When Luna and I arrived at the Evefree outpost, the place was in complete disarray. Guards could be seen going to and fro doing their work in a disorganized fashion. They seemed to be stressed and exhausted as they ran back and forth from doing what ever they were doing. Some guards could be seen doing absolutely nothing at all; they just watched as their more productive/ stressed allies worked wildly. Three tents appeared to be lopsided; they were either poorly constructed or lacked the responsible caretaker to fix it.

I spied something new in front of Luna's tent; a bulletin board with various papers posted on it. I couldn't see much from it, but I could tell that there were faint outlines of ponies on it. I wondered if those were the MIA that Luna told me about on the train...

I turned over to Luna to ask her more about the MIA, but I decided not to... she looked absolutely pissed. Her wings were flared, her eyes were narrowed into slits, and her face screamed anger and disappointment towards her troops.

"Isaiah, wait for me at my tent." She hissed, the way she said it made it seem like things were about to get rather ugly for the guards stationed at the outpost.

I gave her a silent nod, no words. I immediately made haste for her tent, wanting to get a quick look at the posters on the board.

"CAPTAIN!" Luna yelled in a booming voice. By the sound of it, Luna was about to start kicking ass and taking names left and right with no discrimination. Her command wasn't even directed towards me, and it still rattled me through and through.

Guards stopped what they were doing as I walked by, they all had looks of nervousness as they eyed their Princess. I knew that without a doubt; stopping without orders would just piss off Luna even more.

I let out a low whistle to gain some of their attention. "I recommend that y'all get back to work, it's not wise to stop without orders."

One of the many mares looked at me and let out a huff. "Why should we listen to you, ape?"

I let out a annoyed sigh. "Because I'm trying to fucking help y'all. Go ahead and ignore me if you don't mind getting a beating from your commanding officers." Some of them actually heeded my warning, but the mare in front kept pressing on.

The guard narrowed her eyes at me. "Buck you." And with that she stepped closer, trying to edge me on.

In all honestly, I didn't want to fight. Besides the events of this morning, things were going pretty well by my standards. But the way she was acting up, it was starting to aggregate me. "Buck me? No, fuck you."

She let out a low growl and lit up her horn while focusing on me. The complexion started to turn a little red for some really odd reason. I started to laugh at the expression on her face as she tried to use her useless magic on me.

The unicorn let out another growl of anger and got into what appeared to be a charging stance. Now that gained my attention, it also made the others watch in curiosity.

Like a jousting knight, she lowered her horn down at me like a lance and sprinted toward me at full speed. I just wanted to get this over with as fast as possible. I quickly lowered myself and grabbed a handful of dirt and gravel, stood up and placed my right leg behind me. The mare saw my action with confusion, but she still charged.

When she was about four feet ahead of me, I threw the dirt and gravel into her unsuspecting eyes. She slammed her eyes shut and gritted her teeth in pain. All eyes were on me as I brought my right foot from behind me and kicked her right in the jaw with the steel-toed boot.

The guard let out a cry of pain as small bits and pieces of teeth flew out of her mouth with speckles of glittering blood in the air along with it.

Gasps could be heard as she slammed in to the dirt. Blood pooling around her mouth, but I wasn't focused on that; guards began to scramble towards me. There were various expressions that could be seen, most were either fear or anger.

They surrounded me and stopped when they were about three feet around me. A pegasus stallion positioned himself in front of me with sheer hatred in his eyes. "You are under arrest for assault on a member of the royal guard, co-"

"Guards, stand down!" Boomed a mare whom I guessed had more authority over the guards in front of me.

I turned around to see something that I wasn't expecting at all. There was what appeared to be a small 'pegasus' mare with bat wings instead of the feathered ones I've seen. The mare had dark amber eyes that resembled a cat's. Her coat was a dark grey with a dark blue mane and tail. Her cutie mark depicted a full moon being blocked by some dark clouds. Oddly, she wasn't wearing any kind of armor.

"I saw what happened." She said while standing over the downed unicorn's side.

The stallion that tried to arrest me wasn't too pleased with the batpony's interference. "But Sergeant, he assaulted a guard, right here in our own camp! We ca-"

She interrupted him before he could continue. "Did you see what happened?" She then pointed to some guards. "Take her to the infirmary, now." They did as told by the bat-winged mare.

The Corporal hesitated to answer. "N-no I didn't Sergeant. Soon as I turned the corner, I saw his hoof collide with her chin."

"That he did." The sergeant said while smiling to be; exposing her bat like teeth. "But what you didn't see was the beginning." She then directed to the small amount of guards that were with us. "May we please have some privacy."

The others dispersed, leaving the Corporal, the Sergeant, and I alone next to a small pool of blood.

"He acted in self defense. When he advised the Guards to get back to work, Private Hissy ignored and pressed on. And if I do recall, Hissy does have anger management problems, am I correct Corporal?" She asked him. He nodded.

She finally turned back to me. "What's you name creature, and what are your reason for being here?"

"Isaiah ma'am. I'm here on behalf of Princess Luna." I calmly answered.

The mare looked annoyed. "Great, she tried to assault a royal guest..." She took a deep breath to calm herself. "Look, I'm going to have to continue this later. I'll let the Captain sort this out..." She looked down at the blood. "Corporal, clean this up. And Isaiah you are free to go."

"Thanks, I owe you." I thanked.

She left out a chuckle. "Heh, I know. I'm Sergeant Small Cloud by the way. I apologize on behalf of the Royal Guard."

I shrugged my shoulders. "Shit like that happens. Well, I better get going, see you around Sergeant."

The mare only gave me a grin; exposing her sharp teeth one last time before I made my way to Luna's tent. The tent wasn't far, just only a couple of feet.

I stood in front of the bulletin board, my assumptions were correct about it; they were the missing troops. I couldn't read any of the words on the fifteen papers that slightly fluttered in the gentle breeze. I noted that all but three of the troops were mares and that majority of the ponies were unicorns. Each of the documents had a picture of the troop and a smaller picture of their cutie mark, I paid extra attention to that. Majority of them were white, save for two earth ponies who's coats were a light brown.

I could hear Luna's voice as she departed with the captain. I quickly scrambled inside the empty tent, waiting for the Princess. I wasn't sure why Luna wanted me to be here instead of letting me return to my shelter in the Everfree forest. I really wanted to get the rest of the solar panels up and working, and also restore everything to working order.

"Maybe if I'm finished, I can go hunting for some deer." I thought.

My internal monologue was ceased when a disgruntled Princess entered the tent. She quietly trotted behind a large table and sat down on a cushion with a sigh. I walked over to the opposite side of the table and lowered myself to take a seat on the ground.

"You alright Princess?" I asked the mare.

She closed her eyes. "Ever since my banishment, I've noticed that the guards have lost respect and honor in their duties as guards. The royal guards are nothing but a shadow of their formal selfs. I remember when they were honorable, reliable, and respectful. But now, they have little care for their duties. I still find it unbelievable that very few actually care..."

"Banished?" I asked.

Luna froze up at my question. She had a expression of worry, nervousness, and dread. It seemed to be that I struck something sensitive with her. "Hoped that you wouldn't ask that." She dragged her eyes away from the papers that were laid in front of her on the table and glided them over to me. "Do you promise me that you wouldn't think different of me if I told you? I won't lie to you Isaiah, I am not perfect."

My fears were correct, it was something sensitive. "Luna... everyone is far from perfect, it's an unachievable goal that none can reach no matter how hard they try. I'm not perfect Princess, I've done some wrong in my life time; but yet, people still respect me." I shifted my weight on the table and managed eye contact with the worried alicorn. "So no, I won't think different about you Luna; I promise. I have no room to judge."

Luna and I maintained eye contact for a brief moment before she broke it with a slightly teary eye and a sniffle. I instantly regretted pushing her for a answer. Something told me to get closer to her; so I did. I rose to my feet and walked over close to her and rested myself on the table in front of her.

She opened her cerulean eyes and rested them on me. "Where do I begin..." She mumbled to her self.

"It's best to start at the beginning." I joked, trying to lighten the mood. She replied by dropping a book on my head.

"Long ago in the beginning of Equestria, Celestia and I ruled together like we currently do now. The citizens of the newly formed nation played and enjoyed the day away in the sun's warm, loving glowing rays. They all worked hard through out the day and returned to the safety of their homes when night came." Luna's face turned into another upset expression. "But when night came, they slept during my time of control, they were afraid of the night. They never appreciated my nights; they feared them. Very few of them showed interest for my moon; everypony loved and worshipped Celestia's sun. They loved Celestia; they didn't love me..."

She began to drag her eyes away from me. "I became envious of my sister's attention. I became, angry, spiteful, disrespectful, and everything wrong. And finally... I snapped and turned into a monster known as Nightmare Moon. Nightmare Moon is a corrupted form of myself when I-I..." She stopped her sentence and started to cry.

The only thing I could to was hold her as she gently weeped. She was shaking and mumbling incoherently as she cried in remorse on my shoulder. This was my fault, I shouldn't of let her tell me about her past demons; she was a mess as I held onto her. The situation was awkward as she held onto me when I started to rock her back and forth.

When she finally stopped, I whispered into her ear that she didn't have to tell me the rest of the story. She insisted that she should continue, just to get it over with. She ended up ignoring my pleas as she finished.

She told me about her fight between Celestia and her, and how her sister used some magical tools to banish her to the moon for a thousand years of complete isolation and sorrow. I couldn't imagine being alone on the moon for a thousand years away from everything you've known to love.

Luna quietly recalled the events right after her banishment ended and her attempts to fight back as her alter-ego. When she was telling me about her actions against the Elements of Harmony (Whom I just learned were Twilight and her friends), a very confused Sergeant Small Cloud spied us. Before Luna took notice, I mouthed "leave us alone" to Small Cloud; she thankfully left Princess Luna and I alone.

Time slowly passed as Luna regained her composure and left the cradle of my arms and onto the cushion. "Sorry. That must of made you uncomfortable." She mumbled with teary eyes.

She was sorry? I was the one who should be sorry for making such a nice lonely Princess recall one of the most tragic times in her life. "No Luna, I'm sorry. I shouldn't of asked about something that was so sensitive to you."

She took an audible swallow. "I... really needed to talk about it. I normally talk to Celestia about it, but it never seems to change how I feel. She said that it was unhealthy to bottle my emotions up, but I have nopony else to talk to. But with you, it was a nice pace of change for me; thank you."

So it seems that she has PTSD and the only form of counseling came from her older sister. "I'm here for you Luna, as you are for me."

She had a look of wonder. "As you are for me? What is that supposed to mean?"

I scratched that back of my head; trying to make me look a little guilty. "If I never found you or any of your troops on the first day we met, I never would of known that there was a completely new societally close by. I could see myself becoming even more lost; most likely blowing my brains out to end it all." I knew saying that I would of committed suicide if I couldn't find anyone else was extreme, but I wanted to make Luna feel even more important.

The mare of the night bought my little lie. "Y-You wouldn't, would you?"

I wanted to look shameful, so I averted my gaze to the ground. "I would. Even if I didn't, the Chupacabras or any other creature in the forest would've killed me sooner or later."

She didn't say anything.

Something inside told me that I should focus more on Luna than myself. "When you changed back from Nightmare Moon to Luna, how did the ponies react."

Again, she froze up. "They still feared me once I retuned to myself. Celestia tried helping me accommodate to modern Equestria. She had so much trouble with me, she sent me to Ponyville on a holiday called NightMare Night. They, at first feared me. But once some of the elements helped me, my subjects stopped running away from me in terror... for a while."

"For a while?" I asked the mare.

She nodded her head. "Someponies are unforgiving and ignorant. Rumors were created about me Isaiah, some of the rumors made my subjects question my authority of the throne..."

Damn, some of these ponies are assholes. She began to appear sad once again.

"What can you tell me about Nightmare Night?" I questioned her.

Some of her sadness washed away at my question. "It's a special holiday that Ponies dress up in costumes and go around and ask for candy door-to-door so they could. With the candy that they received, they would leave an offering at a statue of Nightmare Night." The little hope of happiness vanished when she gained another frown. "But they are offering it to my evil counterpart, not me."

"That's odd. Back on before... well you know. We used to have a holiday called Halloween. It was basically what you described Nightmare Night, except theirs no offerings to statues; they'd just party the night away."

She huffed. "It sounds more intriguing than Nightmare Night."

I kept my mouth shut at that. It seemed appropriate to move onto something a little different. "You said that the elements helped you, how did they help?"

The midnight blue alicorn lifted a hoof to her chin; deep in thought. "Oh the usual, they helped me become less frightening, more sociable and enjoyable. Twilight even told me to stop using the 'traditional Canterlot voice' and the 'royal we' when I would speak."

"What's the traditional Canterlot voice?"

"Did you hear me yell for the Captain when we arrived?"

I shook my head to confirm. "Yeah, that was fuckin' loud. Was that it?"

"Yes it was. That's how Celestia and I spoke long ago in early Equestria. Apparently it now frightens the current populace." She stated.

"And what's the royal we?"

"It's a early version of how equish was pronounced."

I gave her a small smile in interest. "Mind giving an example?"

She rolled her eyes and cleared her throat. "Thou wish was to hear us speak, then thy wish shall be granted. Hath thou anymore questions that we may grant upon thee?"

I was pleasantly shocked. "Damn that's cool! I really like it when you use the royal we. It makes you sound just so... badass!"

My comment caught her off guard. "Do yo- dost thou really think so?" She asked in her old lingo.

I leaned back. "Hell yeah, I can understand why they didn't like the Canterlot voice, but the royal we? Only an idiot would object it. I don't know about you Luna, but I like it; it makes you stand out, as if you already didn't."

She smiled. "I thank thee, thou is too kind Isaiah."

"Theres that smile I was looking for!" I thought to myself.

"Luna, I know that being royalty means that you may have to keep up an certain public image so they can accept you even though your image doesn't match you. They want you to look like what they want you to look like. But you, you shouldn't change Luna; they should. You should not be striving to meet their standards Luna, they should be striving to meet yours. They may make comments for how you act if you are being yourself; but remember, you're being you. No-one can change that, nopony can define who you really are."

I was surprised when she lunged forward and flung her fore-hooves around me in a tight hug. I could feel my face turning red from either the odd situation or the lack of air. I couldn't move my arms while in her grasp, I just sat there and awkwardly rubbed her sides with my hands.

After what seemed like three minutes, she pulled away with a blush on her face and a friendly smile. "Hehe, we kinda lost control of thine self..."

I shrugged my shoulders. "Eh, it happens to the best of us."

The alicorn let out a sigh. "Well, we shan't keep thou any longer Isaiah."

"Wow, kicking me out already? Man, I thought we had something going on special Luna." I joked.

I dodged when she threw a book at me.

"Oh and Luna, I'm going hunting. It'll only last for about the rest of today and tomorrow morning. Later." I said as I passed through the tent flaps.

I heard a faint "Good-bye friend" from the mare I just left alone. I honestly felt really good, not just for me, but for Luna too.

The sun shone directly overhead of me; informing that its probably around twelve-ish or so. I stretched my arms out as far as I could in the sun's glow. My right hand briefly touched something nice and soft; it felt oddly familiar...

"Soft isn't it?"

I shot my hands back to my sides with a yelp as I flinched to my right when I spotted a smug Princess Celestia with a smirk on her face. Her radiant glow enveloped me as the two mares next to her looked at me in confusion.

I huffed. "It's rude to scare people like that Princess."

"It's rude to touched a Princess like that in public Isaiah." She shot back.

I just let out a grunt. All I wanted to do was go back home to the shelter and relax. But nooo, I couldn't be left alone after I comforted a lonely Princess with socializing issues.

"Is there something you need Princess Celestia?" I politely asked.

She had her usual poised look. "No, nothing really important." She leaned in close to me and brought her mouth close to my ear. "I heard your words with my little sister. That was one of the nicest things anypony had said to her in a long time that didn't come from me. Thank you Isaiah." She whispered.

I was slightly embarrassed that she heard me, I didn't know if she heard the whole thing or not though.

I shifted my weight to my right side. "It really sounded like she needed help. I was more than happy to help her, I can relate to some of her predicaments."

The guard on her left was inspecting the posters on the bulletin board. Her face lightly paled when she started to look at each individual paper. I suspect that now would be a decent chance to ask about it.

"Celestia, what can you tell me about these posters?" I asked her.

The eldest ailcorn seemed to be in thought when she settled her rose pink eyes on the bulletin board.

"Those are missing posters for the three squads who went missing not to long ago. All three of the squads were separated, but yet went missing at the same time. Many ponies are assuming that the Chupacabras are responsible; but I, I think it's something else."

"Abandonment?"

She gently shook her head left and right. "Unlikely, they're one of the best squads in the whole battalion. There's no excuse for why they would leave. They're loyal, I know it."

I wanted more information. "Has there been any search parties for them. It's almost impossible for fifteen troops to disappear, unless-"

"something or somepony wanted them to be gone without a trace..." She finished my sentence.

I rose an eyebrow. "Kidnapping?"

"I'm not sure."

One of the guards spoke up. "Princess, there has been recent activity relating to Diamond dogs in the past concerning foalnappings."

It began to add up. "I think he may be up to something Princess. The diamond dog that attacked me awhile ago can back up his answer relating to dog activity."

She narrowed her eyes. "I see..." Celestia looked back to me. "You might be onto something. But as much as it pains me to say; I must go. When should I expect to see you?"

"I think tomorrow around afternoon." I answered.

"Till then Isaiah, please stay safe." She began to walk away with her two guards, but turned her head and said. "And do refrain from kicking my guards in the face, thank you."

I let out a uncaring grunt and parted ways with the Princess of the sun and made my way over to the tree that my dirt-bike leaned on.

<><><><><><>

I slowed the dirt-bike in front of the container shelter. But something was... off.

The lock and chains were still firmly wrapped around the entryway; preventing any intruders from getting in. I spent the next minute observing the tree line of the forest, like I was expecting something to emerge from it. Instincts told me that I was being watched. It was that really odd feeling that you get when you're all alone, that unpleasant feeling that you know that what ever is watching you can see you, without you knowing where they are.

I fished the keys from my pockets, unlocked the metal doors and shut myself into the shelter. I walked over to the only open area and began to strip out of my only nice pair of clothing. When I took off the plaid shirt, I noticed a large tear stain on my shoulder; the same shoulder that Luna cried on. My heart went out to the poor mare...

With slightly clean camouflage clothing and a very clean Mosin Nagant M91/30, I stepped out of the forest to see uneven soil ahead of me. I didn't see that when I was inspecting the area when I got here. I stood next to the soil and lowered myself onto one knee to take a close look.

They were foot prints; well, paw prints to be exact. I remember the discussion that Celestia and I had when we were at the outpost.

Are these diamond dog prints?

They only way to be sure was to check the area where me and the first diamond dog fought. The area where the dog was burned was still clear of any growth of the nearby plants. When I got close enough; clear as day, the prints were still there and they did match the ones I just discovered.

A long sigh escaped my lips as I returned from to my standing form. The more and more I thought about the missing troops and the diamond dogs; the more I wanted answers. There's gotta be way to find them, but there isn't a lead that can direct me into the correct path that's sure to help.

I jogged back to the shelter and grabbed a combat knife, a canteen, binoculars, two sacks; one large the other medium, and some rope.

To begin my hunt, I headed north.

<><><><><><>

I was high up in the branches of a massive tree. The branches and I slowly swayed back and forth as the wind passed through the leaves and branches of the tree. My rifle was slung behind my back as I held the binoculars up to my eyes. The setting was perfect.

Celestia's sun was slowly heading west; the time was probably around 4:00 PM. A decently sized field was ahead of me. Tall grass were being lightly blown by the wind, creating ripples in the shining waves of green. The only sounds was the blowing of the wind and the occasional call of the cardinals that I shared the tree with. I watched as the red birds flew from tree to tree, playing and eating happily in the calm forest with the nasty reputation. There were very few clouds in the sky overhead, showing me a mix of light blueish orange to the west and sky-blue to the east.

Movement down below caught my attention as I enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the forest. I quietly and slowly brought the binoculars up my eyes. My jaw dropped like a hammer on an anvil.

Six massive deer moved below me. They were silent like a mouse as they made their way to the large green pasture. There were two stags, both sporting massive antlers that were at least nine feet across from tip to tip. The one that caught my eye was the slightly larger one who had a reddish brown coat. He was at least six feet tall and probably weighed thirteen hundred pounds. Three cows and a calf followed behind them as they grazed on the long grass as they walked.

I lowered the binoculars from my eyes and brought my rifle to my shoulder. I watched them through the scope of my rifle with focused attention. I debated wether to shoot them or not, they were so big, I didn't know if I could carry what they had to offer. If only I had a camera with me, they wouldn't believe me unless I brought a picture back home as proof.

I sat in the tree quietly, watching the stags and cows chomp away on the grass while the single calf suckled milk from it's mother teats. I chose not to shoot, for they were to big and majestic; my bullet probably couldn't take it down, even with a lucky shot. I rarely found myself in the peaceful situation; oh how I longed for it to last.

After nine minutes of watching the deer eat away, the small heard rose their heads up with twitching ears. I listened in awe as the largest stag let out a powerful bugle. The call speed through the forest; making various birds flutter into the warm air. The echo continued even after the elk stopped his powerful call. I was glad that I didn't take a shot.

All of the sudden, the ground around the smaller stag started to move and change around. Before it could escape, a pair of paws grasped it's forelegs like a zombie coming out of it's grave. The paws held strong as the elk bucked and struggled with all of it's might. A second pair of black paws shot out of the soil and gripped the deer's right hind leg. The stag kicked it's only free leg wildly as the others fled in terror. The stag let out it's final bugle, which was ceased as three spears struck it's right side above the front legs.

The animal collapsed on the opposite side of where the projectiles struck. I frowned as I saw three diamond dogs rushed from the tree line to the struggling deer. The smallest of the trio rushed up to the stag, pulled out a spear and lodged it into the heart of the stag. When the stag finally stopped moving, two more dogs emerged from the dirt. They let out a hellish howl as they celebrated their kill.

If I wasn't tied to the tree, I would've fallen out when I spotted a white dog wearing a severally dented royal guard helmet. These were without a doubt, the ones responsible. I wanted to take the shot, I knew I could; but I didn't. The troops that went missing were either dead or alive. I needed to know. If I shot him, the others would probably shit them selves and flee before I could get out of the tree and chase after them. But if I managed to get out of the tree without the noticing me, I could follow them. The chances of them having the ponies were unknown; for all I know, they could of been eaten...

I watched with pure hatred as they began removing the meat off of the deer; their cuts were sloppy and disorganized. They paid no heed to the pelt, it was being cut up and quickly turning into nothing but scraps. They started playing around with the remains; one stuck his paws up it's throat and played with it like a dummy.

They were distracted, now was my time to return to the ground below. I pulled a single cord and felt the tension release. I needed to be extra careful of both the climbing and the dogs. I took quick but yet silent movements as I made my way closer to the forest floor.

I was on the lowest branch, just about sixteen feet above the ground. Before I climbed up the titan of a tree, I tied a rope around a boulder that was close by and was about my weight, I used it as a simple pulley system to get down from the tree without injuring myself.

I tightly gripped the end rope of the pulley in my hand. With a light push I started to descend to the ground as the counter balance rose high. I turned my body around to see that the diamond dogs were still playing with their kill. I've only been in Equesrtia for about a week and I already hated a species. The ponies were fine but the mongrels known as Diamond dogs should be put to rest.

My legs silently made contact with the earth. I tied my end of the rope to a near by branch so I wouldn't have to worry about the boulder plummeting to the ground. Now was my time to hunt.

I paid extremely close attention to them as them bickered between each other. I used both tall grass and thick bushes to position myself to points of interest. I wanted to get close, so close to the point where I could hear their hearts beat. I was mindful of twigs and leaves; I didn't need them to know that they were being watched.

After seven minutes, I slipped behind a tree that was close enough so I could hear the chatter between the mongrels. I listened patiently for them to mention anything pony or guard related, but the only thing the mentioned about in broken english was a cave they were currently residing in.

When they finally finished packing up the meat into crudely made bags, I heard the white one with the dented royal guard helmet say "pony" and "slave" in poorly spoken english. My desire to kill them grew.

The dogs made their way into the tree line where I soon followed suit. I gave them plenty of space between us as I stalked them. I stuck to the shadows like a cat hunting its prey. Every other couple of yards, I would make a marker for my later self when I would come back.

They soon led me to a opening on a cliffside. Two guards stood at the six foot by eight foot mouth of the cave. One of the guards was wearing what seemed like a poorly assembled chest plate that he made out of the back piece of the golden royal guard armor that one of the stallions was wearing. The other dog on guard duty was drinking from a moonshine bottle. It was obvious; this was the place where they were keeping the troops. My gut told me that they were deep within somewhere inside of the cave.

The sun was setting close to the horizon; I needed to return home and prepare.

<><><><><><>

The time was around 11:00 PM. I sat in front of a block of grindstone that I used to sharpen my now razor edged machete. I brought it up to the light; my grinning face showed on the polished black metal. I slid it into it's long grey sheath that hung on my waist.

I wore my old Dustin Ranger uniform; well... most of it. I wore my favorite blackish/brownish cargo pants. One of the pockets contained six green chem lights. On my right side I had the machete and the trench knife on my hip and my M1911 in it's holster on the other side. I carried three extra magazines for it on my waistline. I wore my black steel-toed boots, but on it's side was a switch blade that might be of use when in the cave. I had two rust mines that each had their own detonators, and both a had ten feet of wiring; they were placed securely inside the backpack that I was going to bring along with me.

I couldn't use my Mosin Nagant inside a cave; too close. So to substitute, I will be carrying a G36C carbine with a sound suppresser, a holographic sight, a mounted flashlight, and plenty of ammunition of varying degree. I had six mags of regular ammunition that had tracer rounds mixed in with it, and I also had two mags with hollow-point rounds; to prevent getting magazines mixed up, I put some yellow tape around the hollow-point mag. Each mag held thirty rounds each, multiply that by eight to end up with a grand total of two hundred and forty 5.56mm rounds.

A black tactical vest held all of the ammunition for the carbine, two M67 fragmentation grenades, three flares, and a flare gun with three illumination rounds. In my backpack besides the mines and it's equipments; there was canteen, a gas-mask, a pair of night-vision goggles, and a pair of ear plugs. If I'm going to be shooting in cave, the sound would be magnified and have a longer lasting echo. And a set of lock-picks; they could serve a purpose.

The only thing that I didn't have was the Dragon Skin bulletproof vest that I wore when I was a ranger. I would like the feeling of having extra protection, but it would just be added weight and a false sense of security. I already weighed quite a bit, no use for carrying any more weight that would prove most likely useless.

Before I set off on my journey, I refueled the dirt bike with the gasoline that I had stored in the back.

<><><><><><>

The time was around... 11:49 PM, perfect time to strike. The guards at the cave entrance were nice and lazy, one left to take a shit in the forest while the other was asleep with a moonshine jug at his feet. I took a deep breath and slipped the NV goggles over my eyes. With the plan embedded in my mind, I quietly sprinted at the mouth and listened; the only sound came from the snoring mutt that was three feet next to me. I couldn't kill him yet, the other guard would notice and alert the others.

I got low and poked my head in, there was almost no light inside. The only sign of light came from a flickering touch that was attached on top of a stalagmite. I rose my carbine into firing position as I advanced down the dark cave. The cave was rather cool; a sign of air flow, so that meant that their were multiple openings.

I traversed deeper and deeper, I came to a halt when rotting flesh reached my nose; making me gag.

{{Gore tag is about to come in}}

I heard voices and foot steps moving to my position. I reacted silently as could into a cubby whole. The voices got louder as they got closer and closer. The mood was so tense I could hear my own heartbeat as they decreased the distance between me and them. I grasped the machete's grip incase things didn't turn out as well as planed.

"So the male ponies are dead? Shame, they are such strong slaves." One of them said in a rough scratchy voice.

I lightly bit my tongue while I waited for the other to say something.

"It is shame. At least we have those mares to play with; such feistiness they have!" The other commented in a low grumbling voice.

The two continued their way down the pitch blackness of the cave system. They were actually giving me hints... even though the last one was rather grave for my liking. I kept my distance as I followed them.

"Oohhh, how about we pay the mares a visit. You know pony heat is near, they'll be begging for a rut."

"Hehe, I agree. The alpha won't mind if we broke some of them in, follow me."

Hate. That was all I could feel as I stalked behind them. I wasn't going to fight them; I was going to slaughter them. I will murder them all, I don't care how many in this pit of hell I will leave them bleeding on the ground. I want to hear their screams of mercy as I chop pieces of them off and feed them to their friends. They'll suffer.

I followed them to a wooden door that was reinforced with iron bars.

"These must be the cells..." I thought to myself.

My suspicions were correct when they opened the door to revile a chamber that seemed to be cut out of limestone. A lone torch was placed on the left side of the entrance, the only thing it illuminated was a empty prison cell. I knew that there were others; I just couldn't see them. The pair that I followed entered and closed the door, not even bothering to lock the thing. How fortunate for me and unfortunate for them.

I checked the corner that I came from for any loners, once I saw that the coast was clear I drew in a deep breath and gripped the trench knife in my right hand and the machete in my left. I exhaled and ran for the door.

I brought my right foot up, and slammed it into the flimsy door. The door may had been iron reinforced, but they were poorly built; thus it broke down. The dogs turned around in surprise and fear as I made eye contact with them. Before the they could say anything, I lunged forward and thrusted the trench knife into the dog with the low voice. The other one yelped in fear as he watched the life of his friend being brutally ended. I let go of the trench knife and let the dog fall to the ground with a thud.

He started to stumble backwards, shaking like the pathetic thing he was. I brought the machete back behind my head and swung at his throat. Like an geyser crimson liquid flooded out of his throat. Blood pooled around us as he struggled for life. I turned around and checked the only exit; leaving him slowly drain onto the floor.

I looked over my shoulder and looked towards my newest victims; both had a large pool of crimson around them.

I quickly searched around the rooms, the only things were two jugs of moonshine, a table and a torch. My thoughts ceased when I heard sobs from one of the cells.

The sobs grew louder as I closed the distance between us. I pulled out a chem light and tossed it into the cell.

A pegasus mare looked at me with sheer terror in her eyes when she spotted me. The poor mare was in rough shape; she was caked in blood, she was covered in cuts; she was one of the many guards.

The chem light finally settled on the ground and reviled an even more gruesome sight. The more mares of the three different races lay on the ground. I couldn't tell if they were alive or not, they probably wouldn't want to be; they were raped.

I got down to make eye level with the sobbing mare. "Are you alright? Can you move, fly even?"

She nodded her head.

I took off my backpack and removed the lock-picking set from it. I acquired the right ones and quickly worked on it while talking to the mare. "I'm here to help you sweetie, what's you name?" I calmly asked.

She started to move her mouth; but there was no sound. She noticed and tried harder, eventually croaking out "Straight Streak".

I pulled off the NV googles and managed to gain eye contact. "Straight Streak I need you to listen to me and listen closely, how well you listen to me depends on your and your friends lives. Do you understand." She nodded. "I'm going to escort you to the surface. And I'm going to point you to the direction of the Everfree Outpost, where there is not only Princess Luna, but theres also you fellow guards who want to help you." The lock on the door clicked, I opened it and pulled the mare into a hug. "Do you know where I'm going at Straight Streak?"

The mare called down her sobbing can nodded her head in understanding. "You want me to fly their and alert the guards of this place."

I rubbed my thumb over her tear stained cheeks. "That is correct. When you leave, I will return here and protect your fellow guards. As soon as the opportunity arises, I'm escorting you out. And when we get out, I'll point you to the direction of the outpost."
I glanced over to the door; remembering that we aren't alone. "We need to go."

I put my NV goggles back on and picked up the mare in my arms. She held on tight as I maneuvered around the corpses in the room. I carefully checked the corners for oncoming dogs, their seemed to be almost none; one of the benefits of attacking at night. The pegasus was shaking madly in my arms when we neared the entrance of the cave. The feeling of the early spring air greeted us as I sped up. I set the mare down behind a stalagmite.

"Wait here." I whispered. She only let out a mumble.

I traversed to the entrance of the cave and poked my head out. The guards were still there, the drunk one was still passed out and the other had his back turned to me. I held the machete in my left hand. I stealthily got behind him. With my right hand, I grasped his muzzle shut from behind him and brought the machete down upon his throat. The warm feeling of blood covered my hands as he fell to the ground with a thud.

My next victim was sound asleep; not for long. I grabbed the moonshine jug and bashed it on his face. The diamond dog growled in annoyance, but stopped when I tightened my hands on his muzzle. His first expression was confusion, then anger, and finally fear as he saw his fellow guard in the grass. I dragged his form over to the dead dog and brought my mouth to his lowered ears.

"You're next..."

He instantly flailed about as I brought the machete to his throat. Instead of it being a fast slice, I slowly and tantalizing brought the blade back and forth on his throat. He began to shed tears. I added more pressure to the blade, electing the sound of cutting flesh. He tried grabbing me with his paws; but that was of no use. I then lowered him down to his buddies body.

"You're gonna be worse." I hissed.

He gave me the response I was waiting for; despair. His body went completely limp. I let out a low laugh, and finished slowly cutting his throat. The only sound he made was gurgles. I pushed his body onto his friend.

I hurried back to Straight Streak, picked her back up into my arms and carried her out into the forest. Even more tears were shed as she saw the moon hanging over head. She probably didn't think that she was going to see it ever again.

I set her down on a small patch of grass and gained her attention for the finale time. "Listen Straight Streak, the outpost is that way." I pointed with my index finger southward. "Remember what I told you?"

"You told he to tell them about the cave, and whats happening." She recited.

I gave her a final hug. "Good, now go. You have lives to save."

She then darted into the night sky.

<><><><><><>

It had only been six minutes since the mare flew off to tell the others. When I got back into the cell room I started to inspect the other cells. Much to displeasure, only six were alive. They were all in extremely bad shape. If they ever did live; they'll never be the same. They're all going to suffer from PTSD for sure, I've seen it happen in situations like these. They will all be both emotionally, mentally, and physically scarred for life. I honestly wouldn't know how to cope with such a thing.

I heard a set of light clicking from one of the darkened cells. Which was odd because they were unoccupied... I think. I rose my carbine into position as I advanced closer to the cell. The cell was unlike the others, it was rather old and rusty compared to the others cells that happened to have no signs of wear and tear.

The cell door was so old and rusted down, it couldn't even keep it's prisoner from escaping. I brought my right foot up and kicked it in the center. The corroded iron cell gave away and opened, reviling nothing but blackness. I heard movement right in front of me, but I couldn't see anything.

When I turned on the flashlight on the my carbine, it reviled a mass of what appeared to be a heap of bug chitin. It was all black and in some places even had holes; I think I even saw a wing amongst the pile. I took two steps closer to the mass, a horn and a pair of block holed hooves became visible. I let out a grunt to announce my wonderment.

I almost lost my shit when a silhouette rose from the pile of black chitin. I shone my light on it.

The creature in front of me was one of the strangest things I've encountered. It had black chitin with a dark blueish green carapace on it's back from where a pair of dragonfly like wings sprung. To fangs could be seen protruding from its mouth, labeling it as a carnivore. The creature had large eyes much like a ponies except they had a blue polarized bug like appearance to them. From my position I couldn't see if it had any sort of mane or tail; which was unlikely due to it's insect like qualities.

Two more of them rose from their slumber. One of them looked different from the other two, it had a pair of both wings and horn. It shared the other details like its counter parts but was slightly smaller.

I took another step, the trio hissed at the same time; sending shivers down my spine. If I didn't have the safety on; they would've had more holes. I stumbled back in a daze as they buzzed over me and shot out the door. I couldn't see what was going on, but I could hear some of it. There was some yelling from multiple dogs and a loud blast; next thing I knew, I saw a diamond dog engulfed in green flames as he wailed in pain down the into the cave.

"The bugs, they've escaped! Maxis, check on the slaves!" A dog from within the cave yelled.

My cover was about to be blown.

I acted as fast as I could, I rose up to my feet and positioned myself next to the cell block's only opening. I set of running paws could be heard as they came closer to my position. When I guessed he turned the corner and saw that the door dismantled of the hinges; he stopped. I waited anxiously for him to enter. I knew that he couldn't see the corpses; I set them against the right hand side of the room. I heard one foot fall, then another. He most likely knew that something was right as he got closer. I held the machete so tight in my hand, my knuckles were turning white.

My patience was rewarded when the broken door shifted. I hugged the wall tightly when he fully stepped inside the room. He glided his eyes over the room and saw the two guards laying against the wall in a pool of crimson. He would of yelped if I didn't hack the machete into the right side of his throat. He gagged in fear as he collapsed to the ground as he used both of his dirty paws to try and prevent any more gushing blood to flow from his throat. I shifted his body toward me, he scrambled backwards; unaware that he crawled into the diamond dog corpses. I got close enough to him so that I could curb stomp him. I sent stomp after stomp onto the dogs neck, earning multiple cracks. After two dozen thrusts of my feet upon his bloodied body; he stopped moving.

I stopped my assault and caught my breath. The dog's necked was a bloodied, mangled mess. It would only be a matter of time before the other mutts would become suspicious of their missing pack member, they would surly send more to my position.

Turned around to the cells, to see faces of pure horror. The ponies eyed me and by blood covered hands and feet. A unicorn lit up her horn to do something but couldn't get a response. I trudged up to their cell, when I did they shot to the opposite side of the cell in fear.

"Listen here, I'm trying to help y'all. I helped a pegasus escape and sent her to the Everfree outpost for help." Some started to calm down when I mentioned the outpost. "But it's going to be some time before they arrive. The dogs are going to find out that something isn't right when their friend here doesn't return. As much as I hate to say it, they're going to find out about me and try to stop me." Their breathing started to pick up. "Think I can handle myself but I don't know about y'all, so I'm having to protect you guys."

A unicorn mare looked down in shame. "Is there any way we can help."

"Can you use a soundproofing spell? It's going to get very loud in here when the fighting starts."

She took a deep breath and exhaled. "I think I might be able to..."

"Good. When the fighting starts, use it." I tasked.

I needed to act fast, I most likely had a minute or two to prepare quickly as possible. I over turned the lone table and positioned ahead of the cell that had the door completely visible. I dragged the heavy corpses of the diamond dogs in front of the table to reinforce the protection that I needed. I wasn't sure of the weaponry that they possessed but I knew they had war clubs and iron spears. I can only assume that they had tribal weapons.

I grasped both of the moonshine jugs and emptied it's contents onto the filthy cave floor. I spread it as far as I could across the hallway that led to the cells and other areas of the cave. I removed the torch from it's mount on the wall and set it down next to impromptu shield. I pulled the rust mines and it's needed components and illuminated them with the torch. I placed one above the doorway facing down, and the other one poking out of the corpses on the barricade. I connected the mines to their detonators with the wiring. I had the advantage, for them to reach me, they would have to travel down a long corridor that formed a bottleneck to the cells. They would have to push through bursts of automatic fire to get close.

I was putting the ear protection in when I heard a trio of dogs bickering between each other. I aimed down the sites of the G36C and opened fire upon them. Even with the suppressor, the shots were loud and noticeable; not only for me and the ponies but for the whole pack of diamond dogs. Three rounds impacted the middle dog; sending blood and flesh all over his partners who were next to him. I fired at the dog on the right, the bullets traveled through the air and impacted into his skull. Pieces of bone and grey matter spattered the walls of the dark cave as screams from the last dog echoed to the others. I sent a single round at the last dog; hitting just behind what I assumed as the collar bone. He wailed in pain when the bullet collided. Before I could finish him off, he stumbled around the corner and screamed for help from the others.

I looked over to the troops and saw that the unicorn did her job of erecting a soundproof spell. I focused my attention on the hallway. Two bodies laid on the ground; soaking up the moonshine that they fell on. Screams and barks thundered from the caves, their shadows could be seen as the held torches, spears, war clubs, and what happened to be bows and arrows. I could fend off against the dogs with the war clubs but the ones with spears and arrows will be a definite issue.

The mob saw me when they charged the corner, they roared in fury as the charged. I sent down multiple bursts of 5.56 rounds at their way, the dogs leading the charge exploded as the shots ripped their bodies apart. They all roared in fear and anger as their comrades were being gored. The dogs stumbled over the corpses as the occasional tracer round impacted either diamond dog or cave.

My magazine was quickly running dry. I pulled one of the two grenades and tossed it at the oncoming hoard. The M67 arched through the air and found it's self in the paws of a confused dog. I bent down behind my cover and held my hands over my ears. The earth shook as the fragmentation grenade detonated in the hallway. The concussion traveled over to my position and left me in a daze. My ears rung as I loaded another mag into the carbine. I looked over my cover and saw the whole corridor engulfed in flames. The frags ignited the moonshine and set the dogs ablaze. They screamed as they were slowly cooked alive as they ran away; desperate for relief. The stench of burning flesh wafted through the air and reached my nose; making me gag. Smoke began to flood the room. The flames and smoke prevented any oncoming advancements form the dogs, I used the opportunity to acquire the gas-mask from my bag and ware it.

I quickly glanced over to the ponies. The unicorns of the group hopefully used some type of breathing apparatus spell. My attention was averted from them to the dogs as arrows zipped towards me. The volley of arrows collided every where near me; in front of me, behind me, and into the barricade. They were going on me, I needed to retaliate more violently. I sprung up from my cover and sprayed them with a volley of my own. Round after round was sent screaming towards them as the occasional arrow impacted near me. The casing fell to the floor around my feet like golden coins on a table.

They acted much like the infected from earth, they attacked in waves of hoards. They lacked compassion as they trampled on the corpses of their allies. The seem to not care if they were being shot.

My onslaught was ceased when I ran out of ammunition. They saw their window of opportunity and charged with their spears and clubs. I grasped the detonator for the mine above the doorway and waited for them to get closer. They funneled through the bottleneck and into the doorway, when they were directly under the mine, I detonated it.

The thundering bang of the mine rocked the solid rock beneath me. The cloud of ball bearing tore their bodies apart as diamond dog body parts showered the room. I rose up from cover with a mag full of hollow-point and shot the dogs that were still dazed by the blast. Their screams were cut short when the rounds impacted their bodies.

A lone arrow shot through the smoke and stuck my shoulder. The iron tip grazed me and left a gash on my arm. I screamed through my mask in anger. I was so high on adrenaline that the pain was barely noticeable. I only focused on the fight, I would really need to fix the gash up once this was over; if I survive that is.

Suddenly, a diamond dog with a iron chest piece sprang forward from the back. I sent three rounds but the hollow-points couldn't pierce through the armor. Small sparks flew as each round bounced off his armor, only slightly slowing him down. When he was at the door way, he reeled his war club back to swing.

I grasped the last detonator and activated. The wall of metal balls tore his exposed legs apart. The explosion lifted him up into the air and crashed three feet to my right. The room was now covered in dark red blood. The torch the had been next to me became extinguished due to the pool of blood. The dogs down the hall screamed as the rouge balls penetrated unfortunate mongrels. The legless diamond dog laid screaming in agony as he twisted around in pain. His thigh bones were visible and completely visible.

The cave was almost pitch black, the only light sources was my gunfire and the random burning corpse.

Finally, one of the dogs yelled for a regroup. I sent potshots towards the fleeing dogs as they ran for cover. The mutt next to me finally died due to blood loss as I dug through my backpack. I pulled out the three road-flares and the five remaining chem lights . I activated the flares and tossed one down the no-man's land; exposing the mangled corpses of the attackers. I threw the last of the flares and chems around the cell room. The room looked like something from a horror flick, dead bodies were strewn about with bodies parts scattered around. Crimson blood drenched the area and formed massive pools. Debris was thrown every where due to the explosives used. The sound of quiet moans filled the air as the wounded were taking their last breaths. Every time I would move my feet, I elected clinking that came from the brass casings.

Now it was time to wait for the next wave...

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It had been three minutes since the unofficial cease fire between the diamond dogs and I. I stared down the holographic site of my carbine waiting for any movement. The only sound was that of my breathing and the movement of the troops behind me. I've been in this cave for about an hour, but if feels much longer though.

My eyes caught a glint of light. The light began to grow and grow as the barer closed distance. A smile was plastered on my face as I recognized it as a squad of royal guards. They had expressions of fear plastered on their face as the got closer.

I stood up from my cover. "Hey, over here!" I yelled.

The lead unicorn yelped and shot a blast of magic at me. The projectile sped through the air and collided with me; doing nothing to me.

"Hey blue on blue!" I barked.

The other guards formed in around her and created a wall of magic. The rage of emotions were visible when a unicorn shot a flare onto the ceiling of the cave that illuminated the no-man's land. They all gasped in fear as they stared at the mangled corpses that littered the floor like trash.

"If found the missing troops, they are with me." I informed. They all relaxed and lowered their wall.

I stallion with a light-blue crest emerged from the crowd; it was Shining Armor.

"Isaiah, it's me Shining Amor. The pegasus informed us of the location of you and the missing troops."

I managed my way over to them. "They're in there." Once I said that multiple guards rushed in, ignoring what was within. "They... aren't in good shape."

He looked at me quizzically. "What do you mean."

I got out of the way so the medical ponies could pass through. I leaned over to Shining and whispered into his ear. "Let's just say that they'll never be the same."

He only shook his head.

I really wanted to get out. The air stank of death and misery. "I'll be topside Armor." And carefully maneuvered around the remains. "I'll be waiting."

He let out a huff. "You can go home Isaiah. We really need to talk to you tomorrow, this isn't something that we can just look over."

I sighed. "Okay... good night then."

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The ride home was uneventful. I barely had the strength to dismount the bike, open the door, and strip out of the bloodied clothes. I set all of my gear down in a pile in the middle of the floor, I would take care of that latter. I trudged over to where I had some jugs of water stored to clean up. With trouble, I made my way outside and started to clean myself; riding off all of the blood and dirt. After a while of cleaning, I shakily laid in my hammock and instantly fell asleep.

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Third POV

As Isaiah slept away after a long night of fighting, a mysterious being found her way into the shelter of the only human in Equestria. She peered down at him with wonder in her eyes, for he was something she'd never seen. She glanced around his shelter with intense curiosity. She saw an article of clothing and focused her magic on it; it didn't work. She grew an expression of surprise, and wonder as she refocused harder and harder until it was enveloped in her magic. She levitated it close to her head and inspected it. The clothing was black and was covered in not only small empty pockets; but in blood too. She set it back down to where it had been and focused her attention back onto the human.

She peered down at him and smiled, for he had done her a great favor. He may have done it unintentionally; but she was still thankful for his deed. The mysterious being admired his unique body, she dragged her eyes across his exposed body and stopped when she spied a gash on his shoulder. She frowned at the wound, it was still open and bloodied, if he didn't take care of it, it would become infected. She didn't want that, especially for what he had done. The being focused on his wound with extreme focus and desire to heal. Isaiah began to slightly move in discomfort, his body began to glow in her magical aurora. She redoubled her effort onto him intensely as his gash slowly started to heal. He let out a quite moan as the dried blood started to disappear as the gash became smaller and smaller, until it was nothing but a tiny scar upon his tanned skin. The being let out a small smile of pride.

She spotted a long, thin white cloth and grasped it with her magic. She hovered it over his closed eyes as she gently lifted his head with her hoof. The being softly wrapped the cloth around his head; blindfolding the man as he slept on his hammock. She let out a faint sigh after she tied the cloth with little trouble. She then readied herself for the next challenge; speaking to him.

She focused a waking spell on him, with him being so strangely resistant; it proved to be more of a challenge than it should've been. Her patience and effort was rewarded when a slightly transparent wave of magic silently washed over him. Isaiah began to shift uncomfortably again. He then briefly stopped, but then quickly leaned forward with worry evident in his voice.

"M-my eyes! I can't see!" He hollered. He started at attempting to get out of his hammock while trying to bring his hands to his covered eyes, but she prevented him.

"It's okay creature, it just a blindfold. You're fine I assure you." She calmly informed the frightened human with a distorted echoed voice. The being casted her magic on him once again and lowered him back down into a laying position with his hands folded on his chest.

Their was something about her voice that just made Isaiah's body shiver due to it's unique quality.

He began to struggle again. "W-what i-is that?! And who are you?!"

"It's magic. I'm-"

She was interrupted by Isaiah. "That's impossible! I'm resistant to magic!"

The being let out a quite giggle, that strangely calmed him much to her surprise. "You may be resistant, but you aren't completely. I've rarely encountered something that has such a trait, but a living creature, this is a first."

Isaiah slowed down his breathing. "...How?"

She truly didn't have an answer. Her mind began to drift back when she first entered the metal structure, the cloth that she picked up was, at first resistant, but soon complied to her magic. "I'm not sure..."

Their was a pregnant pause of silence as she thought and as Isaiah laid in his hammock with worry. He was suspicious of why she broke into his only home. "What did she want? What did I do? Whats going to happen?" Those were the questions that shot around in his energy strained head.

"You never gave me your name, can you tell me what it is?" She asked, trying to calm him down from his worrying.

He took a deep breath and exhaled. "My name is Isaiah. Can you tell me yours..."

"There is no need, for I'm sure that we shall cross paths once again sometime soon."

He tilted his head in confusion. "So you mean to tell me, that you bust into my home, woke me up, blindfolded me, and used that freaky magic that exists in this damn world on me, and you wont even tell me your name? You're a shitty guest..." He hissed.

She let out a chuckle that made the hairs of Isaiah's skin rise. "Oh well." She said with sarcasm.

He let out a grunt as he scrunched up his face. "Can you tell me why you're even here?"

"To thank you." She cooed.

"T-to thank me?" He asked.

She got close to him; so close in fact, she could even quietly whisper and he could still clearly hear as if she was speaking directly into his ear. "You saved some of my subjects. They are very dear to me for their are very few left. Without them, I wouldn't survive long. You may have accidentally done it; but I'm still very fortunate for your actions. Not only have you saved my last subjects, but you also slaughtered that pack of diamond dogs that had been searching for me to hunt me down. They may be easy to kill, but in numbers and time; they are a challenge. You... you found where they had been hiding and butchered almost every single mutt within that wretched cave they call home."

Isaiah was speechless. He had never been thanked for brutally killing like the way he did in the cave. He didn't know how to respond. Should he accept her thankfulness or should he dismiss it? If he agreed, he would gain a possible ally who could maybe, just maybe help him get back home; after all, her magic worked on him. Plus, they both shared the same enemy. But then again, should he be glorified for what he did? It seemed so wrong... but just so right.

After all, they did rape and slaved those ponies, who knows of what if he hadn't come along and eliminated them. Killing them doesn't seem so bad now.

"No problem, those dogs needed to be killed for their actions... I wish I could go back and do it all over again." He said calmly.

The being was pleasantly surprised. Never did she suspect that he would take killing into stride while being so mundane about it.

"Do you mine if I take off the blindfold so I can see you. Surly such a beautiful voice has a beautiful owner, does it not?" Isaiah flirtatiously said, trying to get her to comply.

The being hummed out a chuckle that sent more shivers up Isaiah's spine. "I'm sorry, I can't allow that."

The human let out an over exaggerated sigh. "That's a shame, I was hopping to fall in love." He said, desperate to convince and see his captor.

She just rolled her eyes with a tiniest of a smile forming on her face with a small blush adoring her cheeks.

"I think it's about time for you to return to bed. I've said what has needed to be said." She then focused her magic on him. "Once again, thank you." She casted her magic onto him, making him yawn. "And good-night."

Isaiah began to slow his breathing. "But I didn't get to see the main event..."

The being hummed in humor, making his lips curve upward at the ends as he fell asleep. She lifted carefully lifted his head once more and removed his blindfold. She set his head down and mustered as much magic as she could for her final spell. He was bathed in a magical glow when she wiped his memory of the events that he just had with her. It pained her that she had to do that, but he could risk her safety if he reported the scenario that he was in.

She began to depart with the lone human but stopped in the doorway. She retraced her steps back to the humans sleeping form. The being got down close to his face, and gently kissed his cheek with her soft lips. She held the contact for a brief moment and broke it. She let out a happy hum as she parted ways with Isaiah.

Author's Notes:

First Lonesome chapter of 2014!

Sorry this took kinda long, I've been busy.

Anyway, have a wonderful year!