PyraohXBlaze - Lol darn right it does :P So many questions, but will there be answers...?

DragonLovingBrony - Lol read on and find out the answer to one or both of these questions!

PBJFanFiction - That sounds awesome! You'd be surprised what you'd be willing to do to make someone you love happy...

PSYCOPATH - That might just be all the coffee ;) Because it's fun to see what ideas you guys and gals have for what's going to happen next! I'd love to go prospecting some day, it always seemed like something that'd be fun to me. (Lol I know, I'm weird)

DragonLord RyuKizoku - It may already be too late for that...

xel101 - What indeed...

treborztruk - Nice! Well, here ya go; one chapter ready for your reading pleasure

Kyguy - O.O Let's hope not...

Mikalzilla - Well, wonder no longer! Now you get to find out just what happened :D

Blazewriter69 - Hmm... perhaps... but then again, perhaps not...

A/N - Howdy Everypony! Here we are again with another installment of A Second Chance. Man, things are really heating up in the Everfree, aren't they? Only eleven reviews this week? Lol looks like you guys are slacking! I was gonna do a double update this week, but if that's all the reviews I get... As always, don't forget to follow/favorite, review, and most importantly; enjoy!

I awoke in the early evening to find a scroll resting upon my bedside stand. I opened the parchment and instantly recognized my lover's handwriting covering a good portion of it. I read the letter thrice over, elated to hear that he was well, though curious of the tribe he had discovered so deep within the forest. I was unsure of how to feel about knowing that he had entered the temple this very morning while I rested, and was perhaps right this instant in mortal peril.

I wreathed the scroll in my magic and left my quarters, heading for the small, private dining hall my sister and I used when not entertaining guests. I nodded to the various guards and servants that I passed along my way as they bowed to me, a practice which I shared my beloved Blake's distaste for. I would never tell one of them so as he would, however, knowing how important mine and my sister's stations were to the ponies of this wonderful land, and knowing that such an action had the potential to disrupt our standing with them; they had to see us as absolute authority figures, and we could not be such if we told our subjects they need not bow before us.

Two of my Night Guards, each flanking the door to the dining hall, bowed to me as I approached, and I returned the gesture with a small bow of my own. I had more respect for my own guard than I did for my sister's; not because they served me, but because of what they sacrificed to do so. A Night Guard needed to be able to remain awake and alert through the entirety of the night, which meant they were forced to adopt a nocturnal lifestyle, no easy feat for a species I had finally come to understand were meant to thrive in the light of my sister's sun. This also meant that any chance they may have had for a family of their own was all but nonexistent, as nopony would desire to be with a companion who would never be there for them.

I suppressed a small sigh at the depressing thoughts, but managed to give each of them a grateful smile for their service and sacrifice. The mare on the right lit her horn as I stopped in front of the ornate doors and wreathed it in her pale green aura, opening it for her princess. I entered the room and the doors quietly closed behind me. I looked to my sister, who was sitting at the relatively small rectangular table. I caught glimpse of the telltale wisp of magic that left her horn, indicating that she had just sent a message to somepony.

She noticed me and a smile graced her beautiful features. "Ah, Luna! Come sister, the chef has truly outdone herself this evening and prepared a wonderful meal."

I approached the table and sat in my throne-like chair, sinking into the comfortable, deep purple cushions. "Sister, may I ask who you sent a message to just now?"

She took a sip of her ever-present tea and smiled at me. "Why, none other than our own Knight-Defender. I sent him a letter a few days ago, and I was a bit harsh with… my… words…" She stopped and gave me a concerned look. "Luna, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."

My jaw worked up and down, but no words came. All I could will myself to do was float the rolled scroll I had received from him over to her and wait wordlessly as she took it from my magic with her own and read the contents of his letter.

I watched as her eyes went wide as she reached the end of the letter, the section that dictated that he would be entering the temple. She rolled the scroll up, placed it on the cherrywood table in front of her, and simply stared at the creamy white parchment. After some time, she looked up to me. "I… I am so sorry Luna, I didn't know he had gotten that far into the forest so soon… I thought he wouldn't even reach the temple until at least tomorrow… What if sending that scroll has doomed him?" Her slippers clattered quietly as they slipped from her hooves, which she began using to rub her temples, a gesture she often used when something weighed heavily on her heart.

I got up from my seat and walked around the table to where she was seated. When I reached her, I placed a hoof around her shoulders. "It was not your fault sister; as you said, you could not have known that he had reached his destination more than a day ahead of schedule. For now, all we can do is wait and have faith in the man that we chose as our Knight-Defender, that he will emerge victorious against whatever odds await him."

My sister glanced at me and smiled. "'Man', Luna? You know he prefers to be referred to with Equestrian vernacular."

I gave my sister a cheeky smile. "I am aware, sister. The word 'stallion' just does not seem to fit him… after all, no stallion in all of Equestria is as… 'well off' as he is…" I nudged my sister playfully as she realized what I meant and a fierce blush covered her face.

"I-I wouldn't know anything about that!"

I nudged her again. "Oh come now sister, a kiss form a mare as comely as we would be more than enough to rouse the passions of any male, man or stallion. I know you felt his… 'passion' when you kissed him, there is no denying it."

My sister hung her head slightly. "I am still ashamed of myself for that Luna..." I could see the smile forming on her lips, even though she wasn't looking at me. "You're right though… I did feel him pressing against my belly as I lay atop him." She let out a small sigh. "I must admit… I am so very jealous of you and the love you've found in our human… there is little I would not give for even a single night of feeling the love you feel for him, and he you."

My mind was abuzz with thoughts and emotions; I loved my sister greatly, a love rivaled only by my love for my fiancé and my passion for my beautiful night. I wished my sister happiness, and I knew I would sacrifice nearly anything to make that wish a reality. Slowly, my erratic thoughts began coalescing into a single, cohesive plan. I was not sure what to think of where my mind had strayed to, but I knew one thing for sure; it was at least worth speaking to him about.

The two of us turned at the sudden sound of the doors to the small kitchen were opened, the castle's head chef trotting out pushing a cart loaded with a variety of food. The mare seemed quite pleased with herself, a smile gracing her slightly chubby face as her immaculate chef's uniform practically shone in the warm light of the dining hall. She was the only pony aside from our human companion and her beloved student that my sister allowed to speak casually, and often went to her for advice on personal matters.

"Bonsoir mon Princesses!" She may have been a middle-aged mare, but she carried the musical voice of a filly half her age, and her face spoke of the mare's massive heart. "I 'ope you 'ave brought your appetites! Tonight, you shall dine as royalty has never dined before!" Her Prench accent was sweet, and only seemed to compliment her jovial nature, which remained unsullied by the pride in her voice.

The mare, who was called Crème Brule if my memory served me, let go of the cart and moved around it, moving dish after dish from cart to table, all the while explaining what each dish was and how she had prepared it. She moved with such fluidity and grace that she seemed to be dancing. I could not help but admire her; she truly loved what she did, and her joy at doing it was hidden to nopony, whereas my sister and I were forced by our stations to hide our true emotions in public.

Crème Brule finished her task with a small flourish, stopping next to her silver cart with a huge smile. "I 'ope mon creation is to your liking, Princesses! Bon appetit!" With another small twirl, she was back behind her cart, pushing it back towards the kitchen with a skip in her step, all the while humming a tune that sounded decidedly Prench.

I looked back to the meal she had laid out for us, and felt my mouth almost instantly water at the selection of salads, pastries, and pastas so elegantly arranged on the table before me. A sudden pang of guilt flashed through my heart as I realized that the chef's display had caused me to forget about my beloved's potential peril, and I found my appetite quickly waning as it was replaced by worry.

Blake

Quickhoof and I were in a pickle; we had wandered around several rooms and had let our guards down by the time we entered the next trapped room. The moment we were both in the room, which appeared to have been an infirmary from what I had been able to see, the doors slammed shut, the two sides of each door's frame literally coming together and crashing into one another rather than simply disappearing like they had when we faced the magical eel creature.

No sooner had we realized we were trapped than some sort of magical portal opened up in the ground, and from that hole, a trio of lanky, humanoid creatures half-climbed, half-slithered up and into the room with us. If my aurasight was to be believed, then the creatures were completely skinless, walking around with bone, muscle and sinew all exposed to the air.

Quickhoof and I took shelter behind a waist-high stone bed, hoping that the creatures would be fooled long enough for us to come up with a plan. I shuddered as I listened to the abominations' wet, slapping footsteps against the hard stone floor, and I could only imagine they were leaving trails of bloody footprints as they went.

I leaned in to Quickhoof and cupped a hand over my mouth to whisper as quietly as I could to him. "Ok, it looks like these things haven't seen us yet, so what we need to do is-" I was cut off as a flash of magic appeared in front of my face and a scroll appeared out of thin air, making my heart stop dead in my chest.

The creatures screamed in unison, a sound that chilled my blood and rattled me to my core. I let the scroll drop to the ground as I used my aurasight to watch the trio drop to all fours and creep towards us with fast, jerky movements. I looked straight into Quickhoof's eyes and uttered a single word. "Move!"

The two of us took off in opposite directions from the far side of the stone bed, each seeking a new refuge from the ghastly creatures, neither one of us wanting to face the horrors they represented out in the open.

Two of the creatures turned and went after Quickhoof, while the remaining one stalked after me. When it got close, it lurched up and switched back to a bipedal stance, long, claw-tipped fingers sliding along the ground with a terrible grating sound that sent chills up and down my spine. I opened a channel in my greaves and drew my gun, regretting having ever holstered it, and waited for the right moment.

A moment went by, and the creature drew up to the bed I was hiding behind, placing a hand on top, letting three of its claws dangle down, just centimeters above me. It lurched around the corner of the bed, only to come face-to-face with the barrel of my readied pistol.

My finger tightened on the trigger and sent a round flying out of the barrel and into the creature's face, causing its head to jerk backwards as a spray of rotted ichor jetted from the back of its skull. The monster slumped to the floor, what I assumed to be blood pooling around its head. I had to resist the urge to vomit as a powerful, retched odor assaulted my nostrils.

I looked up from the corpse lying on the floor and tried to find Quickhoof. He was out of range of my aurasight, but I could hear the commotion coming from somewhere in front of me that told me he was trying to fight the vile monsters. I stepped over the body of the creature I had shot, but froze in place as an icy-cold hand wrapped around my ankle, so cold I could feel it through my armored boot.

I looked down to see the hideous remains of the creature's face scowling up at me, dripping more of the liquid I assumed to be its blood. Whatever the liquid was, it didn't take me long to realize that it was starting to eat through the stone floor, and the reaction was only becoming more violent as time ticked by.

I yanked my leg back in an attempt to free it from the monster's grasp, but even with the enhanced strength my armor granted me, it wouldn't budge. I felt panic rising in my chest as the creature opened its fang-filled maw and jerked my leg closer, and it was clear it meant to take a bite out of me.

In my panic, I brought my gun to bear, aiming for the creature's wrist and sending the last two rounds in the magazine through it before I could even think about a better place to put them. Fortunately, my panicked mind's plan worked, and another yank of my leg freed the thing's hand from its arm, sickly flesh tearing as it came free. The hand however, wouldn't let go, staying clamped to my ankle with an iron grip.

The creature howled at me, a sound that was more of anger than pain, but no less bone-chilling than the first scream it had loosed when the scroll had appeared and alerted them to us. I took a step back from the creature, out of its reach, and my head cleared somewhat. I suddenly realized that I needed to warn Quickhoof about what I had learned about these monsters. "Quickhoof! Watch out for these bastards! They don't go down easy and their blood will eat through you in seconds!"

I heard a scuffle off to my left. "Thanks for the warning!"

I dropped the empty magazine from my gun and pulled the spare from my pocket, slamming it home even as I headed off in the direction of the commotion. I spared a glance back at the monster I had fought to see that its movements were slowing, and it was only able to crawl in a vain attempt to come after me.

I followed the sounds of Quickhoof's skirmish to the other side of the infirmary, hoping I could be of some sort of help to the stallion. I saw that one of the creatures was down, with a rapidly dissolving knife thrust into its skull. The nightmarish creature was twitching erratically, but made no move to attack me as I went by. The other creature came into view a moment later, and from the looks of it, it had a now unarmed Quickhoof backed into a corner. I dropped into a crouch and walked slowly up to the creature, hoping that I could do some more permanent harm to it if I caught it by surprise. My suspicions were confirmed when Quickhoof's crouching form came into view, a defiant scowl plastered on his face even as he stared down his inevitable death.

I moved to the side and managed to catch his attention for just a moment, gesturing him to move to the side, and that I was going to shoot the thing in the head. He didn't respond, eyes instead darting back to the abomination in front of him in a move that I could only guess was meant to keep from alerting it to my presence. I couldn't tell why the creature hadn't simply finished Quickhoof off yet, but I didn't stop to ponder it, instead slowly rising and pointing my gun at the back of the monster's head with one hand while the other reached out to tap on its shoulder.

It lurched around to face me, and as it did so, Quickhoof leapt out from behind it, clearing himself of the blood spray that would have covered and dissolved him. Before the creature even had time to register that I was there, I sent two rounds sailing through its head, stepping to one side with each shot to avoid the spray myself. The monster dropped to the ground and started twitching like its companion that Quickhoof had stabbed.

I could still hear the first monster that I had shot slinking across the ground with wet, disgusting slapping and slurping sounds as it dragged itself across the floor, likely leaving a blood trail that was even now eating its way through said floor. I looked over to Quickhoof to see the panting stallion looking off in the direction the sounds were coming from. "Why is your metal headdress safe from their blood?"

I looked at him quizzically and removed my helmet to inspect it. Sure enough, there were speckles of the monster's blood on the visor, though it didn't seem affected at all. My heart skipped a beat as I realized that my face could very well have been melted off before I even realized that their blood would have been the cause.

I placed my helmet back on and secured it to my head with its chin strap. "I'm not really sure, it could be because the armor's enchanted, or it could be that the acid can't eat through the metal it's made of… if we could get a sample back to Twilight, I'm sure she could tell us."

Quickhoof shook his head. "I will not go near those demons again. Besides, we must still figure out how to leave this place, the pathways are still sealed."

I looked off in the direction of the squelching sounds of the approaching demon. "You wouldn't happen to have any idea why that last one didn't finish you off right away when it had you cornered, would you?"

Quickhoof paused for a moment and thought. "It looked like he was looking at this…" He held up a small pendant around his neck. I looked closer at the pendant, but didn't notice anything out of the ordinary about it. "It is a good luck charm my sister gave me. The words on it say 'May the courage of your heart keep you safe always'. I wonder if the demon was reading what was written on it."

It was my turn to stop and think this time. "Hmm… Well, there's one way to find out…" I drew my knife and flicked it open.

Quickhoof's eyes went wide at the sight of the folding blade. "Will the wonders of your kind never cease?" I didn't stop to comment, instead, I focused on using my light spell to inscribe something on the belly of the large, leaf-like blade. "What did you write?"

I shrugged. "I couldn't think of anything good, so I just wrote 'knife' on it. Hopefully it'll be enough to see if these things really were stopping to read. Who knows, maybe we can use that to our advantage."

I stood up from the ancient stone hospital bed we had been resting on and walked towards the sounds of the approaching monster. When it finally came into sight, my eyes went wide; what we had thought to be the monster itself crawling towards us was really just the hand I had shot off of the thing. I looked down to my leg and saw that the hand seemed to have let go while I was rushing to Quickhoof's aid without me realizing it.

I looked back to Quickhoof and my eyes widened further. The warrior stallion took quick notice of my expression and turned around to see that the owner of the severed hand had somehow snuck up behind him and was poised for the kill. I had little time to react, so I did the first thing that came to mind. "Hey ugly, over here!"

The creature stopped in its tracks and looked up to me. I turned the blade so that the glowing word written on the side was facing it. It stopped stone-dead in its tracks, seemingly fixated on the blade of my knife. I used its distraction and pulled my arm back, whipping it forward and sending the knife's blade straight into the chest of the monster, hoping to slow it down.

The thing's head snapped back, and it let out an ear-piercing howl, this time almost entirely in pain, before slumping to its knees and over onto its side, unmoving. I watched in shock as its body began decomposing into some kind of slime that ran off of its bones, and a moment later, it disappeared entirely.

Two more shrieks blared out from behind us, and I spun to see our other two assailants, both of which I had thought we'd killed, getting back to their feet. I turned back to Quickhoof to tell him to run, when I noticed that my knife was still perfectly intact, even though it had been buried handle-deep in the chest of the creature that had originally gone after me.

I grabbed the handle of my knife in my magic and brought it quickly to my hand, holding the glowing letters up for them to see. This time, however, they both held a hand up to shield themselves from reading the word. Oh crap… these bastards learned not to read it…

I looked back to Quickhoof again, hoping he would have an answer, but his look told me he had no ideas at all. I looked forward again only to notice that the creatures were moving more quickly than before, and were significantly closer now than they had been. An idea popped into my head, and I went into action, calling on my levitation spell and wrapping their wrists with my golden aura. They let out a challenging roar and yanked, freeing themselves almost instantly from my grip, and I had to resist the urge to let my knees buckle from at the explosion of pain in my head.

I had run out of ideas; I honestly had no clue how we were going to get ourselves out of this mess. I could have used my gun again, but I knew that would only slow them down, and I only had four rounds left to use on them. The last thing I wanted to do however, was go down without a fight, so I charged forward, bringing my head back and snapping it forward, headbutting the closest monster in the face with my armored visor.

Oddly enough, the thing shrieked and held its face in its claws as if that attack had actually hurt it while my gun had had almost no effect. I felt my confidence rise slightly, and lashed out at the second one, kicking it in the face with a spinning kick. It staggered back, but otherwise seemed unfazed by the attack.

Quickhoof gasped behind me. "I remember these demons from the old tales! Chief Wanate's story says that they can only be harmed by objects that they know the names of, and they must read the names to know them!"

I headbutted the first creature again even as the second regained its footing. "So, the only reason my knife hurt the other one was because it read the word and knew what it was called?!" If that was true, then the creature I had just smashed my face into twice was only hurt by the mere chance of already knowing what a helmet was.