//------------------------------// // The Dangers // Story: Trail Blazer // by MagicS //------------------------------// The three friends were now in a rocky and fairly out of the way part of Equestria. The terrain was too uneven and there weren’t any nearby water sources, apart from possibly groundwater, so Trail Blazer had written it off as a place unlikely to be settled anytime soon. Positives were that the weather and temperate out were still average, this being the interior of Equestria, and they had no want for water or food since they had been able to stock up just fine in previous places. But on the flip side there wasn’t much to see or do right now for any of them as they had been through enough of Equestria where this now could be categorized as “more of the same”. Nor was it pretty enough for Lustrous to write about or attempt any more poetry with. Right now the three were traveling over a large ridge, they could see forest for miles all around them and the large mountain that jutted up from the center of their new country was off a fair bit in the distance as well. Scenic but unspectacular compared to other views they had all been able to take in on this trip. As for how the adventurers were doing on the inside that was a bit of a different situation. Trail Blazer would fidget often and feel around in her bag for her missing flask, she couldn’t get used to not having it on hoof. Even though the others were helping her she still craved a drink and not just being sober but telling herself she was going to stay sober was difficult. The mare now had nothing to drown out the repressed feelings and memories inside her, and she couldn’t mask it with anger either, trying not to lash out at her new friends. For their parts though they took it all in stride when she had trouble. Patience and understanding were the key and they knew her anger and frustration was the result of deeper issues. So Lustrous and Steel Wing did all they could to be calm and supportive and help her out whenever she panicked or got truly upset. Unlike Trail Blazer, Steel Wing was essentially the same as ever. He was slightly more talkative and open (he didn’t speak anymore about his past but he claimed it was because there was nothing more to mention) and he and Lustrous tried to find an opportunity to play cards whenever they could. The pegasus proved to just be a naturally quiet pony and neither Lustrous nor Trail Blazer really begrudged him for that. And Lustrous was Lustrous. The same unicorn with a sheltered and quiet life who had never really faced any hardship aside from the same minor familial problems that you would see anywhere. Certainly nothing that could even be compared to what his traveling companions had gone through. Lustrous was fine with that, he already resolved himself to be the one they could always count on, since there was nothing for him to get depressed about in his life. “Do you think there’s anything around here?” Lustrous asked Trail Blazer, walking behind her while Steel Wing pulled up the rear. “Depends on what you mean by anything,” A much quieter and tired sounding Trail Blazer responded. The bruising around her eye almost cleared up by now. “Nothing special but I bet you would find plenty of ore and gemstones if you dug down a bit. I’ll mark it with a question mark in my notes but it’s not something we can really check. Either way this isn’t a place to make a road or town for normal ponies so it’s not as important for us to take a more detailed look at anyways.” At least Lustrous could take solace in the fact that she was taking her job seriously. Even if a large part of it was probably just her trying to keep her mind off other things. The unicorn looked over his shoulder at Steel Wing. “Are you going to fly around to get a look at things from above?” “I mostly did that to scout around for any potential dangers, if it’s just for the map’s sake I’m sure Trail Blazer can do a better job of finding out what things look like her way,” He answered. “Alright,” Lustrous just shrugged. “I figured you might just be more comfortable flying anyways.” “Honestly I’m fine with either flying or walking. Some pegasi really prefer the air but I don’t have a preference.” Lustrous never thought he’d hear something like that from a pegasus. There probably weren’t many unicorns who never really used their magic like him either though, he probably wasn’t a good source on what was normal for any pony of the three tribes… although neither were Trail Blazer and Steel Wing for sure. The sun right now was high noon in the sky but there was a nice breeze keeping things from getting too hot. Lustrous would’ve liked to have kept the conversation going between the three of them but even if they were supposedly “friends” now he realized they had absolutely nothing to talk about aside from their journey. The three had nothing in common and Lustrous had no more fun stories to tell. He was beginning to realize that working at friendship may have been more difficult than getting them to all get along in the first place. At least now they would better look like an example of the three tribes coming together and getting long for Bright and Cheese’s propaganda. A few words died on the tip of Lustrous’s tongue as he attempted to initiate a conversation but struggled as to how. He didn’t want to set Trail Blazer off when she was still getting accustomed to being sober. Steel Wing, despite what he said about agonizing over his past decisions, didn’t seem upset after he told them about his past but Lustrous had to imagine it was still a decently sore subject. And unfortunately the land around them didn’t offer anything to talk about at the moment. “I think in a couple days we’ll be back at the west coast, wouldn’t be surprised if we found some more big towns around there,” Trail Blazer said. “Hopefully no deserts in-between either,” Lustrous joked. “Heh,” Trail Blazer actually laughed a little. “I don’t think we have to worry about any more of those. But later on we’ll have the opposite problem when we go up north. We’re better equipped for the cold than the heat though.” “Joy, I didn’t get enough of my fill of snow from the mountain. Between swamps, wastelands, deserts and places that a Windigo would call home I think I’ve had enough bad weather to last the rest of my life just from this trip,” He frowned. Trail Blazer looked over her shoulder at him and grinned. “There’s the typical complaining Lustrous. Back in action.” The unicorn blushed. “Well, it’s not like I’m wrong...” The ponies continued their walk over the rocky terrain, coming eventually to a large dirt flatland. It was big and wide enough where a town could sit comfortably but like they had noted earlier without anything like a river or suitable farmlands around it probably wasn’t ideal for settling. “Hm,” Trail Blazer though while rubbing her chin. “Judging by the soil there’s probably a good deal of groundwater in this spot. Maybe you could put a well here or something.” She reached into one of her saddlebags and pulled out her notebook to scribble her thoughts down. “Might actually be able to put something useful here...” She started muttering on her own, ignoring everything else. Lustrous and Steel Wing both waited for her to finish up on her musings before they got moving again. “You know depending on how long she takes to look at things maybe we could get in a round of poker?” Lustrous joked with the pegasus. He smiled lightly. “Would be a good way to pass the time.” Lustrous grinned and was about to say more when Steel Wing’s hoof shot up and pressed onto his mouth, silencing him. The red pegasus’s ears had perked up and his eyes were intently darting around. “Wait. I hear something strange,” He told Lustrous with dead seriousness and then looked to Trail Blazer. “Miss Trail Blazer, come over here please, something is coming.” The earth pony had a confused look on her face but did as he requested, the three of them now standing next to Steel Wing while his wings opened wide, ready to move at a moment’s notice. At first neither Trailer Blazer nor Lustrous knew what was going on but then a steady sound reached their ears as well. Along with a vibration from beneath their hooves. “Is there something down there?” Lustrous asked as he looked at the dirt. Steel Wing nodded. “Yes, something is digging up through the ground.” He suddenly frowned. “No, make that multiple things. The noise is all around us.” All around them six large holes suddenly erupted out of the ground and some rather beastly looking creatures popped up to surround the trio of adventurers. They stood slightly hunched over on their hind legs and had thick forearms with claws at the end, all of them were quite a bit larger than the ponies and their faces were distinctly canine in appearance with noticeable fangs. “What are these?!” Lustrous asked in shock, completely unfamiliar with the creatures. “Diamond Dogs,” Trail Blazer answered, looking around at the six aggressors. Steel Wing stayed silent for the moment. His hawkish eyes and fine-tuned ears keeping focus on all of the dogs so he’d be prepared for any sudden movements. “I didn’t know so many non-ponies lived in Equestria...” Lustrous muttered. One of the Diamond Dogs was wearing a golden cap, their leader most likely, and he took a step towards the ponies. His arms were held out wide in front of him with his claws bared in an intimidating fashion. Surprisingly though he chose to speak first. “And what are little ponies doing out here?” He asked in a slimy and almost snakelike voice. Lustrous scowled, this was just the kind of thing that pushed his buttons. “What do you mean? These lands have been-” Trail Blazer kneed him in the ribs. “Oof!” He wheezed and she took the opportunity to speak. “We’re not doing anything. We’re just traveling through. If this is your territory you don’t need to worry, we’ll be out of it in a day at most,” She said. The Diamond Dog growled at them. “That doesn’t matter! This is our domain! We mine these rocks and take all the gems we can find, you ponies can’t have any! You’re not welcome here!” The map mare scowled at him. “Look, we don’t want any gemstones. We don’t want to live here either. You can keep on doing whatever you want.” “Not good enough.” The Diamond Dog repeatedly shook his head. “You trespassed. You must be lying, no pony has ever come out here so why now? You’re after our gems.” He menacingly stepped forward again. “I’m telling you that’s not the case...” Trail Blazer tried to reason with him but she knew she wasn’t getting anywhere, her brow creased in worry. The lead dog grunted and the two others directly behind the ponies leaped at them. But Steel Wing knew what was coming, he jumped backwards into the air and spun, kicking both dogs in the jaw with his hind legs as he did. The other three dogs then ran in but Steel Wing bolted to the nearest one that was going for Lustrous and struck his wing out low, getting the dog in the stomach with it and then grabbing one of his big arms in his hooves and heaving the attacker over his head, throwing him at the dog on the other side going for Trail Blazer. The dog Steel Wing had thrown collided with the other and knocked them back down into one of the holes they had used to come up. Meanwhile the last dog was closing in on Steel Wing and brought his claws down in an attempt to rake the pegasus across the face. However with a slight flap of his wings Steel Wing pushed himself backwards while flipping over in midair and uppercutting the dog attacking him with his back legs. That last one was knocked out cold. The first two he had hit were a little discombobulated but were already getting back to their feet. As for the ones who had fallen down the hole who knew where they were. So the only one who was a-okay was a very sweaty leader. “I suggest standing down and letting us be on our way.” Steel Wing’s hard gaze pierced the Diamond Dog leader. To his credit the leader didn’t back down so quickly, even though he was sweating. His eyes glanced at his two remaining soldiers that could still fight. The two were still behind the ponies and that gave them the advantage of being able to attack from both sides if it came down to it. But after seeing what Steel Wing could do… “There are many more of us,” The leader said. “Dozens of us down in the caves. With a whistle I could have them up here in an instant and put you ponies in chains.” “Maybe. But how much are you willing to lose to win?” Steel Wing answered back. The leader’s eyes narrowed but he made no move to attack or whistle for reinforcements yet. It was Trail Blazer who ended up breaking the silence. “How about we just leave and you go back to your mines. Call it even?” She broached. The Diamond Dog leader and Steel Wing continued to stare at each other. The other two dogs waiting for their leader’s next order. The leader clenched his fists in anger and growled in frustration, waving a dismissive hand. “Fine, you dumb ponies can just leave. But never come back to our territory again,” He said. He gave two short grunts to the other dogs and they grabbed their unconscious brethren and took him back down one of the other holes. With a last glare at the ponies he himself also jumped back down the hole he had came from. The adventurers waited a good minute to make sure they were gone and Lustrous let out a shaky breath he didn’t realize he had been holding in. “I knew there were dangerous creatures here but I didn’t know there were dangerous intelligent creatures.” “Yeah, Diamond Dogs can be pretty troublesome. Didn’t know they lived out here though,” Trail Blazer said. “I’ll mark this on my map.” She looked to Steel Wing and smiled. “Thanks for the save, as always.” The red pegasus may have actually blushed slightly. “It’s nothing. It’s just my job.”