//------------------------------//
// The Fate of a Clan Part One 
// Story: CSF: Celestian Special Forces 
// by XeRom 
//------------------------------//

		Sorry for the incredible longness of this chapter, I couldn't find a good place to stop.
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It was two days after Zin had escaped and I was enjoying a peaceful day lounging next to a fire, but I couldn't shake this feeling that my day would stay enjoyable for long. Shadow was next to me, reading some book from Twilight's while I myself was just gladly sitting by the fire, trying to devise a perceivable defensive stratagem for the defense of Ponyville.
With all the guns we have, I thought, we could train a few ponies in their use before it happened. No, that's no good. How can we explain their new-found talents after this is all over? This was certainly going to be the largest memory whip I, or Celestia even for that matter, had ever done. An entire town, simply forgetting one of the sole reasons of their survival... Come on old boy, don't get sentimental. Whatever we do afterwards may fade into memory, but all of those involved will remember, for the rest of their lives.
I was still deep in these thoughts when I heard a knock on the door that made me jump. There was heavy breathing coming from the other side, probably two figures outside. With a node towards Shadow, I disguised us both, as she put her book down looking tentatively at the door. We could both sense who was there, but I almost didn't want to believe it. I was still angry at that person and any conversation we had was sure not to be very pleasant.  
Trotting slowly to the door, I heard another knock before a female voice said, "Maybe they aren't home or asleep?" I heard more ruffled movement as a male voice, Zin's, picked up.
"No I don't think so, they'd be up by now if they were home." he moved as to knock again before I opened the door a crack, the chain stopping it from going all the way. “May we come in, please?” SilverClaw prompted.
I shut the door, sliding off the chain before reopening the door and allowing them both admittance.  As they walked in, Zin straight at me and my eyes narrowed at him. Oh not pleasant at all, I thought. 
“So you were there...” he said, his voice harsh and dry as if he had gone a day without a drop of water. Raising my right hoof, I motioned for them to enter and sit at the chairs set in-front of the fireplace. As I looked over, Shadow was giving Zin the same look I had only moments ago. Zin noticed this and lowered his head a little, moving over to the chair on the left whilst SilverClaw stood off to his left, a paw on the back of the chair. I moved from the door, locking it behind me and stood next to Shadow across from the two of them. Zin closed his eyes and let out a sight
"Alright kid, you're here." I said none to gently, "I'm going to say this right off as your damned lucky nopony was killed with your little stunt."
He sighed again as he said, “My friend, you won’t believe any word I say. Go talk to Luna about it, I told her everything.” he looked up, his head turning around the room as he absorbed the presence of everyone there. His eyes landed on me as he continued, “Regardless, we came here with... Saddening news...” he was loosing his voice, still raspy but with hints of sorrow imbued in it.
"Alright kid," I cooed, my tone lightening as his sorrow increased, what is it that you came to tell us?" 
He closed his eyes, deep in some thought before saying, “One month prior to the war, our clan is going to be... Massacred, to say the least. We are trying to prepare the clan, but no matter what, the outcome is the same. I know I am not your favorite dog right now, but other lives are at stake.”  A wetness began forming at his eyes and after a moment, he was tearing up, tears sliding down his cheeks. 
Putting a paw on his shoulder, SilverClaw looked up at us, a deep sorrow in her eyes. "We don’t expect you to agree to anything at this moment, but please think it over.” she said, her voice calm but filled with dread. I looked over at Shadow who was inspecting Zin. Looking at him myself, he was covered in sweat as well as bruises marring some of the lines on his body with light black patches. 
She moved closer to my side as she said, “How did you get like that?” in a soothing tone. 
“Magic takes a toll on it’s user when they go beyond their limits. To me, I stopped caring. I am going to do everything I can to keep my clan and friends from meeting a bitter end.” he said, before SilverClaw moved her arm and placed it around his shoulder, helping him up they walked towards the door with halting steps. As SilverClaw unlocked the door, Zin towards his head back towards us and with a wave said, “Hasta luego.” And with that the two of them departed from our home, shutting the door and disappearing from our view.
As soon as the two of them had departed, I gave a worried look at Shadow. "We're going to have to help them."
She nodded at me, "It's the only thing we can do. We can't let them all die for nothing." I nodded, but something came quickly to my mind.
"What about our foal?" I said, the truth of it dawning on us both. "By the time this is supposed to happen you won't be able to leave the house, let alone defend a cave." She sat down heavily where she stood, giving the wall a blank stare before turning to me.
"You have to go then," she said determined. "I'll stay here, as much as I don't want to, but you have to go."
I sighed, sitting down next to her on the floor, "I don't like it as much as you, but I will do it." she gave me a weak smile and kissed me lightly.
"Thank you for doing that. It will mean a lot to them and it might help us to get rid of a few dogs before the main struggle begins."
Mare logic, I thought, you can't argue with it. I nodded, "Always with your mind on the prize, my dear."
We both got up then, I went over to make sure the door was locked, while Shadow returned to her seat and her book. What an interesting week this has been, I thought looking around, and soon enough this is going to get a whole lot more interesting. 

Eight months later...

I woke up at 5a.m, my eyes snapping open to a dark ceiling, the bare whiskers of light streaming past the window to the side of the room. I turned to see Shadow, similarly waking up and looking at me with a sad smile on her face. 
"I don't think anything will happen today," she said in reference to our child. Her stomach was largely distended with her pregnancy as she was due any day now. 
"Before I leave, I want you to fly down to Twi's for a while so if anything does happen while I'm gone, you're at least with a friend who can help." she smiled at me.
"Of coarse. I wouldn't want to be out here all by myself when the baby came calling." she teased. I gave her a grin and hopped out of bed, throwing the sheets off. She did like wise, moving outside of our bedroom and into the living room. I soon followed, quickly making the bed and getting the room in order before joining her. She was already at the door, unlocking it and walking outside, ready to be off. Trotting through the house, I stepped through the doorway, quickly closing the door behind me and locking it with magic. I doubted anything would happen in the time I was gone, but you never do know. 
"Alright," she said, flapping her wings and gaining a foot of altitude, "let's fly slowly into town. I can't move as fast like this and there's no point upsetting the baby." I nodded, flashing her a smile as I joined her in the air. We rose to a slight altitude, barely fifty meters off the ground. We flew lazily towards Ponyville, the slowness of our trip not bothering me one bit. We were going to get there when we get there, and no amount of rushing on my part would speed that up.
It took us nearly forty-five minutes to reach Ponyville, by which time the sun was already cresting over the mountains and casting a brilliant orange hue over the entire area. Shadow let out a small gasp at the sight, her eyes dazzling from the light. "It's beautiful..." she said in an awed tone.
"It really is, we haven't seen a sight like this in a long time." It's true, mornings like this in Ponyville were rare and only happened every once and a while. To which you also had to wake up extremely early to catch it. We flew slowly through town, one or two ponies up and about that waved greetings at us from down below. We arrived at Twilight's house at around 6 o'clock, landing softly and without a sound at her doorway. Raising a hoof, I knocked gently on the door, waiting for any sounds from inside.
There was some movement then a loud, "Ahhh!" that emerged from within. After a minute, the door opened to admit us a view of Twilight, her hair tousled in a mess. Looks like someponies don't like getting up early, I thought. "Well howdy there Twi, how are you this morning?"
"Lance...?" she said, rubbing her eye with a hoof, "I'm alright, still a little tired. What are you doing here so early?"
"Well you see Twi," I said remembering the story we had thought of, "There's some family business that is calling me away back to the plains and Gemstone here isn't exactly up to the trip with how far along she is. So we thought that maybe she can stay with you for a few days if need be?"
Twilight yawned before saying, "Of coarse she can. You two are always welcome here. Now come in, come in." she said, motioning for us both to enter. Shadow went in while I stayed at the door.
"I can't do that Twilight, this is extremely important and I must leave at once." she nodded at me.
"Of coarse. Have a safe trip and I hope all of your family is okay." she said giving me a tired smile before moving back into her house and closing the door behind her. I sighed and backed away from the door. I longed to stay with Shadow, but I knew my duty to my friends and my country. Stepping away from the door, I flapped my wings hard, and with a few powerful beats I was in the air high above Ponyville and its residents. 
Turning back towards my home, I flew hard, not paying attention to those below me as I flew. I almost knocked into Rainbow Dash who was waking up from her own home. The look on her face as I zoomed past was incredulous. She quickly gained her sense and zoomed off after me, aligning next to me.
"Hey there Lance, doing a bit of early flying today?" she said, turning so she was flying backwards, looking at me with eager eyes. 
"Yeah Rainbow, you could say that," I called over to her as I zoomed through the countryside. 
"Any chance we could get a race in? Maybe a few?" she said, her eagerness to finally go up against me showing as bright as the sun. 
"Sorry Dash, maybe next time. There's something important I have to get to." With that, I zoomed past her, leaving her in the dust and not at all happy that I was ignoring her. She didn't follow me however, probably resigning to pranking me in some manner or something on another day.One day Dash, I thought, one day you'll get your race. 
Within a minute I was at the door to my house, rushing inside and quickly bolting it behind me as I rushed to the kitchen. Opening the jar, I pushed the appropriate cookie, causing the doors to our bunker to open wide. Galloping down the stairs, I could barely slow myself enough to give the sensors a chance to scan me. Once I got to the end of the hallway and the door opened, I zoomed through, looking through the different row for the one that was labeled 'Heavy Weapons.'
Speeding through the rows of weapons, I came to two identical weapons. The label for both of these was merely 'Buzzsaw.' It's technical name is the HHW3, however Shadow and I had commonly come to call it this as its rate of fire was second only to one other weapon in our arsenal. Grabbing the one on the left, I opened up the ammo stores for both and grabbed 24 belts of 250 rounds of 7.62x51mm cartridges. I barely noticed the weight of the ammo as I rushed through the rows, headed for our combat gear area. Finding the right vest, built specifically to hold this much ammunition and more, with a pack on the back from which the ammunition fed through, being able to be pulled through the bottom whenever I needed another belt. It also had a few other pouches for other ordnance if the need be. Once the ammo was stacked in the back, I rushed over to grab a holographic sight to which I slapped on top.
Before leaving however, I spent a visit to our secluded, and slightly dusty area that was labeled 'Ordnance.' Imputing a long-digit code, the doors opened without a sound. Inside was a wide array of heavy ordnance, ranging from launchers to grenades. Going to a smaller section in the back, I find exactly what I was looking for. S-Mines. Grabbing a pack from nearby, I loaded each one carefully inside, about 24 in all. They wouldn't help much in the case of a massive assault, but they would keep them at bay for at least a little while. Securing the bag tightly alongside the ammo carrier, I left the room, the door closing neatly behind me, sealing the Ordnance room off once again. Before I left, I turned towards the bladed section and moving up to it, I pulled out the knife I had been carrying for a little while now, along with one of my most prized weapons. In a long black sheath inlaid at the top with a gold scripture of a dragon, the hilt wrapped with white cloth and overlapped with black cloth. This was given to me, along with the knife that Zin now held, by #1 on the day of my graduation. It was the finest sword I have ever laid eyes on and I've never let even Shadow use it.
Weaving the sheath into the vest on the opposite side of my vest as the knife. Finally satisfied with everything, I gave myself a brief nod and left the room, the door swinging closed on soundless hinges behind me. Racing back down the corridor and back up the stairs, emerging into the living room, looking around. No one here. Good. Closing the doors behind me, I rushed out of the door, and as soon as I did I ran right into Rainbow Dash, knocking her and myself over on the ground. When I landed I cried out, looking back at the bag of mines. Oh thank Celestia, nothing happened.
I turned back to a stunned looking Rainbow Dash, and before I could fly off she looked at me with her mouth wide open and eyes wide, "Lance! What is all of this!" she said, alarmed. 
Oh great, now I have to do damage control. "Dash, what I'm about to tell you must never leave the two of us. I'm not going to my family, I'm going to try and save a clan of Diamond Dogs from being wiped out. I can't talk any further though, as something bad is about to happen and I have to try and stop it."
She was still looking stunned as I was about to take off, before she grabbed my wing with her hoof, "Wait! Lance, I want to help. Diamond Dogs really hurt Rarity, but if whatever this is is important to you, I want to help."
I sighed and gave her a smile, oh Dash, there's no stopping you once your mind is on something and I don't have time to erase your memory. "Alright kid, come along then. I warn you though, I can't guarantee your safety and you have to stay near me at all times."
She nodded, giving me a wide grin, "On don't worry about me you old sap, I can take care of myself." I returned her grin and looked up at the sky.
"That is true," I said with a laugh, "But can you keep up with me weight down like this?"
She answered by taking off and laughing, "Oh I'll keep up. Just lead the way." I grinned, you know, maybe... No, I can't think of that right now. The mission is more important than thinking of having another pony around to share our work. 
Flapping my wings hard, I took off after her. Once at her altitude, I flew off towards the south, and to the clan who's fate hangs in the balance.

The flight there was more laborious than I had originally thought, with the weight of not only the gun, but the large amount of ammo and mines weighing me down heavily. Rainbow Dash, having stopped thirty meters ahead, was looking impatiently at me. "So much for me keeping up." she mumbled.
"You wanna help me with some of this?" I said, giving her a smirk. "I can't go as fast with all of this weighing me down." She grinned back at me.
"Oh you complain to much, here give me some of that and we'll get a move on." Stopping next to her, I unclasp the ammo from my back, about to hand it to her.
"Now don't drop this. Its contents are vital to the survival of this clan and it is very heavy." I scolded at her.
"Yeah, yeah. I got it. Don't drop the big box." I gave her one last smile before handing it over. She took hold of it and I let go. Immediately she dropped a meter, flapping her wings hard to keep her from falling further. "Dear Celestia!" she shouted, "what do you have in this thing? And how were you carrying it so easily?"
I laughed at loud, her pride being slightly punctured. "Oh I used to carry things that heavy all the time. As to what's in it, you'll see soon." My load considerably lightened, I flew at a moderate speed, this time I slowed down to allow Rainbow Dash to catch up every once in a while. "How are you doing back there kid?" I called.
"Just... Fine." she grunted, the effort of carrying the box exerting her to her limit. I flew back to her with a smile.
"Alright, you can give it back now. I'll carry it the rest of the way, it's no problem." I said, holding out my hooves for it.
"No." she growled, "I can carry this all the way to Canterlot and back with." she grunted again, "no problem at all."
Oh Dash and your stubborn pride. I laughed shaking my head, "If you say so kid. We're almost there now, so you shouldn't have to carry that for much longer." Our flight lasted another ten minutes before the cave came into sight. Two small lights illuminated the entrance and the surrounding area as dawn began to hit the land. I turned towards Rainbow Dash, extending my hooves again.
"Alright kid, time to give that back now." she responded by taking it off her back and dropping it into my hooves. Without pause, I grabbed it and slung it back onto my vest, four clicks telling me it was secure and in place. Dash was breathing heavily, looking at me her eyes wide and astonished. 
"How can you carry that with so little effort?" she said, panting.
"Lots of practice Dash. Lots and lots of practice." I said giving her a warm smile. No point injuring her pride further.  "Come on, we have to get down their and start getting ready."
"Getting ready for what?" she said coming along side me.
"Like I told you, saving this clan. They're about to be attacked and an old friend asked me to come and help with the defense." I said aligning myself for the entrance.
"Old friend...? What's his name, and how are you an 'old friend' with a Diamond Dog?" she said, eyeing me suspiciously. 
"You should know him, his name is Zin." At this her mouth opened wide and she gasped.
"Zin!" she shouted, looking from me to the cave. "So this is where he's been! None of us knew where he had gone off to, and after he visited Twilight, we didn't know what to do or if he was still alive even." she said, her voice full of astonishment. 
"Yeah, this is where he is kid. You'll get back to the other five and have quite the story to tell them." She nodded, still dazed at the news. Together we made our descent, she landed silently while I landed with a small "Oomph." Our hooves echoing on the stone, we made our way to the entrance of the cave, awaiting for whatever would come out to greet us. 
We didn't have to wait long, as soon as we had walked through the entrance, Zin and SIlverClaw were already there to greet us. “Well, it’s been a-” he began to say. Although the look on Dash's face was one of pure joy as she lept into the air and zoomed at Zin, tackling him down to the ground. I let out a laugh as she did so and they looked at each other. “What’s it been, seven months?”
“Everypony thought you had died!” he looked at her and laughed and without another word, Rainbow Dash hopped off of him and moved back to my side. Zin got up, dusting himself off as he looked towards the two of us.
“Amiga, what in Equestria could...” he paused for a second, thinking over what he was going to say next. Good thing too, I'd hate to prove him wrong. He narrowed his eyes at me then, “Lance,” he said in an awkward tone, as if he stopped himself from calling me Spade. “Why did you bring her? She could get badly wounded.”
I shrugged at him, giving him a smile. "None of your business really. But if you must know, I was on my way here from my home when she," I said casting a mock angry glance at Dash, "ran into me right outside of my door. I couldn't change her mind on coming so I just let her. Don't you worry kid, I'll keep an eye on her and make sure nothing will happen."
"I can take care of myself, thank you very much," she pipped in, returning my mock anger. I gave her a small laugh.
"I'm sure you could, I'm sure you could. But a little help here and there never hurts." I said the last, giving a wink to Zin. Turning towards him and SilverClaw, I addressed her first. "Okay, down to business. The first thing I need is for you to get three felled trees from outside and bring them in here. Second, I need you to show me around the cave. I need to know the ground I'll be fighting on." She gave me a nod, calling for a few Diamond Dogs to go outside and retrieve the trees I asked for.
"If you could follow me, I'll show you around." she said, turning away from me and heading down a long, vaulted corridor. 
"Dash," I called over to her, "meet me at the end of the hall in five minutes. Catch up with Zin for a bit before I need you." Trotting off, I caught up with Silver as she walked down the corridor. All along the wall were holes, hundreds of holes cut into the wall. Most of which a Diamond Dog, or a few, occupied. The moment I saw all of their faces, I knew I made the right choice coming here.
Dragging me from my thoughts, SilverClaw spoke up, "This is the hall where all of our clan lives. Almost every hole is occupied by at least one of our clan. Those doors at the end lead to our council chambers and throne room. As well as the sparring area and storage areas." I absorbed every detail of the place, putting it in reference in my memory if I ever needed to use it. 
"Is there any alternate way out? Some sort of spider hole where you can either get to the surface or hide for a certain amount of time?" She nodded at me.
"Yes, yes of coarse. We have each of those. One under the training area that can hold most of our clan for at least a month before we have to leave. The other is in the back of the throne room. The tunnel there is long and narrow, maybe one or two dogs abreast could fit. It leads a mile further south of the cave, near the edge of the forest."
I shook my head at her description. "This is no place to defend or hold a nation. While there is a narrow choke point at the front, any attacker that gets through that can easily spread out throughout the hall." She was staring intently at me as I talked. "There's no practical means of escape or means of survival in case of attack. You couldn't nearly get those of the clan that are either to young or to old to fight out in a timely manner. It seems to me like this place was built with the state of mind that it would never be truly attacked."
She was still staring at me as she said, "That's exactly how it was built. This cave is over a thousand years old when our enemies were few and far between. We did not have your modern ways of thinking in the terms of 'defense' and 'strategy.'" we stopped at the great doors that lead to the council chambers. 
"This is as far as you can go." she said turning towards me, "Outsiders are not allowed inside for any reason."
"So if it comes down to it and I'm overrun, I won't be allowed through these doors and I have to go back out the entrance." she nodded completely serious, to which I let out a small laugh and a smirk.
She looked at me askance, "What do you find so funny about that?"
I looked her dead in the eyes and without faltering I said, "If that is the case. Then I'll just have to kill them all to get out." She looked at me intently, gauging whether or not I was being serious. She was about to say something, when Rainbow Dash came flying over, landing in-between the two of us.
"Hey Lance! Hey, um..." she said cheerily, first looking at me then at SilverClaw.
"I am called SilverClaw, but you may call me Silver." turning away from me, SilverClaw faced Dash now as she said this.
"Okay, sounds good... SIlver." she said, smiling wide. Turning back towards me she said, "So what is it exactly that we're going to do Lance?"
I gave her a warm smile before saying, "What I'm going to be doing is setting up a small position around 150 meters away from the entrance to the cave. That's where the logs will go. What I'm going to need your help with Dash," I said, point a hoof to the other bag on my back, "Is once I'm done priming all of the things in there, is I'm going to need you to plant them in groups of six, two meters apart, with each group ten meters from the last starting at the front of the cave."
"Okay!" she pipped excitedly, "what are they exactly and is there anything else you need me to do?"
SilverClaw looked at me as well. "Yes, what exactly do those, things, do?"
I gave them a both smirk, "You all shall see soon enough. It's a little surprise I have for the attacking force." SilverClaw gave me a wary glance while Rainbow Dash just stared at me excitedly. "What you're also going to do Dashie, is stay close to me the entire time. No if, and's, or buts about it."
She gave me a mock salute and giggled, "Yes sir!" I laughed at her, oh Rainbow Dash, you really are awesome. 
With a laugh at my thoughts, I addressed them both, "Alright, I suppose it's time we headed back and gave old Zin some company." They both gave me a nod and Rainbow Dash and I flew over there while SilverClaw ran across the ground. 
A few minutes of lazy flying later, we arrived back at the entrance where I spotted Zin writhing on the ground, his eyes closed and teeth barred in a feral snarl. Dash and I rushed down from the air to land at his side, just as SilverClaw came up behind us. I stared in awe disbelief as the markings on his body changed from their normal lines to that more resembling the tribes of buffalo out west. 
He continued writhing for a few minutes before his eyes finally snapped open, his pupils dilating as the sudden burst of light from the torches entered his eyes. He scanned our faces, looking at each of us thoroughly before turning to the next.
Rainbow Dash was the first one to break the silence, "Zin! Your markings, they've changed! Are you alright? What happened?" she said, her tone anxious and worried.
SilverClaw answered her, her voice low an ominous, "He's reached the third stage. His transformation is almost compete now." She moved over to him, extending a paw and helping him to his feet. He dusted off his armor, giving SilverClaw and Rainbow Dash a meek smile.
"Just one more thing about me Dash." Zin said as he got up. We all turned towards SilverClaw, who much like Zin, was now curled in a ball on the ground, her teeth barred in a snarl and her eyes shut against the world. Zin moved to her side, kneeling next to her as she continued her own transformation, sitting by her side. I felt a hint of pain at this. I shouldn't be here, I should be with Shadow... No. Right now my place is here, and I just hope I'm back in time for the birth of our foal.
Rainbow sidled next to me whispering, "What's going on Lance? What's happening to them?" she was looking at me tentatively, thinking I had all the answers that she seek'd. 
I shook my head at her, "I don't rightly now Dash. From what I understand, ever so often these two, along with one other Diamond Dog, go under some transformation to a new state. Each time they get a little better than their last state. With all the magic I know, I don't rightly now what is happening."
She gave me a weird look then, "Magic you know? You're just a pegasus like me, how would you know a good deal about magic?"
Ah hay, I let that slip. This is just going to get more and more complicated. "That's something I'll explain to you at a later time Rainbow Dash. Now's not the time or place to be doing that. Look though, she's seems to be recovering." We both turned our attentions towards SilverClaw and Zin, who was now helping her up in much the same way that she had done. 
Once she was up, she looked at me and I felt a mental probe stabbing at my mind. I immediately set up barriers around my consciousness, blocking out all thoughts that were running through my head. She gave me a shake of her head and a smile. “Still I get nothing from you.” Zin tilted his head at her, his eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at her. She suddenly turned to him and nodded, to which he angrily shook his head. So you can read minds then, I thought. I had better watch my thoughts around you.
“Alright, keep out of their heads for the time being. We have work to do.” Zin said, to gain a much confused look from Rainbow Dash, which quickly gravitated over to SilverClaw. I'm thinking the same thing as you Dash. Turning towards me he said, “The supplies you have requested should be back soon. I just have one question to ask you.” Getting closer to me, Zin leaned close and in a barely audible whisper he said, “You’ll have to show her sometime, Spade. When do you plan on doing it?” 
Before I could respond to him, he back up and returned at his place next to SilverClaw. I shot him a look, just one more thing we need to talk about if we ever get alone. SilverClaw spoke up, addressing Zin, “Go tell the clan to prepare for the invasion. They will spread out like we planned, using the areas designated.” He gave her a curt nod, following orders, and got on all fours and dashed further into the cavern, heading for the rest of the Diamond Dogs. 
Turning back towards me, SilverClaw asked me again, "Is there anything else you need before I leave to make my own preparations?" As she said this, the trees I had requested were finally hauled into the cave by a very tired looking group of dogs. They were all fairly large, the largest of the three meeting me just under the abdomen. 
"Actually, there is a few more things I need. The first being a table." she looked at me strangely when I asked for that of all things. "Second, I need an oven mitt." At this she almost reared with laughter, but everything I asked for had a reason to it. "And lastly," I said looking at the ground, "I'll need a pickax." She nodded at my requests, and sent a few dogs from the group with the trees to gather all of my requested items. 
While I waited, I approached the rest of the dogs who had carried the logs inside. As I looked at them, a few of them cowered at the sight of me. I noticed a few of them belonging to the clan whom's leader I had killed. I called over to them, "I need you dogs to drag the trees over to where I fly." I received a few surprised nods. Flying over to the spot I had indicated, I called out for them to start coming over. A few minutes of work later and all the trees were assembled before me abreast to each other.
Turning back towards the dogs I asked, "Can you cut each of them into three sections? Once that's done you can run off to where your home is in here." At the last they eagerly retrieved saws, getting hard at work to cutting up the trees. After around thirty minutes of work, they were done. At which time the other items I had asked for had also arrived. With a thanks to the dogs, I bid them farewell, much to their pleasure. 
Calling Rainbow Dash down to where I was I said, "Okay, our first order of business is to organize the logs into a makeshift pillbox."
"What's a pillbox?" she said with her head tilted to the said. 
"Oh right," I said with a laugh, "Okay, just make a small box-like house. only with three sides and the front end will have a hole in the middle where one of the logs should be. I'll help you with getting everything is place, I just need another strong pony like yourself to help."
She beamed at my last comment, "Oh yeah, you probably wouldn't be able to get it done without my help anyway." I laughed out loud for a second before we began working. Dash was as strong as she said, helping haul each third of a tree into place with little effort. After another half hour of work, all the logs were in place, with the center slit giving me an almost 180 degree view of the front of the cave.
Calling out to Dash again I asked, "Can you gather together rocks and other things to put around the box so it looks more natural?"
She gave me an, "Aye, aye Captain!" before zooming off in search of camouflage. Once she was off, I snatched the table under my hoof and placed it within the pillbox. Unclasping the bag from my back, I laid it across the table and carefully took out each one of the S-mines, organizing them into four groups of six. Once they were organized, I went about setting up the fuses for the first batch, removing the sensors for the mine, I wired the first batch to a special remote detonator that when pressed would send the mines up in the air within three seconds. I did the same things with the second and third batch of six mines, each taking me about fifteen minutes. When I moved to the fourth batch, Rainbow Dash had returned with a sack over her shoulder filled with whatever it is she had managed to find. Dropping it at the back, she walked up to the table to look at what I was doing.
"So these are what was in that pack of yours. What are they?" she asked, eyeing the mines with suspicion.
I gave put down the mine I was working on and turned to her and smiled. "They're what I style them as mines." I said sweeping my leg over the patch and pointing to the detonators, four in all, "Those are what will set them off. They'll give those dogs a good surprise." I winked at her. 
"If you say so," she said, giving the mines a sidelong glance. Not sure whether or not they would do much.
"I do say so." I said with a laugh, "Now while I finish up this last batch, can you go about prettying up the front of the box for me? Also, when you're done with that, do you mind digging the holes at the locations I told you to earlier? You only have to make the holes seven or so inches." She gave me another giddy salute, before grabbing the bag and flying off to the front. What an energetic young filly she is, I laughed to myself. Setting about working on the last batch, I was half way through before I heard the rapid taps of a pickax being hammered fast into the ground. Hay does that mare work fast.
Finishing up the last three, I carefully placed each on back into the bag. Grabbing it and slinging it over my shoulder, I took off after Rainbow Dash. She was already done with the first row and starting on the second one when I arrived. She was looking a bit tired, but was still energetic as she hammered away at the rock. 
"Keep at it kid!" I called down to her as I landed at the first row of holes. Carefully planting each mine, I pulled the safety pin out, arming the mine. Once each mine was planted, I packed in some dirt, making sure that it wouldn't move around while it was there and was decently concealed. By the time I was finished planting the first row, Dash was already getting started on the the third row of digging. Maybe... I thought, my thoughts going back to training her. I'll have to talk to the princess about that. Shaking my head, I moved over to the second row and repeated the process that I had done with the first row, carefully planting each mine, then packing it in with dirt. Again, as I finished the second, she was already working on the fourth, this time a little slowly as working with the pickax for so long wore her down. I again repeated the process by planting each mine and burying them with dirt. This time though, when I was done, she still had two more holes to do on the last line.
"Pick up the pace kid!" I called to her. She looked at me, and saw that I was watching her and hammered harder at the ground. Laughing I moved up to the next row, beginning the planting process for the last time.
When I finished planting the last mine, Rainbow Dash plopped down on her stomach next to me, panting heavily. "Don't... Ever... Ask me... To do that again." she said through her breaths. I laughed and ruffled her mane.
"Sure kid, next time I'll dig and you can handle the mines." she laughed at the joke and sprang to her feet, turning towards me. 
"Is there anything else you need me to do?" she said eagerly.
"Naw kid, you're done for now. We got about another hour or so until they show up, so you can go ahead and take a nap like you like." she gave me a small pout at the last, but didn't keep it for long as she flew off to the pillbox and disappeared inside, probably finding someplace comfortable to rest. With a smirk, I flew off to join her. A hint of shuteye before the battle sounded quite nice. 
Flying into the pillbox, I saw Rainbow asleep on the table, somehow having gotten a pillow and was already sound asleep napping. I laughed quietly to myself, before laying down near the hole, giving myself only a half an hour to sleep before I had to get everything else ready.