It was a surprisingly shorter trip than I would have originally imagined. It was perhaps a few minutes before we stopped. I could hear the sounds of not only other gryphons and ponies but the occasional wild animal as well, perhaps caged as I was. After the initial stop we began a start-stop pattern of maybe a few feet at a time. I wasn't sure, as I couldn't see anything. This lasted for a significantly longer period of time. After a while I heard, or could now hear over the others, the sounds of one pony in particular. I don't know what he was saying and could not make it out at first. As we continued our approach I then heard the sounds of a crowd, a decently large one at that. As we continued it became clear that the one voice was a kind of announcer and that there was money involved. Then I got wheeled in and the crowd became crystal clear. My time had come. My heart dropped at the prospect of what might come next. It suddenly fell silent for a short time. The announcer finally cut the silence. "This here is a once in a lifetime opportunity! Never before has a beast like this been seen by the eyes of any creature! Can we get a starting bid on this rare find? Thousand? One thousand? The starting bid is one thousand bits!"

The cover was suddenly removed, leaving my eyes to adjust once more. As my eyes adjusted to the lights shining on me I could see a sea of faces screaming prices that drove ever higher. When I could take more thorough note of the crowd I noticed it was a mix of gryphons and ponies bidding. These were slavers, and I was their next sale. I became infuriated at the prospect of simply being sold as property, glaring wickedly at the crowd and hoping my features made up for the difference. The price continued to climb well past the tens of thousands but the bids began to slow. Things started to calm and the auctioneer now had time to count between bids. When he reached the count of two a voice rang clear through the hall. I did not understand the first time he spoke but it must have had a good enough effect, as it silenced the whole room. The pony spoke again. "Two-hundred fifty thousand."

My jaw would have dropped if it wasn't locked in a muzzle. The auctioneer tested it before sealing the deal. No other pony nor gryphon dared try to go higher. Indeed, I don't think they could have even if they all combined. The sale was sealed and my free will was sold for a quarter-million bits. If nothing else, this pony was very affluent. I was moved backstage, from whence I waited for quite a while. My owner eventually came backstage. His complexion was very fair, his body was not very large. He seemed as if whatever work he did was very light or not very physically demanding. He had a dark brown hide and carried a very well styled mane of silver hair. His eyes were a shade darker than his hide. He stood a little shorter than a normal pony, and was a touch thinner as well. All in all he seemed very well kept and very affluent. He opened the cage but I did not move. I simply sat and stared at him in a manner that was not the friendliest. Accordingly he spoke. "Let us take our leave."

His words simply bounced off of me, for I moved not an inch. "Come now, it won't be bad. I'll personally make sure you're comfortable and safe. I won't treat you badly, if that's your fear."

In part it was. The main part of my fear was that my capability of returning home had just been torn from me by a purchase involving more bits than I had ever seen in the duration of my life. "I made that purchase so that you wouldn't end up in the hooves of an abusive owner."

Begrudgingly, mostly because I saw there was no other option, I accepted his invitation to leave the cage. He smiled before leading me out towards a coach he had waiting outside. With a little effort, mostly due to the chains, he got me up and into the carriage. I sat rear-facing, looking out the small window behind the pony's head. We then left, leaving me to watch the forsaken little port town fade into the distance. I made special note to keep watch for how we turned and the way we travelled, marking any landmarks in case I decided to return to enact vengeance, should I escape to begin with. Fortunately enough we maintained a relatively straight path.

The cart stopped a few times for the cart team to eat and regain their breath. Other than that we rode from morning until dusk. Nightfall was when we arrived at our destination. He climbed out, presumably to talk with somepony outside. I sat in the spare time trying to figure out how to break free from the chains that held me bound. When the pony returned I had made no progress and had to stop. We then rode inside of the gates. As we continued, from what I could see out of my little back window, these houses probably cost more than the entire net value of Ponyville; houses, land and harvest included. If nothing else, they were definitely awe inspiring. We rode past several of them before we finally stopped. He had us disembark the cart, which rode off elsewhere to be stationed, at my best guess.

Along the outside of the house was a high stone wall, probably between three to four yards tall in total. In thickness it would most likely be about a yard of solid rocks. There was a wrought iron gate and a set of very large castle-style wooden doors securing the perimeter of the estate. The gate and doors both opened, allowing us to enter. The first thing to note were the gardens, aside from the fact that it was all very well lit despite it being the middle of the night. The plants seemed like exotic and beautiful mutations of commonplace vegetation found elsewhere. Roses were larger, abundant and far more vividly coloured than one could have possibly imagined. Daffodils, pansies, tulips and tiger lilies also all followed this kind of pattern. There were also a few that I did not recognise. The plants were thick, greatly beyond what others naturally would be. The flowers carried colours that faded into others, changing four to five times by the time it reached the end of the elongated petals.

When I finished admiring the plant life I looked down and noticed the walkways in between garden boxes teeming with lush flora. The walkways were smoothed, almost polished and very neatly kept, cobblestone paths leading everywhere that wasn't covered in plants. They were trim and very well organised. The property was enormous; that was beyond doubt. When I was done admiring what was there I turned my attention higher. What I saw was beyond price. As for an estimate I could not even fathom a great enough number to encompass the cost of such a huge, ornately decorated building. It was four stories tall. As it pertains to width, across it was nearly the size of two blocks in a city. The front was a very appealing cobbled stone wall. The shutters on all the floors but the top were currently closed. I could not tell whether the small metallic things I saw on the outside of each shutter was a lock on the outside to keep them closed or if it was mere decoration. The shutters themselves were white, in an attempt to not clash with the colours of the stones, but it was still easy to tell that they were of high quality. The roof was a typical Victorian-style shingle roof, from what I could tell. There was a patio coming out of the front of the house. It was long enough that two ponies could fit head-to-tail without sticking out and wide enough to do the same on either side of the massive double doors. There were four meticulously sculpted marble pillars holding up the patio cover. The roof itself reached in the space between the second and third stories of the building. The giant-sized doors to the house were elaborately decorated oak doors. They were almost twice the size of any normal door, both in height and width. On it were traces of silver adding trim to certain aspects of the doors' art, which almost seemed to represent some kind of dragon. It was, by far, the most detailed carving and artwork I have seen yet.

I was suddenly broken from my near-gawking state by the pony's voice. "Let's get you out of those chains, shall we?"

I looked over to him, nodding. My neck was really what hurt the most. My mouth was also sore from holding such a jarring gag in for so long. He then bid me to follow him as we made it around the side of his house. When I saw the length of the house it caused me to wonder further the cost of such a place, not only in construction but in upkeep as well. It was roughly as long as it was wide, that being more than a city block or two by itself. Many sets of shutters lined the side of the house, far more than on the front. We made our way into the back gardens, which were as overly flourished as the front ones were. Along the back of the stone wall that extended around the perimeter there were two sheds side by side, as if one was an extension of the other. The first stood nearly as tall as the wall, about a story and a half in height. The second was a little over half of that, big enough to fit a regular pony and whatever was inside of it. They both had roofs much like that of the mansion, in fact, they both were, in aspects, designed like the mansion in appearance. The size of both were bigger than a lot of houses I had seen before. We entered into the shorter side of the building, the entryway of which almost caused me to duck. The walls were lined from the one side of the door to the other with tools hanging on tool racks, half of which I had no clue what they did. Once we were both inside of the spacious shed he closed the door before turning to me. "Now, I'll get those shackles off of you, but on one condition: you have to promise me this one thing: you will not try to escape and you will submit to all tasks and requests I ask of you. Agreed?"

Seeing as I had no other option I nodded. He went over and retrieved a peculiar tool from off the wall and came back over. With a few quick motions the shackles were all cut from off of my legs. When he got the neck one undone he placed a black collar on before smiling at my inquisitive glance. He then undid the tail chain. He removed the muzzle, followed shortly thereafter was the gag removed. "There we go. That looks much better. Come, I'll show you around the house. Welcome home."

This was not home. It would never be home. Regardless, we went out of the shed and back around the front. I was astonished when we finally entered into the house. The first thing I did was look up, as I sensed the ceiling was high. It was, being an open ceiling all the way to the fourth floor. Hanging above the door, starting at the level of the second floor, was a chandelier. It had six tiers, each bigger than the last. The first three layers, starting from the bottom up, had eight branches, while the last three had sixteen each. Each of the branches split into three tips near the end. From each tip hung a large ornament. Smaller ornaments lined the entire length of each branch. The entire chandelier itself was made only and entirely of glass; no metal supported any part of it aside from the chain to hold it up.

After staring at the prismatic object in wonder for a while I looked downwards. On the floor where we stood was a spectacularly ornate rug. Swirling designs mixed with jagged lines smoothly; colours that normally should have clashed blended instead. The design of the rug tricked the eye and deceived the mind. Along that, gold threads were those used to outline the mat. I looked around the rug on the floor. The floor space not occupied by mats or rugs of luxurious design and price were either fervently polished marble or thoroughly stained and deeply coloured wooden floors. The pony bid me trot to follow him, so I did. We entered a few different rooms. Many of them I still do not know the purpose of aside from aesthetically lifting the perceived value of the house. One room we did enter was at the end of the hallway leading to the left from the front doors. The inside of the room rested past two large ebony doors. Within was a library with a very large window opposite the door. The light from the window was enough to keep the entire room lit, even now in the middle of the night. Details were not as visible but shapes could be discerned. There were three stories worth of bookshelves, each with a walkway beside it. The first floor walkway was simply a division from the shelves and the desks that sat within the room for study. Spiral staircases at each of the corners of the room led up to the second and third level walkways. The massive shelves, filled to the brim with books, went from floor to ceiling, three stories, and lined any wall space that was not already occupied with something else.

Once we were inside, I turned around to see a massive chalkboard. Upon it was some kind of a grid system. Roman numerals separated many names into four distinct groups. After the box to the far left was another box. Within the box were letters. They seemed random at first, but a further study revealed they each contained one of two different groups of letters. The first group was either an S or an M. It was then followed by one of three letters: E, U or P. I was confused at the meaning but my attention was pulled away by the bars to the right of it. Some names had larger bars than others. There were marks along the bars, as if to mark some kind of system. I looked up and turned around, looking to see if there were any features on the ceiling to be seen. The ceiling was actually rather dark, but I thought I could make out some kind of break in it that would lead into this room from the fourth floor. It was on the side with the window. I was snapped back into reality by his voice. "You've probably seen the chalkboard on the wall."

"I have." I turned and looked at him. "What does it mean?"

"It's a system I have. When the bar fills the corresponding worker either gets a material possession from me or shifts up a level. Tell you what, why don't we throw your name up there? I think Sapphire would-"

"Aqua."

"Aqua?"

"It's my name. Use it."

"Alright then. Let's get you up there, Aqua." A unicorn nearby wrote my name upon the board. He placed an M and an E inside the middle box. "Looks like the only spot that was available was a stone hauler. Interesting. Well, we'll pick up two after you to help you, make sure you don't have to spend too much time in that position."

"Sounds like my kind of job." He looked over at me in confusion. "Physical labour is my forte."

"Alright. Did not expect that, but that's fine. Oh, by the way, you may call me Duke."

"Very well."

"You live on the first floor. I'll show you to your quarters."

"Before you go I have one question, Duke."

"Yes?"

"What do all the letters mean?"

"What letters?"

"The ones in the second box up there."

"Oh. S is stallion. M is mare. E is earth pony. U is unicorn. P is pegasus."

"Ah."

"Now, follow me." We left the library and trotted for a while down a few hallways before he opened a door and brought us in. It was homely and simple, yet still had an air of expensiveness. The furnishings were currently limited to a bed, a dresser with a mirror on the wall behind it, a night stand and a chair with a little desk. "There should be a set of linens ready for you. Try them on."

I did as instructed and, to my surprise, found they fit. "I'll be expecting to see you ready for work tomorrow. If you turn right and follow the hallway down you'll find your dining hall. I wish you a good night."

With that he left, closing the door behind him. I got a chance to look around the room. All of the wood inside of the chamber, so basically the majority of what I saw as it pertains to furniture, was made of lightly stained oak. The overwhelming colour scheme was that of tan or brown. Everything was designed simply and for utility. It was in no ways fancy, but you could still feel an air of quality around it. As rustic and homely as it was, it was easy to tell that no cost was spared in the making of this room. It was built to be all that working stallions needed; it was all that I needed, at least. Without too much reservation I settled down for the night.

The morning came quickly once sleep had found me. Breakfast was served in the dining hall. It was not extravagant in the least, but it certainly made do. Almost predictably the room was dead silent. It was most likely one of two things: my appearance or my persona. I was almost uncomfortable just sitting there, but I took comfort in knowing that I could beat any one of them senseless should they try anything. There was no conversation in that room that morning. After I finished breakfast I headed quickly and promptly back to my own chambers. I prepared myself for the day and, shortly thereafter, heard a knock on my door. I opened it with a heavy air of caution. To my surprise it was Duke that was standing there. "Ah, Aqua. Good morning. Did the room treat you well?"

"Just as well as any other home."

"Excellent to hear." His tone suddenly dropped to a hushed whisper. "Now, how did the others treat you?"

"They didn't treat me at all."

His voice returned to normal. "What do you mean?"

"They didn't even talk to me."

"None of them?"

"Nope."

"Well, I suppose you are a rather strange sight to see at first. Regardless, are you ready to work?"

"That I am." I was simply just trying to do what it took to get out of this place.

"Excellent. Get yourself ready. I'll be waiting outside. Once you come out I'll lead the way."

"I am ready, Duke."

"Ah, good, then follow me." He started trotting off, so I followed, closing the door behind me as I left. It didn't take terribly long before we arrived at a large group of ponies. After all had been sorted out I was placed in a group with nine other stallions. You could tell these ones had hauled for many years. They were big. They were strong. They were cocky. As we loaded onto the carriage to depart for the quarry one of them finally spoke.

"Hey, missie. You're about to see what worthwhile stallions can do. Just don't stare for too long." They all erupted into laughter. I simply ignored them, letting the comment bounce off of me. After that, the ride was silent until we reached our destination. When we arrived we disembarked. As we waited for the stone to be loaded I heard one stallion speak, finally realising the situation.

"Guys, I just realised. We're going to have to babysit her. Who's going to be the ones that have to suffer through it?" I was thinking fast while the reluctant stallions were casting their lots.

"How about I watch you guys instead today? See how it works." They looked at each other for a short while before all nodding. They liked the idea and went along with it. Seemingly content they trotted over to the carts once the stone had be loaded. They were hitched into the yokes. Each cart fit three stallions. The carts themselves were a very sturdy wood and were built very thick. There were iron edges around each plank for reinforcement. The yoke stuck out of the front, nothing special there. The wheels, all three sets, had steel caps over the rim and were connected with steel-reinforced timbers. Once the blocks were loaded I could see why. They were massive edifices of marble hewn from the quarry and strapped to the carts. The stallions all, in turn, heaved and got their carts rolling. Shortly thereafter, they began to chatter. Now was my time. I hitched into the fourth cart. The stonecutters thought me mad but I reassured them. They didn't believe me, so I challenged them to see what happened. They looked at each other for a short while before shrugging and loading the next block on. I began to build up the drive needed to haul this much stone. Since I couldn't escape from this walled segment I might as well work. As far as I could tell this wall was too tall to scale and stretched from the cart storage to the destination. Nevertheless I would figure it out eventually.

Bracing myself as best I could I pushed against the yoke. With more and more effort I pushed, receiving no response. Most ponyfolk, when presented with this kind of situation would sit and wait in despair. Not I. With each failed attempt anger built from my thoughts that I should have succeeded. My anger turned to wrath, and from thence to fury. A new fire kindled and strength I had not before suddenly became mine. The cart began to move, albeit slow to accelerate. I eventually got the speed up, only to find the switchbacks out of the quarry ahead of me. The climb was brutal but I managed. I even managed to catch up with the others despite the situation and their head start. There was a little ways trot before reaching the unloading point. Once there the stone was taken off of the carts and we returned to the quarry. When I arrived the bewildered stallions looked at me in some kind of shock and awe, meriting only a chuckle from me as the load was lifted from my cart and I continued forth.

This repeated from sunrise to sunset. At the end of the day, when we all unhitched, the stallions came over. Apparently a few of them didn't quite see what I had accomplished. One of these spoke. "So, what did you think of a real show of power?"

The few that hadn't seen chuckled. I chuckled with them, but for another reason. Those who saw nudged those who didn't sharply. "Well, boys, you're slow. Let yourselves get fat did you?"

I left the few disgruntled stallions, smiling all the while. We took the ride back and had dinner. Those who had seen my display were quiet and attentive, almost as if gauging me. When dinner finished I thanked my coworkers for their company, turning to those who thought to show off at the quarry. "Hey, maybe I'll take the lead tomorrow, set the pace, huh?"

This notion was eating away at them, it was easy to tell, but I enjoyed playing with them as such. I then left before I started a riot right there and then. When I returned to my chambers I closed the door, locking it securely behind me. I then changed out of the dirty work clothes and flopped on the bed. I was more than thoroughly exhausted from the day's work. If only I could transform into my other form it would make this task simple. I had not, unfortunately, the capability of such. Sleep soon found my weary frame and I embraced it readily.

I awoke groggily to a knock on the door. The sun still had not risen, but moonlight shone through the shutters to illuminate the room. I quickly put the work clothes back on and opened the door. Somehow I was expecting Duke to be standing there. I instead found one of my fellow labourers. "Time to work."

I nodded, still tired, and followed him out. I now had a point to prove and I meant fully to prove it. We partook of the breakfast they had provided and set out. It was time to show what I had once more. The gates to our work station opened and we entered in. I, straightway, went for the lead cart and strapped in. I heard the few making mocking comments but disregarded them. They were soon silenced by the others. I then began to exert myself as I had before, but it wasn't yet getting anywhere. "Isn't that cute? Look at how angry she looks. It's not going to go anywhere."

Amid the few shameful scorns of ridicule I pressed on with firmer resolve. It was about the time they came over that, with one furious snort, the cart began rolling. Those last few were entirely dumbfounded, the others stamping their hooves in approval. They realised soon that they needed to keep working and, as such, went to their own carts. Every fibre of my being now strained as I pushed this massive payload up the switchbacks of the quarry. When I reached the top I stopped only long enough to have my cart unloaded before turning about. The others were now barely popping up over the hill which I was about to climb back down. Once the pathway was clear I descended. My pace did not slow. Once reloaded I ascended again just as they finished coming down. I chuckled as I passed them.

This pace continued until the whistle blew to end the second day. I returned the cart and let out a grunt of relief. When the others arrived we boarded and returned to our quarters after eating.

Day by day I could tell I was earning the respect of these, my fellow slaves. It went from overzealous cockiness to cold indifference. This became critical comments, which soon became calm approval. This approval grew into companionship, which almost turned into some kind of idolisation. We had worked together as a team of ten in a job meant for twelve until Duke found two more stallions to join in the labours. These two were stone haulers, built for work for sure. It did not take long for these two new stallions to become companions as well. It might or might not have been influenced by the other nine. I found, unfortunately, although the addition of these new stallions made it so my work load was lighter it also meant my work progressed slower and, perhaps, my escape as well. The two main stallions were the ones that "volunteered to be stuck with me", as they said. They tried conversation while on the job but found that I worked as unresponsively as a rock with a steely-cold demeanour. The work continued, slowly albeit, but it was clear that my time would soon come.

When I returned to the mansion a few days after having become a slave I had snuck in a rock from the quarry, keeping a running tally of the number of days that had passed in my bondage on the back side of my closet door. On the last day of my time in this position I counted the tallies, finding about three years to have gone by. I sighed heavily, almost with a hope so sore from time that it was close to giving out. I continued, nevertheless, so I could ultimately be reunited with my family.

Duke pulled me aside one day, taking me to the library where he had shown me the chalkboard the first day. When I turned and looked at the board it was clear to see that I had soared past my fellow workers. The bar was practically full. "As you see here, Aqua, you have done phenomenally at the job you were given. It was even surprising to me. I did not expect such from a frame as slender and supple as yours."

His words made me cringe, causing my tone to come out a little flatter than I had hoped. "Thanks."

"It was a compliment."

"Thank you." It came out a lot friendlier that time.

"Now, I'll explain what is about to go down. When that bar reaches full you will be rewarded. There are two types of rewards: the first is a material possession. It can be whatever you want it to be. The second is moving up a floor, thereby granting yourself a lighter job. When you advance you put another coworker in your place and you take theirs. When you reach the fourth floor you can start earning an even more special reward, but I won't tell you what that is yet." I had a sinking suspicion, but I didn't speak up. He then placed his hoof around my shoulder, which I begrudgingly suffered through. "Now, keep up the good work Aqua. You're the best worker I've found yet."

A few days of work later, I was pulled aside by Duke once more and asked about which reward I wanted. I, without hesitation, chose to advance up a floor. My body needed rest from the extreme physical exhaustion it had worked up. When I received my new call it was as the laundry returns. It was my job to collect and deliver the laundry as it was done during the night while the other workers slept. The stallion I had replaced almost seemed happy to leave the position, mumbling something about "work unfit for a stallion like him". I quickly found out why. The job itself entailed that I had to sneak into individual rooms and deliver the clothes of the workers while they slept. Unfortunately, because stealth had not always been my forte, the first few days were the roughest in my time within the halls of my prison, being reminded by Duke that failure in my field would mean a demotion to a lower floor. After that, I started getting the hang of trotting silently, and I learned it pretty quickly. After several weeks of practice I could all but hide the slightest sounds of my hoofsteps. It would improve with more time, but for now it was a skill that might come in handy in the future.

The room itself, I should say, was very comfortable while not being overly lavish. Again the furniture was made of simple woods, but it was clear that they used ones that were more appealing to the eye as compared to those on the floor below. These were stained more thoroughly than those of the first floor. The designs were a bit more refined, not being quite as rough or rustic as the first floor’s furniture. The sheets also felt softer, as if made from finer threads or perhaps crafted more carefully. The room had a tidy air to it and was well organised. It carried the necessities, namely a bed, a dresser, a chair, and a table, but also had a few luxuries, such as a nightstand, a vanity, and a wardrobe or closet type of thing built directly into the wall. I didn’t feel uncomfortable within this room, but I still felt out of place. I did my best to make it homely, including marking the number I had left in the room on the first floor before continuing the tally.

Aside from learning how to effectively sneak, my time in the laundry distribution team was entirely uneventful. Thankfully enough, nopony from the first floor ever wanted to take the position. During my time there, I continued marking tallies, counting the new number by the end of my stay on that floor; it had been another three to four years spent in that place. I managed to advance again, moving from the second floor to the third and continuing my march to the top. To my dismay, when I reached the third floor assignment I found it to be gender locked. As much as I would have liked cleaning the exterior of the mansion, mostly to plot out an escape of some kind, there was no option for such presented. Instead I was stuck as a domestic worker, a maid. To make matters worse the work clothes for this job were the most demeaning and undermining pieces of fabric I had seen in my life. I felt embarrassed and vulgar just wearing the pitiful thing even in the presence of only myself in my locked room. Needless to say I was a little more than upset at the circumstances here on the third floor.

Moving on from the pitiful situation I was finding myself in, I took a moment to examine my quarters. The room carried an air of luxury; that was for sure. All of the wood within was a very fine cedar heavily stained to make a deep, vivid red. The furniture selection was the same as the second floor but the quality was much higher. The bed was also very much more comfortable than those of the two preceding floors. I was now uncomfortable with my dwellings, but I didn’t say anything about it for fear of being removed back down to the second floor. I was getting close to, what I perceived to be, my shot at freedom and I wasn’t about to blow it all because I felt a little out of place in a luxurious room in a massive mansion.

As I soon discovered on my first day in my new assignment, I had, unknowingly, replaced a first floor maid. After I spoke briefly with some of the other maids I found floors two and three to be the most desired. Floor four, as I heard, was so expensive that extreme caution and diligence had to be used. Disciplinary action, as they called it even though it sounded like cruel and unusual punishment, was taken for neglect or carelessness; thinking on it, the punishment for improper cleaning of the fourth floor sounded about as bad as the pain I had suffered at the claws of Theogar. The precision of the task meant that only unicorns could manage to fulfill the requirement. Floor one was filled with insult and abuse, harassment and as I would soon discover, from the workers that lived on that floor. Some of the tales were too horrific for me to retell. I soon found myself subjected to some of the same.

It wasn't but a few weeks into this harrowing time than an incident occurred. I was off cleaning the South Wing, where one of the other servant quarters were located aside from where I had bunked previously. I was also scheduled to clean both the East Wing halls and the West Wing halls later that day. As I was dusting the ledges of the decoration on the walls of the hallway, a rowdy group of stallions turned the corner and was coming down the hallway. I braced myself mentally for the degrading comments that I figured would come as the typical onslaught did. No amount of preemptive preparation could have made me ready for what happened next. Now, before any assume my nature to be entirely volatile, while it may in part be such, my fury had been building over the course of the last few weeks. What happened next broke my reserve.

As they passed, no words were spoken, merely a few chuckles. Just as the first pony was trotting by I received a strong hit in the rump. They erupted into laughter as I instinctively kicked back as hard as I could. Perhaps it was my pent-up anger, or my previous profession and the life threatening risk involved therein, that caused me to lash out like that. Either way, it happened. My back hooves connected with one of the group and I heard a pony hit the opposite wall. Several cracks echoed down the hallway. I wheeled around in fiery indignation, filled with vengeance and entirely ready to defend myself. What I saw instead of a counter attack was the group of entirely dumbfounded ponies staring at me momentarily before turning to their friend on the floor. When I looked I noticed that part of his chest had collapsed in. In deathly silence the group took their friend and left. It wasn't long afterwards that a messenger asked me to report on the fourth floor. I fearfully obliged, uncertain of what would come next but dreading the worst.

It was into a dark room on the fourth floor that I was directed. I sat down on the only chair available in the room, a chair that sat a metre or two away from a desk that was almost invisible in the darkness. The messenger left and, shortly thereafter, Duke came into view from the other side of the nearly-hidden desk. I could barely make out his features until the light shifted, barely lighting us both rather than just the chair I was in. "Ah, Aqua, glad you could make it. Now, would you mind giving me an accounting of the day's activities?"

"Well, I was doing as my job indicated and cleaning the South Wing-" He arose suddenly, slamming a hoof on the desk. It startled me, but it was only a precursor.

"Did you need to break six ribs!?" His sudden tone caught me off guard and set my heart racing. We sat for some time in utter silence aside from the occasional breath. He cleared his throat and spoke in a much softer tone. "Now, care to explain why?"

"Well, after a good amount of degradation-"

"Have you grown soft?" I bit my tongue, trying to ignore his needling comment. "I thought work horses had thicker hide than that."

I could feel a slow flame burning me from the inside, urging me to anger. "It came to a head when that stallion-"

"That's it?"

"What?"

"I heard the report. I know what the stallion did. Is that all?"

"Of course that's all."

"You do not know your place then."

"I will defend myself as I deem necessary."

"That's not what a quarter of a million bits tells me." I fell silent. More now than ever I knew that I needed to get out of here. Desire was no longer in the question; my need to leave had now devolved into pure animalistic survival and necessity. "Now, let's try this again. Do you think you can handle this position or will you need to be demoted to floor two again?"

The tone was more than condescending. I swallowed my anger in order to respond. "Yes."

"Good. Continue cleaning floor one as is your assignment. You are dismissed." All I could do was nod and return to the South Wing. Thusly I continued work as normal, fearful of any retaliation that would be targeted at me. It never came, thankfully, and the full two years of my time in that accursed position slowly crept by.

The mid-winter months found me transferred up to the fourth floor. It was early in the morning one day that the exchange was made. To my apprehension, when I met the worker I replaced, she thanked me. Duke was there, unfortunately, so I could not pry into why she was so grateful to have been replaced. Duke personally led me to the room where I would stay. As I trotted in I could tell that no cost had been spared, indeed that every excess of price was made where possible. Satin and silk were the materials of each fabric item I could currently see. The room had high vaulted ceilings, giving it an air of luxury. The doors themselves were of ebony wood and gold, as were any other wooden items, such as the dresser, vanity, wardrobe and bed frame. Simply being in here made me uncomfortable with how much it probably cost. The room itself was spotless, cleaned thoroughly enough so as to seem as if it was simply ornamental. Duke's voice called me back from my searching. "Now, I'll let you get settled in. I'll be checking on you tomorrow. Then we can do some exploring."

He winked, causing disgust to shoot through my soul. I could only imagine what he was referring to, which in turn only fed my need to escape further. He then left me to my own devices, heading downstairs to check on how things were with the other worker. I now finally had the chance to look out the window, as the shutters were not closed. On top of the stone wall that enclosed this prison were the tips of nails lining the wall in a long row. They went all the way around, ensuring no escape. Looking up from the wall, staring out towards what should have been the horizon, I saw mansion after mansion, each walled and gated. This was a very impressive town, one that somehow had not managed, as I recalled, to make it on any map I had ever seen. Beneath the windows, in the gardens, were ponies working to maintain the snow-covered grounds, making sure the plants wouldn't suffer too much from the biting frost. I returned from gazing out the window, turning my attention to the wardrobe. Surely there had to be some kind of winter gear in there. When I opened the wardrobe I saw, to my disgust, the most appalling set of apparel I had ever seen before in my life. It was all types of articles that no creature should ever have to wear. I quickly closed it again. The view frightened my mind and spirit enough that I spent the entire day's worth of time plotting my escape.

I had arrived at no set conclusion when night had fallen. My pacing had continued all day with no success. I had determined, though, that the large quilt on the bed might be enough to shield me from the frigid air long enough to make it to warmer parts of the country. As I continued to trot back and forth, thinking heavily, a new idea suddenly dawned upon me: I could perfect my silent trots tonight, hopefully dodging Duke tomorrow. Yes, it would have to work. With new resolve I began working to improve my stealth capabilities.

Hour by hour passed until I was far too tired to continue. When I wasn't trotting back and forth I was examining the patterns of the guards, recording mentally the path each took and with what frequency. Once it was later than I could imagine I decided to retire to sleep for a few moments to recover.

When I awoke it was to a knock on the door, dawn having arrived. I then heard a key inserted into the door. I quickly arose, standing in the middle of the room. The door opened finally and Duke trotted in, closing the door behind him. "Ah, there's the mare of the hour. How did the room treat you?"

"I'm sure it would have been better if I was accustomed to luxury." I was trying to figure out how to dodge Duke, to make him leave so I could return to plotting.

"Well, it won't be too hard." He began approaching, causing my heart to accelerate a little. "But the room won't be the only thing that will treat you nicely."

He had gotten very close now, uncomfortably close. "So, what do you say?"

My mind raced a hundred miles per hour. I needed to find some way to get out of this room. "I'd like to see the gardens."

I could tell it kind of set him off, but not quite enough. He pressed in further. "There's all day for that. I'm thinking of something else."

I shifted out of the way, almost causing him to fall over. When he recovered I had moved considerably closer to the door. "I haven't seen your exotic gardens in the wintertime and I think it'd be enthralling."

"Oh, but this time is for us." He began approaching again. "So go ahead and enjoy it."

I turned and began trotting away. I was nearly out the door when he spoke again. "Where are you going?"

"To see the gardens. I need a bit more time to adjust, and spending this much time in this room is hard for me. I need it by phases; I need outside air."

"Fine, but tomorrow I will not be denied." I left before he had a chance to press the matter further. Once outside of his view I sped my leave, making it down to the gardens nearly in record time. I absolutely needed to escape before something happened, and I could only dreadfully picture what that could be. I began my trot around the gardens, 'enjoying the view', as I would tell the workers. In reality I was plotting out my escape. I pieced together possible escape methods paired with the patrol routes I had already figured out the night before. More than half of the day had passed by when I had finally decided to head inside, too cold to remain outside any longer and hungry enough to return for a meal. I returned to my chambers silently after that, not alerting Duke to my presence.

Thankfully enough, he did not check on me that night. By the time nightfall came around I had just about every detail and possibility worked out. I had periodically viewed the motions of the sun during the day to gain a sense of orientation while I was out in the gardens. I had mapped out a route during the previous night's stay as well. On top of that, I had worked on my stealth until it was nearly flawless. Now was the time to put all of this planning and practice into motion.

As the house fell silent as the hills, I took the thickest sheet from the bed and wrapped it as a cape, hoping it would keep me warm. I tied it so it had a cowl to cover my scaled face in case I ran into anypony outside, as my features were more than distinguishable. Once I put the cloak on I snuck out of the house, dodging the launderer, the gardeners and the patrollers. I took my route through the back doors, the ones I had noted opened the most silently. To my view was a fresh blanket of snow, newly fallen and covering the previous tracks. This would make my motions easily trackable; my escape was now exponentially harder. I would have to move quickly to get the maximum distance I could before morning. I silently closed the doors behind me and set out into the gardens. I took as direct of a path as I could to the sheds against the back wall. I set my front legs on the snow below, my hind legs on the wall of the shed and gripped the gutter with my tail. In a quick effort I swung myself up; the gutter creaked dangerously as I made my way up. I feared, had I moved slower, the gutters would have fallen, alerting others. Even the sound generated by the strain caused my heart to race in fear. I pressed on, as I had no other option, so I repeated the process. I was able to get atop the next roof, although it was a close call. It was the time for my escape; I repeated this again with the wall, preparing for the pain of the nails. I braced for what I knew was to come, gripping down on the wall and swinging up and over. The pain came, unfortunately, and I knew that I would leave a blood trail easily trackable from here on out. A nail or two had slipped underneath the scales on my tail to cause this. I landed on the ground in the adjacent yard on accident, overshooting the wall; landing on the wall would have given my pursuers a much more difficult time tracking me down. I quickly hid myself in the bushes nearby, seeing the light of a patrol nearing. I analysed the situation as they passed. The gate on this mansion had been left open, whether by accident, an errand or providence I know not. All I knew is that I needed to take it. When the patrol was around the corner and on the next side of the house I carefully left the bush before bolting straight for the gate.

Once I was in the street I looked out towards what I had previously discovered to be west. I would escape that way, heading the opposite direction from the port town where I had been sold in the first place. I knew this because Duke had failed to block my line of sight while we rode in the cart, allowing me to have that sense of direction. After a short while of trotting, I made it to the guard house. I made my way calmly so as to avert suspicion. As I approached the post the guard spoke. "Where's the miss heading?"

He didn't realise who I was. I had to use this to my full advantage, but I had to play it well. "My family is having a special event for us mares tomorrow. They were sending a carriage to meet up with me outside tonight."

"Alright, ma'am, enjoy your event. Did you want somepony to keep you safe out there while you waited?"

"That's very sweet of you, but I'll be fine. Thank you, though."

"Alright. Stay safe out there. Don't get too cold now."

"I won't. Have a great night." He opened the gate and let me by. I broke into a mild canter once outside, one that made it look like I wasn’t fleeing for my life. When out of the light and, therefore, the view of the guard post my pace became a full gallop. I needed to get as much space as possible between Duke and I and this night was the night to do it. I had not the slightest idea of where I actually was on a map, but I kept going west. This little town either didn't show up on maps simply because it was too small or because the property owners paid them not to put it on the map. Or at least that was my guess. I continued my flight, shaking the long string of possibilities from my head.

Day broke, as did my pace. I was tired and wanted nothing more than to just fall asleep but I kept going. The sun rose a little off-set to my right and behind me, meaning I was, indeed, heading pretty close to westward. I picked up the pace as best I could, but my missing hoof made everything more difficult than it needed to be. It was soon to be a full morning and the slave town would awaken; Duke would find me missing. I was exhausted at this point, as I had galloped all night to put a large distance between us. More distance never hurt, so I picked the pace up further than it had been moments before dawn.

It was a little before nightfall that I found myself out of the cold and snow. I dropped the blanket, glad that the burdensome weight of all that fabric was gone. Quicker movement was now possible and less tiring. As such, I moved faster towards my goal.

It was a good while after nightfall when I found myself at the shore of the ocean. Once there, I sat, gathering my bearings, resting and searching for a light in the horizon that would indicate a city nearby. Once I found it I mustered the strength to continue and set out in a quick trot once more.

Just as day broke I heard barking dogs. I broke into the quickest gallop I could ever have managed at this point. I gave chase for a long while, using the endurance I got from my work in the quarry. As good as my pace was, my handicapping leg made me too slow to outrun hounds. The dogs were now getting closer. Not far behind the dogs was Duke's carriage, pulled by several of the ponies I had worked with side-by-side for a decent while. They themselves were now galloping fiercely to overtake me. I judged I would not be able to make it to the city, now in view, before they were all upon me. Just as I was preparing myself to turn and fight the hounds I saw a very large shadow pass over top of us. The dogs suddenly stopped, the carriage scraping to a halt on the sandy shore. I was more preoccupied with this their sudden stop than I was with the giant shadow that had passed. A second or two later, just as I was about to start backing away, I was in the air. I saw Duke climb out of the cart in a fit of anger, going to yell at the team. I then decided to finally look up to see what had grabbed me. I saw the large scaled belly of a creature. I was in the clutches of its claws, as large and powerful as they were. I looked back down again and noticed Duke watching the trajectory of our flight before boarding his carriage once more and redirecting his team. It was then that I noticed the shadow of the creature below us as well. Looking at the shape of the shadow, also taking into account the claws and scales, I could only assume one conclusion: I had been snatched by a dragon. Why it had chosen me to take as prey I knew not. Where we were headed I knew not either.

I never even considered breaking the dragon's grasp. To do so meant either death or Duke, and I wasn't sure which one would have been worse. As I watched our flight, I noticed two things. The first thing was actually felt rather than seen, and it was how hungry and thirsty I actually was. Two nights and a full day at least had passed by since the last time I had partaken in anything, complimented by my heavy exertion made things worse. The second thing I saw. Based on the geography, and how many times I had read the map of Equestria, I could tell where we were. To note initially, we were heading directly to the mouth of a cavern in a mountainside. I looked at the surrounding area. If I was not mistaken we were near the White Tail Woods, a few hours trot west from the nearest city. This came as marvellous news to me, giving me encouragement in these dark times. Suddenly the flight pattern dipped. As we approached the mountain we descended. Right before the dragon landed he tossed me in. I tumbled and rolled into his hoard of treasures. When I came to a stop I tried to gather my bearings, something that finally happened once the world stopped spinning. I noticed the dragon had positioned himself in the mouth of his cave, blocking it. His brazen scales, however, were something to behold. I had never before seen a dragon that had scales of that colour. I quickly noticed that his deep green eyes carefully examined every move I made. More than a little befuddled over the whole situation I turned to his treasure heap. What I was looking for was something reflective, something that would show me once more what I actually looked like now.

My search took me quite a while simply because most of the treasure in this cavern was gold. The tint would not aide me; I needed something that would give a true reflection. I finally found a silver serving plate after a while and looked upon it. I saw myself once more. The pink eyes, missing horn and rent wings were all expectedly present features. What sparked my attention was the now close-up view I got of the scales that I had developed since I awoke in the wastes of the land of the gryphons. I already knew of their existence since the gryphon kingdom. What I didn't know was their exact lustre. These deep blue scales that adorned my body shimmered vividly like sapphires. I knew now why the dragon had grabbed me; I was another mere precious possession for it. I turned to the dragon, determined to convince it that I was a living creature. I approached it as best I could think at that point. "Release me."

"Is that a threat?" The dragon's deep, resonant voice echoed through the mountain cave.

"No, but it is an order."

"Even if I bothered to hearken to you for one second why would I obey what you ask of me?"

"I am no treasure to be hoarded. I am a living creature."

"With scales as sapphires you do not appear to be much more than an artificer's workmanship of magic."

"As to why I have them now I know not. I can, regardless, assure you as the sun shines that I am more than a mere construct."

"If you were a living creature then how come you, as a pony, have scales as a dragon encased in gemstone?"

"They are not jewels. The light simply caught your eye."

"As it does with other precious stones." It seemed as if it was no use. This dragon was quicker than I was. "Your artisan was careless in his assembly of you."

The statement caught me off guard. "What?"

"There are numerous flaws in your construction. Your horn and wings, for example."

"Those are not the work of unskilled hooves. They're battle scars."

"Scarring? Of a precious stone?"

"The scales only recently developed, after the horn and wings were torn from me if I might add."

"If this fabricated whole-cloth of a tale you are attempting to tell me was actually remotely true what reason have I in releasing you into the clutches of other dragons?"

"The reason you found me to begin with was I was fleeing from slavers."

"And that helps your position how?"

"Had I been as before I would not have been fleeing. I would have had armour to fight them."

"If your armour had been well kept it would have attracted my attention all the same." His wit was far sharper than mine. This discourse was not going to solve anything. "You cannot convince me, horse. My mind is set and your fate concrete."

"Then how will I survive? I need food, I need water."

"You'll figure it out. If not, well, you don't really have any other options, now do you?" With that he laid down in the entrance and blocked the way. Escape was now more than difficult. I could now, however, see past the dragon into the sky behind him. The sky was the deep, impressive red of sunset. As I admired the view, and attempted to devise a plan of escape, I could now fully feel the unbearable hunger and thirst that had come from my deprivation. Exhaustion edged its way in from this as well from lack of sleep. I sat down, awaiting nightfall in a hope that the dragon would not be able to see me as well when the shadows fell.

I waited just outside the treasure pile for quite a while, plotting out each point of my escape. Once I had planned it out I waited for the dragon to shift in his sleep, which he did, and move his snout from the wall. There was now a small gap that I could use. It was my only chance. I snuck past as best as I could, getting halfway through before I heard his voice and felt the air leaving his mouth. "Where do you think you're going?"

I began to move swiftly, bolting out of the entrance of the cave in an attempt to spot some kind of path that I could take down the face of the mountain. After one quick circuit around the top I found no ramp, no exit. He was now raising up, turning to face me. "I suggest you rethink your actions."

He was emerging now; I needed to leave quickly. Finding no other way I aligned myself with the woods below, those nearest the town, and jumped without a second thought. I slid down the rocky slope fine until I clipped a crevice. My back end flipped up and over while my front rotated on the mountain face. Like a gymnast, although much less graceful, I flipped and tumbled, twisted and turned down the face of the mountain. I only stopped when I hit the rock face beneath. I crawled to my hooves and looked up. The dragon was climbing down after me, and quickly. I staggered to get a view only to realise I was no longer grounded. More mountainside bouncing ensued. I soon found myself in the woods beneath, hitting a fallen tree dead on to suddenly stop all momentum. In the pitch black darkness of the woods I knew the dragon would not be able to find me. Thinking on my safety I simply sat silently slumped against this tree that had so brutally halted me. At this specific point in time I felt positively broken. Starved and athirst, battered and I'm sure broken as well, near hopeless and alone was how I found myself. I thought perhaps rest would help me recover.

I awoke in the self-same position I was in previously and arose as best as I could. The inky darkness of night still hid all visibility, and the thick canopy removed all hope of obtaining any. I still hurt just as bad as before and was in equally horrendous condition. Debilitating feelings of purposelessness and fatigue begged me to surrender. I knew my time was ticking. In spite of this, I kept moving; I had to. I had come this close, and I simply could not just surrender now.

I, at first, began by trudging through the shadows and jet black hazards. At this pace I wasn't sure if I would make it to town in time. The moment I thought this I threw caution to the wind. I figured that, because I had scales, I could resist most injuries fairly well. If nothing else, at least, it was no worse than falling down the face of a mountain. It was more than likely that I had broken several things within my body, judging by the wall of pain that shot down my body even at the thought of motion, but I simply could not stop. As such I galloped, ignoring what pain I could and limping on what I couldn't, until I hit a tree or tripped. After running face first into a solid trunk or catching foliage I would suffer, barely find the strength and courage to pick myself up again and continue thence. As I finally broke from the forest to see the city a little ways further in the distance I noticed that the sky carried the pink-orange hue of sunrise. I had spent all night in the woods. My time was running low. An overwhelming sense of drowsiness was begging me to submit.

Despite that, I made my way into the city, hoping to find anything to drink. The empty streets on the outskirts of town was anticipated. Most of the city folk here were probably closer to the heart of the city. As daylight and my limited time made their relentless march my worry grew. By the time I had found the downtown area it could have been no earlier than midday. Signs in the windows of shops glowed with a word so tauntingly familiar: Open. Perhaps I could find something in one of these buildings. As I went to go towards one of them my strength entirely failed me. I buckled and fell to the ground, collapsing in the middle of the street. All hope instantly fled. Unless some citizen found me quickly my inevitable doom would arrive. In the heart of a bustling city I found myself abandoned and helpless.

Just as I was about ready to surrender to my pressing fate I heard quiet, little hoofsteps. I barely managed to look up to find a small unicorn filly hovering a glass near my face. When I focused on the glass I could tell it was filled with water. I did what I could to take the offering from this little one. A majority of the water simply splashed on my numb face. Nevertheless I managed to get a few mouthfuls. As I turned my attention back to the filly I found it being dragged backwards by, what I could only assume it at this point to be, its mother. I tried to sit up, knowing it would be harder to fall into the clutches of death. I pushed up against the ground, fighting to rise. I gave and fell back to the earth once more. Again I tried, receiving the same result. I needed to get back up, I determined, so a third time I planted my hooves and fell again. It was only after this, what I resolved to be my fourth and last attempt, that I managed to lift myself to a sitting position. The mare drew the filly further away when I arose. Having risen I now attempted to enact my previous plan of finding a shop where I could find food. I discerned that a sandwich shop was nearby to my left. Figuring this was the next best thing I could accomplish I stumbled my way over to it. When I finally reached the door, as much running directly into it as reaching, I did as the door directed and pulled. I found the door to be locked. I glanced up to see the bright sign signifying that it was open. Another try to open the door reaffirmed that a lock prevented my entrance. With this, my best effort expended, I flopped over and leaned my side against the door. My head hung low in despair. I tried to maintain my determined countenance, my fearless composure, but fatigue, hopelessness and the ever present longing for home had eaten a hollow cavity within me. It was into this crevice that I collapsed. I sat down on the pavement finally, hoof falling from the handle of the door my side was pressed so firmly against. As my head hung down, tears began to well up in my eyes. I tried my best to hide them but, time and time again, my best was not good enough. As the first few slipped from my face to the ground below in the hushed atmosphere of this ghost town I whispered, for it was the only volume I could manage, in one last cry of sorrow. "Haven't I suffered enough for my mistakes?"

Simply saying this brought all my past sufferings, afflictions and failures to my mind's eye: the lost battles, the abuse and fear, the ever present darkness threatening to destroy me, my lost symbols of heritage, the agony of false accusation, the loss of free will and lastly, but most certainly the heaviest, fate's cruel and heartless denial of my return home. As each cascaded in a barrage of torment I gave in. Leaning now even more heavily upon the door to the shop I wept bitterly in the solitude of silence.

Perhaps it was the simple charity of the filly, or perhaps the final visual of the boundless depths of my anguish and desperation, that caused the next chain of events. To this day I do not know what changed the minds of those involved but I felt force applied to the door I was leaning against. I looked up, finding a stallion attempting to open the door. As best I could see through tear filled eyes I noted that he looked worried and sympathetic. I moved, as I was able to, out of the way of the door. It opened finally, swinging towards me. The stallion poked his head out around the edge of the door and spoke. "Hey, uh...I'll, like, buy you something to eat, or something. It'll be alright."

I simply looked up at him, not finding words to speak and hardly being able to even move. He spoke again after a few moments of awkward silence. "Do you think you can come inside?"

As he was speaking to me I saw a few others gathering nearby behind him in the store, as well as a few more in the streets. I began to try my best at the task at hand. The other ponies, seeing my struggles, came over to aid me. With their help, mostly because of their help, I was eventually seated inside the store. Within a few minutes food and drink was arrayed before me. The generosity of this pony was much appreciated, and I partook of what I could, but one meal was not sufficient enough to recover my might after all I had been through. Neither had I purse nor scrip. I did not know how I was going to survive here. Just as that thought passed into my mind the ponies began asking questions. It started out with questions such as 'are you alright?', to which the answer was no, 'where are you from?', and other such small questions. Then came the trigger question asked by that stallion who had opened the door. "What is your name?"

"Now, before I answer that question I'm going to establish one guideline: ask your questions one at a time. I will call out whoever if not."

"Alright."

"My name is Aqua WindStorm." The room erupted with chatter. "I was the Guildmaster of the Order of Protectorates."

Now was when the questions came like a bombarding siege. "My brother is in the Order of Protectorates. Aren’t you the one that saved it from impending destruction by fighting the old Guildmaster?”

"It is I."

"You're a little small, aren't you?"

"I was in my bigger form, which I cannot access at the present time."

"Where's the armour? Where are the weapons?"

"They were destroyed in a fight."

"The Aqua we know disappeared without a trace long ago. How do we know you are her?"

"You don't yet, but that doesn't mean I'm not her nor that I cannot prove it. All I can ask for currently is sustenance and shelter for tonight only. I can then leave tomorrow morning and, if fate permit, I will return. Then shall all be brought to light."

"How can we trust you? How do we know you'll come back?"

"You can't, but then again if you don't you never will know. It's your choice, unfortunately, whether you'll help me or not. I will make it to my destination one way or another." After a short while all but a few left the store, their curiosity sated for the most part I suppose. Those that remained looked eagerly on. "Are you willing to trust me or have your minds not reached a conclusion yet?"

That selfsame stallion from earlier spoke. "I trust you."

I smiled and nodded, indescribable feelings of hope coursing through me again. "All I ask is for aid. As you can tell I have nothing currently."

"I'll supply for you." The voice came from the shopkeeper, something that surprised me considerably. Now that I think on it I recall he had been watching intently. "I have an empty back room you can borrow for the night if you need."

Gratitude warmed my heart even further. "Thank you."

He showed me to the room. After a short while the ponies dispersed, leaving me alone to rest. Words cannot describe the deep joy and gratitude I felt for those ponies at that time. Content and peaceful, I closed my eyes once I was laid down to rest.

The night came and went, leaving the morning. The accommodations, although minimal at best, were better than being stuck outside or in chains, or worse. That much I could be thankful for. After I was given a good breakfast and lunch from the shop owner, after thanking him and promising him payment, I set out with the other group of ponies for the train station. Upon reviewing the schedule posted within the station and the accompanying clock nearby it was clear that the next train left very soon, in a mere minute or two. I parted with the ponies courteously but quickly and began my quick pace towards the station platform. When I passed the station guards I dropped to a sudden canter to avoid too much attention. As I was nearing I heard the train's whistle, signifying its departure. I broke into a full gallop, finding an open gap in the line of ponies at the ticket booths. I leaped over the mechanisms they had set up to control flow, causing the guards to yell and begin chasing me. I could see the train now, and it was picking up speed, soon to leave the station. I leaped across the one set of rails that separated me from my destination and continued as hard as I could. At last I took one last leap, hoping for the best, and barely caught one leg around the outermost pole of the caboose. The remainder of my body was trailing, my back hooves bouncing painfully off the rapidly moving tracks. I heaved as best as I could, swinging around and, after a little work with my tail and one leg, got aboard the back platform. Once I was secure behind the railing I looked back. The station guards were heading back, I suppose to make some kind of announcement or something. At this point it didn't matter to me. I was now homeward bound. I made my way through the caboose and the few storage cars towards where the passenger cabins were. I found an empty booth eventually and seated myself therein. Not too long afterwards a pony came back and announced the length of the ride would be several hours long. He left and the cabin fell silent again. I laid my head on the window and closed my eyes, content enough with the situation to try and rest further.

I was awoken by the opening of the cabin door. It was followed by gasps. Intrigued I lifted my head to find three stallions, two brandishing knives and one carrying a large sack. He placed it down and spoke. "Put all of your valuables in the bag and you'll live to make it to your next stop."

Judging by everything that was going on I connected the dots; these were train robbers. I arose and stood in the aisle way, blocking their path. I saw the first pony clench his knife harder and tense up. He did not speak because of the weapon being held firmly in his jaws, but I did. "Bring it on, half-timer. You probably don't even know how to use that thing."

Aggravated by my response and blockade of the aisle he heedlessly charged in. I sidestepped back into the seats when he was near, wrapping my tail around his neck as he tried to take a swipe at me while galloping by. The sudden change of force caused the dagger to pop out of his mouth, clattering along the floor. I constricted my tail with as much strength as I had. I heard his gagged chokes in reply. I stepped back out to see the others charging, more likely to free their accomplice than anything else. This would prove difficult, as he was behind me now. As they were in range now I kicked towards the first fiercely with my right front leg. The hit connected, causing the first bandit to tumble back into the second, both of them crashing to the ground. As they began to rise again I felt the one in my tail fall limp. The two began galloping towards me again with renewed vigour as I dropped their unconscious companion. I simply whipped around quickly and let my tail fall down upon the first one. It connected solidly and sent him sprawling on the floor. The sheer blunt force trauma was enough to knock him out. Having already turned around I lowered my tail and acted as if I was off guard. When the last one was in range, playing beautifully to my ruse, I whipped my tail up, catching him by the neck. I drug the squirming pony out the back door of the cabin, throwing him out into the space between cars. He hit the ground, tumbling away in several fierce rolls before leaving my visual range. I returned inside and, in turn, drug each of the other two out of the car. They too went out the side and tumbled. Satisfied with my work I returned inside. Wanting to make sure there were no more I picked up the knife on the floor and continued forwards on the train.

I didn't run into any other vagabonds until well further up in the train. There were five of them grouped in one cabin to rob the passengers. As the door opened they all looked towards the sound. One of them spoke once he saw the knife in my mouth. "Stall that one. Kill it if you must."

The others started moving towards me as he galloped towards the engine room. I waited until they drew near before springing into action. I quickly found that these were not trained swordponies in any sense of the word. A simply parry and quick counter slash was enough to disarm or dispatch each one. Those that I disarmed I quickly incapacitated in whatever manner I could, mostly with a kick or tail swing. Those who proved harder I simply slashed a key part or stabbed in a key area to seriously injure, if possible, or kill, if not. As each fell, some losing that sanguine fluid that keeps all of us alive, I took out the next in line until they all had fallen. Once I had finished I took each in turn and threw them off of the side of the train as I had the others. With the last one tumbling out of sight I turned my attention to the front of the train. It was only a car or two further ahead.

No sooner did I enter the engine room than I found the pony that had fled from me. His sword was pointed at the throat of the conductor. Through his clenched teeth he spoke. As best I could I discerned what he spoke. "One false step and he dies."

I held my place immediately. I could feel the inner urge to charge regardless but I resisted. "Knife on the ground and back to your seat. Your time to play hero is up."

I spat the dagger onto the floor in front of me, unfortunately out of reach. The bandit sheathed his sword, which was easily accessible to his mouth. "Alright, conductor, you're going to act like nothing is wrong and nothing happened here. Take us in normally."

"I have another proposition for you." I interrupted his plans momentarily. As I spoke it seemed as if the conductor grew fearful.

"Spit it out then."

"I'm on the run from a very...influential, affluent pony. He bought me for two-hundred fifty thousand bits."

"Your point is?"

"How much would he pay you if you returned me? All of it would be yours." He took a moment to think. "Several hundred thousand bits."

"Where do we need to go?"

"Up north, but I'm not the one in control here. I can't tell the conductor what to do or where to go, but you can." He thought again, losing perspective of my exact movements. I eyed the knife cautiously, trying to not attract attention. The vagabond turned to the conductor to give him orders. I snapped into action in that moment. In a swift motion I ducked down and clenched the handle of the knife between my teeth. Noticing my motions and hearing the clank of the metal hitting the flooring he began turning back, going to draw his sword. I sprang up from the ground and jabbed upwards as he finished drawing his sword to strike the conductor. The blade sunk to the hilt into the soft hide of his neck. Blood quickly seeped out of the part of his neck now replaced with metal. From the initial stab some of the fluid sprayed across my face. His sword dropped and I heard him make a surprised gurgle. I let go of the handle and stepped back to assess the situation. I looked him square in the eyes, watching the sheer terror and absolute fear as his life drained away. "Had you treated this less seriously you would have lived. What a shame."

He soon buckled, unable to react. Once he hit the ground I grabbed his body, dragging it outside and throwing it overboard. I returned inside, giving orders before taking the sword up. "Retain your current course to Ponyville. It is safe now."

He nodded, half astonished and half fearful. I trotted back to my original cabin. Each car I passed through grew deathly silent, although I don't blame them. I'm sure I was quite the sight. I sat in my original seat once more and waited a short while longer until we arrived in the station. The station itself was vaguely familiar to me but time had eroded my exact memory of it. When the train came to a stop I got up as the last one to disembark the vessel. No sooner had I set my first hoof off of the train than I was immediately surrounded by station guards armed and ready should I try anything. I was confused at first, not sure of what they were trying at. One of them spoke. "Ma'am, we ask that you leave all your weaponry in our possession to be handled properly."

It was then that I remembered the sword I had taken from the bandit leader. The feel of a sword on my personage was something so natural to me that I had not even thought about the repercussions of such. I set the sword down, pushing it over to them. As they grabbed it I apologised. "My apologies, sir, I had forgotten that I was in possession of that."

"How do you just 'forget' that you're carrying a sword?"

"Because I had done so so frequently that it hadn't crossed my mind."

"Well, because of regulations and whatnot concerning this dangerous item we ask to see your ticket." Now my heat began to race. I did not have a ticket, as I couldn't even purchase one prior.

"I do not have one, officer."

"Alright, ma'am, then you are under arrest for illegally riding the train and for possessing a dangerous item without proper authorisation or duties paid." As this was my home town there was no way around it. I sighed heavily, accepting the cruel fate. I wondered if maybe I should have waited to board, if I should have bought the ticket with the help of the citizens of the city. Then again, had I not done what I did the train would have been robbed and the string of banditry would have continued. It seemed as if trying to be good now was harder than ever. Dejectedly I nodded my head, subjecting myself to them. The whole group escorted me to the police station. When we arrived they locked me in what they called an 'investigation cell'. It was no more than a one horse jail cell in the police station instead of in the incarceration centre. After they had locked the door of the cell behind me I looked around my new furnishings. There was a mirror, facilities and a bed. I went straight for the mirror. When I viewed myself I beheld large crimson streaks across my face. I had completely forgotten to clean myself after the run in with the ring leader. I realised that, with this kind of appearance and having been carrying a sword, it would take mountains of effort to clear.

I had been in the cell for a few days when they finally interviewed me. In trotted a pony, I could only assume an officer of some kind, and two police to escort him. "So we have a few questions for you. Is that alright?"

"Absolutely."

"Good. We were going to ask them whether you were fine with it or not." I simply sat unamused as the others chuckled. He cleared his throat when he noticed me staring at him intently. "Well, I suppose the first question is: what is your name?"

"Aqua WindStorm."

"Where are you from?"

"Literally two blocks down."

"So a resident of Ponyville?"

"Yup."

"Good, good. Well, I received reports of you riding the train system without proper ticketing? Is this true?"

"Indeed it is."

"Well, would you care to explain why?"

"Quite frankly because I have literally nothing right now. The fact that I'm in this jail with a bed and mirror means I have two more things now than I did prior to me boarding the train."

"And what do you mean by that?"

"To be completely honest, and you probably won't believe it, but I was running away from a vicious group of slavers, one in particular."

"Slavers? Here?" They began laughing. I simply stared at them coldly. When the laughing died down the chief spoke again. "There are no slaves in Equestria. We're all free here."

"That is what you think, officer, but it is a very different perception than the reality I just fled from."

"Ok, we'll humour you here, say there's these mythical slavers here," a chuckle or two came from the other officers, "what makes me believe that a simple ride home is all you were doing aboard that train?"

"It wasn't."

"As I thought. Aqua, it's been real good talking with you but I believe I know now what-"

"No."

"Excuse me?" Sass rung in his voice.

"Excuse me, officer, for interrupting, but you do not know what I accomplished aboard that train."

"Well now, miss, care to enlighten us?" His tone was harsher, more direct and accusing.

"There was a robbery, sir. I'm not sure if anypony else reported said activities."

"That is not pertinent information for you to know."

"Fair enough. Regardless of whether or not you tell me I will tell you this: there was a robbery. Close to ten armed bandits attempted to steal the possessions of the ponies aboard the train. Had it not been for me they would have been successful and this whole thing would have repeated in another setting somewhere else."

"If you're supposedly the 'hero' here, how come your face is splattered with blood?"

"To be honest, sir, because I had to kill their leader before he killed the conductor."

"And how am I to know that?"

"Count the ponies that were on board. Figure out who bought tickets from the departing station, talk with them, track them down, and see if they're alive. You'll find every single one of them to be alive and well. A few might even say something about how a weird blue pony stopped a train robbery."

"You certainly are pretty bold about this, huh?" There was sarcasm in his comment.

"I know when I'm innocent."

"Well, we'll see about that one. You are to remain incarcerated until the investigation has been completed. If, however, we need to use the cell you are currently occupying then we will move you to the penitentiary, is that understood?"

"As clear as day, sir."

"Good. We will be seeing you later." With that he got up and left, leaving me alone once again. All I could do now was wait.

My incarceration continued for almost a month's time more. If nothing else I had been given food and it allowed me to recover from my recent deprivation. During my days in the cell I had overheard a few talk about convicting me of murder. Once the dust settled, my case clear and my guiltless nature having baffled the chief, they released me. Predictably the first place I went afterwards was home. It wasn't hard to find; not much had changed aside from a more aged look. I went to open the door and found it locked. I thought that bit of information to be rather odd; the door was hardly ever locked, or at least when I was there it never was. Seeing as I could not just simply walk in as I had done so frequently in the past I knocked. To my great delight Storm answered the door, albeit barely. He poked his head out from behind it. His face seemed weighted.

"Hello?" The tone was dull.

"Storm..." I was so happy, so overwhelmed by the emotion of finally being home that I couldn't quite think straight nor form a sentence.

"Can I help you?" Well, that certainly snapped me back to reality. His tone was cold, as if he didn't even know who I was.

"Storm, it's me, Aqua." I could see his eyes narrow.

"I don't know what you're playing at but I can tell you this: you resemble nothing of the mare I loved." My heart sank. I knew he was right in that aspect but I had to keep trying. I convinced paranoid gryphons. I was sure I could convince Storm too. Before I could manage to throw together a response he spoke again. "Something else: stop pretending to be her. Your tainted mockery of her presence makes me sick. Other ponies might have forgotten who she was and will believe your lies but I know the truth. Eleven years has not erased my memory of her."

This was the second low blow. I had both forgotten and not realised just how much time had actually elapsed since I childishly threw it all away to fight Shade. "So unless you can magically pull her back from whatever plane of existence she was banished to by that abominable Shade I suggest you go right back to whatever corner of the world you crawled out of."

With that being said he promptly slammed the door in my face. Now my worst fears were realised. Now it was the shattering of a heart already broken. As much as giving up screamed to be a good idea I continued. I needed the help of one of two ponies now. Both were creatures of the Void, rulers in their respective rights. The one was my ally while the other was my very opposite, a sworn enemy since we had first come into contact with each other. I decided that the best course of action would be to seek out my ally first. Galaxia was her name, and Storm knew her well. She might possess the capability of convincing him, I thought. In order to contact her, unfortunately, I needed my soul gem. I needed my source; I needed my white pearl.

I sat in the nearby park and waited for nightfall. Once darkness had descended I approached the house once more. I took a stone from the ground, holding it carefully. I threw the rock with accuracy and power, breaking the front downstairs window. I quickly ducked around the corner and remained perfectly still. I knew that Storm was more sensitive to disturbances in the air than normal ponies were. I let not one breath steal its way past my muzzle until I had heard him return upstairs. I managed to slip inside the window, barely making it past the glass, and hid just out of sight inside the kitchen. He came back down and began to blockade the broken window, probably until he could fix it tomorrow. I began stealthily creeping my way towards the stairs. I could see he noticed my motions, as he began to turn. At this point I bolted up the stairs. With a shout he chased after me. I burst into the bedroom, frantically searching for the pearl. If Storm caught me I knew he would probably kill me at this point. A quick search revealed the glowing sphere on a pedestal, most likely to protect it from any kind of harm. I quickly grabbed it and set it into my chest. Storm was now just outside the doorway. The pearl reattached, seemingly naturally, and I felt a surge of energy. When Storm burst in the room he was carrying his sword. Seeing this I bolted, leaping through the window on the second floor. I suppose as I was running Storm threw his blade, as it cut deep into the hind part of my back left leg. I shattered the glass, falling down towards the ground and landing with a thud before rolling in an attempt to lessen the impact. It all hurt regardless but at least nothing was broken. Regaining my ground I began to focus energy to teleport. Storm was almost upon me when the spell fired off.

When next I opened my eyes it was in pitch black. I cast an illumination spell and it revealed nothing but woodlands surrounding me. Judging by the dark and twisted nature of the flora around me I could only assume this was the selfsame Everfree Forest, and that my random teleportation had launched me here. Guessing this place was just as good as any other I began calling Galaxia. No sooner had I begun than she appeared. What I saw was frightening. Rage burned in her face, twisting it into a fearsome guise where I had hardly seen emotion before. She had always carried a stoic, somber disposition. Seeing her wrath caused me, the unshakeable Protectorate, to tremble slightly. Her voice echoed, the royal tone blasting out. "Who dares to steal the pearl of Aqua?!"

In a quiet, almost consoling, tone I responded. "Galaxia, I am Aqua."

Her voice quieted as well, but all the intensity was still behind it. "No. Even I know of Aqua's fate. I felt the disturbance in the Continuum as that spell was cast. Only entities such as myself have the knowledge for that spell.”

The fight with Shade. She knew of it. "I'm not entirely sure how it all worked out but Aqua, er, I didn’t perish."

"Impossible. That spell is among the most potent and unknown void magics that exist. It simply casts a creature out of existence."

"I weakened it with countermagic."

"Unheard of. No mortal has ever managed to countercast an entity such as Shade or myself."

"Remember, Galaxia, I'm not entirely mortal."

"You speak as if you are imitating Aqua."

"Galaxia, what was one of the most outstanding characteristics of Aqua?" I needed to think and react quickly. I had everything to lose here.

"A constant guardian disposition." Her eyes narrowed, almost in a judging manner. "Theft would have never crossed her mind."

"No, Galaxia, I meant something she had, some characteristic possession of hers." She almost didn't even need to think, her eyes opening again.

"She always had a particular pearl. She would use it to cast her most powerful spells."

"And do you know why she could use it to cast spells to begin with?"

"She dabbled in forbidden arcane arts."

"And what is this?" I brushed up a few of my soft chest scales to reveal the gleaming white sphere embedded underneath.

"An object you have stolen." Her eyes narrowed again.

"Tell me what it is."

"Something you should not have."

"Galaxia, tell me what it is. I already know what it is and how I got it again. I want you specifically to tell me what it is."

"An artefact of immense power."

"Immense soul bound power, right?"

"Your point being?"

"Aqua sealed her soul in this. If, per say, she didn't have this with her when she was targeted by a spell to wipe her from existence what would that mean for her then?”

"She went into the fight soulless."

"As such the spell would not have had full effect, thus meaning...?" Her eyes widened, the realisation finally hitting.

"Aqua could still be alive. I must find her. Deliver the pearl unto me."

"Galaxia, I'm right here. I am Aqua." The surprise left her face, returning it back to the look of contempt.

"I suggest you stop trying to deceive me, for it will not work."

"Then ask me questions only she would know. That's the only way you'll be able to know for yourself that I am not lying."

"Who is her spouse, how many descendants does she have, what is her profession and who is the next pony in line to take her place if something happens?"

"Greylak WindStorm, no fillies of her own but two adopted under her, Guild Master of the Order of Protectorates and Ajiin runs the Order in her stead."

"Parents."

"Both dead. A mare and a drake."

"Combat preference."

"Dual wielding swords in a hind leg standing position, tail for balance."

"You sure do know a lot about her."

"That's because I am her."

"Uh-huh. Two signature spells."

"Restoration and Weaponised Shadows."

"Effects of both upon her."

"Restoration generates a temporary fatigued headache as her soul recovers energy and willpower. Weaponised Shadows darkens her complexion and character, along with increasing her lust for battle."

"You have me both impressed and convinced. Be not misled, however, in thinking I shall render aid unto you."

"Aw, come on! Why not?"

"First of all, what you did was downright idiotic." She had a point there. "Second: you need to feel the consequences of such actions for once."

I trotted closer to her, my voice hushed but very intense. "You have no idea what kind of hell I have gone through already because of that choice."

"Since that is true I will idly stand by while you fight your own battle to fix this mess." With that she left and I was alone once more. Frustrated was not a strong enough word to describe how I felt at this point. The only other option I had now was finding Shade and hoping he would help me. At this point I could only assume he was my last hope in convincing Storm, despite a gap I could only guess came between the two a short while before my fight. As I was thinking I began to imagine the entrance to his domain as best as I could remember it. It was from this that I used as bearing to teleport once more.

Once I trotted a little way to arrive at the correct destination I entered into his realm. It wasn't hard, as he left it practically wide open. Upon entering I found Shade simply sitting upon his throne with a blank stare. He had not changed in the least bit from what I recalled. He perked up enough only to take note of my presence. Since he said nothing I spoke first. "Shade, I need your help."

"Mhm, and who are you that I should render it?"

"Aqua. Are you willing to help me?" The only one so far to believe me, his face instantly recognised the name. His tone suddenly shifted.

"I've had mountains of problems because of you and that Galaxia pony." He arose, anger evident. "How dare you return after what you have done!"

"Hold your peace! I didn't come here to fight. I came here for help."

"Why am I to believe that when in times past you fought with wasted purpose?"

"For one I have neither weapons nor armour. Secondly, as you can tell by looking at me, a lot has changed over the last, apparently, eleven years. Are you willing to help me?"

"I have no reason to lift a hoof at you, nonetheless with you. Begone and return not." He waved me off and returned to his thoughtless state. I tried addressing him again several times but received no answer. Seeing this, I knew I had no reason to remain. Thusly I left. Now I was forced to face Storm alone. He would probably attack me on sight. My scales protected my body a little better than my hide had but I still needed armour, as I discovered while fleeing from him. The problem here was that my armour was still in the house, leaving me with one of two options. The first was to fight him and hope I gained supremacy. The second was to shift forms and hope he realised the connection. The problem with this last option was that I was not sure I still could even manage such. With my new characteristics I knew not what would occur. Nevertheless I was still eager to try.

My journey to the Everfree Forest took about half a day's time from where I had been. Once inside I found my rudimentary shelter that had housed me for so many years. I then trotted to a nearby pond, for I always found my thoughts to be a little clearer on the water's edge. The first glance in the water revealed a little black collar around my neck; I still had the token of my captivity to Duke. I removed it and threw it back towards my shed. It didn’t matter much to me at this point, but I would later use it to fuel my vengeance for that wretched pony that had held me bound for so long. When all was done I returned to the pond I was at before. Sitting down close to the water I began thinking deeply, searching my memories. They were exponentially clearer now that I had the pearl in my possession. What I needed to find specifically was anytime in the past where transformation had occurred. Right before the battle with Shade is where I found the first example. Holding on to that feeling I remember, I started to use magic as I had before. I soon began to transform. It didn't take too terribly long to change completely. Once the feeling faded I leaned over the water's edge and looked within. It certainly caught me off guard, what I saw. The sapphire blue scales, soft as they were, were now replaced by bronze or amber scales. I felt them, finding them to be extremely tough. A strike or two from my claws revealed that they were, indeed, durable. That was something else that was strange to me; when I looked down at what would have been my hooves I saw they more closely resembled the paws of a dragon, fitted with vicious claws. Looking again into the water I saw horns curving backwards in a wave-like shape adorning my head now. I opened my mouth, revealing a set of sharp fangs capable of rending creatures apart. Closing my mouth again I noticed a ridge of horn-like material that now covered the peak of my muzzle and ran back along the top of my face to connect with the horns. Again curious of the fangs I reopened my mouth. This time, while looking at the fangs, I noticed two small holes in the roof of my mouth near the back, but a touch before, the throat. I closed my mouth and looked back at my body. Spines now lined the length of my back all the way down to the tip of my tail. Looking back into the water I finally noted the distinct draconic appearance my face now held. Whereas it was still equine it had the corners and features of a dragon's head. All in all I resembled a dragon. I still had some resemblance of a pony, but just slightly. This wasn't going to help convince Storm at all. The task before me seemed to get more daunting with each passing moment. I returned to the shack, although I sat outside because I did not fit, and slept, as night had descended upon me at this point.

After I awoke I changed back to my smaller form and returned to Ponyville. I was now prepared to face Storm, the stallion I used to call my own. As the morning broke he emerged from the house. He didn't quite seem to notice me, so I helped him. "Storm!"

He looked over and, upon noticing me, began charging in with rage. I transformed just in time for him to arrive with an impact that would have sent me sprawling. The force that would have brought me to the ground simply bounced him back off of my solid frame. When he arose he galloped back into the house to retrieve his sword. I waited patiently, here to prove a point. He came back out, sword trailing, and began charging once more. I simply laid down to protect my softer belly. "Kill me if you must. It will not change what happened."

As he was charging he shifted and jumped, throwing all of his force and weight into his swing. It was a mighty blow, a full hefty swing that I had braced for. I felt the strong bludgeoning impact but there was no bite from the blade itself. I was a touch confused and looked back. My hardened scales were, as I had just discovered, like unto steel. I turned back to him, seeing probably the selfsame confused expression that I wore currently. He tried another blow, finding the same result. He backed up after that, trying to analyse me, perhaps to find some kind of weakness. I stood and faced him. "Storm, you're blinded by sorrow and wrath. Let the past go and look to the present."

"Aqua is gone! Can't you see that?"

"Aqua is here, can you not see that?"

"There is nothing to see but a mongrel, imposter and thief!" I sighed.

"Strike me if you wish. There seems to be no convincing you." I raised my right foreleg, giving him a clear shot at my softer underbelly. He began charging, intent on my absolute and sure destruction. At the last moment I snapped and struck his blade down with my leg. I then head butted him square in the crown of his forehead. The hardened ridge on my muzzle and scalp prevented any harm to me while, at the same time, more harm to him. He staggered backwards, dropping the sword and holding his head before ultimately falling to a sit. He could not react in any other manner than reeling from the pain. I stood like a mountain over top of him, casting my shadow upon him. In a mix of anguish, fury and abandon I spoke, barely keeping my voice from cracking. "This is over, Storm. The pearl will be yours once more. I shall depart for my shack in the Everfree and wait there. One of two things will happen: you will accept what fate has given you or you continue as you have, crying over the past as you watch reality slip away. The pearl's energy will fade as I slip from this world, eventually fading to nothingness. Either you come retrieve me or I will teach you that I had returned only to die as alone as when I came into this life, the selfsame location and all. I have nothing else now. Nowhere to go, nopony to turn to, no family to find me, nothing!"

With that, and choking back a tear, I transformed back, took the pearl from my chest and threw it at him. It bounced off of his bleeding forehead. "I don't need this and neither will you. Enjoy your ignorant solitude while the mare of your life willingly trots into death's embrace, since your embrace is obviously lacking."

I turned and left, heading for the Everfree Forest once more. Even if it killed me, and it probably would, I was going to hold true to my word. I soon found myself at that same small shack as before. I fit within its walls this time, albeit barely. I was curled up tightly, listening to the noises without. My mind began to wander passively after a while, then actively as more time passed, through the darkened avenues of my memories. I myself was an orphaned crossbreed of dragon and equine, now sitting in the midst of an almost perpetually dark forest with the periphery nowhere nearby. I had been sent through battle after countless battle, received wound after innumerable wound. Near-death experiences were a normality as were tragedies. My life itself was one big current of pain but I had put it to use, made something from it. I learned ways to try and help others avoid the kind of life I had. Just as the abyss stares back, however, so too had my lifestyle changed me. My constant struggle with demons, horrors and monstrosities had formed me into one of them. Then I fought Shade and suddenly lost everything. I now had no purpose, little direction and just as few reasons to hope. I had been enslaved and both treated as and sold like an object, a mere possession. A murderer's fate tried to end me after the justifiable case of protection. Just as before my life was once more a string of tragic events stretching beyond anypony's perception. Now, with neither family nor friends, I could think of only one last place I could turn. Due to circumstances, unfortunately, I would not be going, so as to keep my word. I would not be able to see my Order again, the order I had saved and reforged into a legend.

I'm not sure how much time had passed away in my string of thoughts but it was getting miserable to be where I was. Hunger and thirst hammered away as headaches from malnutrition came and left. It was beginning to feel as if the sooner it ended the happier I would be. After a while of dawdling about in such dark thoughts I was pulled back to my miserable reality by the voice of a mare. I didn't pay much heed to it, as it wasn't Storm. Galaxia eventually came into view outside the tiny structure. She approached once she got to see inside. "There you are, Aqua. You're much harder to find without your pearl. What are you doing here?"

I didn't budge in the least. I didn't feel like expending the effort to do so. "You must arise, Aqua."

I merely flicked my ear this time, as if waving her away. She must not have understood it, as she remained standing there. "This is not the time to give in, Aqua. Arise!"

"What's the use? There's nothing for me anymore."

"There's help waiting for you."

"Why should I believe that when you yourself said you wouldn't help me?"

"I think all of us were still recovering from the thought of losing you."

"So you abandoned the one you feared losing? Great plan."

"I just simply couldn't believe that it could have been you."

"Even though I convinced you of such?"

"Even I was blinded by emotion."

"Say I chose to live. What good would it do?"

"The world needs ponies like you, Aqua. I need you."

"So then what? I'm just a simple errand mare? 'Go save XYZ group to keep balance'?"

"No, you're not."

"Then I'm a puppet."

"No, you're not."

"Then what am I? It's not like I even have family anymore."

"You and I both know that's not true."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Then how do you explain Storm's reaction?"

"He too was blinded by his emotions."

"So he tried to kill me?"

"Well..."

"I mean, if that doesn't scream 'nopony wants you' I don't know what would."

"That's not true, Aqua. We do need you."

"Do you now?"

"Yes. If a pony such as myself needs you-"

"A mere acquaintance. And if family doesn't-?"

"Then we convince them. We show them your importance." I let out the weakest laugh I have ever heard.

"With my current condition trying that will accomplish nothing."

"Ah, but you can always try."

"I have a promise to fulfil. Until Storm comes I'm not going to move."

"So you want to just throw it all away?"

"If that's what it takes to prove my point then why not?"

"You're ridiculous." With that she began leaving, turning back to make a few last remarks. "Storm will come."

"Don't bet anything on it."

"We'll see about that." Following her remarks she vanished. I was left alone once more, only able to detect the occasional sound from outside and the pains of my condition. As promised, though, I did not budge an inch.

I'm not sure how much time had elapsed in thought. All I knew was that an overwhelming drowsiness was taking hold. All I wanted to do at this point was fall asleep. My eyes began to feel heavy. At that moment I saw a familiar grey pony galloping up. It was getting harder and harder to stay awake and focused. I faintly understood him when he spoke, and what I recall I understood from his words was "I'm not losing you again."

He picked me up with the help of Galaxia. They then began galloping as quickly as they could. As the forested surrounding passed by me, overwhelming drowsiness overtook me. I fell deeply into slumber.

Despite that feeling, in what felt like a blinks worth of time I awoke. I knew not where I was simply because my eyes would not focus. I was gazing about the light room, hoping to gain some sense of direction. All I could tell was I felt both numb and hypersensitive simultaneously. I turned to my memory in some kind of hope of finding an answer while I waited for the world to become clear. The past seemed so far away now it was hard to determine whether it had happened or if it was all an extravagant dream. In my disorientation I felt an underlying fear building simply from the fact that I could not obtain a knowledge of where I was. As I was coming to, and roughly the time I felt capable of bolting for the exit, the door opened. Storm came in, quelling part of my fear but replacing it with a deep bitterness. He trotted over. "You're finally awake!"

"Where am I?" I didn't acknowledge his remark.

"The hospital."

"Why did you bring me here?"

"You were dying, Aqua...you had flat lined for a while." His tone was sorrowful and pensive, but I gave no quarter.

"What made you suddenly care?" My tone certainly rang harsh, if even a little harsher than desired. I could see it hit Storm hard.

"Galaxia had a little 'talk' with me."

"And...?" Storm was reaching into his saddlebag.

"I believe this is yours." From thence he drew out the white pearl. Some of the bitter rage died down, turned into joy. Not all of it, just some. I almost didn't feel like reaching for it but eventually decided to do so. I placed the pearl back into my chest, where it yearned to be. "If you don't mind me asking, Aqua, what happened over these past eleven years?"

"Can it not wait until I've recovered more and we're back home?"

"Yeah."

"Good. I want to get some rest finally." He seemed concerned about my comment but I didn't pay attention or bother to answer it yet. I simply sat in silence until I fell back asleep.

Time passed rather uneventfully in that little room. By the time they let me go I was itching to bust out of there myself. Once Storm and I returned home we got around to repairing the damages. Only after all of this did we rest long enough for me to relate my entire story to him. Well, almost the entire thing. I left out certain details in order to not overwhelm him. Even after the first part of the story I could tell his soul was much afflicted by his initial rejection of me. Nevertheless he would not permit me to stop until I had told him all that I was willing to. Once the story was done I cheered him again, but I could tell it would only be a momentary lift. I decided afterwards to visit the Order, being alive now as I was. I decided it would be best for me to venture by hoof. There's a certain joy I get in simply hiking off to far off places. At times it can be difficult and dangerous but that is wherein the thrill lies. As such I packed two saddlebags with supplies for my trek and set out.

A few days’ time elapsed whilst hiking. The sanctuary was now within sight. It had not changed one bit since last I was within its gates. I approached the closed gate and saw three ponies atop the wall. As I neared I could now discern that they had bows, drawn and ready. This was the main gate that I was standing at, after all. There was a side one that led to the little combat school I had originally attended, but that is not important. What was important was the possibility of being shot by arrows simply for having trotted up to the main gate. I stopped after seeing the bows drawn. One of the guards spoke. "State your business!"

It seemed a little odd to me how this was set up, considering I had never had ponies guarding the gates as fiercely when I was the Guild Master. I spoke to them to see if perhaps I could persuade them to not shoot me, first of all, and, secondly, to gain entry. "I have returned to direct this Order once more."

"We do not recognise you, stranger. I repeat: state your business."

"It is I, Aqua. It has been a long time since I have been here. Has Ajiin been well?"

"That information is confidential." I'm sure a look shot across my face that read 'are you serious?'. I looked up at them again, awaiting their next words. They were caught in a discussion currently. When they turned back around the first guard spoke again. "You do not resemble our previous Guild Master. You have one more chance before we open fire. State your business!"

Fed up with how this discussion was going I muttered, more to myself than anypony else "I don't have time for this."

I cast a teleportation spell through my pearl, landing myself atop the wall. In a flash I stood behind the archers. A tail swipe sent one down the nearby stairs. Continuing the circuit I bucked the next over the wall, hoping he'd be alright when he hit the ground. The third had turned around by now. I kicked his bow aside and his grip slipped, launching the drawn arrow far away off to the side. Another kick in rapid succession nailed him in the snout. He fell, covering it. It was a simple skirmish that finished as quickly as it had started. Now content on my entry I went down and began approaching the Main Hall. I was near the sanctuary of that grand building when I heard a bow twang. As I turned to the sound, pain shot up my left front leg. I looked down to see a barbed arrow with a line. Following the cord traced the ownership back to one of those three guards I had fought. He yanked on the line, hoping to force me off balance. Each tug caused another shot of pain. "You're not slipping by that easily!"

"I highly suggest you rethink your actions."

"You will not endanger the Order!" In an action fuelled by ferocity which I found in myself frequently I tore my leg away near-savagely. The unexpected force caused the pony to be tossed forwards, losing his grip. I began trotting away, aiming to enter the Main Hall. As I arrived at the steps, and after starting my way up, I felt the line tugging once more. Ignoring him and toughing through the pain, I resolutely placed one hoof in front of the other. I could tell he was trying his best to halt me, but I was not about to let that happen. I opened the doors as best I could and went inside. There were armoured guards nearby, two by the door to be specific. They simply watched my entrance, more likely confused than anything else, until they saw the whole situation. I heard swords draw and armour shift and clank as they began moving. They were kiting me, coming around front to block my path. As such I tried to pick up the pace. This was when the arrow, slipping backwards with each step prior, finally tore free. Immense agony caused my leg to seize up and a grunted gasp to emit from my throat. As best I could I continued forwards, limping with purpose. I could see Ajiin, dressed in a white robe with a cowl that covered his head, standing at the top of a few steps that lead to a seat in the middle of the room. I disregarded the bleeding divot in my leg that the arrow had left; I was bound determined to get to Ajiin. As I drew close the guards positioned themselves between myself and him, forming a wall of steel with swords pointed directly at me. They then parted upon command from Ajiin, who stepped between them. It was also easy to see how much smaller he was than those massive stallions bearing the plate armour. "My, my. That was quite the demonstration of determination. Tell me, where do you hail from?"

"It’s me, Ajiin. It's Aqua."

"That same blue mare that led this order eleven years ago?"

"'Tis I." He pulled back the hood of his cloak, almost as if in disbelief before speaking again. "You don't exactly look the part. You sound the part, but, then again, anypony can sound like anypony they like. How would I know if it was you or not?"

Suddenly there was a poof of smoke, the robes falling to the ground unoccupied. "I can answer questions to show you."

His voice came from the very air around my head. "Perhaps you followed her, watched her life from the shadows."

"I can orate tales of occurrence."

"Perhaps you simply read up on her, know of her doings."

"We can continue talking."

"Perhaps you have studied her mannerisms."

"I can use magic to demonstrate." He reappeared on the right side, trotting in and poking the stump of my horn while giving a little playful jump before disappearing again.

"Now wouldn't that be something? A sourceless unicorn casting spells? Why, that's just unheard of."

"Then perhaps you should see this." I lifted the soft scales of my chest to show him the little white pearl. He reappeared and snatched it, quickly jumping back when I tried to swipe it back from him. I went to move towards him, to follow his retreat, only to be blocked by the armoured ponies. "Hey! Give that back!"

"Eh, it's simply a stone." His manner with the pearl was not careful at all.

"Be careful with that!"

"It's a mere jewel. You sound like it's important to you. No matter. There are likely hundreds of thousands out there just like it."

"No, not this one. This one is very special."

"Ah, so it holds sentimental value."

"It's a lot more than just sentimental value."

"So it holds more importance than a mere gem. That would be an intriguing find to know why." He began tossing it up and catching it when it came back down. My heart nearly failed me in that moment.

"It holds more importance than you could possibly imagine." He chuckled playfully.

"Like what?"

"A soul, specifically mine." He caught it again and stopped. He looked over to me and trotted towards me. His tone was suddenly somber.

"How do you know?"

"That's my soul you've been tossing around, Ajiin."

"Could it really be you?" He got pretty close and began looking me over. "Stature's the same, eye colour too, but..."

"Different, yes, I realise. I have also lost my wings now as well. My scales are certainly something new, something to behold." That last phrase kind of shocked me, as if I was talking with the ego of a dragon.

"Fangs, eyes slitted...are you perhaps...?"

"A crossbreed? Yes."

"Fascinating. But still, after so long...is it true?" It almost seemed like he had a suppressed joy hidden behind his dark countenance. Disbelief still held him firmly.

"Indeed it is. I have returned-"

"from the lair of Death itself..."

"Basically."

"Wait, your leg!" I had forgotten about it as best one could forget a physical injury when their soul is in jeopardy.

"It'll be fine. A simple wrapping is enough."

"No. With my last moments as Guild Master I order it to be treated thoroughly."

"...fine." All I could do was entertain his request. It didn't take long for the medical staff in the Sanctuary to mend it. I just felt drowsy and a touch disoriented was all. I ate provisions and rested for a short while, as were his demands. I also opted to do so hoping that I would recover from what, more likely than not, was a loss of a large portion of blood. I then returned from the infirmary to the Main Hall to resume the task of leading the Order. One by one things were falling back into their proper place and it was making me feel a lot better about things. The next item on the list of things to do was to return home and reforge my armour to fit my newly mutated larger form.

After packing supplies and getting the Order back in order I gave them an order. They were to find those who had lost their courage during my absence, members of the Order who had fled when I went missing or at other times when they could not handle it any longer. Once found they were to be brought back in with the news of my return. After commissioning my fellow guildmates as such I departed for home once more. On my journeying home I let myself become lost in thought. There wasn’t a whole lot that my mind focused on; it more meandered through the alleyways of my memories.

When I returned through the door of my house the first thing Storm noticed was the bindings on my leg. He immediately came over to unwrap it and begin treating the wound magically. I reassured him that I was fine, that the medics in the Sanctuary were more than capable of tending a wound and that he needn't worry. He seemed hesitant but let the issue go. I then began to transform and, having done so I asked Storm to measure me exactly. The measurements needed to be of the utmost precision and of every inch of my body. He obliged, though perhaps he didn’t quite know what he was getting himself into.

As exasperated and tired as he had become after the sixth set of measurements I believe he saw the reason behind it all. It was only after the measuring was complete and I had every last dimension possible of my body mapped that I could see the dramatic difference between then and now. Regardless of whatever condition my old armour might have been in it was clear that a complete overhaul was necessary. I was far too large for the old set and needed to improve several things to begin with.

The whole process of the reforge itself took several days of concerted effort to finish. Once done, however, I knew I might very well be unstoppable. In this form I had this armour that was tougher than any conventional weaponry as a first layer. Underneath this were scales tougher than steel. I redesigned the frame and design of the actual armour, making it appear fierce and intimidating. I kept all of the old systems, tweaking where it was necessary. The responsive hydraulics from before, of course, remained but were improved upon. As powerful as I was now my strength still was not yet sufficient to fight, nonetheless siege, without aid or risk of fatigue. The idea behind this armour was to avoid emergency situations if possible. If this was unfeasible it was designed to meet them head on.

Once I completed the armour I equipped it onto my draconic body. A look in a nearby mirror showed a figure more than capable of inducing fear into the hearts of anypony that stood in my way. An armoured dragon. This will do nicely. I prepared a few more supplies in my saddlebags and resolved to set out. Storm was concerned with my idea at first but I managed to convince him. With the resilience I now had there were two places for me to go. The one was that more-than-affluent little unmapped town in the north. The other was that miserable port town filled with wretched slavers. For such I set my heading, and for such my vengeance and righteous fury was now directed.

Next Chapter: 3. Vindictive Purges Estimated time remaining: 5 Hours, 51 Minutes