Canis Fidelis: Reclamation

by PseudoFiction

Vires in Varietate

– George Graham Vest

Every warrior has his story. A tale of adventure and hardship, a tale of life and death decisions. Happy tales, sad tales, dark tales and funny ones. Tales of bravery and commitment.

Tales of adventure.

Bungee’s story was his best kept secret. And not because the warrior was very secretive; he’d tell anypony about it if they only asked. It was more an issue of the fact he couldn’t tell anypony. Because Bungee couldn’t talk with just anyone.

Bungee was a dog. He was a Military Working Dog.

The black-and-tan German Shepherd wasn’t very old, but he wasn’t exactly a pup either. But he liked to think with everything he’d seen between magical inter-dimensional portals, zombie ponies and vigilantes, he still hadn’t seen it all. He never really would, even if he spent every night at the side of his best friend protecting ponies from what goes bump in the night for the rest of his life.

But at the side of Princess Luna there was nothing he couldn’t do. No enemy too fast, no foe too strong. Luna had learned how to utilise all of Bungee’s old tricks. He had even learned a few new ones. Together they were unstoppable.

So it was only natural when she disappeared that Bungee’s whole world shattered.

The whole ordeal had started with instructions. Simple enough instructions in all honesty. Luna had told Bungee to take care of Princess Twilight Sparkle until the coming Summer Sun Celebration. She was new to the role of princess, and would need all the help and comfort she could get; especially while apart from her friends in Ponyville. Bungee had of course obeyed as he always did and carried the written instructions to Twilight and her friends. He would do what he was told, look out for the newly appointed princess and take care of her until Luna relieved him of duty.

But it had been in that time that Equestria had been turned on its head. Both Princess Celestia and Luna had simply vanished in the night. Left in their wake, Equestria had become stuck between day and night with the moon and sun hanging high in the air, the night and day sky split right down the middle. To make things worse, Royal Guards reported the Everfree Forest was growing out of control and was slowly taking over Ponyville.

And who knew where the invading plunder-weeds would stop?

Bungee had cursed himself for his eagerness to please his handler. He had been so eager to follow Luna’s commands that he didn’t stop to think about what would happen to her if there was trouble. If he had been there he could have helped her. Made sure she wasn’t taken. Made sure she was safe.

But once the German Shepherd was over blaming himself for things he couldn’t have prevented, Bungee realised exactly what he had to do. He would do what he was trained to do.

Protect Equestria from harm; at any cost. But he was no aspis. That station was reserved for the six ponies following him into the mouth of the cavern. Bungee was the tip of the Spartan’s spear.

Moving out ahead of Spike, Twilight and their friends, the German Shepherd systematically weaved from one side of the cavern to the other. The dog looked in his element. Despite the tangled mess his fur had turned to – bits of black weeds and thorns stuck in his coat – he stood tall and stalwart as ever with a strong back and paws planted firmly. There were patches of dirt splashed across the pitch-black tac-vest protecting his body under a layer of kevlar panels, a velcro patch on one side home to a blue flag centred by a circle of white stars, his opposite side adorned with another bearing the emblem of the Lunar Guard; an emblem mimicking Princess Luna’s cutie mark.

His nose was constantly pitched downward, sniffing along the stone ground until he reached a thick vine running across his path. Paused with one front leg curled up across his chest, the dog looked up with suspiciously narrowed eyes, triangular ears perked up and alert.

Directly ahead was the objective Twilight and her friends had been talking about before their romp through the Everfree Forest. The magical totem they were trying to save so it could in turn save their home.

The Tree of Harmony.

And looking at it, Bungee was damn sure it wasn’t supposed to look the way it did. The name itself gave the impression the Tree of Harmony was meant to be a grand thing, a shining icon of magic and awe.

Stood before the dog, six ponies and a baby dragon was a withered husk of what the Tree of Harmony was meant to be. Its bark and roots were dull and grey. The crystalline branches were brittle and frail looking. There was no glow at the heart where a familiar six pointed star hung lifelessly. Bungee growled when he saw why the tree was withered and dying.

It was having the life choked out of it by the plunderous vines invading from all sides. The same vines springing up all over Equestria. They were thick muckus-green tendrils zig-zagging across the floor from all sides and wrapping around the roots of the Tree of Harmony. They spiralled up from there, wrapped around every surface of the tree, the long pointed thorns scraping over the crystalline bark of the magical monolith.

There was no denying it. One thought filled Bungee’s head. This is ground zero.

Stepping over the vine in his path, Bungee curiously moved closer to the tree’s base. Behind him the ponies had gasped at the sight of their last hope.

“Alright, Twilight. What do we do?” Applejack’s drawl asked as she looked at the alicorn princess by her side.

Twilight’s eyes were almost vacant looking, and for what must have been the tenth time that day her expression betrayed the fact she was lost and unsure. Slowly the alicorn princess shook her head, atop which her golden crown was perched.

With frustration clear in her voice, Twilight Sparkle sighed out, “I’m not sure.”

With her eyes falling shut, she could feel the tears brimming her eyes. After a while the pools gathered at the bottom lids overflowed and tears dripped down her cheeks. She couldn’t help it. She felt helpless. Out of her depth.

I’m terrible, the young princess thought to herself. I’ve been out of my depth all day! I’m the worst princess eve-…

Before her detrimental thoughts could properly close, the alicorn nearly leapt out of their skin as something touched her face. Cold and wet, it pressed against her cheek, nudging her lightly with a huff of hot breath.

Eyes shooting open she looked into the hazel eyes of a German Shepherd standing level to her. There was a look there. A look of understanding. Almost as if Bungee understood the expression on the princess’ face and knew exactly what she was thinking.

And before Twilight could even begin to make sense of how Bungee knew what she was thinking, the dog stepped to one side, unblocking her view of the Tree of Harmony. That was when she saw it. Centred on the thick crystalline trunk was the star. A familiar star. The same star adorning Twilight’s flanks.

Her cutie mark.

A sudden spark entered her eyes, glistening and flickering in the dim light in the cavern. Her glances of disbelief snapped from her friends to the tree and around to Bungee taking up formation beside the young princess, looking at her as if he had already figured it out himself.

“Wait,” came Twilight’s hopeful whisper as she felt a small grin pull the corners of her mouth upwards. The spark in her eyes brightened as she realised something. A detail she had overlooked before, but now standing in the devil’s den she understood exactly what needed to be done.

“I know how we can save the tree,” she declared. “We have to give it the Elements of Harmony.”

As the other ponies gasped, Rainbow Dash was the first to voice her concerns. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, heh,” she chuckled quite sarcastically. “How are we supposed to protect Equestria without the Elements of Harmony?”

“And how are we meant to rein Discord in if we can't use the elements to turn him back to stone?” Rarity added dramatically.

As the five ponies shared a nod of agreement, Applejack scooted over to where Twilight stood with her mind still made.

“Twilight, the Elements of Harmony...” the mare paused trying to find the right words. “The Elements of Harmony brought us together. They're what keep us connected through thick ‘n thin.”

Twilight Sparkle nodded as she agreed, “you're right about one thing, Applejack. The Elements of Harmony did bring us together. But it isn't the Elements that will keep us connected.” She put a solemn hoof on her friend’s shoulder while smiling broadly. “It's our friendship. And it's more important and more powerful than any magic. My new role in Equestria may mean I have to take on new responsibilities, and our friendships may be tested, but it will never, ever be broken.”

“You’re right,” Fluttershy declared timidly as she moved to the line between them and the fall of Equestria.

Rainbow Dash agreed with a nod. “There's no time to lose.”

“Everypony ready?” Rarity asked.

“Bungee looks ready!” Pinkie Pie chirped.

The German Shepherd only glanced sideways at the ponies with a roll of his eyes. Girl, I was born ready, he thought keeping his gaze locked on the objective.

Ready, the eight of them stepped forward; one foot, one paw and six hooves. And as if sensing the impending danger, the plunder-weed vines enveloping the Tree of Harmony twitched.

They were a blur at first. Writhing and slithering before shooting up into the air to form a mesh that grew thicker and thicker in just a few moments. Bungee was the only one to react as they all flinched, hopping back a few paces to put some breathing room between him and a possible threat.

The ponies only gasped as the tidal wave of vines crashed down over them like a wave smashing the rocks of a rough coast. Thorns and brittle leaves clouded the air as bungee leapt aside, catching a glimpse of Spike diving away in the same fashion. The baby dragon tucked and rolled out of range as the excess of plunder-weed slithered out, grasping with several lassos at the stragglers.

But there were only two stragglers. Twilight Sparkle and her friends were caught in the web of weeds.

The vicious vines wrapped around every limb, secured around tails and manes, pinned horns and wings to completely immobilise the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. And the assault didn’t end there, dedicated plunder-weed vines wrapping around the element gems and ripping the jewellery free of the owners.

“No!” Rainbow Dash yelled through the groans and complaints of her friends being pinned in a similar fashion as she made a lunge at the bright red lightning bolt. But she only barely swung close with a hoof before the weeds managed to get her under control again.

The plunder-weed was smarter than they gave it credit for. It had identified a threat to its existence and was dealing with it. Unfortunately for it, Bungee was smarter.

And faster.

Lassos and curls of vine snapped out like whips trying to grab at the German Shepherd. A noose made its way for one paw while another whiplash tried to snap its way around his head. Whipping around, Bungee slipped his paw out of the noose and leapt straight up into the air before more vines grasped at his other limbs. Landing he bounced again, directing himself away from the tangle of plunder-weeds. He bounced like an excited puppy, weaving in a serpentine pattern out of the immediate grasping range of the foliage tidal wave.

Landing on all fours just out of range, Bungee slid to a halt as he turned. Looking up he felt his heart sink. With two princesses down, the only thing standing between Equestria and domination were the six ponies. All six ponies, the Elements of Harmony, were strung up and constricted by the rabid rhododendrons. Dedicated vines reached out and plucked lose their magical jewellery, relieving Twilight Sparkle and her friends from the elements despite how the ponies struggled.

This was going to complicate things. But on the bright side the leash was now off.

A distressed cry rang from the strung-up princess; not exactly a command – some could argue – but considering how everything was going to Tartarus in a hoof-basket Bungee was willing to interpret it as the order to engage. Besides, with everypony being strung up who was going to question a little violence against the offending foliage?

Rearing back ready to pounce, Bungee prepared to leap back into the substance of it. He was going to tear the Elements of Harmony free and end this.

But he didn’t get the chance.

A series of barks, along with a distinct roar echoed through the cavern drew the dog’s attention, along with a voice.

“Looks like dinner’s served, boys!” the voice said from the mouth of the cave. It echoed through the chamber, but at a frequency below that of the spoken word. A frequency ponies, not even spike could hear. A frequency toned specifically to the animals of Equestria.

And even though Bungee wasn’t a native, he was tuned into that frequency, hearing it clear as day.

The working dog’s eyes moved to the mouth of the cave. Movement filled the entrance as several easy to identify silhouettes moved against the natural light masking them. They were canine in appearance, but Bungee knew they weren’t dogs. They weren’t even wolves or diamond dogs.

Their coats were made out of wood, lengths of splintered bark and slivers of timber. Their hollow eyes glowed with a fierce green fire in their souls and thick, sticky sap drooled from their vicious maws filled with brutally jagged, hooked and serrated teeth.

Timberwolves, the only things worse than diamond dogs. And at their head the pack leader, identified by a bushy mane of ferns and moss. The one who had spoken; with his muzzle spread into a wicked grin as his eyes flared with dark magic.

And to support the pack of timberwolves wandering into Bungee’s area of operations, they had freakin’ tank-support… metaphorically of course.

The proverbial tank was a cragadile, a behemoth of a creature. Bungee had seen crocodiles before – from a comfortable distance. He only had to look at them to know they were hyper-lethal predators. But the Equestria equivalent made the Earth-versions look like pussycats.

Covered in moss and boulders, the cragadile had a skin of solid rock and ore. Every motion was advertised with the sound of grinding rock and small spurts of dust and grit. Every heavy footfall shook the earth. Every tooth glinted like a razor-sharp bayonet. Every inch was covered in a skin of solid rock.

There were no chinks in the cragadile’s armour. It was made entirely out of armour.

The pack of timberwolves with cragadile support snapped and barked as they approached the lone dog and pinned ponies like vultures assessing a potential meal. In truth the creatures were just saying grace before the main course was served.

The plunder-weeds pushed, slamming Twilight sparkle into the ground by Bungee’s tail. She grunted as she was pushed into the dirt and held down at a convenient biting-height. One by one her friends followed, the Elements of Harmony held high out of reach while the immobilised owners were forced to the ground.

The timberwolf alpha licked his chops with toothy a hyena grin.

Bungee lowered his head, hair on his neck standing upright as he growled angrily. He wasn’t all bite though. In his time with Luna and the other animals of Equestria, the German Shepherd had practiced his bark too.

“Keep steppin’, Terry-Timber,” Bungee warned as he put himself between the ponies and the predators, adding; “I’ll fuckstart your face with steel.”

It was no idle threat either. Bungee’s lips curled into a snarl to show off his military grade dentistry. Titanium teeth implanted at adolescence glinted in the poor light, the sight of it causing the timberwolves to pause.

“What?” Bungee snickered at the hesitant predators. “Didn’t expect me to be the strong silent type, did you?”

The predators attacked, and even though common sense told the dog he should turn tail and run, Bungee met them halfway. The cragadile was the first in his path, the lumbering creature snarling and snapping.

Bungee bounced, leaping high and kicking all four paws into the monster’s head. The cragadile was pounded face down into the dirt, scooping in a mouthful of dirt instead of a mouthful of dog.

“Whoooo-ey!” Applejack yowled as Bungee bounced off the rockadile’s head and careened into a timberwolf . “Get along lil’ doggy! Give that cragadilly the ol’ one-two!”

Wood filled his mouth as Bungee grabbed the nearest timberwolf up by the scruff of the neck in mid-flight. The two tumbled over each other before colliding with the ground hard. Bungee rolled with the blows the earth was dishing out, while the timberwolf sort of just fell apart, barfing wisps of green smoke from the separated bits of wooden canine.

Landing low on all fours, Bungee skittered to a halt, much of the timberwolf’s spine still locked in his mouth. The rigid stick stuck out a good few feet to either side of the working dog’s mouth as he shook his head from side to side scattering more of the attached bits for good measure. In the meantime the cragadile was moving to track the dog. It spat out a few large clods of mud before turning its head to meet Bungee’s gaze.

As the rock monster opened the large jaws for a killing blow, Bungee confidently stood his ground, twisting his head sideways. One end of the former-timberwolf’s spine dug into the roof of the cragadile’s mouth, before the other end was jammed home into the bottom when the creature tried to bite. The wood bent and creaked, but held, keeping the surprised looking predator’s mouth wedged open wide.

While the cragadile was dealing with an existential dilemma surrounding a fatal flaw in his jaw-mechanism, Bungee sighted the timberwolf alpha making a run at where Twilight Sparkle was pinned to the deck. Digging his claws into the earth, Bungee shot forward like a bullet from a rifle-barrel, the alpha square in his sights.

His gaze didn’t twitch, it didn’t waver. While eyes remained fixed on target though the German Shepherd’s body weaved off course, dodging to the right first with a low duck as a timberwolf snapped at his face. The bite missed and Bungee dashed a little to the left avoiding a similar attempt from another wooden predator.

At the same time the timberwolf alpha lunged forward, Princess Twilight staring at it with wide, helpless eyes as she struggled feebly against her binds. Teeth filled her vision and she screamed.

It was all over in a second…

Bungee collided into the alpha’s side with extreme violence of action, forcing the creature into the ground where it shattered on impact. One bite, one kill. Not luck, all skill.

Bungee crouched low as he turned to face the other timberwolves who’d stopped in their tracks, watching as the domestic dog shook his head from side to side, the head of their former alpha clutched in his titanium teeth. The flaming eyes extinguished with a wisp of green smoke slithering from the wood and escaping out the cave mouth.

“So hard to find a reliable chain of command now and days, ain’t it?” the dog quipped dropping the empty head.

Bungee growled and let out a fierce bark, forcing the rest of the timberwolves back a step. That was only until they realised there were several of them, and only one of him. And reassured by the fact they had him surrounded, they charged. Unfortunately they all failed to realise that their surrounding formation meant none of them could escape Bungee’s wrath.

“Three o’clock!” Pinkie Pie squealed, warning the working dog of imminent attack. “Six o’clock! Nine o’clock! Three o’clock again!”

Bungee switched from target to target, following Pinkie Pie’s warnings without hesitation or flaw. One at a time the attackers fell. One on three o’clock had his front legs pulled out from under it. Clutching one of the wooden paws in his mouth, Bungee tore it free before swinging to his six o’clock and bashing the next timberwolf in the face with a severed wooden leg. The two predators falling to bits, their essence abandoning the area with a metaphorical tail between its legs, Bungee leapt aside while reared onto his rear paws as a timberwolf went for the throat. Bungee landed on its back, wrapping his front legs around the timberwolf’s body before his jaws found purchase on the neck and with a violent twist he turned the monster to kindling.

Bungee finally looked to his three again to see that sector was clear.

Unfortunately that was because of Pinkie Pie’s error, not the fact the area was actually clear.

Something heavy hit Bungee in the side, hard enough to wind him through is kevlar. Hitting the deck, the dog rolled onto his back and held out his paws, catching the timberwolf who’d floored him with all fours before it could fall on him properly.

Jaws snapped mere millimetres from Bungee’s face, spraying his fur with sticky sap. The dog half looked away with disgust so his nose wouldn’t be bitten off before he looked questioningly to where Pinkie Pie was strung up.

The curly maned pony chuckled sheepishly covering her face with a hoof. “Oop! Sorry! That was more of a ‘four’ o’clock!”

With a sigh, Bungee rolled his eyes before twisting his head around and catching the timberwolf’s jaw in his own mouth with a single, swift lunge. The predator looked shocked, an expression that only intensified as Bungee twisted and pulled, ripping the delicate bottom jaw right off the flimsy pile of sentient fire-wood.

Jawless and trying to figure out what to do next, the timber wolf was kicked into the air when Bungee heaved with all four legs. He pushed hard, launching the comparatively light creature straight up. Like he was juggling something dangerous – and in a way he was – the working dog scrambled to his paws and looked straight up with his mouth open, body poised to catch something.

He caught the timberwolf across his back and in his mouth at the same time. His jaw locked tight onto the canine’s tail.

With a grunt, a roll of his body and a light hop of his back paws Bungee swung the wooden canine into the ground, dropping it like he was dropping a beat that started with a thunderous clatter of timber shattering on the stone floor.

“Tango down! Who’s next!?” the dog yelled as he turned to check for more targets beyond the little halo of balsa wood surrounding him.

Speaking of wood, Bungee suddenly came face to face with a blur of wood.

“Whoa!” was all he said as he ducked, head low as he darted forward, under the blow.

The stick swinging for his face scraped over one of the panels of his tac-vest without catching, and Bungee silently thanked the ‘high speed, low drag’ design of the vest. Diving aside though he heard the distinct impact of wood on wood before the satisfying sound of a timberwolf crumbling apart.

Laying prone, Bungee looked up to see a timberwolf who had been sneaking up behind him fall apart under the blow delivered by a club-like stick. Holding the stick were a pair of small purple claws that belonged to Spike.

“Woo-hoo! Way to go, Spike!” Rainbow Dash whooped.

Bungee smirked as he climbed to his paws beside Spike. Help was appreciated, no matter how late – or little- it was. And it turned out, Spike’s contribution counted for little. While had taken out the last timberwolf, they were still facing a massive cragadile.

The hulking rock beast finally bit clean through the branch wedging open the mouth before huffing angrily and looming over the dog and the dragon. What was Spikes little stick going to do against that?

Blushing, the baby dragon gave a little wave while shyly hiding his makeshift club behind his back. The cragadile ignored the pathetic attempt at a truce, looming over the baby dragon ready to fill its belly.

That was when Bungee dashed under the cragadile’s nose, drawing the monster’s attention away from Spike. Following the dog, the cragadile was easily side-tracked wanting some revenge on Bungee. Exactly what the working dog had been counting on.

But now he had the cragadile’s attention, what the hell was he going to do next?

That was when he got a good look at the far end of the chamber. Instead of sporting a solid rock wall and ceiling, there was a patch of dirt forming a steep side and overhang, sticking out of the wall of muck a tangle of branches. The roots of a tree growing somewhere on the surface.

The roots seemed to be all that were holding the loose earth together.

Knowing what he had to do, Bungee gritted his jaw and narrowed his eyes before leading a motivating charge right under the cragadile’s nose again, towards the side of the cavern.

The cragadile’s jaws snapped shut right behind Bungee’s tail as it struggled to keep up. Front paws dug into the muddy cavern floor, digging up two small mounds of earth as the creature coiled to change direction and pursue the dog. It launched itself after him with a whip and crack of the long tail, lumbering at first but rapidly building up thunder.

“That’s right,” Bungee mused quietly, feeling the cragadile’s hot breath on his tail. “Follow the little doggy.”

Lunging forward, the cragadile tried to snap at the dog’s tail again. Only this time he jumped out of range vertically rather than laterally.

Bungee ran straight up the cavern wall with a mighty leap. His paws curled, nails scratching into the dirt as he scrambled straight up and tried to keep his momentum going as best as possible; for if he fell back to the ground there would be a very hungry cragadile waiting for him.

At the peak of his climb, Bungee felt gravity betray him and begin to drag him back down to his would-be doom. ‘Would-be’ for only he grabbed a jaw-full of the roots sticking out of the ceiling.

Dirt drizzled into Bungee’s nose as he hung there, paws planted on the soft earth where he was suspended just above the cragadile waiting below. It seemed to snicker as it growled, rearing back and making a leap upward at the dog.

But cowering cornered and dangling like a worm on a hook had not been Bungee’s plan though. He’d counted on the cragadile making a lunge for him, and made a lunge of his own. Pulling at the root, he tugged from side to side and heaved hard, tearing the branch right out of the earthy wall. Immediately the moist dirt all up the side of the cavern and along the ceiling began to crack and crumble. That was when Bungee jumped clear, clean over the cragadile’s head.

The cragadile froze, eyes widening as it tried to snap its jaws shut. It barely managed to as an avalanche of dirt plummeted down directly on top of the rock monster.

Bungee landed hard by the helpless creature’s tail, crouching low to the ground with all four legs to absorb the impact of landing and stumbling off excess lateral velocity with a little quick-step. But when he’d found his balance and the jolt of pain in his paws passed, the working dog straightened up true and proud, spitting out a mouth-full of roots he’d torn out of the ceiling.

As he walked to the plunder-weeds holding down the six ponies with his enemies in pieces around him and the cragadile buried in muck behind him, Bungee gave a fearsome growl. The plunder-weed was acting on its own accord which meant it was smart enough to understand. Smart enough to know exactly what Bungee’s growl meant.

“Back off or get fucked up.”

The weeds immediately uncoiled. They let go of the ponies who immediately scrambled to their hooves and backed away from the gnarly tendrils. The Elements of Harmony were released as well, glowing as they fell.

All present watched as the Elements of Harmony suddenly hovered on an invisible force.

“Are you doing this?” Spike asked, looking to the alicorn princess.

Twilight Sparkle shook her head, speechless as their elements began taking on a mind of their own. The six gems floated into place, setting themselves into their respective branches with Twilight Sparkle Star touching the very heart of the tree. What happened next could only be described as an explosion of pure light, the shockwave shattering the visible light spectrum and generating a rainbow pallet of colour that rippled out from the tree’s crystal bark.

The plunder-weed was instantly vaporised on a wave of colour ripping outward from the Tree of Harmony. It washed over Bungee as he pinned his ears down and reeled back a little, but blinking hard he found himself peering through the dust that was once the thick vines choking the Tree of Harmony.

As the magic ripped off into the distance dispatching the rest of the plunder-weeds spreading strife across Equestria, Bungee looked up to see two remaining balls of the vines gathered by either side of the now glowing crystal tree.

One slowly unfurled, spitting ash and dust in the air as it evaporated to slowly reveal a long white horn. At the base was the head of a pony with a glistening white coat and a mane filled with all the colours of summer.

As she was released from her plunder-weed prison, the eldest regal sister shook out her feathered wings and looked to the far side of the tree. There the second clump of weeds unfurled into glittering dust. Inch by inch the plunder-weed was torn down and stepping out of a clump of dead weeds came an alicorn only a little shorter than her older sister.

The night-sky mane and tail with the evening coloured coat and the cutie mark of a crescent moon was impossible to mistake. Princess Luna’s eyes opened and she immediately smiled when she saw her faithful companion.

Bungee didn’t waste any time. He made no other sound than his paws pounding the floor as he launched himself forward into a sprint. A sprint leading the dog directly into the embrace of his best friend.