Theatre was always something that Fluttershy enjoyed, though Ponyville was too small to have its own theatre. Still, on any trip to Canterlot to Manehatten she made sure to take in a show. She was interested in seeing how Diamond Dogs did a show.
Rukil had secured tickets in one of the balconies, something that is guaranteed to them due to Fluttershy’s status as a guest of the state. They took their seats, getting comfortable for the show.
Fluttershy looked over her program and was disappointed to see that this play was based on the war. She was fully expecting some propaganda piece, as even a glance through the library showed her that those were common.
“I think you’re going to like this,” Rukil said. “It’s one of the most popular shows this year.”
Fluttershy nodded politely and non-committedly.
The play started. Three Diamond Dogs dressed in Greenrock armor came onto the stage, dragging another Dog by the leash. They announced that their captive would die for daring to serve the Azureclaws. The captive begged them, saying that he had a family. The Greenrocks laughed, delighting that more would suffer from the death.
Then three more dogs entered, dressed in Azureclaw armor. With a cry of “For justice!”, they struck down two of the evil Greenrocks. The third managed to run off to the edge of the stage. Before making an exit, he vowed they wouldn’t rest until the Azureclaw way of life was destroyed. He then ran off.
As the freed Azureclaw revealed the information that the Greenrocks had been hoping would die with him, Rukil finally looked over at Fluttershy and noticed her expression of unease. Carefully he leaned over and whispered “Something wrong?”
“This is propaganda. It’s pretty paper thin.”
“I...” Rukil started, but he stopped himself. He returned his attention to the stage and really paid attention. He saw the Azureclaws talking about how they had to eliminate every trace of the Greenrocks otherwise they would destroy the Azureclaw way of life.
“...I think you’re right,” he said in a whisper. There was really no need to whisper. The acoustics of the theatre were built to make the actors on the stage carry and the noise of the audience dull. But habits were hard to break.
“Are... all plays like this?” Fluttershy asked.
“Well... no. There are plenty of plays about other things. But these are always the most popular.”
Fluttershy was quiet for a moment. At that moment, she wished Twilight was here. She knew how to get people to calm themselves and think logically, as a real leader should. Could she cut through all of this?
“Are there a lot of books like this?”
“Yeah... but not all of them. There are plenty of books that have nothing to do with the war. I just finished up one about a group of dogs that had an adventure in some deep caverns. But... yeah, there’s a lot.”
“Everyone is so angry. They all are willing to spend so much time writing about all this violence.”
“Well, I suppose it is now...”
Fluttershy tilted her head a bit. “What do you mean?”
“Well, I remember way back the council started a culture initiative where they started to pay authors and playwrights to produce more works. They said it was to ensure that there was still culture even in war. A lot of the things that came out around them were the first about the war.”
Fluttershy looked at Rukil, as a thought entered her head.
At that point, everything went crazy.
“Look out!” Rukil suddenly yelled, diving on top of Fluttershy and pushing her to the ground. This ended up being very fortunate, because a split-second later the balcony erupted into flames.
The theatre immediately descended into chaos. The audience started tripping over themselves trying to get to the exit, and the actors went backstage. A fire curtain dropped over the stage.
Fluttershy didn’t see any of this, her face was on the floor. For a few seconds, she was paralyzed with shock, her brain trying to piece together what happened. Even as Rukil lifted up, she remained motionless.
Rukil picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. Fluttershy just saw a bunch of blurs go by as Rukil jumped and ran through all the obstacles in his path. Suddenly they were in the hallway that led to the balcony, running for the exit.
The next thing she knew she was outside. There was chaos. Dogs were running out of the theatre, some knocking over others. A fire cart showed up, with the crew pulling out a hose and plugging it into the nearest fire hydrant.
Fluttershy half expected to be set down, but Rukil kept going. “We must get inside!”
“What? Why?”
“The smoke will take time to air out. We need to get inside where the air is clean!”
Fluttershy would later learn of all the safety procedures and systems that were set up to combat fires in these caverns, but it would be after she was safe. At that moment, still in utter shock from what happened, she could only let herself be carried, eventually blacked out.
Fluttershy woke up in her room. Not her room in her cottage in Ponyville, but the room that had been provided for her by the Azureclaws. She tried to remember why she was there. Then it came flooding back to her in a wave of horrific realization.
“Fluttershy! You’re okay!”
It was Rukil, still okay, but he had a few new cuts and scrapes. “I thought you might have gone into shock!”
“What happened?”
Before he could answer, the door to the room opened, and one of the Councildogs entered, followed by two guards. Rukil gave a respectful bow, which the Dog returned with a respectful but minimal wave.
“Has Rukil told you what happened?” he asked.
“He was about to,” Fluttershy said. “I just woke up.”
“Well, to be quite honest, you were the victim of an assassination attempt.”
Fluttershy didn’t quite understand at first. That answer had been so unexpected that it took a moment to wrap her head around it. “What?”
“The Greenrocks have made an attempt on your life. They tried using some firerocks to end your life. A spy in the crowd threw it up at you. We’re currently trying to find who it was.”
Fluttershy was stunned. Her next words came out on instinct. “Was any creature hurt?”
“I’m afraid so. A few Dogs are in the hospital with burns, and one was trampled to death by other dogs trying to get out. Another casualty of the Greenrocks’s cruelty.”
“Why were they trying to kill me?”
“We currently believe that the Greenrocks suspect that we’re trying to start an alliance with Equestria through your presence here. They believe that by killing you they can prevent an alliance from coming forward.”
“But... I...” Fluttershy tripped over her words. What could she say to this.
“I’m afraid I have some more bad news.”
Fluttershy felt her heart tighten. She was now too afraid to speak. So the Dog went on.
“I’m afraid that the Greenrocks got a hold of your dragon friend. I’m afraid she’s gone.”
Fluttershy felt dread at that, but much to her surprise, there was something else undercutting it. Was Smolder really dead? There seemed to be something that wasn’t quite adding up.
“I see the shock is a bit much. I will give you time to mourn.”
The Dog gave a polite nod and took his leave, leaving Fluttershy and Rukil as the only two creatures in the room.
“Fluttershy... I...”
“I don’t believe it.”
Even Fluttershy had been surprised by the words coming out of her mouth. But after they left, every unconscious thought, and every conscious thought that had been kept silent out of nervousness seemed to pop out.
“It’s not true. Nothing that he said was true.”
Rukil couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “But... why would you think that?”
Fluttershy had never been an eloquent speaker, but at that moment her words flowed like water. “Because your leaders pump out propaganda nearly constantly and make sure everycreature hates the Greenrocks. They always try to make sure everyone is so filled with anger that they don’t question it.”
“That’s crazy!” Rukil said.
“How much about your tribe before the feud have you learned about?”
Rukil blinked at the question. “Well... not much. Only that we used to be allies...”
“And it doesn’t find it a bit strange that after being friends for so long, that everything would suddenly go wrong?”
Rukil did something that, in hindsight, he’d realize that he had never done before. He took a moment and actually thought about the war.
Smolder kept herself hidden as best as she could. She thought that she'd have trouble hiding, as the only dragon in a town full of Dogs. But fortunately, cloaks seemed to be the fashion around, and as long as she didn’t do anything to draw attention to herself, none of them would look twice at her.
Unfortunately, the “doing nothing to attract attention to herself” became a problem when he had first heard the newspup yelling “Extra, Extra, Read All About It! Azureclaws found to have killed a traveling pony! Dragon guess mysteriously missing, suspected kidnapping!”
Smolder’s first instinct was to march right up to the Dog and pump him for information, but she managed to bite that instinct down. She could imagine her sister chastising her for not giving this Dog a wringing, but the ponies had softened her more than she’d admit.
Her next thought was to buy the paper, but her empty stomach reminded her that money was not something she had. Not for the first time, she considered going back to the hospital and claiming that she had gone for a walk and gotten lost, but she feared the lie wouldn’t hold up. Besides, that uneasy feeling crept back into her whenever she thought about them. There was something about this whole thing that stank.
And so, for the fifth time since she arrived in the underground city, Smolder stole something. It wasn’t easy, dragons weren’t known for stealth, and the morals the ponies were teaching her made her feel bad. So after a few hundred repeats of telling herself that this was an emergency and she’d find some way to compensate her victims later, she lifted the newspaper. Luckily, her victim had so many he didn’t notice the loss until he was counting his sale money.
She read the article.
Sources in the Greenrock council informed us that the Azureclaws have recently executed a pony that had wandered into their city. This is widely believed to be the same pony described by Smolder, the dragon who had been found by sentries in the caves just two days ago. If this is true, then it’s simply the latest in a line of barbaric actions in the last year, including...
Smolder felt her brain haze as she read the list of things the Azureclaws had done. It had simply been the latest long list in a series of long lists. Every discarded newspaper page she found and read out of boredom had one. Even the comics section seemed to be filled with propaganda.
Smolder still remains missing. The Council advises any Dog with any information to contact them immediately.
She placed the newspaper aside, not believing a word of it. The papers went on and on about how evil the Azureclaws were, and yet they lived peacefully right next door. If they were half the barbarians the Greenrocks claimed they were, this town would be in chaos. Why couldn’t they see that?
She thought back to Professor Applejack’s lesson on Equestrian history, and how mindlessly the three tribes hated one another over nothing. She had heard about it, but until she saw it firsthand she couldn’t wrap her head around how easily hate clouded judgement.
Now the only question is, what could she do now?
She knew that all the atrocities the Azureclaws were was not true, but Fluttershy’s death could be. Maybe from some wandering creatures, maybe by the Greenrocks themselves, but it was possible her teacher truly was dead. However, it was equally likely that Fluttershy was still alive.
She had spent her days walking around the wall between the two clans, trying to figure out a way to cross it. Unfortunately, they were heavily guarded by soldiers. She had prodded around, hoping to find some sort of weak link, but it didn’t seem like that would happen.
Walking on autopilot once again, she found herself back at the wall. She took a seat on a stoop nearby, on a building that was closed for repairs. Hopefully, they’ll think she was just a dog resting her feet.
She looked over the wall again. It was high, made of solid rock, and had guards at every level. At about the midway point there was a large building carved into it, meant to discuss things under parley. More evidence, to Smolder at least, that there was something fishy going on. If one side was so horrible, keeping truces wouldn’t be very high on the list.
At that moment, the gong sounded. The one that was situated in the center of the Greenrock territory, that rang five times. Straining her ears, Smolder could hear another gond on the other side of the wall. After the gong ended, the overhead lights began to dim. It was time for the night cycle.
A plan started forming. Once the lights had dimmed, she would take a gamble and try flying over the wall. Immediately her mind conjured all kinds of scenarios in which it could go wrong, but she knew she didn’t have much of a choice. The only two other things she could do was go back to the Greenrocks and pray they’d spare her, or stay on the streets and starve to death. She needed to take a risk.
She tore her eyes away from the room and back to street level. Almost immediately, her stomach went into a lurch when she noticed that three of the soldiers who had been guarding the wall were moving toward her. She suddenly worried if she had been found out. She instinctively pulled inward, hoping to cover as much of herself as possible.
The dogs got to the street. For a brief moment, Smolder hoped they’d have to wait for the crossing light. That hope went up in smoke as one carefully stepped forward, holding up a paw. Rickshaws and carts stopped, at the order of a guard, and the trio crossed, going as quick as they could while still making sure every new lane got the chance to see them.
Carefully, trying to look casual, Smolder stood, hoping that none of her orange scales showed. She began walking away, going as fast as she dared without looking like she was trying to get away. She hoped to see other pedestrians, but there weren’t many that would walk near the wall. There was no Dog to blend in with.
“You there, stop!” she heard a voice cry. Smolder tensed for a split second, but kept going. Hopefully they’d think she hadn’t heard them. She looked forward. She saw an alleyway. She knew what her only hope was.
“I said halt!” the Dog called again. She still didn’t look back. She reached the alley. It was empty. Perfect.
As she heard the Dog calling again, she looked up. She knew there was a good chance she could be seen, but she had to. After a moment, she pulled off her cloak, freeing her wings, and flew.
The Dogs reached the alley and found it empty. Smolder managed to make it to the roof. After glancing around to make sure no one could see her, she listed down at the ally.
“Where did it go?”
“It must have been the dragon! Quick, alert the others, we have to find her!”
Smolder knew right then and there she wouldn’t be safe now, not this close to the wall. She needed to get away, but she needed to be near the wall to enact her plan.
Well, the obvious answer was that she needed to be on the other end.
After some debate, she decided to risk the rooftops. It was getting dark, hopefully she wouldn’t be seen.
She made it to the other end of the rooftop, looked at see there was no one on top of it, then made the jump, flapping her wings to help. She moved to the next rooftop. Fortunately, it seemed that most roofs weren’t being used for anything other than cover.
She kept going, hopping from rooftop to rooftop, occasionally glancing to make sure no Dog could see her.
When she was about halfway there, her plan went up in smoke with one single word. “Smolder?”
She stopped dead, the claws on her toes digging into the stone. Carefully, she turned to see who had blown her cover.
It was a Dog, that was bad. To make it worse, the reason this Dog knew her name was because it was the same Dog that had been assigned to watch her in the hospital.
“Oh, hey, .... you.”
“Oh, Smolder, thank goodness I found you first.”
“Oh, I was just...” she trailed off as what the Dog said sank in. “What do you mean, first?”
“I mean, before the city guards did,” the Dog explained. “They don’t have the best intentions.”
Smolder blinked. She hadn’t been expecting this. “What?”
“Less than an hour after you left, the ones in charge were on high alert. They brought me in and interrogated me for hours trying to figure out if I said anything to you to get you to run off. Three guards got fired. You got lucky when you slipped away.”
“Okay... but that would only mean they think I’m valuable. Why am I in danger?”
“Well... I overheard some of the higher ups talking. I wasn’t normally there, so they slipped up. I heard them talking. The Greenrocks reported to them that they have Fluttershy.”
Smolder felt her heart flutter. “Then she’s still alive!”
“Probably. But that misses the other point: they have contact with the Greenrocks. They’re not supposed to have contact with the other tribes except in times of parley.”
Smolder mulled this fact over. “You think that the two tribes are working together somehow?”
“I... don’t know. It seemed almost impossible to believe at first. But then I thought more about it. Despite all the claims of how dangerous they are, we never seem to have any trouble living next to them. But then I heard them say that Fluttershy was told that you were dead.”
That did it “What? You mean... so, you’ve got proof they’re lying?”
“No. I have confirmation. But proof? No. I don’t even know where to begin exposing them.”
“This is still good. We can start looking for a way to expose them. Nice going... you...
“...You don’t know what my name is, do you?”
“Sure I do,” she said.
“Then what is it?”
...
...
...
“Can you just tell me? I want this to be over.”
“It’s Gary.”
“Gary?”
“That’s right.”
“That doesn’t sound like a Dog name.”
“What do you think a Dog name is?”
“...So how are we going to expose everything that’s going on?” Smolder said.
Fortunately, Gary didn’t press the matter. “Well, you see that room in the center of the wall?” Gary said.
Smolder looked at it again. “Yeah. The parley room, right?”
“Exactly. If there’s any proof, it would be in there.”
“Great. So we have to break into the most secure area in the city,” she said. “I was worried enough just trying to fly over it. Any idea how to get in?”
“That’s what I’m worried about. The one advantage we have is that they aren’t normally prepared to deal with a flying creature. They added some extra security, but maybe you can still sneak in that way.”
“I was hoping for that, but I don’t think so. The only way I can see to get there is dropping straight down, and even that’s going to get me seen just by getting to the ceiling.
Gary rubbed his chin a little bit. “Then don’t fly up there. Climb.”
Fluttershy had gone back to the apartment that the Dogs had given her to rest, and Rukil had been summoned to appear before the council. He had been unwilling to leave Fluttershy’s side, but orders were orders, even if he was starting to doubt the validity of these leaders. For now, he’d play along.
He appeared before the council and acted as professional and proper as ever.
“We appreciate your prompt arrival,” the lead Dog said.
“I always perform my duty,” Rukil said. “Although I’d like to request we finish this up as soon as possible. After what happened, I don’t think I should be apart from Fluttershy for very long.”
“Yes, as to that,” the head Dog said. “We actually wanted to inform you that you’re being removed from your current assignment.”
Rukil started. “What? But... my Alphas, I haven’t acted improperly, have I?”
“Oh no, you’ve done a fine job. But the attack at the theatre has shown us that Fluttershy is... well, she’s becoming a bit of a liability.”
Rukil blinked. “I’m... I’m sorry, I’m afraid I don’t follow.”
“As long as she’s here, she’s a target. A target that the Azureclaws are going to continually come after unless something is done about it now.”
Rukil felt his heart quicken. “Are you saying that we are going to wage all out war with the Greenrocks? That would cost several lives...”
“It will be worth it if it means our future generations can grow up in an era of total peace.” The Head Dog ended any protest with his firm words. “Of course, there’s a little matter of motivation.”
“Motivation?” Rukil said in a worried voice.
“Well, yes. While every Dog knows how terrible our enemies are, we fear there may be some... holdouts in the city who are hoping that there can be peace between our clans. These foolish pacifists might cause discord during the war. We can’t have that. And that's where your new assignment comes in.”
Rukil felt an uneasy feeling inside him grow. It was like a living thing, something that was growing bigger and bigger with more worry. “And what is that assignment?”
The Council members took a moment to look at each other before turning back to Rukil. “We want you to kill Fluttershy.”
Rukil felt like he had been flash frozen. The chill was that intense. The worming worry grew into an intense sickness. “I... I beg your pardon?”
“We need something to win over any doubters,” one of the councildogs said.
“Something that will remind them of the evils that they face,” another added.
“And, there’s an added bonus,” said the Alpha. “We can present Fluttershy’s body to the ponies. Just think! Celestia alone could level the Azureclaws with her raw strength. No lives have to be lost.”
“But what you’re suggesting...”
“Is necessary,” the Alpha said. “I know this is a hard task we’ve given you, so we’re going to sweeten the deal.” He cleared his voice. “Once you perform this task, we’re going to promote you to the Elite Guard.”
That nearly knocked Rukil over. “The Elite?”
“That’s right. Think about it. A nice career. You’ll be able to help your fellow Dog from that position. It’s all one messy job away.”
“...I’ll do it.”
The words had come out more of habit, the habit of always serving your commanding officers. He pushed any feelings down. He couldn’t show them in front of his leaders.
“Excellent,” they said. “Head to your barracks and take some time. We want her dead soon.”
Rukil managed to keep her composure until he made it back to his room. He then lost his lunch in his bathroom.
Fluttershy had been around animals her whole life, and as a result had picked up certain instincts that let her know when she was in danger. When Rukil had been called away, she had a feeling that something bad was going to happen.
She was just beginning to consider sneaking out when the door opened. Rukil entered. He was carrying something.
“Rukil... what’s going on?”
He took a deep breath. “The Council wants you dead,” he said.
Fluttershy might have fainted dead away from that a few years ago. But meeting Twilight and going on all the adventures that she had gone on had ebbed away a lot of that fear. Oh, she was still terrified, but her rational mind was winning out.
If Rukil was telling her this, it must mean that he had a plan. So, taking a deep breath, she said, “What are you going to do next?”
To answer, he held out his paw. She saw what the object was: a simple thermos.
“I need you to drink this.”
Gary dug his claws into the solid rock wall. Despite seeming small compared to his fellow Dogs, he was every bit as strong as some of the warriors. Strong enough to climb up the sides of the cavern with Smolder on his back without much strain.
“Why is a Dog as strong as you doing paperwork?” Smolder asked.
“Because I’m too short. And because I ask too many questions,” Gary answered. It had been the first time he had spoken since the climb started. His voice was strained, he was starting to tire out, Smolder could tell.
“I could start flying now,” Smolder offered.
“No, not until the lights dim a bit more,” Gary said. “One it’s a bit darker, you can fly.”
Smolder didn’t say anything, only hoping that Gary could keep going... or that she could carry him if his strength gave out. By now they were on the ceiling, and Smolder needed to use all five appendages to cling onto her guide.
“What’s the plan when we get in there?” Gary asked.
“We look for something, anything, that can tell me where Fluttershy is,” Smolder said. “And anything that can expose why the two clans are fighting. Have you ever been on the wall?”
“No, it’s way above my rank. It supposedly is a place where the two clans meet to parley,” Gary said. “Only a select few are allowed in. Those that do get huge salaries. They’re practically rich.”
“Probably paid to keep something quiet,” Smolder said.
“That’s what I was thinking. I asked one of them what it was like. A month later a was conveniently transferred to a desk job.”
“A month? That seems like a long time to wait to pull that?”
“They were hoping I wouldn’t notice. They punish those who ask questions, but they do it subtly enough that many don’t notice. They learn not to make waves and they start to get rewarded.”
“Then how’d you notice?” Smolder asked.
“I just have an eye for detail,” he said. “I wondered why I was being shunted off to the side, so I started asking around. I managed to find out, after some prodding, that just about everyone had inquired about what it was like in the building.”
“And what did the other dogs tell you?” Smolder asked. “The one that you asked about the wall.”
“Just that it's decor was dull and boring,” he said. “It was pretty tense in some of the meetings, but there were a lot of arguments that went nowhere because the other tribe was too stubborn to listen.”
“And you didn’t believe it?” Smolder asked
“No, I did. They managed to deflect me pretty easily. But asking questions is something they need to stomp out. Okay, I think it’ll be safe to fly.”
It took a moment for Smolder to realize what he meant. She released Gary, flapping her wings to keep in the air. They were fairly close to the wall now, and there was a better sight of the wall. There were indeed several guards on top.
“Are you sure we won’t be seen?” Smolder asked.
“No. We need to hope they fall into habits and don’t look up. Do you know how to fight?”
“Please. I’ve been fighting since I was a hatchling. I can handle a few scrapes.”
“Maybe not against an opponent trying to kill you,” Gary said, inching along as he spoke. “Remember, we’re going for stealth.”
Smolder opened her mouth to argue, but as she did, Fluttershy entered her thoughts. Maybe discretion was the better part of valor.
As the wall got closer, Smolder kept as close to the ceiling as she could, hoping no dog looked up. She flew and saw the wall was now under her. Soon it would be time to land.
“What’s the plan once we get in?” Smolder asked.
“We wing it, hope we find your friend,” Gary said.
“That’s a plan I can get behind,” Smolder said. “I just hope Fluttershy’s still around.”