn't about blame me for everything.

After a few seconds she turned to me. "Did she really try to attack you all? How did this whole ordeal start in the first place? Please tell me everything, every detail, I'll know if you are lying." She said, her eyes glowing slightly with magic as well as her horn, probably a lie detector spell.

I had no reason to lie, I told her everything, from why we all gathered to the way I insulted them because I just feel tired of their annoying actions, the constant attempts to bully me into quitting the school, but I also told them I was willing to forgive them and go with Cadence's plan.

Then I explained in detail what happened, I described the strange sensation I had when she used magic, how it felt wrong every time, then I explained that I used a spell to sense magic better, and realized that her core was fluctuating as well as her telekinesis, then I explained the fire spell Rose used as a small ball of fire about the size of a kiwi, and the shield I used that I learned from mom, further empowered, precisely so I could protect others and myself in situations like this, as well as the weak stun spell I used to make sure she wouldn't attack other ponies who came in, considering how unstable she was.

"Thank you, for protecting Cadence and the other fillies, you are truly a gentlec- err drake, still you managed the situation extremely well, and you didn't hurt Flaming Rose, many others, even adults would have tried to stop her by any means necessary in such a situation, but you let her tire herself out, and then stunned her safely and took everypony out, leaving her in a closed room."
Her tone is oddly cheerful and she seems proud of me, she places a wing over my back and partially hugs me with it, I tremble slightly in fear, worried she may be trying something bad, a punishment for stunning one of her ponies, but relax after she doesn't, it was just a soft wing hug, she's not like that anymore, right? Or was she just really just bidding her time... No, I couldn't constantly doubt her like this, her hug felt genuine.

"It seems I made a good choice when I trusted you, come, let's go check on Rose, if what you described feeling and seeing is true, she is having a condition related to her core, but instead of altering her magical output to dangerous levels, it just makes her more violent and aggressive, it's less common but it happens to most unicorns with powerful magic.
I have something that will prevent things like this from happening to her for now." Surprisingly she praised my handling of the situation and smiled at me in a way that made me let out a sight of relief, I relaxed my posture and raised my ears, now curious as to what she meant by that last sentence.

We walked the short way to the classroom, since the bell failed to ring due to our issue, the room was still closed, and the other foals were all playing or just hanging out on the hallways, our classroom's door was opened and Celestia entered followed by myself.

Inside there was Flaming Rose laying on the ground, fast asleep from my stun spell, she at least wasn't angry anymore, she looked quite peaceful in fact, who thought a little filly could have so much fire and hostility in her? Maybe Celestia was right, she had some condition, like I theorized, but hopefully its only effect is that, and nothing worse.

Celestia suddenly teleported over an item that she kept somewhere, I hoped she just teleported it, and if not that, she had an ability similar to mine to store things inside another inexistent space, either way, she held a ring in her aura, it was slightly different than a ring however, a slight conical shape for one, and it was made of silver metal with a black gemstone embedded within.

She placed it on the sleeping filly's horn, and the black gem lit up for an instant with a slight white glow, before going dark again.

"There, she will have to wear a nullring until she recovers from her condition, it will also be a lesson for her dam, because I'll be paying her a visit." Oh fuck, a nullring? I've never seen one before, I knew they existed but they were only held by guards and strictly controlled, I'm sure mom had some at work, but they were so strictly controlled that she couldn't bring one home for me to study.

I was most confused about the black gem, what was it? And what kind of metal was what they used? Was it even metal? I had so many questions! Would one work on me, considering I had no horn? What was stopping someone from simply removing them using their hooves or a solid object?

There was no harm in asking I guess. "What's stopping her from just removing it by bending her head down or rubbing her horn on a wall until it slides off?" I asked the obvious, looking confused and intrigued.

Celestia smiled at my question, nodding slightly. "That's a good question Onyx, you'll get far by being so observant, the reason it doesn't come off is because, while the ring can suppress magic, its very specific on what magic it targets, you see? The ring is enchanted with an adhesion spell to keep it firmly attached, the gem itself absorbs magic and powers the adhesion spell, the ring only absorbs magic from spells already forming or formed and and only on the innermost part of the ring that is touching a horn, so it doesn't affect those carrying the ring or even holding it, just those it's placed upon." She explained with patience, and very softly to not wake up the filly, who she took in her magic and placed on her back.

"Thank you for explaining, Princess, by the way... I hope you keep up the good work, you really are making a difference out there, you know? That rail line bridge to Griffon Empire territory and all the way to Griffonstone and the more open trade policies, I am honestly very pleasantly surprised." I didn't see a reason to deny her the small praise she deserves for doing a good job lately in diplomacy, the griffons and who knows what other races have had improved relationships with Equestria, after centuries of distancing and isolationism she is opening up trade and helping, this says more about her than the way she talks to me. It shows she at least cares.

"I'm glad you noticed then! Speaking of Griffonstone... Not long ago, big news reached me about the Griffon Empire having gained a new, legitimate king and abandoning their military government in favor of the new ruler, I also heard some interesting news about some dragon who recovered their legendary idol, who has gained fame through the entire nation, but no one knows the name of, at least they aren't willing to say it publicly, what they did mention was it being short and shiny like metal, wouldn't you know anything about who that may be, little drake?" She asks with curiosity, but her knowing smile makes me let out a sigh, not many silver dragons around I guess, I wasn't sure if she still had her truth spell on, but I didn't want to talk about my personal matters with her.

"I did want to visit the ancient city of Griffonstone for a while after reading about it on a history book.
I went there with the fam, not telling you anything else because it's private." I answered her, not feeling like explaining everything myself.

"Please, tell me?" She asked me with a soft pleading tone. I groan at having to deal with her begging look, it was honestly effective and oddly adorable, she didn't look like a ruler for a moment, instead like a horse giving me puppy dog eyes with a big sad pout.

"Hmph... Fine, I admit I returned that golden effigy to the griffons there, and they were happy to have it back, I guess they did spread the word about me being a big help and all.
Those were definitively the craziest vacations we ever had! My family and I had a good time there, despite the problems we faced." I spoke honestly, choosing my words very carefully to not lie but also to not reveal too much, I wasn't about to talk about my role stopping an invasion from an enemy nation, she could figure that out herself, I was definitively hoping she didn't find out I was involved tho.

She looked at me with interest, her ears perked, but nodded her head.

"That's a very big thing you did for them, I won't pry further unless you want to talk about it, which you clearly don't. And while not many here would know much about the significance of the Idol of Boreas, and the city of Griffonstone, I'm sure you'll go down in the history books as a legend back in the Griffon territories, now as much as I'd love to have a long talk about everything that happened there, we can't right now.
Let's go I have to take this filly back to her house and I have to have a serious discussion with her caretakers, they are going to be in so much trouble, you have no idea." She shook her head and we headed back out, everypony started at the princess carrying Flaming Rose on her back with curiosity, and barely paid any attention to me, other than a few glances, it wasn't everyday that the Princess herself attended her school, it was not exactly hers, just named after her, but from what I could see, she and the director were close, or had some sort of professional relationship.

After a few minutes of walking, smiling and waving to the foals, she spoke up, we were going outside of the school, I knew this path well.
"Now for a change of topic, I'm guessing your mother taught you how to defend yourself, right? I commend your shield use as well as your use of the stun spell, I always encourage the use of defensive magic over attack spells to my little ponies, you have... Very good magical affinity and power for someone your age."

She praised my abilities and I blushed slightly, unsure on how to respond, feeling the attention of others on me because of her words.
"I see why you want to be in this school, it was originally meant for unicorns, as it's former name implies, but I suggested a name change to 'Celestia's School of Magic.' because all ponies, no matter their race, can learn and do magic in their own way, earth ponies with their hooves and pegasi with their wings, it's important to include other ponies, and I realized, thanks to you, that I should not only include ponies, but other races too, you were the first non pony student we allowed into the school, I'm sure you're aware of that, I trust you to represent your kind to the best of your ability." She was giving me an encouraging smile, while we existed the building, outside a few guards waited, most likely summoned by some unseen spell or command she gave. The way she said the last part also made it clear that I had a big responsibility to not only myself but to all non ponies who would most likely be accepted in the future. I took that to heart.

"Thank you! I'm honored to be allowed to learn magic in such a prestigious school, I promise I won't disappoint you, Princess Celestia, it's wonderful to see you're becoming a better pony and I can tell by just talking to you, you sound far less... aggressive than the time you came home to visit, its like you care now." I appreciated that, I knew she was used to being less than friendly with my kind in the past, she couldn't tolerate me before, at least not the concept she had of me, but we both needed each other, and she realized that if anything, being friendly would only help things go smoother, I wouldn't call her a friend however.

At least not yet, honestly I still held some resentment towards her, maybe we could work it out in the future, but for now we were... acquaintances, still we shared the same goal, that made cooperation much easier.

"Honestly I still don't think I could love other races as much as I love my little ponies but... I can see the damage I did and how unjust I was to them, I feel like I am learning from you what I should have known for centuries: kindness, empathy and compassion, you showed so much of that to me that it made me realize that not only ponies are deserving of it. I will do my best to make things right, to make it even for what I've done, I'll slowly work to give back." She lowered her head slightly and gave me a soft and caring smile, showing she really meant what she said. I returned the smile then approached her.

"May I hug you, princess?" I asked her softly, getting a quick nod in response, then I hugged her gently, a few ponies turned to look at me as I held her by the neck in a soft, shy hug that didn't last long but felt right, she returned the hug, using her wings to envelop me for a few seconds, then we moved back and kept walking beside each other.

I smiled, feeling more at ease after that, maybe it wasn't such a distant concept for her to be a friend, just... Not right now, I still hadn't gotten a proper apology, I am not as trusting as I used to be, she will need to earn it, and that isn't going to be easy, but doing the right thing certainly placed her on the right path.

"Everything is going to be alright in the end, I promise, you and her will be reunited after a thousand years and I'll make sure it goes well, I'll also let you in on a secret, mother is proud of your progress and if you keep doing so well, she will talk to you again, still you've got ways to go before that, you need to prove yourself again, and I will help." I approached her side and whispered in hear ear, making her let out a soft gasp of surprise when I told her that last secret. After all, it was her mom, I would be devastated if my own mother didn't want to talk to me again, I couldn't blame her sudden excitement.

'Y-you know my m-mother? Please tell me more! I've stopped hearing her centuries ago, she doesn't answer anymore... every since I... I banished Luna.' She switched to using telepathy, which surprised me for a second, but I just shook my head.

'Not me exactly, haven't talked to her personally, not yet at least, but I've heard her voice, I can contact her too, I'll just say that she is glad you are changing and getting back on the path of harmony, someday, if you manage to become my friend, I'll let you in and maybe allow you to talk to her again, okay? But you're still ways away from being my friend." I answer her, making clear that I was not planning on letting her know any more, she seemed to want to argue with me over it but shut her muzzle, knowing that insisting would only make things more difficult.

'I-I understand, still, when sister comes back, we will celebrate big, that's a promise, and again... I'm sorry about the way I acted before, I'll make it up to you somehow, you'll see.' She finally sighed but regained her smile and a look of hope.

'I'll bring my friends and family, there better be cake too on that party, it's a deal Princess, maybe you can start making it up to me by telling me what Luna enjoys and I can prepare it for her, would be good to make her feel cared for, don't you agree?' I spoke in her mind, smiling up at her to my side, she smiled back, a genuine smile full of hope, I could imagine... She wanted to be reunited with her sister more than anything right now. If anything, this question would work to know if she really knew her sister, cough cough, changelings were a thing after all.

'About foods? She likes foreign desserts for special occasions, always would go on and on about Saddle Arabian's date cookies, baklava made with pistachios or some other pastries filled with fruits and nuts, she definitively has a palate for the exotic, likes fish like some pegasi and caviar too, they're fish eggs from a rare fish, quite expensive and were only produced by the Griffon Empire back in the day, but she was not against having some Equestrian dishes, she prefers regular foods on most days, while getting a foreign dish at special occasions, like parties or banquets.' I could feel the nostalgia in her telepathic tone, so I approached her and nuzzled the side of her neck and shoulder, she sighed sadly and gave me an appreciative smile, at least slightly cheered up.

'Ah, so I would need to go learn about this dishes, thank you Princess, what does she like outside of the food world?'

'Well, she loves animals of all types and has a fascination with other races, non ponies I mean... But yeah, she had a pet manticore at some point, not to mention keeping large snakes and tarantulas as pets, but owls are her favorite, maybe because they are nocturnal animals, I.... I remember she also had a very special crow who flew away one day, that same day she became Nightmare Moon.' A few tears were going down her face, seems like remembering that hurt, she quickly summoned a handkerchief and wiped her face, blinking away the tears and regaining her normal expression, her mask.

'She loved the night, nature and foals, not only pony foals, she would go out of her way to protect other races in their dreams, I-i remember when I yelled at her for doing that, helping the monsters in the night, I told her, goodness, I was such a horrible sister.' She spoke numbly, her eyes lost, unfocused, I decided that was enough.

'You aren't the same pony anymore Celestia, you are changing, just by deciding to change you have already made a difference, I trust you won't make the same mistakes twice, now chin up, I want you to do something for me, okay? Tell what you did to Cadence, tell her in a general sense, don't go into too much detail or she may be too horrified and stop talking to you, but tell her what you did to the other races and to your sister, tell her your wrongdoings, be honest and open up to her, then ask for help, ask her to guide you to the right path, she's the Princess of Love, she will know what to do even in her young age, and if that doesn't work you can ask me to join in, you'll have to pay me though! My time is expensive.' I give her a few pats on the side, helping her feel better, she nodded slowly as I spoke, her hopelessness slowly turning to cautious optimism and then a small chuckle at my last suggestion.

'You know? I may take you up on that last offer sometimes, if you're serious, we both know you know something, much more than you're telling me, and as much as my old self would have jumped at the opportunity to interrogate you, I'm not like that anymore, I don't ever want to be like that anymore, it's... Not the right thing to do.'
Her expression turned serious, we arrived at the the street, and guards were in front of us, patiently waiting until she finally decided to address them.

"Sergeant Hazel, would you please tell me if Battlemage Flaming Vine is on duty today? I also need her address if she's not. I need to have a word with her right away, and that involves this filly I have here with me."

"Of course your Majesty, I think she's at home, she's mostly called only when necessary and works only 3 days a week, her address... it's 273 Opal street, on the northern section of middle Canterlot." The guard answered after a minute of thinking, probably trying to remember about the specialist.

"Thank you, now go back to your friends Onyx, you can all go back to class, I got it from here, again it was nice talking, I hope we have a conversation like that again, you may even catch one of my classes in about two years when you're in your third year of school." With that the princess nodded and teleported away in a flash of golden light, leaving behind only motes falling around like sparkling flakes of gold that drifted and fell on top of me.

I have to say her magic aura is unique and beautiful, I could appreciate that, now I felt like we could end up being friends in the future if she kept her word.

I just hoped she wouldn't mind me playing a few pranks on her.

The guards gave me a confused look and I shrugged, before heading back to class.

I have a feeling they will get along when she comes back, I couldn't stop myself from smiling inside despite the situation, his words made me hopeful for both being reunited with Luna and of being able to talk to mother again.

I miss them, specially you Lulu, it's been a long long millennia without you, now I have renewed hope that it will end up with us holding each other, I will do anything for that to happen.

Who knew that him of all creatures would have a connection to Faust? But the way he said it, it implied he wasn't the one who was directly connected, who could be? Maybe a family member? A family friend? It was worth to look into, but I wouldn't want to worsen our relationship, I knew he still didn't fully trust me, it was clear from the little he always revealed, always deflecting my questions with half truths.

As much as I could theorize, I had no idea and I prefer to not mess with his family, or himself anymore, I had not apologized yet after all.

I shook my head, focusing on the here and now, I had somepony to give a stern talking to, time to put on a different mask, one of seriousness.

I appeared right on the street indicated, I haven't ever visited them, but the sign on the two story house with the number gave me enough information, it was here, I knocked on the door and waited, a few ponies walking around stopped and stared, gathering around at seeing their princess, it wasn't something they saw everyday.

I waved and smiled at them, the filly on my back didn't wake up thankfully from the teleport.

After a minute, hoof steps could be heard approaching the door, then it opened, and thankfully, Flaming Vine was the one who stood before me. "Yes? Who is-" the mare's words died in her throat, and her eyes widened upon seeing me, but after about 3 seconds of wide eyed and open mouthed shock, she regained her wits and bowed her head deep, the correct action, as she was off duty, while on duty, a salute was the correct way of greeting.

"Please rise, miss Flaming Vine, I have a few things to discuss with you, may I come inside?" I invited myself, wanting to get this over with quickly, I had a schedule to keep.

She rose to her hooves, looking worried and even more so when she spotted the filly sleeping on my back. "Your Highness, p-please come in, let's sit on the living room, I see you have... My little Rose with you, is she okay?" She gestured me inside, and I closed the door behind me, we walked into her home, it was a quaint and had lots of indoor plants, the living room was right in front of the door so it was a short walk, Vine gestured to me to sit in the large sofa, it was long and big enough to accommodate an Alicorn like myself, so I nodded and chose to sit down, then I levitated the filly to the other end of the sofa,, right next to where she chose to sit down.

"Indeed, miss Vine, you are the mother of this filly, are you not? We have something important to discuss." I spoke to her in a serious tone, far from my usual friendly and motherly tone I used with everypony else most of the time, just to put the seriousness of the events in plain view, she frowned at my words.

"I am, princess, I care for her and I help educate her, she's my little rose bud, my precious daughter, w-what happened to her? Is she okay?" The mare's tone grew worried for her little one, but I shook my head.

"She's fine, just tired herself out, what I have to discuss with you is what she did, it's a very VERY serious crime and when a foal commits such acts, it's often the fault of the adults who are supposed to care for them, in this case, you miss Flaming Vine, as well as the rest of your herd." I started to explain, making it clear that this was her fault. "You have taught her a combat spell, to be precise, from the description of the victims of the spell, it was a firebolt spell, something strictly restricted from most civilians, let alone a filly like her, while you may have done so with good intentions, as a last line of defense against a would be attacker, you still broke the law." I explained carefully, giving her a glare that made her go slightly pale.

"B-but... Princess I just wanted her to have a way to protect herself, and taking into consideration her connection to fire from her talent, w-what did she do? Was she attacked?! I bet it was him... I knew that dragon who signed up the same class as her was going to cause trouble for everypony, damn monsters, even when they're foals they still can't behave like ponies!" The guardmare angrily rambled to herself, coming up with her own story in her head, I let her.
Sometimes ponies were way too honest with their emotions towards others, that I realized long ago was a flaw that even I shared, by centuries of practice helped mask my emotions most of the time, but It seemed that not even that was enough sometimes.

Letting her speak told me all I needed to know, not only had she taught her daughter a restricted spell, she taught her that non ponies were evil, and trouble, and I couldn't blame her for it, not completely, I had systematically induced the fear of other races to generations of ponies, this mare, just like countless others were merely a reflection, now I could see firsthoof how sometimes ponies could get hurt too when they were taught to hate others.

After all, guards were taught how to detain ponies, never to kill them, but for other races... Killing was not off the table, of course long ago I changed it so it was done only when no easier option was available.
I trained and equipped the Royal Guard to deal with all races, SMILE, a special unit created to neutralize non pony criminals, had metal toughening runes on their weapons meant to pierce the thick and dense hides and flesh of beasts, including adult dragons who are theorized to be the deadliest threat to an entire city, in truth, ponies were the main threats to ponies, I intentionally kept that fact from being publicly known, but ponies were sometimes very adept at crime, from simple mugging to much worse acts of violence, murder and various crimes, this happened in every major city, and rarely in smaller cities as well, even Canterlot wasn't immune.

It was no surprise after all that, that my very own guards would have a bias against anycreature who wasn't a pony, and it went even deeper than many would believe.

"Flaming Rose attacked my niece and her friends using the spell you taught her, thinking it would be used to defend herself, instead she tried to hurt innocent ponies and a dragon, she nearly hurt my niece, if it wasn't for him, for the dragon you speak so lowly of, she would have seriously hurt a future princess, do you know what this means for you and your daughter?" I asked her, glaring and with an angry scowl, despite what I may have taught them before, couldn't tolerate something like this in my guard, she still went over the law to teach a filly combat magic and that on itself made her responsible of everything.

It was about time for some changes it seems, I would need to reform the Royal Guards, no other option was available at this point.

"S-she...no, that can't be true! She wouldn't, she and her friends, they were only going after that dragon colt, she wouldn't hurt an Alicorn, she... She wouldn't! Who told you this, was it him!?" Her voice was desperate and angry at myself, for daring to suggest something like that about her daughter.

"You forget yourself specialist Vine, watch your tone when you are talking to your princess." I narrowed my eyes and my tone conveyed the threat quite clearly, she snapped her muzzle shut and lowered her eyes, realizing her mistake. Seeing that she wouldn't interrupt me again, I continued explaining.

"My niece, Cadence told me everything that happened, she was in tears, she only tried to make peace between the fillies and the dragon, and she ended up succeeding for every one except Flaming Rose, now I understand why she is so sure of herself, you taught her it was okay to use this magic on others, I'm afraid she is going to be punished, and for you? You're facing very serious charges, what you have done is very very bad, one could say treasonous, by teaching combat magic to a filly, you have committed a really serious offence, but if nothing had come out of it that would have been fine, maybe a slap on the fetlock with a fine, but your daughter attempted the murder of a high noble, a royal, such a thing is unforgivable, do you understand?" I gave her the extend of her possible sentence, death sentence was not a common occurrence, except for the most hideous of crimes.

Luckily for her this was not one of those, not that she needed to know that just yet.

Murder of a royal, which this clearly wasn't the case, it was a failed attempt instead, the sentence was less severe in this case because of the failed part, but repeat offenders could still face capital punishment. Had she actually killed Cadence... I don't want to even imagine what I would have done to them both, but thanks to him, a tragedy was prevented. Although I'm sure Cadence would have been able to defend herself if she was ready, from what I knew, she was in a panic and couldn't have reacted in time, I will need to teach how to protect herself properly, this can't happen again.

"W-what did you say? Treason? Attempted murder?! Sweet Celestia! S-sorry I... I can't have this! A-and Rose? What is her fate? P-please have mercy on us Princess! I was just trying to keep my daughter safe." The unicorn finally understood the situation she was in, and her eyes started to water, she made a chocked sob as I explained her crimes, her daughter's crimes were her crimes by equestrian law, unless the parent could have not possibly known she was going to do them, but she knew, she taught her when she believed it was justified, to attack out of anger, she just didn't expect her daughter to attack a pony, let alone a royal, but that was inconsequential, she attacked with intent to hurt, maybe even to kill.

But I know that the reason she went so far was not because of a desire to kill, but because of a magical core instability issue, the brain was pumped full of hormones like adrenaline, causing the filly to go into full alarm, maybe the violent tendencies that she already had were magnified, still I couldn't fully justify her emotions with just her core going wild, this would not create feelings of hostility, but it would greatly increase them to the extreme. After all the magical core is in the brain, near the base of the horn in unicorns.

For this reason I decided to not punish the filly, instead I decided to help her in a way that would make her feel like she was being punished for what she did.

"I will be merciful towards both of you, she will be turned into an earth pony temporarily, it will both help stabilize her magic and teach her some humility, to depend less in her magic and to not think that just because she has a horn and can cast spells, she should use those spells on whoever or whatever upsets her." I decided to be merciful with them, while the death sentence was never in question because no one actually was murdered, if I was given another chance, why not give them an one too? She could change for the better like I am trying to, I removed the nullring from Flaming Rose's horn and teleported it back to my room, then I turned to Vine again.

"And... As for you, I think you will be put under supervision, you are also fired from the ranks of the Guard, but your magic knowledge and skill is too vast to throw away, so in case anything happens you will be called back into action, no questions asked, there will be no severance pay, from today on, forget about getting any benefits or retirement, your years of work on the royal guard are wiped clean, so you better get a job or I hope your herd will support, because you aren't going to see a single bit from the Crown again." I smiled, feeling like that was fair, I was not planning on turning Rose permanently either, just enough so she would learn and grow as a pony and help calm down her unstable core, earth ponies had it harder than any other pony race, at least when it came to everyday life, they couldn't fly and they couldn't use telekinesis, they couldn't use prestidigitation either unless they learned how to cast with hooves and runes, an art that was lost to time, and if any earth pony knew it, she or he wasn't sharing.

After a short magical scan I know that the reason Flaming Rose acted so unpredictably is because her magical core is unstable, when that happens to a unicorn, they experienced heightened emotions and their magic is affected by emotion, some may become extremely violent and aggressive if they already had those emotions within then, others instead experience a magical outburst or flare, which is usually way more dangerous than an overly angry and violent filly most of the time, except when that filly has access to combat spells. Faust... You really deserve to be thrown behind bars a few days Vine, I cant believe you taught her a combat spell instead of a stun spell, what were you thinking?

I didn't dare to say that and risk getting in trouble with the media for an emotional outburst.

Transforming her into an earth pony was a shortcut to help her core stabilize, as earth ponies, unlike unicorns, had a way to stabilize their core without any outbursts, magical or otherwise. Their excess magic could simply dissipate back on the ground harmlessly, this is the same magic they used to help crops grow faster and healthier if focused properly by an experienced farmer, something that all earth ponies had some ability to do, just as all unicorns could use telekinesis.
The connection they have to the forest and nature, to the ground and the roots, it was something even I don't fully understand despite having that same connection myself for so long.

"R-really?! Oh goodness thank you! Thank you, oh merciful princess! I thought I was... Wait, you will turn my daughter into an earth pony?! Oh, will she not suffer adverse effects from the transformation?" Her tone was very much cheerful when she heard she was just getting kicked off and wasn't going to face any other legal issues, but worry and fear took over, knowing her daughter was going to take the worst of the punishment.

I could see she was biting her lip to not say anything that would get her further into trouble, I nodded to her. "Not from the transformation itself, no, but she will definitively need to learn how to be an earth pony from scratch and that will take some time, she will also fall back on her magic training during her formative years, and will be left behind in magical practice and skill compared to her unicorn peers, but she deserves this, and worse." I tempered her excitement over being let off lightly with a threatening look.

"I'm basically letting both of you go with a slap on the fetlock, change your ways, both of you, or you will suffer much worse consequences the next time, understand?" I got a quick nod from the mare, she was shaking slightly but she wasn't about to pass at least, I was glad she was strong enough to not faint at the sight of my displeased scowl like some ponies in the past did.

"Vine, need to go and meet non ponies, get to know them and learn they aren't as bad as you may think, if you don't, then maybe I will give you a similar punishment as I did to your daughter, how does that sound? I was thinking you would make for a very pretty cow. There are some very big and handsome bulls on the farming villages near and around Canterlot that I'm sure you would love to meet once you are a cow." I smirked at her a little too wide, I knew Rose was awake by now, her attempt to pretend to be asleep didn't work on my trained ears and eyes, I could hear her breathing and it was not that of somepony sleeping.

I could see the fear in the filly's expression, even as she pretended to be asleep still, she couldn't keep her face relaxed, she couldn't keep the scared frown from it.

"O-oh no, no need Princess Celestia, I will go and talk to the kind griffons and zebras at the market, there's a diamond dog too that sometimes comes by to sell his wares, and even a few minotaurs, I could... I could just talk to them, I'm really thankful that you let me stay with my daughter, I'll... Try to do better with her from now on, I swear!" Despite her attempt to sound calm, the trembling in her voice was unmistakable, she really didn't want to become a cow for some reason, I nodded at her counter offer, and she let out a sigh of relief.

I must admit, it would have been funny to turn her into a cow anyway, cows were considered citizens too and they shared the same rights, but they had a wholly different culture than ponies, and they tended to prefer the countryside exclusively, living a more simplistic lifestyle, akin to what pony's ancestors would have lived, but instead of foraging they work in partnership with farmponies, providing milk in exchange for high quality hay and other food, the safety of a ranch and medical help when needed, other than that they keep to themselves, their ranches were very well stocked and comfortable, despite what some ponies from the city think, cows weren't stupid, they were educated, they could read and even write, but because of ancient agreements with their races going back thousands of years, their communities were exempt from taxes.

"I expect weekly letters with reports on your progress, don't disappoint me once more, there won't be a third time, Flaming Vine, now the time has come." I stood up, causing the mare to stand up quickly with her head lowered in a bow, I ignored it and prepared a very complex spell, it took me a few seconds and then, magic formed in my horn, aimed at the 'sleeping' filly, when it hit, she was surrounded by golden glow, which soon faded and she was left relatively unchanged, her horn was nowhere to be seen though.

The filly cried out in surprise, opening her eyes and trying frantically to touch her horn, just ending up bumping her hoof to her head. "Aaaaahh! Ow! W-where?! My horn! Princess you can't do this! Please!" The filly whines and pouts, rubbing her head, it's clear she isn't in any pain or anything, the spell is a success.

"You're fine, better get used to it, you may get your horn back if I find out you have become a better pony, no more listening to what Vine says about other races, okay? Or you will have to learn to live this way, start practicing with your hooves and your muzzle to hold objects, the earth pony way, you'll need it from now on." I gave them both an overly friendly smile and before they could complain further, I teleported back to the castle in a flash of golden magic, more specifically to my office, I have a lot of work to do if I want to reform the Royal Guard.

I may have made the first step without realizing when I hired Sylf, she made many of the other guardsmares and stallions start to see other species as less of a threat and more like partners and colleagues, even making some of the more xenophobic ponies open up to the idea of non ponies integrating into equestrian society and even the armed forces, at the very least in Canterlot. Still clearly not everypony, there is much to do.

There were lots of paperwork to fill out, this incident was eye opening, the ponies in the guard had their hearts in the right place by teaching their foals how to defend themselves, but giving foals spells that could be deadly dangerous, and the way foals behave often impulsively was a terrible combination, it was a miracle that this didn't happen more often. I will need to make it way more clear that there is consequences for teaching foals combat magic, there could NOT be a repeat of this!

Just when I thought I could have some tea with director Scroll... I sighed and dipped the feather into the inkpot to begin writing.

Author's Note

No funny sex chapter 69 sorry it's more of having to deal with the foals of xenophobic parents. :trollestia:

Celestia learns a valuable lesson, teaching fear and hate of other races can end up hurting her ponies as well, if she thinking about changing her policies before, now she is sure about that after the little scare with Cadence.

This version of Celestia has a lot of skeletons in the closet, and she caused the downfall of Luna to the nightmare parasite, who in this story are eldritch beings who feed on suffering and misery.

Will she ever be as nice as in the show in the future? Maybe, but she is willing now to admit her mistakes, at least to herself.

Chapter 70 Truth and Reconciliation

5 of August 983

I sat down in silence, having dinner with auntie Celestia, she was not using her disguise when we were together by ourselves, it was only for going out and not having to worry about unnecessary attention.

What happened a few days ago still left me confused, anxious and upset, I've been filling sad lately just thinking about it, I couldn't understand it, why? Why did some ponies just...

Why do they hate what's different? I've seen it before, growing up here the last couple of years.
Unicorns looking down on earth ponies and even pegasi because they can't cast spells, ponies looking down on griffons because of their talons, beaks and diet, even zebras because of their stripes and colors, their different culture.

I have been reading up on this lately, there is not much information on the why, just the fact that ponies seem to not trust what's different.

I've come across news articles of made up stories to paint other species in a negative light, of attacks against non ponies, older articles from a few decades ago about the arrests of inter species couples for not following the laws made to prevent reproduction.

I felt nauseous with the last one, I stopped eating, thinking back on it, what nobles may have conspired to make those laws even a thing? They were old laws too, but recently they were removed quickly as if they had never existed in the first place, yet I needed to talk to my auntie about how I felt.

Why didn't auntie stop those laws from passing?

How was I ignorant of this for so long? I haven't been taught by auntie about this laws even when they concern me, only after my research on old laws and pony to non pony relations I've learned about this, auntie never even mentioned this topic, as if she pretended it wasn't important.

It is for me, it concerns love and having her neglecting to teach me there are laws against love in Equestria makes me feel really bad, I can't keep quiet about it, even towards her.

"Auntie? I have a question for you." I asked and she looked up front her large meal to look at me, a look if slight concern evident as my tone clearly stated NY unhappiness with her.

"Why do some ponies fear and hate other species so much? And why were there laws against ponies and other races from reproducing? This goes against everything love stands for, its... wrong." I finally asked, not feeling like eating anymore.

Celestia went quiet, stopped eating and looked at me with a raised eyebrow and a slight frown.

"I'm going to tell you something that you may hate me for, but I need you to know so you can help me, my dear Cadence." Her voice held a weight I didn't usually hear, I doubt I could ever hate her, she's my family after all.

She sighed and nodded to herself, as if assuring herself that whatever she was thinking was worth it.
"It was me who came up with and who passed those laws a long time ago, the world was so much different back then, I was worried for my little ponies suffering in the claws of other species, there are things I don't want to ever have to repeat." I stared in disbelief at her at first, was she serious? My heart told me that was the case, I could feel her pain, and the truth in her words.

She continued before I could fully process it.

"Did you know that in the past, ponies died by the thousands due to conflicts with other races, and infighting between the tribes?" She asked with a frown that gave me pause, I didn't know this, I had not studied this in school yet, there was no mention of what happened before Equestria was formed, at least nothing other than Hearth Warming's story, or maybe I hadn't gotten that far in my studies yet.

"Before I was old enough to reign over them, they fought amongst themselves and at the same time they had to contend with the constant raids from warlords of many races, pirates, and even other nations trying to take a piece of their territories." So she's saying... Ponies aren't as nice and friendly yo each other as they seem?

"So... Ponies were much less peaceful, was this why they didn't teach this at school? The true nature of ponies wasn't much different than what ponies say other races are like, isn't that what you mean?" I asked and she looked away, unable to meet my gaze.

"They were, before Equestria unified, there were wars between pegasi and unicorns, while earth ponies were more varied, often choosing pacifism but sometimes rarely supporting one side or the other. So you would be right to say that ponies are just as violent as other races, ponies however have me to look after them." She admits the truth without much issue and keeps expanding upon my own theory.

"When... we came to power, Equestria was just formed as a coalition of the tree races for a few decades after the events of Heart Warming's Eve, which before that lived as their own nations separate from each other, unicorns had a similar system to what we have now, the pegasi had a military government who works like the Griffon Empire now, or at least until a week or so ago when they switched officially to a kingdom, and earth ponies had family clans who were more or less like the wolf tribes tribes from the far north." I felt intrigued to learn more about those societies, what they were like and more.

I've heard of the news too, it was incredible that another nation had gone from a purely militaristic government to a kingdom, I really hoped I could get to meet this new king, Treble was it? And I also wanted to visit the nation of the Black Wolves, that has recently made diplomatic ties with Equestria. I wasn't at the castle when the ambassador came here, but I hope next time I can get to meet him and ask all sorts of questions about their kind of love.

"So, to keep ponies safe, we forged an army, combining the strengths of all three tribes of ponies, all of this to help them keep themselves safe and keep the unknown and different away from our borders. I taught my little ponies to be wary of different creatures." She sighed, probably knowing what I was thinking, and she was right, I was not happy with her right now, but I couldn't really hate her over this.

I couldn't do more than disagree, I wasn't there, yet somehow I knew that this is not the way I would have done it, but what choices would she have had? I don't know, and I would probably never know, not until the day I had a similar responsibility, if that day comes, I will prove to her that kindness and love can overcome any obstacle.

"As we expanded, we had more interactions between ponies and different species, I created laws to protect my ponies from other species who moved in with us, that way the law would always benefit our kind, competition is not what I wanted for my little ponies after all, our peaceful way of life meant that sometimes, I had to get my hooves dirty to keep it that way, laws were put in place to prevent interracial relationships from bearing foals, as hybrids would be much too different, potentially dangerous and have a different way of thinking and seeing the world than my little ponies, do you understand now Cadence?"I knew I should have said no, then and there, there is no need for her to make any of this laws.

"I did all this to protect them. If I wanted to keep other creatures from living here and marrying ponies, It made most sense to make it as undesirable as possible for them." I felt sick, disgusted even, the worst was the fact that I knew she was serious, I could feel it in her heart, she believed this was for the best, and yet there was regret and guilt, not a little bit either.

I had to know why, why would she think this way? My sight started to blur as I felt like this was too much, I felt like someone was pressing my throat closed.

"I-I don't understand Princess... why didn't you find a compromise, something that benefited everyone equally? Why didn't you make alliances with other races instead? This... This makes the world a worse place for every single creature living in it, including ponies, don't you see?! Ponies who love others who aren't ponies suffer too, they would have been heartbroken when they find out they can't marry and have foals with other species, you CANT DO THIS!" I screamed out in fury at the last one, my wings extended in indignation and bitter tears falling down my face openly, I couldn't stop them or cared to pretend I was fine, I wasn't fine.

I felt very disappointed and furious at her for making those laws, and also felt really sad for those poor souls who were separated from their loved ones, all the love she extinguished in such a cruel way, foals were the most wonderful result of love, I couldn't imagine what those interspecies lovers felt like when they learned of this law.

But why was she admitting all of this? Why would she want me to see her as such a terrible pony? I was very close to screaming out my thoughts on the unfairness of all this, or just get up and run away from her, to never look back, but I took a few deep breaths and let her continue, to explain herself fully.

"Being a ruler of a nation as large as Equestria is not easy, and peace had a terrible cost." She looked down, a frown that didn't convey all the emotions she was feeling on her usually smiling and beautiful face, she looked old like this.

"The reason it is so peaceful, calm and safe here, is exactly because I kept every other nation in check to prevent them from becoming a military threat, from even opposing us, imagine had I not done this, we would be under the Griffon Empire's flag by now, or under some other, more powerful nation, you see ponies don't innovate at the same speed as others, they are much more dependent on magic, earth pony magic, pegasi magic, and of course, unicorn magic. " Her eyes softened somewhat when she looked into my own, but she didn't stop explaining herself, I felt unsure as to what even say, was all of this worth the misery of others, just so we could be happy and live our peaceful and carefree lives?

"I was the deterrent for other nations to invade us, I'm the strongest spell caster in the last thousand years, and my little ponies have a gift with magic, now dear niece tell me, have you seen a foreign army marching on Equestrian soil in your lifetime?" Her question had an obvious answer. I never did even heard of something like that happening here, yet this... This peace came at a great cost, something I wasn't willing to accept, not fully, and yet I still couldn't fully blame her for wanting to protect her own nation, if she had done this only, I wouldn't care too much, It was politics, but the laws against the right to reproduce for loving interspecies couples... That was unacceptable.

"N-no, I never experienced any conflict like this, never has anypony I know either, but... I just think there has to be change, this isn't right, aren't we strong enough as a nation now to be able to help others to grow and prosper like they would be without your interference? Please... Auntie Celestia, you have to fix this mess you've created, you have to make things right." My tone was pleading, I was just a filly, but even I know this is all wrong, I knew this had to stop. "The laws... against love, against life, they should have never been made, EVER! And you know it, I... I don't know what to make of you anymore Celestia." I held my head with my hooves while sitting down, my eyes closed to try to pretend I was not crying, but my small sobs were pretty clear.

"The reason I'm telling you all of this, my dear Cadence, is because I need your help, I know... No one deserves to suddenly have this all dumped on them out of nowhere like I just did, but you're the only one I have that I trust with this, you and someone else, someone who you know well." She spoke a tone of genuine hope, a look that made her look quite vulnerable, she was asking for help, something that she may not have done in a long time. "I have ponies I trust, of course, but... They all lack the empathy and kindness that is required now, I don't need efficiency, I don't need the cheapest or the fastest way to do what is right, I want the right way, the kind and dignified way to uplift those who need it."

"Despite your age you are the Alicorn of Love, this was clear from the day I felt your ascension, you have... Incredible potential, and recently, a few years ago, I decided I would change my ways, I mean it seriously, I started by reversing all laws against interracial relationships, the ones that limit the reproductive capability of individuals of another race while in Equestrian territory, although this laws only applied to a few, very specific species. I suspect this will greatly increase the number of non ponies moving in." She paused and looked at me in the eyes. "I'm sorry for having written those terrible laws, I really am now, I had not realized the pain I was causing until I was faced with it."

"I know this isn't much of a change in policies, but a few years ago, I started a multi million bits construction project to connect Equestrian rail lines with the Griffon Empire's where they agreed to send workers and some of their materials to help construct a railway system that goes all the way to their capital city of Griffonstone, I am paying for everything, even paying to the griffon workers, enough for them to improve their lives and help their economy." Auntie explained, a small smile on her muzzle. I could see she was willing to change, she had taken a first step by now without my help and without me needing to tell her anything, so I decided to offer her my support, I set aside my anger, I was still sad, but I couldn't stay angry, if she was trying her best to change, was I going to just give my back to her, and not help? I had the chance to make a difference, despite what I may feel towards her now, she is still my family, she still clearly loves me and I still... I love her like family, and family sticks together even during difficult moments.

Now it was my chance to support her, to ensure no terrible laws are approved again, I will give her a few conditions though.

"You... Yes, yes I will help you with this Princess, I'll do my best to help, other nation's creatures deserve to live happy and peaceful lives too, and if it means ponies have to help them get back up, that's okay. I would rather give up the luxury of living in the castle if it meant that there would be even a single being with a roof over their head and food in their belly." Despite everything, I got closer to her and nuzzled her side and laid my head on her front shoulder. She still had a long way to go but I should be there to make sure she keeps going.

In all honest I didn't know much about other nations, not really, newspapers here didn't seem interested in writing about them, other than important news like the new Griffon Kingdom, as now there was a king in charge.

"I'm glad you decided to change, or I would not have been able took at you in the eyes again, but if you really mean it, I would say that the next step is to organize a talk with all of the world leaders, a conversation where every representative of every single nation is invited, and can speak freely to you and between each other, and you can talk with them, find out what they need help with in their own nations, from there I think you will figure out what the next step is after that." I wiped my nose on a handkerchief that was on the table, as well as wiping the tears off my face.

"Y-you also have to let me look at any laws that you pass before you do, and if I think one of them is going to be harmful, I'll tell you not to pass it, and you won't, that's my condition okay? I'll study the laws, I'll make I understand what everything means, and If I don't understand something, I'll expect you to explain, okay?" I ask, my voice going back to normal, and not my shaky, crying tone from earlier.

I understood now why she told me all of this, she was trying to change, she needed advice and for good advice I need to know the truth, despite how bad it was. Still I wanted to throw my food and every other dish at her face and mane, but... I have placed a new responsibility on my shoulders now.

Time to calm down, deep breaths, remember that she is asking for help, she's willing to change, yes, love is forgiving, and she did enough for me that she deserves another chance, at least she changed since then, clearly she is trying to do the right thing.

"I've been thinking the same thing, my dear niece, you would be an amazing help when dealing with laws and it would be great training for you, also... it was thanks to one of your friends that I made up my mind about telling you all of this, although I was questioning myself about some of this topics a long time ago, who really convinced me to change my mind was your friend, after I had a talk with him, he just... Struck a cord in me that I couldn't have expected, and now I want to do everything in my power to change my ways for the better, I haven't told you everything just yet, if you would allow me... I will let you know about a secret that I've been keeping from ponies for a long, long time." I felt extremely confused by her words, who? Which one of my friends could have changed her mind? And what is that secret? I couldn't keep my curiosity in check any longer, and also my worry for whoever friend she talked to.

"W-what do you mean? What could one of my friends do to change your mind on something like this? And what secret you mean? I thought you already told me what you did." I decided to be safe just in case and outright ask, because while I had my suspicions, I wasn't sure.

She rolled her eyes good naturedly and smiled at me. "Onyx of course, what other non pony is part of your friend group? I went to visit him at his house, we had a really interesting conversation, after I threatened him, insulted him, hit him and humiliated him, I made it clear to him that I was in charge and that any misbehaving would not be tolerated, and do you know what his reaction to all of this was?" She mentioned casually, but I could see the hurt in her eyes, I could feel the pain and sadness she felt, she regretted this dearly for some reason, any normal pony would think she didn't feel anything more than contempt, because she kept a very tight leash on her outward emotions, but she did feel bad for what she did.

I could understand she was sad, but she went this far and did this to one of my best friends, I felt like my mane was going to catch on fire from the sheer fury I felt at the time, my magic flared and lit the room, and my horn glowed menacingly with an unreleased overpowered stun spell, the one Onyx taught me, just dozens of times stronger.

"No, I don't, but I really hope you apologized to him, or... You won't have a niece anymore, because I'll leave the castle. I know a few families who would take me in as one of them if I were to leave here, but first I will make sure you're sorry!" I answered with barely restrained fury, letting out a snort and then taking a deep breath to calm down, I shouldn't jump to extremes right now, I need to act civil.

I sighed and asked in a soft, worried voice. "Please, tell me, what did he do after you hurt him? Celestia I really hope you change, because if you don't, you won't be my auntie any longer, im serious." I gave her an ultimatum, hoping that she gets the seriousness of the situation.

She lowered her head slightly at my words, not defensive or angry as I expected, nor demanding anything, instead she is resigned and sad.

"I haven't... not properly. I want to give him a proper apology, something that he appreciates and it's meaningful, not just words, and I'm waiting for the right time for that." She admitted, then continued.

"Well I'll tell you what he did, he begged me to change, he hugged me and showed me affection as of I was hurt and needed it." Of course he would do that, showing his care and love is in his nature, I've felt it before and he couldn't let anypony feel miserable if he could do something about it.
I felt tears starting to form in the corners of my eyes as I thought about how she hurt him and despite that he offered kindness.

"What he said next really changed my perspective.
He promised me he would do something, not for me, but because it's the right thing to do, he will help bring back my sister! C-can you believe it?!"
I could, of course he would find a way to diffuse the situation, the same thing he tried when Flaming Rose started becoming aggressive, yet here it seems it worked on his favor this time.

"Even after all I've put him through, he turned around and offered his help, instead of fighting back or trying to run away, he offered me kindness in return for the pain I inflicted on him, he offered me something I haven't had in centuries, a second chance to be a good sister. I-I know I never told you about her, my little sister before." By the time she was done explaining, we were both openly crying, her more than me and for different reasons, her body was shuddering from sobs, something I never thought I would see.

I was crying over my dear friend suffering in her hooves for no good reason, she had no reason to do what she did to him, he hasn't even done anything wrong. Onyx, if you ever want to get back at her, I'll be on your side.

Princess Celestia was wiping tears from her eyes with her fetlock as she thought about her long lost sister, and what their reunion would be like, then she summoned a handkerchief and wiped her eyes and nose, yet fresh tears formed again, soon after.

I wiped away my tears and sniffled, unable to even say anything for a few seconds, instead of cowering, or fighting back, that I'm sure he could have, instead he tried to help her and give her a reason to be better. That was truly admirable and made me see him in a completely new way. It was clear he didn't want to fight her, he just wanted things to be peaceful and happy.

The fact Celestia had a sister didn't register for a while yet, but if she hadn't told me it must have been for a reason. "I-I don't really mind if you didn't tell me about your sister before, I hope that whatever he has planned works, and your sister can get back with you safe and sound. What is her name, if I may ask? And how come I've never even heard or read about her?"

Our dinner forgotten and cold by now on the table, Celestia looked at me, with a small spark of hope in her eyes. "Her name is Luna, a thousand years ago, she used to rule beside me for a few decades when we were young mares, but... She was taken over by something evil, I had no choice but to put her in magical stasis and banish her to the moon, there she still remains.
This was almost a thousand years ago, and... In only eighteen years, the spell holding her in stasis will fail, and she will be able to return to our world." I gasped, having heard of the legend somewhere, it was familiar. Despite my feelings towards her at the time, I held onto her chest tightly, shivering in fear at the thought of an evil alicorn, then I remembered something.

Celestia hugged me back, comforting me with her wings.

"Y-you mean... Nightmare Moon is... r-real?! I heard stories about her, back in my old village, we used to celebrate Nightmare Night, and we would offer candy to her so she would not go after us foals, I always thought she was just... A way to keep foals obedient and make them go to sleep early." I felt frightened at this news, was she really the same mare? And what would her return mean? I trembled at the thought of having to face her, I hope there is way to heal her from this thing that took over her.

And despite what Celestia did, I'm sure Luna wasn't equally as guilty as her, she, as far as I know, could be the complete opposite in that aspect. I was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.

"Yes she is very much real, as well as partially my fault, please keep this between us for now, my little sister was... Infected with something from a different dimension after I failed her, she was stricken with resentment and grief and her will weakened, I could feel it in her magic after it happened, it was otherworldly and much different than what Luna would use, and she proclaimed to be Nightmare Moon, I tried everything, but she was stronger than me after her transformation into this being." She sighs and looks tiredly at the ground, remembering how they fought, a part of me wonders what a fight between two Alicorns looked like, but I knew it would have been deadly for anyone caught in between.

She continued retelling her memories, while I tried to put myself in her hooves, to imagine what was going through her mind at the time. Wait... What did she mean it was her fault?

"You may wonder, why is it my fault? This is the short version, I conspired against her, I turned everypony against her until she was hopeless and alone, dependant only on me, or so I thought.
Then Nightmare Moon happened, it was my fault Cadence, I... I broke her spirit, she gave up and the Nightmare took over then." I was unsure of what to say or do, somehow I wasn't surprised, not after what she told me before.

I knew it was a long time ago, but it still made me feel sick, I didn't, couldn't think about this now, on top of everything else, or I would get overwhelmed.

"Just... Tell me what happened after, for now, we will talk more about the reasons and what you did some other time, okay?" I got a small nod, it was clear she felt the worst regret over what she did to her sister.

"I couldn't defeat her or even imprison her, so in a desperate attempt, I used powerful magical artifacts to put her in a magical stasis and then I banished her to a place where no one could try to disrupt the spell, the empty surface of the moon, this is all I can tell you for now, we should go back to eating, food is cold by now and you need to go to sleep, maybe you can help me up tomorrow to come up with a way to apologize to your friend Onyx, but its my responsibility, I just... I want ideas from one of his closest friends." She finished her explanation and I knew not to pry further, for now anyways.

Her emotions were a mixture of self loathing and grief over her sister now, but there was a spark of hope somewhere there too, it shone like a beacon in the endless void of negativity, that beacon shone brighter when she mentioned apologizing to Onyx, she clearly felt that he was the key to getting her sister back, I needed to ask him about this.

"When you mean getting her back, you mean restoring her as she was before... Before she was... changed right?" I ask in concern, but thankfully she nodded right away.

"Of course, Onyx said that much, that there was a way to get Luna back, not Nightmare Moon, Luna, my sister, he will help me bring her back, and for that I owe him... A lot, I don't even know how much that is, I'm willing to give him anything he may want, once he gets her back to me that is." I smiled at her, knowing she was willing to go that far for her sister and Onyx, maybe... I could help too.

She still has a long way to go, if she truly has changed I could forgive her, I didn't want her to fall back into her old habits, so I decided to be supportive and kind, maybe there was hope for her yet.

"I'll talk to Onyx about this, I'm going to help him too, whatever he has planned to make this happen, I'm sure he could use my help and my emphatic abilities, as well as my knowledge about relationships! If this means getting back your sister, and if it means you become a better pony thanks to having her back, then you have my support auntie!" I gave her a big hug, squeezing her quite hard, smiling slightly.

She may have done terrible things, and hurt countless others, but she is changing now, who was I to condemn her for it? I benefitted from her actions as well as all other ponies, I still think it was wrong of her but I can't leave her to make more of this mistakes by herself.

Now that she told me, it's my responsibility too, maybe it was her plan all along.

She's my aunt, we are family, I feel like... It's my duty to keep her on the right path, to help her be her best self, now that she told me her flaws, it was clear she liked to be in control, she also didn't like change, yet she was doing her best to change for the better, and to relinquish control of every single detail of her little ponies lives, she was doing something that must be really hard for her.

She removed the laws keeping them 'protected' from reproduction with a non pony, specially those who could produce very exotic creatures, like dragons and ponies.

Who knew? From what I've read on, a creature called a kirin was born, a very unique creature capable of using magic like a unicorn and fire like a dragon, and what's more interesting, they could transform when they were in a heightened emotional state, and were highly dangerous because their fire coming out of their bodies.

Yet they could be raised in a safe environment and with proper care I'm sure they wouldn't be dangerous to anypony.

"Thank you, my dear niece, don't let me make the same mistakes of the past, please? I want Luna to be proud of me when she comes back, most importantly, I want her to... to forgive me, to see I changed for the better." At this she closed her eyes and hugged me back, much gentler and softer than I hugged her, she felt regret over her actions and that was real, I will be the one to stay with her, to share her burdens with, at least until Luna comes back.

After that I sat down next to her and levitated my food over to my new spot.

I have regained some of my appetite, finally feeling well enough to eat dinner with her.

It has been an interesting talk, and very emotionally and mentally draining, but it was good that it happened.

After that we ate dinner reheated by a spell, I would never see her again the same way, as the perfect mare that I thought she was, I just couldn't see her the same, but maybe... That wasn't a bad thing, she had as many flaws or even more flaws than the average Canterlot noble, but unlike them, she was willing to change, she is changing, and not only when it came to herself, but also the laws and policies of Equestria.

I will still help Onyx get back at her if he ever planned something, he should prank her.

Luna however... I'm gonna help him get Luna back, I'll help him with whatever he has planned, once I figure out what, because it's the right thing to do.

Earlier that day.

It was a surprise when Flaming Rose came back to school, everypony was thinking she had been kicked out by Princess Celestia, but she was just suspended for four days, what surprised everyone was the lack of horn on her head, and the way she carried everything with her hooves or maw, she was very much clumsy when it came to using her hooves to write and it showed, eliciting some giggles from other foals when she would drop something or when she messed up in another way.

I didn't laugh, I felt concerned for her, what happened to her horn? Why was she acting so... Unlike herself, she wouldn't even look at other ponies, too shy to meet their gaze, let alone me or the girls, she kept well away from everyone, even from her former friends who now also didn't want to sit anywhere close to her, instead she chose to sit on the back of the class every day now, focusing solely on the classes and reading to pass the time, not going out other than to use the bathroom or drink water, what I was sure of, is that she is all alone now, and doesn't seem to want to even talk to anypony.

I thought about going to check on her, but knowing she hated my guts and has been trying to bully me for months before, I didn't feel so inclined, of course she didn't have any interest in talking to me, so we stayed distant.

It was different than before, she or her friends didn't bother me, but Lemon Drops and Right Angle at least talked to me, as well as Cadence and Ruby, we all sort of became friends, it was much slower and cautious than my other friends, but I could say we were acquaintances by now, if anything at all.

Today was different, at recess, I stayed in the classroom reading Enchantment and Runes Vol. 3 and everypony else was outside playing or just talking, except for us.

I'm becoming more of a nerd than I was before, aren't I? Well at least I got my first kiss, that brought a small smile to my face and a light blush.

Flaming Rose and I stayed in the classroom, she didn't seem to care or even know I was there, as she had her face covered with her hooves and silent, as if she was sleeping.

That's what I thought at first at least, until I started to pick up crying, soft and barely audible but my sharp senses picked it up clear as day, it was Rose, she laid there and cried almost silently to herself. It went on for a while and I felt bad, so I approached, I couldn't just... Ignore her like this any longer, despite anything that may have happened I still had empathy.

"Hey Flaming Rose, right?" I commented quietly, trying to get her attention.
She ignored me, instead, she kept crying quietly.

Deciding I needed to press on I tried to show some kindness. "What's wrong? Why are you crying? I... Noticed you are missing your horn too, if there is any way I can help, let me know, we can talk too." I offered, standing in front of her desk.

She uncovered her face, looking at me with a frown, tears falling down her face, she stared into my eyes and I stared into hers for a few seconds before she spoke at barely above a whisper.

"It's your fault, you... And Cadence, even that red filly, you all made me really angry, I was so furious! So... I lost it, I attacked... Princess Celestia's niece, a future Princess, and I paid for what I did, happy now?" She said with a gradually raising voice and angry tone, then she slumped in her seat, looking sad.

"Now you know that's not fair, look... I don't want any trouble with anypony, I've never fought back against you three, did I?
None of this would have happened if you didn't bother me and try to make me leave in the first place, you know?" I asked in a neutral tone, not really angry but a bit sad that she still thought so lowly about me, and my friends.

"I won't ever bother you again, I just don't care anymore, I just... I thought I was helping out the ponies here by getting rid of you, but when Lemon and Angle sided with you and your friends over me, all I saw is red.
I wanted to hurt them, and you, and everypony." She looked down in shame, I could tell she didn't feel the same right now, there was regret on her face.

"Now because of that, I'm an earth pony, and I don't know how long until the Princess forgives me, but at least since she used that spell on me, I've felt a lot less angry at everything. Still I-I miss my magic." She exclaims with a sad pout.

So... Princess Celestia was behind this change, I wasn't sure if being an earth pony suited her or not, but I could think of a way of fixing this. At least a way that didn't involve me using a forbidden spell that could get my parents in trouble. No way I was showing I could dispel magic, not that I believed myself able to easily unmake one of her spells, it was probably a much higher tier spell than what I could use, but perhaps with enough trial and error maybe I could get it disrupted and dispelled.

No spell is perfect after all.

"You may need to go along with what she said then, show her you really learn your lesson." I could not see any easier way for her to get her horn back, by the frustrated look she is giving me.

"S-seriously? You expect me to... just play nice with the ponies who caused all of this?!" She asked in disbelief.

"I'm sure the Princess will return your unicorness to you if you prove you aren't going to go hurting other ponies or non ponies again, just... Prove her wrong, prove that you have changed, if you do, I promise I'll help you with magic practice as a gesture of good will between us, okay?" I encouraged her, a small smile on my face, I hope she will at least give me a chance, but I could still see she has doubts.

"W-why would I ever believe you have any talent in magic? You don't have a cutie mark, so... Why would I take lessons from you? Y-you're not even a unicorn..." She questioned me, but her expression softened somewhat, she didn't say no, she didn't throw my offer away. We had written magic lessons but I never really got to show my talent yet, as everything we did was too basic and easy, for now.

I couldn't believe it, that he, a dragon of all things, showed more kindness to me than everypony else, they all just ignored me like I wasn't even there, he offered me help me get my horn back, even if that help was just advice, to do what Princess Celestia says.

What else could I do? He is right, I can't go against the Princess.

My dam was wrong, I kept believing and trusting her on that, I kept worrying over and spying on him every single day, looking for some sign he was a rotten and vicious as dam says, that he was hiding something bad, but all I could see was that he didn't seem too concerned about anything, he seemed so carefree and... Happy, always excited to learn magic and reading his books on magic and runes with a damn smile.

Thinking about it more, it wasn't that uncommon for somepony to want to learn what they like, that is exactly how I felt when Vine taught me fire magic after I discovered my special talent with fire.

He seemed genuinely surprised and wary of us first when we started to pick on him.

But after a few more attempts, he just stopped caring, he didn't show any emotions other than mild annoyance at us, and most times, he didn't even show that, to the point that he smiled when we tried to beat him up. I knew now it wasn't because he was crazy or stupid, I learned the hard way.

One buck from my hind hooves on his side, and I had a limp for the entire day afterwards, after that I didn't try it again, using magic wasn't much better either.

When I tried to cast directly on him, most spells would just slide right off like as if he was slippery, some would stick, but he always got rid of them somehow as soon as we moved away.

It was infuriating.

I just kept doing what I did because I felt I would let down my dam, and my friends seemed to agree with me, maybe their parents told them the same thing I was told, they were our parents and we did what they told us, at first doing what they said was fun, but ever since I hurt myself trying to hurt him, it started to feel like a chore, it got harder, and the only way we realistically could hurt him was to destroy or damage his stuff, his school books and bags, its the only thing that made him react.

That is, until Cadence happened, she convinced my friends to sit down and talk, and to make friends with them, I didn't like Cadence, ever, she has that... prim and proper attitude and way of talking and being an alicorn and all.
It just... It makes me want to show her that not everypony looks up at her just because she's royalty.

When I saw my friends were with her and turned their backs on me, I felt fury, I felt jealousy and betrayal.

They decided to side with her instead of me, and that's when I felt a deep anger and fury overcome me, and I attacked the one who tried to convince my friends to leave me, and my former friends too, they didn't want to be my friends anymore after talking to Cadence for just a few minutes, yet I shouldn't have attacked, dam told me to never use the spell unless I was in danger.

And yet I let that anger out in the worst way possible.

I expected to get expelled, but the Princess had a lesson for me instead, or a punishment, to be humiliated by everypony and to relearn how to be a pony, and I had to admit I was really bad at using my hooves like an earth pony.

My coordination with hooves wasn't magically improved by becoming an earth pony, nor was my ability to hold things with my maw like they did, it still felt clumsy and I lacked practice, something I had to get used to for days at home, then coming here and getting laughed at by other foals was just... Humiliating beyond anything I've experienced before.

Not all of my classmates laughed at me, he didn't laugh nor did Cadence or Ruby, they just more or less kept their distance and didn't want to interact with me, however he looked concerned ever since I came back and decided to approach me instead.

At first I ignored him, sitting there and crying like a little filly that can't even do anything right anymore.

But he showed something that made me want to listen, he tried to help, he offered to help.

A kindness I would have never shown him if I was in his place, he did it without mocking me, other than pointing out the truth when I tried to blame him or the others.

I can't believe I'm even considering his offer, but... Why the hay not? I had nothing to lose now, I cried out all of my sadness by now, at least it felt that way. I felt no intense anger ever since the Princess changed me into an earth pony, only the sadness.

"So you don't believe me, hmm I guess there's something I can do about it.
There are a few ways I could show you, but I think the easiest one is by showing you my home right now, and coming back before the bell rings." He spoke confidently while offering his clawed hoof-paw, claw?

I considered his genuine offer, he is smiling at me and it feels genuine, an offer of peace in his own way. I wanted to say no at first, but I saw something in him that made me hesitate.

His absolute obsession with magic, it's the same I felt towards my own magical fascination, fire magic.

"Yes prove it! Wait... Going home and coming back? But the bell is about to ring, it's... Only four... five minutes away, so how?" I asked him with a small challenging smirk, feeling better than before.

I wanted to see if he truly could do it or he was all talk, I looked at his paw and steeled myself, before grabbing it with my hoof, it felt a bit different, grasping something as an earth pony, I felt a lot more and I could grab onto his paw better somehow.

I was getting used to this, little by little.

I felt him holding gently and without his claws that I knew he could extend and retract, I've seen him do so while holds some things, his large claws coming out, looking like daggers, black as night.

Knowing he could hurt me so badly if he wanted, but he didn't somehow made me feel more relaxed about him.

"By teleporting there and back, how else?" The dragon shot me a wink, I was certainly skeptical but hopeful.

I remember dam told me once that the Archmage could use the real Teleport spell, and of course the Princess, but no one else was at that level, i decided that even if he failed, I'd get to ask him to try another spell.

I decided that also a warning would be a good idea, as I didn't want to be played into some sort of prank.

"If you can do it, I'll take lessons from you, but you better not be playing a prank on me, I've already made a fool of myself by crying in front of you, I don't need another humiliation today..." I shot him a small glare, daring him to lie to me, before sighing in resignation, it was obviously a joke of some type, right? Why else would he talk to me after what I did to his friends.

He didn't look any less confident on his abilities, surprisingly enough.

"If you never teleported before, you could experience nausea, but because this is a shorter range teleport you will not feel too bad, here we go!" His eyes glowed brightly and we were both surrounded in his magical energies, and teleported away in an instant, appearing in a very different place.

There was a strange crack of magic that I heard when we arrived, I looked around the room, in one corner there was a work desk with parchment and an inkwell as well as pencils and various other writing utensils that I didn't know much about, strange gemstones and tools were also spread around the desk.

Some paintings are hung around the white room, depicting strange places, some were forests and nature, others were of cities, I couldn't help but think of Manhattan and Phillydelphia.

There was a few ones I couldn't quite place, but I didn't know much about other nations. There was one that caught my eye the most, a large canvas that depicted a village with beautiful fields of wildflowers and giant crops all around, in the background there was a castle with colorful banners and the sky was made of a rainbow of colors, seemingly swirling about randomly and forming clouds, it looked like a place right out of a dream.

"Oh my goodness! You really... teleported us?! Where... are we exactly?" I asked feeling in awe at his ability to teleport, and fascinated by the place, then I realized we were on a circle on the ground, a magic circle, it was carefully painted by hoof, and while I didn't know what it meant, it was no coincidence we teleported here.

It made more sense now why he could teleport, but it was still an awesome display of power.

"Well, not only unicorns can cast magic, you know? Dragons also have magic, they use their natural ability to breathe fire, to cast and channel spells with a special fire." He winked at me and showed off, opening his muzzle, the long fangs looked honestly rather scary, and... Different, inside his muzzle a sphere of energy formed, a small spark of color indigo, magic focused without a spell, the arcs of energy jumped between his fangs.

Then he closed his muzzle and smiled at me, turning around and gesturing to the room around excitedly.

"Welcome Flaming Rose! This is my home, where I live with my family, this room is the exercise room, and my personal study is over there on that side.
It's where I do my hobbies, enchantment and the like. What do you think?" He turned to me and asked with his ears perked, paying attention to my every word and expression.

"You... Practice enchantment? That's where you place runes for effects or spells on regular items, right?" I ask with curiosity, remembering about reading something about it during class.
"Who's your teacher?" I wondered who taught him that school of magic, as it was not exactly part of the regular school's program for our year.

"I read some books, I got motivated and learned by myself." He answered casually, before gazing at the clock on the wall and frowning slightly.
"Let's go back before classes start again, 'kay? I can tell from your face that you had at least some fun, I'll take pride in that." He offers his paw with a smile, I hold him with a small smile of my own.
I have to admit, for a non pony, he's not so bad.

"Y-yes let's go back, sorry for doubting you, I wasn't expecting you, or anypony to be able to be able to teleport other than Princess Celestia, just.. how? How did you manage to even comprehend this spell? Let alone to have the power to cast it yourself..." Just how could a foal, a colt be able to do what most ponies who studied magic for ages couldn't? He doesn't have a cutie mark! And yet he still could, he made it look easy too.

"I started studying this spell years ago, mom bought it to me at the library since it's a publicly available spell, she got it for me and I tried it every day along with all of its variations and little by little I learned them, it seems I do have a talent for magic after all. No need for rump emblems when you have actual skill, hm?" His confident smile made me remember how I felt the time I got my cutie mark, out camping with my sire and he couldn't might the fire.

We were caught by a strong, wild snowstorm on the Foal Mountain range and we could not get the fire going, matches weren't cutting it.

At that point, amidst the fear and worry I felt the magic within me grow hot, my intent was to help, to protect both of us.

I focused on my magic and called out to it, and as if by instinct I casted a constant stream of fire from my horn, thawing the snow off it, drying it and lighting it up, allowing us to have warmth and a place to cook our food for the rest of the day.

I remember the flabbergasted look he first gave me and the big beaming smile he had when he realized what happened, he thanked me and we celebrated together by sharing the best of our rations.

I still love camping, and the outdoors, it's the only place where I feel my talent is useful, what good is fire at home if magical stoves can heat up food just as good? Maybe that's why dam got in the royal guard, because she could make use of her talent and practice it further.

I looked around a while more for a minute while he started casting the spell to take us back, then we blinked back to the classroom, right were we left.

Now, I looked at him in awe, one thing was using a magic circle to help teleport, but another was to teleport back where there was no magic circle, how?! Maybe he was even more impressive than I thought.

His eyes retained that indigo glow he had when he started casting for a few seconds more before slowly returning to normal.

I couldn't help but smile at having experienced a spell like this, he probably understood how I felt, maybe I should talk to him about it in the future, how having a talent that doesn't fit in society can cause you to feel isolated.

Maybe he felt the same, having magic so potent that he couldn't use it outside of very special cases.

Somehow I doubted it, he had far too much practice with that spell, he didn't seem to focus too much to cast it.

"I-I guess cutie marks aren't really that important, if you didn't need one to become so powerful... I would like you to teach me, please." I asked in almost a whisper, he didn't answer just yet but he looked at me, clearly thinking about what to say.

This was all so surreal, what would have my past self from a few days ago thought about this? Would she be furious? Maybe becoming an earth pony put things into perspective instead of being the punishment I thought it was at first.

The Princess told me to not listen to my dam Vine, maybe she's right, I had no one now, because of Cadence I have no friends, my family doesn't understand me, I lost my horn and I can't use magic at all, not even my telekinesis for everyday tasks.

But I think I had somepony who cared, that was... More than what I could say I had for the last four days. Nopony wanted to talk to me, not even my sire after what happened and Princess Celestia's visit, everyone is disappointed and distant.

"Keep this between us, and remember, if you keep this up, I'll make sure that you'll get your horn back and you'll learn and train with me, just imagine how far you could go if you had someone to practice with that could easily push you past your previous limits."
He spoke with a determined and very confident voice, and I somehow knew he was telling the truth.

He had more than proved it now.

"Do we have a deal?" A deal... It may be weird, but I didn't feel worried anymore, I didn't feel afraid of him like I used to, sure he was still a bit intimidating compared to other ponies, but I could see myself hanging out with him, he showed he was protective and strong, dependable and kind.

His paw started glowing as he offered it, indigo sparks dancing on the appendage, his smile widened just a bit creepily making back away. "Just kidding, there's no magical shenanigans." The glow disappeared and his expression returned to a less predatory one.

I rolled my eyes at his attempt to mess with me.
"Hmph, I know you're harmless."

I took his paw and shook it, feeling myself smile a bit. "Deal, you have proven that you are more than capable of keeping your word, now it's my turn to prove to you that I'm not just a filly with anger issues."

"I know you're better than that, but please don't blame Cadence for what happened, learn to accept responsibility and you will become the very best you can be, okay?" He pleaded with a hopeful look in his eyes. Of course he cared about his friend, I knew he hadn't just abandoned because he decided to be nice to me.

I thought about it, I did blame Cadence for what happened, but... Had she really started it? She never stopped my friends from talking to me, she didn't try to talk me down as much as she did with them, I didn't like her, no, but I don't think I'm going to try anything with her again.

"I'm not going to do anything to her, but I don't like her anyways, i guess it's fine but I don't want to talk to her, at least for now, is that... Acceptable? I don't wanna talk to Lemon or Angle either..." I sighed, lowering my ears, I felt still upset about what happened and the consequences, sure it wasn't as bad now, with the new perspective, I could have had it so much worse, if I really had hurt Cadence or the other fillies, Princess Celestia would be furious and who knows what she would have done?

Thanks to him, who shielded his friends, I was let go with only a lesson to learn, and the chance to redeem myself.

I was surprised when he moved in and held me in a hug, my eyes widening for a few seconds, not expecting that. "You don't have to talk to them if you don't want to, they're my friends, at least Cadence and Ruby are, but I don't want to force you to talk to them, you will talk with them all when you're ready and only then, meanwhile I'll keep them off you, and tell them not to bother you until you are feeling better, I promise."

His words made me relax and nod, then I did something I couldn't imagine myself doing just a few days ago, hugging a non pony, hugging him quite hard, my new earth pony strength manifesting for the first time. "Brr you're really cold!" I was taken by surprise by how cold he felt, but I didn't stop hugging him, it's summer after all.

He made a small grunt of surprise at my sudden stronger hug, then he smiled wide and hugged back just as hard as I had squeezed him, surprising me in return, we both let go after that, sharing a small laugh, dam really got it wrong, didn't she? He's nothing like what she kept telling me.

I felt a kinship start to grow, he isn't my enemy like I used to think, and neither is he a monster, maybe dam wanted me to think so, but I had more fun with him than I ever did with ponies.
I couldn't deny that.

Powerful magic was something i wasn't used to seeing, and he had shown me a teleportation spell, maybe I could return the favor and show him my special talent spell someday...

I decided I will make this right first.

"Thank you, c-could we start over? As if this was the first time we meet? I'm sorry, about all I've done and said to you." I asked shyly, but I had hope, he looked me over for a few seconds, then nodded.

"Go ahead, and... apology accepted! maybe you'll make it up to me sometime, but for now an apology like that is enough, it's more than I ever got out of the other two." He chuckled and shook his head.
I smiled happily and nodded quickly, owing him a favor wasn't as bad, he didn't ask for anything like bits or for me to embarrass myself for his amusement.

"Hey, I'm Flaming Rose, it's good to meet you." I spoke with a friendly and confident tone, stepping forward with my right hoof extended offering a hoof bump.

"Howdy! Name's Onyx, a pleasure to meet a friendly face." He made a hoof shape with his claw and bumped my hoof, I giggled at his fake accent, now that I didn't feel like I had to do what dam told me, I felt free, and in a way making friends with him felt freeing.

Now I could be true to myself, and I felt curiosity overtake my worry that he may be doing this as payback, it's clear that he is being genuine.

I was curious, I felt my thoughts wander to his smooth scales, his body is different, unique, I want to feel his scales, I've felt them a bit before when we shared a hug and all, but I don't get to properly study him.
"Could I... Get a closer look at you? Your scales, they're very interesting and it's all new to me."

"Oh? M-my scales? Y-yeah sure!" he blushed and looked unsure for a moment but then shrugged and stood on a more relaxed posture. "Ookay you can, but there are... Some limits, I'll tell you when to stop, yeah?" I nodded at that, knowing that it's not okay to touch certain areas was some of the first things that we were taught in school.

"I'm aware, I promise to be respectful." I reassured him, and he relaxed his posture at hearing that.

I used my hooves and started to feel his back first, the scales were not rough, they were more like metal, smooth polished metal.

I pressed down on them, and they had a bit of give, so like metal but flexible. "Do you feel that? How does it feel when I touch your scales?"

"I do feel it, just like your hoof can feel whatever you touch, but probably less because you are touching my back." He answers with very simple and clear logic.

"I-I see, hooves are like... Sensitive to pressure and detecting movement around, but not to feel very soft touch on the hard part of the hoof, I suppose I should ask how it feels when I touch your paws."
I should have realized that it made the most sense, his paws equal my hooves probably they are just as sensitive there than ponies on their hooves are to feel vibrations on the ground.

"So, do you like my back? Because your hoof is very invested into kneading my midsection." He playfully asked me, and I could only look away, unsure.

As I kept kneading him, I could feel the muscle beneath the scales, it felt very strong and dense, I felt him flex his back, and the muscles swelled in response. "Don't respond, I can already tell you do."
He stuck his tongue out at me, and I just shrugged.

"Just curious, is all. What about your tail? Why is it so long?! I was always curious about that, is like twice as long as you."

I kept prodding and squeezing until I was satisfied, having traced the shape of the different muscles on the back, his tail next, I noticed it's really long too, and while I squeezed at it near the base, he got all flustered and gently nudged me away. "N-not there, it feels... Odd, you can touch my tail but not near where it connects, okay?" His tone left no room for comebacks, but maybe I did go too far.

"I just think my kind are fond of swimming and my tail reflects that, at least I think so." He answers with a small shrug.
I nodded and moved onto the middle section of the tail, it was different than anything I've seen before, I lifted it and it was heavy too, seeing I wanted to lift it, he easily did it for me, placing his tail on an upward curve, making it so the tail gradually curved up and he held it like that effortlessly.

"Whoa, is it not heavy for you? That looks... Really hard to do, don't you get tired?" I asked but he smiled at me.

"It is heavy, yeah, but I can keep it like this for a while, it helps that is almost entirely made up of muscle too, It's actually very good for swimming, same as my paws." He started wiggling his tail around like a snake, showing how it would be used for swimming, I've read about gators and it's more deadly cousin, cragdiles in my wilderness survival guide and I guess his tail moved like that of an alligator, his paws are webbed with a layer of light blue skin between each of his individual digits.

Another thing that really surprised me was how cold he is.
"Are you... Cold blooded? I like reading on animals and nature, and I've read that some lizards are cold blooded, but you are cold cold, not just regular room temperature like they are." My question made him smirk a bit, but he nodded quickly, lowering his tail now that I was sufficiently convinced of his ability to hold it up, he didn't look tired so I believe him.

"I'm ice cold, or at least close to it, I think it has something to do with my magic but I'm not sure, I haven't ever seen another dragon like me, and I don't want to experiment with myself too much, what if I'm the last of my kind?!" His tone is lighthearted and playful but I can tell he means what he's saying, magic... Could it be that his magical element, his affinity to the element is the opposite of mine? But to such an extreme as to make him literally almost as cold as cold is...

Before we could talk about anything else or do anything more, the bell rings again, we ran both to our seats and pretend we are doing something else, a mutual understanding of keeping things secret was clear, I smiled, pulling out one of my favorite books and started to read.

Wilderness Survival, part 2

I opened the book on a random page and I came across a curious coincidence, this section spoke about survival in the frozen north and the cold areas around it, the long sections of tundra right outside.

How to build a shelter in deep snow and to keep safe from the elements.

As the classroom filled back up with ponies, and his friends got back, he talked to them like always, but he didn't mention me. Good, for now I wasn't ready for any extra attention, and I didn't exactly mind that he had friends, because I knew he still would make some time for me, oddly enough I trust him.

Out of the corner of my eye I caught something disturbing though, Cadence was smiling my way, I glanced at her and she had a stupid smirk on her muzzle, one that spoke volumes about what she knew, and she somehow knew.

I glared at her a silent threat, silently telling her to not speak a word of it. My angry glare seemed to get the point across thankfully.

She nodded and went back to her own stuff, good. I really didn't like her, it was like she was reading my mind, some stupid alicorn ability or something, must be.

I couldn't trust her, not until she came clear and apologized for reading my mind, not until she stopped whatever she was doing.

How did she know me and Onyx were in good terms now? If it wasn't mind reading I don't know what it was, maybe I'll tell him about it, maybe he will be wary of her if he knows.

The class went on as normal, it was interesting and related to biology, a topic I'm curious about.

Best of all, I didn't get any other weird glances from Cadence anymore. It seems that my anger at her perceived mind reading got her to back off.

Author's Note

Cadence learns that Celestia isn't as good as she used to think, and decides she needs to get into politics to make sure that her fellow Alicorn doesn't fuck up anymore.

Chapter 71 Lunch and playing

Saturday 6 of August 983

After yesterday's class I had a good feeling, I've made a... New acquaintance, the one who I expected would mess with me during all the remaining years of highschool, Flaming Rose, I had suspected she wasn't as bad as she was before, and getting to know her could be interesting.

I wonder what changed? Maybe she realized that whatever she had been told about me was wrong, or whoever had taught her had changed her mind, maybe Celestia talking to them did have an impact on their way of thinking.

I yawned and stretched in bed, blinking away a few sleepy tears that helped clean my eyes, I felt so cozy in bed I didn't really want to get up just yet.
I kept pondering what I would do about her.

I know there's more to her than trashy filly with anger issues, she definitively had anger issues, but she seemed more mellow since getting turned into an earth pony, maybe magic did play a part in pony behavior, perhaps it was more unstable because of the lack of use, or maybe that fluctuations I felt from her were really messing with her.

When I first met her, I had a feeling I couldn't quite place, like something was wrong with her, I didn't understand fully what I was feeling or seeing with my spell, until after she came back without her horn the next day.

It was her magic, the day she attacked us, her magic was completely out of whack, instead of her core being a calm, serene sea, it was like a raging hurricane, I didn't exactly know what this meant until Celestia explained to me it was a condition similar to a magical outburst.

After her transformation into an earth pony, she felt stable, like a serene sea, her magic of course still flowed but instead of flowing wildly around her brain, it flowed down to her hooves and dissipated into the ground harmlessly. I made sure to monitor her magical energies every day, just in case now, using 'detect magic' was a sure way of seeing the flows of mana around the body, of course it required some understanding of magic, something I was quite good at, with my 'borrowed' knowledge.

Because the magic core resides in the brain, it makes sense that magic and emotions are tightly linked, after all emotions come from the brain, and not the hearth, even tho the hearth has a large amount of nerves, it's not a second brain.

So knowing all of this facts, I was willing to give her a second chance, because I know that violent attack was not entirely her fault.

But maybe not a third chance, her fault or not, I wouldn't just let it slide if she tried hurting my friends again.

I should maybe read up on some pony books on pony psychology and behavior, maybe that will give me some perspective, because clearly they don't think exactly like me, but not too different either, not to the point that I can't understand what they are feeling, sometimes it can be just a little confusing.

Suddenly I was shaken from my thoughts by mom opening my room's door and entering without knocking, an old instinct took over and I looked around for something to cover myself with for a small instant, then realized I was normally naked anyways and shrugged.

"Onyx, have you forgotten? We had to wake up early today and go pick up the metal ingots you wanted so much, I already delivered the permits to that Black Hammer gentleman as soon as you got them, now, ready to go out and pick this up with me?" My eyes widen and I look at the clock, it's 10am! We were suppose to wake up at 8 and go to the blacksmith.

"Drat! Just give me a few minutes, Ill use the bathroom and get cleaned and run, we can have breakfast later when we are back!" I spoke urgently, and mom nodded with a relaxed smile.

"I already had breakfast honey, and so did everyone else, you're... Sleeping in more than before, that's good, actually I'm glad you are having more sleep, well, see you at the door, don't take too long!" Her smile was contagious, she approached and gave me a small lick on the side of the face and then she left, I ran to the bathroom and prepared for the day.

Once I was ready I met mom at the door where she waited for me like she said, at least now we could teleport to the shop directly without further delay.

"I'm going to get us there right away, we are late as it is, let's hope there isn't too many ponies around, wouldn't want to startle them with my magic, now... Let me remember for a minute, I need to make a mental image of the shop and try my best to remember even the last detail or I may get us to the wrong place." I explained and then closed my eyes, mom didn't really say anything, but she didn't say no, so...

I thought about it, the forge at the back, the waiting area, the decorations, the floor pattern and the black and white theme of all the building, reminiscing of the owner of the store, Black Hammer.

And there. "Ready, getting us there in five seconds." I prepared the spell, now having the location clear in my mind.

Mother placed her snout on my neck, breathing steadily, a sign of trust and affection, I smiled at this and triggered the spell.

In an instant, we shifted locations, a small crack of thunder resonated in the inside of the shop, and a few panicked shouts too, I blinked, looking at the ponies around, some had jumped back in fright and surprise, thankfully they didn't start running around in a panic, and some relaxed a lot when they saw mom, for some reason.

"Ahh! You really startled us! Where did you come from...?!" A guardmare exclaimed, then she looking at mom and then slowly moving to look at me, I just waved and gave her and the other ponies around an apologetic smile.

She was... Somehow I felt like I've seen her and talked to her before somewhere...

Every other pony stared at us and there was a certain tension in the air, as if everypony was waiting for something to happen, for someone to say something.

I scratched my head, this... Blue unicorn mare, didn't I see her before? She was wearing armor at the time, but it was some other armor, not royal guard. Yet now she was naked, her beautiful blue colors on full view, she looked to be in her late thirties, yet still in perfect shape physically.

"I have the distinct feeling that I know you, lady? I'm Onyx, what's your name?" I ask to break the silence, she regards me with curiosity and then her curiosity turns into a wide smile, Sylf seems lost but it's like a lightbulb goes on in her head and she approaches the unicorn with a smile.

"Wait, A-Azure Spark?! Is... Is that really you? Goodness, it's been over ten years! I know we barely knew each other but... We're here thanks to you and miss Soft Hoof, you and all of those scientists brought us here, how have you been?" Mom adds to my words, then my eyes widen slightly as she connects the dots for me, so this was that unicorn who was guarding those ponies, when they came across us? Amazing, she must be pretty good at her job.

"Commander, you've been busy since you moved here haven't you? Climbing the ranks and becoming a bit of a legend amongst the guards." Azure gives her a smirk of her own, standing at attention and giving her a respectful salute.

"And your son, he's grown so much! Little one now talks really respectful, I would confuse him for a noble if I didn't see it was him." She giggles and looks at me now, looking over all of me.

"Onyx, like your mother says I'm Azure Spark, the guard of the expedition that found both of you and brought you here to Canterlot, you may not remember very much at that age, but I still remember both of you well." She approaches further and places a hoof on my head, patting me softly, I cant help but smile at that, the mare was older than I remember, its been over a decade after all, it makes sense, but she still looks really capable, her body is still very much fit and in shape, she's still a Royal Guard.

"M-miss Spark! I do remember you, I remember you were with the other ponies as a guard, you... and a bunch of other ponies, there was this pegasus stallion too, right? And this very kind mare who approached us too, Soft Hoof I think, I remember something, there were other scientists too, but I didn't interact much with them." I answer, trying my best to remember their names, It was a long time ago, and while I did remember, it was a very faint memory.

"Whoa! you do remember so early on? Incredible... Ponies don't usually start forming memories until they are about three years old. That stallion's name is Stormchaser, he's stationed on the southern border of Equestria with the forbidden jungle, his love of adventure really drives him, not something common for stallions. As for Doctor Soft Hoof, she's also on another nation, near the area where we found you both, in fact." She chuckles to herself, looking between the two of us. "She went as a representative researcher of Equestria, part of a diplomatic mission to further relationships with Sylf's kind and other sapient creatures of the area, I think she will be there for a few years at this rate, there is so much to discover and see, that's what the last letter I got said." She paused, looking at us intently instead for a few seconds, as if considering something.

"Glad to see both of you again, seriously, although I'm confused about something, how in Equestria did you get here so suddenly if I may ask? I've only seen two ponies do that before, and they were the Archmage and the Princess." Oh fudge! Usually when we teleported there was no one around, or at least no one was looking at us when we appeared, this time however, seems like I jumped the gun a little bit by teleporting directly inside the shop, probably I also interrupted the line, and cut in, no wonder some of the ponies seemed apprehensive.

Now what can I say to explain it? "We... ran in very fast?" I answered lamely, Azure just rolled her eyes, snorting out in disbelief.

"Yeah sure, and I'm Princess Celestia's marefriend! Hahah. Wouldn't that be a dream come true?" She chuckled to herself, I felt increasingly uncomfortable, it seems there was no way out of this, unlike others who didn't know a lot about magic or cared, this mare knew, and she cared enough to question me. "You clearly teleported, and from what I've felt and seen, you used the sixth tier spell, Teleport."

"I do believe that the Teleport spell is available for the public, I don't see the problem on using it, if I'm honest, there is no law against it, is there?" I answered with a slight defensive tone of voice while walking away from her, not feeling like being in touching distance from this mare, feeling a bit anxious that knowing or having used this spell may have some negative consequences for me, and a bit upset for being questioned over my magic. "I don't need to explain myself to you, miss Spark, you're not my mother." I huffed out some frosty air out of my nose and turned away.

"As much as I'm glad to see you again, Azure Spark, I'm afraid I don't think its appropriate to question my son and I must say, I agree with him, the spell was on a book I bought from the library, its a completely legal spell available to the public. Also... I'm afraid I don't know your rank as of now." Mom's tone gained a defensive edge, I approached her side and caressed her back to reassure her and calm her down.

"Oh sorry! Didn't meant to imply It was a problem at all! My bad... We both know it's completely legal, there is no issue really, I was just curious which of you was the one who used the spell, I mean if that's okay for me to know? Oh and I'm now a Second Lieutenant, I've been assigned for a special unit that I can't really talk about." The blue unicorn mare asked with a far less assertive tone, trying to not upset us again, mom looker doubtfully at me for a few seconds.

'No point in hiding it, I'm studying in the most prestigious magic school in Equestria, so it makes sense I can use powerful magic.' I explain to her and she nods, seeing no problem with me telling the truth.

"I study in the School of Magic and I'm very good at magic, unlike you ponies, I am not dependent on an a silly cutie mark, you may see cutie marks as a blessing, but most of the time I see them as a limiting factor, but what do I know? I don't have one." I comment while giving the lieutenant a confident smirk, she has a look of slight indignation, the white circle and blue lightning bolt cutie mark on her flank clearly somehow related to her talent. "After all, you have a mark on either electricity spells, maybe stunning or incapacitating spells, don't you? Can you cast magic of another element that is unrelated to your talent? I mean of the same tier as the strongest spell you can muster by using your talent." Now it was my turn to question her, I smirked and she frowned at my question.

"I disagree with you, little dragon, but I can't deny you're right about me, I can't cast strong spells that are unrelated to my cutie mark, but its not that my cutie mark limits me somehow, Its the other way around really, I am too weak to use anything over fourth tier, but my cutie mark allows me to cast a single powerful electric spell of the sixth tier, understand? That's why cutie marks are amazing, they make up for our failings, they don't limit us... But this is not the time to discuss this topics, let me tell you something." She pauses and looks at me with a serious and encouraging look, seemingly done with the topic of cutie marks.

"You must be incredibly talented to be able to cast that spell, now... I will talk with the Archmage and tell her that she's not so special now that there's a foal on her level, and it's not even a pony foal, she's gonna lose it! Hehh~ She may even pay you a visit to get to know you. Now it was nice talking to you, but I have somepony to talk to, I guess my armor can wait for some other day, it's not going anywhere after all." Azure grew excited and spoke quickly, but I caught her words and swallowed nervously, I should stop her, shouldn't I? I don't think anypony else really realized I could teleport around until now, maybe not all of them know the significance of it, the skill needed to pull it off, but Azure knew for sure, and so would this Archmage very soon.

"Lieutenant Azure! Wait please, don't get my son in trouble, please?" Momma was kind enough to speak up for me, given the look of worry and fear I had on my face, and that gave the unicorn mare pause, she stopped and turned towards us, walking back into talking distance.

"I'm not going to give you any trouble, I promise! But this may give your son an extremely amazing opportunity that many mages can only dream of, the possibility to have a talk with the chief magic researcher in the nation, don't worry she's not a bad pony, she's actually a sweetheart and a big nerd when it comes to magic theory, trust me on this, okay? You'll be thanking me once you get to know her Onyx, I promise! She's also my marefriend, so trust me, okay?" She spoke with excitement and shot me a wink, I still felt nervous but nodded, it's not like I could go and physically stop her from going to tell her, and I always could say no to this Archmage if I didn't want something, I was just worried this would bring unneeded attention to my family, brother and sister were still pretty much defenseless babies, and while Thunder takes care of them and protects them... Wait did she say marefriend?! I shook my head, laughing nervously but feeling a bit less worried from that last comment. At least Azure knew her personally.

"I'll trust you." I give her a small hopeful smile. "Have a lovely day, miss Spark, and tell your marefriend I can see her tomorrow, byyyye!" I waved as she gave mom a small salute and left out the door, the other ponies around us were obviously paying attention to our little conversation, but they didn't intrude and kept to themselves thankfully.

Then we just waited in a somewhat unconfortable silence, while ponies whispered among each other around us.

'Are all of them also guards? They seem to know you.' I decide to ask the obvious question, feeling a bit uncomfortable being stared at like this.

'Most of them are, you can tell by the way they stand, they're all somewhat at attention, knowing there's a higher ranking officer in the room, but they don't salute me or anything because we are off work hours, I start work a bit later, around 3pm today.'

'Ah, so that's why they all look kind of tense and stand like that... Well can't you say anything to help them calm down? Maybe they'll like you more... Or they'll take offense, I see why you don't now, nevermind!' I shook my head and snorted in amusement, then just stayed silent.

'Exactly dear, now let's just wait for Hammer and get our stuff, you'll take it home because I have some other things I need to go buy, okay?' My answer was a simple nod, and then we waited in silence.

Half an hour later, everyone had already gotten their orders and left, at least those ahead of us in the line, it was our turn now.

"Good to see you both, I've checked the papers you delivered earlier this week, miss Sylf and they are fully legitimate and legally valid, so you deserve an apology, I'm sorry for giving you trouble." The large minotaur bowed his head towards mom, then smiled.

"Good morning, mister Black Hammer, it's quite alright, you were just trying to protect your business, and as a guard, I want you to follow the law, I'm glad you do, now please be polite too Onyx." She greeted and gave me a pointed look.

"H-hi there sir Black Hammer, I'm here help mum get this stuff back home, is everything okay?" I asked shyly, feeling intimidated by the minotaur's large size, he was taller than mom and very muscular and strong, definitively an intimidating person.

"Hello little one, it's good to see you, everything is order, I have for you both something quite incredible, the ore you brought to me was of the highest quality, extremely pure, of the 193 kilograms you gave me, I got 180 kilograms of pure Mithrill, that amount of this metal... You can make four full sets of heavy plate armor, and a variety of weapons, its however not a material you can easily enchant, in fact I don't think it's possible to enchant this metal because of its effect on magic, causing disruption on whatever spell comes into contact with it." He got a thoughtful look about him, pondering for a while, his voice was surprisingly kind and friendly, despite his appearance.

"I suppose it could be combined with a different material in certain areas, ah, a minute, let me get my drawing tools here for I have an idea, I'll be right back!" The minotaur exclaimed excitedly, getting a nod from Sylf and running to the closed off section of his store, then returning after a few minutes with a bunch of parchment and a writing set.

He started to draw on the paper, I had to stand on my hind legs to be able to see, placing my front paws on the front desk, feeling extremely curious about this idea he has.

He started drawing the shape of a wolf, clearly mom in this case, a very simple silhouette, or outline, then he drew over that, a piece of armor that covered the front half, the back and chest, or whatever they were called on a wolf, showing he meant to draw a cuirass, then on the side of that he started drawing the armor by itself, showing it was separated in layers, first a padded under armor, then the harness that held the armor in place, and then a light armor that only covered a few vital areas and not even very well, it was clearly meant to hold a few gemstones.

"What about a layered armor? The first layer is padding, the second would be enchanted for whatever purpose it would be used for, like for example producing a shield when it receives an impact and pushing whatever attacked away, or protecting against fire or ice, or even an enchantment to keep the wearer cool or warm in extreme temperatures, something like that, you get me?" He's in the zone, reminds me of myself when I'm enchanting things, if I had someone to geek over it with that, I can't help but smile at that.

"This seems very interesting and amazing! But wouldn't the Mithrill disrupt whatever magic comes into contact with it directly?" Dear mom asked the right question.

"Oh, yes it would, but we are talking direct contact, here's where the rest of the armor comes in, so... In case you want to use an enchantment inside, you would have no issue since once past the outer Mithrill layer, magic would work just fine, so you could have a spell to cool down or warm up applied directly to the padded armor, then if you want to project a spell on the outside, there could be micro holes in the armor that would hold a focusing gemstone, small enough to not let any attack through, yet big enough to allow a pinhead sized point of exit for a spell, that's my idea at least, I'm not an expert in enchantment but this should be possible in theory." He explained, drawing several small holes in the armor, one in the middle of the chest, one on the back, and two on each side.

I don't see why this wouldn't work, no active spell would be directly in contact with the metal, and a shield would be basically projected out like the image from a projector, making it possible to have a completely shielded and magically disrupting set of heavy armor, strong enough to shrug off most conventional weapons, and of course able to stop most spells too without being destroyed, on top of that being lighter than steel.

This armor would be ideal for mom, even without all the fancy inner armor, as she uses her maw to channel spells, she would only need an armor that can open when she opens her jaws.

For dad it would work too, he could simply have guard for his horn in a way it doesn't touch the organ but it still protects it from all sides.

Lastly for me, I could have the same system as mom's armor a simple joint that opens when I open my mouth, that way I can both use my breath weapon and my magic, and for the hands I suppose there could be a hole on the middle of my paw or my finger toes, or claws could simply be unarmored. Or even just not have gloves at all, that would work too.

After all there is always a weak point in any armor type, no matter how heavy and strong it is, no armor is perfect.

"What permits would I need if I want a few sets of armor done? I need two sets, one for a pegasus mare and another for an unicorn stallion, both my family members." Sylf spoke when I was thinking to myself, making me pay attention again.

"You're Commander Sylf, am I right? Being such a high ranking officer, you only need to bring the ponies here so I can get their measurements, I have an assistant who specializes in padded under armor, while I work with all that is metal, and only metal. Please tell me what do you want done, and then I could get working, If you need help with designs, I'm your bull too!" He gave her and me a big smile, giving us a thumbs up, which I returned with a giggle, mom smirked too, nodding.

"I want armor for my husband, something that protects him completely and can take a lot of punishment, and for my herd mate, a pegasus mare, I want armor that protects her well without limiting her ability to fly too much, maybe something partial, like royal guards use, just... I don't want her to look like one, and... maybe something for myself too, a full set, fully protective yet flexible on the limbs and that allows me to move my head around mostly unimpeded, I will need my armor to have a way to open the muzzle part when I open my maw, because my maw is where my magic comes from, I need to be able to have a clear path out so I can use it." Ah, exactly what I was thinking!

"Oh my, quite a large order that you have in mind hm? I will be glad to get some designs drawn up, any particular preference for style? Do you prefer a more... resplendent look? Perhaps even regal? or would you prefer something a bit more intimidating and aggressive, something that screams danger to those who look upon your armored form?" I wanted to make a few suggestions, but it wasn't my place, well... I did find and mined the ore myself so maybe it was my place.

'I think for dad, a very beautiful and resplendent armor would suit him, he's our healer and he represents harmony after all, for Thunder I think something regal would fit, something that has themes of feathers, maybe eagles or other bird stylized somewhere, and for you mom, the most intimidating and awesome of them all, do you agree? What kind of things do you think you would like? If you disagree you can say what you prefer, after all, there's no shame in looking good and having preferences.' I offered, but also hopeful that she would have a different idea that I had not taken into consideration.

'Your ideas are wonderful, I don't see the issue, I may not want anything too intimidating in my armor, but since i'm the one whos going to be fighting on the frontline, I cant deny that a set of armor that draws more attention and gives the enemy pause is a wonderful idea, I just... let me explain to him, I'm sure he will understand.'

"So.... You've both been quiet for a few minutes, everything okay? I could swear you look like you're holding a conversation just by the looks you are giving each other, Hahah! From what that other mare said earlier, it wouldn't surprise me, so Commander, any thoughts?" He speaks up after a few more seconds, I facepalm a bit, I forget that talking to eachother using telepathy can look a bit weird from the outside.

"I think I know what I want, for my husband, an armor that looks resplendent, that looks beautiful and enticing, that makes him approachable while offering the best protection available, I want others to look at him and swoon~ Oh I can already picture it, he's going to look beautiful in it! Well, moving on to my herdmate, my pegasus darling, she's also been in a military force before, just from another nation, well for her I want something... between imposing and regal, something that she can wear in public without scaring anypony away, but that would make anypony think twice before trying to mess with her, I think designs with feathers, or some majestic bird, maybe a phoenix or eagle? She needs to be able to fly fairly well with the armor on, don't forget that sir, her preferred weapons are also wingblades, so there needs to be zero restriction to her wings." The minotaur nodded as she explained, writing down notes, carefully listening to her every word.

"And for myself, I want something that looks somewhat intimidating, but I want it to be silver in color and have intricate patterns of vines, flowers and leaves, I want the armor to look feminine too, if slightly, so maybe others can tell I'm a female under all of that, if anyone cared, that is." She sighed dramatically, then chuckled to herself, then smiled up at the minotaur, giving him a slightly seductive look.

"What do you say big guy? You think I would look good in something like that?~" Oh no, what are you doing mom?! Not agaaain!

"Oh, of course you would Commander, I will make an armor that you can wear with pride and that will turn eyes of stallions and mares alike, I will have a few concepts and ideas drawn for you in a few days, and then you can tell me if you wish to commission me this sets, okay?" He asked with a polite and respectful tone, but it was clear by the way he ignored her advances that he was not interested, I let out a small sigh of relief.

I had enough siblings in my opinion. 'I don't think it would be a good idea to get armor for myself, I may outgrow it in a few years, and then what? I'd need to get new armor.' I commented mentally with a shrug.

'So what if you have to get it remade? You would rather die a horribly painful death that could have been avoided by wearing armor then?! You may be resistant to some magic, but you know how much good thar was against high tier combat spells, huh? And sure, your scales are as good as steel to deflect slashes, but what if someone stabs you with enough force to pierce right in? Having armor would at least keep that hit from piercing deeper, it would be twice as hard or more to get under your scales if you had what functionally is a few extra layer of scales.' Sylf's angry voice rattled my mind with its intensity, she wasn't shouting but the seriousness in her tone and her intense stare made me shrink and immediately lower my ears, I stepped back, nodding slowly.

She is right, I didn't know when I would need to go into another dungeon again, I didn't know when things would turn into a nightmare that I may not survive, why was I worrying about spending money when my very life was on the line? I knew the answer, I didn't want to feel like a burden.

I didn't want mom to waste hers either, but... She has a point.

'Im sorry, I just... I'm wasn't thinking, I promise I'll pay you back, okay? Let me at least... Let me pay back when I can.' I begged her, and she could tell I wouldn't be happy if she didn't accept this condition.

'If you want to, I won't stop you, just... Please don't be afraid of spending money on things that improve our odds of surviving, money is useless to the dead, and without you, I don't think any of us would last inside one of those horrifying places, don't forget that. Now tell Black Hammer what kind of armor you want so I can go buy groceries, I don't have all morning my sweet pup, I'm not angry, so please stop looking so miserable, lift that chin up, I love you Onyx.' She reassured me with such kindness and so gently that I couldn't help but rush forward and climb on her back, hugging her tightly around the neck while laying on her, taking up most of her back and nuzzling her like she may just suddenly vanish.

"I want another set too, one for my son here, please Onyx, explain him what you want, don't leave out any details, okay?"

"How curious, for the hatchling? You want armor, little one? I've only ever made a set of this size for a few of the nobles who want their foals to learn how to wield a sword, it's not a common interest of most foals, and yet I have no issue making you a very good set, little dragon." The large minotaur speaks surprisingly softly to me, treating me with kindness that not even most ponies show.

"Yes I do want something done, I want a set of armor that covers my entire body except my front paws, I also want the jaws to open when I open my maw, I want to be able to easily open and cast spells, I use my front paws and my maw, that is why I want them uncovered, to keep the metal from touching my mana pathways where I release the spell." I explain with a serious expression.

"Because I will be having to refit the armor in the near future, most likely when I hit my growth spurt, I want the armor to be as simple as possible while remaining as protective as the others, no decorations, nothing, at least not until I have grown a bit more, only thing I want is the armor to be painted completely black, that's all I'm asking for." He looks at me with a bit of doubt, but nods.

"If you want it that way, I'll have it done that way, yes it's common for armor to be resized and expanded as you grow, you shouldn't worry about that so much, it's cheaper than you may think, it's not gonna cost you anywhere as much as getting a whole new set of armor done, still I understand not wanting to spend too much, is that everything?" Mom and I nod at that, he smiles and turns around.

"Let me give you that metal back on its chest, come back in a few days or a week, I'll have sketches and designs planned out for all of your armor, then if you like them, you can give me the metal I'll need and pay for me armor, or not, I promise I won't be upset at all if you decide to not go through with it." He goes to the back of the store, then we hear him lift something heavy with a small grunt of effort, and walk back in here.

And there it is, the chest, I nodded and grasped it with my magic, slowly holding it up until he realized it wasn't needed to hold it anymore and he lets go of it. "I've got it, now thanks, I'll take it home, you can go to the market if you want to mom, just give me they keys first." I comment while casually levitating the almost 200 kg of wooden chest, as levitating the metal by itself would be next to impossible, I wasn't sure teleporting the metal would work, good thing levitating something didn't really affect the object within directly, as the chest was holding the metal up, not my magic. Teleporting however was a different matter altogether.

Mom rummaged through her saddlebags meanwhile, before pulling two stacks of bits tied with red string. "I got this at the bank earlier, this are special thousand bit coins, I figured for this it would be easier than counting a hundred coins of a hundred bits each." She spoke with a smile, placing the money on the table in front of the minotaur, who's smile widened at the sight of his money.

"What a polite and kind lady you are, miss Sylf, for a moment I thought I would have to remind you! Hahaha oh goodness, it's been a pleasure to have both of you in my store, the most interesting clients I've had in a long time that's for sure, have a wonderful evening Commander, little guy!" He cheerfully spoke and said goodbye to us, as our business was concluded, while mom handed me the keys and we walked off, giving the big minotaur a greeting of our own.

"Hope you have a successful day!" I gave him a small wave. "Later big guy!" Mom didn't seem as enthusiastic as earlier but she still showed some politeness.

As we walked off, she smiled at me, and approached, giving me a small nuzzle on my back. "I'm glad you got armor done too, don't ever worry again about money when it comes to your personal safety and health, okay? Your safety is more important than all the bits in the world, and so is everyone in our family, there's no place I wouldn't go to protect you all, I've got more than enough bits for all of us combined."

"Old habits are hard to forget, also what was that back there, were you trying to flirt with him?" I ask to change the topic, smirking and giggling as she quickly starts to turn red on the snout.

"N-no, I was just... Being polite, that's all I promise, it's not like he cared in the first place, I suppose he already has an eye in someone, or is married, who knows? Maybe minotaur are more monogamous than ponies, I don't know." She added, but she didn't seem even slightly upset by this.

"You're married too, you know? Well I suppose that yours is more of an open relationship, a herd and such, do you think dad would like having another male in your herd? At that point it won't be a herd anymore, it would be more of a...I-I don't even know, not that I would mind, but you should ask him." I speak feeling unsure, I don't know how things like this work.

"I see your point son, but think about it this way, if we have another mare now because he took a liking to her and so did I, why wouldn't it be okay for me to add a male to our herd? As long as he likes that male? I'm not sure if he swings that way but... You never know until you try, that's how it was for me too." She smirked while imagining something I probably was better off not knowing.

"If anything that sounds pretty fair, I hadn't thought about it."

"Well it's getting a bit late, I'll see you at home once I get all the food we will need, can you make lunch for everyone in case I get there late? There should be more than enough for two salads and pork chops for all of us omnivores, make some nice sauce too if that's not too much problem." After sharing one small hug, we parted ways, she left me with an important task, I had to walk home, while hauling behind me a chest full of metal ingots, I walked at a relaxed pace, making sure that nopony ran into the wooden chest held hovering behind me.

It was an uneventful walk back, in a way it felt nice to exercise my telekinesis, I could feel the weight and strain of holding weight for this long.

Most ponies were confused when they saw me, after all unicorns are the only ones supposed to be able to use telekinesis. I couldn't really deny that, I'm pretty sure the fact that I could use telekinesis was just thanks to the deal I had with a certain entity when I came to be in here.

This... It makes me realize something, I need to actually exercise my telekinesis, and from today on that's what I'll start doing. No reason to only exercise my body every day and not my magic.

The walk was enlightening indeed, I held the key in my field and inserted it in the keyhole, then twisted it and opened, waving to the old mare who was just coming out of her house on the right, on that side there were a few elderly ponies who lived together, possibly a herd, and on the other there was a lonely middle aged mare who seemed to prefer keeping to herself, although rarely she would come out, she was most likely an introvert, what was for sure was that sometimes family would come over and visit.

I never bothered to learn them, their names, because I just didn't see a point in doing so, I don't interact with them.

They were nice, at least the old herd, but I just didn't have time for them, all in all my life was fairly busy here, either with studies, my hobbies, eating and going out with friends or something else, I had to put aside days to do something like today to go pick up this chest.

Speaking of which, I went in and came face to face with Thunder, who smiled warmly at me upon seeing me arrive. "Helloo love! I see you got the goods on you, mind if I take a peek? I've always wanted to see how this metal looks in it's pure form." She spoke in a cheerful and excited tone, on her back there was Wander, smiling at me too and hugging Thunder's neck.

I nodded with a smile and placed the chest slowly and gently in front of her, careful to not make much noise, Lightning must be sleeping nearby. "Good morning to you as well mom, feel free to! Here, let me open it for you." I greet her back and open the chest with my magic, approaching Thunder and going bipedal, so I could grab my sister with my front paws, I made sure first wig a quick prestidigitation that they are clean and dirt free.

"And who do we have here, hmm? Is that my adorable little sister?" My smile widens as I approach and boop the filly with my snout, making her giggle and reach out with pawed hooves, they were like hooves in shape but had paw pads at the end, it was charming, she grabbed onto my snout and squeezed and pulled at the sides of my maw, then nuzzled her little head to my own.

Before I could succumb to the overdose of cuteness, I grabbed her from the sides and lifted her up, sitting in my haunches and hugging the little filly. "You missed me sis?" I asked in a whisper, she nodded, surprising me.

"I wub you, big brother! Want...Play?" She added the last part in a really adorable hopeful tone, and while I was too close to see her eyes, I'm sure the look she was giving me would be disarming enough to agree, I don't see a reason not to... I'm sure Sylf would understand.

"Wander, you're just wonderful, you know? I love you too, and your brother, I love you both a lot, and yes I will play with you, what do you want to play?" I ended the hug, and held placed her gently on the ground, she stood on her four legs and wagged her tail before pointing up with her paw, gesturing around.

"I want... hide and see, you hide and I see?" She jumps around excitedly, wagging her tail quickly, before coming closer and nosing my belly while I sit down.

"Sure sis, we will play hide and seek, Thunder? Can you make lunch for me? Mom told me there's porkchops and veggies, make a salad, porkchops and mushroom sauce, I'm gonna entertain Wander for a while, is that okay? I'll put that chest away later or some other day, it's not like it's dangerous." I tell Thunder who seemed to be fascinated by a mithril ingot, she turns to me and gives me a playful wing salute and nods.

"Aye aye captain, I'll have lunch ready in an hour, but... How do I prepare porkchops? I never made them before." She asked unsure, but left the ingot in the chest and closed it back up then walked towards the kitchen.

"Get a pan very hot, salt the pork chop on both sides well, then add a small splash of oil to the pan and add the porkchops slowly and making sure they face away from you when you place them, sear three minutes then flip the meat over, sear another five and take them off and let them rest for ten minutes, then add pepper and a bit of chili flakes on top to spice them up, that's how I make them myself. Make them last, because they're super quick to cook, make the salad and the sauce first, it's more or less the same you do to cook fish, don't you pegasi eat fish?" I ask her the last question with genuine curiosity, I wasn't trying to be rude.

"Thanks, that sounds simple enough, and yes we do eat fish sometimes, but I don't usually cook fish, my sire was the one who did that most of the time, I helped with the other dishes but I think I understand you, go have fun with your sister, I'll get cooking. Oh by the way, your little brother is napping on his crib, don't be surprised if he wakes up and wants to play too."

I gave her a nod as she walked past, then focused back on the small filly. "So... Do you want me to hide around the house? You must count to ten, very slowly, can you do that for me?" I asked her, lowering my head to her level by laying down in front of her.

"I-i don't know, I wait, then I go look, yeah?" It made sense she wouldn't know the numbers, she's not three yet, in fact, their second birthday is this month, what day was it? I needed to check with mom.

"Okay Wander, close your eyes and wait, when you feel a moment has passed you can start looking, I'm ready, please don't peek." I gave her head a few headpats, making her wag her little tail again.

"Yaay! yyes big brotheeer, I'll staaart... Now!" She giggled and closed her eyes, I hurried off and ran in search of a hiding place, I decided on a whim to hide behind the curtains to the window on the front of the house, I wasn't trying to win after all.

"Ready or not, imma look!" She cheerfully stated and opened her eyes and started to look around. Not seeing me at first, her little nose started to twitch, she stared sniffing the air.

She started walking around. "Brooother, where are you? I find you big brother!" She spoke up so I could hear her whenever I was, she is such an adorable baby.

She sniffed again, then turned in my direction, immediately seeing my hind paws, she giggled and trotted over to me, I remained still as a statue. "You smell like soap big brother. Found youuu!" She approached and gently bit my paw, she wasn't trying to hurt me or anything, and her small fangs weren't sharp or large enough to hurt, and she wasn't trying to.

She was just nibbling me, growling adorably like a puppy, she was trying to get me to admit defeat.

"Oh no, I've been captured by Wander, the strongest and smartest filly in the world!" I compliment her and then come out of hiding, laying down to be at the same level as her, she let go of my paw as soon as I came out, then stepping back and coming to lay next to me as I rolled onto my back, she climbed on top of me eventually and stayed there for a bit.

"I showed and use scented soap, yeah." We both relaxed together, she got cozy over my cool body, stretching over me, it was still summertime after all.

"We should play more often, Wander, maybe we could play some table games sometime." I spoke softly, closing my eyes.

"What table games? Don't know brother."

"Oh it's a game you play while sitting on the table, there's a few I like, but I don't know if they have them here, maybe you could like card games! Perhaps chess, when you're a bit older." We relax on the ground, the cool tile floor feeling quite refreshing and cozy, the house was pristine clean thanks to Thunder.

Ah, today I had a meeting at the castle, Cadence was hosting this time, and I would get to see her aunt again, that mare was a bit reserved the last time we met, but she was polite.

"Show me?" Wander asked after a few minutes of just sitting in silence, I nodded right away, then gently got up, holding her close then placing her on the ground, where she moved aside for me to roll over and get up.

I went to the chest of games, where we kept our table games, cards and other toys, and pulled out a few games to show her. We may not really play any, but I could show her what they looked like and maybe get her excited to learn how to count or read, this game had a lot of things that would need her to understand both basic math and reading.

The rest of the morning was spent showing her, she was specially fascinated by the chess pieces, trying to guess what they were, but unable to form most of the words, the particular set I had represented each different piece with am everyday object, it was a bit weird as they weren't called the same, nor did they look the same, yet it was quite intuitive to tell which piece was what, having the Canterlot theme, they were all from Royal Guard, to a tower, to some odd conical shape that represents the trees they grow here, to even lamp posts being the bishops, all in all, it was an unique and curious set, this was dad's, his father gave it to as a gift, some sort of family heirloom or something.

Wander was nibbling on the wooden pieces without me realizing, leaving several of them with tiny bite marks. "Wander, no, this is dad's chess set, don't want to make daddy sad, do you? This set means a lot to him sis, now give me that, okay?" I reached out and she reluctantly released the 'tree' on my paw.

I started putting all the pieces back, she entertained herself with something else in the meantime. using her maw to grab things and look at them with some difficulty. Ah, how stupid of me, I forget she still doesn't know how to use her hooves to grab things, turns out ponies aren't born with magnets in their hooves, they have to train themselves to be able to hold objects, her having paws didn't change the fact that she needed to learn.

I heard the door opening, as I had left it unlocked, then a few seconds later mom walked in, balancing a few boxes and bags on her back and holding them with the ghost hand spell, handy for this sort of stuff as it was easy to cast and used almost no magic, for her basically nothing.

"Good to see you back, got what you wanted?" I asked feeling happy to see her. My little sis shared the sentiment, carefully jumping down from her chair and running over to her, tail wagging like a blur.

"Hey son, yes I did, food for the whole week for all of us! Now it seems a little one really missed her momma, give me a second darling to put down the bags!" The little puppy and her mother shared a small tender moment then Sylf headed into the kitchen to restock the pantry.

At the same time Thunder came out carrying the cooked food, seems like she knew Sylf would come back because there was an extra plate, and knowing dad was away on his goddess given missions to heal ponies in secret, there were five plates of food. A tiny plate for Wander and another tiny plate for Lightning.

"Ah, done, now come here and sit with momma my little Wander." Sylf offered as she came and sat on the chair next to Thunder, the filly nodded got on the space she had left, having her head above the table level just barely, and looking up at the rest of us, she could reach the plate just barely if she stood on her hind legs, but she was still a bit too small too do that, and mom carefully held her close with the hand spell. "Can you go get your brother and bring him to eat with us? hold him like i'm holding her, so he can also eat at the table with us.

It had been only recently that the two babies had started sharing our table, before they had their own tiny table where they ate together, and before that they just drank their mother's milk, they still do, just not as often.

"Yes ma'am! Ill be right back." I announced, giving them a small salute before vanishing in a flash of indigo light.

I appeared outside and enter my sibling's rooms, recently they had been upgraded from a crib to a small bed for each, and their room was remodeled with a separator, and painted on different themes, one was all about the sky and the other was more of a jungle, even a few ancient ruins depicted on the background. I go into my bro's section, opening the door and on his bed was the little wolf, sleeping peacefully. His back was to the bed, on a position that clearly indicated he felt really safe here, too bad I have to wake him up.

I approach quietly and then I gently grab him by the middle with my paw, then gently shake him. "Lightniiing, are you there? Rise and shine bro, lunch is ready." He grumbles softly and tries to lay on his side away from the sound of my voice. "Food, fooood brother, there is porkchoooooops~" I sing song the words, slowly opens his eyes after I mention food, then he starts sniffing my paw and me.

"Yess okay! Stop!" He exclaims slightly annoyed, then yawns and stretches his legs, he slowly gets up on the bed and walks over to me. "Big brother! C-can you help? I want flyeing" I was confused for a second, help him fly when I can't fly myself? Oh wait, he means levitation...

"Sure, but you must flap your wings too, try to fly on your own, I'll just help you to be steady, okay? don't stop flapping them!" He was happy by the possibility and started to flap his wing quite fast, surprisingly he jumped and hovered in the air for a few seconds, before slowly losing altitude and reaching the ground, landing on all four hooves perfectly.

"Wow, Lightning? Do you know that you could already pretty much fly around with a tiny bit more training? You just need to strengthen your wings a bit, and you'll be able to hover without my help, that was... very impressive!" I spoke with genuine amazement, he could pretty much do what I have wanted to for years now.

"R-Really? You thiink? I fly soon?" He asked hopefully, his wings flapping a bit in excitement. "I try more, but... you help?" He asked softly, shooting me a hopeful and trusting smile. I could not let him down!

"I'm ready to catch you." He nodded and started flapping again, then made a little sprint and a hop, jumping as high as he could, then flapped much more intensely, managing to stay in the air, this time not losing altitude, at least at first.

"I fly! Yess! Look big brother!" He cheers and keeps flapping got a while longer, happily giggling.

"You are, you're awesome! You should get Thunder to train you, and you'll be flying in no time, I promise."

After about a minute, his face twists with effort, as he starts getting tired, then lets a tired whine, and I hold him up in my telekinesis, he sighs and relaxes, letting the wings splayed to the sides. "T-thank big brother, food now?" I chuckle and carry him on my aura, he starts flapping his wings again after a break, and I walk down the stairs back to the table, he cheers all the way while I carry him hovering.

I sat down and placed my brother in from of me on the table, we ate in silence after, I helped him reach the food, the portions for the twins were cut into small chunks so they could bite them and chew them easier. "Mmmhh meafff" Lightning spoke while chewing on a mouthful of pork chop pieces and veggies, thankfully his wolf like teeth made it easy to eat meat and even veggies.

"Lightning, don't speak with your mouth full, please don't eat so much at once either, okay?" Thunder scolded him, making his ears lower, he did as told thankfullly, chewing and eating smaller bites, I reinforced that good behavior by giving him a back and head massage.

"Yesh mama." He spoke after finishing what he was chewing, then closing his eyes and smiling slightly as I pet him.

"Ah, you see? Doing what mama tells you feels good, doesn't it? Do what she says and you will be happy, she wants what is best for you, we all love you two, and want you to eat healthy and grow strong so you can fly, remember, chew your food very well, and don't eat too much at once, take your time, food is not going anywhere." I speak softly and keep patting him a while longer, then we resume eating together, as a family.

Wish dad was here with us, but I haven't heard from him in a while, he may be out of Jade's range.
'Jade, how long does the range of notifications and information of a party member is?' Better to just ask and get a straight answer, than worry unnecessarily.

'At your current level, the range is approximately up to 50km from you. The range can be increased artificially by as of yet unknown means.' The System, Jade answers in a monotone voice, so it gave me a hint, but it didn't give me the answer.

Perhaps in the future I could research this too, as if I hadn't already a ton work to do, I just needed to know more and have more resources.

Author's Note

Sort of a family downtime chapter, more coming soon! (Or all in one go if I decide to release them like that)

Character stats, perks, and bestiary

ONYX
Evolution Path: Mage(Expert), Enchanter(apprentice)
Level: 36
EXP: 29573/70842

HP: 286 hp is calculated by this formula: Starter HP: 30HP + 6hp x level + CON= total hp
MP: 330 mp is calculated by this formula: Starter MP: 30MP + 5mp x level + INTx2= total mp
Stamina: 250 stamina is calculated by this formula: STM: 30STM + 5stm x level + CON= total stamina
Carry Capacity: 256 kg. Carry capacity is STR x 8
Species: Silver Dragon
Age: 11 years old.
Gender: male
Job: student.
Skills: Persuasion, Arcana, Athletics, Survival.

Feats: Spell Sniper, Magic Support, Shortsword Proficiency (Novice), Warhammer proficiency (Novice)

Perks:
Former Human: human ingenuity and adaptability means you can make tools of one higher tier, you also can get used to and adapt to warm weather much faster than a regular Ice Dragon, suffering no discomfort until the temperature starts to become hot.

Giant Tail: your tail is abnormally long, you have more hp, and you swim faster and can turn faster while running, your tail can be used as a powerful bludgeoning weapon if trained correctly, but your tail dragging on the ground makes noise, making you easier to detect.

Blessing of The Overseer: You are naturally gifted with the ability to cast affinity spells, but any spell above level 1 needs to be learned, you can acquire new elemental affinities, but how is yet a mystery, you have no limit to your elemental affinities.
Dragon Claws: your claws are strong enough to cut into stone, this ability improves with use and your STR and CON.

Magic Blood: your unique blood's latent potential for conducting magical energy is beginning to awake, but it's not fully realized yet, you add your Intelligence stat multiplied by 2 to your mana pool.

True Potential: Your Constitution is added to your HP and stamina.

Natural Charm: your Charisma determines how likely you are to convince someone, your charisma makes you more attractive to other dragons, and slightly more attractive to other species.

Magic Support: you have learned the benefits of using magic to support your allies during combat from an elevated and concealed position, making their odds of victory increase exponentially, having high ground against unaware enemies may make them unable to focus enough to take advantage of their perks and abilities, your magic has increased accuracy in this situation.

Multicast Adept: your accuracy with multicast spells improves by 20% and you can multicast from further away without missing... as much.

Animal Form: you can now shapechange into animals without requiring a spell or concentration, but doing so removes your ability to cast spells and talk, you also don't get turned back into your natural form, if you die as an animal, you simply die while retaining your current form in the moment of death.
You can only change into species of animals that you have personally touched, you become an equivalent of that animal of your gender and age, you maintain all of your stats, including health and stamina, perks and abilities, except magic casting, you can still use weapons you are proficient with if the creature is able to hold and swing said weapon properly.
You obtain an animals natural abilities as long as you are in their form, but you lose your original ones, in your case it's frost breath and blind sense.
You can speak to animals without a spell, but only to those who you want to, you cannot understand every animal noise as if it were a creature speaking unless you are actively willing yourself to understand.
In your animal form, you understand animals perfectly unless they are too young for their species, or have no brain.
You maintain your ability to use your telepathy as it's provided by the System.

Resistances and weaknesses: Resistant to slashing, immune to cold, immune to poison, resistant to non elemental magic (like telekinesis and spells that require concentration), fear of spiders.

Condition immunities: none.

Current conditions: none.

Senses: Blindsight 3 meters, Darkvision 18 meters

Stats (each level up gives 2 points to allocate, point allocation can only be done once level 20 is reached, an exceptional action can give direct bonus points)
Base Stats / Bonus (From actions) / Allocated points / Present Stats
Unassigned points: 0
STR 19 / 10 / 3 / 32
DEX 10 / 11 / 9 / 30
CON 17 / 10 / 13 / 40
INT 12 / 20 / 28 / 60
WIS 11 / 16 / 5 / 32
CHA 16 / 12 / 12 / 40
Total 85 / 79 / 70 / 234

Onyx's known spells

Telepathy: allowed to talk to others directly to their mind / Innate to companions.

Shield: blocks bolts and arrows shot from mundane weapons, and blocks other attack cantrips and magic missile. / Cantrips

Prestidigitation: small temporary effect / cantrip.

Fire Bolt: small flame bolt that can set enemies and flammable objects on fire / cantrip

Ray of Frost: small, can slow or freeze enemies / cantrip

Produce Flame: tiny, can set flammable objects on fire / cantrip

Shocking Grasp: requires touch, effective against metal armor or wet enemies / cantrip

Slow falling: prevents falling damage by slowing the fall / cantrip

Detect Magic: magic items, objects or creatures are highlighted even when hiding behind walls / tier 1

Detect Good and Evil: fae, aberrations, demons and celestials are highlighted even when hiding behind walls / tier 1

Frost Paws: sends icy wind in a small cone in front of the user's paw / tier 1

Bolt of Stun: small white ball of magic that slows down or stuns targets it hits, can be resisted or shrug off of the creature has enough constitution or strength. / tier 1

Vicious Mockery: you mix a subtle spell with a string of hurtful insults hurled at a target, causes it to suffer psychic damage, specially effective if the targets understands and feels especially hurt by the insult, like targeting one of their insecurities. / tier 1

Ice Knife: sends a freezing projectile that explodes on impact in a small area, can cause slowing or freezing of targets / tier 1

Magic Missile: sends 3 seeking projectiles that deal force damage, using more mana increases the number of missile / tier 1

Witch Bolt: electric bolt that deals extra damage to wet or metal targets / tier 1

Comprehend languages: you can understand any written text as long as you touch the surface upon where it is written, lasts one hour. / tier 1

Thunderwave: pushes back and deals thunder damage, any loose objects nearby will be pushed too / tier 1

Speak to Animals: allows speaking to animals unless they are newborn / tier 1

Blur: causes you to become blurry and harder to hit by attacks, requires concentration / tier 2

Heat Metal: heat targets armor or weapon to red hot, the target suffers penalty to attacks, requires concentration / tier 2

Enlarge/Reduce: changes your body size, requires concentration / tier 2

Hold pony: restrains a creature up to large pony size, requires concentration / tier 2

Crown of Madness: makes the target of this spell attack the nearest creature instead of its opponent, every few seconds the target will try to free itself from the effect. / tier 2

Arcane Lock: locks a door by magical means, making it unpickable, the door needs to be broken to gain access, spell lasts until the user wills it. / Tier 2

Knock: unlocks a simple lock, multi locking systems only have one of their locks affected / tier 2

Acid Arrow: fires a projectile that explodes in a shower of very strong acid / tier 2

Locate Object: locates an object you are familiar with, 10km range, works better with your own objects / tier 2

Misty Step: very short range teleport for beginners / tier 2

Scorching Ray: sends 3 flaming bolts at once, can burn targets, can be upcasted at higher mana cost / tier 2

See Invisibility: allows you to see invisible creatures nearby, requires concentration / tier 2

Suggestion: You suggest a course of activity and magically influence a creature you can see within range that can hear and understand you. Creatures that can't be charmed are immune to this effect. The suggestion must be worded in such a manner as to make the course of action sound reasonable. Asking the creature to stab itself, throw itself onto a spear, immolate itself, or do some other obviously harmful act ends the spell.
The target pursues the course of action you described to the best of its ability. The suggested course of action can continue for the entire duration. If the suggested activity can be completed in a shorter time, the spell ends when the subject finishes what it was asked to do.
You can also specify conditions that will trigger a special activity during the duration. For example, you might suggest that a pony give their bits to the first non pony they see, so the compulsion will activate only once the pony sees a non pony. / tier 2

Silence: creates a 10m radius sphere from where sound is unable to escape, adjustable size requires concentration / tier 2

Copy Book: allows you to scan and copy a book at the same time, without using any ink and without opening the book you are scanning / tier 3

Scan Metal: you use your magic to detect the density and properties of the inside of a piece of metal, does not work on anti magic metals / tier 3

Counterspell: uses mana to stop a spell being cast, only works on the same tier of spell its used as, can be upcast. / tier 3

Dispel Magic: dispels a spell of the same tier already in effect / tier 3

Tongues: you can give yourself or allies the ability to understand and speak any language you hear for one hour. / tier 3