//------------------------------//
// Anti-Hunting Hounds 
// Story: Trial by Kinship 
// by Metool Bard 
//------------------------------//

"Spike.  Hey, Spike.  Up an' at 'em."

Spike flinched as her felt a thick hoof press his stomach.  With a dazed grumble, he turned over onto his stomach.

"Just five more minutes," he moaned.

"Spike, everyone's ready to go but you.  I thought Little Strongheart wanted you to set a good example for those dragon bandits."

"Eeyup."

Spike opened one eye and saw Braeburn and Big Macintosh towering over him.  Although he wanted to go back to sleep, he immediately saw Braeburn's point.

"You fight dirty," he growled, stretching himself out. "At least tell me we've got breakfast waiting."

"Don't worry, we've got a little somethin' prepared," said Braeburn. "We're just gonna have to eat it on the move is all.  Now c'mon, shake a leg."

"I'm-a shaking, I'm-a shaking," Spike mumbled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Sheesh, I can't even sleep in on what's supposed to be my vacation.  I really can't catch a break, can I?"

Big Macintosh shrugged his shoulders. "That's life for ya, I guess."

"I guess," Spike sighed.  He groggily shambled out of the teepee he was sleeping in, and sure enough, the Dragoons were all saddled up and ready to go.

"Why hello, Your Highness," said Trigger mockingly. "Did you have a nice nap?  Do noble dragons usually sleep this long and keep others waiting?  I didn't know that.  Ehheh...  Ehheh..."

"Yeah, yeah.  Lay off," Spike groaned. "I'm not perfect, alright?"

"No, but you are supposed to be setting a good example for us," said Steel.

Big Macintosh furrowed his brow. "Admittin' that you're not perfect sounds like a pretty good example to me."

Steel's eyes widened for a moment. "Oh.  Um, touché, Mr. Macintosh, sir."

"Oh, please.  He's not that impressive," said Flint, rolling his eyes.

"Alright, let's try not to get sidetracked here," said Braeburn firmly. "What's our plan for findin' these guys?"

"We figure that those dragon poachers have pitched their camp underground, seein' as their leader's a Diamond Dog and all," said Needles. "The trail left by their tatzlwurms is still fresh."

"And reeks of shellfish," Toro added with disdain. "It won't be pleasant for me, but I can follow their trail through the underground tunnels."

Braeburn blinked. "Huh.  Well, that doesn't sound so bad."

"I highly doubt those varmints are gonna make this easy for us," said Needles darkly. "Which is why we should be prepared for anythin' and everythin'."

"Ten steps ahead of you, Ms. Needles!" Steel chirped, brandishing his bow.

Flint deadpanned. "You just had to bring that stupid thing along, didn't you?"

"Hey, I think I should be allowed to use whatever weapon I want," said Steel, folding his arms.

"How many times do I have to tell you, you moron?  You're a fire-breathing dragon!  You don't need a bow and arrow!" Flint roared.

Spike turned to Needles. "Do they always fight like this?"

"More than you know," Needles sighed.

Spike let out a sigh of his own before straightening himself. "Alright, alright.  We aren't gonna get anything done by arguing."

"Or by sleeping," Trigger said with a snicker.

Spike sighed again. "L-let's just get moving already."

"I'm all for that," said Needles with a firm nod. "Toro, vamanos."

Toro nodded and dove underground.  One by one, each of the Dragoons followed him.  Spike swallowed.

"Well, here goes nothing," he said, turning to Big Macintosh and Braeburn. "Wish me luck, guys."

"Best of luck, little fella," said Braeburn with a tip of his hat.

"Eeyup," Big Macintosh said simply.

With that, Spike took a deep breath and jumped in after the Dragoons with Braeburn and Big Macintosh at his heels.


***


It wasn't long before the posse stumbled upon the large, circular tunnels left by the tatzlwurms burrowing through the earth.  Needles projected a golden aura that provided a small amount of illumination.  Grooves ran through the ground, and parts of the walls and ceiling were singed.

"They must've been tryin' to fight back every step of the way," Needles said somberly. "Meanin' we've got ourselves a pretty solid trail to follow.  Everyone stick close to me now.  I'll take point."

"No need, my dear Needles," said Trigger with a bow. "Allow me to take point.  It's the only noble thing to do."

He looked up at Spike and narrowed his eyes as he said that last part.  Spike swallowed a large lump in his throat while Needles simply rolled her eyes.

"Stop embarrassin' yourself, Trigger," she said, walking right past him.

"Hey, I don't hear Mr. Dragon Code offering, do you?" Trigger snarled, shooting Spike another glare.

Spike's heart skipped a beat. "W-wait, what?"

"What do you mean by that?" said Trigger, making a beeline to Spike. "You're supposed to be the big shot noble dragon here, aren't you?  So why didn't you offer to take point?  I always thought being noble meant you would gladly risk your life to help another.  I guess I was mistaken.  Ehheh...  Ehheh..."

It only took half a second for Trigger's insult to sink in.  Spike immediately drew himself to full height and marched up right next to Needles.

"Keep the light on me," he said firmly. "I'll take the lead."

Trigger whipped around, his eyes bugging out. "Wh-what?!  Oh no you don't!  I'm taking the lead!"

Spike blinked. "Wait, but you just said—"

"I will not be bested by you, upstart!" Trigger roared. "I'm taking point, and that's final!"

"Well, why don't we both do it then?" said Spike with a shrug.

"D-don't take the high ground with me!" Trigger spat. "Your dirty tricks won't impress Needles!"

"I'm not trying to impress—"

"You can't lie to me!  I know what you're after!"

With an exasperated groan, Needles bopped Trigger on the head with her parasol. "Trigger, shut up.  Spike, thanks for the offer, but I'm our source of light here.  I think it's best if I take point."

"Hey, don't I get a thank you?!" Trigger protested. "I offered first!"

Braeburn heaved a great sigh. "This is gonna be a loooong trek."

"Eeyup," Big Macintosh agreed.

Toro's ears suddenly perked up, and he held out his paw. "Listen.  You hear that?"

The posse grew silent for a moment.  Indeed, several muted footprints echoed throughout the tunnel.

"It's coming from up ahead," said Toro, slinging his cannon from his shoulder. "Stay on your guard."

"Right," said Steel, fitting an arrow to his bow. "Hmm, now how did I get this fire arrow thing to work again?"

"Guys, keep your voices down," Needles whispered, dimming her magic aura a bit. "We wanna catch whoever's in here by surprise, not the other way around."

Flint scoffed. "A bit late for that, don't you think?"

"Shhh~!" Trigger hissed.

Flint rolled his eyes. "Great.  I'm getting scolded by the loudest guy here."

"All of you, shut your traps!" Needles rasped. "This bickerin' ain't movin' us forward, in case you haven't noticed!"

The posse continued through the catacomb in tense silence.  All the while, the alien footsteps echoed around them.  Occasionally, a bark or two was also heard.

"You think those are Diamond Dogs, Mr. The Bulldog?" asked Steel.

Toro frowned. "No.  Diamond Dogs don't bark like that.  These sounds are too, otherworldly."

"Any idea what they are?" inquired Spike.

"Hey, I thought we were supposed to be quiet!" Trigger scolded.

"I-I was just asking!" Spike whimpered.

"No, you were being careless!" Trigger said, raising his voice. "You think just because you have a fancy Noble Dragon Code that you're better than everyone else here?!"

"I-I never said tha—"

"Don't give me that nonsense!  I'm onto you!  Get this through your head, buddy!  Needles doesn't need your help!"

"Where is this coming fr—?"

"I don't care that Ms. Strongheart thinks you're so great.  I don't think that at all!"

"Um, maybe you should keep your voice dow—"

"And another thing!  You keep interrupting me!  Talk about r—"

A low growl interrupted Trigger's train of thought.  Through the darkness ahead of them, several pairs of bright yellow eyes opened at once.  Shimmering stars appeared to manifest themselves beneath each pair.  When the shadows moved into Needles's light, they were revealed to be large dogs with long snouts and razor sharp teeth.  Their fur was a direct representation of a night sky dyed a misty blue color.  The dogs advanced towards the posse, sparkling drool dripping from their jaws.

Needles turned to Trigger and gave him a bemused look. "Nice goin', genius."

"I-it wasn't my fault," said Trigger. "I didn't think they would hear me.  Ehheh..."

Spike gulped. "Okay, I don't know what those things are, but they do remind me of something we had to tackle back in Ponyville.  If they're anything like that, we might be in trouble."

"Nonsense, Mr. Spike!" proclaimed Steel, drawing back his bow. "It'll take more than a bunch of mangey mutts to stop the—"

The dogs cut across Steel with a chorus of powerful howls.  Needles snorted.

"Less talkin', more bashin'!" she ordered. "We're gonna have to fight our way through!"

With a flick of her wrist, a star-shaped shard of energy flew towards one of the dogs, hitting it square in its starry forehead.  Flint flew in and let loose a steady stream of flame.  Steel managed to light one of his arrows and let it fly, only for it to graze one of the dogs without so much as singeing its fur.  Toro used his cannon as a blunt club, smacking the dogs away.  The dogs themselves yipped and howled, gnashing their teeth and swiping their massive paws.

"Don't forget 'bout us!" Braeburn exclaimed. "C'mon, Big Mac!  Let's show 'em how we do it back in Appleloosa!"

Taking an apple pie from his saddlebag, he tossed it into the fray.  With pinpoint accuracy, he hit one of the starry dogs right in the eye.  Big Macintosh charged in, delivering a powerful buck to the stunned dog's jaw.  Meanwhile, Spike ducked and weaved around the enemies' attacks, occasionally blowing out his emerald flame or slashing with his claws.  The battle dragged on and on, but no matter how hard they fought, the starry dogs would not back down.  In fact, their numbers appeared to be growing by the minute.

"Is there any end to these things?!" Needles snarled, tossing several star-shaped bolts at once.

"If we keep fightin' 'em like this, we won't have enough strength to go after them poachers!" Braeburn hollered. "We need to get away!"

"On it!" said Toro, aiming his cannon at the ceiling. "Señor Trigger, aquí!"

Trigger nodded and climbed up onto Toro's shoulder.  He blew his flame into the cannon's powder chamber, causing it to launch it projectile at the wall.  With a loud blast, the ceiling gave way to sunlight.  The starry dogs whimpered and howled in pain as the sun's rays beamed down upon them.  One by one, they retreated into the tunnels.

"Nice thinkin', Toro," said Needles, taking a moment to catch her breath. "What were those things?  They ain't native to the Mild West, I can say that much."

"I don't know, either," said Toro, knitting his brow. "I didn't even know they would flee from the light like that."

"Well, whatever they are, they're infestin' this here tunnel," said Braeburn with a snort. "Guess them poachers didn't want us followin' them."

Spike stroked his chin in thought. "Well, if we can't keep hunting them underground, maybe we'll have a better chance on the surface."

"But we'll lose the trail that way, won't we?" said Trigger. "Clearly, we should just press onward through those beasts."

"And go through that fight again?  I only have so many arrows," said Steel. "Shouldn't we save some for the poachers themselves?"

"Oh, will you shut up about the arrows?" Flint groaned. "If I said it once, I said it a thousand times: You!  Don't!  Need!  Them!"

"No, he has a point," said Needles contemplatively. "Takin' on those mutts will just slow us down.  We'll have better luck goin' above ground."

"Yeah, I reckon that's our best course of action," said Braeburn. "They're probably expectin' us to come in through this way, anyway.  We wanna get 'em by surprise."

"Eeyup," Big Macintosh concurred.

"Then it's settled," said Needles. "Toro, keep that nose of yours workin'.  It's pretty much our only lead now."

"Of course, Señorita Needles," said Toro.

With that, he started digging up into the wall, forging a path back to the surface.  Needles cast her gaze downward and sighed.

"I knew this wasn't gonna be easy," she muttered under her breath.

"Doesn't mean we should give up," said Spike.

Needles turned to Spike and smirked. "Never said we were.  I'm just sayin' that this little encounter is probably just a taste of what's to come."

Trigger huffed and gave Spike the evil eye.  Spike noticed this and swallowed.

"Yeah.  I know what you mean," he said.


***


Jacques Moschet heard a series of footprints coming from the catacomb ahead.  He turned and saw a large starry dog emerge with its tail between its legs.

"Well?" he asked.

The dog whimpered and held up its burnt paw.  Jacques raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm.  Those buffalo sure are tricky," he mused, tapping his beak. "Well, no matter.  There aren't many things that can muscle their way through a pack of Caanus Minors.  Heck, they're lucky I didn't send their mother after them.  With my hunting dogs guarding the underground tunnels and my other pets keeping watch around the desert, my secret will remain safe.  I just need to hold them off until Maggie makes her choice, and then we can leave.  Shouldn't be too hard..."