//------------------------------// // 83 The Valley of Steel Boxes, Part Two // Story: Continuity Disrupted // by Doug Graves //------------------------------// Trixie’s voice quivers as the creature behind her pauses inches away from her, as if waiting for her permission. “No,” she moans, her weak attempt to shake her flanks free failing utterly against the paws of iron gripping her. She pleads, "Please, just let me go." “No?” comes a higher pitched whine, the claws around Trixie briefly digging into her. “No,” the creature states with a disappointed sigh, his grip on her flanks loosening. “But how Brutus recognize pony in dark?” He grunts, getting to his paws as Trixie stumbles forward, spinning around to face her near violator. “What are you talking about?” Trixie’s horn flares as she grits her teeth, though she immediately gasps. Towering in front of her is a large, gruff faced Diamond Dog. His muzzle is mangled, the missing nose replaced by a mass of scar tissue, as if it had been cleaved off entirely. His smile seems awfully friendly, though, a bit of a leer in his eyes not unlike many a stallion she has performed for. His gray arms hang limply at his side, though one paw blocks the light from her horn from shining directly into his eyes. Brutus points his raised paw at his scarred muzzle, breathing through his mouth. “It dark,” he states as if the answer is as blindingly obvious as the light from Trixie’s horn. “All pony look same.” He shrugs. Trixie narrows her eyes, “In the dark, yes?” Brutus shakes his head. “Yes?” Trixie groans as she looks around her. She is in a small antechamber, two tunnels running away from her. A small box containing torches rests on the opposite wall from where she came down, though the dog makes no motion towards them. Trixie mutters to herself, “‘Don’t worry about the Diamond Dogs!’ Rarity said. ‘They’re really quite friendly!’ Well, Trixie did not think that Rarity was into this sort of thing!” She glances up at the ceiling, “And Rarity could have told Trixie what to expect!” Brutus shakes his head, “Rarity no let Brutus taste. Brutus want taste.” Brutus pauses for a few seconds before he smiles, “Doug let.” Brutus then shakes his head, “Doug taste funny. Like mares.” Trixie raises an eyebrow, staring at Brutus. He nods once as his tongue pants out again. “He like pet you.” “Right.” Trixie shudders as she turns back to her surroundings, her horn’s glow softening. How in the hay is she supposed to get out of here? A scratching echoes from one of the tunnels leading away, and any thought of bolting away from her captor disappears as a second Diamond Dog lopes in. The newcomer isn’t quite as large or powerfully built as Brutus, but his brown body still has quite the imposing presence in the cramped tunnels. He takes a long sniff, his eyes furrowing as he tries to place the scent. After a few seconds he grins, his tongue lolling out as he pants, his searching gaze turning to Trixie. “The Great and Powerful Trixie demands that you release her this instant!” Trixie bellows, backing up against the wall so both Diamond Dogs are in view. Her horn flares, her light nearly blinding. The second Diamond Dog raises an eyebrow along with a paw to shield his eyes, “Kole take you back up. But why ask come down?” Kole sniffs again, huffing at the faint odor. He takes a step towards Trixie, holding his paws up in front of him, palms towards Trixie. "Why you here then?" “What do you think you are doing?” Trixie demands as Kole continues blindly advancing. The other Diamond Dog seems content to watch, but the brief glance allows Kole the chance to close within an arm’s length of her. Trixie’s eyes go wide as Kole slips to one side and practically shoves his head between her legs, taking a long sniff. “Hey!” Trixie shouts, getting both dogs to take a step back and rub their ears. Her horn flares, shoving the far too friendly dog away. “Just what do you think you are doing?” Kole’s eyes light up in recognition, completely ignoring Trixie. “I smell scent before! Doug! You mate with Doug!” Trixie’s eyes furrow, “Excuse me?” Her head twists to stare at Kole, leveling her best glare at the dog who really likes sticking his nose where he has no business. Is this a dog thing? “Yes!” Kole exclaims, excitedly grinning as he waves his arms about. “You Doug mate!” He pushes his head back between Trixie’s hind legs as Trixie yelps again, another long sniff. “Last night!” He hops back up, grabbing Trixie’s foreleg and nearly dragging her down the tunnel. “That mean J’mare send you, yes? We get gems! Lots!” “Wait!” Trixie yells. Kole skids to a stop, staring at her with a blank look. “Who are you talking about? What gems?” “J’mare ask lots gems! Yes? We get!” Kole nods furiously, his enthusiasm quite infectious. He turns, bounding down the tunnel, barely turning his head to make sure Trixie is following. Trixie groans as the Diamond Dog disappears from sight, her languid pace clearly not enough for the dog’s liking. She glances up as a knocking sound reverberates around the cave. Small pieces of dirt from previous tunnels shakes loose. Brutus asks, “That J'mare?” Trixie shakes her head as the knocking continues. “You know them?” At Trixie’s nod the dog nods dumbly, “I get!” “What?” Trixie exclaims as the Diamond Dog burrows into the wall, showering her with dirt. She sputters as her horn goes out, shaking the dirt off as a paw grabs her from behind. “Come!” Kole shouts at her, tugging on her foreleg, Trixie rapidly losing her patience with the impertinent Diamond Dog as she hurries along. "They come after! We go!" Further to the south, closer to the Ghastly Gorge, two smaller Diamond Dogs are inspecting a series of blue tipped metal poles in the ground. The beefier of the two, his long gray arms swaying back and forth, lumbers between the large rocks. Fido grunts as he hefts a dozen scarlet tipped metal poles, dumping them into an applewood cart next to several dozen similarly marked others. The gray jacketed Diamond Dog flexes his oversized arms as his brother Rover motions towards a solitary pole near the forest edge. Rover flicks a bit of dust off his red jacket, glancing towards a few of the rocks. “Miss one,” Rover mutters. Fido grunts again, loping over to the scarlet pole. His wide arms yank the pole from the ground, a large red gem coming along with it. Fido grumbles, quickly digging a hole and kicking the red gem back inside. He carries the pole to the cart as a third Diamond Dog appears over the nearest ridge. “Hey!” yells the runt of the group, his brown fur nearly matching the surrounding dirt. “Come quick!” Rover shakes his head, “What now, Spot?” as Fido merely grunts, tossing the pole with the rest. Fido picks up the cart, pulling it to the north. Spot excitedly shouts, “Found gem hunter! He find gems!” “Really?” Rover asks with a roll of his eyes. “This not white pony again? You know Shav get mad if we grab her again.” “No! Different! Small and purple!” Spot turns back to the north, “Hurry! He get away! He by north entrance!” Rover and Fido look to each other, a wide grin spreading on their faces. They bound away, the cart abandoned in their haste. Back in the clearing, Twilight and Spike inspect the rock that Trixie had been laying on. A large whine escapes Twilight’s throat as she pounds a hoof on the rock. It quickly turns to a loud shout, “She was right here! You don’t, just, disappear into thin air! Not without leaving a trail!” “You teleport all the time,” Spike says, inspecting the nearby forest. “You don’t think she teleported away, do you?” He climbs up on one nearby rock, holding a claw to shade his eyes from the sun. He dashes from one outcropping to another, looking for any hoofprints, or a note, or any indication at all. Twilight’s eyes shine white. She spins in a fast circle, head going every direction before she huffs out, “Nothing! No thaumic residue anywhere, nothing to track! It’s like she dropped off the face of the world!” Spike chuckles nervously, “Oh, don’t be silly, Twilight. Ponies don’t just fall off like that. Right?” Twilight shakes her head, “Of course not! There’s-” Spike gasps as the earth underneath them rumbles, quickly jumping onto one of the rocks. Twilight glances around, bewildered, her eyes trying to find the source. Suddenly a pair of large gray paws reach through the dirt, latching onto Twilight’s hind legs. Her eyes go wide, her horn briefly flaring before she disappears into the ground. “Twilight!” Spike shouts as he dashes over to the newly dug tunnel. He yells, “Which, what, where?” as he inspects the surrounding area. Dirt is filling the entrance, quickly blocking off the way as his claws dig into the soft earth. Spike sputters as dirt pours back into his hole, resurfacing with nothing to show for his efforts. He wails, a loud, keening cry as his claws pound the ground. “Nooooooo!” Spike’s claws come to his head, shaking as he stares at the ground. He lays there for several seconds before he jumps up. “Rarity!” he exclaims, spinning around, running towards the wagon. “She’s come down here before, right? She’ll know what to do!” “Leaving so soon, little hunter?” comes a deep, growling voice from the nearby forest. Spike spins around as three brutish forms step from the trees, wide smiles on their canine snouts. A red jacketed Diamond Dog is in the lead, flanked by one short and one wide dog, all with greedy, leering smiles. “What did you do with her?” Spike demands, his claws flexing as he snorts a bit of flame. His tail flicks back and forth, the green spikes glinting in the noon sun. The Diamond Dogs glance at each other, sneers on their faces as they spread out. The leader growls out, “We hunt for gems, little hunter.” They advance, the short one hustling around on all fours to cut off Spike’s retreat. “But now, we hunt for you!” The biggest dog charges Spike as the others circle around, lunging forward in a diving tackle. Spike jumps up, his tail whipping around to slap the dog in his face. He howls in pain as the pointed tip slices across his cheek, paws coming up to press against the light cut. Spike leaps off his back, roaring at the leader. “You took Twilight!” Spike rages, his own charge at the red jacketed dog. Spike growls as his target turns tail, running a wide circle away from him. His short legs struggle to keep up, quickly giving up the chase as the other two dogs circle around. “Who is Twilight?” the short dog rasps from behind Spike. “We look for gems! You find gems!” He sneers as Spike turns, flexing his paws. Spike shouts as he points towards the big rock, “No, I’m looking for Twilight! She looks for gems! I just dig them up!” The red jacketed dog stops circling. “Oh.” He growls at the short dog, “You say little purple gem hunter!” “Little purple was digging gems!” The short one points at Spike. “Purple mare just walking around, horn lit!” “That’s Twilight!” Spike shouts, his rage returning, if it had ever left. “Give her back!” The red jacketed dog holds up his empty paws, “We no have purple mare. But we need her to find gems!” “Yes, find purple mare! Get all gems!” echoes the short one. The wide dog merely smiles, happily grunting. All three dogs burrow into the ground, Spike dashing over to the nearest one, the leader. “Wait!” The thin head pops back up from the tunnel, “Yes?” “Take me with you!” Spike shouts, glaring daggers at the dog. The dog looks down into the earth, shrugs, and grabs Spike, tunneling deep into the ground.