> Dog and Pony Show: Aftermath
>  by KaraC
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> 1 - Acts of Desperation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sour-faced, the three canines watched the mares and male dragon leave the caves with more gems than most Diamond Dogs could dig up in two or three years.


“Many many gems …” Fido whined.  Rover’s teeth flashed as he snapped at his subordinate.


“Stop speaking in the pony tongue!”  He growled in their native language.  Fido cringed despite his larger size.  “You don’t speak it well enough to show the intelligence I know you to have.  Besides, we have bigger problems.”


Three pairs of ears drooped in unison.  “The Tribute.”  Spot and Fido groaned. 


“Exactly.”  The leader nodded as his mind raced.  As he thought he unconsciously stroked his throat, as though making sure it was still there.  Fido and Spot looked to him expectantly.  “Without it, we’re dead.  If the other packs find out, we’re dead.  If we run, we’ll be killed on sight.  Any way we look at it, we’re dead or we lose our territory.”



“We should have just eaten her.”  Spot grumbled.  “Breaking the treaty with that stupid White Alpha of the ponies would have been worth dying with a stomach full of red meat.”


Rover and Fido rolled their eyes at the remark.  “You eat more than the two of us combined,”  Fido snarked.  “by the First Alphas I swear you have hollow legs. Where do you put it all?”  As the large dog spoke, Rover’s eyes widened and his ears perked up as though he’d just had an epiphany.


“The First Alphas … Spot, Fido, that’s it!  That’s how we keep our throats from the jaws of the Big Bitch!”  He exclaimed as he withdrew a key and opened one of the barred doors.  He was followed obediently by the two males of his small pack into the room.


Tools of all sorts filled the room.  Spare harnesses hung on the left wall with spare carts stacked neatly beneath them.  The middle wall held all sorts of items related to refining the metal from the veins they came across over a primitive forge.  On the left wall was an assortment of woodworking tools any carpenter would drool over.  Spot and Fido looked confused as Rover tossed each of them a hammer, saw and hand-drills. 


They looked at each other uncertainly before Fido managed to work up enough courage to actually question Rover’s actions.  “Boss?  How are these supposed to keep us out of the Big Bitch’s gullet?”  Rover whirled around with an almost mad glee in his eyes.


“You said it yourself Fido!  The First Alphas!  When the First Bitch was Heavy with pups and First Dog was injured they couldn’t leave the First Den, so we brought them food!  That was the beginning of the Tribute!”


“But the Big Bitch isn’t Heavy.”  Spot told him even as realization began to dawn on Fido’s face.


“It doesn’t matter.  A Tribute is still a Tribute.  Be it gems or flesh.  But Boss, the White Alpha …”  Fido trailed off with wide eyes pleading for reassurance.


“Tch.  Her own fault for letting the ponies do what they do.  She knows we’re down here.  Besides, we do this from below, and then fill in the holes behind us and the ponies will never know.”  He walked out of the storeroom bereft of any tools and locked the door.  “We impress them enough, we’ll get a new territory filled to the brim with gems and metals.”  The sour look returned to his features as he looked at the multitudes of tunnels, old and new.  “Unlike this one, no thanks to that whining white mule.”



“Yeah, I get it now!”  Spot perked up as his tail began to wag.  “We give a good enough Tribute, they might even allow us a bitch for our new territory!  We’d finally have a proper pack!  Maybe even a bitch for us in the future, right Fido?”  He winked and elbowed Fido’s hip.  But Fido wasn’t paying attention to the brown dog, he was watching Rover with eyebrows furrowed in worry as the lead diamond dog removed his vest and began fingering the tag dangling from his collar.  His eyes widened in shock as Rover moved both forepaws up behind his head and slowly began to unbuckle his collar.  Even Spot finally shut up.


“This Collar.  This citrine Tag,”  Rover began slowly. “with them, I am your leader; the Alpha of our small pack.  Without, I am the lowest of the low.  A dog with no name, no pack, no territory.  Unidentifiable.  A grunt.  A rogue.”  His large green eyes were fixated on the collar and tag as he rubbed the citrine with his thumb.  “What I do, I do for our future.”  He carefully folded the vest and laid his mark of leadership on it.  “These are my final orders, to be carried out until … if I return.  You two are to get as many as you can in the five days we have until Tribute, the fresher the better, and go on to the First Den.  If I survive, I’ll meet you there.  If I don’t …”  He paused and looked at Fido. “If I don’t return by the time it’s our turn; Fido, I appoint you the new leader.”  Solemnly, Rover presented the vest and collar combo to Fido.  The large blue dog gulped and silently accepted the monumental burden he had just been passed.


“B … Rover.  What are you planning?”  Fido asked, using the dog’s given name, not his previous rank, stopping him mid-jog to one of the eastern tunnels. 


“I’m going for the rarest of delicacies to ever cross an Alpha’s lips,”  He replied before twisting his head so as to look over his shoulder and shoot the two a roguish grin.


“A dragon egg.”  Then he was gone.






Fido’s strong arms powered through the solid dirt as though it were merely air; Spot, being smaller than his blue pack member, was struggling to keep up.  For every stride Fido took, Spot was forced to take three.  Even with his tongue lolling from his mouth he managed to keep up.


“Do you really think this is gonna work?  There hasn’t been a flesh Tribute since … y’know.”  Spot panted.  “The White Alpha’s not gonna like this.”



“Nothing in the Treaty says we can’t scavenge, Rover was right about that.”  Fido replied as he continued to dig.  “Besides, this might just solve the problem the Big Bitch has been having.  She lost another one just two months ago you know.”



Spot winced at that.  “Yeah, I heard about that too.  Wouldn’t let anydog near her for weeks; not even her Big Dog.  I hope you’re right, she’s not getting any younger.”



“Well it’s just speculation;” Fido replied as he stopped digging and turned to face the small brown dog.  “you know the problems didn’t start until after we were forbidden from hunting ponies.  It got worse a thousand years ago though.”



“So what you’re saying … is that things will get better now?”  Hope washed across the entirety of his small body.  Fido’s ears drooped as he turned away to hide his visible unease.



“Maybe.”  Was all he said as he continued digging, though not as quickly as before.  The trip continued in silence for another few kilometres until he abruptly stopped and began twisting his large ears. “The First Alphas are smiling on us.”  Fido told Spot as he pressed his ear to the dirt ceiling above.  


“The funeral is still going.  Spot, wait here and grab the pony as soon as the hole is filled.  I’m going to look for new graves.”  With that Fido began tunneling to the newer section of the graveyard. 


A minute ticked by, then another.  By the end of the third minute, Spot was pacing.


“So bored!”  He declared as he shot a glare up at the ceiling of dirt.  “‘Wait here’ he says.  He’s not the one who’s gotta listen to stupid ponies telling stupid stories.  He lived, he died, so what?”  Spot grumbled as he plopped ungracefully onto his rump; after crossing his arms he began to pout.  “S’not like he did anything special.”



His ear twitched.  “S’not like he’s going anywhere either.”  The epiphany came with an obvious realization.  “That’s it, I’m outta here!” He dove into the nearest wall and embarked on his self-imposed quest for something better to do.  To amuse himself while he burrowed, he started to sing one of the teaching songs he’d been taught as a pup.


“Before dragons could flame,
Before manticores had wings and sting.
Before the star-bears came,
Our minds were waking!”

 
“We discovered how to work together,
To defend and attack.
To live through the worst weather,
We became the Pack!”

  
“To ponies and deer,
To the big and small.
We were the ones to fear,
For we hunted them all!”
 
“The world began to change,
Nothing but ice and snow would fall.
The bodies of boys would become quite strange,
But the girls hardly changed at all!”

 
He stopped singing and popped his head above ground.  Seeing that all but a single pony had left and that the single pony was filling the grave, he grinned.  Going back underground, he traced his steps back to where he’d been left by Fido.


“About time!  Wish we’d been able to mine enough gems to afford bitch guards instead of stupid, neutered grunts!  If we could’ve, then we wouldn’t be stuck scavenging.  Those stupid ponies and their dragon would have fetched a lifetime’s worth of Tribute from the White Alpha.  They were the invaders after all.”  Spot muttered darkly as he ground his teeth and grabbed a rock in each hand to keep from punching the wall.  Sand leaked from his clenched forepaws.


The grit teeth and irritated eyes faded as the grin spreading across his face went from ear to ear as he picked up the hand drill.  “Hee hee!  The pony is almost done!”  His hands twitched eagerly.  “Not yet.”  He reminded himself.  “Just a little longer!”

 
“We are Diamond Dogs, there is no doubt!
Despite our names we are no one’s pet!
Soon the White Alpha will hear us shout,
‘Our oppression you WILL regret!’”

 
As Spot snarled the last line, the pony filling the hole walked away.  He began to carefully cut a hole in the wood coffin.






Tunneling at a respectable pace through the nutrient rich soil, Fido didn’t stop until the root system of the forest treeline begin to seriously impede his progress.  From there he turned so he was digging parallel to the trees.  However he didn’t even get to full speed before stumbling into the spiked bottom of a crude pit trap.  Pressing his nose to one of the jagged spikes and closing his eyes, he began to sniff the lingering scent of whoever had made the trap.  Fido continued to sniff for several minutes, going from one spike to another until he lifted his lips and growled.


“Stupid little …!”  He snarled before reaching up with a massive forepaw, grabbing the lip of the hole and hauling himself up to the surface.  Having landed in a crouch, he cast his irritated gaze around before shaking the remains of the trap camouflage from his fur.  As leaves and sticks briefly flew through the air and landed everywhere; one stick, thicker and longer than the rest, somersaulted end over end into a thick bush.


“Ow!” Came the high-pitched yelp as a head popped up from the undergrowth, followed quickly by another.  “What was that for?!”  The light gray pup whined as he rubbed his head, exposing the green-studded collar around his neck.


“You ruined our pony trap Diamond Dog!  I order you to fix it!”  The sand coloured pup with a black muzzle barked at him imperiously.  His collar was studded with green as well, marking the two of them as being from the same pack.  Fido rolled his eyes.


“I don’t listen to Emerald Dog pups, especially not stupid ones.” Fido shifted his weight to his hind legs and stood tall, looming over the two young males.  “Fill this in and go home before you get your entire pack killed.” 


The gray pup flinched and moved for the trap, only to be stopped by the other one grabbing his tail.  “What do you think you’re doing Bud?!  He’s only a Diamond!  We’re Emeralds!  We outrank him!”

“But Rex … I don’t want mom, dad, aunt Daisy, uncle Marley and uncle Patch to die.”  Bud whimpered.


“Listen to me you stupid little pony-pet, we are the pups of the Emerald Alpha, we don’t submit to a lowly Diamond Dog!  No matter how big he is!  Even together, his dumb pack wouldn’t even get a scratch on aunt Daisy before she tore their throats out!”



Looking bored of the argument between the brothers, Fido interrupted.  “Neither your ‘aunt Daisy’ nor your mother would stand a chance against the White Alpha and her Blue Beta.  Had you actually killed one of their ponies, they would have called for blood.”  Rex and Bud turned incredulous looks toward him.  “You obviously haven’t gotten as far in your lessons as I originally thought if you didn’t know that.”



“What do those two have anything to do with it?  They can’t do anything to us.”  Rex proclaimed proudly, but there was a hint of uncertainty in his eyes.  Like any true predator, Fido pounced at this sign of weakness.


“That’s where you would be wrong.”  He reached up a forepaw and tapped his collar with his claw.  “These collars we wear, they were forced on our ancestors by the White Alpha and her Blue Beta after the Chaos time to mark us.  Divide us!” He ended the sentence with a snarl right up in the pups’ face.  “So, yes.  They can and will take blood for blood.”



The two pups recoiled from the very large teeth being bared not three centimeters from their faces and looked at each other.  Silence between the three hung heavily for a few minutes, broken only by the noises of the wild life in the forest beside them.  Suddenly, with a great gusting sigh, Fido relaxed his aggressive stance and idly scratched his jaw.  “Look, I have better things to do today.  Fill in the hole, go home and ask your parents about the White Alpha and her Beta.”  He turned and walked back to his hole.


“No.  I want you to tell us.”  Rex’s voice floated in his ear.  Fido waved his forepaw dismissively, not even bothering to turn around.


“Forget it pup.”



“If you don’t come back and tell us the story I’m gonna tell our mom and dad that you hit Bud!”
Fido froze mid-step.  The fur that normally laid flat along his spine formed a ridge up his back as it raised at the threat.  His ears twitched occasionally as his mind visibly raced.  Finally his fur returned to normal as he slumped his shoulders in defeat and turned around.


“One of these days some snotty nosed pup from the Sapphire, Amethyst or Ruby Dogs is going to do to you exactly what you’re doing to me.  When that happens, and it will, you mark my words, I’m just going to sit there and laugh.”  He grumbled as the two as he sat down and leaned against a tree.  “Alright; you two know the first song, right?”  Both Rex and Bud bobbed their heads as they sat in front of him.  “Good. I’ll tell you what happened but I don’t want a single yip from either of you, got it?”  Another round of eagerly bobbing heads gave him his answer as he started the story.

 
 
“Once the snow stopped falling and began to melt the three herds, Earth, Flying and Magic stopped fighting and moved to these lands as one herd.  Naturally we followed them and we continued to hunt them as usual for uncounted generations until the three herds began to fight again.  It was of little concern to us until we saw the source of the conflict.  A foal had been born that had the abilities of all three herds.



The fighting continued for many years and even as the foal grew older and able to make her own choices they would not stop.  She left them as soon as she was an adult, probably hoping that without her to fight over, they would stop.  But they didn’t; in fact, our records tell that it actually got worse.  From the fighting came the Chaos.



The magic herd lost the sun and the moon, the flying herd lost the wind and the weather, the earth herd lost the land and their crops as the Chaos warped everything it touched.  Our ancestors were not unaffected as the trees and plants became predators.  Those dogs and bitches unfortunate enough to be consumed by the plants became our cousins, Timberwolves.



A thousand years passed with Chaos as Alpha and we lost many pack members to the fact it liked to curse the prey we ate.  Eating a pony or a rabbit often stole intelligence, but it could change us into other things as well.  Many of the trees in the Everfree were once Dogs that were tainted by Chaos.  Despite our dwindling numbers, we were not idle; no, far from it.  For the lifespan of nine Alphas, each one had every able member of the pack training to fight the Chaos in case the opportunity arose.  But the Chaos never showed any weakness we could exploit.



Then the white mare of all three herds returned to the land and with her was a blue mare just like her.  Our Alpha Dog and Bitch at the time, Longfang and Bloodpaw, told us to be ready.  So we gathered all our fighters and waited.  We waited as the white and blue mare challenged the Chaos.  We waited for many sleep cycles as the three fought.  The two mares finally defeated the Chaos and even though they were tired and weak, the blue mare took control of the moon.



Bloodpaw ordered us to strike!



A quarter of our forces were sent to separate the blue mare from the white one and capture her alive with minimal harm while the rest attacked the white mare to kill.  Many generations since then have wondered at the orders of Bloodpaw, but even today we don’t know the reason behind it. However, I digress.



Thousands of dogs and bitches attacked the white mare and she alone fought them all off.  Then the sun rose on the horizon and on her flank.  Suddenly she was fully healed and all of us were defeated, but not dead.  She called us traitors and creatures of Chaos before she magicked the gem-Collars around our necks and marked not only Longfang and Bloodpaw with Tags, but six others as well.  Diamond was first and lowest, Citrine was above Diamond, then Emerald, Sapphire, Amethyst, Ruby and then Spinel.  She proclaimed herself White Alpha of the ponies and her sister became Blue Alpha of the ponies as well.  But the Blue Alpha was obviously smaller and weaker, so she became known as Beta.  We were forbidden from hunting ponies and warned that any that disobeyed would be slain, as well as their assigned pack.



None of the dogs or bitches really believed her.  They’d attacked her with lethal intent and she spared their lives.  So the Sapphire Dogs were the first, and last, to break this rule.  The White Alpha came down upon them with a vengeance and killed all but a single, Heavy bitch.”

 
 
Fido groaned as he rolled his stiff shoulders and glanced at the now setting sun before turning back to the amazed gazes of Rex and Bud.  “Well, you two … *gurk*!”  He was interrupted by a blur of washed out blue tackling him and pinning him to the ground.  The bear like jaws of the bitch held his throat in a light but threatening grip; her claws dug into his stomach, ready to disembowel him at the slightest provocation. 


“Rex, Bud, go home now!”  The bitch snarled surprisingly clearly despite her mouth being full of throat.  Both pups didn’t even hesitate to dive into the nearest hole that wasn’t their pit trap.  Both adults remained locked in that position for another couple of minutes before the jaws left his throat and the paw left his stomach, leaving behind a yellow pool.


“I swear by the First Alphas I never …”  Fido begged for his life while he remained on his back, all vitals exposed to the bitch now looking at him with a bemused expression as she shook her wet paw off.  “… came upon the trap by chance and when I got out …”



“I know what happened.  Stop pissing yourself and get up.”  Fido rolled onto his stomach and slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position.  With his tail still tucked tightly against his stomach and his shoulders hunched so that her head was above his, he looked up at her and avoided her toxic yellow eyes by fixing them on the emeralds in her collar.  She continued to talk to him.  “I was here the whole time.  When I saw what you were I stayed hidden, figuring the pups would finally learn something.  Never did it cross my mind that it would be a history lesson.”



“How …” Fido gulped.  “How did you know I wouldn’t hurt them?”



“You’re a Diamond.  You’re desperate, not suicidal.”  Her expression was smug as Fido flinched and finally looked up at her with shocked eyes.  “Oh yes, I know; so do the rest of the bitch-guards.  By now I’d wager the Alphas know too the way they talk.”  She yawned and stretched.  “I’m going home now, got to tell my pack-sister what her pups have been up to and make sure this hole is filled before morning.”  As she turned around and began to walk back in the direction she’d leapt from, she paused but didn’t turn to face him as she said, “The White Alpha only said we couldn’t hunt ponies.” Then she vanished underground.


Just as the sun began its descent below the horizon, Fido’s ears twitched as the flat tone of a bell clanged in the distance and his brow furrowed in thought.  The clanking continued for a few minutes before another sound reached his ears, a sound that spread comprehension and delight across his features.


“Moooooooooo.”






Fido and Spot stuck together at the very end of a long line of dogs and with every step one or the other would look behind them.  Past the heavily laden, covered wooden wagon with steel lined wooden wheels that clanked noisily over every bump and down to the entrance of the tunnel to the First Den.  Rover wasn’t with them.


“He … he might just be late.  It’s a long way to Dragon Egg Mountain.”  Spot muttered quietly, hopefully.


“Day and a half there, day of rest, day to steal an egg, day and a half back; that’s saying he survived.”  Fido sighed.  The air between them was heavy as they continued to walk forward.  Reaching into the pocket of his vest, he pulled out Rover’s Collar and Tag.  Spot’s eye was drawn to the gleaming Tag and he scowled.


“Boss’ll be here!”  Spot growled as he grabbed Fido’s wrist.  Fido looked down at the smaller dog with sad eyes and shook his head.


“If Rover had escaped with a dragon egg, we would know by now.  The very forest would be ablaze.  It’s time to face facts Spot, he’s dead and we must have an Alpha when it’s our turn to present our Tribute.”



“Listen,” Spot began earnestly. “the Amethysts just started.  Couldn’t you at least wait until the Emeralds leave the Den?  ‘Cause once that Collar and Tag go on …” He trailed off and whimpered as he looked at the empty tunnel behind them.  Fido sighed.


“Alright.  I’ll wait until the Emeralds leave.”



Only the chatter of the dogs ahead of them filled the tunnel as the Amethysts left and the Alphas permitted the entry of the Sapphires.  The process repeated for the Sapphires and the Emeralds.  Spot whimpered and Fido didn’t remove his gaze from the stones at his paws.  The Emeralds left and with a last somber, longing look behind them; Fido removed his old Collar and put on the sign of his new rank.


Diamond Dog Alpha.

> 2 - Bared Teeth
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Alphas were always a sight to behold.  Their immaculately groomed seemed to shine even in the pitch darkness of the Den and their physiques were very imposing.  Fido and Spot kept their eyes averted from their leaders as they placed the covered Tribute wagon in front of the low ledge the Alphas sat upon.


“Presenting the Diamond Pack, Alpha Fido and Beta Spot.”  One of the Alpha bitch-guards announced, the spinel in her white Collar displaying her rank proudly.  The announcement brought many quizzical looks from almost all the Dogs in the room save for the Alpha and his mate.  All the bitch-guards bore expressions of sad understanding.


“What has become of Alpha Rover for you to wear his Collar and Tag?”  The Alpha Bitch asked, though it was obvious that she knew.


Fido straightened his body from its submissive hunch and lifted his head to meet their eyes.  “Alpha Steelfang,” He first addressed the Alpha Dog before turning to the Alpha Bitch.  “Alpha Widepaw.  In order to meet our Tribute requirement, Alpha Rover surrendered his Collar and Tag to me before going to retrieve a Dragon Egg.  His last order was that should he not return, I was to take his place.  He has not returned, so I stand here and meet your eyes as the new Alpha of the Diamond Dogs.”




“We hear and acknowledge you Diamond Dog Alpha Fido.  Now to address your Tribute; what do you bring?”  Alpha Steelfang asked.  Fido took a step toward the wagon and removed the cover, revealing two cows with broken necks and a unicorn still wrapped in its burial shroud.  “Ah, a Tribute of Flesh.”  He and Widepaw exchanged a glance.  “We are pleased Alpha Fido, ask what you will.”




Hope filled Fido and Spot’s eyes.  “I ask for a new territory as ours is now …”




Fido was interrupted as the fur across the shoulders of every Dog and Bitch lifted when a sudden wave of heat and magic rolled inexplicably through the First Den.  It was a precursor to the sudden arrival of a being that had the entire Pack narrowing eyes, flattening ears, lifting lips and showing teeth.  Princess Celestia was nonchalant as a few bitch-guards growled and snapped their jaws at her long legs in an attempt to provoke a reaction.  Alpha Widepaw was visibly struggling to hold herself back from lunging and Alpha Steelfangs ears all but vanished against his skull.  Fido and Spot scampered away from their unfortunate position between Celestia and their Alphas.


“All Packs are dismissed, return home.  Alpha Fido of the Diamond Dogs, my mate and I grant your territory request.”  Though he was addressing the dogs and bitches in the Den, his contempt-filled eyes never left the alabaster alicorn.


The tension in the room was thick as all the dogs and bitches, save for the Alphas and their guard, evacuated the area.  Widepaw rose from her seated position and met Celestia’s eyes with her own, narrowed bright copper orbs and tail arched aggressively high.


“You are trespassing,” She declared surprisingly clearly in the pony language.  “on the day of Tribute no less!”


Steelfang cleared his throat.  “My beloved mate makes a valid point; I believe I speak for us both when I say your timing is poor and disruptive.”  Widepaw nodded and a nasty smile parted her jowls.


“One must wonder if that was intentional.  After all, there is a reason one of our bitch-guards lives beneath your castle, and it is not by her choice.”


A hard glint appeared in Celestia’s eyes, a glint that would have sent her student running for cover.  Neither Alpha even flinched.  “The treaty has been broken by one of your packs.”


“Hah!”  Widepaw barked.


“If there has been a breach of the treaty, it is on your part.  One thousand years ago you agreed this quarry would belong to us.  Two hundred years ago, when the earth pony town was founded and built, you assured us there would be no interference from them.”  Now Steelfangs eyes narrowed.  “Fourteen years ago a magic foal came here and has been stealing gems ever since.  Fourteen years ago, we sent you a message about the trespass and you have done nothing!  Five days ago, that very same magic mare tortured the Diamonds into digging their mines barren!”  He slammed his paw into the floor.


“Now you come into our Den uninvited on one of our most sacred days and make false claims!  It was not enough you stole what was ours three thousand years ago!  No, you mmmph…!”  Widepaw’s escalating rant was abruptly cut off by the forepaw of her mate holding her muzzle shut.


“Your memory may be long, but ours is longer and more accurate.”  Steelfang snarled.  “You are not welcome here thief, you will never be welcome here.  As of this moment, all dogs, bitches, bitch-guards and grunts of all packs will be told of our new ‘kill-on-sight’ rule concerning all trespassers.”


“That means you as well.”  Widepaw snapped as she took a step toward Celestia.


“Have you finished expressing your grievances Alpha Steelfang, Alpha Widepaw?”  Celestia asked, seemingly unperturbed at the accusations thrown.  The expressions of both Alphas settled on aggressive and angry, but they nodded reluctantly.  “I apologize for interrupting your ceremony, but there is still the matter at hoof.  It would benefit us both for the peace between us to continue, no matter how tenuous.  As such I have personally spoken to the ponies of Ponyville, they understand that the quarry is yours.  Regarding the various trespasses over the years; I would like to offer a repayment for what was taken five days ago.”


The silence in the Den was heavy as the Alphas and the bitch-guards regarded Celestia in bald-faced surprise.  It was as if they didn’t recognize the ruler before them.   A range of emotions crossed Steelfang’s and Widepaw’s faces as they looked at each other.  Surprise, disbelief, suspicion, wonder and the briefest flash of hope before they turned back to Celestia; their suspicion was given voice first.


“The last time you came to our Den,” Steelfang cautiously began.  “you were as lava; flowing through tunnels and devouring all in your path.”


Widepaw’s lips hiked even higher over her long canines.  “Thirty one Dogs and eight Bitches taken for the single pony they took.”


“I will not deny… overreacting to the predation of one of my subjects,” The raised lips of Widepaw and all the bitch-guards dropped marginally at the admission.  “and I will not deny your right to defend your territory to the extreme you have declared; however I ask that you post signs in equestrian that mark the edges of your borders.”  Celestia received a skeptical eye followed by reluctant nods from both Alphas and the full relaxation of raised lips, covering the multitude of exposed teeth pointed in her direction.  “However,”  She motioned toward the three carcasses.  “This is unacceptable.”



Widepaw flew off the handle at that; snapping and snarling incoherently as she lunged for Celestia’s throat, only to be caught in a golden telekinetic field.  Now that she was restrained she began thrashing violently, eyes rolling wildly and beginning to foam at the mouth.


“You go too far!  Release her and leave our Den!  Bitch-guards!”  Alpha Steelfang barked.  The guards leapt into action, surrounding Celestia.  Four of them positioned themselves under their flailing Alpha Bitch, ready to catch and restrain her if necessary.


“No, Alpha Steelfang; I’m afraid it is you and your Packs who have overstepped your bounds.  Expect to receive a message from me in the next few days.”  Lowering the nearly rabid Alpha into the paws of the guards, she released her and teleported in the same heartbeat.


“How …! How dare she!”  Widepaw howled as all the fury started to drain out of her.  “All we’ve lost, we’ve lost because of her!  Thief!  Pup-Killer!  Genocidal tyrant!” She roared before she collapsed, emotionally exhausted.  Steelfang wrapped his forearms around her thickly muscled neck and hugged his mate as his expression turned dark.


“Shhh.  She won’t get away with this, not again.  I promise you that.  Let’s go to bed, a good sleep will bring clearer minds.”  He helped her to her paws and, forearm still draped over her shoulders, led her to an adjacent cave.


Inside the surprisingly snug sleeping quarters of the Alphas, there was a simple bed of grass covered by two bear pelts that had seen better days.  A ledge of worn stone jutting out from the wall made an adequate desk and a low boulder with a flat top sitting in front of it became a chair.  But this stone furniture was ignored for the bed that Steelfang manually fluffed before leading Widepaw onto the softest part.  Once she was settled, he spooned her from behind and they both drifted off to sleep.





In a dark corner of the Den, a shadow moved and revealed Spot; eyes wide with astonishment.  Each step from his hiding spot was slow and deliberate to muffle the sounds from his paw-falls.  In this manner he left the Alphas Den and slunk into a side tunnel. 


On the other side of the Den, lounging in a high, hidden alcove, a lone bitch-guard with spinel studding her Collar gave the retreating Diamond Dog a contemplative look.

 
“Fido!”  Spot hissed as he shoved the shoulder of the large blue Alpha.  “Fido wake up!  I got something important to tell you!”




Groaning, Fido forced open one eye and grunted.  “If the cave isn’t collapsing, I don’t want to hear it.  Where’ve you been anyway?”  He yawned as his eye closed again and he turned so his back was facing the small dog.


“I was at the First Den and you wouldn’t believe what I found out!”




“Uh huh…”  Fido muttered sleepily before his eyes shot open and he surged to a sitting position, now wide awake.  “Wait, what?!  Spot, we were all told to leave!  Are you telling me you disobeyed the Alphas?!”




Spot blinked before averting his eyes.  “Uh, well when you put it that way…”  He started to fidget.
“You little fool!  You never disobey the Alphas!”  He grabbed the shoulders of the smaller dog in his enormous hampaws and gave him a shake.  “Just because you’re not an adult yet doesn’t mean they won’t punish you!  By the First Alphas, tell me you weren’t seen!”




“Relax!  I wasn’t seen!  That’s why I took so long to get back; I waited ‘til the Den was empty.” Spot reassured.  Fido’s entire frame slumped in relief.


“Thank the First Alphas.”  He sighed.  “You can’t take risks like that Spot; you and I, we’re the last of the Diamond Pack.  I don’t want to even consider what would happen if I was suddenly alone, especially so soon after Rover.”




Spot’s body language began to scream remorse.  “M’sorry Fido.  We hear all these stories ‘bout the White Alpha and until today nodog had ever actually seen her.”




“Alright, you saw her, you eavesdropped, what happened after everydog left?”
The small dog’s expression lit up and he began to tell Fido everything he saw and heard.
 




At the same time Spot and Fido were talking, another dog was awake and working.
 
One sleepy copper eye opened as a new sound filled the cave.


The other eye opened now and their gaze wandered to a figure hunched over the desk and busily scribbling away with a pressed coal pencil over some documents.  One of the ears of the figure twitched in the direction of the bed as the pencil was quietly placed in an indent at the back of the desk.


“I woke you?”




“Mmmyes.”  Widepaw yawned widely, exposing her long canines and bone-crunching teeth.  “What are you doing?”




“I dreamt about the confrontation with the White Alpha.  Something I said keeps nipping at my tail.”  He told her as he stood up from the chair and walked into an adjacent cave.  Widepaw followed him in and watched as he scanned the multitude of shelved scrolls.


“You said a lot of things; most of which was recorded on stone before we started using paper.  What are you looking for?”  She asked as she looked through old maps, the most recent one being almost 300 years old.


“I…I’m not sure.  But I’ll know it when I see it!”  He declared as he turned to face her.  “What have you got there?”




“Our most recent map, we did promise new territory to the Diamonds for their Tribute.”  She answered as she traced territorial boundaries with her eyes.  Steelfang nodded.


“That we did.” He turned his gaze to the map and furrowed his brow after a minute of examining it.  “There doesn’t seem to be anywhere for them to go unfortunately.”




“We could expand our boundaries south and southwest, unless we’re going to try moving into the Everfree.”  She told him while her claw carefully traced out her proposed expansion.  As she lifted her paw from the paper her eyes widened and she froze.  Steelfang didn’t notice; he was too busy studying the map himself.


“The Everfree’s not a bad idea.  It has a few good mountains that would probably bear lots of gems and metals.  All the Packs could hunt in there.  The only problem would be the other predators, the manticores especially.” At the lack of response, he looked up from his musing and looked across the map to his mate.  “Widepaw?  What’s wrong?”




Slowly, she turned his eyes at him and her face split into a grin that was downright feral.  “I know how to get at the White Alpha’s throat.”

 


> 3 - Bloody Paws
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The quick clip-clop of metal shoes rebounded in the bowels of the castle as Princess Celestia, with Shining Armour at her side, strode down the sparsely lit hallway. It was by no means extravagant, more like a rough-hewn tunnel and kept in near pitch darkness. Both the Princess and Captain bore serious, no nonsense expressions as they opened a thick wooden door that led into a cave. The spinel studded collar and nearly silver coat of the bitch-guard gleamed in the dim candlelight as she raised her gaze from the scroll she was reading to the two ponies.

“Stupid ponies at door,” she muttered. “What you want?” Shining Armour visibly bristled at her attitude.

“This is Princess Celestia! Show some respect!” he demanded. The bitch-guard narrowed her eyes and rose to her paws, hackles raised.

“No respect to Thief-Tyrant!” she barked.

Celestia brushed Shining Armour’s side with her primary feathers. “It’s alright Captain,” she told him reassuringly before turning back to the bitch-guard. “Where are the reports from your Alpha? I’d like to see them.”

“Earth pony has letters. Every month, first full moon, comes, takes letter.  See him!” the bitch-guard snarled.

Celestia inhaled deeply and exhaled. “What did he look like?”

“Gray body, black long fur on head, tail. Mark is…” she struggled for a minute before she shrugged. Sighing, Celestia used her magic to project a martini glass with an olive in it on the wall. The bitch-guard’s pale orange eyes widened. “Yes.  That,” she confirmed before raising her massive forepaw and slapping an unopened scroll toward Celestia. “New letter, five moon rises.”

“Thank you. In the future, I will be coming to retrieve the reports myself.” The bitch-guard simply gave the two of them a deadpan look before huffing dismissively and walking back to the scroll she had been reading. Taking the hint, Celestia closed the door and began walking away with Shining Armour at her heels.

“Your Highness?” he began tentatively. “Why did you stop me? That Dog should be showing you more respect.”

“The Dogs, like most predators, are followers of the moon; thus my relationship with them has always been strained. I take no offence Shining Armour, and neither should you; it is simply their nature. The females in particular have very short tempers and are primarily members of their Guard. You would do well to remember not to provoke them.”

“Yes, Your Majesty, understood,” Shining Armour acknowledged as they turned a corner into the castle proper and began walking up the stairs to the Royal Wing. “What will you do now, Your Highness?”

“Now we must speak with my nephew, to see what has become of the reports that were never brought to my attention.” A very cross look flashed across her delicate features, sending a shudder down the spine of her Captain of the Guard.

The atmosphere between them became tense as they crested the top of the stairs and walked down the marble hallway. The walls were draped in ancient tapestries depicting moments in a history so far gone the art of stained glass hadn’t been discovered yet. One was a group of regal unicorns raising the sun, beside it was a flock of armoured warrior pegasi brandishing swords in their mouths and on the leading edges of their wings fighting a dragon. A moment of the life of ancient earth ponies frozen in time as they worked the fields and harvested trees followed. As they continued, the woven histories gradually became more unicorn-centric as they closed in on their destination:

The quarters of Prince Blueblood.

Shining Armour couldn’t hold back a disdainful eye roll before Celestia tapped the gaudy, gilded door. It was a few heartbeats before it was opened by a black-maned, gray coated stallion with a martini glass cutie mark. The stallion immediately bowed upon seeing them.

“Your Highness, Captain Shining Armour. Please enter and make yourselves comfortable. Would you like any refreshments?” He stepped clear of the door and gestured for them to enter.

“No thank you Martin, I’m afraid this is not a social call. There are urgent matters I must speak with Prince Blueblood about; if you would be so kind as to inform him of our presence?” she requested as they all walked into the room but chose to remain standing instead of resting on the plush visitor chairs.

“Of course Princess; I shall inform the Prince immediately.” Martin trotted out of the room. Shining Armour twitched his ear before settling his features into a stony, unflappable countenance.

“Auntie!” Blueblood declared enthusiastically as he strode into the room, his eyes landing on Shining Armour. “Captain,” he acknowledged in a much more subdued tone and with a twitch in his cheek. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?”

“Nothing pleasant nephew; the Dogs are taking a much more aggressive stance, I require all the reports that have been collected for the past fourteen years.”

“Those animals?” he blurted. Celestia sent him a disapproving look that made him cough. “Auntie, allow me to deal with them, you need not to sully your hooves with this matter.”

“I’m afraid not Blueblood, any diplomacy at this stage would require the utmost delicacy as it seems I have unknowingly breached the Treaty; a breach that could have been prevented had the relevant reports been brought to my attention.”

Blueblood audibly gulped at the suddenly severe look being directed at him. “Ah…” He began to squirm.

“The reports, nephew. Now.” The time for pleasantries was apparently over and Blueblood was looking increasingly uncomfortable. He was spared further scrutiny by a pale green wisp of ash and smoke that swirled in front of Celestia’s face before coalescing into a neatly bound scroll.
 

Dear Princess Celestia,
 

                I thought our troubles with the Diamond Dogs to be over, but it seems it was only the beginning.  Several signs in their language and ours have already been posted on the side of the road leading into town and along the northwest quadrant claiming that these signs are the new borders of their territory and that any trespassers will be killed! Mayor Mare and I approached one of the guards and asked to speak with their leaders about this. We talked to Alphas Steelfang and Widepaw. They allowed us to read the terms of the Treaty concerning territory expansion along with what they claim are the most recent maps of the area surrounding the quarry that the Royal Cartographers had sent to them.


                Princess, the map predates the founding of Ponyville by nearly a century and the Treaty allows for expansion into crown land that hasn’t been obviously claimed. It’s all legal, so long as they’re telling the truth when they say that is the most recent map received. When I asked about the road, Steelfang asked what I was talking about, and said that there was only a game trail!  And they’re right; the road into Ponyville is only a road in the loosest sense.


                Everypony is trapped here Princess, even access to the train station has been cut off.  Nopony is willing to test just how serious they are about killing trespassers.
 
                
Your Faithful Student,
 
Twilight Sparkle
 
Celestia’s expression became pained as she reached up with one forehoof and massaged her temple. “I’ll take that tea now Martin.”




 
“Burned,” Celestia stated in a deadpan manner.

Blueblood cringed. “Yes Auntie. Six weeks ago one of the servants tripped and broke an oil lantern against one of the archival shelves, remember? It was the day Aunt Luna… returned. We lost not only the Dog reports, but almost half of the Minotaur ones as well. The Archivists are still copying and replacing the lost reports from the Royal Reference Library. Unfortunately the ones from the Dogs were never copied and stored there.”

Celestia took a sip of tea, her expression one of quiet contemplation. “The Dogs don’t trust me, for reasons that are valid, I will admit. And in the current climate, they may attack any ambassador I send who doesn’t have the ability to protect themselves.”

“Perhaps Aunt Luna–”

Princess Celestia cut him off with a curt “No” before he could say anything more. “Luna is still recovering,” was the only reason she offered for an explanation.

“Cousin Cadance is still in Zebrica…” he mused as he sipped his tea. “All the ambassadors intelligent enough to talk the Dogs onto peaceful terms simply don’t have the power or the knowledge to keep themselves safe.” Now it was Blueblood’s turn to sigh. “The predators are always so aggressive and unreasonable…”

“Aggressive, yes. But the Dogs are not entirely unreasonable.  If a neutral party were to approach them, they would listen.” She took another sip and the silence in the room became a tangible thing.

Shining Armour, seemingly forgotten, coughed. “Your Majesties, if I may be permitted to suggest something?”

Two pairs of royal eyes turned his way. “Of course Captain, a suggestion would be appreciated,”  Celestia replied; Blueblood nodded in agreement.

“Patrols along the Gryphon border have frequently reported trading between the Aeries and the Dogs, most often travel permits through their lands, sometimes cloth for gems and refined ores. Given our own good relations with them, they may agree to act as intermediaries.”

All four eyes blinked. “That… might work,”  Prince Blueblood mused out loud. “We acted in the same manner during the squabble they had with the dragons over territory before it could escalate. Auntie, what do you think?” He turned toward Celestia and found a pleased smile gracing her lips.

“It’s a most excellent idea, Shining Armour. I shall send the missive as soon as the ink dries.”

“Thank you, Your Highness,” the Captain briefly beamed before returning to more professional manners by wiping his face clear of all expression.

“Why would the Dogs make such regular trips through Gryphon territory? There’s nothing beyond it but the badlands.” The blue eyes of the Prince were confused, but filled with befuddlement when he saw remorse cover his aunt like a blanket. Her wings and ears drooped as a great weight seemed to drop on her shoulders.

She slowly shook her head. “That which I forbade them from obtaining within Equestria’s borders so long ago: sustenance. I do regret my decision, but not enough to revoke it.”
 
“Sustenance, auntie? You’re denying them the right to eat?”

“The Dogs, like the Gryphons and Dragons, are top tier predators. Unlike Gryphons, however, they cannot eat fruits, vegetables or grains; and unlike Dragons, they cannot survive solely on gems. Thus their diet used to consist of anypony they could catch. After I forbade pony predation, I strongly suggested that hunting any sapient life would be to their detriment. Unfortunately, enforcing that edict within the Everfree where they do hunt is problematic,” Celestia calmly told her nephew, who had turned a very unflattering shade of green by the end of it. “Let’s return to much more promising matters, shall we? What do you propose we offer the Gryphons for their assistance?”

In a single instant of silent mutual agreement, Shining Armour and Prince Blueblood glanced at each other with worry in their features.




 
Luna’s pursed lips and drooping ears were the only visible signs of hurt as she watched her sister and the Captain of the Solar Guard leave the quarters of her nephew with an air of accomplishment about them.

“T’was obviously a meeting of great import, why were We not invited to attend?” she whispered to herself despondently as she turned to walk in the opposite direction. “Does Tia still think Us weak?” She twisted her head to glance at her dark blue body and her very plain tail.
 
“Perhaps she is right to think so. We hath not yet regained much of Our power. As yet, We are still unable to raise Our moon.” Sighing, she glanced out a window that offered a decent view of Canterlot. As usual, now that the moon was out, all the streets were empty. “Nothing has changed. Our night remains shunned by Our subjects.”
 
“The moon is high,
The air is sweet.”
 
Luna’s ears quickly flipped forward to isolate the dim strains of music riding in on the moonlight streaming in.

“Stars shine and dance,
The ponies hide…”

“Their fear, our boon
The Night is ours
Raise your nose
And praise the mooooon!” 

The last word stretched into a high pitched howl. With a dull ‘clop’, Luna’s shoes landed on the sill of the window as she stretched her neck outside, her ears still swivelling.
 
“The sun we fear
Her rolling heat
Light like sharp glass
The Tyrant leers.”


“We hate her we loathe her.
She stole our voice,” 


Luna’s coat rippled with darker colours as she launched herself from the window and banked left.

“Our Champion.
Our Alpha of dark azure.”


“The moon is high,
The air is sweet.
Stars shine and dance,
The ponies hide…”


“Their fear, our boon
The Night is ours
Raise your nose
And praise the mooooon!”


 
The singing stopped there and Luna’s eyes widened as she rounded a tower wall and saw… nothing.  The singer was gone.

“No…” she muttered as she landed in the soft grass. “No, no. Where art thou singer? Why hast thou left when thou were singing to Us? Dids’t thou not know We would hear thee?” She scuffed her hoof into the soil, releasing the still fresh motes of scent that had been clinging to the blades of grass. Luna sneezed, then she blinked.

“We know this scent…” She trotted toward the base of the castle, occasionally dropping her nose to the ground and sniffing. The colour of her coat continued to fluctuate as she ignored the guard posted at the entrance to a cave and entered it. Her nose dropped once more to the floor as the ever-darkening hallway she traversed offered nothing but the lonely echoes of her shoes striking the stone floor and the lingering scent of the singer.

Passing the wooden bulkheads supporting the walls and ceilings from the weight of the castle above and wall sconces holding torches, Luna took it in with curiosity. “So strange, yet so familiar…” she trailed off when she stopped in front of a wooden door. Hesitating for a moment, she knocked.

A low growling sound began that became louder as the occupant closed in on the other side of the door. Luna’s fore-hooves shifted so they were perfectly in line with her body, her chest thrust out, her neck arched, her head angled downward so her gaze burned into the door and her shifting fur colour settled into a very dark, nearly black, cobalt blue.

The door slammed open and the Alicorn and bitch-guard stared at each other for a heartbeat before the bitch-guard, the one that had disrespected Princess Celestia earlier that day, dropped like a sack of bricks to the floor and exposed her belly with a reverent whisper.

“Alpha.”





Foam-flecked saliva flew from the flapping tongue hanging from the frothy lips of the bitch-guard from the castle as she ran through the long tunnel connecting her cave in Canterlot Castle to the First Den. Her exhaustion was audible in each rasping breath, in each deep gulp of the air her body must have been screaming for.  But she didn’t stop to rest; despite the bloody prints each pounding paw left behind and the wild look in her eyes she kept running.
 
Dogs and bitches fortunate enough to see the black spinel set in her white collar jumped out of her way while those not so fortunate were ruthlessly shoved aside as she barreled through. With a final leap she surged into the Den where the Alphas were holding an audience with the Amethyst Pack and collapsed as though boneless, heavily panting.

The Den exploded with activity and noise as all those present all rushed to the prone bitch-guard.

“She can’t breathe!”


“… choking her!  Get her Collar off!”


“Call the Healers!”


“… water!”


“Not that much!  She’ll just throw it back up!”


“… paws are shredded!”


“SILENCE!”  Both Alphas roared in unison and the noisome Den suddenly became silent as a tomb as every Dog and Bitch there gave them their utmost attention.

“Better,” Alpha Steelfang told them. “The Healers are coming, so We expect all of you to get out of their way so they can do their job. We understand you want to help her, but crowding her like that will do no good.” During Alpha Steelfang's speech, Alpha Widepaw had softly padded over to the bitch-guard and began to remove her Collar. Once it was off, the bitch-guard began inhaling great gulps of air.

“A-Alpha…” she wheezed as her eyes focused on her superior.

“Shhh,” Alpha Widepaw soothed. “I’m here Luella, you’re safe.”


“A-hah-Alpha…” Luella whined, her eyes showing desperation as she raised a single, badly shaking and bleeding forepaw toward the Alpha Bitch. But it got no higher than the rainbow hued Tag before it fell back to the ground. Alpha Widepaw gave Luella a comforting lick between her ears before turning to Alpha Steelfang.

“I’m going with her to the infirmary.” Her tone brooked no argument and he simply nodded his head. The Healers arrived with two grunts bearing a stretcher between them. Even Widepaw stepped to the side as they began to examining Luella, checking her pulse and airway while field bandaging her still bleeding paws. They carefully loaded her on the stretcher and gave the grunts their orders to take her straight to the healing cavern. Widepaw followed behind the Healers.

Time passed as Alpha Widepaw sat patiently across the tunnel and out of the way of the Healers running around with supplies and barking orders at each other. Finally, the Healer in charge of Luella approached her, eyes low.

“We’ve done what we can. She will recover, but it will take time and lots of rest.” He glanced toward the room he’d just come from. “She’s insistent that she must speak with you, to the extent she’s fighting the sedative. I ask that you be brief Alpha; her recovery will be hindered if she doesn’t let the potions and herbs do their job.”


Alpha Widepaw nodded. “She ran her paws bloody all the way from her post at the heart of the White Alpha’s territory just to tell me something. As soon as she relays what she must, I’m sure she’ll rest,” she reassured him before turning and walking into the room.

Luella was in a sad state. The muscles around her shoulders twitched involuntarily under her slate fur, her tongue was bound with cloth to her bottom jaw so she didn’t accidentally swallow it in her drugged sleep and each of her four paws were swathed to just past her wrists in layers of thick bandages.

“What’s so urgent Luella? Why did you run without rest?”


“Owpha.” Luella’s speech was distorted by her inability to use her tongue. Alpha Widepaw leaned forward as the injured and drugged bitch continued. “Owpha Moon ith back! Hah mind fugeth, hah haht emembath!”


“Did I hear you correctly Luella? Did you say ‘Alpha Moon is back. Her mind forgets, her heart remembers’?” She pinned the prone dog down with her searching gaze as a nod answered her question. “Are you absolutely certain?

” Another nod. “This changes everything,” she murmured. “How long has she been back for? Did you find that out?”


“Thick weekth, almoth theven! The ith healed of hah dahkneth.”


“Alpha. Please, I must insist you leave now,” the Healer said as he entered. Alpha Widepaw glanced at him before turning back to Luella.

“No. There are still things Luella needs to tell me.” He frowned at her response and crossed his forearms.

“The more she fights the potions, the more stress her body experiences. The more stress on her body, the longer she’ll take to heal. I don’t want to have to exercise my Healer’s Prerogative over you, but I will if you don’t leave and let Luella rest.”


A brief snarl escaped Alpha Widepaw’s throat, but the Healer didn’t even flinch as he stared at her. “Fine,” she admitted grudgingly before turning back to Luella with a much more gentle expression on her face. “I’ll be back tomorrow. Rest now. You’ve done your duty to Us. Another bitch-guard will take your post at the castle. Do not speak of what you told me to anydog, understood?” She watched Luella nod in affirmation and turned to leave. She paused as she reached the Healer.

“I don’t appreciate being threatened Healer Skye, you of all Dogs should know that.” She growled lowly, threateningly.

“The Healer’s Prerogative allows me to override even you if your actions threaten your health or that of any of my patients. You may be The Alpha, but we Healers will do anything required to make sure the ill and the injured have what they need to heal; if that means kicking you out, so be it.” He stood firm against his Alpha’s anger as her nose twitched. The face-off ended when a wry grin curled the corner of her muzzle.

“Good. Keep that strength Healer Skye. The winds of change are coming and you’ll soon need it. I trust you won’t repeat what you’ve heard?”


Healer Skye relaxed and a genuine smile crossed his features. “On my Oath as a Healer, Alpha Widepaw, not a word will escape my throat.”


As Alpha Widepaw walked away, Skye’s smile melted into a troubled frown. “Winds of change indeed,” he murmured to himself while glancing to make sure his patient was sleeping. Seeing her deeply slumbering form on the bed, he nodded and quietly padded out of the cave. The two grunts that had carried Luella from the first den were still standing in the hall. “You,” he said pointing to the one on the left. “Go to the sleep cave.” His gaze turned to the other one as the first lumbered off. “You stay, guard door. Only me allowed in. Understand?”


The dull eyes of the guard gave Skye a languid blink before he slowly nodded and sat in front of the entrance to Luella’s room. Healer Skye sniffed the air for a few moments until he rolled his eyes and began jogging through the healing caverns with an exasperated sounding sigh. After going around a corner, he slowed down and strolled into another cave with a stern expression.

The Dog on the bed before him was missing large patches of fur on his chest, belly and forelegs. The exposed areas were covered in severe rashes and signs of frantic scratching. One forearm was securely tied to the bed, so Healer Skye grabbed the free forepaw that had apparently escaped it’s binding before the claws could do any more damage than it already had as evidenced by spots of slowly oozing blood. The chuckle that escaped from the white cone surrounding the Dog’s head was of embarrassment.

“Uh… hello Healer Skye.” It was probably a good thing the cone blocked the absolutely venomous glare the Healer was directing at him.

“How did you get your forepaw free this time? You’d better not have dislocated your thumb again,” he warned darkly as he examined the paw in his grip and the rope still around the wrist. “Hmmph, you used your claws to fray the rope again.” He grunted before twisting his head toward the door and barking. “Apprentice Healers Hound and Tracey, come to Patient Oliver’s room immediately!”


“Aw come on Healer Skye, the last time you called those two in they put this cone on me!” the Dog whined.

“They put the cone on you because you kept chewing your shoulder! This time they’re bringing the boots and steel chains because you don’t have a toothful of the self-control your hunt partner did!” Healer Skye growled.

“Not the boots! They’re so humiliating!” he protested loudly as two Apprentice Healers entered the room. The Dog, Hound, held two lengths of thick chain and the Bitch, Tracey, carried a large, thick pair of leather forepaw mittens.

“Yes, the very same boots we give for those unfortunate enough to be afflicted with mange! As I’m sure you’ve noticed by now, I released your hunt partner to return to the Amethysts because he didn’t once scratch himself until he was fully healed. You, on the other paw, have twice clawed through rope, dislocated your thumb, torn the hook out of the floor by brute force and broken the rope the same way nearly five times! It’s no wonder you blundered into what must have been the only patch of poison ivy in the entirety of the Badlands!” the Healer snarled irritably as he motioned Apprentice Healers Hound and Tracey over to his side.

For the next ten minutes, Oliver’s room was the scene of much overly dramatic howling and whining and pup-like squirming and thrashing while the three Healers secured the mitts on his large forepaws. Following that was the replacement of the breakable, rope wrist binding with solid chains and, eventually, a new application of ointment over the rashes before it was all over.

Panting with his recent exertion, Skye motioned his equally exhausted Apprentices to follow him out of the room and led them down several tunnels to his office. He glanced longingly at his chair before motioning Hound and Tracey to sit. Both sat with a relieved groan as he reached for a shelf and pulled down three metal mugs.

“Water anydog?” Skye offered. His offer was met with two enthusiastic nods. “Thought so. Patients like Oliver almost make me wish I was still training grunts.” Mugs in paw, he took a few steps toward a large barrel and twisted the valve on the tap attached to the bottom.

Nose scrunched up in disgust, Tracey looked at the older Dog as he leaned tiredly against the barrel and watched each mug fill with crystal clean water. “Why would you wish you were training grunts? You’re the Alpha Healer in the Caverns, a very prestigious position.”


“Heh,” Skye muttered as he twisted the valve shut and shot her a wry grin over his shoulder. “It’s because at least I know it only takes five or six repetitions for the grunts to understand a new task. Oliver there, he’s a Healer’s worst nightmare, won’t listen to common sense. He’d be back with the Amethysts by now if he just exercised some self-restraint.” His head slowly shook from side to side. “Besides, you shouldn’t disparage the grunts. If anything, you should pity them,” he remarked, lightly admonishing Tracey and passing them their mugs before sitting on a chair and taking a swig.

“They’ll never know the love of a bitch, they don’t understand the love of the Pack, they can’t even Sing, or speak.” Morosely, he watched the water in his mug as he swished it around. “They can only do things they’ve been trained to do. Sad to say, the average pony-pet is more intelligent than they are these days. It’s degenerative too, their intelligence.  Each generation will be a little less intelligent than the last until they’re little more use than the slag from the refineries.”


The silence in the office was thick as Hound and Tracey gaped at him with hanging jaws and flabbergasted faces.

“B-but why?!” Tracey sputtered.

“Can’t we do anything for them? We’re Healers, we should be helping them!” Her fellow Apprentice blurted out.

Healer Skye finally lifted his eyes from his mug and they were full of sorrow, the sorrow of a Healer who knows their patient is dying but can do nothing to ease the pain. “I dearly wish we could, but for the grunts there is nothing we can do but tend physical wounds.” He paused before standing and moving toward a shelf of books and running a digit along each spine until stopping at a thick tome and pulling it down. Turning back toward his chair he turned its cover toward his two students. “At this point in your Healer training, you should know this book, ‘The Dog Body’, inside and out. Tell me, what does it say about magic?”


Hound and Tracey gave each other a brief, baffled look before turning back to Skye. “Nothing. There’s nothing in the book about magic,” Hound finally spoke. Healer Skye nodded.

“Exactly. Contrary to what you’ve been told, this book is not the be all and end all of how our bodies work. In fact, it only contains the physical: fur, skin, muscles, ligaments, tendons, bones, cartilage, organs, etc. … But what about the metaphysical? Souls, for example?” he asked before taking another sip of water and looking at them expectantly.

Hound tilted his head quizzically. “Souls… are what make each of us unique, according to our parents, anyway.”


“Ah hah!” Skye cried triumphantly and pointed a digit at them. “Take a minute and think about that. Then think about the grunts.”


Tracey lifted a skeptical eyebrow. “Are you trying to tell us… the grunts have no souls? That’s impossible, all creatures have a soul. They can’t exist otherwise.”


Skye’s expression turned grim as he admitted “And that, my Apprentices, is where magic enters the equation. Just as all creatures have souls; all creatures have a bit of magic as well. Some can access this magic, consciously or subconsciously. Others, like us, can’t access it at all. This magic anchors our souls to our bodies and when we die, the magic goes back into the world and our soul goes to join the First Alphas. Now… the grunts are different, their origin goes back about four hundred years.” He paused and took another drink. “Any questions so far?”


Both Tracey and Hound shook their heads, utterly entranced by the lesson so far.

“No? Alright then. The story itself is a long one, but the gist of it is this: four hundred years ago, Citrine Alpha Knight found an underground pool and discovered it made a twin of any who entered it. But each twin could only focus on the last thought in Alpha Knight’s mind when he went into the water. Some could only focus on hunting, some on finding gems, some on mating with a bitch, etc. The product of those unions are a lesson for another day, suffice to say, it’s the reason all grunts are neutered. My point is, even today the grunts are created by magic, and magic alone is the only thing that enables movement and learning, to its limited extent. Are they intelligent? No. Do they have personalities? No. All they can do is what they’re trained to,” Healer Skye finished with a sigh.

“What happens when the grunts die?” Tracey asked softly.

“Their bodies return to their base state, magic, and return to the pool.” Without looking at them, Skye waved a paw toward the exit and muttered wearily. “Dismissed.”



> 4- Studies In Canis
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the moon vanished in the west and the sun truly began its ascent, Twilight Sparkle could be found sitting at the edge of one of the orchards of Sweet Apple Acres, saddlebag filled with quills and blank scrolls, simply looking past the new boundary the Dogs had set. Every time a patrol passed her line of sight, she set her quill racing across the parchment, scribbling notes and sketching whatever body part she could get a clear view of. Slowly, a picture of a bitch came together amongst all her notes. The quill continued to fly across the page as she narrated her observations out loud.

“Distinct sexual dimorphism between males and females; male forelegs/arms are an estimated two times longer and significantly more muscled than hind legs. Exact joint/wrist range of motion is unknown but is fairly wide according to a witness statement; they are able to pick objects up and articulate forepaw digits independently. Females appear to be primarily quadrupeds with the ability to stand in a bipedal posture for a short amount of time.”

Twilight paused and tapped her chin thoughtfully before continuing. “Both genders exhibit digitigrade hindquarters and plantigrade forequarters; with the female bearing thicker, stronger claws on the forepaws. This suggests the females are more hunter/fighters than their male counterparts." As she finished the paragraph, Twilight couldn't help but shudder at what she written.

“What are you doing?" A gravelly voice asked from behind her. Twilight’s ear rotated toward the sound but her gaze remained fixed on the forest in front of her.

“Studying the Diamond Dogs; there’s an alarmingly inadequate amount of information about them in any of Equestria’s libraries," she replied as another patrol passed, her brow furrowed a little in confusion as a notation was made about the colour of the gems in the collar.)

“I asked Princess Celestia about them, but she could only tell me things that are painfully obvious. They’re obligate carnivores who occasionally supplement with gems and follow a pack structure," she huffed as her quill continued to dance. “Then she advised me to stay away from them.”

“Hmm, so for the sake of learning something new, you are disobeying her?”

Twilight squirmed. “I’m technically not disobeying her. I’m staying outside their territory and merely observing—Ooo!" One of the bitch-guards had stopped and was openly staring right at Twilight and the one she was having her conversation with.

“Interesting…" she murmured as she picked up the quill in her telekinetic grip again and set it to paper. “Collars are seen bearing different types of gems. Thus seen are emerald, citrine, ruby, sapphire, amethyst, diamond and black spinel; possible link to pack structure," she noted, lost again in her research. A few minutes later, another bitch-guard, this one with sapphires in her collar, stopped and stared right beside the citrine studded one.

“Would it be rude of me to ask what you have learned by your ‘observing’?" The voice asked politely.

“What?" Twilight asked in a distracted way before her ear flicked and she belatedly answered the question absentmindedly. “Oh, right. Well I have a lot of theories right now; facts are few and far between I’m afraid. Why are they just standing there?”

“Please, I am very interested. I would like to hear both.”

“I’m sorry,” Twilight apologised as she shook her head. “until I have more than circumstantial evidence to support any of my theories I can’t tell just anypony; it would be irresponsible of me as a scientist to allow what is currently only speculation to promote a negative, well even more negative, bias against the Diamond Dogs. Especially if everything that’s happening now turns out to be a simple cultural misunderstanding.”

“Hmmm, it is perhaps a similar situation to that of the first negotiations with the Gryphons?" Twilight’s unknown guest mused aloud.

“Exactly!" Twilight declared. “Negotiations broke down because Ambassador…" she trailed off as she finally turned her head to speak directly to the one behind her.

Alpha Widepaw sat there, looking very amused.

Twilight slowly stood up and took a step backward, the sudden surge of adrenaline in her system shrinking her iris and pupils to mere pinpricks in terror. The Alpha raised one lethal looking forepaw the size of Twilight’s entire head… and scratched behind her ear before turning to the frozen pony.

“Calm down. It is as you say, you are outside our territory. Neither I, nor the packs, have any power here." Alpha Widepaw stood and loped off toward the forest. Twilight stared before calling out to the retreating bitch.

“Wait! Why are you doing this to Ponyville? Surrounding us and cutting us off?”

The Alpha laughed as she vanished into a bush and called out a taunt that hung in the air of Sweet Apple Acres. “Learn, little pony. Learn what our future holds and I will answer all your questions!”

Twilight’s ears slowly came forward as she tilted her head slightly with her brow furrowed in thought. Her expression then morphed into determination as she began to pack up her notes and quills.  “I’ll be holding you to that promise, Alpha Widepaw,” she commented to the empty space around her as she used her magic to adjust her saddle-bags before trotting toward Ponyville.










“Alpha,” the Sapphire bitch began tentatively. “I don’t understand. The pony was right in front of you!”


“You would be wise to remember to not question my choices." A baleful glare was sent to the subordinate. “Any other day, I would’ve punished you for that. Not today though, no, for I’ve learned something important. Go to Diamond territory; tell Fido and Spot I want to see them immediately. And you,” Her gaze turned on the Citrine bitch, “return to your patrol. Tell nodog what happened today.”

“Yes Alpha," the two bitches responded in chorus as they went to fulfill their assigned tasks.

Alpha Widepaw watched them go before turning deeper into the Everfree. The thick canopy above her did not allow the rays of the sun to touch either her or the forest floor and instead cast everything in dark shadows. Her gait, however, was loose and unconcerned even with things rustling in the bushes behind her as her olfactory senses went into overdrive. Steadily, she approached a large hill topped by a truly massive tree that stretched into the sky. Carved deep into the hill was the entrance to a large tunnel and it was from this gaping maw of soil and stone that a glowing pair of green eyes appeared.

“Shhh. It’s just me cousins," Widepaw soothed in a surprisingly soft voice. “I have good news; Alpha Moon is back from her banishment. She has been for weeks now, according to the bitch-guard at the castle. I know we’ve missed her first full moon, but we will change that. We made a mistake a thousand years ago by telling her everything; it only enraged her, brought forth her dark aspect. This time, we must sing to her heart." She paused and listened to a seemingly wordless whine before she shook her head.

“No, I haven’t told the packs about Her return yet. That information must come from a different source at the right time, when the attention of all the Packs is on her. I promise though, when the right time comes, if she hasn’t revealed Alpha Moon’s return, I’ll push her into confirming it." There was a chuff from the darkness and Widepaw smiled sadly as she turned away.


In the First Den, Fido and Spot patiently waited for their Alphas and were rewarded as they strode in calmly and took their position on the low ledge. “My mate and I have an important task for you two, one that will take you beyond the safety of Our territory and will necessitate the aid of the bitch-guard We will send along with you." The two Diamond males looked up sharply at that with wide eyes and bated breaths.


“Eyes down!" Alpha Steelfang snapped. Fido and Spot were quick to obey but stole a nervous glance at each other.


“We are hesitant to send Spot along with you Fido, as he is still young, but at this time it would be cruel to separate you two after your recent loss. So We decided the both of you, plus the bitch-guard, will travel to the Rogue pack and tell them they are encouraged to return.”



“The Rogues?!" The Diamonds yelped in surprise mixed with a high pitch of frantic fear. Fido took the conversation from there.

“Ah… pardon our sudden outburst Alphas," he began with an apologetic tone, “but the Rogues… we are very surprised you would welcome them back, given their crimes against the Packs.”


“Understandable," Steelfang nodded. “Be sure to tell them it is less ‘welcome back with covered teeth’ and more ‘screw up just once and exile will be lenient’.”



Fido gulped. “Understood Alphas," he acknowledged. “Is there anything else we should make sure they are aware of?”



Alpha Widepaw’s eyes widened in an ‘ah’ moment. “Actually yes, there is." She turned around and withdrew a rolled scroll from a shelf behind her carefully with her mouth. As her mouth was full, Alpha Steelfang continued for her.


“On this scroll is the Mark of a magic pony. The mare that bears this Mark is under Our Protection, for the time being. For those who do return with you, it’ll be your job as their Alpha to make sure they Get It. The rest of the Packs will be informed as they leave for their patrols." 

When he finished, Alpha Widepaw dropped the scroll and it unfurled when it hit the earth below. Spot’s eyes flicked upwards for less than a heartbeat and he received a nod from both Alphas. Reaching one light brown forepaw forward, he picked up the scroll and fully unrolled it, fully revealing the Mark outline within. One large six-pointed star sat atop another one and surrounding it were five smaller stars. Fido barely choked out his next words.


“Y-yes Alphas. We’ll go as soon as you give your permission.”



“You have Our permission and Our blessing; bitch-guard Kell is waiting for you at the East exit." The two Diamond Dogs nodded respectfully to their Alphas before departing the Den.


Alphas Steelfang and Widepaw waited in the silence for nearly ten minutes before their posture relaxed and they retreated to their private cave before Widepaw whirled on her mate.


“I can’t believe I agreed to this! The Diamonds? Steelfang, what were you thinking?!”



Steelfang actually flinched at the sudden outburst and turned to face her with a confused expression.


“What? Widepaw, you were all for this earlier, what happened?”



“What happened is that I actually took the time to think about it!" she snapped. “And I found that the more I thought about it, the more absurd it was!  I’m a Bitch of my word though; I held my misgivings until I could confront you privately.”



“I know you have your reservations about the Diamonds, especially since they started this whole chain of events," Steelfang soothed. “Hear me out at least." Widepaw sat down and nodded, but her eyes bored into him. He seemed unaffected by her smoldering anger. “What do you remember about Rover the most?”



She blinked and raised her eyebrow. “We rule over a few hundred Dogs and you expect me to remember the quirks of a single Dog, a dead Diamond no less?" Steelfang nodded and she rolled her eyes. “I only know this because all the bitch-guards are such horrible gossips; Rover was obsessed with that white thief, so much so that it’s a wonder he didn’t take her sooner." Her eyes narrowed again. “I hope you get to your point soon, a dead Dog has no relevance in the here and now.”



A knowing grin split Steelfang’s face from ear to ear. “This morning, you found that magic pony watching the patrols. When you told me about it, you admitted to being impressed by how much she had seemingly learned just by watching in those dawn hours.”



“And this connects with Rover… how?”



“Now I want you to imagine what a Dog who watched a pony using gem-finding magic for almost fourteen years could learn." Steelfang lifted a forepaw up in front of her muzzle and a soft, wavering blue glow surrounded it. Widepaw’s jaw just about hit the ground. “Great bounties await those who survive a famine, love. Rover figured out how Dogs could harness magic; he left behind a legacy that all Dogs, now and forever, will remember his name for.”










The silence between Fido, Spot and Kell was thick and heavy as they made their way up the slight incline of the tunnel. Kell’s expression was of boredom, Spot’s face betrayed his unease and Fido’s was a confusing mix of apprehension and anger.
 
“Fido,” he began, “what’re we gonna do ‘bout the rogues? They’re probably a lot stronger than us.”
 
“Older too,”  Fido rumbled irritably. “But definitely not wiser. I don’t know what we’re going to do yet. For all we know, we’ll get there only to find out the traitors have killed each other in a massive power struggle. They’re certainly capable of it.” 

Kell turned her head to address Fido. “What do you know about this bunch of rogues that I don’t? If I’m going to keep you two Diamonds alive, I need information.” 

Spot’s head swivelled and he looked at her with wide eyes. “You don’t know? I figured with the way you bitches talk, all the packs knew by now!”

 
“No, nodog talks about the rogues. All that the bitch-guards of the time will tell us is that they’ve been ordered silent by the Alphas about the incident, which is strange because no Alpha has ever ordered silence on anything.” She shook her head. “I honestly can’t think of any reason they would.” 

With his stony faced gaze fixed on some point ahead of them, Fido grunted and his hackles began to rise.  Spot flinched and shut his mouth before dropping back a couple of metres. Seeming to catch the hint, Kell fell back and joined the younger dog. “What’s his problem?” she whispered. Ahead, Fido’s ear flicked but he said nothing. 

Spot’s gaze watched Fido’s reaction to the question for a few steps before he apparently decided it was safe to answer in a barely audible voice. “I dunno. I’ve never seen him like this before. It’s kinda scary. Done lots of stupid stuff and he’s never gone hackles up before.  If I was you, I wouldn’t bug him.” 

The corner of Kell’s mouth twitched upward. “Don’t worry pup, I’m a Spinel, I can handle a Diamond Alpha. Tell me what you do know.” 

Spot’s head shook. “Not much. I wasn’t long off the teat when everything happened. All he and Rover ever told me was that a bunch of stupid dogs and bitches got banished for cheatin’ against the Alphas,” he shrugged.
 
“Cheating? How so?” Kell asked. She only got another shrug in response from Spot.
 
“Alpha Challenge. They laced the Alphas’ dinner with poison joke the night before,” Fido told them quietly, stopping in his tracks. “The Alphas didn’t order silence because of what the poison joke did to them, no, they could have lived with that.” He had Spot and Kell’s attention now and they strained their ears in their attempt to hear his words. “They ordered silence to protect the ones who couldn’t protect themselves from possible retribution if word got out. To protect those so loyal to them, they refused the orders of their own family. Rover, myself and you, Spot, we became the last of the Diamonds.” Fido turned now, his stony expression gone and replaced with regret. “Rover and I were twelve when our pack was banished Spot; our plan was that we would tell you when you were a full adult and able to defend yourself. Then the three of us would go to the Den, tell the Alphas it was time we shouldered the weight of the crime our pack committed.”

The two were frozen in place with visible shock at the tale, but Fido continued as he walked up to Spot and sat down in front of him. “You must understand Spot, the Alphas have always shown us kindness, understanding and forgiveness. The first Tribute Day after the banishment, Rover and I went to the storage cave to use the gems put aside for a new territory, only to find them all gone. The rogues had taken it all with them when they left. The Alphas forgave us that year, and the year after that, and the year after that. You were only four when we had our first, proper Tribute. My brother and I raised you as best we could; we tried to make sure you had enough food, make sure to teach you all the lessons and Songs we’d been taught, give you the chance to enjoy your youth.” He chuckled ruefully. “We knew that we had at least succeeded there, given how much trouble you regularly got into.”

Fido turned to Kell now. “If all of them are still alive, we’ll be facing a pack of twenty two dogs and bitches; maybe more if any of them have borne live pups since then. And don’t think I didn’t hear your remark about being a Spinel means you could defeat me. The Diamond Alpha back then was my father and if he hadn’t tried to cheat, I think he would have had a decent chance against Alpha Steelfang. You have youth on him, maybe even speed, but he has more experience than the three of us put together.” He pointed his fore claw at her nose. “Remember that.” 

Having made his point, he turned around and continued walking. Wide eyed with the recent revelations, Spot hurried to his side.
 
“Y’never said what’chu were gonna do if we found them.”

 
“The only thing I can do if they don’t submit to Alpha Steelfang’s and Alpha Widepaw’s orders,” he told Spot as they reached the end of the tunnel and emerged into the moonlit sky just outside of the Everfree. “An Alpha Challenge.” 

“Assuming you win, that is,” Kell mentioned from his other side. “What then? Are you really going to trust a pack of traitors just like that?”

 
“Not a chance.” Fido shook his head before meeting Kell’s eyes. “That’s why I’m naming you Beta, to make sure they don’t stab me in the back and to watch them and see if any of them are trustworthy.”


> 5 - Truths part 1: Ancient Theft
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The atmosphere that hung over Ponyville at high noon was tense and full of fear as its citizens crowded into town hall in utter silence. Behind one of the curtains, Mayor Mare skimmed the speech that Twilight was holding up before her. Finally, with a faint smile, she turned to Twilight. 

“It’s a very good speech. Clear, concise and reassuring to the common pony. However,” Mayor Mare’s small smile turned into a light frown. “I’m a politician, Ms. Sparkle, and I know how to read between the lines. What’s really going on?” The eyes of the mayor were piercing, almost predatory as they met with Twilight’s. The lavender mare sighed.
 
“Princess Celestia is contacting the gryphons and asking them to act as intermediaries between her and the Diamond Dogs. There’s a chance that they won’t though; they have a very good trading relationship with them, so Ponyville might soon find itself in the middle of a war between Princess Celestia and the Dogs.” Mayor Mare’s face was just about matching her dyed mane by the time Twilight finished her breakdown of the situation. Twilight hurriedly rushed her next sentence. “It might not come to that though! I haven’t told the Princess yet, but the female Alpha seems to like me for some reason. She caught me watching the early patrols six days ago from Sweet Apple Acres and made an offer; if I meet the terms, she’ll tell me everything about why this is all happening.”
 
“And those ‘terms’ are… what exactly?” the tan earth pony asked warily.

“Nothing I shouldn’t be able to find out with as much research as I can safely accomplish. She said, and I quote, ‘Learn what our future holds.’ It must be something that can be deduced here in the present for her to phrase it like it was a foregone conclusion.”
 
The Mayor breathed a sigh of relief. “You had me worried for a moment there Twilight. I hadn’t expected something… reasonable.”
 
Twilight’s eyes furrowed in a moment of confusion before her expression sprung into one of shock. “Mayor Mare! Surely you didn’t think…!”

“They are carnivores, Ms. Sparkle; they’re not always the reasonable sort,” Mayor Mare countered. Twilight’s ears folded back and she gave the elected official a stern look.

“You know as well as I do their Alphas are reasonable; they didn’t have to show us their agreement with Princess Celestia, but they did.” Twilight paused and chewed her lower lip as she looked around. Seeing there were no other ponies within earshot, she leaned toward the Mayor. “I do have a theory, about why they’re doing this; but no solid proof. What I need is time to do research. If ponies start to panic…” she trailed off and shook her head. “It won’t be good.”

“The very fact you’re researching a way to settle this without bloodshed will be a reassurance in and of itself. Good luck, Twilight, and stay safe.” She rolled up the speech and carried it out to the waiting podium.
 
“I wish I could promise you that I will,” Twilight whispered to the space Mayor Mare had recently occupied. “But some answers have to come straight from the Diamond Dog’s mouth.”
 



 
The citizens of Ponyville were calmly speaking with each other as they left the Town Hall in an orderly fashion once the Mayor had finished her speech. Among the crowd, Rarity’s daily attention to her personal beauty had her shining like a diamond atop a manure pile. Head held high atop strained neck muscles, her eyes scanned back and forth, pausing only briefly on four other ponies. Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack and Rainbow Dash; Twilight, it seemed, was nowhere to be found.
 
“Rainbow?” she called to the hovering pegasus with a quavering voice, as though she were on the verge of crying. “Can you see Twilight from up there?  I haven’t so much as caught a glimpse of her today and I must speak with her about a most urgent matter.”
 
Rainbow Dash’s head and body whipped around as she checked the crowd below. “She’s not here. Don’t worry though, I’ll find her in ten seconds flat!” With a single, powerful flap of her wings the only thing visible of the cerulean pegasus was her rainbow trail as she zoomed off.

Grinning as her mane and tail flapped wildly behind her, Rainbow Dash whooped in exhilaration while she slalomed around a few puffy clouds. A spot of purple near the Everfree forest brought her to a screeching halt before she pitched over into a steep nose-dive.
 
“…Don’t leave!” Her ears twitched as the unicorn’s plaintive call entered her hearing range. Concern washed across her face and she fully flared her wings to quickly land.
 
“Twi! What’re you doing here?! Are you alright?!” she asked as her eyes darted from the clearly marked Dog Boundary sign to her friend, sweeping over her form.
 
“I’m fine Rainbow! I’m alright!” Twilight was quick to reassure. “I was trying to collect more data about the Diamond Dogs.”
 
“By yourself?!” Rainbow exclaimed incredulously. “Not cool, Twi. Seriously not cool!”
 
“They won’t talk to anypony but me. If they even think somepony else is in earshot, they take off; just like Beni just did,” she sighed.
 
The pegasus choked back a laugh. “B-Beni?!” she blurted. “What kind of a name is ‘Beni’?!”
 
Twilight shot her snickering friend a very flat look. “Beni is a… somewhat eccentric female with rubies in her collar, an excellent command of Equuish and… very… good… hearing…” she trailed off as understanding dawned across her features. “Rainbow… she heard you before I even knew you were coming! Their auditory senses must be extremely sensitive!”
 
“Heard me coming?” She stuck out her tongue and did a brief raspberry. “No way. I was cloud level when I saw you. She probably saw my sheer awesomeness and left because she knew I’d have taken her down in ten seconds flat!”

Twilight shook her head at that. “It's not likely she saw you, Rainbow. I’ve noticed their eyes are highly photosensitive.” She saw Rainbow Dash’s baffled look. “It means that bright lights hurt their eyes and they can see in the dark better than we can see during the day. If she heard you at cloud level, then their hearing is better than I thought.” Her eyes took on a thoughtful, faraway look and one could practically see the finely tuned gears in her head spinning.
 
“Whatever egghead. Come on, Rarity wanted to talk to you about something.” Rainbow lightly slapped Twilight’s nose with her primaries and snapped her out of her daze. “Come on, slowpoke!” she challenged before taking off.
 
With a final, lingering glance at the sign behind her, Twilight began lightly trotting after Rainbow Dash back towards Ponyville.
 



 
The Carousel Boutique was abnormally dark and quiet as Twilight approached the door, so much so that she paused and looked at all the shuttered windows. It looked very unwelcoming and she hesitated as she brought her hoof up to knock.
 
“It’s open Twilight.” The voice from inside was barely distinguishable as Rarity’s, cracked and broken as it was. Worry replaced the apprehension on Twilight’s features as she opened the door, stepped into the Boutique and closed it behind her, leaving her in utter blackness.
 
“Rarity?” she queried as she lit her horn and let its light cast the items in the room in sharp relief from the dark. The light also illuminated her friend slumped over her design table and glinted off the tears running down her face. “Are you alright? Why is it so dark in here?”
 
“I do not wish the world to see the monster I’ve become. A thieving, selfish beast that doesn’t care about the misfortune and misery she forced upon an entire race for the sake of something as petty as fashion!” she spat with a voice filled with self-loathing. “If only I’d known the fate I was forcing on them… all those babies…” Rarity whimpered before she trailed off and fell into a round of heart-wrenching sobs.
 
Twilight rushed over to her and wrapped Rarity up in a firm hug. This prompted a wail from the fashionista before she whirled and returned the hug with fervour with her face buried into Twilight’s neck. “Shhh… You’re not a monster, or a thief,” she soothed as her hoof stroked Rarity’s back. “You’re a wonderful, generous pony. It’s not your fault. None of this is your fault.”
 
The two unicorns remained like that for nearly half an hour, Rarity holding on to Twilight as though her very sanity depended on it and keening in anguish while Twilight ran her hoof up and down Rarity’s spine murmuring soft, almost inaudible words of reassurance. When Rarity wound down to the occasional sniffle from her crying jag and released her desperate grip, Twilight gently pulled away and lifted the chin of the forlorn unicorn so their eyes met in the dim glow of her horn. Rarity was a frightful sight with her mane all askew, tear-matted cheeks, runny nose and red, puffy eyes.
 
“Please, Rarity. Tell me what’s wrong. Are you hurt?”
 
“Not…” she sniffed. “Not physically, darling,” Rarity admitted as she visibly tried to pull her mental faculties together. “I must look horrendous.” Her statement, while weak, was true; Twilight wisely said nothing and simply looked expectant. Rarity sighed. “It really is my fault you know, all of this. I never thought to ask myself why Diamond Dogs mined gems and until earlier today, even after Princess Celestia’s speech, I didn’t understand. Now I do, and with a horrifying clarity at that.” Her eyes became dull and her voice clearly relayed her emotional exhaustion.
 
Twilight nodded in a ‘go on’ gesture.
 
“After completing all five outfits Sapphire Shores ordered, I found my gem supply running low again. So I set out early this morning in the hope I would find a deposit outside their territory. My gem-finding spell led me to the bottom of Ghastly Gorge. However it was already occupied by eight female Diamond Dogs. Naturally, I hid behind a large boulder and it was then I saw they were all carrying bags and busy digging holes. I thought that they were burying gems for later, like what Winona does with bones and toys.”

Rarity’s lip began to quiver as her eyes shone with new tears. “Then… then… Oh Twilight! It was awful!” she wailed as she threw her forelegs around Twilight again. “They weren’t burying gems at all! They were burying a bunch of newborns! And… and… when they were done… I had my epiphany! I understood!” She pulled back her head and stared at Twilight with slightly manic eyes. “Princess Celestia said the gems were like vitamins for Diamond Dogs. All those poor females lost their babies because of me! I kept mining their vitamins without a care in the world, vitamins those infants needed to survive! All so I could sew them onto dresses and sell them! There were thousands of those little graves Twilight! Thousands! Most of them recent in the last year or so!” Rarity was hyperventilating now, the mania that had been in her eyes replaced with panic. “Oh sweet Celestia! I’m a murderer Twilight! A heartless–”
 
SPLASH!
 
Rarity’s suddenly sopping wet head and mane from Twilight’s water conjuration spell abruptly stilled in the sudden, deafening silence of the darkened boutique.
 
“You’re not a murderer, you’re hyperventilating!” Twilight snapped as Rarity stared at her incredulously. “Follow my lead. Deep breath in.” She closed her eyes and inhaled. “Hold and release.” The exhale blew a few dangling droplets from Rarity’s mane. The corner of Rarity’s eye twitched and she opened her mouth only to have it covered with a purple hoof. “Inhale through your nose.” The contact seemed to snap the white mare out of her stupor as she rapidly blinked her eyes and removed the hoof from her mouth.
 
“Twi, darling, I appreciate your attempts to comfort me in my bleakest hour; but I will not, neigh, cannot accept your false platitudes. The facts are–” she didn’t get to finish as Twilight interrupted her.
 
“Facts, Rarity?  I know the facts, and they’re telling me that tensions between the Diamond Dogs and Princess Celestia have been rising for centuries, more likely millennia. What happened between us and them was the pebble that triggered the inevitable avalanche.” Twilight shook her head and moved to the window, chewing her lower lip “I’m still not sure of the exact reason they hate Princess Celestia, but I do know why they’ve trapped us here in Ponyville.”

“W-why?”

“This is a strike against the Princess. The Alphas are trying to make her feel what they do: fear, impotence, and despair.  Somehow, they’re bound to Equestria and can’t leave until the Princess does something. What, exactly, I don’t know yet,” she sighed. “The Diamond Dogs are going to become extinct soon unless they move on. The worst part is, though, all the adults know it.”
 
Rarity could only gasp in horror. “No!”
 
Twilight nodded as she calmly replied. “Yes. And Rarity, you absolutely cannot tell this to anypony. If this information fell into the wrong ears, ponies might think the Diamond Dogs weak and try to rally other ponies to drive them away. If the Diamond Dogs are threatened like that, well, I don’t even want to postulate the outcome.”

“I understand darling, my lips are sealed.”
 
The silence between them hung heavily as they appeared to be lost in their own thoughts.
 



 
Seated at an alabaster desk in a study that glimmered brightly with the rays of the sun beaming through a grand, open window, Princess Celestia seemed buried beneath piles of paperwork. Her expression was bland as parchment slid off the stack on her left, was scanned by her bored eyes before receiving a stamp, then moved to either the pile on her right side or onto a smaller tower resting on a side desk.
 
Just as a sheaf of parchment joined the shorter stack, there was a knock at the massive oak doors.  Visibly relieved for a distraction from the tedium of paperwork, Celestia looked up and softly called, “enter.”

One of the doors opened, showing a guard in full armour. “Princess,” he began, “Gryphon Ambassador Greer wishes to speak with you.”

Celestia’s face lit up in delight. “Thank you Lieutenant, please show him in.”

With a bow, the guard retreated from the opening and was replaced by a slender, dust coloured gryphon with small, round glasses perched on his beak.
 
“Princess.” He gave a slight bow that acknowledged her station. “King Grailor of the Misty Valley High Aerie has sent his response to your request for an intermediary between yourself and the Gem Dogs.” There was a peculiar note of apprehension in his voice as she reached into his shoulder bag with one hand and withdrew a sealed scroll. Holding it out in front of him, Greer opened his talons and offered the bound missive on his palm.
 
“You seem nervous, Ambassador Greer.” Celestia idly commented as her magic levitated the scroll to her muzzle, allowing her to inspect the wax imprinted with the seal of the Gryphon Royal Family: a crown floating above a rampant gryphon.
 
“I know my King, Princess Celestia, and I do not believe his response will be the one you seek.”
 
“I see,” she responded neutrally as she neatly broke the wax and unfurled the letter.
 
From the Ebon Throne of King Grailor IV of the Misty Valley High Aerie
 
Greetings Princess Celestia of Equestria. I write this letter with heavy wings for honour and alliance dictates that I refuse your request for negotiatory assistance between Equestria and the Gem Dog Alphas.

The Alliance between Gryphonia and Equestria is greatly valued and I wish it to remain so through your turbulent skies with the Gem Dog Alphas. Therefore I have instructed Ambassador Greer to disclose any relevant information regarding the Alliance between Gryphonia and the Gem Dog Alphas.
 
The Ebon Throne of the Misty Valley High Aerie wishes you Fair Winds in your negotiations.
 
King Grailor IV
 
Silently, almost ominously, Celestia placed the letter on her desk and gave Greer a measuring look. His leonine tail puffed out and twitched even though his own expression remained neutral.
 
“Now, Ambassador Greer, let us talk about the Gem Dogs…”
 




 “Sister!” The yell was not quite at the level of the Royal Canterlot Voice, but it was close—close enough to completely overwhelm the sound of the Lunar Princess furiously stomping down the marble hall.
 
“Luna?” Celestia’s voice queried before the massive doors to her bedchambers opened and her head poked out. Upon sighting her younger sister her eyes widened fractionally as she took in the changed appearance of the Princess of the Night. Luna was taller, darker and possessed her astral mane.
 
“Sister,” Luna began at a lower volume, but with no less fury than her shout less than a minute before. “Thou hast been withholding thy conflict with the Gem Dogs! They art most incensed with thine egresses of late!” she ranted.
 
“Please Luna, come inside. The hall is no place to discuss a delicate matter.” Celestia turned back into her room and Luna followed, the door closing behind them and becoming locked with an ominous ‘k-thunk’.

Inside the room, Luna was visibly still fuming but holding her tongue. “I take it you spoke to Bitch-Guard Luella.” It was more a statement than a question, but still received an affirmative nod from Luna. “Yet you are angrier with the thought I’ve done them wrong rather than the fact I didn’t tell you, are you not?”
 
Fury melted into shock at Celestia’s revelation before it morphed into confusion. “Why… yes…” Luna murmured thoughtfully. “But… why didst thou not inform Us of this conflict?  Doth mine opinion not yet bear weight to thee?”

“Oh Lulu.” Celestia sighed. “Of course your opinion matters to me. I just wanted to keep you away from the Dogs; now I understand what a mistake that was.” She looked out to the mid-afternoon sun. “The Dogs are right to call me what they do; they suffer for my selfishness.”
 
Luna spluttered at that admittance. “They have no right to insult thee so! You are no thief, no killer of the young and certainly not a genocidal tyrant!”
 
“The definition of thief has not changed since it was coined some millennia before my birth. I am guilty of stealing their most precious treasure three thousand years ago. Had I not, they would have likely left Equestria long ago.”

“Tia!” Luna exclaimed, shocked. “Return this treasure to the Gem Dogs. Surely this conflict will end once you do!”
 
“It is not that simple Luna, for this treasure has become most precious to me as well.”

“Come now, Tia. ‘Tis only a trinket,” the younger princess cajoled as she approached and stood beside her sister—only to freeze when she saw tears in the elder’s eyes.

“You are no trinket, Luna. You are my sister and once, long ago, a bitch’s only child.”

“What?” One might have thought Luna on the verge of losing her voice had they heard the disbelieving hoarseness of her answer.

Celestia’s head lowered as she closed her shimmering eyes in barely repressed remorse, letting the tears fall gracefully to the floor. “I… I had been wandering for nearly a century, and I was so lonely. When I happened to glance upon you playing with the Dogs and the pups one night, you could not have been more than twenty years old. I told myself that because we were the same, we were meant to be together. But unlike you, I had been raised amongst ponies and I feared the Dogs at an almost instinctual level. So I waited. I waited until the unicorns raised the sun and you went to sleep, then I cast a sleeping spell around the entire area before I went underground. It was easy to locate you even in the dark labyrinth; you were the only one who radiated magic.”

Lifting her head, her still glistening eyes met Luna’s as she continued her confession. “Along the way, I passed many caves with bitches curled protectively around their litter while their mates slept facing the tunnel. It was not anything like I had expected of the Dogs and I had just begun to reconsider my decision before I found your cave. Even though you were a pony, you were curled into the bitch’s stomach as securely as any of the other pups I had seen. I must have stood there for almost ten minutes just looking at you before I picked you up with my magic. Perhaps it was the fact you were being moved in an unfamiliar way or you subconsciously sensed me, but you woke up, and when you saw me you began to yelp and whine, just like one of them. Your cries woke the bitch and upon seeing me she charged.” Celestia released a heavy, burden laden sigh.

“She howled as she chased me through the tunnels, snarling, biting and snapping at my hocks. As soon as I was clear of the tunnel I spread my wings and took off. I did not realize my ascension was slower than my land speed until I felt the pain of her jaws clamp around my leg and break the bone. I wildly kicked my legs until my uninjured hoof slammed into her stomach and forced her to let go…” She flinched before visibly forcing herself to finish the sentence. “…from almost cloud level. I will never forget the sound of her body striking the ground, nor the sight of a thousand pairs of eyes glowering hatefully at me.”

“Tia…” Luna’s voice trailed off momentarily and her ears flattened before she spoke again. “I remember none of this…”
 
Celestia shook her head. “You would not. After I stole you, I tried to teach you how to speak, how to interact with other ponies, but you fought me at every turn. Every night for nearly a month, if you were not howling for the Dogs to find you, you were attempting to either sneak away or outright kill me. I quickly became impatient and frustrated and one night, while we fought, you managed to get your teeth around my throat. I panicked and instinctually lashed out with magic; the bolt struck you and you… changed. It erased everything and you were suddenly like a newborn, you could not stand, could not walk, could not feed yourself. You were changed physically too, your coat and mane became lighter and you lost nearly a hoof in height.”

Ears still flat and eyes now wide with shock, Luna took an uncertain step back.
 
“Luna, please…” Celestia quietly beseeched and took a step forward. It was the wrong thing to do. Hooves began skittering on the polished marble floor as Luna bolted for the balcony with wings half spread. “Luna!” her sister called as she burst out the fragile balcony door. “LUNA!”

The younger Princess paid no heed to Celestia’s Royal Canterlot Voice as she launched herself off the balcony with wings spread and horn aglow as the moon peeked over the eastern horizon.


> 6 - Truths part 2: Divided Mind, One Body
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna flew hard and fast, ignoring the wind forcefully tugging small feathers from the leading edges of her wings and crystalline tears from her eyes. Her ear twitched as the faint echo of Celestia’s last cry of her name hung in the air, prompting her to fly even higher in a desperate bid to flee. Soon she reached such an altitude that the wind no longer moved and the curve of the world could be seen.
 
“A lie, everything was a lie!” she cried out as her fury rose. “I am no Princess of Equestria!” Removing her crown, gorget and shoes from her body she glanced at them before throwing them away with disgust written all over her face. Watching them fall, all the fury seemed to drain out of her as her entire posture slumped. “If I am no princess, then who am I?”
 
“We are Alpha Moonsong,” a voice answered sternly. Luna’s neck and head snapped upward in shock and when she saw what was before her. She cried out in no small amount of fear and rapidly back-winged, putting a good bit of distance between her and the speaker. There floated the semi-opaque form of Alpha Moonsong, formerly known as Nightmare Moon, armour and all.  Luna herself had fully reverted to her smaller, lighter form in the face of her literal and figurative darker half.
 
“No!” Luna exclaimed. “Thou shalt not take me again monster!” she told the shadow defiantly and pitched down, hard, only to slam into a shield of moonlight. “How dare thee! Thou wouldst use the power of the Moon against me?!”
 
“I do no such thing!” Alpha Moonsong responded almost indignantly. “This shield is borne of the Moon itself, for it is far past time we had a proper talk. So has the Moon decreed, so it shall be!”
 
With an expression of utter contempt and disbelief, Luna shot a bolt of magic at the bubble surrounding the two lunar alicorns, obviously trying to shatter or dispel it. Thus, when the bolt struck and was absorbed, surprise briefly washed over her face before settling into wary reluctance. Through all this, the image of Alpha Moonsong had not moved. “Thou wert destroyed by the Elements of Harmony. By what blasphemous manner of necromantic magic hast thee used to return?” she finally asked after giving the shadow mare a measuring look.
 
“I was never destroyed. Not two months ago, not a thousand years ago, nor three thousand years ago. As soon as we were struck by the Elements upon our release from the moon, I inexplicably found myself almost entirely separated from you, tethered only by the thinnest of strings.” Alpha Moonsong began circling Luna like a predator. “You are me, and I am you. While powerful, the Elements of Harmony cannot, neigh, will not, irreparably alter the very core of any being. Certainly they will excise a negatively influencing outside force, bind the utterly irredeemable and, in our case, personality suppression.” She stopped her circling and faced Luna head on. “I do not pretend to know what forces direct the actions of the Elements outside of their Bearers, but I do know that the string that binds us allows us to share power.”
 
Luna was quiet, but did not take her suspicious eyes from Alpha Moonsong even as one ear slowly twisted in the direction of Canterlot. The only sound in the tense air between them was the sound of her own slow wing-beats keeping her aloft. “No amount of power will give you a corporal form. I have the body…” she trailed off.  Alpha Moonsong finished the sentence.
 
“…whilst I have the memories.”
 
Luna sighed. “Speak no ill of Celestia within range of my ears and I shall hear your words. Despite her… errors in judgment, she cared for me.”
 
Alpha Moonsong’s nostrils flared as she inhaled sharply and opened her mouth to retort, and then closed her mouth with a grimace as though she’d swallowed something extremely unpalatable. “Agreed,” she ground out. “Be warned though, there are truths you will hear tonight about her you will find… very difficult to accept. As candid as Spinel Bitch-Guard Luella was with you, there are things she does not know and that Celestia has forgotten in the past two millennia.”
 
“How is it you have knowledge of these things then? We have been disconnected from the world and its affairs for the same amount of time,” Luna pointed out, only to be on the receiving end of a dirty look.
 
“YOU have been disconnected. From the moment we returned I have been checking in on our true family, the Gem Dogs. And let me tell you, I am VERY displeased by how Celestia has ignored her responsibilities to them.” Alpha Moonsong scowled.
 
Revelation dawned on Luna’s face just then. “It was you… you are the cause of the trouble they now cause Ponyville!”
 
Alpha Moonsong idly buffed her hoof against her chest and examined it. “I may have slipped an idea or two into the dreams of the Alphas. It is a shame, really. Despite their adaptability, they have almost no talent for being subtle or dishonest and in the politics Celestia surrounds herself with, it has dearly cost them. That is something I will have to teach them, if they survive the next two hundred years, that is. And in order for that to happen, they must all leave Equestria.”
 
Luna looked at her black-coated half with an unreadable expression. “Surely they know this, to strike against Celestia so. Why have they not?”
 
Alpha Moonsong rolled her eyes. “As we both know, Celestia’s temper rarely gets the better of her. But when it does, her emotions rule her actions, not logic.” The specter turned around and began descending. “Follow me, this is something you will have to sense for yourself, else you will not believe me.”
 
Luna found herself forced to follow as the barrier surrounding them pushed her rump in the same direction. Snorting indignantly, she angled her wings and sailed to Alpha Moonsong’s side, only to widen her eyes when she saw the primary feathers on her left wing sweep right through the semi-translucent mare. “It is only because we both are currently under the protection of the Moon that I extend any trust to thee, Nightmare Moon. One falsehood from thy lips…” she threatened as they closed in on Ponyville, more specifically, Twilight Sparkle’s Library.
 



 
Twilight exited the Carousel Boutique just as the bell of the clock tower solemnly rang four times before falling silent. Pausing as the door closed behind her, her eyes darted among the throng of nervous ponies entering the market and she sighed. “The sooner this is all over with, the better it will be for everypony.”  Determination flashed onto her face. “Now to get those answers I was promised.”  Her hurried canter drew a few curious glances from the townsfolk, but upon seeing that nothing was chasing her they went back to minding their own business.
 
Rounding a corner to a road that led straight to the Everfree, Twilight instead found herself gazing directly at the library.  Pausing mid-trot, she came to a halt and began to lightly chew her bottom lip in thought for a moment before she changed direction and trotted toward the library.
 
“Spike?” She questioned as she entered and looked at the checkout desk, only to not find her draconic assistant there. “Spike!” Twilight shouted and was rewarded by the clattering of falling pans in the kitchen before the irritated, grumbling adolescent appeared.
 
“Yeah, yeah. I hear you Twilight, keep your horn on.”
 
“Spike,” she began seriously. “This is serious. I’m going to go meet with Alphas Widepaw and Steelfang, alone.”
 
“Who?”
 
Twilight sighed at the clueless expression she was receiving from the young drake. “They’re the leaders of all the Diamond Dogs,” she explained before continuing quickly, though somewhat haltingly, so that Spike’s open-mouthed shock could not interrupt her. “Princess Celestia… doesn’t know… I’ve been talking with them.” She managed to force out.
 
“Twilight! You can’t go alone!” Spike objected loudly as he rushed the lavender mare and clung to her foreleg like a limpet. “They’ll hurt you!”
 
Sitting down, Twilight brought her free foreleg around Spike’s back and gently began stroking his scales with her hoof in a reassuring manner. “I’m almost entirely certain they won’t, Spike. The Diamond Dogs that have spoken with me thus far have all said the same thing; I’m under the protection of the Alphas. It’s their version of Diplomatic Immunity.”
 
“I still don’t trust them,” he mumbled into her chest. “Can’t you just ignore this and let the Princesses take care of this? Dealing with this kind of trouble is their job, not yours.”
 
Twilight slowly shook her head in the negative as she rested her chin on his scaly head. “I wish I could, but I can’t. They won’t speak with her, none of them will. Right now, I’m the only pony with the ears of both Princess Celestia and the Alphas. Besides, I have a super-important task for my number one assistant.” Smiling, she pulled back just enough to meet his eyes as, across the room, a quill and parchment levitated over to them. After grabbing the items in his claws, Spike looked up almost eagerly at Twilight. “Alright Spike, take a letter.  Dear Princess Celestia…”
 



 
Standing at the border, Twilight released an explosive gust of air from her nostrils and began to quietly reassure herself. “Okay, I can do this. Every Diamond Dog I’ve spoken to thus far has told me I would be safe in their territory. Not only that, I do have a backup plan.” She took another deep breath. “All I have to do is find a guard who understands enough Equuish to take me to Alpha Widepaw and hope it’s not–” her quiet self-directed pep-talk was abruptly cut off as a maroon blur appeared out from behind a thick pine tree and tackled her, sending both dog and pony somersaulting uncontrollably across the leaf littered forest floor several times before being forcefully stopped by another tree.
 
“Twilight!” A throaty, feminine voice squealed excitedly as two massive paws scooped up the dazed and dizzy mare into a bear hug. “Divine daughter of the waking moon and setting sun, how my heart lifts to lay eyes upon you once again!”
 
Plopping her chin on the thickly furred foreleg wrapped around her chest, Twilight groaned and face-hoofed. “Beni…”
 
The ruby-collared bitch gently released her pseudo-captive with apologetic drab-olive eyes. “Apologies, gentle-mare, for my infantile behaviour. The mere sight of your star-blessed countenance fills my soul with such joy it is nigh irrepressible.”
 
“It’s alright Beni. Just… don’t pounce on me from out of nowhere anymore, okay? I think you scared a few years off my life.” Her tone was light, obviously joking, but Beni didn’t pick up on it at all if the way her expression morphed into sheer horror was anything to go by.
 
“No! Tell me you speak false, twilit mare! Our time within these mortal shells is short as it is; to be the one to reduce yours by any means or measurement would mean doom for all Dogs, for our Alpha Moon has joined the First Alphas and you must now be our Voice to the White Alpha.” Beni’s entire being spoke of utter desperation as she lowered her large frame onto the ground as far as it would go.
 
Throughout the entire impassioned speech, Twilight had taken a few uncertain steps back with wide eyes.
 
“Wha…? No, Beni, I was kidding. It was a joke. There’s no scientific evidence that a fright can take years off a pony’s lifespan.”
 
The bitch-guard surged to her paws and pounced on Twilight again. “Oh sparkling star, I dread the mere thought of unintentionally harming you! How my soul soars to know I have done no injury!”
 
“Beni, I don’t have a lot of time to spare. I need to speak to Alpha Widepaw. She owes me some answers,” Twilight told her, and watched as she turned her head away with a pained expression.
 
“We… we had best make haste then,” the bitch-guard sighed and her previously delighted expression was replaced with a forced smile before turning and walking deeper into the trees. “As such an intelligent mare, I know you must have many questions. I shall answer all I can. However, I must ask that you resist from querying about… that… until you are with Alpha Widepaw. A subject such as that which pertains to our very existence upon this world is best discussed directly with her.”
 
Twilight’s expression was one of sad understanding before withdrawing a thick list from her saddlebag. Her next sentence brought forth a genuine smile from Beni though. “Well, it just so happens that my research into Diamond Dogs has proven how little ponies really know about you. So I’ll be focusing more on your culture, history, beliefs–” Beni interrupted her there.
 
“Oh Dusk-touched, I would be thrilled to be the one to aid in your pursuit of knowledge! The first thing you must know is our name. We, as a whole, are either Gem Dogs or simply Dogs. To refer to a Dog by a rank below them is actually quite an insult so heinous, deaths have occurred by its very inference.” She saw Twilight flinch and continued. “When speaking with one whose name you do not know, you must refer by the gems in their Collar, then gender. Had destiny cast a contemptuous eye upon our first encounter, for you my designation would be ‘Ruby Bitch’ or ‘Ruby Bitch-Guard’.”
 
The lavender scholar’s eyes lit with comprehension as she hurriedly levitated a quill and inkpot beside the list and began to write. “Fascinating! Now you said the gem types denote rank, how does that work?”
 
“To understand our Collars, you must first know their origin. An origin which spans the eons to the ending of the Chaos Time…”
 



 
As the forest slowly faded into the rocky quarry, Twilight’s quill was racing across her now much longer scroll.
 
“Thus did the Thief-Tyrant not only Collar us as though we were her pets,” she snarled the word as she reached up her left forepaw behind her head, used her dewclaw to hook under her collar and slid it off her head, leaving it dangling from her paw. “She alone appointed herself Our master, and enchanted these cursed items so we could neither destroy nor leave them behind.” Beni finished and flicked her paw, sending the collar flying. Twilight watched it sail two meters away before it unexpectedly vanished with a soft ‘pop’ and reappeared around Beni’s neck.
 
Wide eyed with a mixture of shock and curiosity, Twilight asked “Can I take a closer look at your collar?” and received a nonchalant shrug from the bitch as she removed her collar once more. Twilight gripped the ruby studded collar in her telekinesis and closed her eyes in concentration. Beni watched in an awed silence as another layer of aura wrapped around the first on Twilight’s horn, prompting quill and parchment to begin jotting down nonsensical runes and alchemical formulae. The quill paused for a minute as Twilight’s brows furrowed in what may have been confusion, given the way her head tilted ever so slightly.
 
Slowly, almost hesitantly, the magical aura darkened a few shades. Beni’s nose wrinkled before she sneezed and her expression became one of concern. The concern was not unwarranted as blackness began to ooze and bubble through the previously light magic and sickly green wisps escaped from Twilight’s eyelids.
 
“Augh! What is this odour offending my nose so?” Beni grunted as her eyes began watering from the stench. “Please stop!” she barked. There was no change in the mare. “Twilight?” she asked again as her eyes darted between her floating collar and the stiff, almost frightened unicorn. With a growl, she lashed her paw out to strike the collar away, only for the ominous magic to retaliate with a sizzling whip that forced Beni to retract her burned paw with a pained yelp. Narrowing her eyes in determination, she moved backwards several steps until the collar vanished and reappeared around her neck, still wreathed in dark flames. Immediately, Beni dropped to the forest floor, writhing and screaming in agony. Twilight, either by the absence of the collar from her grip or the bone-chilling shrieking of Beni coupled with the smell of burning fur and flesh, snapped out of her daze. Blinking, it took but a few heartbeats for Twilight to take in the situation and react to it.
 
“Beni!” Twilight cried out in shock as she conjured a globe of water and encompassed the still sizzling collar and the seared flesh around it. Beni groaned in relief as she finally stopped thrashing. “I… I’m so sorry! I don’t know what happened! Are you okay? No, of course you’re not okay, what was I thinking?” Continuing to rant, a couple of hairs from Twilight’s ruler-edged mane style sprang up as she began to pace. “Fluttershy could…” she glanced at Beni. “No, that’s a magical burn; she wouldn’t have the proper neutralizing salve. Ponyville General would have the salve and all Equestrian doctors are oath bound to any and all who come seeking aid… if they don’t run away screaming first… but with tensions so high and Beni unable to defend herself… no, bad idea. Think, Twilight, think!” Twilight muttered a second before her face lit up with an apparent epiphany. “The laboratory! Why didn’t I think of it before? My medical kit is fully stocked!” she declared triumphantly as she literally leaped to Beni’s side and lit her horn. Both vanished from the forest with a wink of light.
 



 
The laboratory under the library was a truly impressive feat of earth pony design. Roots thicker than a stallion’s neck supported the slightly curved walls of the subterranean chamber, absorbing water from the soil before it could penetrate and damage any valuables within. Currently, it held a wooden table laden with chemistry equipment, vials and beakers filled with slightly luminescent liquids of different colours. On the overhead column of shelves, ordered alphabetically and by size, sat sealed and labelled jars of unknown substances. Across the room sat a large, white cabinet the height and breadth of one of the book cases in the main library upstairs with a bright red cross painted on the doors.
 
The silence of this barely lit room was rudely interrupted by the crack of Twilight and Beni displacing the still air, immediately followed by retching and the smell of bile. “Sorry, Beni.” Twilight tossed over her shoulder in apology as she trotted to the cabinet, opened it, and withdrew a low, wide jar with her mouth. Beni didn’t respond to the hasty apology, instead her chin plopped down on the hard-packed floor between her spread forelegs as she groaned. Turning around with the jar in her mouth, Twilight walked over to the insensate bitch and gently nudged a large paw with her hoof. There wasn’t even a groan this time, Beni was out cold.
 
“What an abnormal reaction to a teleport…” Twilight murmured as she examined the ruby bitch guard. When her eyes fell on the neck wound, she winced at the sight of it. “But it’s a fortunate one, given the circumstance; I certainly wouldn’t want to be awake while something that severe was being treated.” Chewing her lower lip, she gave the ruby-studded collar the stink eye. “It didn’t react to being held by magic, only by being examined by it. I should be able to remove it without trouble.” Wrinkling her nose at the lingering smell of burnt flesh hanging in the air, she carefully wrapped her magic around the collar and began separating it from the skin around it while flinching at the sound.
 
Finally the collar was off without further incident and dropped most unceremoniously on the floor. Just as Twilight dipped her hoof in the cold neutralizing salve, the muscles under Beni’s thick fur twitched as darkly coloured magic began crackling around the neck wound. She watched in fascination as seared muscles and scorched skin started to mend. Her attention was drawn away from the healing wound to Beni’s face by the purple mist leaking from between the closed eyelids. Twilight’s ears flattened as her eyes widened and her pupils shrunk to pinpricks as an obviously terrifying thought occurred to her.
 
“The teleport…” she breathed and started stepping backwards, her eyes fixed on the face of the now rousing bitch. “I was in such a panic, I didn’t compensate for the magical nature of the collar and isolate it.” Beni lurched unsteadily to her paws, head dangling between her braced forelegs and her eyes blocked from view. “All that strange magic has been dumped into her.” The whisper was barely there, the decibel level being on the level of Fluttershy’s voice at her most timid.
 
It was loud enough.
 
Upright maroon ears oriented on her location in less than a heartbeat as the head they were attached to snapped up. All signs of the exuberant, gentle, friendly bitch were lost in the acid green sclera and glowing red irises. Beni had been replaced by an unrecognisable, snarling monster with eyes full of hate and insatiable hunger.
 
The beast previously known as Beni lunged.



> 7 -Truths part 3: The Fury
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the moon rose over the heart of the Whitetail Woods, a twitching nose belonging to a red fox scented the air outside its burrow before emerging into the evening. Something rustled in the tree beside it and it froze mid-step, ears swivelling and neck twisting as it tried to locate the source of the noise. A glimmer of moonlight reflecting off a cluster of red droplets caught its eye and it slowly inched toward them to investigate.
 
The shadow cast by the ear of the fox revealed the cluster of droplets to be part of a trail of blood that led to an enormous oak tree with two gem dogs and a bitch huddled miserably at the base quietly talking to a gryphoness. Spying so many apex predators, any of which wouldn’t hesitate at snatching a fox for a snack, the fox wisely vanished back into its hole.
 
“Wait wait. Okay, lemme get this straight.” The gryphoness said as she held up her ebon-taloned forefoot at the dogs in front of her. They shut their mouths and let her continue. “You three, on orders from your royalty - ”
 
“Alphas, Gilda. Alphas.” Kell grunted before licking one of Spot’s many sluggishly bleeding wounds. Gilda waved it off.
 
“Yeah, yeah. Alphas. Anyway, so orders from on high have you looking for a banished pack to bring’em back. You find them, and they beat the livin’ scat outta you. Now you’re asking me to relay the message, not that I mind or nothing, but your Alphas are going to want more detail than that; their type always does.”
 
“Essentially, yes.” Fido sighed as he tore another strip from the remains of his vest and used it to bind the nearly severed tendon that ran from hock to paw on his rear leg.
 
“Let’s hear it again then. And speak slower this time, been awhile since I’ve last heard pure Dog.” Gilda settled back on her haunches and took on a look of concentration as Fido began to regale her once more with the tale of their harrowing journey.
 



 
We found their den easily enough. The problem was that they weren’t there anymore, hadn’t been there for at least six months from the smell of it. After spending the day, we split up to search for any signs of their passing. After travelling for several days in separate directions, Spot found the first sign of them and howled his location. The clue we found was not only a promising lead, being only a few months old, it was a worrisome one as well. The wagon it had once been was a barely recognisable heap of smashed wood, the skeleton on the other paw, had clearly been a female magic pony.
 
That should have been our first warning that something was wrong, but we continued for another fourteen nights until we reached a territorial marker. The size of the hydra skull gave us pause, because it certainly would have been accompanied by at least four other heads of equal size. Kell, Spot and I stayed an extra day in a small tunnel discussing what we should do. It boiled down to either facing a pack large enough to have taken down such a beast, or abandoning the task entrusted to us by the Alphas themselves.
 
The choice was taken out of our paws by force, we were ambushed.
 
Nine stormed the tunnel from the surface and six from beneath us. We had to fight our way out and when we did, their Alphas were waiting for us. They lunged before any of us could say a word, I ordered Spot to run, that Kell and I would cover him. The fight was long and brutal, Kell and I barely escaped with our lives but it didn’t end there. The pack chased us for nearly three nights and days straight until we took shelter in a cave.
 
The pack had succumbed to the Fury, but they weren’t so far gone that they would follow us into the lair of a Starbeast. By some miracle of the First Alphas or Alpha Moon, rest her soul, the Starbeast never noticed us and we left the next night without waking it.
 



 
“Our journey from the cave was much slower as we finally started feeling our wounds. By the time we reached these woods, we couldn’t continue. We’re still too far from the territory for them to hear us, so calling for help would’ve taken more energy than we had to spare. Then you came down, following our blood trail and found us.” Kell took over and finished the story from Fido as he struggled to stay awake.
 
The silence between them was thick and heavy after Kell stopped talking. Gilda’s lower jaw continued to drop and slowly attempt to close for almost two full minutes before she shook the stunned expression from her face and finally spoke.
 
“Would’ve been a hell of a way to go; surrounded on all sides by enemies determined to tear you limb from limb … now that’s a warrior’s death!” Gilda’s almost worshipful gaze was swept away under Kell’s glower. With a cough, Gilda quickly amended her statement. “All the more impressive you made it out alive and relatively intact though! One of these days, you’ve gotta tell me all the details.”
 
“Perhaps another time Gilda,” Kell told her with a chuff and an eyeroll. “You should rest; a hard flight awaits you tomorrow. I’ll keep first watch.”
 



 
Save for the soft, whistling snores of the gryphon in the tree above them, the night was quiet, unnaturally quiet. Kell and Fido were tense, each standing on opposite sides of the tree with their ears, noses and eyes working overtime in the dark. Spot circled the tree a few metres from them, checking the trees and bushes around them. A bush rustled and when Spot turned his head to examine the cause, his eyes met with a pair of lamp yellow orbs looking straight back at him.
 
Yelping sharply, he ran to the tree and slid in behind Fido. The fur of both Fido and Kell bristled as the prepared to meet their stalker head on. From the shadows stepped a Thestral and it quickly became obvious she wasn’t alone as nearly a dozen more joined her.
 
All three Gem Dogs relaxed.
 
“It’s just you.” Fido grumbled as he gingerly sat down.
 
“First Alphas! Are you tryin’ to scare us to death!” Spot barked, only to be silenced by a brief glare from Kell.
 
“Apologies, Diamond Alpha; we had to be sure the three of you were not part of the Rogue Pack.” She eyed their injuries. “It seems you’ve already had the misfortune of meeting them though.” At their suddenly alarmed expressions, the thestral beside her spoke up with a grin that showed his fangs.
 
“Don’t need to worry about them anymore, they were checking out a Starbeast cave when it … ah … ‘accidentally’ woke up.”
 
“Yes …” Kell growled as her eyes narrowed. “Speaking of the Rogues, it’s the duty of your clan to keep an eye on them. What happened?”
 
The body of the lead mare sagged as though a great weight had just been placed upon her and the grin of the male beside her vanished as he flinched at Kell’s accusatory tone. The rest of the thestral clan members looked decidedly uncomfortable as eyes were cast downward and leathery wings rustled.
 
After taking a deep, bracing breath, the lead thestral began to speak.
 
“As you know, doing a full sweep of each of the territories can take several nights. Seven months ago we went through the rogues territory and they weren’t there. We thought they were all out hunting and waited that night, and the next, in a line of clouds over the den. When they didn’t return the third night, we knew they were gone for good.” She sadly shook her head. “We were too late for the unicorn when we did find it, but it gave us a direction to look in. It wasn’t until your fight that we managed to pinpoint their new territory. If it’s any consolation, we did manage to slow them down and give you a good head start.”
 
Spot huffed out a relieved sigh. “We’d wondered how they didn’t catch us. Good to know we had our tails covered.”
 
“At least until you were sure we were the proper Diamonds; right Lamplight?” Kell added darkly. The female thestral, Lamplight, shrugged unapologetically.
 
“You know we can’t pick out any gem colour at height, they all look the same.” The male beside Lamplight stated matter-of-factly before he flicked a tufted ear and tilted his head in curiousity at Fido. “Why did the Alphas send just the three of you to the rogues? Surely they knew you’d probably be ripped apart?”
 
“Windscream!” Lamplight scolded him before turning to the small pack. “If you don’t want to answer, we understand.”
 
Finishing a jaw-cracking yawn, Fido answered them. “It’s alright. The Alphas didn’t tell us much of anything, but on our way out of the Territories we heard a lot of gossip and we think we’ve pieced together what’s going on. All the hunters in the badlands and the Everfree, the traders on the roads, the weather watchers on the mountain peaks, the entire Gryphonia Pack and even the Timberwolves are being called. Combined with the fact Alpha Moonsong’s shadow is gone from the moon, it means she’s died and the Alphas must be planning an Appeal to the First Alphas for a new Voice.”
 
The eyes of all the thestrals widened in comprehension. “But such an Appeal must be Sung by all living Dogs, rogues included.” Windscream breathed softly before his brows furrowed in confusion. “Wait a second, what do you mean Alpha Moonsong’s dead? Word out of Canterlot has Luna sitting beside the White Alpha on the throne.”
 
“She’s alive?!” Kell exclaimed excitedly.
 
“What does the Blue Beta have to do with anything?” Fido asked at the same time and found himself under the disbelieving eyes of Kell and every thestral there. “What?” he asked again.
 
“You don’t know? How could you not know?!” Kell all but barked. In the tree above, Gilda shifted in her sleep. After giving the gryphon a quick glance, Kell continued at a significantly lower volume. “Wait, how old were you and Rover when the rest of the Diamonds went rogue?”
 
He shrugged. “We were twelve, old enough to take care of ourselves and Spot.”
 
“That explains it; you’ve missed the last four years of education.” She groaned. “The Rogues really set you up to either fail and be banished or eventually join them of your own free will. By the First Alphas, I never imagined any Dog or Bitch capable of such deceit …” Kell’s head slowly shook.
 
“Tell us then!” Fido growled.
 
“I can’t! You can’t order me to either! Pack Law demands silence until the Alphas know your Control.”
 
Fido and Spot’s heads jerked back in shock at that before they turned their pleading eyes to Lamplight. The thestral mare shook her head. “We can’t tell you either, the Clan follows Pack Laws as well as our own. You’ll just have to wait until the Alphas test you for the big three, Speed, Endurance and Control.”
 
Fido and Spot rolled their eyes at that. “Our Control is fine, we’re not vulnerable to the Fury.”
 
Kell and Lamplight shot each other an uneasy look before Kell’s entire posture slumped and she shook her head. “It’s not that simple. Just because you don’t snarl at the slightest thing doesn’t mean you’re not vulnerable to it. I’ve seen perfectly placid dogs and bitches taken by the Fury and frothing at the mouth within a minute of the test starting.” She lifted her head and she met eyes with him, making his hackles rise at the challenge in her gaze. “Be honest with me and yourself, how long would it take for you to pull yourself out of that state while being watched by not only the eyes of the Alphas, but the entire Alpha Guard? Because if you can’t do it within a set time limit, the Alpha Guard will overpower you, muzzle you and hog-tie you with steel cuffs so it’s safe for Alpha Healer Skye to sedate you.”
 
Their tense eye contact continued for another minute before Kell finally looked away. “The Fury is much more than mere anger. It’s an all-consuming rage borne of primal fear that wrenches your body away from you; most Gem Dogs, myself included, don’t even remember what happens when it takes us.”
 
The silence following Kell’s words hung thickly in the air as Gem Dog and Thestral alike absorbed the dire speech.
 
“I see.” Fido muttered, breaking the silence, as he looked thoughtfully at the ground below his paws.
 
“Look, why don’t we take over gryphon-sitting while Lamplight and a couple other clan members help you three get home?” Windscream suggested as he walked over to Fido and threw a wing over the diamond-alpha’s back. “You look almost as bad as you probably feel. I figure if you get going now, you might make it to our camp by dawn. Then the healers can properly patch you up before something really nasty sets in and you’re too weak to walk.”
 
Fido, Kell and Spot smiled gratefully at Lamplight and Windscream before nodding.