//------------------------------// // Topside // Story: Diamond Dogs // by zelkova48 //------------------------------// Rover stared at the letter that he received from out of nowhere for what felt like hours. He must’ve thoroughly examined it at least over a hundred times, trying to make sure that it was fake. But to his dismay, everything about the letter was authentic; from the special type of parchment that can only be found in Canterlot, to the unique ebon ink used to write upon it, to the acrid smell of smoke lingering around his den, it was clear as day that this was the real deal.         He felt angry, he felt cheated, he wanted the tear letter up into a thousand little pieces and just leave it to decompose in the ground. But he couldn’t, the time has come, his pack has once again been called into action after a decade of living a lie. He steeled himself once he had digested all of the limited information that was given to him in the letter, he needed to sober up if he was going to head over to Canterlot. Only one question remained, however.         “But why now?” Rover thought to himself as he stowed away the letter into his pocket. With the letter in his possession, he attempted shake off his hangover before walking over to the darkest corner of his den where a moderately sized cut diamond laid half buried into the ground. He began to dig around the spot where the diamond was embedded into the ground, he digged for a good couple of minutes until the area around the diamond was unearthed to reveal a rusty chest.         “I can’t believe I get to open this damn thing up again...” Rover whispered to himself before wiping the dirt off the brass plaque that was bolted on top of the chest. The plaque was old, rusty, and looked as if it was about to break off at the slightest touch. Yet as rusty the plaque was, the words on it were far from illegible. “Dying is no excuse to stop fighting” he whispered to himself. That was the motto of his pack. Once all of the dirt was cleaned off, he used one of his nails to pick the lock that was on the chest until a subtle clicking noise was heard. Once the lock fell off, he opened up the chest. The chest opened up with a loud and obnoxious creak until the rusty hinges gave in and snapped right off, taking the top with it. The top of the chest unceremoniously dropped to the ground with a low thud, leaving behind the contents of the chest itself. Rover began to pull out each of the items from within the decrepit box and laid them all out to see if everything was still as it was. Even after ten years, the tools of his trade were still in great condition, considering all that it’s gone through. Inside of the chest were the following items; a red bandanna, a curved short sword with a sheath, a small brown knapsack, some pants, and a golden medallion. It wasn’t much, but they’ve all gone a long way for Rover in the past. A small smile crept it’s way onto his face as he took in the nostalgia. The bandanna itself wasn’t anything extraordinary. It was just a tattered bandanna that was made out of some tough fabric with the design of the lower half of a skull in red, while the rest of the negative space was filled in with black. It may not have been much, if anything, the design for the skull imagery looked incredibly terrifying and grotesque when worn on his face. A little bit of intimidation can go a long way in his business. His knapsack was small, probably only big enough to fit about two or three large textbooks. The inside was empty, but there was some signs of decade old dried blood stained on the lining of the backpack itself. Which raises the question, what the hell did he hold in this thing? His sword was incredibly impressive for something that hasn’t seen combat in years. What little sunlight that he received in the tunnels bounced off the sheen of blade to reveal quality workmanship as well as several chip marks. It looked like a small double edged scimitar that was roughly around two feet in length with a third of the sword being the handle. Both the handle and blade are curved with the tip of the blade having a forked point to pry back armor. While small, it was more easier to handle. Count in the natural physiology of the diamond dogs and it could also out maneuver most enemies that are stupid enough to take on Rover in combat. The pants were, well, just pants. The only thing that was special about them was the fact that they had some pockets, and that they were brown. That way, no one can tell if you crapped yourself when you encounter something horrific. Thankfully that was just a running joke that the diamond dogs loved to use whenever they mention brown pants.  The final item was probably the most important if he was just going to walk into the city of Canterlot to have an audience with Princess Celestia. It was a solid gold medallion that had the mark of the sun one side and the moon on the other. This was the only thing that could let him walk on the surface without getting harassed much. It felt just like yesterday as he wore back on all of his perfectly preserved clothing. It still smelled just like the day he washed them before he stowed them into the chest, although that also implied that it smelled like dirt and plant roots. His bandanna rested around his neck like that of an outlaw, his knapsack was on his back, his pants were on. He was ready to go except for one little detail.   His sheathed sword rested perfectly behind his back, just below his knapsack but right above his tail where it wouldn’t hinder his movement. He fidgeted around a bit, the pants felt a little loose but that was okay, at least it still fit him. Before he walked out of his den, he pocketed the medallion into the same spot where the letter was, he was going to need it in the long run. Without looking back at the broken chest, he walked out of his den and into the main atrium where he had to break the news to the rest of the pack. * * *         “What!?” Spot shouted at the top of the lungs as he stared at Rover with eyes that were as wide as dinner plates. The rest of the members of the pack were also staring at their leader in shock. The moment Rover announced that he was heading to Canterlot to meet Princess Celestia, everyone dropped what they were doing and rushed over to see what all the hubbub was about “When did this happen!?” he shouted.         “Now calm down, Spot. I found this thing right next when I woke up this morning” said Rover as he pulled out the letter “Something big must’ve happened, big enough that it forced the hooves of royalty to call us back into action”         “But boss, what are we suppose to be doing while you’re away? We haven’t done anything like this for years!” said Fido “What if we’re not ready?” “I’ve seen the progress that you’ve all accomplished in the time that we’ve lived here! We’re ready already, or has a mere decade made all of you forget everything?” Rover asked as he assumed an authoritative tone “From here on out until I return, I want this pack to be on code ruby!” his command brought forth a collective gasp from the pack. “Sir, we haven’t had a code ruby in te-” Spot couldn’t finish as he was sharply cut of by Rover. “Yes, ten years, a decade! We’ve already established that, or do I have to repeat myself again for you?” he asked as he eyed Spot. “No, sir!” Spot responded as he stood at attention “I’ll make sure that by the time you get back this pack will be running at peak efficiency, sir!” “That’s what I wanted hear” said Rover with a smirk “Spot, you know the drill. I want you to scramble the pack, get the forge up and running again, check all of our armaments and get all of the techies to improve on everything and anything if it’s out of date or if it’s defective, tell them to develop some new arms while they're at it. I want the scouts to be on full alert, we don’t want any wandering pony to nose into our business. Lastly, send a messenger out to contact the other packs, this information is crucial. Is that understood!” Rover bellowed to the pack. “Sir, yes, sir!” the pack bellowed in response. A look of pride found it’s way onto Rover's face, he won’t let his pack down for they won’t let him down. It was times like these where his efforts as a leader really showed itself. But as he watched the rest of the pack kick themselves into full throttle, the negative feeling of talking to Princess Celestia resurfaced again. Without saying another word, he dismissed himself before going out of the dark and into the light. He was going topside. * * * Rover steadily climbed his way out of the many holes that were dug up for quick escapes and evacuations for his pack. This hole in particular was much closer to Ponyville, dug near a field of flowers beside the town itself to avoid suspicion. As he made his way up onto the solid ground he couldn’t help but shut his eyes instinctively as the glare of the sun assaulted his vision. It took a few seconds for him to properly adjust to the vibrant setting when compared to his dimly lit home, but when he did, he was greeted with the image of a verdant forest. The leaves and branches of the trees gently swung side to side to the breeze as the grass and flowers around him did the same. Rover took a deep breath and admired the fresh air and beautiful imagery of the surface, only to grimace as he looked at the sun moving across the sky. “I don’t remember the sun being so flat...” he said to himself before setting off to the nearest train station that Ponyville had to offer. His walk towards the train station was not without it’s awkward moments, however. Rover was just casually walking down the road as he was getting close to town hall. Mayor Mare, along with half of the town's populace, remained uneasy and spastically cautious around the diamond dog. A million eyes were practically all upon him, yet Rover ignored all of the fearful looks and glares that they were giving him. He had a set goal and he intended to see it through. The more time that he spent in town however, the more paranoid that the ponies became. Some even went as far as to yell and throw rocks at him, but that did little to deter him. The crowd slowly began to get rowdy but a low growl emitted by Rover discouraged any foolhardy attempts to stop him. As he made his way towards the ticket booth at the boarding platform, he noticed that the mare behind the booth saw him approaching and quickly bolted from the scene, but not before she hastily left behind an out to lunch sign in her wake. Thankfully, there was still another booth with a pony brave enough to do their job, even if he looked as though he was about to piss himself. “W-what do you w-want?” the stallion fearfully asked. “Get me to Canterlot” Rover flatly replied. “B-but, why would you want to go t-” the stallion was interrupted by Rover slamming his paw on booth’s counter. He lifted up his paw to show the golden medallion on the counter. The stallion stared at the medallion wide eyed, he looked back and forth from Rover and the medallion over and over again just to make sure that he was seeing things correctly “H-how did y-you get this?” he asked “Get me to Canterlot...” Rover narrowed his eyes on the terrified stallion “...now” he finished through gritted teeth. Almost immediately after he finished speaking, the stallion quickly pulled out a ticket stub and handed it to Rover before closing his booth for good. Rover ignored that rude stallion and put both the medallion and the ticket stub in his pocket. He waited alone for half an hour until the train pulled up into the station. The station had deserted itself once Rover made himself known that he was heading to Canterlot, it wasn’t bad though, the silence was nice. It helped him to think and to calm his mind after breaking nearly every rule he had established to preserve the secrecy of his kind. But this was different, the rules didn't matter now. Eventually the train, aptly named the friendship express, wheeled its way into the boarding platform. He was the only passenger onboard the train, aside from the conductor and the ticket taker. The rest of the ride was uneventful, save for the scenery of the mountains and the roar of the train’s engine. The rest of the ride took about a few hours, by then, the image of the beautiful white city slowly came into his view. * * *          Canterlot was as gorgeous as it ever was. Built upon the side of a mountain, Canterlot stands as a testament to all the hard work and perseverance of the ponies. The elegant masonry of the walls and the brilliant architecture of each building was breathtaking, it was hard to take your eyes off all of these things once you saw it for more than a few seconds.         As the train pulled into Canterlot station, Rover quickly made his way off of the train and ran towards the direction of the castle. He started running at a good pace first on his two legs, soon afterwards he began sprinting on all fours. He just ran past everyone he came across and kept his pace with a rhythmic cadence. He picked up his speed as his strides doubled with each step he took. Within a matter of minutes, he found himself just a block away from the gate of castle Canterlot. He slowed his pace back down as he walked towards the gate where several guards stood diligently with their signature stoic expression plastered all over their faces. There was around twelve guards, and they were all looking at Rover suspiciously. “Halt! Stop right where you are you mutt!” one of the guards by the gate shouted. “What seems to be the problem?” Rover replied nonchalantly which served to irritate the guard in front of him. “Turn around and leave now, you have no business here. Go back to your gem digging obsession and never show your face around here ever again unless you’re looking for trouble” the guard threatened as he stared down Rover. But Rover remained unfazed, he just returned the stare without budging an inch. Rover reached into his pocket and pulled out the letter and the medallion to present into to the guard. “I’m here on official duty, Princess Celestia sent me this letter herself” said Rover as the guards gasped upon seeing the medallion “Now let me through, or am I going to have to report all of you for unlawful harassment of a guest?” he threatened back. “Y-you don’t scare m-me” said the guard “Why would the princess want to talk with a mutt like you?” he asked. Rover snarled and grabbed the guard by the neck and brought him to his face where he bared all of his sharp teeth for the guard to see. “That’s for me to know and for you to find out” Rover finished as he let go of the guard. Without saying another word, the guards all reluctantly complied with Rover and opened up the gates for him. Rover passed through without looking back and continued into the castle where his audience with the princess awaited him. He strode down the large hallways of the castle, looking around and silently marveling all of the decor and pleasantries that the castle provided. From the crimson rug that spanned from one end of the hallway to the other, to the exquisite collection of vases and suits of armor that were all present in the hallway. “Ten years, eh?” he said to himself as he walked into the court where the thrones were. He looked around to see that there was no one else around, perhaps he was early. He took a seat by the steps of the court, there he was alone with nothing more than his clothes and his thoughts. He began reminiscing about his past exploits, this was not the first time he’s spoken with Princess Celestia but it will probably won’t be the last. His train of thought however was interrupted when a familiar whiny voice spoke from behind him. “Oh! Not you again!” Rover audibly groaned as he remembered just who the voice was. He reluctantly turned around only to see that Rarity, along with the rest of her friends, were all glaring at him.