//------------------------------//
// Chapter 27.5: The Warning 
// Story: The Unity Pact 
// by Truthseeker 
//------------------------------//



Dirge Caller looked left and right at his fellow Dogs as their short legs and long arms propelling them through the forest steadily. Their claws were sheathed and short, almost invisible in the early evening light. They broke through the trees that bordered the North side of Flankfurt. The Kavim hadn't noticed the one hundred armored Diamond Dogs yet, but they would in a matter of seconds.

Dirge Caller barked out his orders even as the Diamond Dogs began passing in between the buildings,
"Dogs grab little Ponies first! When no more little Ponies left, grab bigger Ponies! Once Dogs have Ponies, run to meeting place!"

The Diamond Dogs loudly barked their affirmatives and every Kavim eye immediately settled on the pack.

And then, the screams began.

*          *          *

Darkness enclosed the four Fathom by four Fathom room and a single Pegasus sat at a wide oak desk, working late into the night. Swift Wind was working on a small mound of paperwork and he was bored stiff. The quill held between his primaries felt like it weighed a ton. His eyelids felt heavy and his body was slowly relaxing. It was comfortable in his new Regimental Commander's Office. Well, it still felt new to him, even if he had been working out of it for over a month already. His head slumped forward gradually and his sensitive muzzle bumped into the desk.

"YIPE!" with a startled yell, he overbalanced and fell backward, off the bench and onto the floor with a thud.

He lay there for a few moments, groaning, then he tensed his muscles and sprang into an upright position, his internal gyroscope assuring him a perfect landing. He shook his head and licked his lips.

"This paperwork is killing me today. What I need is a snack and a little . . . something." he smiled and pulled open the bottom right drawer of his desk, "There you are." he said in a sing-song voice.

He dipped his head into the drawer and pulled out a steel thermos secreted away in the very back of the drawer. He set the mug down on bis desk and held it in place with his fore hooves while his jaw took care of loosening the cap. He gripped the open mouth of the thermos and tilted his head back as he greedily swallowed the contents. The liquid burned its way down his throat, making his eyes water, but he kept swallowing until the thermos was empty.

Lowering his head he set the thermos back on the floor and heaven a contented sigh. He picked up the lid with his lips and screwed it back on then set it back in the drawer and closed it. He smacked his lips several times, relishing the residual heat and flavor.

"Best batch yet." he said happily, "Note to self: more bay leaves and less scorpion chilies. The onions and celery make for good absorption of flavor but the corn adds just the right hint of sweetness." he licked his lips again, "I'll get that soup recipe perfect yet."

"Commander Swift Wind!" a loud male voice called through the closed oak door of his office, and the loud clop of galloping hooves reached his ears before the door slammed open, revealing a panting Pegasus Guard, "Sir!" he saluted, "Urgent message from Trottingham! A detachment of one hundred Diamond Dogs has brought word that the Diamond Dog City/State of Flame Hall has fallen under a plague that they are calling Mindless Death."

Swift Wind took a deep breath and slowly let it out,
"Inform the other Regimental Commanders and Captain Bold Move immediately."

"They already know sir, they should be on their way to the briefing room." the Guard looked unsure but decided to voice his concern, "Uh, shouldn't we inform the Princesses too?"

Swift Wind nodded,
"Send a flier to Ponyville. Primcess Celestia is there. Apparently the Human Emissary was mauled by Timber Wolves today and she is there seeing to him. We'll already be moving by that point. Come to the briefing room when you finish with sending off the flier."

*          *          *

"Alright, what do we know about this Mindless Death?" Peach Pit asked firmly.

He was one of four Kavim at the table. The others were: Bold Move, Steady Plod, and the Pegasus who delivered the initial message, Cloud Cutter. Cloud Cutter was a very young civilian Pegasus stallion, barely seventeen, but he was the only Pegasus in Trottingham who could have made the journey to Canterlot in one flight. He had departed about an hour before sunset and had arrived a bit before ten at night, a truly impressive flight to say the least.

Cloud Cutter cleared his throat,
"Well, first of all, the Diamond Dogs are so scared of this apparent epidemic, they ran through Flankfurt and literally carried every Pony from there to Trottingham in one go. Some of the Diamond Dogs were forced to carry a Pony in each paw and one or two on their backs and quite a few of the Dogs nearly dropped from exhaustion when they arrived. According to their leader, Dirge Caller, the Mindless Death makes the infected Dogs go insane with rage. He reported that he and his detachment had been dispatched to Flame Hall because there had been no contact with it for more than a week. When they arrived . . . " Cloud Cutter trailed off for a second before gathering his courage again, "When they arrived, they said the entire City/State was either torn to pieces in the streets or missing. They followed the tracks of the ones who were missing and the tracks led to the South, right toward Flankfurt. Dirge Caller sent one of his pages to inform the other City/States and he led his group to evacuate Flankfurt. He said the dead Diamond Dogs looked like they had been foaming at the mouth and the savagery indicated by the state of the bodies was like they had attacked anything that so much as twitched."

Cloud Cutter swallowed,
"He said none of the Dogs escaped. Dogs, bitches, pups, everything was dead. You should have seen them sir," he said to Peach Pit, "They were terrified. Dirge Caller initially wanted to talk to my sister, Razor Wit, since she was the one to broker the trade agreement and treaty, but they were willing to talk to the family since she wasn't available. The Civil Guard Commander requested that all available Guards be sent to local cities, towns, and villages."

Peach Pit levitated over a map and set it on the table just as Swift Wind entered the room,
"What's going on?"

Peach Pit, Steady Plod, and Bold Move were busy pinning down the map,
"Diamond Dog City/State was destroyed by a plague that makes them go violently crazy. The Diamond Dog friendlies physically evacuated Flankfurt and carried the residents to Trottingham then sent s a report. We're prepping a dispach chart. Come on over." Bold Move said without taking his eyes off the map.

Swift Wind trotted up to the table,
"What are the closest cities to the infected location?"

Bold Move pointed with his right fore hoof,
"The closest is Flankfurt, but the residents have been evacuated to Trottingham." he turned to Cloud Cutter, "What you hear in this room stays in this room. Agreed?"

Cloud Cutter nodded his head nervously,
"Y . . . yes sir."

Bold Move nodded back,
"Did Dirge Caller say what he and his Dogs planned to do? Were they going to stay in Trottingham or leave?"

"He said they were staying until the Royal Guard showed up then they would go back to their City/State and receive further orders." Cloud Cutter said more confidently.

Bold Move turned back to the map,
"Since you've agreed not to speak about what you're going to hear, come on over young stallion."

Cloud Cutter trotted up to the map nervously while Bold Move continued,
"Trottingham's estimated population is three thousand Ponies and the numbers of the infected Diamond Dogs are unknown." he turned to Cloud Cutter, "Did your sister ever mention the average population of Diamond Dog City/States?"

"Yeah, they range between eight hundred and four thousand." Cutter said assuredly.

"O.K. so we're likely facing less than four thousand individuals, most probably not combat trained. What say we send a detachment of three thousand Guards, one thousand from each Regiment, to Trottingham." he looked at the other nearby cities and towns, "Las Pegasus is way too far West-North-West to be bothered, Cloudsdale is completely airborne, Manehattin has a large enough contingent of Guards to handle it but they're way off to the East. That leaves three towns . . . "

"Four." Peach Pit corrected casually.

Bold Move cleared his throat,
"Would you place a blue flag over that town so we don't forget it?"

Cloud Cutter cocked his head,
"There's another town?" he watched as the flag was placed in the field just to the East of Flankfurt, "Wow, that's close. What's that one called?"

"Remember never to breathe a word of this to anypony." Bold Move reiterated.

At Cloud Cutter's nod he continued,
"We may mention it. Keep listening." he turned back to the map, "As I was saying, the infected Diamond Dogs will probably go to one of the towns already on the maps, which leaves: Stalliongrad to the North, Hoofington to the East, and maybe Mineighapolis to the South-West. If the Dogs bypass Trottingham, Mineighapolis is a very likely candidate. Those two are their most likely destinations. What say we dispatch three thousand to Mineighapolis, same configuration as Trottingham and the final three thousand go to New Humansville."

Cloud Cutter quirked an eyebrow,
"New Humansville? I've never heard of it."

"You won't for quite a while yet and we don't want to hear that you've been talking about it." Steady Plod said.

"What is the single most likely target for the attack?" Swift Wind asked, "We should have Commanders in those locations."

Steady Plod pointed to Trottingham and New Humansville,
"These two and if we're basing our estimation on what's on a map, Trottingham. However, we need to take something into account. The Diamond Dogs are calling this disease Mindless Death so the infected may not go by any maps. If that's the case New Humansville would be the more likely, it is closer."

Bold Move scratched his chin with his right fore hoof. The decision was ultimately his and he made it quickly. He pointed to New Humansville and double tapped the blue flag.

"Right here. This is where it'll happen. Swift Wind and Steady Plod, I want you two to take the remaining three thousand to New Humansville and shore up the Civil Guard there. The . . . residents aren't going to like it one bit so keep a somewhat low profile and don't interfere with what's going on. Swift, take one thousand Pegasi and go straight there as soon as you can. We can't count on these infected Diamond Dogs waiting on us. Steady Plod, take the remaining two thousand Guards and move like there's a fire under your tail. Peach Pit take Mineighapolis and I'll take Trottingham. Dismissed."