//------------------------------// // Rescue // Story: Courage // by scion //------------------------------// “Lemme go!” Spike squirmed and struggled as only a young reptile could. He tried to reach back and do something, anything, with his claws, but he couldn’t reach. Couldn't do anything more than tickle the wolf's chest with his short little tail. Couldn't do anything except squirm. The fangs of the wolf were clamped firmly around the nape of his neck. He could feel the pressure on his scales- enough to firmly hold him in place, but not enough to pierce them, like he was almost certain they could. Still, after being carried from town and through the Everfree for nearly fifteen minutes now, his terror had worn off and was being replaced with annoyance. It- a wolf, a flesh and blood wolf, a creature he had never even seen before, that didn't even exist- was carrying him around like an errant pup. When he’d had this little realization, he’d crossed his arms and snorted a bit of smoke. Even animals thought he was a baby! Well, he was going to show them... he'd show Twilight that he didn't need protecting anymore. He'd show Rarity he was old enough to win her hoof, and her fair heart- "Wah- ooof!" Spike dropped to the ground unexpectedly, face planting as he was abruptly reintroduced into world beneath his feet. It didn't curb his annoyance, especially not the stick he found lodged in his mouth. "Pagh!" He spit the stick violently from his mouth and pushed off his belly, determined to give the wolf a piece of his mind.... Only to stop dead. The quarry. It had brought him to the quarry, where the diamond dogs dwelled. Where his Rarity had been taken. Why had the wolf taken him here? Did it matter?! Now was his chance! He could save Rarity! He could save all the ponies taken from Ponyville! Spike, Savior of Ponyville. He could get used to that. Maybe then Rarity would see- -SCHING- Spike had lived in the royal castle for most of his life. He had been close to Celestia, as a motherly figure and later as the assistant to Celestia's personal student. That meant, of course, that he had been surrounded by guards all his life. He knew the sound of a sword being drawn. He gulped, and slowly turned towards the source. The wolf had moved back, standing far enough away that Spike would have to take a few steps to get within arms reach. Held gently within his mouth, in the canines which had so recently held him, was a sword. The wolf took a slow step forward. Then another. And another, the blue eyes fixed upon the draconian eyes of the little dragon. Then, the wolf stopped. The wolf twisted its head, presenting the pommel of the sword to the little dragon, one blue eye watching the dragon closely. I... guess it wants me to have it? Slowly, cautiously, Spike reached towards the proffered pommel. His little clawed hand grasped the pommel. The wolf dropped the blade gently as Spike hefted the sword. It was different than the swords he was used to seeing. Pony swords were short and thick, with a specialized grip meant to be grasped in a pony's mouth without impeding breathing. This sword, though... it was long, as long as a pony almost, with a thinner, almost elegant, blade. The hilt was not the specialized setup used by the Guard, but a simple straight grip, fitting into his claws as though it belonged there. The sword itself was relatively simple. The handle was wrapped in some sort of fabric that spike had never felt before, letting him hold the sword comfortably. The cross guard and handle itself were dull metal, simple in design and execution. A shine caught his attention on the blade- looking closer, he could see small patterns within the metal- what looked like a pair of horns, in a pattern he had never seen before, decorated the lower part of the blade. As simple as this sword was, someone had put love and skill into its creation. Spike hefted the sword, bringing it upright. Despite being more than twice as tall as he was, the sword was surprisingly light and easy to handle- heck, it was lighter than some of the books that Twilight regularly made him carry. On a whim, he swung it from side to side- the sword responded smartly. A giddy grin came across his face. He had a sword! Now he could be a real knight! A fantasy crossed his mind, a dream he had often- a Knight in shining scales, big, powerful, majestic and dashing, always willing to defend the honor and life of the fair Lady- "Rarity!" Spike turned back the quarry. "I have to save Rarity!" He managed to take two steps before a growl stopped him in his tracks. Spike spun, both hands on the sword, raising it towards the wolf. His little heart thumped faster in his chest as he stared deep into the wolfs blue eyes. Then he looked at its mouth, and gave a little gasp. The wolf carried a shield now. Metal, nearly as large as he was, pointed in a shallow triangle on top and curving to a point near the bottom, the front of the shield was ornately decorated in a style Spike had never seen before. Most of the face had been painted a deep blue. Near the top, three golden triangles were arranged in a triangle pattern themselves; underneath it, an intricate red symbol involving what looked like wings and triangles for a body dominated. It had also clearly seen some action of some sort, he decided- the paint had scratches all over it. Apparently it wanted him to have this too. It gently released the shield from its jaws into his waiting arms. Turning the shield around, Spike found a strap of the same sort of material that wrapped the hilt of the sword, and a metal handle. It took him a moment to puzzle out what these were for- the Royal Guard rarely ever used shields, as a pony could only ever wield either a sword or a shield and the Royal Guard had only ever been issued swords. Still, it didn't take long for him to slip his left arm through the strap and clench the metal handle with his claws. Spike hefted the sword in one hand and the shield in the other. The combined weight was substantial, but Spike was a dragon, and assistant to Twilight 'I need every book in the library RIGHT NOW!' Sparkle. He could handle this, no sweat! Now he really WAS a Knight! Now he just needed to save his fair Lady! Spike turned, only to find the wolf lying on the ground next to him. It looked pointedly at its empty back, then back at the young dragon. It didn't take long for Spike to puzzle it out. "You... want me to ride you?" he asked uncertainly. He was no stranger to the act- Twilight would often throw him on her back when the two were going somewhere, his little legs unable to keep up with the large strides a pony could take. It was strange, though, that this animal was practically asking him to get on its back. The wolf simply stared back at him with cool blue eyes. There were many reasons why he shouldn't do it, his inner Twilight nagged. This was a strange animal. It was too dangerous, he shouldn't even have a sword, he could hurt himself. The wolf had ponynapped him from the library-! Rarity. The little dragon threw his weight up over the back of the wolf, awkwardly long sword in hand, shield grasped in the other, and grasped the longish 'mane' that the wolf sported with his shield arm. He rocked back as the wolf stood up underneath him and padded silently forward. I don't know what this thing wants. But it trusted me with a sword and wants me to go to the quarry. Towards Rarity. I will save you, my love. --- A rainbow appeared in the air of the dimly lit, surprisingly large caves. One end led to a downed Diamond Dog, askew in a clatter of armor, his yellow-glowing eyes rolling as his tongue lolled from his mouth and onto the cave floor. The other end led to a cyan coated, rainbow haired mare, who was in the process of driving two very hard hooves into the armor of another dog. With agility second to none, the mare twisted her body and slammed her back hooves into the dog in a vicious buck, using the force to jump start her next attack run. Behind her, the dog crumpled to the floor. The rainbow-haired pegasus was already streaking towards her next target. Awwwww yea! Rainbow Dash lived for this. The rush of adrenaline as she pulled off yet another daring move, pushing herself to the limits in gravity-defying acts. Action was her lifeblood, and Danger was literally her middle name. Kicking flank and saving ponies? Where else would she be?! Certainly not sleeping! No, she'd never let her friends down like that! Okay, so she was a bit of a heavy sleeper, but it came with the job! The weather lead was on call 24/7! She didn't get a full night's sleep most nights; it wasn't her fault her hours weren't always the normal of everypony else! So she had strategically spaced naps throughout the day, to keep her in tip-top shape. Rainbow's ears drooped slightly. It hurt a little that AJ hadn't come and got her to catch the wolf, but she couldn't blame her; the only one of their friends who could fly was Fluttershy, AJ never had a chance at waking her up from the ground. No, her shame came from later that afternoon. She'd taken her usual nap on a nice and fluffy cloud, out of the way and hard to find. Halfway through, the diamond dogs had attacked; she hadn't heard a thing. Rarity had been taken; Rainbow had continued to snooze. Scootaloo had been ponynapped; Rainbow had dreamed of performing in the Wonderbolts. She hadn't woken until the attack was almost over. Rainbow snorted and refocused on beating the snot out of the Diamond Dog in front of her. Her friends had been taken on HER watch. These dogs wouldn't get away with that, not if she and her friends had anything to say about it! Rainbow rocketed past Twilight, the magical prodigy using her large array of spells to confound and disable the dogs. Right now, she had three dogs with their feet literally rooted to the floor, a partial transformation that disabled those dogs. The harness connecting a pony to a ore cart full of gems was held in a magenta glow- the egghead was doing alright. To the side, AJ bucked and kicked and lassoed dogs. A pile of unconscious canines was growing quickly. Rainbow grinned and swerved towards the orange cowpony. Picking her target, Rainbow sped towards the dog, planted her front hooves in the ground and delivered a devastating buck that sent if flying into a cavern wall. She flashed a smile at AJ. "Thirty seven!" Applejack grinned in return. "Forty! You got some catchin' up to do, Dash!" Rainbow set her jaw. She wouldn't let that cowpoke beat her! "Won't be there for long, AJ!" she shouted back. It. Was. On! Movement caught her attention. Near the entrance to the cave, beyond where Pinkie was causing her own trademarked brand of havoc, Fluttershy was directing the freed ponies out of the caverns; such action had also attracted the attention of several dogs, which were heading for her now. Well, Dash wasn't about to let them get there. Powerful flaps of her wings accelerated her faster than a normal pegasus could manage. Moments later, she delivered a flying kick to the jaw of the lead dog. Twist, buck, flare, fly, buck, headbutt- the battle was short and vicious, but in the end, Rainbow stood over four dogs, all knocked silly. Forty-one. She looked over her shoulder. "All clear, Fluttershy!" Rainbow chuckled at the squeak she received- good old Fluttershy. Flutters would always be there to pick Rainbow's spirit up, and in return Rainbow would always defend her friend. Situation clear, Rainbow took off again, looking for dogs to defeat and ponies to free. She ducked into a corridor, followed it, and found another large cavern, with more ponies and more guards. Rainbow grinned. BAM! POW! The guards never stood a chance. "That. Was. Awesome!" came the excited voice of a young filly. Scootaloo, wings bound to her sides with buckles and a shovel by her side, looked at Rainbow with stars in her eyes. Rainbow landed next to the excited young pony. "Yea, I guess I am pretty awesome," Rainbow said nonchalantly, idly examine her hoof. She grinned at her Number 1 Fan. "You alright there, squirt?" she asked, taking the straps that bound the young filly's wings in her mouth. A quick tug here, a pull there, and the harness dropped to the ground. "That was so cool it was like bam! Whoosh! Pow! Pew pew zoom!" The young filly acted out her words with exuberant hoof motions. Rainbow grinned- the squirt was obviously alright. "Alright, kiddo, I've got a big job for you," Rainbow said, cutting off the dramatic reenactment of her awesomeness. Scootaloo looked up at her idol with expectant eyes. "You and me? We need to free everypony, ok? Problem is, there's still more ponies out there who still have dogs guarding them. I gotta go show them just who they're messing with. So, you think you can free all these ponies and head down the corridor I came from?" "Yes Ma'am!" Scootaloo said with a wing salute. Rainbow chuckled at the sight. "Knew I could count on you, squirt," Rainbow said, tousling the filly's mane. She liked this kid. She watched Scootaloo go towards a stallion from Ponyville to help remove the straps attaching him to an orecart before taking off and heading down another cave corridor. They were safe now. But they hadn't found everypony yet. They hadn't found Rarity yet. "EEEEEEYYYEEEK!" A particularly girly scream split the air. Rainbow could practically feel the horror and distaste. "UNHAND ME YOU FILTHY BRUTE! HELP, SOMEPONY HELP!" Yep, that was Rarity alright. Rainbow zoomed down a corridor- which turned out to be a dead end, with no pony or guard there, only iron gates. Cursing, she backtracked and tried another route. This time, she emerged into a large, smoke filled, torch-lit cavern. Much like many of the other caverns she had flown into in the last hour. The difference was the white unicorn with purple curled hair that was being bodily dragged away by a large dog. Rainbow sped towards them, prismatic color in her wake. The dog dragging Rarity away by the horn saw her coming. With a bark, soldiers abandoned their pony charges and jumped between Rainbow and Rarity. She dodged one, bypassed another, but was forced to swerve and take one dog out with hoof-to-paw combat. She didn't let up though, barely even blinked- she had eyes only for her friend. The dog was getting close to an iron portcullis now. Rainbow cursed and put on more speed, only to get dragged back by her tail. She didn't even look back as she kicked the dog responsible with a hoof and poured on more speed, only to be blocked by two more of the yellow-eyed freaks. She blasted through them, body-checked another dog out of the way, reached out her hoof to meet Rarity's as the unicorn cried out to her- The portcullis between Rainbow and Rarity slammed shut with grim finality. Rainbow, unable to slow down in time, barreled into the wrought iron bars. She stuck her hooves through, trying in vain to reach her best friend- something, anything! "RARITY!" she screamed. "RAINB-" Rarity was cut off by a vicious yank on her horn by the dog dragging her- the hulking dog, without the strange yellow eyes of his compatriots, looked strangely familiar- and the rest of Rarity's plea was cut off by sobs. Moments later, she was dragged out of sight around the corner. "NO! RARITY!" Rainbow Dash had failed her friends for the second time that day. --- Fido dragged the whiny pony away from the caverns where there was fighting. When the ponies had attacked, the Alpha had turned to Fido with one command: get the whiny pony. Fido did not know why Rover wanted whiny pony so badly, but he would not disobey. Pony had stopped resisting, so Fido cautiously let go of pony's horn. Pony did not resist or bolt, so Fido picked up the leash and pulled pony along. Pony was not resisting now, Fido was thankful. Fido even more thankful that pony was not whining- Fido could deal with faint pony noises pony was making. He turned a corner and found himself face to face with his Alpha. He yelped I surprise, but quickly recovered. "I have whiny pony," Fido said. Pony did not speak- pony had even stopped faint pony sounds. Rover nodded. "Good. Put pony in cell by eels. Place best dogs there to guard," Rover commanded. He hesitated a moment. "Hide key," Rover told him. "Keep safe." Rover nodded and put a paw to his breast pocket. Inside was an ornate key, one with a ruby-carved skull of a Diamond Dog on the end. Created with Rover's new magic, the key was the only way to get into the throne room, where the wealth of their clan was stored. Rover had given one to him, one to Spot, and kept one for himself. A thought occurred to him. "Boss, what we do about ponies?" "Ignore. Leave all dogs on other side of one way gates. Nothing gets in." Fido was slightly shocked at this. Leave them? Pack was strongest with numbers, most dogs were on the other side of special gates! But... Pack was losing. Special gates only ever let dogs out, never back in unless opened from inside. Maybe it would keep ponies out. Rover growled, a clear warning to Fido. Alpha was in charge. "Yes, boss, yes boss!" he hurriedly placated. Tugging on the leash, Fido led whiny pony away, thinking as hard as he could about where to hide the key he had been entrusted with. --- "There we go, all free ma'am!" Spike held the remains of the harness in his claws as the creame colored mare gave him a quick nuzzle of gratitude before cantering off towards the exit. Spike smiled. He and the wolf had entered the caverns by way of a series of tunnels, and had found themselves in the midst of a pony-slave mining operation. The wolf had taken out the guards while Spike freed the ponies; the wolf was surprisingly understandable for not being able to talk. It made Spike wonder just how smart it was. Still, better to have the wolf on his side, rather than against him. The guards had never stood a chance. Spike walked over towards the last pony, who was currently being freed by the wolf. Bon Bon didn't seem very comfortable with the fangs near her belly, but trussed up as she was to the orecart, she didn't have much of a choice. Spike watched as the wolf gently nosed her belly, working his teeth through the buckles that held the harness fast to the mare. Bon Bon shuddered, the contact reminding her just how vulnerable she was to this predator. The wolf carefully worked his teeth into the space between the harness and the mare; she froze as the ivory canines touched her belly. Then the wolf pulled, loosening the buckle and freeing the mare. She practically jumped away from the wolf, but hesitated once she was a few feet away. "Th-thank you?" she said uncertainly. The wolf said nothing, merely stared at poor Bon Bon for a few awkward moments. Then it turned towards Spike and padded over. Spike just shrugged at the poor mare's confusion and pointed towards the exit where the others were heading. She turned nod galloped off. "Well, that's all the ponies in here," Spike said. "But still no sign of Rarity." The wolf cocked its head as it settled in front of him. "We have to find Rarity. Rar-it-ty," Spike said with emphasis. The wolf ignored him, only an ear turned towards the little dragon any indication he was not being completely ignored. "Fine, fine," Spike grumbled, slinging himself up onto the wolf's back, careful not to let his new sword hit anything. He settled onto the back in a comfortable position, shield covering his left leg and holding on to the wolf's mane, sword held relaxed away from his new mount and himself. "We'll do it your way. But we'd bettered find Rarity." The wolf did not respond as it rose to its paws and padded forward. It started down a another corridor, one with torches at long intervals. Riding a wolf was very different than riding a pony, Spike reflected. Ponies were not quiet or particularly subtle creatures; each hoofstep slammed into the ground on their hardy hooves, sending impacts through their body, shocks that Spike could feel through his mount. Additionally, a pony, even even one as muscular and strong as Applejack, had a rounded belly, a natural side effect of being a herbivorous species; Spike's legs were always spread wide around the soft stomach of a pony. But the wolf... its appearance was deceptive. The fur layer was surprisingly thick, and beneath it, Spike did not find the soft belly of a pony; no, his legs met corded muscle, hard as a rock, no fat or softness to his feet. And the way it moved... it moved like water around a stone. Riding it was smooth, no matter the speed- Spike did not feel the speed of the wolf on his spine, only in the movements of the shoulderblades and muscles beneath him. After riding on a wolf, Spike had to say that no pony would ever compare. A pony could never be as graceful; a pony was powerful, stately, maybe even majestic, but not even Celestia could compare to the grace and fluidity that came naturally to the wolf. To a predator. The wolf slowed in an area with precious few torches- darkness encompassed them, the light from the torches ahead barely able to light their way, the light from behind unable to reach them. Spike held his sword at ready, but the wolf wasn't acting like there were Diamond Dogs around. The wolf began sniffing around, as though looking for something. When the wet nose raised again, something was clutched between its teeth. It was a lantern, Spike saw in the dim light, a wrought iron cage with a candle and wick in the center, the handle firmly clenched between the wolf's fearsome teeth. It turned its head to the side, letting Spike see the unlit wick at the center. He took the hint. He inhaled, and let forth an emerald green flame from his maw. The candle showed bright through the darkness now, revealing a corridor that had been hidden in the inky black depths. The wolf turned down the new path, lantern showing the way. It was not long before they came to the portcullis. Spike could feel the power contained within the steel bars- it felt like Celestia when she raised the sun, and something else he didn't know. The lantern showed other things as well- four raised bowls, two on the near side of the gate and two on the other side, with wood piled inside. The wolf set down the lantern and went close to one of the bowls. Spike felt an icy ball of fear in his gut, and involuntarily readied his sword and tightened his grip on his shield. The darkness beyond the portcullis was something he had never seen in his worst nightmare. It devoured the lantern light like a ravenous beast, revealing nothing. A manticore could be twenty feet away and he would never even know it was there. Spike shook his head and steeled himself. The wolf hadn't steered him wrong yet. If it thought this was the way to go... then he would trust it knew what it was doing. If it wanted him to light these torches, he would do it. Spike took a deep breath and lit the wood within the bowl. Fire crackled into existence, changing from emerald-green to red-orange as the wood popped and burned. He lit the other moments later. The sound of protesting gears rang throughout the corridor. Slowly, achingly, the portcullis rose in the light of the fires. The wolf grabbed the lantern and went through with Spike on his back, sword at the ready. Behind them, the portcullis slammed shut and the torches went out as though snuffed.