//------------------------------// // 57 // Story: Canis Fidelis: Harmony // by PseudoFiction //------------------------------// Celestia could only watch as Rourke stirred a sickly looking brew, allowing Grogar wander around his alchemy lab. “Where did I leave that feather?” the ram muttered absently as he pottered in a scatter-brained fashion. At that point Celestia realised the love poison was almost ready. No doubt the fiends had a way to force it down her throat. And then she’d belong to Grogar; mind, body and soul. Sighing deeply, the princess slumped to the ground. She may as well become a slave in some comfort. In the cage beside her she could hear Bungee was still scratching about. The dog hadn’t settled down the whole time he’d been captured. He’d tried to dig into the hardened clay of his cage’s floor, he’d tried chewing at the ropes binding the box. All to little effect it had seemed at first. Celestia had given up hope of either them escaping and submitted herself to the hopeless situation. “I should have listened to Luna,” Celestia admitted her mistakes. “Not just about Grogar, but about you as well. You would have saved us from the lieutenant’s ambush. My guards may have lived to see their families again. Luna would know what to do right now. She always knew what to do when we were younger. We’d get in so much trouble some times,” she gave a nostalgic giggle thinking about how she and her sister had run circles around their nannies as foals. “She’s always been stronger than I. Not in ability, per se; I’m talking about emotionally. She’s always been more willing to do what needs to be done without regrets. She’s a mare of action. I guess I’m a little less old fashioned. Now and days all Equestria’s problems are solved with peace, diplomacy and the power of friendship or love.” Celestia paused to smile a little. “This whole situation has made me feel so… so foolish. So naïve. It’s like I’ve forgotten the dark ages. “Mind you; I’d prefer to forget the dark ages altogether,” the alicorn snorted before realising something. “So here I am. Talking to a dog.” She sighed with a weak smile, turning her head to Bungee’s cage. Celestia wasn’t quite sure what she had been expecting to see. Just to have Bungee sitting there hung on every word as if he was able to answer? Of course not. Bungee only half understood and barely comprehended what the princess had been talking about. So he had busied himself with something else. Bungee’s front paws battered the corner of his cage’s floor, scraping deep into the clay rapidly, one after the other. At the same time he had his teeth locked on the bars of his cage’s door, pulling and pushing it, causing it to flex with each cycle of his frantic digging. “What in Equestria are you up to, Bungee?” Celestia whispered, rising to her hooves to get a better look. Her new angle towering over the German Shepherd gave her a better view of the dog gnawing at the bars of his cage in one corner. The ends of the bars were laying in splinters under the dog, merged with a small mound of clay where he was digging a gulley under the cage door. Celestia’s eyes widened as there was a soft crack of Bungee gripping the wood in his teeth and breaking back a few lengths to make more space for him to slip out of the cage. It was enough space to grant a pony freedom, it was more than enough for the dog and his tac-vest. Taking a deep breath, the alicorn princess felt a wave of hope overcome her. “Oh, Bungee, you beautiful hound,” she whispered with a furtive glance to Rourke and Grogar with their backs to the cages. Recognising the praise, Bungee momentarily looked away from what he was doing and looked at Celestia; almost throwing her a proud smirk. ‘POOF!’ “Ah!” Grogar gave a victorious clap of his gnarly forehooves. “It’s done!” Celestia gasped, looking across to the alchemy lab just in time to see a poof of pink clouds emanating from a vial held in his magical grip. The clouds turned pitch black and took on the appearance of skulls before finally dissipating. Corking the prepared vial with a bulbous base, Grogar took the glass in his teeth, only widening his wicked smile. With his human colleague in tow, the ram slowly moved towards Celestia’s cage. A lump formed in the princess’ throat. She was suddenly not so ready to surrender to her fate. She didn’t want to be Grogar’s slave. She felt sickened at the mere thought of the vulgar things he might make her do in her love-drunk state. Fortunately she had Bungee. Seeing the hostiles approaching, Bungee wasted little more time. It would be a matter of moments before they noticed the number he’d done on his cage. He needed to move fast. Dropping prone, the dog shuffled forward, slipping out under the splintered bars of the cage door. His vest caught for a moment, but with a quick twist the German Shepherd was able to tear himself free before either Grogar and Rourke could look down at him. By the time they realised the dog was off the leashed, it was way too late. Bungee leaped from his prone position. It was like he’d grown wings as he soared through the air like a guided missile. Only to everyone’s surprise, his target wasn’t Rourke. Planting all four paws on the human’s back, Bungee’s weight caught Rourke off balance and pushed him to the ground as the dog leapt forward. His fangs bared, he rocketed at Grogar next. As the lieutenant hit the ground flat out with a mouthful of earth, Bungee’s fangs sank into Grogar’s neck. He was foul, his coarse fur was greasy and bitter, and at this proximity Bungee was overwhelmed by the dizzying stench of decay. But he fought through it, forcing Grogar into the ground. The force of the tackle threw the vial of love poison from the ram’s mouth. It shattered at the foot of Celestia’s cage, the alicorn instinctively taking a disgusted step back from the oozing puddle that evaporated into a black heart shaped cloud that cracked down the middle. At the same time, bungee’s teeth found the string of Grogar’s bell, and with a sharp pull he tore it open, letting the bell clatter uselessly to the ground. With the dazed hostiles down for the moment, the Military Working Dog leapt out of range, whirling to keep his front towards enemies. Bungee glanced between where Rourke was climbing to his feet and Celestia still trapped in her cage. He prioritised in an instant. He was taking a step towards Celestia. She was in danger, Bungee’s priority was still to protect innocents. But Celestia countermanded his orders. “Go, Bungee!” the princess commanded loudly, seeing Rourke was bringing his rifle to bear. “Run! Get Luna!” Bungee was gone by the time Rourke whirled to face the escaped German Shepherd. The dog ran like a bat out of hell, rocketing out of Grogars compound with enough acceleration it warranted investigation into how he’d moved without causing a sonic boom. Rourke saved his ammo, lowering the rifle again as he rose to run after Bungee. He was stopped however by Grogar’s surprising order. “Wait! Let it go!” Rourke gritted his teeth, for a moment suspended between dashing out of the compound and turning to the ram. “Let it go? Are you mad!? That dog is trained to lead re-enforcements and search-and-rescue to objectives!” he finally turned to Grogar, glaring. “It’ll be back with help and our element of surprise will go straight out the window!” “All the more reason for you to stay here.” Grogar emphasised. “With your help I can whip up a new brew of love poison in no time. And with Celestia on our side to hold off her sister we’ll be unstoppable.” A small smirk skipped happily across the dark ram’s face. “Besides; I have a little surprise for any re-enforcements that happen to show up before then… well, maybe not so little.” Hearing that, Celestia suddenly felt the warmth of her renewed hope replaced by a cold chill of terror. She was growing a little impatient. They had been sleuthing through the Everfree Forest for almost an hour. And nothing… Ping. Nothing other than that persistent ping. It had grown more rapid in the past few moments, but she failed to see its relevance… Ping. In fact, that ping didn’t seem to signify anything really. It was just really anno-… Ping! “Argh!” the alicorn of the night suddenly let out in a very un-princess-like manner. She threw her head back, crying out at the overcast sky hanging over the grim forest. Snapping her gaze to her side Luna looked down a little at Mare Do Well. The vigilante was walking on three legs, looking at something strapped to her left fetlock. “Are you sure you are reading that thing correctly?” the princess asked referring to Bungee’s camera receiver. It wasn’t just a visual receiver, but seemed to be a tracker of some kind too… at least, so they had theorised. “For the hundredth time, princess, I don’t know, alright?” Mare Do Well cried, stomping to a halt. “This button;” – she jabbed a random button on the device’s console; nothing happened and she jabbed the same one again – “I don’t know what that does! All I know is that there’s two dots, a ping, and I’m just trying to get us there!” Luna sighed, realising she was getting snippy over nothing. She was just frustrated and worried. Worried about her sister. Worried about what Rourke could have in store for Equestria. Worried about Bungee. He was her companion, her friend. The concern was natural. “We’ll find him prince-…” Mare Do Well started to say, but she suddenly stopped. Her eyes narrowed towards the sparse undergrowth ahead. The forest had thinned out into tall pine trees. The floor was mostly clear with just clusters fo rocks and undergrowth here and there. The landscape weaved up and down only a little giving them a clear view up to the next hill. Beyond that however the Everfree Forest was a mystery. Mare Do Well didn’t like it. The Royal Guard would have called this area a killzone. It would be where ponies went to die. And they’d wandered right into it. But beyond that, there was the sound. A soft rumble, it reverberated through the ground but was at the same time audible. A rumble escalating with every fleeting moment almost in time with their combined heartbeats. Steadying her stance, Mare Do Well whispered harshly; “Did you hear that?” “It sounded like thunder,” Luna whispered back. “No... not like thunder... like death.” They froze, eyes fixed on the ridge far ahead of them… And to their surprise a single figure galloped over the crest. Bungee’s mouth was hanging open, his tongue rolling out the side as he panted hard. He was in full sprint, rocketing down the hillside towards the ponies. Spotting them, the dog barked loudly. It was impossible to tell what the bark was all about, but Luna assumed he was as happy to see her as she was to see him. “Bungee!” Luna cried happily. “It looks like he’s bringing the party to us!” the princess added triumphantly to the vigilante. Mare Do Well’s cowl creased into a frown at that concept. Luna on the other hand was smiling, seating herself and holding out her forelegs for the dog. Only to her surprise, and disappointment, the dog didn’t run into her embrace. Mere metres away, Bungee whipped right around, sliding to a halt on all fours. His whole body was poised forward, forelegs stretched out so his head was low to the ground. His glinting titanium teeth were bared in a fierce growl aimed at the ridge he’d just run across. “What is it, boy?” Luna asked, not even noticing the tremors shaking the fallen leaves carpeting the earth. She was about to move to the dog’s side when a hoof slapped across her chest. The vigilante at her side held the princess back, pale white eyes fixed on the same target as Bungee. Like the dog, Mare Do Well had noticed the growing tremors. A quick-step gait, it grew even more audible as the range between them and whatever caused the sound decreased. And with a burst of trees being thrown aside like a box of toothpicks, it bounded over the ridge revealing itself to them. Another dog, only much larger. Larger than any dog in Equestria, larger than any pony. Almost the size of a dragon, it was covered in fur the colour of pitch. So black, it seemed to absorb all the light all around. The fur was offset by three sets of vicious glowing red eyes and a metal spiked collar around each of the necks. It was a three-headed pitbull from hell. It was Cerberus, the guardian of Tartarus. And he looked rabid. Mare Do Well sighed audibly as Luna assumed a combat ready stance like her fellows. “That doesn’t really look like a party to me, princess,” the masked mare commented. Cerberus’ chest inflated, expanding as all three heads took a deep breath. A moment later came the bark. A mighty bark, so loud it was like an explosion. All the eardrums present popped as the trio were subjected to a sudden shockwave. The gale force wind bellowed up Mare Do Well’s cape, nearly plucking loose her hat had she not held it down with a hoof. Bungee – like Luna – closed his eyes and looked away as the shockwave whipped him in the face. The sound passed the like the blast of a hand grenade, leaving only a distinct ringing in the dog’s ears. Opening his eyes, he noticed Luna was looking at him. Inarticulate screams of unseen ghosts filled his ears. Her mouth was still moving as the deafness passed. Though everything was muted, he could hear Luna crying havoc. Bungee didn’t hesitate beyond that point. The princess had let slip the dog of war. Facing the approaching hydra-headed hound, Bungee threw himself into a sprint. Though less of a sprint, it was more of an assault. His head was kept high, jaw open a little as if ready to bite on a moment’s notice, eyes fixed on the target. Assessment of the hostile canine was not difficult for Bungee. The giant dog had a very unsteady build despite his mass. Long spindly legs with broad puppy-like paws. He had diminutive rear legs placing his rear close to the ground, and with the massive chest and three heavy heads all his weight was placed on the forelegs. Bungee would take advantage of his adversary’s ridiculous proportions. As the Military Working Dog assaulted the waiting monster-dog, Cerberus leaned forward a little to meet the charge. All three heads cocked back before darting towards the comparatively tiny German Shepherd. All it would take was one bite. Bungee was like a morsel to the monstrous canine. The powerful jaws snapped shut – one after the other in quick succession like machine gun fire – with a spray of white froth, but the teeth only cut into air. Bungee had leapt aside already. Cerberus was big and strong. But he was slow and exposed. Bungee was quick and concealed. Landing a couple of feet to the side of the gnashing teeth of Cerberus, Bungee landed on all fours with a slight skid. His weight shifted and put more pressure on his paws, digging them through the damp leaves and into the soft dirt. His toes curled, digging his claws into the earth for more traction, and as soon as he had purchase; the dog launched himself under the three throats of Tartarus’ guardian. In comparison, Bungee was like an ankle-biter to Cerberus. So he did exactly that. As he sprinted under the large dog, his head tilted to one side, jaws snapping shut around Cerberus’ foreleg in the ankle region. Whipping around, Bungee’s teeth tore through the fur and flesh before he pulled back out under the demon-mutt’s opposite flank. With a sudden, powerful tug, Cerberus’ left foreleg was pulled out under his body and out to his right side. Cerberus’ expression of shock was multiplied by three as he suddenly keeled forward, planting all three faces into the ground. Letting go of the canine’s leg, Bungee hopped back as the flanking head closest to him reared back. With a snarl, the right-side head snapped at the air by the German Shepherd, but the way his head craned he couldn’t quite get at Bungee. Dodging to one side, Bungee’s training kicked into high gear. He immediately escalated the force he was exerting on Cerberus. It was time to put this oversized pooch in his place. Leaping in a neat curve, Bungee landed on Cerberus’ back before he could re-orient his legs to stand up. The sudden added weight kept the three-headed dog flat on the ground before Bungee tilted his head like before. Only this time his teeth aimed directly at the middle neck. Locking his jaw on the soft flesh in Cerberus’ neck, Bungee held tight and pulled. The force wasn’t enough to break Cerberus’ tough hide, but it was enough to hurt, eliciting a yelp from the mutt. Struggling, Cerberus managed to plant his paws on the ground and push himself up. as he did he gave a vigorous shake. The world seemed to waver and tilt to Bungee before the sheer force of the motion threw the German Shepherd sideways. His teeth slipping from Cerberus’ centre neck, Bungee was tossed head over paws across the woods. Curling, the dog twisted as best he could to straighten himself out mid-air; but his efforts were in vain. His mid-section slammed into a tree, driving the wind out of his lungs. Layers of kevlar panelling absorbed most of the impact preventing total breakage of Bungee’s ribcage. A thud followed by a groan rang out as Bungee hit the forest floor in a daze. Letting out a growl, each of Cerberus’ head licked their lips at the morsel they had found. Approaching the Military Working Dog still shaking off his rough landing, Cerberus’ middle-head snapped at the other two, claiming dominance as he demanded the first bite. But after that there’d be little left for the other two. “Hey, dog-breath!” a coarse voice yelled, stopping the enormous guard dog in his tracks. “Pick on someone my size!” Half turning, Cerberus saw who had called him out. Mare Do Well was running with speed that could well match Bungee’s. Her hooves were barely even hitting the ground. Made more so as she ducked to one side around Cerberus’ flank. Without missing a beat she leapt up against one of the straight Everfree trees and galloped another gait before leaping higher into the air, gaining enough elevation so even Cerberus had to look up to keep a set of eyes on the vigilante. Somersaulting sideways time seemed to slow. Mare Do Well kept her head pointed at the ground, narrow eyes fixed on the three headed dog. The sun peeked through the clouds at the exact right moment, flaring around the soaring vigilante and blinding Cerberus. As the gigantic canine recoiled with a pained bark in slow motion, Mare Do Well’s cape billowed up. A flash of chestnut and silver followed as a rain of projectiles splashed down over Cerberus. Feathers, dozens of them tipped with broad, bladed steel points overwhelmed Cerberus. They slammed into the dirt around him, hit his hide and riddled him like a thousand bee-stings. Time screamed into its normal progression again as Mare Do Well curled up and rolled through the air, crashing into a tree. Only unlike Bungee, she had done it on purpose. Hooking a forehoof over a horizontal branch, she whipped right around it before vaulting straight up, straightening out with a flaring twist and landing on all four hooves on the perch above Cerberus’ heads. “Want some more, muttley? Come get it!” the masked mare challenged. Shaking out vigorously, Cerberus shook off the projectiles sticking out of his coat and darted towards the tree Mare Do Well sat in. all three sets of jaws crunched down on the trunk like a piece of tasty cartilage and the giant dog tore the tree out of the earth, roots and all. Turning, the dog shook the tree vigorously, launching the vigilante from its branches. She landed somewhere out of sight, rolling to a halt with a pained grunt. Dropping the tree again, Cerberus forgot about the mare and looked back to where Bungee was supposed to be laying dazed. Only he wasn’t dazed. He was back on his paws, standing ready for another assault, barking defiantly. Cerberus returned the bark, about to charge... Cerberus suddenly yelped, stumbling to one side as a crash of energy splashed across the side of his left face. Turning to where the offending magic came from, the giant dog saw another barrage of magic preparing to launch. Levitated in front of Princess Luna were a trio of glistening orbs, glowing the same colour as her horn. The plasma began to crackle with energy, beams of lightening connecting them at random intervals like the lethal bolts of electricity shooting from a tesla-coil. The static energy caused her wavy mane to frizz and parts of her dark fur to stand on end. With a concentrated glare, Luna launched the plasma orbs, one after the other in quick succession. As they were thrown, more were generated to add to the pool of ammunition; only to be launched immediately after the first wave. Bursts of four to five orbs followed the first trio – smaller orbs but equally painful – splashing across the three-headed monster’s body, fur crackling as it stood on end with the static energy. He flinched with each successive blow before lowering his heads and trying to cover them with his front paws, growling angrily all the time. As she fired volley after volley of stinging magic, Luna spread out her wings. The right tip rose high, while the left angled downward with the feathered tips touching the ground. “We’re going to restrain him!” Luna cried over the crackle of energy filling the air. “Bungee, come!” The dog understood in and instant as the alicorn angled her flank at Cerberus. Dashing forward, he ran straight at Luna. As he came within range, he sucked in a deep breath and held it. It may well be his last if this went horribly wrong. Bungee ran in a quick step right up Luna’s wing and onto her back. Jumping forward he landed all fours on the princess’ opposite wing, felling it sag under his weight nearly tipping him all the way to the ground. And with a powerful flex of her flight-muscles, Luna cried out and threw Bungee up, her wing acting like a spring-board to give the dog the much needed altitude. The German Shepherd immediately added to his momentum by uncoiling his rear legs and leaping forward as he was launched; nose forward, back straight, forelegs tucked under his chest and streamlining his body as best he could. His maw opened at the last moment, then snapped shut. But his teeth didn’t meet flesh or fur. He immediately tasted the leather of Cerberus’ collar. Hanging on to the left-side head’s collar, he caught Cerberus off guard and pulled the flanking head low to the ground. Bungee’s paws hit the ground and he didn’t hesitate. Pulling as hard as he could, he kept Cerberus off-balance, keeping the collar pulled as low to the ground as he could. Luna reacted in time. The machine-gun fire of plasma bolts ended as he formed a magical tether. One end of glowing ribbon snaked its way through Cerberus’ collar and tied off. The other end rooted itself deep into the earth, keeping the oversized dog’s collar anchored to the ground. Realising the full extent of Luna’s plan, Bungee quickly let go and dashed under the middle head before Cerberus could properly fathom what was happening. Leaping up, with Cerberus pulled down low the German shepherd didn’t need too much elevation. His jaws snapped shut around the opposite flanking collar and his weight pulled Cerberus down until Bungee landed flat on his back, refusing to let go. At the same time Luna wove another magical tether, bolting down the second of Cerberus’ heads like the first. The middle one still free gave an angry bark, trying to crane over his right-side brother and snap at Bungee. The Military Working Dog was already gone though, rolled to his paws and dashed just out of range. The middle head started snapping at the air, thrashing about wildly and refusing to hold still. Bungee didn’t have to be a genius to know this last one was going to be hard. But he had to act fast. Luna’s tethers were pulled taught and seemed to be straining. Cracks formed in the ground as the roots held on for dear life, but if Cerberus kept thrashing he’d tear them right out. Gritting a jaw, Bungee put one paw forward, ready to try and get in there to hold down the final head... With a streak of purple, he suddenly realised he wouldn’t have to. Mare Do Well descended from the sky like an angel; out of nowhere. She planted all four hooves close together on the top of Cerberus’ final head, pushing it violently to the ground. Violently enough that she cratered his whole muzzle into the soft earth. Luna immediately tethered the final collar down as Mare Do Well leapt clear, landing lightly in front of the three headed dog. Despite being unable to move, Cerberus still thrashed. He dug his paws into the ground. His foaming jaws snapped desperately at the air. But soon fatigue took over. With a tired sigh, Cerberus finally admitted defeat and lay still; breathing hard and glaring at the trio that had bested him. “Contrary to popular belief, three heads are not better than one,” Mare Do Well quipped darkly. Breathing hard, the mare backed away from the pinned guardian of Tartarus. Looking up she saw Luna and Bungee join her at a safe distance; catching their breath too. “What do you want to do with him?” the vigilante rasped. “Leave him. We’ll come back and deal with him later,” Luna suggested. “We should focus on finding Rourke.” “Agreed,” the vigilante nodded before moving in front of Bungee. “Alright, dog. Listen up! Rourke! Bad guy! You find, I bust! Deal?” Mare Do Well ordered. Luna scoffed at the sight of the vigilante trying to talk to Bungee. “You are rather terrible with animals, are you not?” Mare Do Well scoffed too, pointing out Bungee’s attentive stance. The dog maintained her gaze on the vigilante as if taking every word. “And you’re underestimating how smart the mutt really is, aren’t you? Look in his eyes when you mention the human’s name. Don’t you see the look? The hunger?” the masked mare asked. Luna cocked an eyebrow; unable to see it. “A hunger for what?” “Justice,” Mare Do Well lied without missing a beat. It wasn’t really a lie, she could see Bungee did crave justice. Just not the kind of justice the princess – nor Equestria’s society at large – was used to. It was a hunger for a darker form of justice. Vengeful justice. The kind of justice Mare Do Well learned plenty about; beating thugs to a pulp in Equestria’s pissy underbelly. Vengeance was a dark and foreboding forest filled with demons. Even when braved, it could consume a soul whole. Mare Do Well knew that better than any pony. But even still, she would not deny Bungee the chance to find his own way through those dark woods. Every soul had a right to find its own way, and if a soul did emerge from the darkness – it emerged better, stronger. “Bungee claimed he would murder Rourke if they ever met again,” Luna reasoned with a little worry. Though she was positive Rourke deserved the fate, she was uncomfortable with her fuzzy companion carrying out the grisly task. Mare Do Well shrugged. “Perhaps he will. But then perhaps he won’t. It’ll be something he’ll figure out when the time comes.” Pushing past them, the vigilante set off into the woods to continue the search for the villains. “He is a smart dog, princess. Have faith.” “That sounds a little strange coming from you,” Luna teased with a smirk. Mare Do Well scowled without stopping. “Don’t get used to it.” Bungee and Luna shared a humorous glance before following the vigilante.