The bat ponies stayed up late searching for food to add to their bounty of Pauper’s Lunch mushrooms. I had to make sure they were cognizant of the hazards and remained nearby, but in the end, they had acquired a good amount of supplies. I mostly used Rainy Day for this, simply gifting the filly the knowledge needed before sending her off.

Her parents were a little worried, but in the end, the filly was dead and unaffected by poisons or toxins. So it was that she led the way through my domain, pointing out obstacles and what fruit I knew of already. Thankfully this information was supplemented by Burning Beaker who seemed to know far more than she let on.

Sure she knew about what was good to eat, but she also remembered the name of many poisonous or magical plants. All of which, I realized, had mutagenic properties, or could be altered to gain these characteristics with little effort. It was obvious that no one else had the training necessary to know this, so her secret was safe, or so she thought.

I chose not to bring it up at the moment, however, as we had bigger concerns at the moment. That and I simply didn't wish to ruffle any feathers, not when I was making positive inroads with the bat ponies. Who had more or less warmed up to me by this point, or at least as much as one could warm up to a giant necromantic tree.

They weren't guarded, so I was counting that as a win, Rainy Day, however, was adopted by the group. The filly went from a curiosity and a source of fear to a beloved mascot or something close to one anyway. I encouraged this and stayed far away from her for that first night, merely allowing her to be a kid again.

Her parents remained slightly distant but again, that melted away as the sun set and the moon reluctantly replaced it in the sky. The others were not quite so easy to read, like Stalwart, though I did catch her staring at me with a contemplative look, I didn't know if that was a good thing, however.

Crossed Swords was quiet for the majority of the time, but when he did speak he seemed to only be half paying attention. Distant, and unfocused, he seemed to be contemplating something and not giving the conversation much mind. Unlike Burning Beaker who was intensely fascinated by me and almost everything that called my grove home.

She also seemed annoyed that she would be returning home soon and showed great interest in remaining behind. Stalwart was determined to be the only one to stay, however, no matter my opinion on the matter. Not like I minded, she may be gruff, and irritable, but she was company, and I wasn't about to turn her away.

Her presence here would help build trust, even if she grated on everyone’s nerves almost constantly.

Most notably Crooked Coin, who Stalwart insulted, or otherwise put down as often as she could muster. Thankfully a sharp rebuke from Crossed Swords was enough to shut that down for the remainder of the night. It would start again in the morning, but for the moment there was no longer any arguing amongst the group. Crooked Coin rather enjoyed herself, even if she was winded easily, and required more breaks than most. It was nice to see the mare work, as she clearly liked the simple, repetitive tasks given to her.

Fly Wheel was perhaps the easiest and at the same time, most difficult to read of the bunch. He wore his heart on his sleeve, but also rarely spoke to anyone save for Crossed Swords. Who he lingered near almost constantly, either for protection or out of some other desire I couldn't be certain. Either way Crossed Swords kept a certain distance between them, for whatever personal reason that may be.

I mostly kept to myself while they worked, assisting wherever needed, and generally looking after them without getting overly involved. I made the excuse that I was watching for more patrols, but I hadn't seen any in some time by that point. Rather I was keeping a closer eye on the underground, while also encouraging small creatures to make my grove their home.

This was hard, but I had already enticed a few groups to move into the area already so I was certain it could work. I also told myself that I would only take those that died of natural causes from here on out. Animals perished all the time, and I really only needed them to reinforce my spy network and improve my visibility of the area.

Two things that I could use, but not overly so, as I at least had a good number of insects to replace them. Unlike animals, insects perished in droves, with some having life spans in the hours, rather than the years. Their tiny eyes had created a loose surveillance system focused on monitoring the edge of my territory, and that was enough for now.

With the moon reaching its zenith, the ponies turned in, laying down in specially grown beds of moss I set aside for them. They seemed to enjoy these resting spots and soon drifted off to sleep, all save for the couple, who spoke with their child at length. Eventually, even they required sleep and reluctantly parted, with Rainy Day leaving them behind.

The filly glumly walked over to me, unbothered by the undead dragon I had coiled around me. She didn't even hesitate to hop up and into the small nook that I had been using to store her up until that point. Only once she had begun to relax did she seem willing to talk, laying her chin on the edge of the hole and peering out.

“I won't grow up or anything, will I?” she whispered.

“You will not physically age, but you will mentally do so,” I replied, using a softer version of the dragon’s voice created by the ventriloquist spell. “You should not worry about this too much. I’m sure in time we will find a way to make you appear older if you wish it.”

Rainy Day seemed to think of this for a moment before sighing. “Mom and dad were sad that I wouldn't get bigger, but it didn't really bother me. I just don't like seeing them frown.”

“You’ll change your mind as you get older,” I reasoned.

“Maybe,” Rainy Day admitted.

“Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?” I inquired.

“Um kind of,” she murmured. “But it's sorta weird.”

“Go on. It's just us now,” I encouraged.

“What uh… what are we?” The filly tapped her forehooves together. “I know you’re not my mom or dad, but like, I can feel you inside of me and-”

“Can we stop saying it like that,” I interrupted. “People are going to start getting weird ideas.”

“Uh okay,” she agreed, clearly not understanding. “So anyway. We are connected and stuff, but like. We aren't related or anything. You're a tree. Don't get me wrong, you're a cool tree but still a tree.”

“Just call me… Uncle Xathrid,” I offered after a moment of thought. “Others may think that I am your master or something along those lines, but I don't want you to feel that way. Our relationship is not one of slave and owner, but just… friends who help each other.”

Rainy Day was quiet for a long time, her forehooves dangling out of the hole while she frowned. Then, after a long time spent staring off into the distance, she nodded to herself, her mind seemingly made up.

“Okay Uncle Xathrid,” Rainy Day declared. “Can I still go live with mommy and daddy right away?”

“Let's hold back a bit on that one,” I warned. “Not everyone is going to be as accepting as your parents and I don't want you to get hurt.”

The filly seemed conflicted, with one part of her wanting to rebuke me while the other agreed with me. I knew this was a conversation she had with her own parents, who were similarly divided on this topic. With me offering an outside opinion, I had weighed the scales in my favor, and sure enough, Rainy Day curled up inside the hallow.

“Okay,” she whispered.

“You’ll be able to go back soon,” I exclaimed. “I promise.”

“Kay,” she repeated before closing her eyes.

I knew the undead didn't truly need to sleep, which was why I was so surprised when Rainy Day did just that. Sure enough, I could still feel her mind within my network, but it was muted and distant, yet oddly familiar. I quickly reasoned that she had entered the same trancelike state that I went into when I was conserving energy. How she had done this without trying was unknown to me, but it wasn't too far-fetched to imagine she simply picked it up without thinking.

Either way, I joined her soon after, even if I had enough reserves to last me several weeks at this point. It was a nice change of pace, and it gave whatever thinking organ I had a chance to relax after all that emotional labor I had done. As I rested, time passed quickly, with the sun rising in what felt like minutes, though in reality, it had been hours.

The ponies would have been roused by the bright morning rays, had they not been covered by a nearby tree. Who had grown out one of their branches extra long just to keep the small group in shade until almost noon. I silently thanked the tree in question and sent over a small amount of nutrients, a notion it seemed to appreciate. I was also beginning to feel out the sex of various trees, though notions of gender and the like were lost on my leafy neighbors.

When my company did begin to rise they did so slowly, and lethargically, struggling to get out of their moss beds. They seemed satisfied, and rested, so much so that they struggled to wake up fully. Even the ever grumpy Stalwart had nothing mean to say and merely sat there, smacking her lips while looking around.

“Wake up,” I whispered into the hollow near the base of my trunk. “Rainy Day, wake up.”

The pony groaned and flopped her top half outside of my trunk. “Augh do I have to? I was having such a good dream.”

“Dream?” I pushed that thought away for the moment. “Nevermind. You need to go help your parents get up and finish their chores. They’ll want to return to the castle as soon as possible.”

“I can at least travel back with them, right?” she asked.

“Yes, of course,” I answered.

“Okay, good,” she murmured.

The filly then hopped down and began to trot over to her family, joining the pair as they lethargically trundled over to the pond. Soon enough they had filled their bellies and were back at it again, or at least most of them were. Crooked Coin, Burning Beaker, and Crossed Swords approached me, while the others milled about the area.

“Hey uh, Xathrid,” Crossed Swords greeted. “I just wanted to let you know that these two were going to check a little further into the cave. Coin here noticed that there might be a vein of precious metals near the back and wanted to check it out.”

“If that's alright with you, of course,” Crooked Coin exclaimed.

Inhabiting my draconic servant, I raised my head and nodded. “Of course. If there is something, I would be open to taking a cut of the profits, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

“Yes. For now, let's just find out if something is there at all,” Crossed Swords offered.

“Fair enough. Go ahead,” I offered, arm extended. “It should be safe. I didn't detect anything in there but I also don't have enough animals to watch it as well.”

“Oh wonderful,” Beaker exclaimed. “If this is what you say it is then it will help our situation significantly.”

“Let us hope so,” Crooked Coin declared.

Together the two mares trotted off into the cave, neither requiring a torch to see in the dark. Which was nice, because I had grown quite adverse to fire at this point, so much so that the thought made me feel unpleasant.

“So,” I began, glancing down at Crossed Swords. “You have been distant.”

“I have,” Crossed Swords agreed somewhat reluctantly. “I’ve had a lot on my mind recently.”

“A penny for your thoughts,” I offered.

The stallion’s jaw clenched, and for a moment I thought he was going to rebuke me for prying. Then he sighed, and his shoulders fell slack as anxiety bled off his body in a great wave.

“My husband,” he whispered. “That bastard ate him.”

“Oh I’m so sorry, this must be terribly uncomfortable for you. Allow me to find something else to speak through,” I offered, quickly pulling the dragon skeleton away.

“No. It's fine,” Crossed Swords interrupted. “Call me morbid, but it's kinda nice to be reminded that the sun-cursed monster that killed my stallion died horribly.”

I remained quiet, giving the stallion time to recover and think of what to say.

“He always made sure to spit up the bones of his victims,” Crossed Swords continued. “Kept them as grim trophies in the corner of the throne room as you might have already seen.”

“I did, yes,” I admitted.

“Well, I was thinking… I know he's gone, and that he wouldn't want to be one of your puppets, no offense, but I think he’d still want to say goodbye,” Crossed Swords finally stated.

I thought about it for a moment before nodding. “I could give you that, though I would need the remains to be placed near me. Raising something that far away is possible, but would drain me considerably more than if they were close by.”

“I’ll talk to the others who lost someone,” Crossed Swords stated, the stallion tapping his chin. “There are some who wouldn't mind joining your little army provided that doing so helped the living, but at the bare minimum we could all get a bit of closure.”

“That sounds-” I paused, my dragon’s head-turning towards the cave entrance. “What is that?”

A scream came spilling from the cave, and I immediately cursed my lack of foresight. I had assumed that my ability to detect any rumblings from further in would be enough, but that was clearly not the case. My mind immediately formulated a plan, summoning forth what few creatures were small enough to enter the mines.

“That sounded like Fly Wheel,” Crossed Swords declared. “I’m going in.”

“Stay behind my servants, use them as shields,” I offered.

“Right,” Crossed Swords muttered.

By then I had gathered a small number of mice, some lizards, and a couple of rather large toads. This motley assortment of undead charged into the cave, making a beeline for the back and pausing only briefly. Using the toad’s cavernous mouth, I grabbed a heatseeker mushroom before continuing on.

Rounding a narrow bend, I found Crooked Coin, and Fly engaged in a desperate melee with what looked like bipedal dogs. Though armed only with knives and a club, the strange, ape-like canines were attempting to pull the ponies deeper into the mines. An act which was resisted fiercely, with Crooked Coin hanging on to a stalactite while Fly Wheel screamed and thrashed like a demon.

The demure stallion fought like he was possessed, biting, kicking, all while yelling incoherently at the top of his lungs. He was losing but was literally taking chunks out of his attackers on top of slowing them down.

“Make it shut up already,” hissed one of them.

“I’m trying, I’m trying!” yelled another.

“Come on fat pony. Let go! We have sweets!” added a third.

“Look, more ponies, and… little animals?” pointed out the first one.

Their confusion was short-lived, as it quickly morphed into terror when the first mouse buried its sharp teeth into the closest dog creature. Who was a rather short, poorly clothed, rotund fellow that had been attempting to drag Crooked Coin away. Upon getting a chunk bitten out of his foot, the dog creature cried out in pain and released his grip on the thestral.

Who quickly sprinted away with tears in her eyes, the pony not looking back for even a second. I soon overwhelmed this first dog thing with rodents of various sizes, each one of whom bit or clawed at their foe. The dog tried to stab the creatures, and though he hit his target, the lizard was undead and didn't mind having a piece of metal jammed in its ribs.

“Get it off, get it off!” cried the dog.

“Get up, Rover. Don't you see there is another pony. If we capture this one too we can all go free!” shouted the tallest, and most angular out of the three.

“Come on, stop fighting. We just want to take you back to our- ow!” cried the one with the broadest set of shoulders. “It bit my pinky off!”

“That's it, no more mister nice dog,” muttered the tall one.

I saw what was coming relatively quickly, but there was little I could do to stop it. Crossed Swords had just knocked out the short, fat dog and was distracted for the moment. Leaving me with nothing to do but watch as the tall dog grabbed its dagger, and then Fly Wheel. In a swift movement, it placed the weapon to the pony’s throat and stood tall.

“Call off your freaky little animals or this one gets it,” he barked.

“But Spot, they won't let us go free if they are dead,” whispered the strongest of the trio.

“Shut up. I know that!” yelled the other dog.

“What are you talking about, going free? You're the slavers here,” Crossed Swords shouted.

“We are not!” screeched Spot, who tugged at the thick iron collar bearing a sun emblem he and the others all wore. “The vile sun enslaved our clan, and forces us to dig! But if we catch one of these leather ponies we get to go free!”

“I am a thestral, not a leather pony!” Fly Wheel yelled.

“I don't care what- ow!” Spot released his hold on Fly Wheel, blood flowing out of the twin holes in his forearm. “Quick catch it!”

“No time, we gotta go!” the other dog yelled.

“Surrender now and we’ll spare you!” Crossed Swords shouted.

I didn't wait for a response, and charged after them with my army of small animals, Crossed Swords close behind. Unfortunately for us, the dogs were simply too fast, the creatures naturally well adapted to moving through the winding tunnels. Their loping, awkward gait gave them a weird advantage down here, allowing them to put a lot of distance between us in a short time.

Still, I was determined to keep up the chase, hoping to catch them after they grew tired. The blood trail was easy to follow after all, so it wasn't like I was about to lose them anytime soon.

“Were through, collapse it!” shouted Spot.

A second later and I heard a distant rumble that shook the earth. Crossed Swords paused where he stood, but I continued around the bend, where I beheld a collapsed section of the tunnel. The pair had escaped and though I could clear it, by the time I did, they’d likely be long gone.

“Dammit,” Crossed Swords muttered. “What now?”

I didn't respond verbally, merely hopping my way back to the unconscious dog left behind by his peers. By the time I got there, Rainy Days stood over him, with Fly Wheel resting nearby, the bat pony breathing heavily. I used our connection to quickly fill Rainy in on what had happened, resulting in the filly becoming nervous, but still doing her best to act brave.

Crossed Swords appeared a moment later and placed a hoof over the downed dog’s mouth. “Ahh, good, he's still breathing. I was worrying that I may have hit him too hard. What now?”

Rainy Day frowned. “Now we get some answers.”

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