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// Chapter 4: The First Round 
// Story: Howlite Howler Part 2: Trust Denied 
// by JNKing 
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If it wasn’t for her magic, Shiva likely would have been beaten in the first round.
The volley of spells flew faster than Skippy and the iron paws, but Shiva’s shield was faster, and the spells reflected off an extra barrier she put around the mirror-like block of metal. Even so, the impact sent her rolling while her dogs fell onto the ponies. 
Spells clashed against axes. The ground vibrated with the force of hooves and paws. 
For a split second, Shiva worried about the nicer members of the Mane Six. Yet, a second later, she found herself worrying more for her own pack instead: Rainbow Dash and Applejack fought side by side, Rainbow Dash knocking dogs around while Applejack floored them with powerful kicks. Twilight fired spell after spell, her magic breaking through the shield of one dog and sending him scampering back into the earth. 
Pinkie was also firing projectiles, though hers looked like pink batter from a silver cannon she had pulled from nowhere.
“Bad doggies!” Pinkie screamed, covering Skippy in pink batter. “Sit! Roll over! Play dead! Seriously, PLAY dead, I would be so sad if you actually died to any of this!” 
Even Rarity was getting in on the action, knocking Luke’s axe away with a spinning kick. Unfazed, Luke swiped at her with his bare claws, and the dog and pony dueled back and forth like human martial artists.
The only ones not involved with the fighting were Fluttershy and Spike. Spike was trying to pick himself up off the ground, having been knocked over by someone, while Fluttershy was backing further and further away from the conflict.
“Stop!” she pleaded. “Please stop!”
“Fluttershy, use the…!” Rainbow Dash tried to say, before Skippy lunged up and yanked Rainbow Dash down.
The Stare! Shiva realized in horror. Her dogs realized it too, as several broke off from the ponies and tried to engage Fluttershy. The yellow mare yelped in horror, only for her yelp to reach another octave when a guard blocked them, engaging in a fierce fight with the dogs that went for her.
“Shiva!” Spike’s voice snapped the howlite howler out of her stunned watching. “We have to stop this! Please, stop this!” 
“Stop this?” Shiva protested. “I didn’t start it!” She turned and yelped, pulling Spike out of the way as another spell ricocheted off her shield. The impact knocked her shield against her head, and for a moment, her mind spun. 
They attacked first, her mind muttered mutinously. Why shouldn’t we fight back? 
“Alpha!”Skippy’s voice cried. “We can’t reach Fluttershy!”
Shiva balked. Fluttershy was hovering out of the diamond dogs' reach, the iron paws sent to grab her hopelessly tangled in guards. Yet Fluttershy seemed to be having trouble. She was blinking rapidly, and her eyes kept darting back to Shiva. 
A reprieve! It looked like she was having trouble making the Stare. Shiva took her chance.
“Everyone!” she barked through the link. “Get behind your shields! Now!” 
The dogs tried, but the ponies were given an opening in the process. They pressed on the retreating dogs; Twilight and Pinkie’s projectiles sent Skippy tumbling. Luke stumbled back from a kick by Rarity, and was swiped by Rainbow Dash.
But the dark diamond dog managed to catch the cyan mare at the last second, and hurl her into the Applejack. Shiva winced in sympathy as the two mare’s heads collided with a nauseating conk!
“Rainbow Dash! Applejack!” Fluttershy screamed. Her ears flattened, and she clenched her eyes shut. Shiva could see the magic building in her, preparing for the Stare.
“SHIELDS NOW!” Shiva screamed, too desperate to use the link.
But her voice was more than loud enough, and her pack ducked under their shields, one dog covering Luke just as Fluttershy’s eyes opened. Shiva hid behind her own shield, yanking Spike to her chest and clenching her eyes shut.
…
Silence. The sound of hooves on diamond armor and spells bashing against axes and shields ceased like someone hitting a mute button. Shiva heard a faint, odd whistling noise that made her think of aliens for some reason. But even that slowly tapered off, replaced by a familiar voice gasping… and then whimpering in despair. 
Shiva cautiously peeked her head out from behind her shield. Fluttershy was fluttering to the ground. Her eyes were still wide, but they held no power or authority in them. At least not anymore. Instead, she seemed to stare, transfixed at her reflection in the mirror-like surfaces of the diamond dog shields. Around her, the guards were similarly transfixed, petrified by their brief exposure to the Stare’s power. Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and the guards had all frozen as well, eyes slowly turning back to Fluttershy, as the yellow mare’s eyes filled further with tears. She looked once to Shiva, and back at the mirrors, before bowing her head in pronounced shame.
“I… didn’t know… it was like that…” Fluttershy whimpered.
Shiva, however, didn’t focus on her for long. Her eyes darted away, slowly counting the number of ponies. Her blood froze.
“Where’s Cadence?” she asked. 
The ponies broke out of their spell. They spun their heads, looking desperately for the pink alicorn that had started the whole thing.
“Cadence?!” Twilight called. No one answered.
“Wait!” a guard cried in relief. “Sgt. Vigilance’s gone too.”
“Spear Head’s missing too!” another yelled. “They must have gotten Cadence back to Ponyville!”
The guards and even the mares sighed in relief, but Luke, Shiva and Skippy exchanged a mutual look of horror.
“No,” Shiva said, throwing her shield aside. “No sigh of relief; that’s BAD!”
“Why?” Rainbow Dash growled. “You worried she’ll tell every pony how EVIL you are?”
“You wanna get your skull cracked open?” Luke barked at her. “Shut your stallion pleaser!” 
“Luke!” Shiva barked.
“Scandalous!” Rarity gasped at the same time. 
“Oh-ho, you think you’re clever?” Rainbow Dash demanded, flying at the Diamond dog before Fluttershy and Pinkie held her back. “You think you’re CLEVER?!” 
“NO!” Fluttershy screamed, tears in her eyes. “Please… don’t make me do that again.”
The memory of what they had seen washed over the ponies, and as the diamond dogs bristled their shields, the equines quickly backed down. Shiva huffed; at least now they had an idea of how it felt to get Stared down.
“Just listen,” Shiva said. “That wasn’t Cadence, or whoever you thought she was; she’s a changeling!”
Twilight gasped. “N-No way…” she whispered. 
“Wait, a what now?” Applejack asked.
“Some kind of shapeshifter,” Shiva explained. 
“They take the form of someone you love…,” Skippy started.
“And gain power by feeding off your love for them,” Twilight and Skippy said at the same time.
The others stared at them. Skippy’s ears flattened, though Twilight’s look of intrigued appraisal made him grin. 
“I don’t spend all my time reading for nothing, you know,” he commented to Shiva and Luke. The two dogs exchanged a glance.
“Maybe we should consider letting him teach us how to read,” Shiva noted.
“But I don’t understand,” Twilight said. “Princess Celestia beat the last Changeling Queen centuries ago. How could they come back?”
Skippy narrowed his eyes, but one of the guards spoke before he could say anything.
“Princess Celestia was too merciful,” he suggested. “She tried to give that monster a chance, and they’re taking advantage.” 
“Right,” Shiva muttered sarcastically. “And getting whipped and tortured in a pit had nothing to do with it, right?”
The ponies gaped in horror.
“They were tortured too?” Pinkie whimpered. 
“Their Queen came to us,” Shiva explained. “Showed the scars on one of her drones. Tried to use that to get us to join her. She spoke of a ‘magnificent plan’ that would overthrow Princess Celestia and result in Equestria belonging to the Changelings.” 
“We turned her down, of course,” Skippy said quickly, before the mares could react. “They’re untrustworthy, insane, and it would’ve brought us nothing but pain.” 
“That rhymed,” Pinkie pointed out. 
Twilight smiled softly at their words, before Shiva stepped forward.
“But now she’s got at least one infiltrator past your borders,” Shiva growled, glaring up at Canterlot Castle, which was visible on the horizon. “And the longer we sit here arguing, the closer she gets to fulfilling whatever this plan is.” 
Twilight and the mares looked back at the castle before retreating into a huddle. Even though they tried to retreat away from the dogs, and their guards continued to glower at Shiva, the howlite howler easily heard their muffled conversation.
“Girls,” Applejack said. “She’s telling the truth.” 
“How do you know?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I ain’t the Element of Honesty for nothing, Sugarcube,” Applejack insisted. “Something stunk about that Cadence mare, and it sure wasn’t dirt ‘n muck.”
“I’ll vouch for her too,” Fluttershy said, though her voice was so quiet, even the mares had to strain to hear her. “Shiva’s not perfect, but I don’t think she’s a liar.”
“Me neither,” Pinkie said, her voice impossible to miss. “Didn’t you guys see her face when Cadence came out? She was all like; ‘WHAAAA?!’” She accompanied her mimicry with an overblown expression of disbelief. Shiva grimaced, before several guards pointedly got between her and the huddled mares. Rolling her eyes, Shiva retreated to her own huddle with the dogs.
“I do not sound or look like that,” she muttered, before Skippy, Spike and Luke grabbed her attention.
“What are we gonna do, Alpha?” Luke asked. 
“That changeling isn’t going to Canterlot for a friendly visit,” Skippy said. “Normally, I’d say we let the ponies handle it…”  
“But these changelings already have you marked as a target,” Spike interjected. 
The dogs glared at him in disbelief, but Shiva motioned for them to relax. 
“What do you mean?” she prompted the dragon.
“Well, think about it,” Spike said. “You turned her down, and she responds by triggering a fight between us. Who’s to say she won’t come back and punish you guys for not helping her?”
Skippy grimaced. “That’s… extremely likely,” he admitted.
“Let them come,” Luke growled. “We’ve got the dogs and we’ve got the magic.” He pat Shiva’s shoulder. “They wouldn’t have stood a chance against us the first time.”
“Don’t get cocky,” Skippy warned. “If Equestria falls, they’ll be coming at us with far more power than before. It wouldn’t be a fight we could get out of without casualties.”
Shiva’s tail tucked. She had managed to lead her pack so far without losing anyone, and the thought of one of her pack’s minds being snuffed out forever made Shiva’s heart race.
“So,” Shiva grumbled. “We have to stop these guys before they ever get the chance.”
She noticed the mares break out of their huddle, and the dogs broke out of their huddle, returning to the mares.
“Alright,” Twilight said. “Let’s say you’re right, and Cadence is actually an imposter planning to overthrow Princess Celestia.”
“If it’s true,” Shiva spoke over her. “And it is – then she’s going to probably take over Equestria, and then come after us.” She wagged her tail. “We are capable of discussing things when you’re not around,” she added with a teasing wink. 
Pinkie giggled, while Rainbow and Twilight exchanged irritated looks.
“Just tell us how you’re going to help us?” Twilight said.
Shiva grimaced; the way Twilight phrased that, made Shiva feel like a pet being ordered around. Half of her mind tempted her to just say ‘I’m not going to! Bye,’ and storm back into the tunnels. 
But she looked to Spike and Applejack. She even managed a faint glance at Fluttershy. And she knew… no matter what other ponies had done to her, Spike and Applejack had done nothing wrong. And Fluttershy? Well, Shiva hated to admit it, but Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie at least seemed regretful for what had happened. And they – or at least Fluttershy - seemed to understand what they had done wrong. It wasn’t fair for Shiva to let her get hurt when she clearly wanted to atone.
Shiva sighed. “You already needed me to talk to Princess Celestia,” she admitted. “So, why not take me to her?”
The uproar was instant. Luke and Skippy surged forward, almost yanking Shiva away. But the action triggered the guards, who stepped forward, horns shining, wings flaring and hooves stomping. The mares had to race to keep another fight from breaking out, while Shiva was spun back to her betas.
“Shiva, no!” Luke said. “You can’t go back to Canterlot!”
“At least take us with you,” Skippy said. “The diamond dogs need your magic, and you need us. If you left…”
“Whoa, hold on!” one of the guards barked, overhearing them. “You can’t take diamond dogs into Canterlot!” 
Shiva spun back around. “Why not?” she demanded. “They need me.”
“They don’t deserve to be in the capital of Equestria,” the guard insisted. 
“That’s enough!” Twilight tried to insist, but the guard shook his head at her.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Sparkle,” he said. “But we cannot in good conscious allow a pack of former pony slavers into the home of Princess Celestia.”
Luke glowered. “Shiva’s magic is the only reason we stopped using work horses,” he said. “Maybe you should think about that before…”
“HEY!” 
Shiva’s bark silenced the squabbles, but only for so long. Shiva could practically see the tension in the air. Both sides were nursing bruises, but worse of all, they were nursing battered pride and repressed adrenaline. The guards wanted to continue fighting, and Shiva’s dogs wanted to fight back. If Shiva didn’t handle this carefully, another fight would break out, and Chrysalis or whoever was impersonating Cadence would get even further away.
Shiva turned back to Luke and clutched his shoulder. She reached over and clutched Skippy’s. 
“Guys…” she started to say, before her pack link flowed between them. The next words were completely silent; the ponies heard nothing, while the dogs heard everything.
“I’m not playing their stupid game,” she promised them. “But we have to make sure the changelings don’t get us either.”
“By letting you walk right back into the pits?” Luke asked. “And you’d be leaving us defenseless as well. The pack link’s the only thing that’s kept the changelings from grabbing us.”
“Then we won’t let them grab anyone,” Shiva decided. “Gather everyone together. The miners, the mothers, the pups. And keep them close together in case the changelings try something. Together, burrow deep under Equestria; follow my link, and settle yourselves under Canterlot. My link’s managed to travel through the underground before, and that shouldn’t stop it now.” Her claws tightened. “No matter what, we’re staying together. Even if they think we’ve been separated.”
“Won’t Celestia notice the links and find a way to cut them off?” Skippy asked.
Shiva’s eyes narrowed, resisting the urge to glare at Twilight, and she breathed, concentrating. Her links to Skippy and Luke briefly left them, before traveling down Shiva’s legs and out her paws. The ground glowed slightly as her tendrils came back and linked to the dogs through their back paws, but the ponies didn’t notice the change, Shiva’s claws not leaving her pack mates’ shoulders.
“She can’t stop what she doesn’t know about,” Shiva replied with a wolfish grin.
The others began to understand, and nodded eagerly. 
“If you get into any trouble,” Luke promised, bringing his head closer to her. “Just slam your claws into the ground. We’ll sense it and rise to your defense.” 
“Well, don’t spend too much time worrying about me,” Shiva added with a wag of her tail. “You’ll be right next to Canterlot Mines. Home to all those gems and jewels.”
The other dogs listening into the link panted with glee. “Y-You mean…” one of them asked in hope. “We can mine them?”
“As long as you don’t destabilize the castle… why not? After all, these ponies will owe us their lives when this is over. Couple million in precious metals should be a tolerable repayment, no?” 
The dogs all giggled, prompting the mares to glance at each other.
“Ahem!” Twilight coughed. “Shiva, what are you doing?”
Shiva’s ears flattened, but she pressed her head closer to her dogs. The Iron Paws that weren’t busy glowering at the guards raced over and bear hugged their Alpha.
“So, we in agreement?” Shiva asked.
Skippy moaned. “I don’t like it,” he admitted. “But if it keeps the pack safe, I guess I can deal with it.” 
Shiva wagged her tail. “Don’t worry, Skippy,” she said. “We’ll take Chrysalis down, and then we’ll go home richer and more powerful than ever before.” 
She pulled herself away from the dogs. “Got it?” she said out loud. Twilight gasped, but more like she just had a huge epiphany, rather than out of horror. 
“Telekinetic wave links,” Twilight whispered. She squealed in glee. “So amazing! How did…”
Shiva just raised her claw at her. “You sure you got it?” she asked her dogs again.
“Understood,” Luke said. 
“Loud and clear,” Skippy replied. They could’ve been talking about anything.
With a final hug from her pack mates, Shiva turned back to Twilight, her head held high. Though her heart was hammering in her chest, the knowledge that her pack would be right below her soothed her mind.
“Alright,” she said. “Take me to Princess Celestia.”