The diamond dog known as Biter was a hound with a unique view of the world and his position in it. For this viewpoint he held, many considered him to be stupid or slower than most - though most races thought that about all diamond dogs. Had he been a more argumentative hound he would have no doubt taken some offence to their preconceptions about him, but he liked to believe he was better than that.
If the order of Shaolin Monks had held the ability to peer across the dimensional gap and read minds, and if they had somehow managed to use these abilities on Biter, then they would have no doubt been incredibly impressed by the calmness of his thoughts. They would have marvelled at how this creature was so in tune with himself - mind, body and spirit - that all three aspects of the self agreed upon a statement so simple that it defined his entire worldview.
Biter liked biting things.
Currently he was strolling through the cave system behind Talky Alpha Pony with Chubby Cake Pony trotting along next to him. Being underground again was nice, Biter eventually decided, it was like being home, a place he hadn’t been allowed since they had kicked him out for biting the Alpha. In Biter’s defence, the Alpha shouldn’t have looked so delicious and plump. More than a few dogs had agreed that he was practically asking to be bitten, though not enough to save him from the Pack’s punishment. De-clawed and sent into exile, a fate worse than death for most dogs.
Still, Biter liked to look on the bright side of things, especially things like rocks, which he had always found much tastier on the sun-baked side. Things weren’t so bad for him now. He had strange Guard Pack now, and they were actually operating as a Pack should. Shouty Minotaur had taught them how to fight, which had been fun, and Talky Alpha Pony had given the pack a direction to head in. Directions were always good, without them a dog could get lost and accidentally dig a tunnel straight down into lava. The caves tended to stink of burnt hair for days whenever that happened.
Biter temporarily surfaced from his thoughts and realised that Alpha Pony had been speaking this entire time.
“Another thing you have always got to remember in the Guard is the image that you are putting forward to the rest of the populace. You are their protector and they will look up to you. Being in this position of responsibility means holding yourself to the highest standard...” She droned on.
‘Thank the Digger’ Biter thought ‘Thought I might have missed something important, but it is just pointless Talky Talk, not Fighty Talk.’
He had noticed, in his time among ponies, that the quadrupedal race were very fond of Talky Talk for some reason that he couldn’t fathom. The best theory he had going was that they were actually exercising their jaw muscles for the more important things in life, like biting and biting-related activities.
“I think we’re getting close.” Alpha Pony suddenly whispered, her words bringing a smile to Biter’s face. Close meant fighting right?
They rounded a couple more corners before reaching their destination, a long corridor lined with makeshift cages. Each prison held at least five ponies, chained and bound to the floor in the uncomfortably small space. Biter was no doctor, he wasn’t even entirely sure how pony anatomy worked, but he could guess that this treatment wasn’t good for them.
Alpha Pony galloped over to the nearest cage and reared up against it, looking in at the sleeping prisoners. “Guards!” She hissed at them, getting a few uncommitted groans in response, “Wake up! We’re here to rescue you!”
At the magical word ‘rescue’ the trapped Guard stirred, shaking their chains and standing up as much as they could in the cramped environments of their cages. A dozen bleary eyes stared up at the unicorn, filled with confusion.
“W-Who are you?” One cracked voice croaked.
“My name is Summer Storm, I’m with the Manehatten Guard. We need to get you out of here.”
There was a moment of silence before the same voice spoke up again, “That’s a cruel trick, pirate scum. You’ve taken everything from us, and now you’re trying to give us false hope. Just leave us alone.”
They began to crawl back into their sleeping positions before the mare shouted, “Please, it’s not a trick! I’m trying to help you!”
“Summer? Is that really you?” A voice hesitantly called out from one of the other cages.
Alpha pony immediately galloped over to where the voice had come from and, with a shrug, Biter followed her. He was slightly amazed, and disappointed, that the pirates were stupid enough to leave their prisoners almost completely undefended like this. He would have expected at least a few guards hanging around, maybe even some patrols going round. Clearly these ponies were nowhere near the level of professionalism that diamond dogs had...
...at slavery...
Biter paused and, after a moment of thought, decided that their high standard of slave taking was not something that dogs should be proud of.
“Sergeant Brick?” Alpha Pony asked, peering into the second cell. Slowly, a haggard brown face pushed itself into the light, it’s hair wild and it’s eyes looking bloodshot.
“It is you.” Brick whispered, sounding almost reverent. “How...how did you get here?”
“We snuck in to bust you all out.” She whispered back, an excited grin growing on her face. “With the full might of the Guard, we’ll be able to smash these pirates back down to where they belong.”
“You mean that?” The tired looking stallion asked, “You actually mean to take on the she-devil that killed the Captain?”
“I’m going to do more than just ‘take her on’” Alpha pony responded viciously, “I’m going to take that bitch down! Hard! Once we’re done here, she’ll be spending the rest of her life in a prison cell.”
Now that was the Fighty Talk that Biter loved to hear, so much so that he could overlook the slight racial slur towards his people.
“Alright,” The entrapped pony responded with a vicious grin of his own, “If you can get us out of here, we’ll be glad to help you.”
“But Sarge...” A whiny sounding voice started up from one of the other cells.
“Quiet!” He snapped at them, “We’re still Guards, and we’ll still fight. Now, getting us out of here won’t be easy. The chief pirate around here is Gang Plank’s second-in-command and he keeps the key to our cell’s on him at all times. He won’t be easy to defeat though, he’s a smart one. There are always plenty of bodyguards with him, not to mention he’s a dangerous fighter on his own. Smart too, not to be underestimated. Now then, I suggest a sneak attack of some kind, perhaps lure him away from the safety of his friends so you can get the key and...”
Biter, having got bored with the conversation already, simply leaned forward and clamped his jaws around the nearest bar. With a slight flick of his head, the preposterously strong diamond dog jaws ripped the metal bar straight out of the cell. A quick chomp of the jaws later and it was on the floor in two pieces, Biter happily chewing the chunk that he had kept in his mouth.
“...Or that also works.” The stallion finished, slightly flabbergasted.
“Good work Private Biter.” Alpha Pony said, looking up at him with an approving nod.
What had he done? He’d just got hungry and acted on it and now everyone was looking at him with a mixture of fear and respect.
A few minutes and a lot of biting later and the Guards were all free. Many had been wary about putting their chained legs near the huge jaws of the diamond dog but Sergeant Brick had quickly defused the situation by shouting various expletives at the scared Guards until they stallioned up.
“Right then,” Summer said, looking over at the small army that was assembled before her.
They weren’t in the best condition, many of them suffering from muscle withering after being locked up for so long, only allowed out to work in the mine, whilst others had ribs jutting out under their coats from the starvation they had suffered. But they were still Guards and, more importantly, they were pissed off. Many of them had picked up their broken chains, holding them in their mouths or around their hooves to be used as weapons in the upcoming battle.
“You all know what we need to do here. These pirates can’t be allowed to get away with what they’ve done and I know that you are angry, but I must remind you of something. You are still Guards and that means you have to hold yourself to a higher standard than the criminals we will be facing. That means no senseless killing, no matter how angry you are. You only have permission to use deadly force if your own life is in danger. I want to take as many of these bastards alive as we possibly can,” She gazed out at what remained of the proud Guard before growling, “They’re going to pay for what they did for a long time.”
The cheers that came from her troops threatened to overwhelm the ears of many present. Summer was thankful that Ace was keeping the pirates preoccupied, otherwise they surely would have heard that.
“Wakey wakey.” A rich voice said, just before a bucket of cold water was thrown over me. I gasped and shot forward, only to encounter resistance and be forced back down.
My eyes shot around the room, wildly searching and trying to figure out what was going on. I appeared to be in a large wooden room with bare walls and no furniture. I struggled against my restraints, which held me bound to a wall, but to no use. Standing in front of me, an empty bucket held in his magical grip, was a tall unicorn.
“Hello there” He said with a cheery wave of his hoof “You are awake? This is good. Why don’t I go get the captain and the two of you can have a lovely little reunion. She was most upset after your last escape. It is, as the Equestrian saying goes “Tartarus has no fury like a mare scorned’ correct?”
He stepped out for a moment and I heard voices coming from the corridor before he returned, a wicked grin still on his face.
“Luckily, she was already on her way so she won’t be long. Well, luckily for me that is. Means I don’t have to wait as long for the fun to begin. Not so lucky for you I am thinking, yes?”
“Yes?” I said a little hesitantly, not sure if he was actually asking me a question or if it was just part of his strange accent.
“Yes.” He replied with a happy nod. “Unless you are one of those who...how should I put this? Enjoy pain? Yes?” He nodded again, apparently happy with his statement. “Though this should be not too much of a barrier for my great skill.” A wicked grin appeared on his face, completely at odds with his soft, rich voice. “After all, there is only so much pain that can be enjoyable.”
“So you're what? Her personal torturer? Strange, she always seemed like more of a hooves on sort of mare to me. Wouldn’t have thought she’d like others around cramping her style.”
To my surprise he simply chuckled at this, “Yes, the good Captain is, how you say, hot-headed. Her passion is inspiring, truly inspiring. But, at same time, she knows when to bow to superior skills, which is where I come in. I am not just torturer you see, I am artist.”
“An artist eh?” I said with a raise of my eyebrow, “You wouldn’t happen to be one of those bloody modern art lovers would you? I never understood that whole craze.”
“In a way you could say my art is the most modern, since it is always adapting,” He replied with an amiable chuckle, “And yet, at the same time, it is one of the oldest arts known. My name is Kowelth Gatar Nolis and I am an artist of pain.” All while he said this that damnable smile never left his face.
Once his introduction was done, the door burst open and an angry, yet all too familiar, mare stormed in. Melody hadn’t got any prettier in her brief absence, though that might just be the scowl that was plastered across her face.
“You should smile more.” I told her with a smile of my own, “It’ll really bring out your eyes.”
Her scowl never wavered, “Start now,” She growled at Nolis, who looked surprised at her demand, “No waiting around this time. I don’t want him escaping again. You’ll start now.” She stepped back to a corner of the room and watched Nolis begin with a discontent frown on her face.
Nolis shrugged and took a step forward, smiling up at me again. “I have prepared a very unique experience for you my new friend. After all, it is only thugs and brutes that deal the same blows every single time. I am an artist, and my canvas will be singing soon.” He paused for a moment, as if listening to something before continuing, “Oh yes, also you might feel a slight tingle...followed by an unbearable amount of pain. Do not worry though, I shall stay beside you as a witness to your transformation, yes? We shall go through this journey together. Who knows? By the end of it, you might even consider me to be your closest friend.”
He took a few more steps forward and lit up his horn, channeling the energy into it for a moment before pointing it directly at my head and releasing the spell. A bolt of yellow energy shot from his horn and struck me directly in the forehead, causing me to sway backwards in my chains slightly. For a moment, I felt nothing, before the world slowly began to go dark. Just before I blacked out, I heard another chuckle from Nolis.
“Now then, let us get to know each other, yes?”
When the pain hit, I could not hold back my screams.