It was May 22nd, in the small town of Rock Slide. With barely two hundred inhabitants, this town was a rare stop for a passenger train. Its main export was gems, since it was adjacent to the Unicorn Range, the mountain range that boasted the largest gem caves in all of Equestria.
But today was the day that the Pony Express would stop to drop off three passengers. The last car, a gray painted wooden box opened up. From inside three people stepped out. The first one was a tall, blond man with ice blue eyes. His face revealed some of his personality, his eyes were focused everywhere, trying to gather as much information as possible. His long thin nose inhaled the air, identifying the different smells. His small mouth remained close, not even twitching. His average build was covered by a white cotton dress shirt and a space wolf grey leather duster. His bottom was wearing khaki cargo pants, black combat boots and a brown belt.
The second one was a child, about ten years old with messy red hair huge bright green eyes, small nose and happy mouth radiated his childhood energy. He was garbed in a grey cotton shirt, tanned leather vest, camo green cargo pants and scorched brown combat boots. Strapped to his back was a flight pack.
This device is unique, being fueled by gems filled with magic, it gave the wearer the ability to fly, usually a regular person would have to switch gems every now and then, but certain people, called Seraphs, could radiate enough magical energy to power it themselves, though they couldn't actually control it as well as the Mages. All they needed was the proper rune stone and up, up, and away they could go.
Only certain seraphs could properly control it, and fewer still could actually use it to fly over long distances. This kid, obviously, did not posses this refined skill.
The last passenger to exit was a late teenage girl. Standing a hundred and sixty three centimeters tall with a very curvy figure with deep blue eyes and slit pupils, this albino bombshell was sporting a scaled tank top, blue denim pants and black sneakers. The train crew immediately detached the last car, storing it in a special hangar. Later, the train quickly departed.
They continued walking past the train station, through the main plaza and into the city's town hall. The town itself did not offer much to do or see, it was a simple mining town, with most buildings resembling shanty towns from the Hooviet Union. People here were not known for making much money, they were miners. The town hall was a simple two story building, about hundred and fifty square meters, ingrained to the mountains. Upon shoving the oak entrance doors, the blond stranger entered the main hall, where various townsfolk jumped at the unique entrance. A stubby old man looked at him surprised, his eyes widening when he finished scanning.
"Why hello there sir, how may I help you?" he said, his voice was slightly high pitched.
"Hello good sir, I am looking for Mayor Coal Mine, do you happen to know where he is?" said the man with a duster.
"You are speaking to him, how may this poor mayor help you?"
"I am one of Princess Celestia's agents, a plea for help was sent to the castle concerning these mines." and the young adult went for a pocket on the inside of his coat and pulled out a silver star attached to a leather pouch. The star read Grey Warden Ser Shield Heart in the middle.
"These are my companions, Hawk Eye and Saphira" he said gesturing to the boy and the teenage girl respectively
"Ser, thank goodness that you have arrived, allow me to brief you in my office, this is a matter best spoken of privately." most of the people were eyeing them curiously. the small man ushered them inside a room. The office was scarcely decorated, with only a desk and three chairs. It also had some bookcases, filled with the usual books you would expect it really looked like more of a file storage. He invited them to sit down, but the three travelers politely refused, knowing that one of them was going to have to stand up. The mayor accepted their decision and slumped to his chair.
"I am truly sorry sir, but I am going to have to ask your friends to leave."
"Sorry, but my friends are part of my team, we work together, and if there is something you can tell me, you can also tell my friends." Shield's face was serious.
"All right they can stay. I am sorry for being rude, but I was afraid that the princess would ignore our plea for help, I mean, we are just a small mining town."
" But you are a town in Equestria, and that alone is enough to bring our attention. What is the problem?"
"Well, recently our mines have been infested with Diamond Dogs. It usually isn't a problem, they hibernate during the winter when it becomes too dangerous to mine so we usually ignored them, but this time they have overrun the mines, refusing to leave us and also claiming all of the gems. Without those, we won't be able to fill our quota for this season and..."
Shield interrupted him by raising his arm half way and lifting a finger "I understand sir, now don't worry about this, just tell us where to start."
" Of course." the chubby man got up and opened a drawer, taking out a map which he laid in the oak desk.
The map described the various mountains that they used, it also revealed several passages and caves.
"This is our map to the mines, the Dogs are concentrated here." the mayor said, pointing to the mountain closest to the village, called Mount Mare.
"All right, then let us get our gear out of our car and we will get started. We will meet again on the entrance to the tram system."
Twenty minutes passed since the trio was given their mission. They presented themselves in the tram system that connected the mines with several duffle bags and one backpack each. The mayor was there, along side a strong man with a black beard in an orange jumpsuit, or so they could guess, because the jumpsuit was so stained with everything that could be found in the mountains, that the only evidence of the original color was barely recognizable.
" Mr. Shield Heart, I would like you to meet Pickaxe, he is the main supervisor for our entire mining operation."
The miner did not waist time with formalities and said: " You should start here, on district one, that is where they appeared last, also, please avoid district twelve." Taking out a map, he pointed to various areas, the restricted district, which was right in the middle of the mountain
"Why's that?" asked Saphira, her tone marking her a little bossy.
" This is our coal deposit, and I would prefer if you could avoid any fighting near it, we will need the resource for the winter."
"Don't worry, if all goes well, we might be able to talk them out of it. By any chance, are there any mountains that we could use to fight them? You know, in case things get out of hand?"
"Well... You could always use K-9, that mountain has been clean of gems anyway."
"All right! We are ready then, follow me boys, we have some dogs to tame." Said the knight with a happy tone.
And the team boarded the train. It was a five car machine, attached to a top monorail line. After some minor stuttering, the transport started moving. The inside held twenty passengers sitting down, and probably the same standing. So there was lots of space.
"All righty then, let's suit up!" Said the Warden.
Each of the duffle bags they brought contained their equipment. They hid it because some of the stuff wasn't supposed to be seen, thanks to the fact that it was rare to see weaponry in Equestria, and that the sight of objects of violence usually brought more violence. In order to avoid mass panic, they decided to hide everything that showed some sort of disharmony. It was based on personal experience, last time they arrived into town fully armed, people believed that they were going to destroy the town. After dodging a shower of pans, brooms, rakes and other objects bette left unmentioned, they were allowed to explain their situation: an errand issued by the Princess of Dawn, to retrieve a special tiara left by her sister which for some reason was left in the middle of a dungeon infested with goblins.
Opening his first duffle, Shield Heart removed a wooden crossbow, this weapon sported the familiar design, a wooden stock and frame with an iron trigger, a spider silk string and an iron reload bar. The weapon had a leather strap attached from one end of the weapon to the other end, which was used to sling the weapon on your back. On his right hip he sported twelve steel bolts in a short leather quiver. Unlike most crossbows, where you are forced to put the weapon on the ground to pull back the string, this one had a metal pull bar that when used, it moved the string back so that you could load another Bolt in less time that usual. On the small trench where you should load the bolts, was a ruby cut in the shape of a hexagon, extended by its sides to cover part of the gap. On his left side we sported a sword, a simple Equestrian steel gladius with a ruby embedded on both sides of the pommel. The sheath also contained his ebony wand, the most popular tool of magic in Equestria. Opening his second and last bag, he removed a scaled breastplate, each scale was pure Equestrian Steel, so it was thin, strong and light. He also removed from the bag a pair of steel shin guards, and two leather bracers. Each armguard was specially treated to withstand the same amount of punishment as any steel equivalent, and the left brace was adorned with a perfectly round ruby. He also withdrew a golden monocular, which he sometimes attached to the pull bar and used as a makeshift scope.
Hawk Eye opened his first bag, and withdrew an oak composite bow. This little weapon helped the child fire arrows with greater strength than if he used a longbow. With his short height, he lacked the proper size to fire regular bows, so he had to build himself a special bow that used his size as an advantage. He slung a leather quiver with two dozen steel-tipped arrows. He also withdrew a pair of tanned leather braces, to help protect him from the painful returns of the tough spider string. He put on a gauntlet with embedded jewels on each knuckle. These gems would allow him to fire magic arrows with the Mana they possessed. Finally, he put on a dark grey cloak mottled with light grey spots. This piece of cloth would allow him to hide in the most basic of spots, and make him almost invisible to the naked eye.
Saphira brought only one bag, and it only contained a large egg shaped ultramarine blue stone with thin white veins coursing through it. It was a thing of beauty,and also extremely rare. The bag wasn't actually a duffle, it was a sling bag. The stone was not exactly a weapon, and telling you it's use would spoil the fun, so I won't!
Hawk Eye was putting on the finishing touches to his clothing when they were suddenly rocked, throwing everyone off balance and into the floor. Confused, they took a peek at the mountain. Shield took aim with his crossbow, it was already loaded with a magic bolt. Using his monocular he managed to peek at what was coming at him. The Diamond Dogs had noticed the vehicle was nearing them, and they were viciously pounding the top rail, in an effort to de-rail the transport. In the blink of an eye, the Warden smashed the front window, aimed and fired his first shot. The bolt of magic hissed through the air, and hit one of the hairy beasts in the chest. Overwhelmed by a powerful force, the furry brown minion was pushed back, losing consciousness thanks to the bolt. Hawk Eye withdrew his bow and pulled back his string, in a flash, a long magical arrow materialized on his grip, he aimed an fired at another monster. This time, the projectile hit the dog in the head, but because he was wearing an iron helm, it did nothing.
"Hawk, concentrate on their hearts, the heads are not their weak points." said Shield, his voice was calm, almost as if this were part of the plan. He pulled back the lever, took aim and fired. This time, his shot hissed past a dog, who merely looked at the vehicle and started beating the rail faster. The transport shook again.
Saphira took a seat, and then laid down on the other seats and spoke: " Boy, that escalated quickly! Whatever happened to talking them out of this?"
"Are you tired?" asked Shield, his hands reloading his crossbow.
"Very." she answered, making herself as comfortable as possible in the plastic chairs.
"I have an idea: Help us defeat them so we can live to arrive at the mountain." Shield took another shot, this time hitting a minion in the knee "Ha! You'll never be an adventurer again!"
"Look, I can fly, so I will get to that mountain one way or another."
The blond man merely looked at her and mouthed bitch. He reload again, took aim at an exposed monster and fired another magic bolt. The bolt hit its target, knocking it out of consciousness. There were more reinforcements, and that wasn't two or five, it was more like fifty to a hundred. They kept punching the rail, but the strong metal was not going to budge, it had suffered worst.
" Can't they realize that they aren't going to kill us? They are going to need something a little more powerful if hey want us to worry. A few shakes won't stop us."
And as if Celestia accepted the challenge, one of the Diamond Dogs brought a large black cylinder, with bright green rods on two sides. It aimed and pushed a button on the right side of the container. BOOM!! A large ball of green energy exited the weapon and hit a monorail segment. It immediately evaporated, and the entire line bent to the right. Oh come on! He thought. Facing the possibility of falling at least a hundred meters, Shield Heart was forced to think fast. His friends would have no trouble, they could fly. He on the other hand was trapped. In two seconds, the train slipped out of its course, and plummeted to the bottom of the mountains. His friends quickly abandoned him, Saphira breaking the window next to her bed and sprouting dragon wings. Hawk Eye flew out of the front window and hovering next to the falling vehicle.
Shield managed to press the emergency brake button, slowing his death down. But gravity was calling him, and he grabbed one of the straps that the miners that were forced to stand up used to grip themselves. The train stopped, but it was only a matter of time before it fell. The Blond man start thinking, his duffle bags were gone, lost when gravity took over, his weapon was still on his hand, but he didn't have a good shot at anything useful. He looked at the window Saphira totaled, which actually revealed a promising view of the mountain, aimed and fired a white bolt of magic. Eureka! He thought to himself. The bolt had attached itself to the rock, a white line connecting his weapon to the bright ball of magic. The only problem was that the window was at the other side, and swinging wasn't exactly a very good idea. He managed to holster his weapon which held the magic rope connected outside and jumped to the next line of handles. he lost a little altitude so he had to climb a little, and the train started shaking again. He grabbed his crossbow and threw himself out the window. As planned, the rope held, and he was safely swung to the mountain side. He climbed to a small ledge, and said: "You could have helped me!"
"Hey, I lack the strength to carry you, and Saphira decided to take a dragonnap on a ledge. What was I supposed to do?" said Hawk Eye, his flight pack flapping virtual wings.
Shield face palmed himself. That girl was starting to be more trouble than she was worth.
"By the way, what was thing they fired at us?" questioned the flier.
"I don't know, but whatever it was, it wasn't made in Equestria. let us hope that they don't have the ammo to fire it again." Shield started climbing, he wasn't that far below the tram platform. He was used to this, starting a mission promising people that he would do it calmly and politically correct, and in the blink of an eye everything would automatically turn into a Nightmare. He started thinking of witty Drake insults, but his repertoire gave him nothing. Frustrated he finished climbing. He reached the start of the metal platform, where he was greeted by several iron spearheads.
Naturally he raised his hands. There was no way he could survive going forward, and taking a fall sounded pretty messy, and totally boring. Hawk Eye merely floated below, watching his friend get captured by the monsters. He hadn't been noticed, Diamond Dogs weren't known for their intelligence, so he decided to keep stealth as an advantage.
Shield was escorted into the mouth of the cave, where he was greeted by three whom he presumed were the leaders. The first one looked more like a cross breed between a cat and a dog, having green slit pupils, sharp teeth, grey fur and pointy ears. He was only wearing a red jacket with pockets filled with gems, and a black necklace with diamonds encrusted. A single jewel stood out, the orange gem stood out like a dog tag.
To his left stood another hairy monster, though he was shorter, brown, and with yellow eyes and black round pupils. He was wearing a slate grey vest and the black collar with diamonds. He reminded Shield of a bulldog.
To the right stood the last one, bigger than the other two; with astronomical grey coating, the classic diamond collar and a slate grey vest just like his partner the bulldog. His vest had two pockets, saturated with gems. But aside from his color and side, the eyes were more amber colored than the others. He had black round pupils.
"Who are you and what are you doing here!" asked the cat-dog mutant. His voice was shrill, kind of a certain monster he remembered from a series of books he read: The Lord of the Horseshoes. Man was that a long series, it felt like it took forever! Oh wait, I am getting sidetracked again, hate it when it happens!
"I am a Grey Warden, member of the Order of the Greys, and I am here to negotiate an agreement between the People of Rock Slide and you. I hate to say this, but you are stealing gems from an Equestrian mine, and that reception you gave me was very uncalled for. I mean, why were you trying to kill me? What have I done to you?" Shield tried to remain casual, if the Dossier was correct, these weren't violent creatures and could understand reason, but considering that they almost had him killed, he doubted the Dossier was right (as usual). He was going to have a serious talk with Moon Dancer, it was okay to love animals, but overprotecting them by falsifying information was extremely dangerous. This wasn't the first time this had happened.
He then noticed something that wasn't in the reports and looked unnatural. All of their eyes, not just the leaders, had a strange (almost creepy) green glow. He cursed himself for not noticing it before.
"We are the Diamond Dogs, we hunt for gems, it doesn't matter where they are, we will get them."
"Yes ,but you have no right to stop the town's main economy just because you feel like you have the authority to grab gems wherever they are. You are in Equestria, and I am warning you, stop right now or you will be hunting for gems in Tartarus." he was getting tired of diplomacy, these animals weren't going to understand that they were immigrants and they had no right claiming the resources of this land for themselves. So if he couldn't talk them into leaving, he was going to threaten them to leave.
All the spears suddenly converged on him, the rusted iron tips touching his exposed throat. He had forgotten the small detail that he was surrounded by brutes armed with lethal and unhealthy weapons. He was hoping for a miracle, but that was impossible. Suddenly, a loud roar echoed through the mouth of the cave.
The main ones ignored it. "who are you to threaten us? We have an army!"
"I have a dragon."
"You bluff."
"Am I bluffing?"
"Yes, no one can control a dragon!"
"I beg to differ!" and he whistled, the high pitch confused the dogs, and the second roar scared them. From behind him, a large deep blue dragon emerged, the scales reflecting the afternoon light. Its wings we're adorned with white veins, the translucent wing membrane gave a different tone to the scene. The monster roared once more, a warm wave exhaled with the deafening sound. Before anyone could move, two armored dogs dropped from their hands and feet, taken down by white magic arrows.
Using the confusion, Shield withdrew his sword and slashed a minion. The beast dropped unconscious, knocked out by the Equestrian Steel.
This was the beauty on using national steel. The steel was specially enchanted so that it wouldn't cause any physical injury, but the enemy could still feel something. Since it should have been a fatal wound, the body immediately dropped, the brain was sent to a brief coma.
Everyone started routing, fleeing deep into he caves, some entered to the other mining districts, but the main horde was escaping, exiting the mountain by the connection to the next mountain, K-9. Catching his breath, Shield planned his next move, should he stay and clear the mines, or go after the hordes of cowering gorilla dogs? As much as he would like to hunt down running animals, the fact remained that their trail would remain fresh. On the other hand, the splinters would still be there, and by the time he caught up to them, it could be at least a month or more. He had noticed at least three groups split up, so if they went separate ways, they could finish up faster. The dragon was engulfed in blue flames, and Saphira walked out of it, her face was held high, as if she had just conquered the world. In order to confirm their locations, he used a technique he picked up from an immigrant from Neighhon-Ja.
Setting his stance, both feet equally apart at shoulder level, his hands at his hips. He moved his body to raise his right hand palm first. Closing his eyes, he bent his knees so that the palm strike would hit the flat surface. Instantly, the darkness he saw was replaced by waves of light. Using the Mage Pulse, he was able to scan the entire mountain. Reaching out to every nook and cranny, sensing all living things and monsters, he managed to locate his prey.
Ten of them had escaped to the top of the mountain, where it seemed that there was an opening at least a day away. Another ten went to his left, to what was known as district five, running as fast as possible.
He sensed a very large cave, big enough to barely withstand that overgrown gecko Saphira could grow into.
Twenty ran off past district nine, completely missing the mine cart. He had to admit that their climbing skills would put any professional to shame. If he planned on getting to them by mine cart he would have to move fast, as the only thing that separated them was a weak wooden bridge.
"All right, here is what we are gonna do. Hawk, you are gonna take on district one, fly on to the lift and pursue them. Under no circumstances are you to engage them. In those caves they are gonna close up on you faster than a hungry Fenrir Wolf on a crippled deer. Try and force them to surface, direct them to K-9.
Saphira, you will take care of district five, I will go after the ones that went to district nine. We will meet back here in one day tops. Either flush them with the rest or sleep them."
"Why should I help you?"
"Because if you don't I will be forced to tell Princess Celestia that it was you who actually you who sent that dragon to sleep near Ponyville, ignoring my warnings that he could snore dangerous smoke and endanger the village."
"You Wouldn't dare!"
"Try me." Shield's face was dead serious.
"Fine, but I will someday find a way to get even with you!"
"Someday." he muttered to himself while letting a smirk form.
As his friends left him to fulfill their mission, he went for the mine cart. Although this rustic vehicle had no engine, it was the quickest way to get down. Drawing out his crossbow, he pushed the cart downhill and boarded it. Through his ride down he wondered how he was going to return. He dismissed the worry, if miners had a way down, they must have a way up. He detached the monocular from his weapon, in these cave it was unlikely that he would be able aim at anything that wasn't in front of him. The track started spiraling down, and much to his horror, it was also ending. The dogs must have collapsed the bridge, hoping that it would slow him down, and it probably would have worked. But it didn't. Time was of the essence, if his plan was delayed by half a second, he would be falling into an eternal pit, if you could say that. Loading his crossbow with another grappler-bolt, he aimed with one hand and took hold of the handbrake with the other.
Years of training had sharpened his senses. He fired the bolt, straight for a spike, and putting his seventy kilos onto the crossbow, he swung forward. The magic rope held firm, taking the knight across the chasm. As he was reaching the other end, he got distracted and was left dangling from his wooden weapon. Pushing his momentum again, he managed to grab unto a ledge. He pulled himself up, dusted himself and then realized something. In his jump, he had left his crossbow. He looked up to the spike, and sure enough: his wooden bolt thrower was dangling lazily in the middle of the extremely deep pit. Memo to me, next time detach the rope and holster the weapon. Withdrawing his wand, he remembered the basic Telekinesis spell and flicked his wand. Caught in a red aura, his weapon returned to him, still attached to the magical white rope.
"Well, now that I have wasted enough time, I must start tracking those monsters, or I won't be able to arrive on time." he said to himself.
Walking amongst the gem illuminated tunnels did not help ease the tense atmosphere. The short, narrow corridors reminded him of the passages and the time he spent in the Caves of Dark-Kunor, trying to get to the Hall of the Mountain King. Man, was that horrible. Not only did that stupid Goblin King try to eat me for lunch but I also managed to drop that beautiful Valkyrie claymore.
He kept remembering his scene, but he mostly thought of what he should have done instead of just calmly thinking of what was happening around him. He entered a small cave, well, small compared to what he had seen before. It was probably three times his height, and five of him could walk abreast one next to the other. This tunnel was illuminated by the soft glow irradiated from the various jewels that abounded. During his trip down memory lane, he failed to notice that the dogs were setting a trap for him.
As he thought of the different outcomes of his venture, Shield's hearing picked up an anomaly, something had scurried into the cave to his left. Withdrawing his sword, he proceeded with caution. This cave was small, but he noticed that it was a dead end.
Suddenly, he felt a large rumble. Fearing the floor could crack, the knight grabbed a wall. But to his surprise, the entrance collapsed.
Uhh, great, now I have to waste magic. He thought. Readying his wand, he aimed at the pile of rocks. As he was executing his demolition spell, a snap interrupted him. He looked back, and saw nothing. He tried again, but a pop stopped him this time.
Shield decided to look back, and then, a small sphere popped in and out of existence. Then three large balls manifested, and finally a circumference the size of a Minotaur appeared. The flash that erupted blinded Shield for a moment, his eyes unaccustomed to a bright light hitting him all of a sudden.
Eventually, his eyes readapted to the dark cave, but he noticed something, or better said someone right where the sphere had mysteriously appeared. The person was kneeling on one foot, the position he usually took when he presented himself to royalty.
The stranger was wearing a space wolf grey trench coat with a matching fedora. His coat was extremely damaged, with burn marks everywhere, blood was encrusted in several cuts, and rough stitching barely held it together. The hat looked extremely worn, though it was in a better condition. Underneath he was wearing a cotton white shirt just like...
And it dawned unto the knight, this man was himself, but from where, and probably more correct, when.
The traveller got up, and looked at the hero with one glowing ice blue eyes, the other eye was a pure white marble. Limping on his left leg, which sported a large bandage, he approached. The man looked like a seventy-year old version of himself, with silver hair, a large beard and a large scar starting from the left side of his head, crossing his nose and ending in his right cheek. The thick wound was painted in dried blood.
He spoke with a soft, weary voice: "I don't have much time to answer for my appearance so listen carefully. I am you from the future, as you might have guessed. I need to warn you about a great danger, in three months, Equestria will be consumed by the green bale fires of the changelings. It will start the first of June in Manehattan. Three days later, Canterlot will be besieged for the first time in history, and then, all hell breaks loose. I need you to activate Protocol Stalliongrad. Listen to me, I know it sounds drastic, but it is the only way to save Equestria. If you plan on saving Cadence, you must break your vow!" that last sentence hit home. He knew that he was serious when he used the Cadence is in trouble card. It was a card that no matter what happened, he would always be able to use.
Shield started thinking. Protocol Stalliongrad was something he had created in case of extreme danger. After the tragedy he had lived four years ago in the far off land of Stalliongrad, he and a group of discreet friends had started working on various war technologies that were to be used in case Equestria was invaded. Firearms, tanks, bombers, warships, genetic augmentation and various other ideas that involved preparing for war were prohibited in this nation. Protocol Stalliongrad allowed the Order of the Greys to research these areas in order to defend the people, but you needed a Celestiadamn good excuse in order to even consider it. It meant that Equestria would loose the most important value that made it stand out from any other country: the peaceful way of life. Not one nation he had visited, and he had visited most of them, had been able to maintain peace in their kingdom without a military force. The only Defence organizations that existed were the Wonderbolts, the Canterlot Royal Guard, the Order of the Greys and the various police forces that dealt with minor squabbles in the cities. It was a tough decision, he had sworn a vow to always work to avoid thinking about it, much less activate it.
He took a deep breath and responded: "Even if the threat is real, not saying that I don't believe you, how am I supposed to convince Princess Celestia to authorize it? I mean, it isn't like she will say yes just because I tell her that I travelled though time to tell myself that doomsday is coming."
The traveller went for his pocket and withdrew a silver pocket watch. This time device was almost destroyed, the outer shell had various dents and scratches, and dirt covered almost every centimeter. The chain was equally damaged, but still held true. He gave the watch to Shield, who was too stunned to speak.
Recovering from shock, Shield grabbed the watch, put it in his right pocket and said: " I still have a situation here, the diamond dogs are loose in these mountains, and I can't abandon my mission."
"I understand, and I have a good piece of advice. These dogs are dangerous, I cannot be certain, but I am sure that they are responsible for the following events."
"Hey, know anything about that green cannon that they used to blow the rail?"
"That device, yeah, it isn't their technology. But I can't remember whose is it. Listen to me, you have to learn where they got this tech form Allright?"
"So hey, do I ever get to marry Cadence?"
"She dies with the rest of Manehattan in the first strike."
"Really?"
"Yes, anyway, you never had a chance with her, she always preferred Shinning Armor. You were always in the friend-zone, it does no good dealing in the past."
"Why was she in Manehattan in the first place?"
"No Clue."
"Why are you so old, are you from fifty years into the future?"
"No, I am from three months into the future. I'm old because of a pod the changelings got me into. It sucked the life right out of me, I was lucky to escape, who knows what happens to the unlucky ones that stay."
"Okay, changing topic. How have you managed to stay here so long, usually time spells only allow a few seconds."
" Have you noticed that the gems are loosing glow?"
He was right, the room was getting darker every second that passed.
"You have been using the gems as a continuous source of magic to bend time? Nice one!"
"When you are standing on the edge of extinction you come up with very original ideas." responded the old man
The cave was becoming pitch black.
"So this is where I say goodbye to you right? I mean, I doubt that there is much energy left."
"Yes, you are right. Oh blitznak! I almost forgot. Once you tell Princess Celestia of what happened here, you have to enlist the aid of a girl named Twilight Sparkle."
"You mean Shining Armor's sister?"
"Yes her, she is the Element of Magic, and an unparalleled Mage. If you plan on surviving the year, you WILL need her help."
"Okay, so I tell her to help me stop Armageddon?"
"Yes, and make sure that she doesn't come to harm, there is no one capable of replacing her."
Before they could properly say goodbye to each other, the old man flashed out, leaving Shield Heart in a pitch-black cave.
He faced the entrance of the cave, or so he thought, and sang: "Bibbity, Babbity, BOOM" and the wand let out a crimson bolt of energy.
The blast was right on the money. The boulders exploded, revealing the way back to reality. He sighed, the rules had changed.
It was no longer about completing another job, this time, the stakes were getting higher. A Manure storm was hitting his home, and his closest friends seemed to have been caught right in the middle of it.
He needed to move fast. He had nine days, or maybe eight, if he wanted to make it to Manehattan in time, but he had about three days if he wanted to get to Canterlot, activate it, then gather the various people required to properly defend the Big Apple.
Using his Mage Pulse, he located the dogs, they were right above him.
Instinctively he withdrew his crossbow, aimed and fired a red bolt of magic. One of the dogs dropped, while the others cycled around him. He noticed that the cat-dog hybrid was with them, his green eyes observing him, his huge claws waving at him.
With milliseconds to spare, Shield raised his left arm. Using the round ruby, he conjured a translucent red buckler just as the sharp claws were looking to open his arm. They scratched the magic, doing no harm whatsoever.
Recovering from the blow, the knight quickly bashed the monster that hung in midair, sending him sprawling. In one smooth action, Shield unsheathed his sword and struck the first foe that neared him. He followed the horizontal strike with a roundhouse slash, turning his body a full 360 degrees before striking again. It was continued by an overhead cut, from right to left.
With that many attacks, the opponent fell down. But two were nearing him from the left side, and he needed to respond quickly. He dashed against one opponent, shield first, and bashed his spell. The Dog was staggered, and left no guard available to defend himself from the upcoming blows. With five strikes he was sent back with the rest.
Shield Heart realized that knocking out his opponents here and now was useless. He needed to find a way to take them to K-9 in order to seal them off with the rest. This was a plan that required cunning, planning and perfect execution...
Running to the hybrid monster, he delivered a groin kick and waited for the results.
Sure enough, all twenty of them charged at him, but he managed to back off just in time. He started running back to the entrance, occasionally glimpsing back to make sure that he was being chased.
As he traced his steps back to the big well, where suddenly he remembered one big problem. He had no quick way to get up. The mine cart was stuck, with no way up. He quickly came up with an idea. But before that he had to cross the bottomless pit.
In one smooth move, he took out his crossbow, loaded it at fired at the protruding spike on the roof. He detached the rope from his weapon and then holstered it. Swinging through the chasm he reached the next end. The rope was still in existence, but it would dissolve in a minute.
Shield caught his breath and looked back. The dogs were still chasing him, or so the swearing, growls, and occasional roars suggested. They had lost sight of him, but we're still moving to his general direction. He moved to the middle of the spiraling train tracks, preparing for the right moment.
He waited until they could see him, if only briefly.
Withdrawing his wand he jumped as he pointed it at the floor. A single thin red bolt of magic travelled from the ebony wand to the floor.
The result was a large explosion of blue fire. Shield Heart was rocketed into the skies, while the structure still held true. Although very handy, this explosion was not going to get him to the top. Using another technique from Neighhon-Ja, he thrust his fists downward , while small fire jets erupted from his extremities. They did not last long, as he was forced to cast them five times before he managed to reach the entrance.
Tired, Shield looked outside, Luna had brought up the moon, Judging by its position, it was probably nine o'clock . and it was even more beautiful than Shield remembered. Maybe it was because it brought him peace during his dangerous missions, and every time he saw it it reminded him who he was working for. It also reminded him who he was.
He was Shield Heart, a member of the Order of the Greys of Equestria. It was his duty to protect, to serve his country. This assignment was starting to become something else. Most of his missions required him to retrieve an object, protect a VIP from wild creatures or some hired gun from overseas, and very rarely, take someone out that has been causing too much trouble. But never was he ordered to stop an invasion.
It wasn't a matter of whether or not he could do it, Stalliongrad had taught him that sometimes you had to adapt to the situation at hand. It was more because his friends were on the line. Never before was he confronted with this particular dilemma.
But before he could solve the big problem he needed to solve the problem he had now. The dogs were getting close and he had no idea to how he was going to defeat them. He considered shooting them with steel bolts, that would ensure that they would be dead and therefore no longer a problem. But that was out of the question. The Greys lived to stop violence, not to promote it.
The mountain shook, and ten dogs-gorillas exited from district 5, one of them was the pit bull. Shortly, the small cave exploded, revealing Saphira fully transformed into a dragon. Several gashes marked her flanks, fresh blood oozing from each cut. She opened her mouth and exhaled blue flames, completely covering the two last unfortunate monsters that were left behind in agonizing fire.
Unlike Shield Heart, who had fighting standards, Saphira was a Drake, or Dragon who transformed into a Human. And in accordance to her customs, fighting was a sometimes a synonym of cooking. These flames killed their victims, leaving a stench of burnt hair.
Another shake and Hawk Eye shot out of his tunnel, his stomach was cut in half. His bow was in his hand, and it was already drawn. He aimed and fired at the big leader, who received the shot in the head. He fell down ten meters before hitting the ground. He was knocked out for sure.
Saphira roared once more and fired a stream of blue flames at Shield's pursuers. Only five, including the cat-dog, managed to elude the fire.
Needless to say, all Diamond Dogs were in full retreat, routing to K-9 to meet their brethren. They climbed unto the monorail line connecting the mountains and shimmied across.
Saphira inhaled, preparing a fire ball, when Shield Shouted "STOP!". The dragon reluctantly obeyed, and caught in the blue tornado, she transformed to her human self. Hawk Eye descended from the skies and walked slowly, clutching his stomach.
Her wounds passed from dragon to human, as her tank top sported three slashes, each thinly coated with blood.
Shield immediately dropped the heavy backpack he had forgotten he was carrying and went for the first aid kit. He examined the wounds and sighed with relief when he noticed that the wounds weren't deep. But they were still bad enough to say she was out of the mission. He relayed his opinion to the drake, who replied: "No way, nu-uh, I did not come all this way just to be stopped by flesh wounds. I need to beat the shit out of them!"
"NO! I have deemed you far too dangerous. You know how I play, no casualties, and I counted twenty five casualties so far. Not to mention that your actions also caused collateral damage, and you almost evaporated the rail." he said, his face showed concern
"What?! C'mon, you can't cut me!"
"Too bad, I just did. now roll your shirt up, I need to disinfect those slashes and bandage you. Last thing I want is to have you contracting some disease."
" On front of him?" she asked while nudging to Hawk Eye.
Shield finally noticed his little friend and gasped: "What happened!". The cut was not the only thing that was wrongs with him. He was dirty and with several scratches and bruises.
"Got ambushed, as I was flying up They stayed back and tackled me. One of their claws managed to hit me right here. I lost my balance and started falling. After some minor tumbling, I managed to get my bearings back and swish right down."
" Then get over here, I need to heal you first."
Hawk eye neared him, and rolled his shirt up.
Shield grabbed a piece of cotton and dipped it in medical alcohol. He also gave the child a thick, round, wooden stick.
"Chew on it, you will need it."
The archer obeyed, and bit hard into it. Shield started rubbing the alcohol swab.
Hawk Eye felt that he was being stabbed with thousands of daggers across the wound. His pain was concentrated onto biting the stick, and it somewhat helped make the healing process more bearable. Shield started covering his torso with a cotton bandage, it immediately stated absorbing the excess blood.
"By the way, where's your backpack?"
"Oh, I left it with Saphira after you were captured, I cannot stand it, it is far to heavy for me!"
"All right, Saphira, get over here."
Wobbling over, she approached him. He withdrew his bed roll from the top of his pack, laid it out on the somewhat even ground and gestured her to lie on it.
She followed, and lied on her stomach.
"Now, roll your shirt up, I need to disinfect you too. Diamond Dogs aren't known for their hygiene."
She obeyed, and partially removed her shirt. Following the same procedure as before, he first disinfected the wound, and then looping her waist three times, he locked the bandages in place.
"Now stay here, I am going to go get your stuff, stand watch Hawk." Shield said.
It was a twenty minute walk to the edge, and a five minute climb down to the small dragon nest. As expected, both backpacks were there.
Each backpack contained supplies for five days, including water. It also had a first aid kit, a culinary set of pans and silverware, some spare clothes and a bedroll. The pack weighed about ten kilos, so it was somewhat heavy for a child but not for him. It was still cumbersome, and he wouldn't be able to climb properly while holding two backpacks.
He withdrew his wand and enchanted one of them to follow him. The other one was attached to his back. After his climb up, he withdrew his own version of the silver pocket watch. This one looked brand new, even though it was just a couple of years old. He opened it and on the inside of the cover was revealed a picture of a girl, or better said a young woman. Her tricolor hair: pink,purple, and cream Was elegantly poised. Her delicate mouth wore a warm smile. Her small delicate nose helped give her the look of a mother, a person who loved. Her big eyes calmed the Warden, his worries momentarily vanished, but then reality hit him harder than a troll's punch. If he failed his job, her smile would vanish for ever.
Shield sighed and said to himself: "Why do you keep doing this to me Cadence? Was it not enough that you never loved me the same way as me and went for the Captain of the Guard."
He knew that this was masochism. Ever since they had met he had become something of an older brother to her. He was always protecting her from those that dreamed of doing her harm. He expected the answer he got from his future self. He just wished that his missions wouldn't get in the way the day she got married.
He dismissed all thoughts, and closed his pocket watch, hoping that his mind would not collapse. As he returned to camp, he stared to the fifty meter high ceiling. The central tunnel was well designed, as it offered a lot of ventilation, and it would not cause problems in case of a fire.
" I'm back! Hope you didn't miss me." he said aloud
"We didn't." responded Saphira, she was still lying down with her shirt rolled up. The cotton bandages seemed to be doing the trick, as they had stopped absorbing blood.
"Thanks for the comment, now, let us get a proper camp started. We will need to recover our strength for tomorrow."
"So what is our plan. Are we going to meet them at K-9 and lock them up?"
"No, there was an incident in district Nine that made me change my mind. I need to talk to one of the leaders first. I need to know where in Luna's name did they get that cannon. I haven't seen anything like it. The closest thing I can imagine is a rocket launcher I saw in Stalliongrad."
"Could it be that they have had dealings with the Hooviet Union?" asked Hawk Eye. As usual, his curiosity had formed a conclusion.
"I don't think so, those commies are very reclusive when it comes to weapons tech. And unless they have developed laser cannons, they would never dare to surrender a powerful weapon to a pack of monsters. No, I am sure that some other nation is behind it. I just don't know who has this kind of technology."
"Maybe they got smart." said Saphira while changing positions, now opting for a sitting position.
Shield threw her her backpack.
" Get off my bed, I don't want you spilling blood all over it."
She grabbed her stuff and immediately took out her bedroll.
Silently, all three of them began working. Setting up Camp was usually the quiet part of their adventures. Saphira got a fire going with her breath, Hawk Eye prepared the bed rolls, ensuring that their heads faced the center of the camp and Shield cooked a tasty beef jerky stew. The stew had the classical taste of plastic wrapper, but with a few spices, it was as tasty as a cold apple pie.
"Hey, you said that there was an incident before, what was it?" asked Saphira while cleaning her plate with a piece of flat bread. As expected, she was asking about something that made Shield uncomfortable. And he had given the clue, he had changed the subject when he mentioned it, that was the only incentive that his friends needed to know that something was taboo.
"Can I not talk about it?" he asked.
" Since this is mission related... No" she said.
"Fine." he said reluctantly.
"In a cave I was exploring..."
"You were in a cave, really? I would never have guessed it! I imagined you would be on a prairie!" she commented
"You can drop the sarcasm you know. Inside this mountain here are also ravines, gorges and skylights."
"But you are still in a cave."
"Do you want me to talk or not."
"Yeah, but you don't have to point out the obvious."
"Shut up and let me tell my tale you mutated gecko."
She resigned, knowing that he would close up if she continued.
"All right as I was saying. I was in a cave that was a dead end, the place was saturated with gems. and naturally, this being a branch to the main one, the entrance collapsed..." he continued to explain with detail everything that happened. He omitted his questions about Cadence, wanting to avoid a sneering comment from the Drake.
As he finished Hawk Eye said: " So what if these changeling blokes are the ones who hired these monsters to get the gems for something the invasion?"
Shield was about to refute this statement, but he thought about it. "That is not a bad idea, it actually makes sense."
"Wow, the great Shield Heart finally listens to other people's words, that is new." retorted Saphira.
" I always listen to what people have to say, I simply don't take your advice into consideration because it is suicidal."
"More suicidal than that time that I told you to lock up that chimera and instead decided to free it, letting it roam through the streets of Baltimare?"
"Mmmmm... Something like that. In my defense that thing was too dangerous to be kept alive, and seeing as though it was a magical creature I had to give it a fair fight."
"Yeah right, and the fact that you always wanted a Chimera scale coat had nothing to do with it."
" For the record that coat serves as the perfect armor. It protects you from both the cold and from most weapons."
The topic was abruptly ended, seeing as though neither one knew how to continue.
"So what is the plan?" asked the child
"The plan is this. You two will stay here while I battle them, question one of their leaders and then I will lock them up in the mountain. After that, we will travel back to Canterlot, where we will get authorization for the protocol and get to Vanhoover to pick some stuff up. Then we will go to Manehattan where I will save Shining Armor and Cadence once again."
"Why would Shining Armour be in Manehattan, I thought that he was the captain of the guard."
" I don't know, maybe he was in a convention or something."
" And how about Cadence?"
" Well, she is his Fiancée, so it makes since that she is there."
"Wait, wait, wait, wait, you just said that you are going alone. Are you insane?" said Saphira. She was stunned, never had she been cut out of a big battle.
" No, first, I have dropped you from the mission for insubordination and I need Hawk Eye to keep an eye on you. Not to mention that both of you are too wounded to continue."
"You have got to be kidding me! This is nothing compared to what you have suffered! What about that time you were impaled with a dragon lance? Or when you were swallowed by a hydra? Or stabbed by a basilisk tooth?"
"Unlike you, I can avoid limping when I get cut down. And also, you are too young to be soaking up damage, unlike me."
" I am Sixteen years old! I can take care of myself! So what if I get a boo-boo? Isn't that how I build resistance?"
"Listen to me young lady, I have endured enough of your behavior long enough and for that you aregrounded!"
"What?"
"You heard me. Once this mission ends, you will go directly to Vanhoover, not Canterlot. In your vacation you will meditate on what you did wrong."
"I did nothing!"
"How about roasting diamond dogs, is that nothing?"
"Look, I am sorry about firing up some monsters..."
"And you damn better be. You know that these incidents put a dent in our reputation. And I don't want to get into another argument with Princess Luna like last time."
Saphira sighed, once again she was feasted by the Warden.
Shield withdrew his wand and started casting some basic alert spells in case anyone had thoughts of infiltrating his camp while they were asleep.
"All right, you kids go to sleep. Under this dome we are safer than a bit in uncle Gold Heart's money vault"
" Are you sure about that?" questioned Hawk while grinning.
Shield pondered for a moment and said: "You are right, nothing is safer than money in his vault. Just go to sleep, I need to check out this watch."
They followed his suggestion and went to sleep. In two minutes, they were in the arms of Morpheus, and the elder member was left sitting in his bedroll.
He took a deep breath and opened the watch.