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