Were it more ideal circumstances, Woofus would meet with Rottweiler himself. But he also knew that, thanks to Husky, any other Diamond Dogs around would immediately recognize him and probably try to turn him in. There was also the problem of what would happen if Rottweiler, for whatever reason, chose not to cooperate and only turned Woofus in too. Therefore, Silverstream was quick to suggest an alternative.
“A couple of us will go in your place!” the hippogriff declared happily. “One to do the talking, and the other to look out for trouble!”
Sandbar quickly pointed out the obvious. “So how are we not going to get caught?” he asked. “I mean, being outsiders, we’re not exactly going to blend in.”
“We’ll make disguises!” Silverstream responded. “So which ones of us could be passed off as a Diamond Dog the best?”
“Ocellus,” Gallus immediately responded. “She could use her changeling magic to take the shape of one. But, you will note, she’s not here.”
“Truuuuuue, so…who’d be second best?”
“Probably Smolder,” Sandbar reasoned, “because she walks on two legs, like the Diamond Dogs.”
“Well, she’s not here either!” Silverstream frowned and put her claws on her hips. “So who could do it that is here?”
“Woofus,” Yona answered. “He’s Diamond Dog.”
Silverstream pinched the bridge of her beak for a moment. “Okay, never mind…Gallus, you and me are going to go meet Rottweiler.”
“What?” Gallus objected. “Why me?”
“Actually, it makes sense, because you’re big enough that, with the right disguise, you could be passed off as a Diamond Dog old enough to be allowed in,” Woofus reasoned, who had been thinking it through. “So’s Silverstream. Sandbar, however, would be too small and would look underage no matter what, and Yona is…well…”
“Yona is yak,” Yona finished. “Not Diamond Dog. And Yona okay with this.” She then rooted into her saddlebags. “Besides, Yona have supplies and know-how to make disguises!” she explained, pulling out fabric and craft supplies that were probably leftovers from their classes. “Yak best at disguises!”
“Yak not best at disguises,” Gallus grumbled later, skeptically holding up what was to be his finished disguise.
Yona scowled, snatching it back from him. “Yona not ask griffon’s opinion!”
“Do we really have time to be debating this?” Sandbar asked as Silverstream eagerly started to wiggle into her disguise without complaint. “We’ve got a very narrow window of opportunity here, and the longer we delay, the more complicated things are going to get, both here and elsewhere—we’re already past due to return to Ponyville, and I’m sure someone’s noticed we’re missing by now.”
“Either way, Rottweiler is off duty by now,” Woofus placated. “So if we’re doing this, now is the time.”
And so, moments later and wearing the prepared disguises, Gallus and Silverstream were walking up to the tavern while the rest monitored from a nearby hiding spot. Eyeing the heavyset and strapping bouncer that guarded the entrance, Gallus drew himself up, trying as hard as he could to act and look like a Diamond Dog. While he couldn’t rear up to walk on two legs fully, he could compromise halfway that kept him mostly upright but still striding on all fours. Silverstream, however, was much more calm and casual about it and walked normally. He couldn’t see because of her disguise, but he strongly suspected she was smiling.
“You ready for this?” he asked seriously, having doubts.
“Yup!” Silverstream instantly replied, utterly confident in what they were about to do.
Gallus wished he shared it, but nevertheless, he took a deep breath. “All right then,” he said as the strolled up to the bouncer. “Here goes nothing.”
The bouncer really was quite a hulk, perhaps the biggest and strongest looking Diamond Dog they had seen yet, and the musky body scent thick in the air around him didn’t help. He was definitely not someone you wanted to mess with, let alone anger. Fortunately for them, he seemed quite bored standing there and regarded the two approaching him with only a passing interest. Still, he was highly intimidating, and with him looming over them Gallus momentarily forgot to begin speaking until Silverstream elbowed him—they had agreed he would do the talking at his own insistence.
“Hello,” Gallus greeted, raising one disguised paw in a sheepish wave. “We’re here to meet with a friend.”
“IDs?” the bouncer grunted.
Gallus inwardly winced. According to Woofus, proof of identification in Sapphiria was really only required for Diamond Dogs below a certain age. It was his hope that Yona’s disguises would have them appear old enough that such identification would be unnecessary, but clearly this wasn’t the case. Fortunately, Woofus still chose not to risk it. While Yona was making the disguises, he had put together false IDs from scratch —a feat made easier by the fact Diamond Dog IDs did not bear photos—which Gallus and Silverstream handed over to the bouncer now.
Unfortunately, though Woofus obviously hoped these would pass for the real thing, it wasn’t hard to guess the dogs they identified were painfully fictional: Gallus’s was for a Diamond Dog named “Sir Gallium III” while Silverstream’s was for a “Silvery Silverton,” and listed them both being at ages far older than they clearly were. The bouncer squinted at the IDs for a moment, looking unconvinced, before back at their supposed owners, which brought up the other issue Gallus was sure was going to get them caught: Yona’s disguises. They were full body garments with shaped mask-like hoods covering their heads, and were they for something like a play, they’d be perfect as costumes. But as undercover disguises, the stitches were too visible and obvious, Yona’s attempts to replicate the patchy fur colors were far too boxy, and worse of all were the eyes. Yona had decided eyeholes weren’t convincing, so she used plastic and goofy-looking googly eyes instead. It didn’t help that when the bouncer glanced back at them again, Silverstream shook her head to make her googly eyes jiggle.
“Deedle-deedle-deedle,” she cooed to herself as she did this.
It took a gargantuan effort to stop Gallus from facepalming, certain the bouncer wasn’t buying any of this.
But instead the bouncer just shrugged his shoulders and handed back the IDs. “Works for me,” he mumbled and motioned them on through.
Gallus and Silverstream glanced at each other then quickly hurried inside before the bouncer changed his mind. Inside, the tavern was cramped and crowded with sweaty Diamond Dogs, leaving the air stuffy, smelly, and hard to breathe. A couple of dogs were starting to get rowdy, and Gallus feared a bar fight might break out soon. Eager to get this over with then, he pulled Silverstream to speak with the barkeeper, inquiring where they could find Rottweiler. Barely looking at them, the barkeeper pointed a claw over at a corner table where a slender-ish but still well-built middle-aged Diamond Dog sat alone.
“Okay then,” Gallus said, taking another breath and turned to Silverstream. “I’ll go talk to him. Sil, you stay here, keep an eye out for trouble, but above all else please…just try to blend in.”
“You got it, Sir Gallium!” Silverstream declared enthusiastically before immediately plopping herself onto a barstool and faced a particularly tough-looking Diamond Dog sitting beside her. “Hey there, fellow restaurant patron!” She gave his arm a friendly pat. “Bap!”
The dog growled back at her in response.
Gallus groaned and hurried to Rottweiler’s table with increased urgency. “Think happy thoughts, happy thoughts, happy thoughts…” he muttered to himself as he walked. Then, refocusing on his task, he nodded his head at the table’s one occupant. “You Rottweiler?”
“Yeah,” the dog grunted, who didn’t look up. “Why? Who are you and what do you want?”
“A moment of your time to talk, if I could.” Gallus glanced around nervously, uncertain. “As for who I am, well…”
“Nah, forget it,” Rottweiler interrupted, shaking his head. He motioned to the seat across from him. “Go ahead and sit, griffon.”
It was only after Gallus had sat that Rottweiler’s words sank in fully. “Wait, how did you…?”
“You don’t smell like a Diamond Dog,” Rottweiler explained. “At all.” For the first time, he glanced up to make eye contact with his visitor. “Gotta admit though, the disguise is pretty good otherwise. It’d fool anyone not getting a good whiff of you.”
“Oh.” Gallus blinked to himself under said disguise. “Guess I owe Yona an apology, then.” he muttered quietly.
By that time, Rottweiler had waved a waitress over. “One of the usual,” he ordered before glancing over at Gallus. “You want anything, kid?”
Gallus thought he’d better for appearances sake. “I’ll have whatever he’s having,” he ordered as well.
The waitress nodded and departed. The two fell silent as they waited. Gallus wanted to launch into why he was here, but was unsure how to continue and Rottweiler seemed to be in thought, giving him the impression the dog preferred to proceed at his own speed.
“I take it Woofus sent you,” Rottweiler finally surmised, keeping his voice low and discreet.
Gallus nodded. “Yeah.”
“Mm. I figured you’d all still be in the city, given circumstances.”
“I guess you’ve already heard the story about that then.”
“Sir Husky’s version of it, at least.”
“You don’t sound very confident of it.”
“I’m not.” He gave Gallus a knowing look. “Should I be?”
The waitress then returned and served them their drinks. Rottweiler took a hearty swig from his before continuing. “So you got a name, kid?”
“Gallus,” the griffon offered. Nudging slightly open the hood of his disguise, he picked up his cup and knocked back a big gulp. The drink had barely gone down his throat though before he started hacking, taken aback. “What is this stuff?” he wheezed, staring through teary-eyes at the dark liquid in his cup.
“Freshly squeezed punchberry juice,” Rottweiler answered with a grin. He took another swig from his cup, unaffected by the potent taste. “This is a drink that’ll put hair on your back.” He gazed into his cup for a second. “Or clean you out. One or the other.” He shrugged. “Sometimes both.”
Gallus decided he wasn’t old enough to be drinking this and pushed his cup away from him. “Look, I didn’t really come here for drinks.”
“All right, let’s not beat about then.” Rottweiler pushed aside his own drink too and leaned forward. “I’m supposing you want my help.”
Gallus nodded. “Will you?”
“That depends. I’m not sure just what exactly Woofus expects me to do about it.”
“He indicated you were chief of security or something like that. Couldn’t you just, like, give us an opening to get out of here? That’s really all we want.”
“I understand you have friends in the dungeons already though. What about them?”
“Well, obviously I want to spring them out too, but one thing at a time, here.” Gallus rolled his eyes. “Look, I don’t really care how we do it, so long as it gets done.” He sighed and leaned closer too. “Woofus seems to think you could help, and I’m hoping he’s right.”
Rottweiler lowered his gaze and sat back to mull it over. “To a certain extent, he is,” he admitted. “But I’m afraid there is one critical problem.”
Gallus felt his heart sink. “Like what?” he asked in dread.
Rottweiler sighed and ended up pulling his drink back to him, finishing it off before answering. “Due to the circumstances, I can’t help directly.”
Gallus blinked, not anticipating this. “What? Why?”
“No matter who’s on the throne, I’m obligated to do my duty as asked…but that doesn’t guarantee I’ll do it quietly or without criticism. So to prevent that, Sir Husky demands I remain solely loyal to him and without protest.” Rottweiler’s gaze wandered, turning distant. “The point is that I can’t interfere too much or Sir Husky will relieve me of my duties, and then I’m of no use to you or in a position to intervene in any form.” He gazed sternly at Gallus for a moment to make sure the seriousness of this point got through to him. As Gallus still had his disguising hood mostly up though, he couldn’t clearly see the griffon’s reaction. But his silence was telling enough to Rottweiler. “Look, I might be able to coax a couple guards to turn a blind eye at one of the side exits,” he explained. “Not much, but realistically, it’s the best I can offer at the moment.” He slid Gallus’s abandoned drink over to himself and took a sip. “My only requirement is that if I do this, Woofus in turn agrees to come back and do whatever he needs to so to take up his proper role as pack leader instead of Sir Husky.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on,” Gallus objected. “We aren’t here to start a coup. We didn’t want to be here at all. All we want is to go home.”
“You want to go home. Woofus, by the sound of it, still wants to bury his head in the sand and ignore the real problem.”
Gallus sighed. “Look, I know about what happened between Woofus and Husky, and I’m sorry,” he said. “But that’s not my business. It’s nobody’s business but Woofus’s, and right now he thinks it’d be better he stayed away. And it’s not my place to tell him what to do. I can’t force him to do anything, especially not something he doesn’t want to do. He didn’t want to cause trouble.”
“You don’t understand,” Rottweiler said, waving a paw to dismiss Gallus’s words. He leaned closer again, his voice dropping almost to a whisper. “Husky isn’t royalty, he doesn’t have the royal markings like Woofus does.”
“So?”
“So, he couldn’t just take the throne unopposed. The rest of the administrative staff wouldn’t permit just anyone walking in from the pack and doing that. Who would? No, Sir Husky was only allowed to because he agreed to do something back for the rest of the administrative staff too.”
Gallus tilted his head, catching on. “Husky’s been making favors?”
Rottweiler snorted. “If you want to call it that, but I certainly wouldn’t.” He supped from Gallus’s drink again. “Certain staff members have already sought to take advantage of Sir Husky’s blind favoritism, and when they do, it’s not necessarily with the pack’s best interests in mind.”
Gallus felt his heart sink again. “How bad are we talking here?”
“Fortunately, nothing irreparable yet, but given time, it will, and soon.”
“Oh great,” Dismayed, Gallus cradled his head in one paw.
“I also suspect Sir Husky’s…frustrations against Woofus are causing him to justify increasingly desperate actions to go after him. As he is the true dog for the throne, he could easily challenge Sir Husky’s control unless he can put an end to that risk.”
“I get it,” Gallus said. He sighed. “But this is a…way bigger problem none of us are in any position to do anything about.”
“Woofus could put an end to it if he was pack leader like he should be.”
“Seems to me Woofus doesn’t want any part in this, and what makes you think he actually can put an end to it?”
“I had strongly warned him precisely this was going to happen when he decided he was going to forfeit the throne,” Rottweiler stressed, unforgiving. “He never should have left at all, so if Woofus wants my help, then I ask for his in return so to resolve all of this.”
“…basically making you no better than the twits Husky kowtowed to in the first place,” Gallus retorted back.
This caused Rottweiler’s gaze to soften and he sighed. “Fair point,” he conceded. “But look at it from my point of view. If this is all allowed to continue, then I can’t help but fear greatly for Sapphiria’s fate. My home. What would you do if you were in my place?”
Gallus was taken aback for a second. He thought about when Chancellor Neighsay had shut down the School of Friendship and how he had helped fight back, not unlike what Rottweiler was proposing. But he also knew that he didn’t fight back for the school, he fought back so he could stay with his then still-fledgling friends. The school was just an added bonus—it was the friendship that was more important to him. And he knew it was the same here.
“I’m sorry,” he truthfully apologized. “But Woofus is my friend. And I can’t just commit him to something like that without at least letting him get a say in it first. He deserves that chance to choose for himself, not have someone greedily take it from him for their own benefit. That wouldn’t make me the better creature here, now would it?”
Rottweiler sighed. “Brave words,” he said. “But it means I can’t commit to your terms either, for much the same reasons.”
Gallus stared down at the tabletop for a moment. “Come back with me,” he suggested. “I can take you back to Woofus and you can tell him what you’ve told me, talk it over with him.”
“I can’t. It’s bad enough talking with you like this as is. If the wrong dog even so much as suspects me aiding you and gets word back to Sir Husky, then it wouldn’t matter if we had agreed on anything at all.”
“Then let me go talk with Woofus and come back with his thoughts.”
But Rottweiler shook his head. “I’m afraid you don’t have time for that,” he said, nodding his head towards the tavern’s entrance.
Gallus turned, and with a jolt of alarm saw that a party of guards had entered, armed and in full armor. Unlike everyone else here, they were clearly on-duty, and as they started surveying the musky interior, slowly sweeping out from there, it was immediately clear why and what they were looking for. Gallus’s eyes then sought out Silverstream only to see she was still chatting with the fellow patron and looked to be totally oblivious of the approaching threat. So much for keeping an eye out.
“I can help you if Woofus will help me set things right,” Rottweiler repeated his terms, bringing Gallus’s attention back on him. He drained the last of Gallus’s drink. “Otherwise you’re going to have to be on your own.”
Gallus stared at him for a moment. Even though his disguise’s hood kept them hidden, his brows narrowed into a glare. “I told you. I won’t speak for Woofus like that. Not for this.”
“Fine then,” Rottweiler said coldly, plunking down some coins onto the table and rising to his feet. “Tell Woofus to go get lost in the tunnels.”
He then left, leaving Gallus to stare after him, stunned. Then he turned furious at the dog’s chilling final words before catching sight of the guards continuing to sweep ever closer. They didn’t seem to have spotted him yet, and his disguise probably helped, but he saw it was time for him to leave too. Spying the tavern had a back corridor that might lead to a rear exit, he darted from the table and back to Silverstream.
“There!” he heard one of the guards suddenly cry as he raced, realizing they had caught sight of him and were now trying to press through the crowded tavern towards him.
Gallus got to Silverstream first, although he was momentarily taken aback when he saw that while he was gone, the disguised hippogriff had taken a napkin, folded it into a cootie catcher, and was now flexing the paper while the burly Diamond Dog sitting next to her watched anxiously. Both were counting as Silverstream worked it. “…three, four, five, six!”
Silverstream then popped open one of the cootie catcher’s flaps and gasped. “Your wife is gonna be beautiful!” she happily cooed to the dog with starry-eyes.
“Yes!” the dog cheered, pumping his fist.
That was when Gallus interrupted. “Time to go, Sil!” he stated urgently as he grabbed her paw.
“Whoa!” Silverstream cried as she was yanked off her seat.
“But will she love me?!” the Diamond Dog wailed desperately after her before getting pushed aside by the guards trying to catch up.
Attempting to keep up their head start, Gallus raced down the back corridor, Silverstream keeping pace with him thankfully without comment, having caught on to what was happening. As hoped, it led to another exit leading into a narrow alley behind the building.
“What happened to Rottweiler?” Silverstream asked as Gallus slammed the door shut behind them and moved a nearby dumpster in front of it, hoping that would bar it for now.
“He’s not helping us,” Gallus snapped back in explanation, still disappointed. He budged Silverstream into motion again as they proceeded to race up the alley. “Augh, I can’t see in this stupid hood!”
He whipped it back as they ran, exposing his head fully. Silverstream did the same. Ironically, they had barely done so when the path ahead of them was blocked by another party of guards entering the alley, immediately identifying them now their hoods were off.
“There they are!” one bellowed as they surged towards them. “Stop them!”
Gallus and Silverstream quickly ducked into an adjoining alley instead, racing down it in search of a new avenue of escape. They barely found one when it was cut off by yet another party of guards, leaving all exits blocked except for dead ahead of them. Eventually this led them onto a quiet street not far from the massive supporting pillar near the center of the subterranean city. As it was nowhere near where they hoped to meet up with the others, Gallus was momentarily disoriented, unsure where to go next in the unfamiliar area until Silverstream grabbed his shoulder, jerking him to the left.
“This way to the river!” she cried, now taking the lead. Gallus followed, hoping she really knew where she was going while chancing a glance behind him and saw the pursuing patrols had all merged together on the more open street and were slowly closing in.
But turned out Silverstream did know where she was going, as after rounding a city block they arrived at the banks of the city’s underground river. Taking Gallus’s paw into hers, she pulled him right to the edge. “Brace yourself!” she advised as she jumped, dragging the griffon with.
“Oh, droppings!” Gallus had just enough time to curse before they both plunged into the water and immediately submerged.
The guards pursuing them ground to a halt at the river’s banks, but when the two runaways didn’t surface again, they quickly spread out, surprised that they had again lost all sign of their targets.
The hours ticked by in the dungeon. It was hard to tell for certain, underground as they were, but Ocellus estimated it was nearing evening time now. Likely because of that, a guard swung past their cell to deliver a meager supper for them (being verbally hounded by Smolder the whole time). The delivered tray contained two bowls. One contained a mixture of mushrooms, leaves, and chunks of dried bread clearly meant for Ocellus as the other bowl contained hunks of shiny minerals, demonstrating the Diamond Dogs knew very well what dragons typically ate.
Smolder was greatly displeased by the offering though. “Pyrite?” she bellowed as she hefted one of the clumps distastefully. “PYRITE?! You might as well have given me bread and water! Instead you give me stinkin’ pyrite!” She ran to the cell bars and started banging on them, trying to lure the guard back. “C’moooooon, you’re Diamond Dogs for crying out loud! I know you’ve got real gems you could give, it’s right there in your names! I’m not asking for anything fancy, it doesn’t have to be! Just…give me something like quartz, or agate, maybe some tiger’s eye…heck I’ll even take a couple of pearls or some turquoise! Just…anything that’s not pyrite! Helloooooo?” Getting no response, Smolder let out a loud growl and hurled the clump of pyrite across the cell then, not satisfied with that, kicked her dinner bowl across to join it. “I’m going to go mad in here, Ocellus!” she fumed next, angrily pacing.
“I noticed,” Ocellus commented as she calmly chewed on her bowlful of food. It wasn’t going to be too filling for a changeling, but it was still better than nothing. “For the sake of everyone though, I highly recommend that you don’t.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Smolder grumbled as she went back to her latest escape attempt. She been peeling shards of stone off the cell walls and, after shaping them into a loose knife-like shape with her claws and firebreath, would use them to try and cut through the cell bars. But after doing this for some hours and having already broken dozens of these shards, all she had to show for it was a small, barely visible, hairline scratch on one bar. “At this rate though, I don’t really have much else to do, so I might as well give madness a try.”
“That’s one way of looking at it, I guess.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes, the only sounds being Ocellus’s polite chewing and the scratching of Smolder’s newest shard rubbing against metal bar…up until that shard broke with a faint snap. Smolder snorted before chucking it aside. “Back at the school, who’s supposed to be chaperoning the dorms tonight again?” she asked the changeling as she chipped off a new shard from the wall beside her and began sculpting it into the desired shape.
“Professor Fluttershy, I believe,” Ocellus replied.
“Oh great, I can just see that poor mare’s reaction when she realizes we’re not in our rooms.”
“To be fair, our professors have probably already realized we’re missing. It wouldn’t surprise me if they’ve started search parties by now. And I did mention to Councilor Starlight where we were going before we left this morning.”
“Yeah, but they’re never going to know to search underground!”
“Hopefully our other friends can liberate us so they won’t need to. You know they’re going to have a plan by now.”
“I don’t suppose you’d be willing to elaborate on that plan, would you?” The new voice startled both of them as they turned and saw a trio of dogs enter and stand outside their cell. Two of them were more of the usual guards serving as escorts, but the third was a new dog they hadn’t seen before, dressed like a guard, but bearing a sense of authority not like the others. “It would help speed things along, at least. Sir Husky has asked that I attempt to interrogate you two for any new information.”
“Forget information!” Smolder snapped as she immediately dropped the shard she was sculpting and thrust her arms between the bars. “Give me some gems! Some real gemstones I can eat!”
“I would rather we—”
“No, gemstones first, talk later!”
“But—”
“Nope! This dragon’s belly needs filling first!”
“Smolder,” Ocellus attempted to gently intervene, “I know you’re irritable, but—”
“Darn right I’m irritable! I’m hungry! And I’m angry because I’m hungry! Hungry and angry at the same time, that’s me!”
“You’re hangry,” the new dog surmised wearily.
“Dude, dragons practically invented hangry.” Smolder thrust her arms between the bars as far as they could go, trying to reach the Diamond Dog. “And you haven’t seen it truly until you see a dragon get properly hangry, but you’re sure as heck gonna unless you turn over some gemstones already!”
Her arms came nowhere near reaching any of the three dogs. The newcomer eyed the dragon’s grasping claws for a moment. “I can see this might take some doing then,” he murmured and turned to the other two. “You’re both excused to go back to your sentry posts at the entrance. I will handle it from here.”
“Yes sir,” one of the two guards murmured and they both departed.
The newcomer watched them go before turning back to the prisoners in the cell, Ocellus now joining Smolder at the bars. “My name is Rottweiler,” he greeted once the other guards were out of hearing range. “I am the chief security advisor here in Sapphiria.”
“Well, whoop-de-doo,” Smolder replied sarcastically and continued grasping her claws at him. “Now gimme gems! Something that’s not stupid pyrite!”
Rottweiler sighed. “Fine,” he replied grumpily, looking up and down the dungeon corridor before reaching into his pocket and reluctantly pulling out a not-quite palm-sized diamond and chucked it through the bars.
“Oh wow!” Smolder cried as she immediately pounced on it, surprised that worked. The gem was quickly in her mouth and being chewed delightfully. “Okay! You’ve got my attention now!”
“Good,” Rottweiler said softly, hiding a wince as the dragoness went to town on the gem. He stooped down onto his knees, pressing a claw to his lips and signaling for them to keep quiet. “I recently spoke with one of your friends, the griffon named Gallus.”
This caught Smolder and Ocellus’s attention even more. “Where is he?” Ocellus asked.
“That was what I was hoping you could tell me,” Rottweiler replied. “He and the others have given us the slip again.”
Smolder snorted. “Like we know! We’ve been stuck in here this whole time! So unless they’ve actually gotten out of this crazy place and into territory we actually know something about…we ain’t got a slag’s worth to tell you!”
“Even if we did, we wouldn’t tell you,” Ocellus responded back. “They’re our friends that you’re trying to capture, after all.”
“I am aware,” Rottweiler commented, straightening. “But I’m not like Sir Husky, trust me.” He watched Smolder for a moment as she resumed pacing anxiously, tilting his head. “The guards tell me you’ve been shouting a lot of nonsense for a few hours now.”
“She’s like that,” Ocellus assured.
“Can you blame me?” Smolder bellowed loudly, as she kept pacing. “I’m locked up in a stupid cell that I can’t escape from with my other friends being chased by stupid Diamond Dogs while I’m left with nothing to do but slowly go stir-crazy and be force-fed PYRITE!” She gave Rottweiler a glare. “So I’m telling you, if we don’t get out of this soon, I’m going to lose it!”
Rottweiler raised a questioning eyebrow at her.
“Lose it,” Smolder repeated, misinterpreting it as misunderstanding. “It means go crazy. Nuts. Insane. Bonzo. No longer in control of one’s faculties, three fries short of a Happy Meal—WACKO!”
As the last of her shout echoed down the stone halls, the other two just stared at her, unimpressed.
“‘Three fries short of a Happy Meal?’” Ocellus repeated dubiously.
“You know what I mean!” Smolder snapped at her. She then stopped and looked back at the Rottweiler. “Why do you even ask, anyway?”
“Actually, I was hoping if I could ask both of you to keep it up,” Rottweiler responded with a small grin.
When Rottweiler entered the throne room a few minutes later, he found Husky inside, pacing back and forth in front of his throne, overcoat swishing around as he walked. “Rottweiler!” he declared anxiously as the other Diamond Dog approached. “That didn’t take as long as I thought. Tell me you have good news.”
“I wish I could, your majesty,” Rottweiler replied with a sigh. “The prisoners were not able to tell me anything we didn’t already know, but there’s also been a new complication.”
Husky’s mood immediately soured. “What complication?”
“Are you familiar with the breakout of tunnel fever we had in the dungeons a few moons back?” Rottweiler explained, unfazed. “How it had infected several of the prisoners and a few guards we had in there at the time?”
Husky’s browed furrowed, his expression now caught somewhere in the middle. “Yes…”
“Well, it appears we either failed to entirely disinfect the cells afterwards or we’re facing an entirely new outbreak, because I had to cut short the interrogation upon realizing the new prisoners have come down with tunnel fever.”
Husky gaped at him for a moment. “Are you certain?”
“I recognized the symptoms of the disease’s first stage quite clearly,” Rottweiler assured, and when Husky quickly took a step away at this, went on to reassure him. “Don’t worry, as per protocol, I already had the castle doctor look me over and he’s given me a clean bill of health. It seems the disease was still early enough in the initial stages, and I had no physical contact with either prisoner, so I escaped infection. But you know this means we must now keep those two prisoners in quarantine until tomorrow. As you know, tunnel fever is highly contagious during this first stage.”
Husky resumed pacing, anxiously playing with the hem of his overcoat. “So you’re certain?” he asked, sounding notably less confident then when they began the conversation. “No doubts at all?”
“They were acting very hallucinogenic by the time I left, and they were already shouting borderline nonsense before I arrived,” Rottweiler assured solemnly. “The dungeon guards tell me it’s only gotten worse since, from what they can hear.”
“What can we do for them, then?”
“Nothing now except to wait for the first stage to pass sometime tomorrow. To even try to treat them now will only guarantee the disease’s spread, and then we’ll have an outbreak on our paws.” Rottweiler put on a reassuring grin. “But I wouldn’t worry too much, your majesty. That first stage is rough for anyone, but every Diamond Dog I’ve ever known has survived it and lived to tell the tale. You know that.”
“Except they aren’t Diamond Dogs!” Husky snapped suddenly. He growled as he whirled his back onto Rottweiler to get himself a quick drink. “This is all Woofus’s fault…they wouldn’t even be here were it not for him.”
Rottweiler opted not to comment. “Have the city search parties had any luck finding the others, your majesty?” he asked instead, already suspecting the answer.
Husky sighed, putting down his goblet. “Nothing yet,” he muttered, clearly frustrated and went back to pacing. “There’s been no sign of Woofus himself and those still unaccounted for since they escaped the castle, and those two we nearly caught at that tavern…all they can tell me is that they clearly went into the river, but haven’t appeared again since.” He paused, gazing blankly about the room. “They must have slipped out of the river undetected somewhere and escaped.”
“Or they drowned,” Rottweiler offered, being realistic.
“Or they escaped!” Husky snapped, whirling onto Rottweiler. “To even suggest otherwise…” he trailed off and suddenly the fight went out of him. “This has become a right mess, Rottweiler. None of this even needed to happen in the first place, but it has, and even worse, it’s happened on my watch.” He frowned. “Lives are in danger, Rottweiler…and I need to make that right.”
Rottweiler was quiet for a moment, silently gauging his leader. “What do you propose then, your majesty?”
Husky was silent for a moment, running his claws through his black-grey fur as he turned to peer out at the city past the throne room’s balcony. “For now, keep searching,” he ordered. “Double the teams if you have to. They’ve got to be somewhere.”
At Woofus’s own insistence, they had devised a backup plan in case the meet-up with Rottweiler went south. Most of them had preferred to think it wouldn’t be needed, but seeing precisely this transpired, they were all glad they had. This plan had them scattering and regrouping at a different location near the beginning of the city’s underground river, right where the waterfall starting it poured into the cavern. It took some time to safely navigate the city without getting noticed now that it was on a heightened alert, but finally Woofus, Yona, and Sandbar arrived at the river banks in a vacant area of the city.
The moment they stepped onto those muddy shores, Silverstream poked her head out of the water. “There you guys are!” she declared with a relieved grin. “We’ve been waiting forever!”
Gallus’s head popped up beside hers. “What kept you?” he barked, but also relieved. “We were starting to fear the worst!”
“The city’s on high alert at the moment,” Woofus explained with a sigh, kneeling down on the riverbank as Silverstream and Gallus swam to shore. “We had to move very carefully so to avoid getting caught and that took time.”
“We weren’t sure you two even got away!” Sandbar added, watching as the two hauled themselves out of the water. “All we knew was those guards suddenly stormed that tavern, and we couldn’t stick around to see if you got away without getting caught ourselves. We didn’t even have time to bring all of our stuff with and had to leave some of it behind.” He then chuckled to himself as Gallus’s body came fully into view. “Nice tail, by the way, Gallus,” he teased.
Gallus twisted his head back at the fins his wings and forelegs had become and the seapony tail that had replaced his hindlegs and scowled. “Yeah, well, it was the only way that crazy escape we did was going to work,” he muttered while crawling the rest of the way out of the water.
“Oh c’mon, it’s not that bad!” Silverstream remarked in her own seapony body, patting Gallus on the back. “I’m just fine with being a seapony!”
“Sil, weren’t you born a seapony?” Gallus asked contemptuously.
“Beside the point!” Silverstream replied, waving the matter aside with one fin.
Yona frowned, gaze moving from on the two and out into the river. “Where yak’s disguises?” she bemoaned.
“Oh, sorry, Yona, we had to ditch them in the river,” Silverstream apologized with a wince. “They not only didn’t fit anymore, they weren’t helping either of us swim, and we needed to get out of there fast.”
“Once we did, though, we basically just hung around here waiting for you three to show up,” Gallus replied, trying to knock water out of one ear.
“So what happened?” Woofus asked, getting right to the point. “Did you find Rottweiler, or was it a trap?”
“Don’t know if it was a trap, but looking back, it wouldn’t surprise me,” Gallus grumbled. “Did find Rottweiler, but long story short, it did not go well.” He attempted to pick himself up only to flop down into the mud, remembering his body didn’t work like that at the moment. “Sil, can I have my legs back now?”
“Oh right,” Silverstream replied, clasping one fin around Gallus’s while the other grabbed at the piece of pearl hung around her neck. With a flash of magical light, both were immediately transformed back into their usual land-faring bodies.
“But you did find Rottweiler?” Woofus urged. “What did he say?”
Gallus shook himself before answering. “Nothing really useful,” he grumbled darkly. “Basically he said he’d only help if Woofus agreed to stay here and help him overthrow Husky, and even then the help he said he could do was pretty darn pathetic because he said Husky was basically riding on him too hard.”
Woofus dropped into a sitting position with a soft thump, dejected. “Oh,” he mumbled.
“Either way, I wasn’t about to agree Woofus to anything like that without letting him have some say in it,” Gallus recapped and folded his arms, grumpy about the whole ordeal. “I don’t regret it either. The guy was very less than helpful.”
Woofus sighed, standing back up and taking a couple steps away from them, silently turned to stare at the city stretching out before him. The others watched him for a moment.
“I’m sorry, Woofus,” Silverstream said. “I know you were counting on his help.”
“So now we’re back to square one,” Sandbar summarized sadly.
“Yona hate square one,” Yona grumbled.
“I still say we’re better off without him regardless,” Gallus stressed. “Guy was even pretty rude at the end there. The moment those guards started showing up, he just left, leaving me to nearly get caught by them…heck, he even had the gall to tell us to go get lost in the tunnels!”
Woofus suddenly spun around. “He said that? He actually said that?”
“Yup,” Gallus replied glumly.
“How rude!” Silverstream frowned.
Woofus, however, moved closer to Gallus. “You’re certain that’s what he said?”
“Word for word,” Gallus assured with emphasis then rolled his eyes. “It was bad enough already that he was refusing to help, he didn’t need to throw in a childish insult.”
But Woofus was starting to become animated. “No, no, no, you don’t understand, Gallus!” he assured. “That wasn’t an insult…it was a code phrase!”
It had begun following the Storm King’s attempted invasion of Equestria, and how some of his forces had tried to take Sapphiria during it. Those forces never succeeded, and their attempts stopped the same time the overall invasion did. Nevertheless, it made the subterranean populace realize their civilization wasn’t immune from invasion, and though they managed to escape it this time, it didn’t mean they wouldn’t face that same danger again sometime in the future. And next time, the invading force might be luckier than the Storm King.
Thus, a series of contingency plans were created in preparation for such a worst-case scenario, but one particularly sensitive one involved evacuating the ruling pack leader to one of a number of “safe houses” scattered about the city and quietly taken into administrative possession. In the event it came time to carry out this plan, word among the royal guard would be spread with a seemingly innocuous code phrase, each phrase signifying a different safe house the pack leader was being relocated to. “Go get lost in the tunnels” happened to be one of them, leaving Woofus convinced that Rottweiler’s use of this phrase was no accident.
So again moving carefully, even though the increasingly late hour had left the city largely quiet and inactive save for the patrols still searching for them, they proceeded to the associated safe house, hoping that something beneficial would be waiting for them. This house proved to be a two-story hut with an attached jetty standing at the shore of the city’s underground lake. It was far enough away that it wasn’t in the thick of the city’s usual activities, but not so much that it was fully excluded from it, leaving it a very unsuspecting location that blended in with the other properties surrounding it. They could see no visible guards or much of anyone securing it, but there was firelight visible through the windows on the first floor, suggesting that someone was present and inside.
Gallus was immediately suspicious. “I don’t know about this, Woofus,” he muttered aloud from where they had gathered behind a stout stone wall. He still had his doubts about Rottweiler’s intentions. “What if it’s a trap?”
Woofus shook his head. “This doesn’t feel like a trap,” he promised. “Besides, where else do we have to go at this point?”
“Well…nowhere, really,” Silverstream replied. “Except wandering the streets helplessly, trying to avoid getting caught, with no food or other supplies between us.”
“And Yona hungry,” Yona added, like this was argument enough for her. It probably was, as immediately after her stomach gurgled in agreement.
“And I’m exhausted,” Sandbar joined in. He looked longingly at the house. “It’d…be nice to have someplace even remotely safe to spend the night, because I think we can be certain we’re not going anywhere until tomorrow morning.”
“And even if there isn’t anyone in there,” Woofus concluded, “we can still find all of that inside. All of the safe houses are kept fully stocked at all times.”
“And if there is someone in there?” Gallus asked.
“Yona think we take them,” Yona stated determinedly, pawing at the ground with her hoof. “Outnumber them!”
“We don’t know if we do, though,” Gallus argued. He motioned his claws at the safe house. “For all we know, there could be dozens hiding inside that place, just out of sight.”
The others exchanged glances for a moment, knowing none of them could reasonably deny that he could be right.
“All right,” Sandbar conceded and leveled his gaze with the griffon. “Do you have a better idea?”
Gallus really wished he did, and he scrunched up his face trying hard to pull one out of nowhere. But ultimately he sighed. “No, I guess I don’t,” he admitted. “But for the record, I think this idea is a bad one.” Nevertheless, he turned to Woofus. “So what’s the plan?”
Woofus shrugged. “We head inside, proceeding with caution,” he concluded. “At the first sign of trouble, we flee.” He gazed at the house again. “But…I really do feel it’s not going to come to that.” He placed a paw on Gallus’s shoulder. “Just…trust me.”
Gallus gazed into the genuine eyes of the Diamond Dog and nodded. “All right,” he concluded simply.
The matter settled, they all quietly approached the house, keeping to the shadows. They eventually arrived at a side door (as even Woofus knew better than to enter through the front) without event and no sign whatsoever that they had been noticed or were about to be jumped. They glanced at one another to again confirm they were good to proceed, before Woofus put his paws on the door, slowly pushing it open with a faint creak.
“Here goes nothing,” he whispered as they slipped inside, one by one.
The side door led into a simple, garage-like storeroom filled with boxes and household tools all gathering dust. Having been forced to abandon the spear he had obtained earlier and feeling the need to replace it with something, Gallus scooped up an old piece of wood as an impromptu club. The others slowly gravitated behind him for protection, except for Woofus, who continued to lead the way unarmed. Crossing the storeroom, they gathered at the door to the next room, and after again silently checking they were all still good, Woofus pushed this one open too. Beyond was a spacious living area, sparsely furnished except for a lit and roaring fireplace and a round table with a modest chaise longue and a simple wooden bench positioned around it.
There was only one occupant in the room though, seated on the bench. “I was starting to wonder if any of you were going to come,” the lone Diamond Dog remarked, calmly turning to look at them.
“Rottweiler,” Woofus murmured.
Rottweiler nodded his head at him. “Sir Woofus,” he greeted back.
Woofus’s gaze averted slightly. “You don’t have to use the formalities with me anymore, Rottweiler.”
Rottweiler grinned faintly. “It is still good to see you again.” He then looked at the others. “I imagine you’re all famished by now,” he said, and motioned one paw to the round table, laden with a wide variety of food. “So I’ve tried to accommodate. I couldn’t be certain what sort of foods would interest all of you, but…”
“Yams!” Yona suddenly yelled, spying the food in question as she pushed her way to the front of the group. “Yak dibs!” She galloped up to the table and immediately helped herself.
The tension broken, the others idly went up to the table as well, surveying the food. Silverstream found two fish and tossed one to Gallus before taking a hefty bite into the other. Sandbar, meanwhile, picked up a bowl of green beans and sat down on the vacant chaise longue to munch on them. Woofus, however, ignored the food and approached Rottweiler’s bench.
“Does Husky know about any of this?” he asked the other Diamond Dog.
Rottweiler shook his head. “No,” he promised. “You have my word.” He then reached for a bottle and a pair of empty glasses seated next to him. “Would you care for a drink?”
Woofus glanced at the bottle and smirked. “Let me guess…punchberry juice?”
“But of course,” Rottweiler replied with a smirk of his own, filling both glasses and handing one to Woofus. “There a problem with that?”
“None whatsoever,” Woofus replied, chinking his glass against Rottweiler’s. They both took hearty sips from their drinks. As usual, Rottweiler did so with a completely straight face, unfazed by its potent flavor. Woofus managed a little less so, making a faint grimace as he forced the drink down, but maintained a content face regardless. “Mmmm,” he hummed in approval.
Gallus, watching all of this, was still a bit skeptical. “So are you actually helping us or not?” he finally demanded aloud.
Silverstream immediately elbowed him. “Gallus!” she criticized in a hiss. “Don’t be rude to the guy who’s providing all the yummy food!”
Rottweiler merely grinned, setting his glass down. “I’d like to help, if you’ll let me,” he answered, not offended by Gallus’s direct tone.
“Well, you sure didn’t give me that impression at the tavern,” Gallus responded.
“Yes, I apologize for that, but as I tried to explain before, no one must know I’m involved,” Rottweiler explained sadly. “If Husky knew I was assisting those he views as enemies, he would relieve me of my position immediately, robbing me of any ability to assist.” Seeing Gallus still wasn’t satisfied, he added, “I also apologize for my curt and abrupt departure at the tavern, but it was for appearances sake, to again make myself appear uninvolved. Plus, when the guards arrived, it was imperative that we not be seen together, for that same reason.” He sighed. “I know it seems rude…but that’s the price you pay for effectively being the double agent…and honestly I can’t blame you for responding the way you had, Gallus. I was improvising throughout that whole conversation anyway, not having much of a plan in advance. So when that meeting didn’t pan out, it gave me a chance to set up better circumstances for us to meet, like we are now.”
Gallus frowned, but he reluctantly conceded to Rottweiler’s points, making sense now that the dog had explained them. “Guess it’s a good thing we managed to escape those guards without your help then,” he mumbled, still a bit bitter about that.
“I wasn’t too worried,” Rottweiler assured. “You’ve all done a very good job avoiding that thus far, so I figured you’d do it again. And you did. It’s actually starting to make Sir Husky uneasy…though admittedly he’s responded in kind by searching for you with increasing aggressiveness, so the sooner we resolve this, the better.”
So Woofus, toying with his glass, got to the point. “Gallus tells me that if you help, you want me to help replace Husky in return,” he summarized softly.
Rottweiler sighed. “I won’t lie, Woofus,” he admitted. “I very much think it needs to be done.”
“Why?” Woofus demanded, setting down his drink a bit harder than he intended. “Why is Husky any less incapable than I am?”
“You bear the marks for royalty and were trained for it. Husky was not.”
“And yet he managed to secure himself the throne, all on his own,” Woofus argued back. “Rottweiler, at this point, I have no issue with Husky being on the throne. I chose to give it up after all, and as I see it, I have no claim to it, so it’s not my business anymore. If Husky really wants it, then I say he’s entitled to it. Who am I to deny him that right if he’s willing to work for it, which he clearly did?” he frowned, picking up his glass again to gulp down the rest of his drink in one long swig, tilting his head as he flinched forcing it down, before sighing heavily. “Besides…you and I both know this isn’t about the throne at all. What started all of this was me not being there to support my friend when needed, and Husky wants to take it out on me. Not only do I feel that’s fair…I feel like not challenging this accomplishment he’s achieved is something I could do to try and make it up to him.”
Silence had fallen in the room while Woofus spoke, the dog’s depressed mood being shared as they all quietly stopped to listen. Rottweiler sighed heavily, letting these words sink in for a moment before responding. “Sir Husky did secure himself the throne,” he began by acknowledging. “But I wouldn’t say he did it all on his own.”
Woofus also sighed, but his was more exasperated. “Gallus mentioned that Husky had the administrative staff backing him up, but that’s not surprising. All it means is that he convinced them he could be trusted with the throne.”
Rottweiler shook his head. “What he did was agree to do what they told him to do,” he summarized bluntly. “You know the old bridge that spans the west side of the river?”
Woofus’s brow furrowed, not sure he was following. “Yes…plans were made to have that bridge repaired or, failing that, torn down and replaced altogether.”
“Not anymore. All of those plans have since been canceled and the bridge to be left untouched at the administrative staff’s request, all because they deemed doing anything to fix the problem would be too costly.”
Woofus’s eyes widened and he half-rose from his seat. “What? But that bridge is crumbling away to the point that it’s a safety hazard!”
“Then you see the problem,” Rottweiler concluded. “And it’s just the beginning. There have been plenty more of such instances taking place ever since Sir Husky took the throne, and I expect there will be plenty more unless something is done to stop it.” At this, Woofus stood and numbly walked away, all eyes watching him as he did this, especially Rottweiler’s. “Sir Woofus, the administrative staff is using Sir Husky’s shortcomings to their own advantage, it’s only leading to corruption and mismanagement, and Sir Husky is too inexperienced and naïve to catch it. I shudder to think what might happen to Sapphiria if it continues.”
“Nothing good,” Gallus mumbled aloud, sheepishly fiddling with a leftover fish bone. “Trust me…there’s a lot of that stuff going on in the Griffon Kingdom, and it’s not exactly left us high and mighty, as much as I hate admitting it.”
“Yona don’t want to see that happen here,” Yona mumbled, looking troubled by the prospect.
“Should we even get involved, though?” Sandbar asked, while Woofus silently walked past them, lost in thought. “This isn’t what we’re here to do—we only came here to do a homework assignment, nothing more! And what about Ocellus and Smolder, still locked up somewhere?”
“Maybe we should go back to Ponyville first and get Princess Twilight,” Silverstream suggested, “have her swing her weight as royalty around so to sort this out.”
“Except her Equestrian royalty would be of little use here,” Rottweiler reminded the hippogriff. “Sapphiria doesn’t answer to Equestria.”
“And he’s right,” Woofus spoke as he stood gazing out a window at the house’s attached jetty. “At this point, I have no reason not to think that Husky would only see her as a meddler and dismiss whatever she had to say.”
“I shudder to think he might even try to throw her in the dungeons too, if given the chance,” Rottweiler added.
“He wouldn’t dare,” Sandbar declared. “It’d only bring the rest of Equestria down on him, trying to get her back.”
“I agree,” Rottweiler said. “But Sir Husky wouldn’t think it through. He has demonstrated that much to me just this evening. I worry he’s starting to exert his power as king more than he should, crossing boundaries he shouldn’t, desperate to get his way.”
“The administrative staff wouldn’t stand for that, Husky,” Woofus pointed out. “That’s why they’re there, to serve as a check on the pack leader’s power should that happen.”
“It would still only add to the disorder, Sir Woofus,” Husky reminded. “You know that.”
Yona looked to Woofus. “So what Diamond Dog do?”
Woofus didn’t reply right away. “I don’t know,” he admitted, still gazing out the window.
The others watched him for a moment then Sandbar motioned for their attention. “Let’s give him a bit think about it,” he suggested softly. “It’s been a long day anyway…we all could use the break.”
But it wasn’t long before their sated bellies started to lull them into a relaxed state and the weariness of the day’s trying events caught up with them, their bodies slowly wanting to drift asleep. Yona was the first to doze off fully, having peacefully curled up in front of the fire, leaving only her head visible so that the rest of her looked more like a giant ball of wool. The others remained awake still, but they were getting droopy eyed. Gallus kept himself awake by engaging in conversation with Sandbar and Silverstream, seated on the chaise longue, about why Equestria might have rock farms. But the glassy eyes and noncommittal grunts Sandbar made back left it questionable how much he was participating. Silverstream was even closer to drifting off, slumped over against the chaise longue’s one arm rest and constantly yawning. Rottweiler, still looking wide awake, kept watch over the group while quietly helping himself to some of the leftover food. Woofus, meanwhile, still stood at the window and remained deep in thought, not having spoken for some time now.
Realizing this and his conversation with Sandbar and Silverstream reaching a lull anyway, Gallus peered around the chaise longue he sat in front of so to look at the young Diamond Dog. “Look, Woofus, I don’t mean to be a nag,” the griffon commented sympathetically, “but we really should come up with some plan of action before morning. I don’t want to stay here forever, after all.”
Sandbar and Silverstream both twisted around to look at Woofus too. “Woofus, we can try and help you replace Husky, if that’s what we really have to do to get out of this,” Sandbar reasoned aloud, trying to be helpful.
“I mean, we totally get why you wouldn’t want to,” Silverstream added. “But, let’s all be honest with ourselves…we’re not really seeing many alternatives at this point.”
Woofus huffed to himself and glanced back at them. “I’m still not convinced we’re at that point yet,” he stated. “As I see it, the only thing that’s really stopping us is we need to free Ocellus and Smolder first.”
“Okay, fine,” Gallus said, latching onto that as a start of a plan. “How are we going to go about doing that?”
“I would rather you all stay here, where I know you’re safe,” Woofus said, his gaze turning concerned. “This is a matter me and Rottweiler have to deal with, but you four don’t. It’s not your fight.”
“It…kind of is now, though,” Sandbar countered. “I mean, thinking it all over, we’ve been dragged into the middle of this whether we wanted to or not.”
“And dang it, we’ll fight it, too.” Gallus promised.
“And I appreciate that, I truly do,” Woofus promised, concern etched on his eyes. “But you never should’ve gotten involved in the first place, and you wouldn’t had it not been for me.”
“Water under the bridge!” Silverstream declared optimistically. “We don’t blame you at all for that.”
Having been silently mulling over the topic, Rottweiler now broke his silence. “I think Woofus is trying to say this is something he wants to do on his own,” he explained, “if only to prove that he can.”
The others frowned at him for a moment then looked back at Woofus. “Prove what, exactly?” Sandbar asked.
Woofus averted his gaze sheepishly, which only made Rottweiler grin knowingly. “That he can be the friend he wants to be.”
“If that’s all it is, then Woofie has nothing he needs to prove,” Silverstream said, gaze bouncing back and forth between the two dogs. “We already know he’s our friend. We want to be good friends back to him.”
“I know,” Rottweiler said as he nodded. “So does he.”
Gallus, Sandbar, and Silverstream exchanged looks. “Ah,” Sandbar responded, believing he understood.
Woofus sighed, turning away from the window so to rejoin the group. “Look, like I said, it’s not that I don’t appreciate the help,” he assured the group. “But it’s bad enough Ocellus and Smolder got imprisoned over this. I do not want to see any more of you face that either. Joining my fight will only put you at risk. So all you are doing is getting out of here. Besides, it’s me that Husky wants! Not all of you!”
“Woofus, we’re not going to just stand to one side and let you face this alone just because you don’t want us to help,” Gallus grumbled, getting frustrated.
“I’m trying to protect ALL of you from having to face what I have to!” Woofus suddenly snapped, not out of anger but out of fear. “I owe you that because you’re my FRIENDS!”
A stunned silence fell in the room as everyone stared at Woofus, taken aback. For a long moment, the only sounds breaking that silence was Woofus’s panting from the exertion of his outburst and Yona briefly snorting in her sleep.
But then Silverstream smiled lightly. “Exactly,” she replied simply.
When this drew a puzzled expression from Woofus, Sandbar elaborated. “Friends help friends in need, Woofus. That’s what friends do.”
“So we’re putting the line down here and now,” Gallus continued, swiping the end of his tail across the floor so to metaphorically draw that line. “Whatever we do next, we’re doing it together or not at all.”
Looking his resolute friends over, and catching sight of an approving look from Rottweiler behind them, Woofus wanted to argue further, but knew there wasn’t much point—they had made up their minds. At first he snorted and turned away…but found their positive support too infectious and couldn’t help but grin. “All right,” he murmured, deciding that matter settled. “If that’s going to be the case…then I guess our next priority will be figuring out how we’re all going to free Ocellus and Smolder…together.”
The others grinned optimistically at Woofus’s show of support, but as she thought about their other two absent friends, Silverstream’s smile morphed into a frown. “Oh, I hope those two aren’t in too much danger…” she mumbled, putting a thoughtful but worried talon to her beak.
But here, Rottweiler grinned in earnest. “They’re fine,” he assured quickly, entering the conversation again. “I visited them in their cell before coming here,” he began.
The others perked up immediately. “How are they doing?” Sandbar asked.
Rottweiler stopped to seek the right description. “…they are bored,” he finally concluded. “But safe for now. I’ve taken steps to ensure Sir Husky does not bother them until tomorrow.”
The grey fur on Woofus’s brow furrowed. “How did you do that?”
Rottweiler’s grin turned sly. “I told Sir Husky they had come down with tunnel fever.”
The others at first reeled back, confused. “Tunnel fever?” Gallus repeated with concern. “Why, what’s that?” Silverstream asked with fear. “Are they sick?”
But then comprehension snaked onto Woofus’s face. “They’re fine,” he realized, forming a grin of his own as he looked at Rottweiler. “You’ve just put them into quarantine as if they weren’t.”
Rottweiler nodded. “No one in or out of the dungeons until tomorrow morning at the soonest. By then, we can ensure it won’t matter anymore.”
“So…we just gotta decide what move we’re going to make before then,” Gallus concluded, everyone nodding in agreement.
They spent the next few minutes brainstorming, but while they all had ideas, none seemed airtight enough for them to be comfortable with. There was also the matter of Husky, and whether or not Woofus would agree to help Rottweiler replace him. Rottweiler made it clear that he was still all for this plan. Woofus, however, still remained undecided, and it seemed that until he figured it out, he struggled with proceeding, hindering all the rest of their plans in the meantime. What Woofus did about Husky seemed to hinge on everything else.
Eventually though the increasingly late hour at last had its toll. As they were already starting to nod off, Silverstream, Sandbar, and Gallus, all fell asleep one by one, despite each’s attempts to remain awake. Silverstream went first, letting her body sag into the armrest she had been wearily leaning on. Sandbar soon followed, oblivious to the fact he had slumped over and rested against Silverstream’s side in doing so. Gallus, meanwhile, slept on the floor with his head tilted back, leaning on the side of the chaise longue. This just left Rottweiler and Woofus still awake, though Woofus was starting to feel the call of sleep wrap itself around him too. Nevertheless, he remained awake as he pondered his problems while gazing out the window, a different one this time.
Rottweiler, the only one still looking wide awake, watched him from where he’d sat all evening. He was well aware of what the younger Diamond Dog was thinking and sighed. “You know, Sir Woofus, it is not my wish to try and force you into doing anything,” he said aloud. “After all, though I urged you not to leave in the first place…I ultimately didn’t stop you.”
“I know,” Woofus answered back, before heaving a heavy sigh of his own. “It’s just…not ideal circumstances, this.”
“It never was,” Rottweiler agreed. “But there isn’t much we can do about that now…just whatever we can do in the future to address it.” He paused, studying Woofus. “I guess what I’m saying is that I need to know sooner rather than later what it is you intend to do.”
Woofus didn’t respond for a long moment. “This is why I left, you know,” he spoke abruptly. “A leader can’t afford to be this indecisive.”
“But a leader can afford to give his decisions careful thought,” Rottweiler responded back. He gazed approvingly at Woofus. “If I may…I believe you are far more capable at the role than you give yourself credit for.”
“I’m not sure that’s justification enough to stage a coup against someone I still consider a friend, simply because he hasn’t ruled to your particular tastes, Rottweiler.”
Rottweiler considered that for a moment. “If it helps, I do genuinely believe that Sir Husky, excepting matters involving yourself, has always meant well.” He sighed. “But he’s inexperienced, grossly so. I fear he doesn’t actually know what he’s doing, so he goes through the motions as if he does, mostly doing whatever is suggested to him without considering whether or not it’s a good idea. He doesn’t understand that won’t actually help maintain Sapphiria. I fear he’s starting to realize his inadequacies too, but remains in denial about them, afraid of the implications.”
“Couldn’t he still learn though, with time?”
“Perhaps, in the end. But how much damage would be done first before he does?”
Woofus averted his gaze. “And what makes you think I’d be any different? How could I know and learn enough to always make the right choice? How do I avoid causing any of that same damage while I figure out how to rule myself? I may have the advantage of experience, Rottweiler…but I’m not perfect. What happened with Husky proved that.”
“What happened to Sir Husky wasn’t your fault,” Rottweiler retorted. “Pack leader or no, you’re still just one creature, who has his own life concerns just as much as he does, and frankly, Sir Husky should’ve known that as your friend.” He paused, watching Woofus’s reactions. “Either way, even if you had been there for him on that day, it still wouldn’t guarantee success. He could have still failed the guard’s entrance exam.”
“I know,” Woofus said. “But he still needed that support, no matter what the end outcome was.” His gaze wandered to the window and at the cityscape beyond it. “They all do. All of Sapphiria. If I can’t spare that support for even just one of them…how can I expect to be able to give anyone in my pack the support they need?” He shook his head. “They deserve a pack leader more capable of that than I am.”
“A pack leader doesn’t need to be perfect to be good, Sir Woofus,” Rottweiler said surely. “We should understand that you can’t be everywhere at once, and we don’t necessarily need you to be…we just need you to be there to lead us through the rougher times when they come. I’ve seen you do it.”
“…you have?”
“You safely got them this far, haven’t you?” Rottweiler motioned to the others, sleeping in their various spots throughout the room.
Woofus frowned at him. “That was a group effort.”
“They don’t know Sapphiria though. How it works, what the populace is like, what its rules are, or the lay of the land. Were you not there to lead them through all of that, Sir Husky would’ve already caught them long ago.”
Woofus shook his head in disagreement though. “They wouldn’t even be here, let alone in danger, were it not for me.”
Rottweiler shook his head sadly. “I wish I could make you see, your majesty.”
Woofus smiled sadly. “Part of me wants you to, to be honest,” he admitted, showing Rottweiler’s words weren’t totally lost on him. But then he sighed, the smile vanishing as quickly as it had come while he looked over his sleeping friends, reflecting on how new they really were. It certainly didn’t feel like it anymore. “What it comes down to, Rottweiler,” he finally concluded, “is that I already failed one friend of mine and am still paying the price for it. Now it’s endangered my new friends…and I can’t stand by allowing that to continue. It’s my fault they’re here…so it’s up to me to help them get to safety. I owe them that much.” He surveyed the others before locking eyes with Rottweiler again. “You can understand that, can’t you?”
Rottweiler gazed at the others for a second too, before nodding. “I can,” he assured. He smiled slightly. “They are indeed good friends, Sir Woofus, ones you’re lucky to have. Your concern in them is certainly not misplaced.”
Woofus nodded, stepping closer to the other Diamond Dog. “So what are we going to do to help them?” he asked.
Rottweiler considered the problem for a moment, knowing their options were limited. “If we can distract enough of the guards from one of the tunnel entrances, we could slip them out that way,” he concluded. “If all of us are working together to do it, the numbers might be in our favor. But the problem is that I can’t guarantee anything. Sir Husky has the guard up at the entrances too high for me to promise success.”
“Couldn’t you just order them away?”
“Not without arousing immediate suspicion. In order to avoid that, we must lure the guards away in some manner that will feel natural and not give them reason to suspect.”
Woofus mulled on that problem for a moment. “And what about Ocellus and Smolder?” he asked. “How are we going to get them out of the dungeons?”
“That will be trickier. I have ideas, but nothing settled into a full plan as of yet.” Rottweiler shrugged. “Part of the problem is that anyone who sees me doing anything in association with them is going to ask questions…and the more questions asked…”
“…the more chance you have of being discovered.” Woofus caught on, nodding. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment. “Maybe it doesn’t have to be you, though.” He glanced up at him. “By any chance, do you still have full access to the castle’s armory?”