//------------------------------// // Chapter eleven: New Threads and New Problems // Story: From the Outside In // by DarkParable //------------------------------// "OW!" squeaked out Red Wyne as he felt the bite of yet another needle. That was the fifth one in as many minutes, and he knew he was only going to get more little pokes the more he struggled. It wasn't as if he could really help it, after all Rarity had insisted that he play live manikin (or was that ponykin?) due to not having one that fit his dimensions well enough for her needs. The feeling of rich cloth running over his fur was something he still wasn't used to and it made him squirm a bit... It tickled, and you shouldn't judge the ticklish for their inability to hold still some times. No one ever told Rarity that. "Red, darling, hold still please before I decide to truss you up. I would hate to, mostly because it would get in the way, but I will if I must." said the white unicorn, an amused sort of exhaustion evident in her voice. They'd been at this for the last three hours, and while having such a handsome stallion in her boutique amused her greatly, she'd have liked one who wasn't so shy and... Wriggly. She wouldn't say as much to him, but she couldn't keep the thought out of her head. For his part Re had been impressed by the ordered chaos of the place, for while it was messy and cluttered, there was an obvious system in place within the walls of Rarity's business. (Be it oh so humble as it was). That system had soon given way to an amusing sort of frantic activity the moment the mare got to working on him. Aside from the few pricks and the tickle of the silk she insisted on using, he was enjoying himself quite a bit. Rarity had never been his favorite pony, her putting on airs reminded him too much of a certain Mrs. Bucket. (Bouquet!) As it turned out she made for pleasant enough company. "Enough" being the operative word. She had a tendency to ramble on about fashion that Red found a bit droll. "Oh dear... " her silken voice interrupted his internal monologue most boorishly. Gah! she was getting to him. "I appear to have run out of gems... I had such a lovely ruby and onyx tie ready to make as well. Would have gone perfectly with this tail coat and dress shirt too." the unicorn bemoaned, drawing a soft sigh from Red. "Well... I can go help look for more gemstones if you'd like miss Rarity. Rainbow said I wasn't going to be needed today, something about scheduled sunshine till tonight, then we prep a light rain for tomorrow... Anyways... I'm free if you want to go prospecting." He made his offer in earnest, hating to see a woman, or mare in this case, in distress when he could do something about it. Rarity was quick enough to agree, especially since Spike had called off their last trip due to having to help Twilight with something big. Within minutes Red had been stripped of cloth, saddled with a cart, shovel, Rarity's bags, his own saddle bags, and a small thing of sandwiches for them to share when they needed a break. Packed up and loaded down as he was, Red couldn't help but hate his big mouth and chivalrous nature. Still, it was worth it to see a smile on this mare's face when there'd been a soul crushing look of professional unhappiness on it not five minutes before. In a way he had to guess that Rarity's mood were akin to Pinkie's normality. Subject to frequent change. The mid-afternoon sun beat down on the tired pegasus with a malicious sort of glee. Five hours of digging around in the dirt had been lucrative to be sure, as the slowly increasing weight of the gem laden cart indicated, but it was hard work. He paused in his digging for a moment, fanning himself with his wings a bit and kicking up a little dust in the process. "Ugh... Careful please, I'd rather not go home looking like I just lost a fight with a dust devil." groused Rarity, giving him a rather agitated look. The rocky plane outside of Ponyville, red, dusty, and dry, was a fairly rich source of gems and it was to this place Rarity had brought Red to do the job he'd offered to do. Cracking open geodes, digging up deposits of raw stones, and generally just doing the physical labor hadn't bothered Red. What bothered him was the faint nagging memory that this place was home to things unsavory that liked making slaves of anything they caught to mine gems for them. Diamond Dogs, if his memory served, were a nasty lot. Oh well, they'd been out here awhile and the worst that had happened had been a geode that had nothing but useless crystal within. If anything bad was going to happen it would have already, right? Well... "Unhand me you ruffians!" called the distraught voice of Rarity from behind a large rock formation she'd gone to investigate as Red had finished loading up some gems. Abandoning the cart, but keeping the heavy bladed shovel in hoof, Red came a running to see what was up. Three large canines with blue-ish coats and sinister smiles had the mare ringed in against the rocks and were pawing at her in a taunting manner. That is, right up until Rarity bit one of them who didn't move his paw quick enough after giving her a slap. A yelp and an exchange of blood thirsty looks later and they three pounced on the unicorn with intent to kill. Red could only watch in shock. Oh dear Gaia... No... This can't be happening... SNAP! The first diamond dog had no clue what hit it, but it was beyond caring the moment the blow connected. It crumpled in a heap and its fellows turned to see just what had dropped their pack mate. Rarity lay sobbing in quiet pain behind them, hurt but not seriously so. At first the dogs couldn't believe their eyes, couldn't believe them at all. A pony had just killed, yes killed, one of them with a single blow. They looked between the pegasi and their fallen comrade for a few heart beats before they growled and bum-rushed the foolish pony who'd dared swing a shovel in such a manner. The first of the two never saw the blow coming, it simply knew it was charging a blood red chew toy one moment, and the next it had a stinging pain on the back of its head and a face full of dirt. The other had enough time to think to itself "Something not right with thi-" before it howled in pain. A livid and ragged gash ran across its muzzle, bleeding in a torrent. It never saw the second blow coming, the one that ended its pain in an instant, snapping its neck even as it cut its throat. Whimpering softly the stunned dog climbed to its paws and looked up into the eyes of a demon. Blood red fel orbs of murderous intent watched it calmly from the face of a pegasus pony with a coat to match the eye color. Slowly it raised the shovel it held in its hooves and regarded the dog with a look of contempt that sent chills down the dog's spine. In a brief moment of clarity the dog saw this pony was standing easily on its hind legs, and had time to marvel at that before the bloody shovel came down on its skull. It yelped again, falling back to the earth and squeezing its eyes shut tightly. It took five more heavy blows to crush the dog's skull, and another five before Red came to his senses and let the shovel fall from his grip. What had he done?!