Time seemed to freeze as we stared each other directly in the eyes, none of us daring to make a move. My hand was already grasping the handle of my sword, ready to unsheathe the blade and wound them at any moment. Granted, my reaction time isn't that impressive, but I'm not gonna let them know that. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, one of the canines spoke up.
"What... are you?" he asked. Right, they've probably never seen a human before. But before I could answer...
"Hold on, guys. We should probably take him to the boss," the second one, who was rather stout, might I add, said. "He might know what to do." Oh boy. Hopefully this leader of theirs is merciful...
And so, I was brought into the cave. It was quite impressive, actually. There were all sorts of crystals and gems adorning the cavern walls. Many other diamond dogs were out and about. A lot of them would stare curiously at me. I don't blame them.
Finally, we arrived at a giant stone canine head.
"Our leader, King Fenrir, is beyond this door," the first one (a tad lanky) stated. "We'll let him decide what to do with you." Man, I just wanna go home! What gives? But, despite my mental protesting, the mouth of the stone head opened, revealing a door. How very original. Before I could comment (which was probably for the best), the door opened, and a deep voice spoke from beyond it.
"What have you brought this time? Another worthless pony?" I was mentally quaking, but I tried to at least appear calm. We then walked into the room. Looking around, it looked to be a throne room. In the center was, well, a throne. And a massive, we're talking gigantic, diamond dog was lounging on it. Must be Fenrir.
"King Fenrir," the stout one said, "we have discovered this unknown creature just outside the cave."
"He was hiding behind a rock," the lanky one added. Fenrir leaned down to get a good look at me. Good grief, it feels like he's staring right into my soul. His eyes then widened suddenly.
"What is it, sire?" the third one (a rather muscular one at that) asked.
"I never thought I'd see the day..." he said, softly. He then sat up. "Impressive work, all three of you. You may have just saved us all from this miserable underground life."
"We did?" the short one asked.
"You have found... a human."
At that, the three of them went slack-jawed.
"So does that mean..." the lanky one began.
"It may just," Fenrir responded. "Could you three leave him with me? I wish to speak with him alone."
"Yessir!" they barked, then ran out of the room, leaving me with Fenrir.
"I suppose I should tell you what's going on," he said. "I can't tell you much right now, but I'll explain what I can."
"Please do," I said, not knowing what they saw in me.
"You see, Equestria is not as it seems to be. It has a dark past, one that Celestia is desperately trying to hide," he began. "Pundamilia, the queen of the zebras, recently had a vision. She saw a human gather the 8 fragments of the Crystal Flower of Truth, and do battle against Celestia. I believe you may be that human."
"So, I'm some kind of chosen one?" I asked.
"Er, not exactly," he explained. "She only saw a human. There weren't any specific details. I think it's safe to assume any human will fit the role."
"Are you sure? I don't exactly think I could handle Sunbutt," I quipped. He chuckled a bit at that. Guess he doesn't like her either. Well, good to know we have at least one thing in common.
"We figured it'd be like that," he explained. "So, we agreed that we'd each give you a sort of test, to train you so that when the time comes, you'll be on even footing with Celestia."
"We?" I asked, confused.
"Oh, excuse me," he said. "I was talking about the other royalty on Equus."
"Oh, that makes a lot more sense," I responded.
"Now, it happens that each of us has a piece of the Crystal Flower of Truth," he explained. "Clear the trial, and we'll each give our piece to you."
"Okay," I said, understanding the gist of it. "So what kind of trial did you have planned?"
He got up from his throne. Good lord, he's huge! He could probably step on me without a second thought!
"Follow me," he said, heading for a door in the back of the room. I followed him in, as if I had any other option. Past the door was a cavern housing nothing but a huge crystal lattice hanging from the ceiling. Fenrir gestured towards the structure.
"Your goal is simple," he stated. "Knock that off the ceiling."
I was... well, unsure to say the least. The thing was massive! It was way bigger than Fenrir, for God's sake! But, on the other hand, I didn't have much other choice. I took a deep breath, and looked around. I then noticed that the walls were rugged, enough so to climb on. I grabbed hold and, despite my poor arm strength, made it to the ceiling. I took a look at the crystal, and reached over with my sword. I began whacking at the structure, until I heard a loud CRACK. Then, the whole thing came crashing down, splintering on the ground below. I dropped down after that.
"Nicely done!" Fenrir exclaimed. "Now, for your reward." He handed me two things: a white circular crystal with 8 indents, and a smaller orange crystal shaped like a petal.
"That crystal petal will increase your strength tenfold," he explained. "Now, if you'll come this way, there's something you should see." He directed me too a smoother part of the wall. There were images drawn on it. He pointed to a few pictures. From what I could tell, there was a diamond dog sitting atop a pyramid, followed by boats arriving, and then ponies slowly taking over the place, until the final picture showed the diamond dogs underground.
"These cave paintings depict our history," he explained. "We were once prosperous, but then the ponies came. They took all our land, and we were forced to live underground." He sighed.
"It was long ago, and the ponies still show us no respect to this day. They antagonize us and many other races," he said.
"I understand now," I said. "You want me to end the oppression, don't you?" He nodded.
"Please. You're our only hope," he pleaded. "The next petal is kept by the sea serpents. You can find them with this map." He handed me a map marked with an X over a large lake. I took a deep breath. I knew what I had to do.
"Well, I guess going home will have to wait," I said, filled with newfound determination. I lowered my hat a bit. "I've got a world to fix."
Meanwhile, in Celestia's castle...
Celestia shuddered suddenly.
"Is everything okay, sister?" Luna asked.
"I feel... a disturbance..." Celestia muttered. "Summon the Element bearers at once, please."
"As you wish," Luna responded. Celestia looked out the window and saw an orange beacon of light shining in the distance.
"Oh no..."