Chapter 29

(Drakalian’s POV)

Fluttershy and I walked down the streets of Ponyville, just taking in the scenery. We just woke up from our slumber together, and after a good breakfast, AJ had to do some things that she had neglected to do around the farm, which surprised Fluttershy, since she had always known AJ to be on top of her game, as it were. I decided to leave the brace back in AJ’s room, and she said that she would be wiling to bring it back to the hospital when she was done with her chores. I tired to tell her that she didn’t have to, but she insisted, so after a while of bickering with each other, I reluctantly agreed to it, and with a goodbye, both me and Fluttershy began to head back to the library. As we were walking, we came across Twilight and Spike, the latter who was riding Twilight like a…pony? Anyways, when we saw them, we smiled and waved hello, to which they responded, and Twilight walked up to us.

“Hi guys. So Drak, you have fun at AJ’s house.” She said, smiling.

“You could say that.” I said, blushing from the memory. Thankfully, Twilight seemed to know what I meant, and just chuckled at my embarrassment. We began to walk back to the library, and as we walked, we both began some idle chitchat. After a while, we saw a rainbow streak go by us, followed by a tan streak, and after a few seconds of confusion, I was able to recognize both Dash and Daring racing each other throughout Ponyville.

I stared at the two Pegasai racing each other at break neck speed, feeling worried about them suddenly crashing into a building. The others looked at my expression, and with a careful nudge, Fluttershy said, “Don’t worry about them Drak, Dash is normally careful when it comes to these things.”

“Well, except the time Dash made that mistake that cost her a few days in bed.” Said Spike.

“And I believe Daring said that she made the same mistake as well at one point. In fact, it had happened in the story that I gave Dash.” Said Twilight. I was quiet at this and then just nodded, understanding a little of what they were saying. We watched the two fly some more, and after a good few minutes, they stopped and landed next to us, talking to each other about who won.

“I’m telling you, if that cloud wasn’t in the way, I would have so beaten your flank, Dash.” Said Daring, a slightly hurt look on her face.

“Yea, yea, just keep telling that to yourself. There’s a reason why I’m the fastest flier in Equestria.” Dash boasted, puffing her chest out in pride. Once again, I was stunned at the similarities between the two of them.

“If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought that the two of you were related, besides Daring being related to Ditzy.” I said, causing both of the ponies to stop talking and stare at me.

Daring chuckled at this. “Yea, I had no idea that there was another pony like me, and even when my sis told me about her, I still was unsure, thinking that she might have been exaggerating.” The tan Pegasus then turned to the purple unicorn and asked, “So, what are you doing out of your library, Twilight?”

“Well, I went to get some things from Zecora, and she asked me to stay with her for the night, wanting me to test one of her newest potions.”

“Which you made me drink instead.” Said Spike, a little hurtfulness in his voice.

“Oh, relax, Spike, the potion was a dud anyways, so there is nothing to worry about.”

As we continued to talk, we began to walk to the library again, and upon reaching the door, Daring stopped us, looking closely at the door.

“Why did you stop-” Twilight began to asked, before she saw what it was that stopped the adventurer.

Right on the door was three long scratch marks going across the top part of the door.

I started to get a little nervous, wondering why there were scratch marks on the door, and asked the unicorn, “Um, why did somepony scratch your door, Twi?”

Twilight shook her head. “I have no idea, but it is very irritating that they did something like this.”

“Wow Twi, that was the most calming response I have seen from you in a situation like this.” Said Spike, a look of amazement in his eyes.

Twilight blushed sheepishly as everypony began to enter the door, “W-well, I have been reading some books about how to relax under a stressful sit-” she stopped suddenly as she saw the inside of her library, her eyes bulging out.

I looked at the chaos that was the main library room. There were books scattered everywhere, and a few scuff marks on the floor as well. Daring was already running up the stairs, a look of fear in her eyes. I was equally worried myself, and when I took a quick look at Twilight, I noticed that her eyes was twitching, her mouth hanging open, making me raise an eyebrow in slight amusement, and then I remembered that Ditzy was her last night, along with the fillies.

I quickly broke into a run, following Daring close on her heels. We soon entered the next floor, and the room to Dinky’s bedroom was wide open, making me worry even more. As the tan Pegasus and I entered the room, I was able to see the remains of a small scuffle in the room, as well as an open window, indicating that something else had also broken into the library and caused a bit of a fuss to the ponies that were here at the time. I began to look around the room, looking for any clues as to what has happened here, when I spotted a small container on the floor. It seemed intricate in design, with red ruins on it, and what seemed to be a small cathead bust on the top. The cylinder shaped container looked like something that a messenger pigeon would carry. I picked it up and showed it to Daring, who quickly took it out of my hands and popped open the top of the cylinder. She took out a scroll of paper that was inside and began to read its contents. At this time, the rest of the ponies have reached us, and were looking at us in confusion, wondering what in the world happened here, Twilight seeming to have calmed down from her initial shock. When they looked at me, I just shrugged and waited for Daring to finish her reading. After a while, Daring lowered the paper down, a look of dread on her face. Before I could ask what was in it, she said, “Ditzy and Dinky have been fillynapped.”

The look on my face went from confusion to horror in a second. “What! Who would want to take them at all?”

“Ahuizotl, the…thing that has always tried to take the treasures that I find for himself. I think he sent his cat minions to take them, and since the fillies were here with them, they must have taken them as well.” Said Daring, a look of anger in her eyes. She wasn’t the only one, for I was beginning to feel my anger starting to rise as well.

“Well, where is he? Who is he? Why does he-” I began to question her, but she shoved a hoof in my mouth and said, “I have no idea right now, the only thing that I know is that whatever it is, he is up to no good.” As Daring and I talked, the rest of the ponies stared at us in shock, still unable to realize that one of their friends (and herd mate, for Twilight and Fluttershy) was just taken hostage, along with the fillies, and my daughters…my daughters…

I began to feel tears running down my cheek as I realized that some evil thing had them hostage, and who knows what sick, twisted things he might do to them. I slowly sank to my knees, my legs unable to hold my weight any longer, and placing my head in my hands, I softly began to cry.

“J-just…just w-w-why?” was all I was able to say, silently crying. I then felt a few pairs of hooves go around me, and looking up, I noticed that everypony in the room was hugging me, even Spike. I was quiet for a second, and then I brought my arms around them, bringing them in tighter. We stayed like that for a good while, and then once we released from the hold, Daring said, “Well, I got to go now, before the trail gets cold.” She went to go and leave, but before she left, I quietly said, “I’m coming with you.”
Daring whipped her head around to look at me, but my head was bending over so she was unable to see my rage filled eyes. “No way, Drak, I know that this must be very painful and all, but-”

“No buts, Daring. I’m coming with you, and that’s that.” I said, lifting my head up so that I could look in her eyes, showing her that there was nothing in Equestria that would stop me from getting my marefriend and daughters back.

Suddenly, Dash stepped up and said, “Well, if he’s coming with you, then I’m coming too!”

Twilight nodded her agreement and said, “And so am I.”

“Um, I g-guess I could come as well…if you want me to, that is.” Said Fluttershy, hiding behind her mane a little.

I looked back at them and was going to say no, but I then realized that they would be very helpful if they came with us. I sighed and nodded, saying, “Well, I guess you girls can come, but-”

“But nothing! That bastard messes with our friends, then he is in for a beating!” Said Dash, pounding her hooves together.

I wanted to argue, to tell them that I didn’t want them to go and get themselves in danger, but I was too tired from the recent shock of the news, and just nodded, walking downstairs with Daring, the rest following us. As we entered the main room, I saw my Sais and my Bo staff to the side, and using my magic, I picked them up and brought them to me. I placed my Sais in my belt, and holding onto my staff, I nodded to the ponies, and we all walked out of the library and ready to go and save the fillies along with Ditzy.

‘I’m coming for you girls, just hold out for me.’

Once we left the library, we all went to get the rest of the Elements of Harmony, deciding that they should all be here to help us. I was now waiting on the hill for Daring to bring her ‘airship’, as she called it, along with AJ, Fluttershy, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity, all of us waiting on the hill, none of us saying anything. As we were waiting for Daring, we were able to figure out exactly who else it was that got fillynapped by his minions besides Ditzy and Dinky, and we came up with Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and Scootaloo. Just hearing that they had Scoots, even though I already guessed that he had her, just made me even angrier, and I had to separate myself from everypony else to calm myself down. At this point, I was just leaning against my staff, my mind wandering towards the fillies, my daughters, and my marefriend, hoping that we could make it to them before anything really bad will happen.

I took a quick glance around the hill to see how everypony else was fairing. They seemed to be handling it surprisingly well, though they also seemed to be nervous as well, just not nearly as nervous as I felt. I just sighed and lowered my eyes, trying to keep my mind calm in all of my inner turmoil. My mind then wandered to Spike, and I remembered how Twilight nearly had to tie the baby dragon to her bed just to get him to stay at the library. He was very upset that his herd mates were fillynapped as well, and the feeling was mutual. When we left the library, Trixie had just come back from whatever she was doing, and when she returned, we filled her in on what has happened so far. After a few minutes of explaining, the azure unicorn decided to come with us too, but Twilight said that she needed somepony to look after the library and Spike for her, which Trixie reluctantly volunteered for. As I was thinking, I felt a small tug on my hand, and turning my head around, I saw Fluttershy, AJ, and Twilight looking at me, concern on all of their faces.

“Um…y-you ok, Drakalian?” Asked Fluttershy in a small voice. I stayed quiet, not in the mood to talk.

“Come on, sugarcube, please speak ta us.” Said AJ, a hint of worry in her voice. I decided to remain silent.

“Drak, please. We understand that you are in a lot of pain right now-” began Twilight, but then I felt something click, and I interrupted the unicorn, my eyes wide with anger as I looked upon the three ponies.

“Understand? No, you girls do not understand what it is like to lose someone so close to you, someone that is not only a part of your life, or your heart, but a part of your soul as well. You girls understand nothing about what I’m going through! NOTHING! I would rather lose a limb then to never see them again. And when I find this Ahuizotl prick, I will show him to never mess with my family or me. I’ll make sure that he suffers so much pain, watching himself be torn into bloody pieces, his arms being ripped from his sockets, and-”

Before I could say anything else, I felt a fore hoof smack me across my face hard, making me flinch at the sudden outburst and leaving a red mark on my cheek. After a few second of confusion, I realized to my surprise that it was Fluttershy who was the one that hit me.

We were quiet for a few seconds, no pony daring to say anything. I turned my head around, ready to bare my anger on the yellow Pegasus, when I suddenly looked into her eyes. They were full of fear, sadness, and even a small amount of anger, but that wasn’t what surprised me the most.

What surprised me the most was that all of her emotions were directed toward me.

“How dare you.” Fluttershy whispered, before she went quiet for a few seconds, and then yelled out, “HOW DARE YOU! How can we not feel what you are feeling right now? Everypony here is feeling scared for Ditzy and the fillies, and you have the audacity to say that we aren’t as worried as you are? She isn’t just your herd mate, but she’s our friend as well, and we are all scared for her and the fillies, but we also know that Ditzy is with them, and she will make sure that they remain safe, no matter what happens. So don’t you dare say that you are more worried then us, for we are all just as worried!” As my marefriend yelled at me, I could feel her raw emotion literally scalding my soul, seeming to tear it up. Once she was done yelling, I was only able to stare at her, my mouth hanging open. I then slowly sat down on the snow-covered floor, and wrapping my arms around myself, I began to cry, and as soon as I started to cry, I felt a pair of hooves go around me, and then I heard Fluttershy whispering, “I’m sorry” over and over again in my ear. I said nothing, letting my arms do the talking for me as I wrapped them around her, running my hand through her mane with my fingers, while the other two simply looked on with shock and a little fright.

We stayed silent for the most part; the only sound we made was silent sobbing. After a good few minutes, I was able to relax my hold on her so that I could look her in the eyes again, but not fully releasing her either, and said, “I…I’m s-so sorry, Fluttershy I…I…I-I j-just…”

“Sshh, I know, Drak. I’m worried about them too, and so is everypony else, but the only thing that we can do about it right now is to just pray for their safety. I know it isn’t much, but please, for my sake, as well as everypony here…just believe that they are going to be fine. Please.” She whispered. Her words soothed me, and nodding, I said, “I’ll try, but it will be hard for me. I just don’t want to lose any of you girls.”

“And you won’t if I have anything to say about it.” We turned to the voice, and there was Daring Do, along with her airship.

The first thing that I noticed was that Daring had a change of clothing. She was wearing the clothes that I have seen her wear on the covers of the books, as well as her pith hat. The next thing that I noticed was the ship, and the only thing that I could say about the airship was…“big”, for that thing was huge! It looked like a flying ship the size of the library, with a pair of oval shaped balloons holding the weight of it. The left one was red, while the right one was blue. On the sides was a pair of long wings, most likely meant to act as a stabilization of some sort. There were also a pair of propellers behind the ship as well, and what looked like the top of a Pegasus on the front (I couldn’t remember any ship lingo, so I didn’t know what was port, starboard, aft, and so on) and it seemed like it could easily house a few dozen ponies with no trouble at all.

We all stared at the ship in awe, making Daring chuckle a little and she then said, “Well, this is the S.P. Cloudstreak, the airship that helps me get to where ever I need to go, and I don’t know about the rest of you ponies, but I’m ready to go save my sister and niece, as well as the rest of the fillies. All I ask is if the rest of you are ready as well? Cause if you guys aren’t, then I won’t hesitate to leave you all here.”

“As ready as we will every be!” Stated Dash, puffing out her chest in confidence. I looked around the area and saw that everypony else was ready as well, even Pinkie seemed to be quiet for once a look of determination set in her eyes (I had a feeling that it wouldn’t last for long)

I took a quick glance at Fluttershy, and she looked back at me. We were quiet for a while, and then I placed a gently kiss on her lips and said, “Thank you for the help, Shy, and I’m sorry for losing myself like that.”

Fluttershy just nodded, saying, “I know that you feel bad, Drak, but we are all here for you, and we will find them, I promise you that.”

I smiled and gave her another kiss on the lips, before I got up and with an attempt at some enthusiasm, I said, “Well, times a wasting, lets go!” and with that, we all went to the S.P. Cloudstreak to get ready to save our friends and family.

A few minutes later, we were flying at a reasonable speed away from Ponyville and towards a northern direction. We were sitting at the captain’s quarters (or the Adventurer’s Room, as Daring called it) and began to plan our course of action.

“So, any ideas of where these cat minions of his are bringing them?” Asked Twilight. Along with Twilight, there was Dash, Daring, and I. Thankfully, I had calmed down enough from my outburst so that I was able to join them and help them on where we would be going.

Daring shook her head, saying, “Not a clue, though if I know Ahuizotl, then he will be looking for the treasure that I was looking for before I came to Ponyville for my visit.” With that, she reached under the table and pulled out a large map, spreading it out on the table so that everypony could see it. She then pointed at a spot on the map that had a picture of an old building on it and said, “Before I went to visit you guys, I was going to go here, to Templum Constringit.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow and said, “Hmm, the name sounds familiar, almost like it’s…Oh! Is that Ancient Equestrian?”

Daring nodded. “Yes, and it means-”

“Frozen Temple.” I interrupted them. They both looked at me in surprised, and Twilight asked, “How do you know Ancient Equestrian, Drak?”

I shrugged my shoulders and said, “Well, back at my world, we had the choice to study the different languages of our world. I studied two of them, one was called French, and another was called Latin. Apparently Latin just happens to be nearly, if not exactly the same as your Ancient Equestrian.”

Twilight looked at me in awe of this, and then shaking her head to clear it, she asked, “Hmm, you said the other language you learned is French?” I nodded and said, “Well, yes, but I don’t know it nearly as well as my Latin”.

“Sounds a bit like Prench. I wonder it they are the same…” Said Twilight, lost in thought. The unicorn grew silent as she got lost in her thoughts, and then I cleared my throat, bringing her back to reality. She realized what she was doing and blushed, saying, “W-well, I guess we can talk about that later.”

I smiled a little at this, and said, “Of course, Twi, but I would like to save Ditzy and the others first. So, this Frozen Temple; I’m assuming that it is going to have the usual in it, such as traps, puzzles, etc.”

Daring nodded, saying, “It would be safe to assume so.”

“Oh, this is so exciting, being on an actual treasure hunting adventure with the one and only Daring Do!” Said Dash, nearly shaking with glee. During our talk, she seemed to be glued to everything that was going on, which surprised me, since I have seen Twilight attempt to talk to Dash about certain topics of similar aspects, but with those she just fell to sleep, bored out of her mind.

Twilight apparently noticed this too, and said, “You know, I can’t figure out why you are so much more interested in these things when Daring is talking about them, rather then when it is me. Why is that, Dash?”

“Well duh, it’s because it’s with Daring Do, Adventurer Extraordinaire.” Stated Dash, gesturing to the tan Pegasus. This caused Daring to chuckle a little, while Twilight just seemed to do a face hoof. We all chuckled at this a little, and once we calmed down, Daring said, “Well, before we can go there, we need to take a stop at the Crystal Empire, since we do need some supplies. We will be staying there for about a day, before we-”

“A day?” I interrupted, shocked by how long we were going to wait. “Daring, in a day, they could all be dead. We need to get there as soon as possible.”

Daring nodded, undeterred by my interruption, and said, “I agree with you, Drak, which is why we are going to get some supplies first.” I opened my mouth to say something, but she waved a hoof in front of me and said, “I know you are worried about them, but I have a strong feeling that he won’t harm them yet. I think that the only reason he captured them was to bring me to him, so that I could give him the treasure in exchange for their lives, which I would gladly do, because I would rather have them alive then some stupid artifact. However, I don’t have this treasure yet, nor do I know where it is.” I closed my mouth and nodded slowly, understanding her point, before I looked down on the floor, my thoughts filled with Ditzy and the fillies. Twilight noticed this, and while Dash and Daring were talking about some of the supplies that they were going to need, Twilight scooted up to me and placed a hoof on my hand. I took her hoof in my hand and squeezed it slightly, glad for the comfort, however small it was. We were quiet for a few seconds, before she said, “Don’t worry so much, Drak, I believe that Daring is right. Ahuizolt won’t let them come to harm as long as he needs them.”

I nodded, turning my head to face hers, her amethyst eyes looking back at me, and I gently kissed her on the cheek, saying, “I know, Twi, but it’s jut so hard, and…I just…d-don’t want to lose them.”

“Well, we won’t, you have my word.” And with that, she placed a quick kiss on my cheek, and then turning towards the two Pegasai, she said, “Well girls, I’m going to go and check on the others, you want to join me?”

They shook their heads, and Daring said, “Maybe later, but right now I need to think up possible strategies to come up with.”

“I thought that you usually wing it?” Asked Dash, a confused look on her face.

“Well, yes, but it always helps to plan ahead, especially when the stakes are this high.” Responded Daring.

Twilight then turned to me, but before she could ask, I shook my head as well and said, “I think I’ll pass as well. I’ll just go and take a nap. I’ll catch you girls later.” And with that, I headed out of the room and to my own quarters, which had a small bunk. I quickly lay down on the bed and closed my eyes, letting myself fall into a rough sleep. As I was dozing off, my thoughts once again shifted to Ditzy and the others, and I prayed to both Celestia and Luna that wherever they were, that they would be fine.

(??? POV)

I turned the artifact in my hands, trying to see how it would work with this puzzle in front of me, which was a table, or altar, along with a bowl. I had a fair idea on what I had to do, but if it were what I think it is, then I would want my rival to bear witness to the deed itself.

I sighed and placed the object in my hand onto the altar, still unsure as to how it will actual work with this puzzle. Even though I had a very strong guess as to how to work it, I didn’t know how to replicate the process, but if I did, oh, the things that I could do with it-

I was interrupted by my thoughts as I heard some shuffling from behind me, and turning around, I saw that both of my cat minions have returned from their mission, the panther carrying a bag in his mouth, while the tiger was carrying an unconscious grey Pegasus in his. Once they reached me, they both bowed to me and the tiger dropped the pony on the ground while the black cat dropped the bag at my feet, and the bag squirmed for a while before the cat opened it, spilling out the contents, which were a group of fillies, who were groaning from being in the bag for so long.

I blinked at the fillies and stared at them for a while, before I turned to the tiger and panther and said, “You idiots, I said the Pegasus and the filly, not the Pegasus and a group of fillies, we only needed the one.” The cats’ ears flattened as they lowered their heads in shame, but I just shrugged it off, deciding to ignore them and to think about my next step. I was going to have to adjust it considering the extra…baggage, but it was only a slight nuisance. Even if it was an annoyance at most, I still hate to make changes in my plans, preferring to make sure that everything went as it is supposed to. As I was thinking, I realized that a few of the fillies were trying to speak to me.

“Hey, I said release us, you weird mutated…monkey…dog…thing.” Said the orange Pegasus filly, flapping her undeveloped wings in anger. I noticed that she, along with three of the other fillies had looks of determination in there eyes along with the usual fear, though the other two, which were both Earth pony fillies, just had the normal expressions of terror.

I just raised an eyebrow at her and said, “And just why would I do something like that, hmm?”

“Because it’s, uh…nice?” Said another one, which was a white unicorn filly.

I chuckled at their naivety and said, “Well, I would, but that would go against my plan, and I hate it when I have to make changes in my plans.”

“But didn’t you just say that you didn’t want us?” asked the other unicorn filly.

“Well, yes, I didn’t want the others, just you and your mom.” I said, giving myself a small grin.

This caused the filly’s eyes to go wide with shock, and then she said, “Why do you want me and Mamma?”

“Because, if I didn’t, then her sister wouldn’t bother to try and do anything to save you guys.”

The filly was about to speak some more, but then there was a groan, and turning around, I noticed that the grey mare Pegasus was already waking up.

“Ah, well good morning Miss Ditzy Doo, or should I say…Ditzy Do?” as soon as I said that, I had an urge to smack myself across the face. “Seriously, when you change your name, you have to do more then just add a single letter, I mean, come on! It’s just so ridiculous!” At this, the two cats began to chuckle, but were silenced when I glanced at them.

“I changed it so that I could protect the ones that I love, and the ones that love me.” Said Ditzy, slowly getting up to her hooves.

“What, do you mean that there are ponies that could actually love a misfit like you? Oh, don’t make me laugh.” I said, chuckling. As Ditzy got up, I walked up to her, and caressed her chin with my tail hand, making her look at me. Once I had her attention, I said, “We both know that no pony truly loves you. Not your parents, who left you and your sister to go somewhere far away when you two were little. Not your friends, who all think that you are a little slow. Not even your older sister, Daring Do, who I heard her say that she was happy when you finally left her alone so that she could do what she always wanted to do instead of babysitting you poor excuse of a pony.”

“Hey, don’t make fun of my Mamma!” I turned to the pink unicorn filly that yelled at me, and smiling, I leered at her and said, “Oh, and why shouldn’t I? She has no pony to go to, and no where to stay, as I recall, the only thing that actually showed any affection to her was some sort of mutated thing, I believe it was a Minotaur, if my information is correct.”

“Well, your information is wrong.” I turned again and looked at the pony that spoke, which was the yellow one, and she continued to speak. “Drak is not some weird Minotaur mutated sort of thing, he’s a human, and our friend as well!”

At the mention of the word ‘human’, I froze, and I looked at the filly, who was starting to lower her head in slight fear.

“Did you say that he’s a…human?” I said, to which the filly slowly nodded. I was silent for a moment, and then I turned around to look at the wall in front of the altar, which contained some sort of crystal. The crystal was rather large (for a pony, at least), at least two and half meters tall and a meter wide, the crystal glowing a fine sheen of yellow. While it looked like any normal crystal, inside was something that was beyond normal, for inside was a rather strange creature, one that I have been researching. The creature was bipedal, and it was wearing some rather dark clothing, though what kind of color I was unable to tell due to the glare from the crystal. While its feet were covered in some sort of bindings, the fore arms were uncovered, giving me a good view of its appendages that were similar to my own. On the sides of the crystal were depictions of the creature in the crystal, and while they were all different variations from each other, there was still one thing that they all shared.

The creatures in the paintings were holding two strange looking blades, one of which I was examining before the ponies showed up.

I once again took the blade, which was small in my hands, and examined it once again, lost, in my thoughts.

‘So, there is already a human here. I wonder if it’s the human that I was looking for. No, that’s impossible, for the human that I’m trying to get is still in the crystal, and there is only one way of getting it out of there and to make it serve me, and that’s-’

I was suddenly interrupted from my thoughts when I felt a couple of small pricks on my heels, making me turn around to see what just tried to attack me, and I raised an eyebrow upon seeing the two unicorn fillies rubbing their horns in pain.

“Well Sweetie, that didn’t work.” Said the pink filly, making the white one nod in agreement. Before they could do anything else, I quickly grabbed the pink filly and brought her to my face, glaring into her eyes.

“Silly pony, you should know that a unicorn’s horn doesn’t work like that.” I said, still holding the blade in my other hand. Before I could say anything else, I heard the grey mare yell in fear.

“No, Please! Leave Dinky alone! She’s done nothing to you, she’s just an innocent filly!” she shouted, running towards me to save her daughter. I just causally swatted her away with my tail hand, causing her to slide on the floor a couple of feet until she landed next to the other fillies.

“Now, now, Ditzy, it is rather rude to interrupt somepony when they’re talking, and it really upsets me when somepony is being rude.” I said, bringing the blade closer to Dinky. “And when I get upset, I might do some…unfortunate things.” And with that, I gently placed the blade on the filly’s throat, my eyes never leaving Ditzy’s eyes for a second, before I slowly began to press it in, causing the filly to squeak in terror.

This caused the other fillies to try and help their friend, while my two cat minions held them back, and throughout it all, Ditzy was only able to stare in horror before she finally shouted, “No, don’t! Leave…l-leave her b-be…p-please.” At this, she began to cry, and I could see the tears running down her face, making me smile with glee. For some reason, it always made me feel better when I brought a pony into their place, such as now.

I slowly removed the blade from the filly’s neck, making Dinky sigh with relief, and I said, “Well, I guess I could let her be for now, but if you or any of your friends here try to escape, or try to interrupt my plans, then I will have no choice but to slit that tiny throat of hers, and trust me, it will be easy to cut it wide open, and to see the blood flow from her jugular. Who knows, I might even have a little…fun, with your daughter before I end her miserable life.” With that, I flicked her ears with my tongue, causing a gasp from the filly, as well as a look of shock from the rest.

Ditzy was shaking in her hooves so much from what I just did that I thought the pillars that were around us would collapse. “No…please, not that…anything but that.” She whispered, her face beginning to pale.

“Then you better do as I say, and I promise that I won’t harm your daughter. At least…for now.” With that, I began to chuckle to myself before I motioned for my cat minions to take them to the cells that we found while exploring this place, and with no fuss, they followed them, while I brought my whistle that I keep on myself and blew on it, summoning another one of my cat minions, this one was a lynx, and it walked up to me, some rope in its mouth. I took the rope, and then proceeded to tie the filly up before I tied her to one of the legs on the altar. Once I made sure that the knots were secured, I reached into the bowl with my tail hand and pulled out another crystal, one that I found during one of my exploratory travels in the Crystal Empire, though this one was small and green. I slide the blade across my finger and dropped some of the blood onto the crystal. Once the blood made contact with it, it was absorbed into it, and began to glow. I waited a few seconds to let the magic take effect before I started my little speech.

“Greetings, Daring Do. I, Ahuizotl, have a proposition for you…”