Again, sorry for the longness.
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I awoke silently as the call came from nowhere, the sound of Zin's voice echoing through the cave. “All dogs, report to your posts with the weapon of your choice. It’s almost show time!” This was followed by the dull clanking of hundreds of weapons and the movement of hundreds of dogs at once. How anypony could put up with that noise I don't know, and how Rainbow Dash slept through it I knew less.
I gauged the time I had been asleep to be less than fifteen minutes. Can't a pony get a good nap around here? Well, I thought, Rainbow Dash can. I almost chuckled out loud at this but the sound of approaching paws kept me quiet. I feigned my sleep as felt some dogs shadow cast over me from the outside of the pillbox. Soon after SilverClaw's voice popped up, “Do you have the spell ready? It could take their numbers down very quickly.”
Zin replied almost immediately, saying, “If I use it, I will be left unable to cast magic during the battle. Are you sure you want me to do it?” He groaned and the logs shifted ever so slightly, indicating that he was leaning against them. “If you say so. I just hope it works like we aim to.”
I heard the shifting of fur and the sounds of claws echoing away on the stone. Once they were gone, I got up and stretched, extending my hoofs to crack my back, only to be stopped by the ammo box on my back. "Gonna have to fix that," I mumbled. Walking over to the mouth of the pillbox, I unslung the machine gun from my shoulder, along with a quick detach tripod I had brought along. It would allow me to sustain fire for an extended period of time, without having to deal with all the effects of that recoil. It snapped in place with an audible click. Placing it on the ground in front of the hole, I heard paw steps behind me to see Zin entering the pillbox. He leaned against the wall again, looking straight at me.
"How can I help y'all today?" I said, turning back towards my work. Taking the machine gun from the ground, I placed it on the tripod, another audible click telling me that it was secure and in place. With the press of a button on the tripod, three stakes drove hard into the stone, locking it in place.
Zin spoke up then, saying casually, "Dunno, a gun would be nice.” I placed a hoof on the gun to hold me up as I laughed for a good thirty seconds. When I was finally done, I wiped away a tear with a hoof and turned towards Zin who was looking a little flustered.
"Oh kid, y'all can't be serious, can you?" he looked me straight in the eyes and nodded. I let out another small chuckle. I laid a hoof on the gun emplacement and said, "This here is the only one I have with me. And you're sure as hay not getting any other weapons I might have."
He shook his head at me with a grin, "What other guns do you have?"
I turned back to what I was doing, and called over my shoulder, "Oh a few. None I would lend to you however." I felt him staring at the back of me head and heard him shift around a bit.
“I wouldn't need to use it very much. It’s just nice to have a little reassurance.” he said. Oh kid, don't you take no for an answer? He shifted around a little bit more before saying again, “So you got those defenses working? I don’t want to have to rely entirely on the gun there and my spell.” I gave another small laugh, patting the guns receiver.
"You don't have to worry about her not doing her job. We don't call her the 'Buzzsaw' for nothing. As for the defenses, you don't have to worry about those. Just when I give the word, tell everyone to cover their ears. Don't want nopony to loose their hearing after what I have planned." Aiming down the holo sight on the gun, I reached behind me and felt for the small tab at the bottom right of the box. Pulling hard, it made a ripping noise like a zipper as one of the belts came out. Lifting the top of the receiver up, I pulled the tab through the feed tray and slammed it shut, ripping the bolt back and loading a round in the chamber, the first three links of the belt sticking out on the right side.
"Now I'm done kid," I said getting up and turning towards him. "Now is there anything else y'all would like to ask me?" He, however, did not respond. Closing his eyes, his head began to saw ever so slightly, his ears twitching in different directions.
“Shit, they’re here early!” he exclaimed, ripping his sword from its sheath. Once it was free, he drew a finger across the flat of the blade, causing flames to erupt from the areas he had previously touched. He walked over to where I was standing next to my gun, staring intently at me. “You know, it sure would be nice to scare them off with your real form.” he snarled, his battle blood rising. “Whether or not you do, I want to make something clear. I am not the same kid you found bawling over how much his life sucked. None of those damn dogs better touch Dash, or you will find out how much I have changed, even if you are stronger than me.”
I gave him a quick grin, "Y'all don't have to worry about a thing kid. I've been doing this for longer than you've been alive. Now you would best be getting out of here before my own heat intensifies, because at that point I might not take so kindly to the tone you're using." I said with a feral grin. This was the moment, and I couldn't wait. "Now go tell your dogs the warning I gave y'all."
Walking over to the table, I gave it a small kick, sending Rainbow Dash flying out with a small, "Bah! What'd you do that for?!" she yelled, rubbing a hoof in her eye.
"Come on you lazy sot, we've got work to do. Their coming and I have to tell you what you'll be doing." I said, my teeth bared. "Oh and kid, let me show you something." With a sudden burst, I released the magic holding together my disguise, causing a rush of air in the pillbox. Dash stared in awe at my transformation as her hair wiped back, Zin simply gave me a nod.
"Dear Celestia!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, "You're an alicorn! That's why- With the magic- The flying. I see it all now!" Her eyes wide as she said this all.
I gave her another grin, "Yeah kid, I'm an alicorn. Now get over here and help me!" As I said this, Zin sprinted on all fours back to the lines of his own troops. Zin, I hope you tell them what I told you, else most of them might not be able to fight. Reaching into my bag, I produced two sound dampening headsets. Tossing on over to Rainbow Dash along with a small handheld radio I said, "Put that on. It'll keep your hearing intact as well as let us talk to each other at distance."
She gave it an odd look before fitting it over her ears and strapping the radio around her neck. "Can you hear me?" her voice came up, as she was tapping a cup of the headset with a hoof.
My voice broke over the radio, "Loud and clear kid. Now this is what I need for you to do. When I call plunger, I need you to hand me the plunger, first on the left then move down each time I call it." She nodded, "Next, when I call barrel change, I need you to flip open the top of the pack on my back, pull one of the long cylinders and jam it into the slot on the side of the gun." She nodded again, "Oh, and don't touch the barrel of the gun without the mitt on, or you'll burn you hooves. Other than that, stay close and observe me. If I tell you to fall back to the dogs, you do so. Leave me behind and get back, I'll be close behind y'all." She hesitated before nodding one last time.
"What is it exactly that that thing you have there do?" She said, pointing a hoof at the gun.
"This here," I said giving it a pat, "Is what will protect the entire clan from the dogs. For a short time at least."
"What about those things you were planting up there?" she said uncertainly.
I gave a short laugh, "Those, will give the dogs attacking a nasty bite in their hides."
She looked uncertainly at me, tilting her head to the side. "Lance, are you okay?"
I gave her a devious grin, "Spade, my name is Spade. You only have to call me that around the others. As for if I'm okay, I'm not so sure. I think I might like this a bit too much." She gave me an odd look, but simply nodded and smiled.
"I will admit, this is a bit exciting." she said, her own blood beginning to get up.
"Oh you have no idea how exciting this will get, no idea at all kid." I said giving her another grin, which she returned. "You like stunts?"
"Why, you're talking to the stunt master right here!" she said cheerily.
"Well that's fantastic!" I called ecstatically, "I've got a little show planned for everyone here if you're down."
She hopped around excitedly, "Oh you know it!"
"Great! Just when I call plunger, be sure to give it to me, wherever I am." I gave her a wink.
Turning towards my gun, I sighted it to the entrance of the cave, just before the first row of mines. Rainbow Dash came next to me, looking excitedly out of the hole in the front of the pillbox. For a minute, nothing happened, before I heard it. The pounding of a thousand paws on the ground. "Dash!" I called over the mic, "get the first plunger ready, there almost here!" she trotted back to the table, readying the first plunger in her hand.
The first few dogs appeared at the entrance to the cave, wielding assorted close range weapons as well as torches. A few of them were armored, although it wouldn't do much good. Launching out of the top of the pillbox, I hovered several meters above it, looking out over the dogs milling into the cave, just past the first row of mines. A few of them saw me and cried out, one calling, "Pony! You have no right being here, leave before you get hurt!" A few of those around him laughed, calling obscenities at me.
I laughed. A more maniacal laughter I had never heard from myself, or any other pony. "Not my business eh?" I shouted, projecting my voice across the entire cavern. "Well I'm about to make it, 'my business.'" Without a glance away from them, I called over the mic, "Dash, plunger!" Throwing it up with all her might, she launched it in the air towards me, which I swiftly caught. Sending a few flare like lights from my horn for show, which illuminated all of the surround caves with an eerie glow. I twisted the plunger around, and pushed it straight down.
Nothing after a second, and the same dog began to call, "A trick! What a-" he got no further as the delay on the mines set off, and the first row of S-Mines launched into the air. The dogs had no time to react, as almost immediately the mines exploded. The sound was deafening as the explosion rocked the cavern, and dust fell from the ceiling. That was not the only sound as the roughly 2000 steal balls sprayed outwards from all the mines, cutting through the dogs and echoing off the walls. There was an almost endless screech as the balls echoed off the rock walls of the cave, scoring it in hundreds of places. I heard screaming over the com from Rainbow Dash. Looking down, I saw her huddled on the ground, her hoofs over her ears and trying to keep most of the sound out. While the headsets did a great job of keeping most of the sound out, some still got through. Looking back over to the dogs, the first few rows to enter were gone, mangled bodies littering the floors, blood and gore smeared everywhere. Those who hadn't died, were now screaming and howling as shock set in. Screaming also came from behind, as those dogs who hadn't covered their ears began howling in pain. I laughed out loud again, flying back down into the pillbox and picking up Rainbow Dash.
"Kid! Kid, are you okay?" I screamed at her.
She shook her head, calling back, "Yeah I'm okay! That was loud! We have three more of those?!" I nodded at her with a grin.
"Yeah, three more. No time for talking now though, I think they're coming back." I was about to turn towards my gun, when a disturbance in the air at the entrance to the pillbox caught my attention. Someone was about to blink into here. After a moment, Zin appeared half a meter off the ground and landed with a thump on his feet. Dashed nearly jumped out of her skin, galloping near me frightened, she turned and with a look of surprise eyed Zin as some of the dust cleared. He let out a chuckle at her reaction.
"Fearless eh?" he said, recovering.
"You can use magic!" Dash exclaimed, her coat still standing on end. "That's what all of your marks mean!"
Zin's smile was still bright on his face as he said, "Yeah, now you know my dirty little secret." Looking past me he examined the smoldering wreck in-front of the dogs as they were beginning to move forward, more cautious than last time. "Is that your work... Lance?"
I nodded, "Yeah, one of the surprises for them."
He continued looking past me, eyeing the dogs as they advanced. "Are you, you know, going to do anything about them?" I cast a casual glance back and looked over the dogs position in relevance to the next row of mines.
"Oh yeah, I've got a few seconds before I need to do anything." My disregard for the dogs moving up and my casual tone seemed to anger him a bit.
"Let me know how a spear feels in your body, alright?" he growled at me, giving me a dirty look.
I gave another laugh like before, it rung through the cavern and caused the advancing dogs to pause for a moment, expecting another trick. "Oh kid, fine, ruin my fun why don't you." I turned to Rainbow Dash who was still a little shocked and staring at Zin. "Hey Dash, plunger!" Snapping back to reality, she snatched up the second plunger, tossing it over to me. I gave Zin a maniacal grin. "Cover your ears kid." I turned it a half turn.
"Wha-" he started, his hands moving from his sides.
"Too late." I cooed, pushing the plunger down. He had just enough times to get his hands over his ears before the delay was over and the mines skyrocketed in the air. Several cries came from the line of dogs before the deafening explosion, this time slightly closer, buffeted the cave. Again, the screeching of nearly 2000 steal balls echoing off of the rock. Zin was huddled into a ball on the ground, a grimace on his face has he practically clawed at his ears. Rainbow Dash was prepared this time, putting added pressure to the headset and blocking most of the sound. I just sat grinning at Zin, who looked up at me in terror.
Over the noise I called to him, "Well, you asked for it."
"That was awesome!" he screamed at the top of his lungs as the screeching subsided, "Painful, but awesome." After a few more seconds, the moans began to come from the line of clan dogs. They still hadn’t completely learned their lesson. Although they would probably be more cautious now.
"Good reaction time kid," I called over to Dash who beamed at the comment.
"Yeah, well they don't call me Rainbow- And Dash for nothing." Coining her classic line. I let out a small chuckle and extended a hoof to help Zin to his feet. He pushed it aside with a paw and hopped to his feet.
"Two things," he said angrily, "First, little more warning before doing that again. Second, are you really protecting the clan with those things? The tunnel collapsed and we are disconnected from the others. It’s just us out here now."
I shook my head at him, my tone soothing. "Aw, kid, don't ruin all my fun. As for that tunnel collapse." I gave him an evil grin and a shrug, "That just leaves more for me." I turned back and saw the bodies of those dogs who were unfortunate enough to be in the first few lines to be scattered about, torn and gore covering the floor and walls all around. The lines behind those were just beginning to pick themselves up, many a dog rubbing their ears and heads, their hearing gone. They reformed their ranks and even slower than before, the rows of dogs began working their way forward, eyes sweeping the ground.
Turning back to Zin and Dash, I asked him, "So what's your 'big plan'? I only have two more of those left and while she's a good girl, my gun can't hold them off indefinitely." At that, he extended his right arm forward, and with a flick, fire began to consume his arm, tracing all the way up and expanding to the rest of his upper torso, extending to the other arm and consuming his entire upper body excluding his head.
“When you’re out of bombs, I think we called for a massive heatwave.” A malevolent grin appeared on his face, as he pictured some inner thought. “I suggest giving me a headset, because that hurts like hell with my heightened senses.” I thought for a moment. I didn't have another headset but I did have one small affair with one ear cup and microphone that allowed the user to listen and talk with other people on the com. Not much for ear protection though.
After a moment, I grabbed it out of my pack and laid it on the ground at my hoofs. Zin gave it a questioning glance, "That's not going to help me much."
"You're right," I said with a nod and threw him my headset. "They're not for you though. I can preserve my hearing while you may not be able to. So take that and I'll use this to stay in contact with the two of you. It's linked wirelessly to the radio in my pack, so you don't need to worry about a radio. Other than that, you're all set. Just add some pressure when I set off the mines like Dash did and it shouldn't be to bad."
He cast me a concerned glance, looking over the little cup and mic on the left side of my head, held together by some straps. He didn't say anything however as I turned to survey the dogs. They were still moving and it was just about time to detonate the third line of mines. I called over to Dash, "Plunger." She promptly threw it over and put her hoofs over the headset. Zin proceeded to do the same and as I turned the plunger, I put a small magical barrier over my ears to keep out the worst of the sound.
The shock-wave was more intense this time, even a few pieces of shrapnel grazed the front and sides of the pillbox, although none entered. The effect on the dogs was much the same as the previous two explosions. Although after this time, they moved up a few dogs with wood and iron banded shields to the front two rows. Those won't do you much good, I thought. They advanced quicker this time, eager to get through the lines as quickly as possible.
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"Dash, plunger." She tossed me over the last one and took her position with her hooves over her ears. I called over the mic, "This time, be sure to stay under the wood until I tell you. The last row is much closer and I can't guarantee none of the shrapnel will get through the opening." Both Zin and Dash obeyed, curling in tight balls on the ground, well in the safety of cover. Grabbing the plunger with a hoof, I twisted it and pushed it down. Just as I did so, I quickly undid the clips holding the gun to the tripod and held it close to my chest. Not point risking scuttling the gun due to a stray piece of shrapnel.
The explosion was not a second afterwards, sending the screaming steal balls through the air and into the walls of the cave. There were a few thumps as some of them hit the front with extreme force, although none managed to get through the tree. At least a dozen pieces threw the opening, causing an eerie whistle as they flew. Almost as quick as it had gone off, it was over. I lessened the spell over my ears, just enough to block the sounds the gun would be making. Threw that I heard many moans and curses as the dogs realized their shields did nothing to stop the explosions.
Popping back up into my place, I quickly re-attached the gun to the mount, securing a line of sight at the recovering dogs. Soon girl, I thought, soon. I gave it a little pat as my two companions picked themselves off the ground.
Zin's voice was the first to break over the radio, "That's it then? You're all out of mines?" I gave him a nod, to which the fire resumed its flowing. "Alright then, time to bring the heat." He fled out the back of the pillbox, smoke trailing behind him.
I called over to Dash, "Get over here and hold the belt straight. I don't want this things jamming on me right away."
She gave me a salute and a quick, "Yes sir!" before moving to my left, keeping to the cover of log and looking over. Gripping her hoofs around the belt, she held it gently up.
"Don't actually hold it, just support it in the air." she complied, loosening her grip and merely holding her hooves under it keeping it in line with the breech as best she could. "That's good kid, just like that. You know what to do with the barrels?" She nodded, the mitt already at her side.
From the back Zin hopped up onto the log above us, the flames surrounding the upper half of his body had now also shifted to the lower half of his body, encompassing all of it but his head and neck. From him, I looked to the dogs to see that had stopped their advance, and now stared at Zin atop our little pillbox. Although there was something not right about him. He was... Changing.
“I’ve had enough of you worthless piles of fur.” His voice was higher pitched, different now from his guttural accent all Diamond Dogs share. That wasn't the only thing however, his fur seemed to vanish and it its place was left a pale pink layer of skin. He lost some height as well from his transformation, standing at 1.7 meters tall. Atop his head was a shaggy brown mass of hair and his armor now hung loosely on him, from the lack of fur and height. Threw all of his changes, his marking continued their existence, reflecting dully against his skin. Lifting his arms forward, he pointed at the line of dogs as he said, “Tell the devil I said hi.”
That was the only thing he said as the flames surrounding his body concentrated their energy around his hands. The energy shot forth from his hands, incinerating all of the dogs in its path, spreading out over the floor of the cave. As soon as the energy quit from his hands, he fell backwards, landing behind Dash and I with a dull thud. Both of us turning around, I looked at him with a confused glance.
“Well... Been a while since I’ve seen my own skin...” he said, propping himself up on his... hands. He crawled on his hands and... feet, to the nearest wall, his armor scrapping against the ground. “I’m going to try to NOT do that again...” He said with a sigh, laying himself against the wall.
Dash continued to stare at him, mouth agape. "But- But- But-" she stuttered, rubbing her hooves in her eyes in disbelief. "What ARE you Zin?" she exclaimed.
"I'm a... A human." he said tiredly. "And this is what I really look like."
I shook my head, "Looks like everyone's secrets are being exposed today." The two of them remained silent, Rainbow Dash still staring at Zin, while he himself looked a little glum. To break the silence I asked, "Do YOU have any secrets for us Dash?" She jumped, surprised, and looked at me, her eyes still full of disbelief.
"No, not really..." she said with a nervous laugh.She turned her attention back towards the front of the cave, where the still sizable army of the clan dogs were picking themselves up. "Hey, they're coming back... Shouldn't we get ready?"
"Yeah kid, we should." I said returning to my firing position as Rainbow Dash retained her grip on the belt. "Zin, are you gonna keep sitting there or what?"
He breath deeply, “Hell if I know. In my current form, the best I can do is be quick on my feet.” There was a soft clinking sound as he got up from the ground, followed by the sound of steal on leather, as well as the all to familiar sound of a click, then the rasping of a blade.
“Luckily for me, they are slow and ignorant.” he said. I preformed one or two more check on my gun, making sure all was in order. “I’d say it’s about time to kick some ass, would you agree?” I took aim down my sighting picture, just as the dogs were reforming ranks, already at the 100 meter mark and closing quickly. They've finally gotten the guts to try and charge us.
"Kid, you're about to learn what kicking 'ass' truly means." With that, I reached for the trigger. Dash braced herself and Zin was still behind me doing something. I breathed in, and out slowly. At the apex of my out-breathing, I pulled the trigger for three seconds. Fire erupted from the muzzle of the gun, bathing the whole pillbox in an orange glow. The links from the belt shot out of the right side of the gun as the round flew to their targets. Several of the dogs rippled as the rounds tore through their bodies, splattering blood over their comrades. The bullets continued through several lines of dogs before I let out another three second burst, ripping threw more and more dogs.
After the second burst they ran, trying to overtake us with sheer speed. Swiveling the gun, I ripped threw the rest of the belt, sending the front line of dogs sprawling. With lightening speed, I flipped open the cover and ripped another belt out of my pack. Placing it in, I closed the top and ripped the charging handle. Once again I began pulling the trigger in short bursts, sending limbs and blood flying through the air. My blood was going now and I let out a maniacal laugh, "Come on!" I screamed. "Come at me!"
The belt was soon out and I called to Dash, "Barrel!" She rushed behind me, pulling out one of the spare barrels. I opened the barrel cover and with mitt in hand, she pulled the burning hot barrel out and shoved the new one in. I closed it and ripped out another belt, shoving it in the breech. I ripped the charging handle back, and once again sent rounds into the dogs. Their numbers kept advancing, despite the rounds I kept putting into them.
After a while the actions got methodical, I would go threw a belt or two and Rainbow Dash would replace the barrels. After about twenty minutes of fighting, I was halfway through my ammo, and their numbers kept advancing over the bodies of their fallen comrades. The current belt rain dry and I did a check of the barrel. It needed to be replaced again. Damn. I only had half of them left and I'm already over extending their use, as they were only meant for the twelve belts, not twenty-four of them. This is going to run close. Zin had begun to pace around, becoming impatient as he had nothing to do but wait.
The dogs had began to make advancements, moving faster when I had to reload or change barrels. The bravest of them had come within twenty-five meters of the pillbox, which didn't worry me that much. I was having too much fun with this. Every so often I would call out out at them, challenging their dog-hoods or what have you. This only encouraged them to run faster into my fire.
Zin came up next to me, "Is there anything that I can do? Sitting her and doing nothing has gotten me edgy." I turned and snapped at him, rage fueling me.
"Fine. If you want to help go outside and keep them away. With this little delay they'll be running up the sides so you can have the honor of keeping them off of me." I turned back without a second thought and rammed in another belt, loading a round and began firing again. I hadn't lied either, a few dogs were skirting past the edges and began to crawl around the pillbox. Zin rushed out to confront them while Rainbow Dash stayed, doing her job with the belts.
"How are you holding up kid?" She snapped out of her daze and looked around frantically only to calm once seeing me still here.
"I'm... Okay. The constant noise has kinda dulled my senses..."
I gave her a little knock on the shoulder, still shooting. "It's okay kid. Good that you don't get used to it." The belt ran out as I said this. "Need another barrel Dash."
She nodded and retrieved the barrel, repeating the motion with replacing it. Loading another belt, she returned to hold it aloft. "Lanc- Spade. I don't usually admit to this kinda thing but... I'm scared. Do you think we'll get out? They just keep coming with no end..."
I gave her a nod, "Yeah kid, I do. I'll get you out of here, both of you, or I'll die trying." This seemed to reassure her, if only a little.
"Are you afraid of death?" She asked.
I loaded in another belt, ramming the charging handled back and forward. "Of death? No. I could stand at the gates of the underworld and fight until I breathed my last. I am afraid of loosing those close to me... I would go to the underworld and back to protect them." She gave me a weak smile.
"Would you do that for Zin... Or me?" I stopped firing for a moment and turned my head towards her, giving her a warm smile.
"Yeah kid, I would. For Zin and for you too. You're my friend... Well you more than him, but still, I protect my friends." She let out a small chuckle and pointed out the window. "Oh, right." At that I continued firing, and settled back into my routine. The brief clashes between Zin and the dogs who were lucky enough to make it threw started to increases as my ammo began to run out. After another twenty minutes Zin appeared at the back of the pillbox fighting off a group of six dogs.
"I can't hold them for much longer!" he called over his shoulder. Dash gave me a concerned look as he was pushed further into the pillbox. I did a quick check. The barrel was just replaced with the first one we used, so it last one or two more belts. Which was all I had left. One in the gun and one in the pack. I ripped the one left in the pack out and handed it to Rainbow Dash, dropping the pack on the ground.
"Hold that until I tell you to!" She grabbed it quickly, wrapping it around her shoulder as she looked over as Zin fell to the ground. I glanced at the gun, not enough time to detach it. Acting quickly, I bucked it at the base of the mount, breaking the gun off of the hinge. Grabbing it from the air, I slung the belt over one my left leg and grabbed the bipod with my left hoof, holding the trigger with the right. The dogs at the entrance gave me a look of sheer terror and I gave them a wicked smile. "Bye bye," I cooed as I opened with a two second burst into the lot, sending all of them flying back.
I looked over to Dash who was staring at me in shock. "Let's go Dash, we're leaving!" I trotted forward on my two back legs and look at Zin. "Hey kid, you good to go?" He got up and wiped away a trail of blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.
"Hell yeah. Let's get out of here." He said, grabbing his sword in his right hand and my knife in his left. I gave him a nod and dashed in front of him, both him and Dash close behind. We moved as a unit to the front of the pillbox where the remaining dogs looked at us with sneers on their faces.
"It's useless," one in the front row called, "Surrender and we'll make your deaths quick." I survey the dogs all around us, plotting a route straight threw the center of them. I let out another one of my laughs which made a few of them flinch.
"Nuts!" I shouted and ran forward, opening up on the row of dogs directly in-front of us, leaving a small gap. For a moment the dogs just stood there as we surged into their ranks, unsure of what to do.
A voice somewhere behind us called, "Kill them you fools! Don't let them get away!" At his call, the dogs began attacking us from all directions as we quickly made out way to the entrance of the cave. I ran threw the first belt quickly calling to Dash for the one across her shoulder, I paused as I stopped to reload. "Cover me for a sec!" Zin quickly moved closer, keeping the dogs off of me and Dash. I was done within a few seconds calling over at him. "Alright, let's get moving!" We continued our charge through the dogs, the entrance still fifty meters away when I ran threw the last belt. When the click alerted me to the lack of ammunition I threw the gun onto my back, locking it securely in place. Once the gun was secure, I reached a hoof back and pulled my sword from its sheath. It glistening in the faint firelight, as moved my hoof and put the hilt into my mouth. I called to the two of them using telepathy, 'Alright, I'm going to clear a path, you two need to keep up. I really don't want to have to get through these dogs again to come back for you.' They both jumped slightly but nodded.
As soon as I got a nod from both of them I extended my wings, flapping them hard and propelling myself forward. I whipped my head back and forth slicing dogs left and right as I pushed threw their ranks. As I flew, I checked behind me to see Rainbow Dash carrying Zin on her back as she flew with all her might to keep up with me. A few of the dogs smarted up to my tactic and tried pulling me down and slicing me with their swords or spears. One of them managed to jab a spear into my left hind leg which slowed me considerably. I barred my teeth against the hilt and continued forward, ignoring the pain and everything else as I surged forward, breaking through the last line of dogs and emerging out into the night sky. I looked back and saw Rainbow Dash doing the same, coming out of the line of dogs with Zin on her back hacking away at those that tried to stop him. Before they fully got away, one dog threw his spear which hit Zin squarely in his left shoulder. Zin cried out in pain as the spear pushed it way into the bone. Rainbow Dash let out a similar cry as the sudden added weight dragged her back down to the ground.
Flying straight down and turning in the air, I changed coarse to the both of them. They were beginning to be surrounded by dogs as Rainbow Dash slowly picked herself up, with a badly wounded Zin on her back. She wobbled a bit as she tried to fly, but to no avail. Zin tried to fight off the dogs with his sword, his left arm hanging loosely at his side, the knife still clutched in-between his fingers. I flew in-front of them and blasted away the dogs with a few powerful beats of my wings, sending them sprawling. Landing I turned quickly to Dash, shoving my sword back into its sheath.
"Kid, are you okay? Can you fly?!" I screamed at her.
"Yeah.. Not with him though." She motioned at Zin who was beginning to sway on her back.
"Alright, I'll carry him. You get into the air and keep yourself safe, I'll join you in a moment." She hesitated before moving next to me and sliding Zin onto my shoulders. As she did this the dogs started picking themselves us and advancing once again. "Fly!" I yelled at her. She obeyed, although she only raised herself about two meters in the air, casting us a worried glance.
With a deep breath, I flapped my wings, the weight of Zin, the gun, and the spear making it difficult to take off. It felt as if the tendons would rip out of their sockets with all of the effort. Gritting my teeth, I flapped harder, gaining a few meters of altitude. As I was flapping, I felt the sudden release of most of the weight on my back, launching me two meters higher with the sudden lack of weight. I turned around startled to see Zin landing on the ground.
He turned up to me calling out, “Get out of here while you still can, Spade.” Gripping his sword, he reached behind his back and cut the pole of the spear while the head remained embedded in his shoulder. I sat there, hovering, staring at him in disbelief. “Get the hell out of here!” He turned then, facing off against the horde of dogs in front of him, a dog attempted a slash at him but it was soon deflected only to have that same dog cut open at the mid-section. I didn't want to leave him, but it was his choice to make, his sacrifice, and I would not dishonor him by trying to intervene. I flew off, casting my thoughts in a wide arc around me. Zin, if you live through this, I'm going to kick the hay out of y'all. You here? You better get through this, I thought.
I caught up to Dash who was hoovering in the air thirty meters above the fighting below, looking down in disbelief. "He just jumped off... You can't leave him down there, can you?" I sighed, eyes straight ahead as I flew slowly past her, motioning for her to follow.
"I don't like it, not one bit... But it is his sacrifice to make, and I can't stop him from making it." She came up beside me, giving me a look full of pain and sorrow, but nodded. "It hurts to see him go after only just seeing him again..." I nodded and gave her a reassuring smile.
"I know it hurts. He isn't the first friend I've lost, but it still hurts." She began to tear up while we were flying, headed back across to the secret exit of the cave that SilverClaw had described to me. It pained me to see her like this, but my own pain was still kindling and it was best to let these things out.
We flew for a good twenty minutes with silence in-between the two of us, neither of us willing to bring up what had just happened, nor could we find anything else to talk about. It took as a while of flying to find the entrance, as the darkness still prevailed, but we eventually found it, in the middle of a rock outcropping near the Everfree forest. Outside there was a sole small light, illuminating the plain for several meters around. Dash had spotted it several miles away and we flew straight to it, hoping to find some sort of life. What we had discovered was far from what we had hoped. A lone dog sat outside a small door set into the rocks, holding the torch up, as if daring anything to come at it.
As we flew in closer, I recognized it as SilverClaw. She was sitting alone in the rocks, and a small sobbing noise seemed to come from her. Dash and I flew down slowly, announcing our presence as we landed. She jumped up, prying her sword out of its sheath and pointing it directly at us.
"Easy friend," I cooed, landing a meter away. Dash landed beside me, her head still down slightly with sorrow. At seeing us and the sound of my voice, SilverClaw jammed her sword back down its sheath, but did not ease up. Looking above, behind and around us.
"Where's Zin?" She asked, her voice full of worry.
"He stayed behind... Sacrificing himself to allow Dash and myself to escape." She nearly jumped out of her skin and began to start a dead run back in the direction of the cave. I held a hoof out and stopped her, grabbing her by the hem of her collar. "Let me got!" she growled, clawing at my hoof.
"No." I said, pulling her back and holding her straight in front of my eyes. "You can't go back for him, not by yourself. We'll come with you, but you have to promise me, no matter what happens, if there are still dogs down there, you can't rush down there to throw your life away."
She barred her teeth in a snarl, stiffly nodded her head in acknowledgement. "Fine. But if anything has happened to him, you'll be next." I gave her a nod, and let go of her. She remained where she was, despite her muscles trembling to set off.
"Rainbow Dash can carry you there, it'll be faster if we fly and I can barely move my wings after all the weight I've been carrying." SilverClawn nodded and moved over to Rainbow Dash, settling herself on her middle section, giving Dash plenty of room to move. We took off in tandem, flying off back in the direction of the cave. Through the flight, Rainbow Dash didn't complain once, holding her burden with silent respect. We flew through the night, using the clouds as cover against any unwanted eyes from below. It took us about ten minutes to get back to the cave, in which the remnants of a large battle ensued. The bodies of around two hundred dogs littered the ground, surround the standing figure of a lone combatant. He was breathing heavily and slumped against a rock, picking up something from the ground and stashing it on his person. As we flew in closer, I recognized the figure as Zin, who now once again resembled that of a Diamond Dog.
I went and landed near him, he jumped with surprise and turned quickly towards me, only to ease up once he saw me. These dogs are so jumpy, it's no wonder why few enough trust them. He called out to me, “Spade, I see you came back for me. With Silver and Dash, too.” As he said this, Dash landed next to me, letting SilverClaw off who once again, restrained herself from running up too him.
He gripped his left arm, wincing slightly. “Did any of the clan make it out alive?” he said addressing SilverClaw.
She shook her head in despair, “Not even the pups were spared.”
“Then it’s just like our vision. We must go to Celestia, and hope that the other alicorns got word of the upcoming attack and are already here.”
"Dear Celestia kid, can y'all not keep quiet?" I said, shaking my head at him. "Yeah, we can go to the princess alright, and I'm sure she'll agree to see you." I paused, "Even after your little stunt at the castle."
Zin let out a small laugh, "Oh yeah, I had almost forgotten about that." Dash gave us both a quizzical look, stopping first on Zin, then on me.
"What 'little stunt' did you pull at the castle Zin?" she started before her eyes went wide. "It was you who caused the explosion and hurt the guards!" Dash launched at him, flying fast before I caught her wing in the air, pulling her back.
"Whoa there Dash. No need to get hasty." I said through clenched teeth.
"Please Dash, let me explain. You honestly think that I would want to hurt anypony on purpose? I know more than I want to about some of them, and I didn’t have a choice." He said with his head down.
She still looked angry, but stopped her pursuit and I let her go. She landed with a thump and gave Zin an angry glare. She soon pointed the glare at me however, saying, "And what did he mean by 'the other alicorns'?"
I then shot Zin a glance and hit him hard on his right shoulder. "Gosh darnit kid, learn to keep your mouth shut will ya'?"
He shrugged, “This form isn’t the brightest, so pardon me. No offense, Silver.” Shooting her an apologetic glance.
I turned to Rainbow Dash, "That's something that will best be explained with time. Something of which we don't have right now."
"Fine," she said with a pout, "But I want an answer later." she said before she took flight.
Oh you'll get it kid, I thought to myself. Turning towards Zin and SilverClaw I said, "You two stay on the ground and make your way to Canterlot. Dash and I will stay up above and keep watch over you and meet back up once we get there."
“Spade,” I turned to him as he called my name, “race you.” SilverClaw quickly ran to his side and put a paw on his shoulder. A moment after, the two disappeared in a burst of blue flames. I shook my head and went to join the impatient Rainbow Dash. This sure went a long way from simple surveillance....