//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: Dogs That Bark And Wolf That Bites // Story: The Tale Of A Lost Wolf // by Solaris Night //------------------------------// Spike was running between the apple trees, trying to avoid the incoming projectile. As soon as he made a sharp turn at the next tree, the ground where he stood just a second ago exploded and threw him to the ground. But he didn't have time to lay around, because he knew that his assailant wouldn't give up so easily. Quickly he got up and jumped out of the way of another blast that headed straight for him. Once he was back on his feet he raised his arms, prepared for yet another attack. He waited and looked around, he flinched at even the slightest movement and sound, expecting it to be his opponent. Suddenly he heard rustling of leaves to his side. He immediatelly turned around, just in time to see a figure jump out of the tree top. His body acting on instinct, he raised his arms to block. A sudden pain flared through his forearms and the force of the impact sent him flying to the ground once more. Ignoring the burning sensation in his arms he tried to get up, but a foot forced him down. "That's as far as you go." The figure grinned, showing off its fangs. "It's about time we finished this." Spike coughed as relief washed over his face. "Thank Celestia, I thought I'd die out there. Can't you go a little bit easy one me next time Trider?" The Kanisar chuckeled as he removed his foot from the drakes chest and helped him get up. "Not a chance. If I go easy on you you'll never get strong enough to actually land a blow on me." "I guess." Spike said reluctantly. "Still do you really need to use Ki techniques when we spar? Can't we just have old fashioned fist to fist brawl?" "I use my techniques to better myself as well. Despite the years of training I had I'm still not even close to my mentor." He turned his head to the three approaching fillies and smirked. "Besides I wanted to give the audience a little show." Spike looked where Trider was looking and saw the Crusaders. They ran up to the two and began to jump around the duo. "That was amazing you two. You were like boom, pow, kabooom." the Scootaloo nearly screamed, while throwing punches and kicks left and right. Apple Bloom was next to fan-girl. "Yea it was almost like that fight ya'll had with Rainbow Dash." "You guys were great." Sweetie Belle finished with a high squeaky voice. Trider rubbed his ears. Sometimes when the filly spoke he felt like his ears would burst from the high pitch she could produce. Spike looked at the group confused. "Wait, you saw us fight? How long have you been here?" "They got here a little after we started our sparring session." Trider explained. "The fact that you didn't even notice them tells me that you focus too much on the fight." Confusion growing, Spike looked at his friend. "What do you mean? Isn't focusing on your opponent a fundamental when you fight?" The Kanisar sighed as he scratched his head. "It is, but it also isn't." He walked over to a tree and leaned against it. "In a duel keeping your focus on your opponent is good, because it's usually one on one, but if you're in a real fight don't expect things to be so fair. You'll probably end up going against multiple enemies and if you focus just on the guy in front of you, you won't see the one who is behind you." Realization dawned on Spikes face, as Triders statement made sense. "I see. Guess I still have much to learn." "All in due time my friend, but right now," he turned his attention to the Crusaders again. "Why're you guys here?" Scootalo walked over to Spike and draped an arm around his shoulders. "We came to get Spike so he can help us." The man looked at the group raising his eyebrow. "Help you with what exactly?" "Getting our cutie marks." they said in unison. The Kanisar looked at his drake friend waiting for an explanation. "Oh yeah, forgot to mention that me and the CMC have plans." Spike awkwardly chuckled. "We are going to a quarry to get them a cutie mark in geology or the like." "Wanna join us?" asked Apple Bloom. "No thanks, I still have the scar from the first time I helped you get your cutie marks." Trider said in a grim tone. Scootaloo shrugged. "Your loss dude." She grabbed Spike by the hand and began to drag him away. "C'mon lets get going already." Spike nearly tripped from being pulled so hard. He looked back at his mentor and waved his free arm. "I guess I'll see you later then." "Take care." was the only response the man gave before they dissappeared from his sight. He began to walk back towards the farm, when his stomach rumbled. "Huh, is it so late already?" he pondered. He began to slowly change his direction away from the farm and started to head towards the Everfree. "Maybe I'll catch myself a cockatrice today. Despite being part chicken they actually taste like beef." he thought as he began to salivate. A while later The sounds of digging resonated throughout the nearby area and the head of the young dragon popped out of a deep hole. He lifted one of his arms showing his pony friends a small rock in his claws. "Alright, can you tell me what rock is this?" The Crusaders looked at the object from every possible angle, trying to figure out the answer to his question. Eventually they gave up and plopped onto the ground. "I don't know. A quartz maybe?" said exasperated Scootaloo. Spike deadpanned and climbed out of the hole. "No it's limestone. Did you guys even read any books on geology before you decided to try getting your cutie marks in it?" The three fillies looked at each other and gave each other sheepish grins. "Sure we did." said Apple Bloom obviously lying. The drake crossed his arms and gave them an annoyed look. "Really? Then tell me the three main types of rocks." The Crusaders exchanged looks, hoping that at least one of them knew the answer, but after seeing that none of them had any idea the sighed. "Alright we don't know a single thing about rocks." said Sweetie Belle in a defeated tone. "We thought we just had to do some digging and we would get our cutie marks just like that." She snapped her fingers as she said that. Spike dragged his hand across his face as he groaned. "Great, an hour of work for nothing." As he looked at his friends he saw their expressions fell and were feeling bad for dragging him out here. "Well at least we had some fun." he said in a cheerful tone, hoping he woould lift the Crusaders mood and it did. He also wasn't lying when he said that, he honsetly had a good time as he dug holes and questioned the fillies about what type they were. They made jokes and talked about all sorts of things as they tried to get their cutie marks. He looked at the sky and saw that the sun was slowly travelling towards the horizon. "Alright, we should start heading back, we don't want the others to start worrying about us. Go get your things and lets head back." The others nodded and went to grab their bags that they left on a nearby rock. As they went to get their things, Spike began to look around the quarry an uneasy feeling settling in his gut. "Something's not right." He had a feeling they were being watched for the past half an hour, but thought it was just some animals, now however it felt like they were in danger. Suddenly he heard Sweetie Belle scream and he turned around to see what was wrong. The unicorn filly was struggling to get her hoof free from the grip of a hand that was sticking out of the ground. He tried to get to them, but he fell to the ground. He looked at his foot and saw that the similar pair of hands were holding his feet as well. He inhaled and released a small fireball that burned the hands of his captor and made him release his legs. As he got up the ground around him and the Crusaders started to shake, and very soon they were surrounded by a group of bipedal dog-like creatures. "Diamond Dogs." Spike said with a venomous tone. "What do you guys want? We don't have any gems for you, so just beat it." A tall grey dog with a red vest stepped forward and smiled, showing off his fangs. "We not want gems." he said. "We want ponies." As if on cue the other dogs grabbed the fillies and restrained their movements. "LET THEM GO!" Spike shouted, making some of the nearby dogs cringe and back away a bit. The grey dog stepped forward and gave the drake a challenging look. "No. Ponies make good slaves, so we hear, especially small ones." This made Spikes blood boil, he just wanted to tackle him and punch his sharp canines right out of his maw, but he calmed down knowing he must come up with a strategy first. "What about me?" he asked, hoping to buy just a little bit of time to think things through. "What will you do with me?" "Dragon too dangerous to keep. We beat you up and leave you here." "Like I'm gonna let that happen." Spike said as he cracked his neck. Without warning he jump at the one of the dogs to his left and delivered punch directly to his snout. The dog yipped and fell backwards. Immediatelly taking advantage of the confusion, Spike spun around and shot fire from his mouth. All the dogs backed away from the scorching fire and it left plenty of room to move around. He tried to make his way to the Crusaders, but was blocked by one of the dogs. The mutt threw his fist at the drake, but Spike blocked it with his arms. As his opponent readied for another attack, the dragon used his tail to trip the dog. When he hit the ground Spike jumped onto his gut, eliciting a pained groan, and propeled himself towards his friends. Suddenly he was grabbed by his tail and pulled backwards, by one of the bigger dogs. His body hit the ground with a loud thud and pain seared through him. Before he had time to acknowledge the pain however, the dog swung a massive club at him. As quickly as he could, Spike rolled away from the weapon and its wielder and getting up ready for another wave of attackers. The dogs however stood still and then the red vested dog spoke up. "What wrong dragon, tired?" he laughed the others following his example. "If you give up now, we go easy on you." Spike wiped a sweat drop from his brow and chuckled. "Like hell I will. I'll take on all of you." Saying that his fists suddenly erupted in flames and he got ready to continue his fight. The dogs shouted out what sounded like a battle cry and charged the young drake. Spike however just extended his middle and index finger on each hand and pointed them at the approaching enemies. "Taste my Blaze Guns." he shouted and fired away. The blasts connected with only a few dogs, while the rest were able to dodge them. When they got too close, Spike curled his hands back into fists and wailed on them. They tried to get at least one hit in, but the drake was too nimble and he easily dodged their attacks, however he was slowly being pushed backwards. "SPIKE WATCH OUT!!!" one of the Crusaders screamed, but it was too late. From out of the ground behind Spike, jumped one of the dogs, who wielded an old and slightly rusty sword. Spike tried to evade the attack, but he was too slow. The dog slashed across his back and left a long bloody mark. The pain flared throughout his body, but it wasn't over yet. The rest saw the opening and let loose on the helpless teenager. Punches and kicks connected with his body and when they finally stopped, Spike laid on the floor bruised and bleeding. The dogs circled him and laughed at his broken form. "You all talk and no bite. You pathetic." They taunted and insulted him, but Spike could barely hear anything, his hearing impeded by his pain. His vision was hazy, but it slowly started to focus. His eyes fell onto his friends who were, by his guess, screaming for him and struggling against their captors. Anger slowly started to build inside him, he pushed himself onto his feet. The dogs stopped their taunting and looked at him with scared expressions. "I said" Spike spoke in a ragged voice. "LET THEM GO!!!" His body suddenly started to release steam and his scales turned a shade redder and his spikes now had vein like dark green pattern. His pupils dialted into slits and he unleashed a powerful roar. The dogs quickly acted and jumped at him, hoping to overpower him. Spikes body was immediatelly engulfed in flames and he released said flames in a powerful shockwave. All the dogs that attacked him were sent flying by the blast and Spike took off towards the Crusaders and the Diamond Dogs that were holding them. As he was approaching them his body suddenly started to hurt all over and he knew he couldn't keep this up for much longer. "If I can't save them all, at least I can save one." With one of his fists engulfed in fire Spike delivered a powerful blow to the dog that was holding Apple Bloom. The punch landed directly onto the dogs snout and sent him flying into a nearby tree. The impact was so powerful it broke the tree in half and left the dog motionless on the ground. Apple Bloom looked at her dragon friend with awe and shock, but before she had time to react Spike grabbed her by the wrist. "Go get help." was all he said to her. Bloom, confused by his statement, wanted to know what he meant by that, but before she had time to ask Spike swung his arm and sent the earth filly flying through the air. She could only scream as she soared through the sky towards the edge of the Everfree Forest. Spikes body then returned to normal and he was desperately gasping for air, he was completely exhausted. The sound of approaching dogs made him turn around and he wasn't happy at what he saw. A bunch of pissed off Diamond Dogs who just lost one of their potential slaves. "You pay for that." the dog threatened. Spike just grinned and raised his arms, ready to resume his fight. "Make me." Zecoras hut Zecora was going through her numerous vials and bottles trying to find what she was looking for. "I'm telling you, it's not that bad of a wound. A little spit and wiping and you wouldn't even notice." Her guests statement didn't deter the shaman from her search. "So you may say my dear friend, but my treatment I shall still lend." As she said that she reached for a vial filled with an orange liquid. Once she had it in her hands she turned towards Trider. "Now give me your hand, so I may your pain end." Begrudgingly he extended his arm and showed the mare his bloody palm. Zecora opened the vial and put some of the liquid onto a small piece of cloth and began to wipe the wound. The Kanisar felt a stinging sensation, but he barely reacted, having received much worse pain in his lifetime. "Now to cover up the damage, let me put on some bandages." From a nearby table she took a roll of bandages and bandaged his hand. Trider looked at the expertly treated wound and ive a few squeezes with his hand to see how much mobility it still had. "Thanks a lot Zecora, you're a real life saver." he said, the last bit dripping with sarcasm. She only rolled her eyes and went into the next room to put away the roll. When she left Trider looked around the zebras home. It wasn't that big and all around the place hung tribal masks and nearly every shelf was filled to the brim with either potions, ingredients to make them or books on herbology. Over the fire, where the mare usully cooks her potions in a large cauldron, hung a large piece of meat that the Kanisar was cooking. Trider and Zecora met not too long after he arrived to Ponyville, while he was in the Everfree, hunting for food. As he was chasing a weird bird, that he later found out were called harpies, he stumbled upon the mare who was surrounded by Timberwolves. Zecora however wasn't helpless as many may have thought. She succesfully fought off nearly every one of the wooden wolves, but she was slowly being overwhelmed. That was when Trider jumped in and helped her finish off the beasts, afterwards they had a small talk and when she found out he didn't mean her any danger, she invited him to her hut to treat herself and him as well. Ever since then whenever Trider went to the Everfree to hunt he would stop by Zecoras so she could heal any wounds he got during his hunt and chat a little. Over time she even let him bring his catches so he could cook them at her home, instead of in the middle of the forest where other predators might catch wiff of his bounty. "Thanks again for always taking care of me and letting me eat here." he said to her when she came back into the room. "How come you're so accepting of an alien like me and my need to feed on meat?" Zecora picked up a cup of tea that she brewed when Trider visited her and sat opposite of him. "As I told you, my travels have taken me all across the land, throught cities, towns and even wastelands. As my journey progressed, by many creatures and cultures I was impressed. From peaceful of ponies to the weird yak ceremonies. You're preference of meat isn't some unique feat." Impressed by her wisdom Trider could only look at her with amazment. Suddenly the door to the hut slammed open and through them ran bruised and slightly bloody Apple Bloom. Both of the adults got up from their chairs and ran to the filly. "Bloom what happened to you?" asked shocked Kanisar. The filly gasped for air, clearly exhausted from running all the way to them. "Spike. Rock quarry. Dogs. Fight..." she said in between every breath, until Trider stopped her. "Easy there kid, take a deep breath and explain everything slowly." Taking his advice she took a few deep breaths before she talked. "Spike, Sweetie and Scootaloo are in danger. While we were digging at the rock quarry we were attacked by a bunch of Diamond Dogs. Spike tried to fight them off, but he got beaten. Right before he went down he rescued me and told me to get some help. Since Zecoras hut was the closest I came here." Tears started to stream down her cheeks and she started to sob. "Please you have to help them. If not they will really hurt Spike and make Sweetie and Scootaloo into slaves." A grim look spread across Triders face as he took in what she told them. He headed for the door. "Zecora, you take Bloom to Ponyville and get the others. I'll go to the quarry and try to buy some time, since I have no idea how strong these Diamond Dogs are." "But how will you get there? You have no idea where it is?" Apple Bloom questioned. Trider tapped his nose with a finger and smiled. "I'll just follow your scent, like the first time we met." Saying that he ran out the door and followed the scent. "Hang in there Spike. I'll be there soon." With that thought he accelerated hoping to get there before anything bad could happen to one of his friends. It took him just a few minutes to reach his destination and the sight before him made his stomach churn. The two Crusaders were tied up, gagged and were crying, but seemed mostly unharmed. What made him sick however was the sight of Spike. The drake was being held up by one of the so called Diamond Dogs, they looked like dogs only they were walking on two legs, had massive forearms, wore articles of clothing and were uglier than a normal dog, while the others watched another one beat the hell out of the drake. He wasn't sure if his dragon friend was even conscious or not, but he saw that his clothes were ripped, he had countless bruises and had several open wounds, probably made by the packs weapons. Slowly he made his way to the group, as they were still unaware of his presence. When he was just a few feet away from the group they took notice of the newcomer and they stopped what they were doing. "Who you?" asked on of the dogs. "You look like pony, but not pony." he sniffed the air. "You smell like dog. You friend?" "I'm his friend." Trider said as he pointed a finger at Spike, who was still held up by the Diamond Dog. "Really?" said the dog and snapped his fingers. Suddenly two of the dogs grab him by the arms and hold him tight. "Then we make you pay like him. We beat you up good." "Shut up." the Kanisar said in a tone devoid of any emotion. "I'm gonna kill you all." The dogs began to laugh at his statement. "And how you do that? We many you alone. You lose." "Spirit claw." As he said that his arms were enveloped in a red aura that took shape of three massive claws. The aura burned the two dogs arms and before they had time to react Trider spun around slashing across ones chest, while eviscerating the others gut. Blood gushed out of the bodies of the two and fell to the ground lifeless. The other dogs looked at their fallen brothers and their executioner with shock and terror. Once again Trider faced the group now covered in blood. He looked at his enemies as he assessed the situation. There were eight dogs still left, some of them had weapons and armour, while others had nothing. "We kill you. We avenge." The dogs howled and got ready to attack. Trider didn't move an inch, standing his ground. "You can bark and howl all you want, but if you are unable to follow your threats you should just back off. You are nothing more than whiny mutts, while I'm a vicious wolf." Having heard enough out of him the dogs charged the Kanisar, with intent to kill. "We win fight. We kill fake Diamond Dog." "And that is why you don't stand a chance. You think this is a fight, while in reality..." he said as his eyes turned red. "This is a massacre." In a blink of the eye Trider met halfway with one of the dogs, now enveloped in a dark aura. He grabbed him by his face and slammed him into the ground and dragged him across it. One of the dogs tried to catch him by surprise, but failed as the Kanisar hit him with the body of his comrade, acompanied by a loud snap. As the dog hit the ground Trider looked at the one still in his hand. The back of the dogs head was completely soaked in blood and fragments of skull could be seen, his face was disformed thanks to Triders vice grip and his neck was visibly broken. The Kanisar dropped the body to the ground and he focused on the rest. The ground beneath him began to rumble and before he could react a dog jumped out of the earth and smacked him directly in the jaw. Trider staggered backwards, slightly dizzy from the hit. "That's a nasty trick you lot know." he grumbled as he masaged his jaw. All of a sudden another dog jumped out of the ground behind him and put him in a hold. "Get him Rex." the dog said to another dog who came running at them with a sword. "Got it Brutus." said Rex. When Rex reached the two, he lifted his sword for a guaranteed strike. "Roar Cannon." Trider said as he opened his mouth and a yellow beam shot out of it. The blast hit Rex directly in the face and it blew his head to smithereens. The sight shocked Brutus to the core so much that he slightly released his hold on the Kanisar and he took advantage of it. Grabbing his forearms Trider leaped behind Brutus pulling his arms along with him. When he landed behind him he put a foot onto his back and began to slowly apply more and more force. The dog began to cry and howl at the pain, begging Trider to stop, but he didn't hear him. Soon his joints gave in and his arms dislocated from the shoulders. Trider however continued with the pulling until the dogs skin and muscle began to tear. With one more powerful pull the man ripped the dogs arms from his torso and Brutus fell forward to the ground and seizing all movement. One of the dogs realized that they were no match for Trider and decided to retreat. Digging a hole he tried to get away. However Trider grabbed him by the tail before he could completely vanish underground. Pulling him out he swung him overhead and slammed him into the ground. He repeated this until the only thing that remained was a bloddy pile of what was once a Diamond Dog. All of sudden a large shadow descended over Trider and he quickly jumped out of the way of a club striking the ground. He looked up at the dog who was easily a head bigger than him. "Me squash you like bug." he bellowed as he swung his club again. The Kanisar once again dodged his assault and jumped over his head. While mid-air he grabbed the dogs ears and pulled him down onto his back. The brute tried to get up, but trider was looming over him. He raised his fist and slammed it into his chest. "Piston Cannon Tri-Spear." he said as his hand connected with the dogs chest. The blow made the air escape out of the brutes lungs, but he wasn't so badly hurt. The Kanisar turned around and began to walk to his next victim. The dog wandered why he left him live, when all of a sudden a sharp pain flared through his whole body. A large dent suddenly appeared on his chest, his rib were immediatelly broken and his heart and lungs were crushed. With the last of his breath he looked towards his brothers and the creature that killed him and the others, last thought going through his mind. "We doomed." Trider made his way to another dog in stride. When he reached him the dog could only cower, his legs shaking. He looked up at the man his watering from pure terror. "I surrender." he yelled as he bowed his head in hope he would spare him. Trider however didn't even blink as he enveloped his hand in the Spirit CLaw and plunged it straight through the dogs chest. The dog grabbed his arm trying to remove it from inside him, but slowly his strengh and life faded from his body and his body went limp. "Mercy is not an option for you scum." was all the Kanisar said as he let the body drop to the ground. He turned his attention to the nearby dog and saw that one of them was missing. "Where is the other one?" he asked, but the dog was too terrified to answer. Trider heard sounds of footsteps distancing themselves from them. As he looked to the right he saw the other dog trying to flee and save his life. "No worry, I found him." He extended an arm towards the runaway focusing his Ki to his palm. A ball of rippling blue color formed. "Wailing Nova Sphere!" he said as he unleashed the orb towards the fleeing dog. He didn't have a chance to get out of the way of the ball when it reached him. With a loud cry he was enveloped in an explosion and his body was disintegrated. The only thing remaining was a small smoking crater. "Eight down, one left." Saying that he faced back to the dog, grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air. "Any last words?" The dog tried to form a sentence, but Trider slowly applied more and more pressure. "Guess not." He lifted his other arm and charged a Ki blast to finish off his last opponent. "Rot in hell." "TRIDER STOP!" The Kanisar stopped charging and directed his gaze towards the source of the shout. Several feet away he saw the Mane 6 and each of them had a look of shock and terror plastered on their face. The worst were probably Fluttershy who looked like she would faint any minute and Pinkie whose mane was now flat and was crying a river. "Please stop Trider, this isn't you." Twilight said as she took a step closer. The Kanisar looked between her and the dog in his arm. Inhaling, the dark aura dissipated and his eyes returned to normal. He brought the dog closer to his face and whispered in his ear. "If I ever see, hear or even smell any of you near Ponyville ever again, I will find you and I will finish what I started here." He dropped him to the ground and gave him an icy glare. "Now scram." The dog began to dig into the ground without hesitation and was soon far away from the quarry. Trider looked at his friends and saw that they were still staring at him and the scene that was before them. Without uttering a single word he turned around and made his way out of the quarry. "Trider wait!" Rainbow shouted to the Kanisar and wanted to follow him, but was stopped by the lavender mare. "Don't." she said. "We should free Sweetie and Scootaloo first and get Spike to the hospital. I think it's better that we leave him alone for now, besides the princesses would probably want to talk to him about this incident as well." The others nodded and went to help the teenagers. It was in the middle of the night, when Trider made his way through the streets of Ponyville. "Wonder what's for dinner." he thought. "Probably a hell lot of dissapoinment and fear. Can't really blame them. What they saw today, they have probably never seen in their life." He reached the library and grabbed the doorknob. "Here goes nothing." When he opened the door the whole room went quiet and all eyes were immediatelly on him. "It's like I'm on trial or something." He looked around the room and noticed there were two ponies too much in it. "And the princesses are the judges, figures." "How's Spike doing?" he asked before anyone could say anything. "The doctors said he should make a full recovery in a few weeks." answered Twilight. "Good to hear. What about-?" "Stop trying to avoid the subject Trider." Celestia said in a commanding tone. "Fine, I just wanted to know how the kids were doing after the whole debacle." Trider said. "You call what you did a debacle? Do you even care that you took lives of nine Diamond Dogs?" asked Luna in an angry tone. "Not really, they deserved it." The answer took everypony by surprise. How could anypony take a life and be so nonchalant, while trying to justify their actions? Luna, now furious slammed her hands onto the table that she was sitting at, nearly breaking it. "You inscolent little welp. How can you just claim that they deserved their lives being taken? What have they done to earn such punishment?" Trider crossed his arms as he sighed. "They hurt Spike one of my friends, nearly killing him in the process. Isn't that a good enough reason?" This time it was Celestias turn to speak up. "Yes they should be punished for what they tried to do, but death isn't one of them. They nearly killed Spike, emphasis on nearly, while you killed them without mercy." She glared at him and her gaze hardened. "It is not in your right to take a life. When I first met you I believed you weren't a bad person, that you were actually kin despite your rough behaviour. Even your interactions with other ponies made believe that." "Guess you're not such a good judge of character as you thought you were." Everypony in the room looked at him in shock, at what he said to Celestia. "I thought I told you already this, but on my planet I was part of special forces and there was only one rule. Kill or be killed." He locked gaze with the solar diarch, neither of them backing down. "Another thing you should know about me is that I would do anything for a friend. Even kill." Celestia continued to glare at the Kanisar as she processed what he said. "I see. Rarely anpony would ever go to such lengths for a friend and I can admire that. But what you did is still unacceptable and furthermore you broke your promise to me that you wouldn't harm a living soul while you are in our kingdom." "I said I wouldn't harm anypony and as far as I'm concerned those mutts weren't ponies." Trider rebuted. This made the princess even more upset. "Also I saved lives of three kids." "That you did and I thank you for risking your life to protect them. For that reason I won't throw you into the Canterlot Dungeons, as well as that your friends begged me and my sister not to do so. But don't think you're off the hook so easily. Me and my sister have some important business to attend to back in Canterlot, so we will have to take our leave. But we shall send you a summon when we come up with a fitting punishment." Saying that the two sisters stood up and went to the librarys door. "Until then I want you to stay out of trouble unless you really want to spend your time in jail." "Loud and clear your highness." Trider said in a snarky tone. With a roll of her eyes Celestia teleported her sister and herself back to Canterlot, leaving Trider alone with the Mane 6. "Trider..." Twilight and the girls wanted to talk to him about today, but he cut her and the others off. "It's best if we don't Twi. Besides I'm completely drained." When he said that he went to the stairs and began to ascend them. "I'm way too tired to talk about this shit and I got enough scolding from the princesses already, so maybe tomorrow?" The mares looked at each other nad they each slowly nodded. Satisfied Trider continued to climb the stairs. "Good night." With that said he left the mares in the room, each one worried about the new side that Trider showed them.