"The hay do you think you're going!?" Garrosh heard Spitfire screech, but he couldn't care less about bad impressions towards them now. He had to show up before Dinky fell asleep. He had to keep his promise; he had to honor his code. As he kept on sprinting unrelenting, the motto of his people just kept repeating and repeating in his head like a jungle drum, " A true orc always keeps his word." His knee joints ached from sitting still for so unbearably long, begging him to slow down and stretch them back out, but he wasn't about to stop now, not for a split second. He just kept on running, not even bothering to look back.
He was confident he had just put a very good distance between him and the royal rendezvous tent when Spitfire suddenly landed right in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. She then sat upon her haunches, holding her bandaged head tightly with both her hooves as if it were about to explode. "Hold up there, big guy. Where in Equestria do you think you're off to so fast?" She asked as she continued to hold her throbbing head; Hellscream shouting his next statement probably did not help her one bit.
"I must get to the house of Ditsy Doo! If you try to stop me, I promise I will not make your death painless!" He yelled, even though she was right in front of him. She looked like she was grinding her teeth together as she bellowed back at him.
"Why... do you need to get to this mare's house so quickly!?" Spitfire yelled back through still-clenched teeth, wishing she hadn't raised her voice too.
"The daughter of that mare, I made a promise to her that I would join her for dinner tonight! And if I can't show up for dinner, then by the ancestors, I will at least see her to tell her why!" Garrosh growled loudly.
"Do you even know where she lives?!" Yelled up a gruff but feminine voice from way behind him. Garrosh turned around to see Rainbow Dash flying brusquely towards him, and within an instant, the aerodynamic mare skidded to a landing right in front of him. "Because if you don't, then Dinky will definitely be asleep by the time you find it." She said with an emotionless voice.
"Then will you take me there?" The orc rasped out the question a bit too frantically for his liking. This mare was going to lead him there even if she said no, even if he had to tear her wings off.
"Sure... but I sure as Tartarus am not doing this for you, I'm doing this for Dinky." She said coldly.
"Hmph... So long as you do it." The orc responded. Both he and Rainbow gave disagreeing huffs toward one another as she started leading him onward into town. In those moments, Garrosh didn't even want to look at the annoyingly obnoxious mare, so he just opted to look around at the considerable damage for which he knew he'd been responsible the mere day before. Looking directly down the dirt road of their main street, Garrosh then knew that these tiny creatures could really clean up quickly. He didn't see a single scrap of paper or splintered plank of wood on the main road, and even the vendor's carts that were smashed to bits during the barbaric fray (though completely empty due to how late it was) looked to be sturdily repaired and back in proper place! As the yet again impressed Warchief beheld the admirable sight, he caught himself wishing morosely that his peons back in Orgrimmar could have accomplished such fine feats as these creatures did without vigorous motivation. However, he soon learned why they had chosen to clean the road, rather then the burning building he had seen.
"Sweet mother of Doomhammer..." He whispered as the town's center building came into view, or more accurately, the lack thereof. It was gone, just completely gone. All that stood in their battle's wake was a pile of emberless, wafting ash; nearly nothing stood more than a foot from the ground. Still, even unto this calamity, something could be said for their diligence, for even at this late hour, Garrosh could glimpse a lone, yellowish stallion with a muddled brown mane standing on his hind legs, idly sweeping at the remaining debris with an old, beaten-looking broom held in his hooves.
"Yeah, I know what you're thinking, and thanks for that by the way." The rainbow-maned mare spat at him sourly. He turned back to her to see that she was glaring at him. Even if he was not really in the mood for a petty argument like that, he was not about to let her get away with just saying that. He scoffed at her as he retorted.
"This was your flight teams' fault; all I did was break a few useless market carts." He shrugged off her accusing blame with his own, the statement seeming to make her all the more temperamental.
"If you wouldn't have even shown up in the first place, none of this crap would've ever happened!" She said with a noticeably raised voice. "Oh! And those 'useless carts' you're talking about make this town! All those carts were important! You're just lucky Princess Celestia hasn't turned your sorry flank to stone or something!"
"Cadet Dash, that's enough!" Spitfire ended the Rainbow's harsh rant as Garrosh immaturely looked at her with a smug little grin. "Don't think that just because your not at my academy right now that I can't cut you for indecent behavior on outer grounds; just finish leading him where he wants." Leaving Dash grumbling furiously under her breath, the captain readily turned to address Garrosh with the same toughened attitude. "The princesses are heading back to Canterlot for a few days to make an official statement to the press, so the..." She paused for only a second to glance over her shoulder at the Shadowbolt who trailed behind, appearing to be revising something in her head. "...Bolts are in charge for now." As if to accentuate her point, the Bolts known as Wave Chill and Starry Skies walked up behind her.
"With Bolts like these, who needs nuts?" Chill droned his sudden and derogative joke as he gestured with his head over to Starry, prompting her to condescendingly roll her eyes at such a cheap shot. Spitfire was not having this; the headache she already had without any of their help was clearly enough for her.
"Cram it, Lieutenant! Like it or not, we're all in this together now." She growled tensely at her subordinate who merely nodded dumbly after that. Sounding more and more like a Kor'kron drill sergeant to Garrosh by the minute, Spitfire just as quickly turned her focus back to the aforementioned orc. "Hellscream, before I accompany them back to Canterlot, I need to speak with you alone;" Still just as quickly, she briefly turned her attention back to the two Bolts again. "You two wait here with the cadet."
"Very well, Captain." Garrosh complied indifferently, following the flame-colored pegasus into the seclusion of a nearby alleyway. He glanced back at the three others who were ordered to wait there, half-expecting them already to be bickering, only to see them obediently standing where they were left. He then though he'd mention the stability of Spitfire's decision to her, if for no other reason than his own amusement.
"How do you know they won't be ripping each others' throats from their necks upon your return? What with the undeniable security of your teams' unification, of course..." He added snidely to his already snarky question. The captain, who was by now hovering just so she could keep a hoof to her aching head, gave an aggressive answer.
"You're arrival didn't really give us much of a choice, now did it? We can cooperate with ponies we don't like because it's for the good of all Equestria, which is probably more than I can say for you." Something told the orc that whatever thin charade of politesse she would have otherwise managed to keep up had shattered along with her skull. "You can whine my ears off about our politics when I'm off duty, but for now, I've got a job to do." Garrosh decided against his natural judgement and remained silent after she huffed her response; after all, he didn't want to drive her insane too soon.
Once they entered the alley, he saw the silhouette of Nightshade hop casually off a trash bin to trot silently towards him. Now he was wondering with true curiosity what this was all about.
"With the princesses leaving, we've been put in charge of safeguarding you from.... " She paused, knowing how stupid this was going to sound. "...Anypony dumb enough to try anything funny, and to keep you from causing anymore damage to our property." She finished just in time for Nightshade to cut in.
"Spit and I have decided to leave one member of each of our teams with you at any and all times. You may not be okay with this, but it's how we're gonna deal with our orders. In short: Are you gonna be a flank hole about it or not?" The Shadowbolt asked smugly. Even though he was not pleased by this news in the least, especially since it was delivered by an insignificant little devil, he knew she wanted him to disagree with her, and he was determined not to give her any such satisfaction. One of the last things he wanted was to have two bodyguards following him around everywhere he went, but for the time being at least, he knew he would have to deal with it. Giving it some thought, he figured their presence might even prove useful somehow.
"So long as these 'two members' of yours keep their distance, we can agree to this without further bloodshed." The orc said simply. Nightshade was opening her mouth to protest when Spitfire spoke first.
"Deal."
"...What!?"
Garrosh had to suppress a chuckle as Nightshade grabbed Spitfire by the shoulder to lead her to the other end of the alleyway. He couldn't make out anything they were saying, but he knew that their vindictive bickerings were all but pointless. Seeing this, without any further consideration, he sauntered carelessly back to the three who were left behind.
"Well, what did they tell you, big boy?" Starry asked him. He didn't like her relaxed attitude about the whole situation, nor did he like the tone she was once more striking with him. It was almost as if she were looking forward to being his escort, or at least, Garrosh surmised that's what she wanted him to think. Looking to his second soon-to-be escort, he didn't find much solace, for he hated the cold, glum, indifferent Wave Chill nearly just as much.
"You are to become my new bodyguards, for a time, but the accord was that you two, along with anypony else who shall guard me in the future, keep. your. distance." He said, more as an order then an answer. Both ponies nodded, so Garrosh addressed "Cadet Dash."
"Lead me to the house, Element, then you may go." He commanded her bluntly, knowing that just saying that (or anything to her for that matter) would get under her skin. She spoke nothing to him as she continued leading him on, never even looking back to see if he was following. As the trek to Ditsy's house restarted, Garrosh cast a small glance back at the alley, only to see that those two so-called leaders had not even seen him leaving yet.
"Hmph, worthless." He mumbled, scoffing at the pitiful sight as he turned back to his two new "friends." Just as they'd agreed, they were keeping their distance from him. They also appeared to be talking with each other, which Garrosh supposed was either very good or very bad for them in any case. All it took for him to guess the latter was one look at the lieutenant's face; Wave Chill was obviously not enjoying the conversation, not that he could blame him for being repulsed given that particular Shadowbolt's lechery. It surprised even Garrosh when the carnally depraved mare leaned in towards the helpless Wonderbolt with puckered lips, making him flinch back an astonishing three yards, Starry letting forth a coquettish, teasing laugh as he righted himself and straightened his uniform. The orc couldn't help but crack a devious, spectator's grin at how different those two were, leading him to wonder if they would even survive the night with how things seemed to be going. "...Probably not." He thought, looking forward to the prospect of watching their integrity crumble around him.
Bored with their body language, Hellscream looked nearer to him, down to prism warrior who lead him in what he hoped was the direction of Dinky's home. Still she remained silent, her normally presumptuous demeanor faded, her normally loud mouth shut. She either was too preoccupied in her own thoughts, or she was stewing after what Spitfire had told her she might do.
"Your country's 'mighty air force' is quite comically amusing, would you not say so, Dashy?" The curious orc commented.
"..." Bafflingly, she still remained silent. Garrosh knew then that she was concentrating on not saying anything that would qualify as "indecent behavior on outer grounds." The "troll" in Garrosh once again taking over, he asked her a question that he sincerely wanted to know, but also knew would pester her further.
"If you are supposed to be the fastest pegasus in the land, then why are we not there yet?" That was it, and Garrosh knew it. Not because the reaction was instantaneous, but because she then glanced around to see if Spitfire was near. She wasn't.
"Sweet Celestia! Spare my ears from having to hear your ugly, annoying voice for another second! One: It's the fastest flyer in Equestria, Two: We are there, leather head!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, no doubt trying to sound intimidating. Of course, this had next to no affect on Garrosh, for no matter how hard they tried, these creatures would never sound threatening to him.
"Then be gone, irritant, spare me the pain of looking upon your garish form any longer." Garrosh shot back at her. Fuming ever hotter, she merely flew off as fast as she could, leaving the orc huffing in disdain at her display. "You two," He half-yelled to get their attention, their heads snapping to him as he had wanted. "Wait in front of the house while I approach." He commanded gruffly; they nodded apathetically before going back to their previous whisper-shouting match, Garrosh rolling his eyes as he turned to face the shadowy house.
The house's lights were off; the home lay dormant.
"I did not make it..." Garrosh thought bitterly. "I could not keep this promise, even when it was a promise to a child..." The embittered orc could only desperately hope that Geyah was not looking down upon him now, for he knew that if she were, she would be looking upon a tearful disappointment. It was the least he could have accomplished, if for no other reason than to prove to the Greatmother that he was not the heinous monster she saw within his soul. As he stood there, the helpless victim of ill-spent time, and the very definition of defeat, he slowly came to realize that the Greatmother's well-meaning retribution as well as her guidance and encouragement, was the only thing keeping him going at this point, the only thing keeping him from going mad with the darkness of all his wicked deeds and miserable failures, the only thing keeping him from reverting back to the monster he knew he had been before.
"No! I must keep this promise! For this innocent child! For my Greatmother!" With a last-ditch ambition and a newly-found drive and determination, he walked the perimeter of the darkened house, hoping to find another way in, for he didn't dare knock and risk damaging the depressing situation even further. The front door, again, was the size of his calves. He was really starting to hate equine architecture. Garrosh crept around the house's left side once more, only discovering a window to their kitchen through which he could probably just barely fit his head. He kept on going until he reached the back of the small home, only to sadly find that the back of the humble abode didn't even have a window.
"There must be some way in!" His mind continued to wail and roar. He went along the right side of the house once more. There was a window, yes, but only this time it was left open. He stuck his head into it hopefully and finally found for whom he'd been searching: Dinky. There she was, the tiny little filly in her bedroom, sleeping peacefully in the warm blanket of her tiny bed. Despite this find, Garrosh then knew he had failed completely, for he dared not wake her from her slumber. Withdrawing his heavy head from the bedroom window, the deflated orc glumly sat down, leaning his back against the wall of the tiny home.
".....I can at least be here to greet her when she wakes." He mumbled to himself in utter defeat, but it was right after he had said this that he heard something.
"...Garrosh?" A small, groggy voice called quietly down from the window. Faster than he though he would, he jumped to his feet and peeked into the small porthole to see if he was not simply hearing things. There she was, little Dinky in her little bed, but not asleep as he thought he'd come to see. She was sitting straight up, her covers flipped completely off of her, quickly rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she looked over to the window, over to a face that he never thought in a million years would bring joy to a child.
"A true orc always keeps his word." He whispered to her as soon as she saw him. Garrosh had never before seen such a reaction to his presence; Dinky's eyes lit up like a fire work as she got to her hooves and jumped faithfully from the window. Luckily for her, Garrosh was quite the skillful pro-bowler for the Feast of Winterveil when it came time for him to host such festivities, so catching the ecstatic leaping ball of fur was easy enough. He scooped the giggling filly up in his arms, chuckling softly at her display of grateful joy.
"I just knew you'd keep your promise." She burbled as she nuzzled his neck. He gently placed his hand on her back, just as he had done when she had first met him. He figured he couldn't do much else since he couldn't really hug anything her size back.
"I know I missed dinner, little one, but I shall be here for breakfast; you can mark me on that." He assured her as he placed the foal back on her bed and tucked her in.
"Mom said she'd take me out for ice cream if you couldn't come over for dinner; maybe we could even go out together." She fancied hopefully. Garrosh didn't suppose there was a good possibility for that, seeing as how he was trying to reach a blacksmith in another city, but there was no way he was going to count it out either.
"Hmm, I shall have to apologize to your mother for letting her go through such troubles for naught." He uttered through a small smile. "Now you go to sleep, little one, I will be just outside when you wake." He assured her again as he used a finger to sweep a few strands of her mane off her face. She looked far too excited to sleep as she snuggled up again for the night with a giddy grin, but he knew she would eventually find the realm of dreams now that her mind was calm and her worries were cast away.
"Goodnight, Mr. Garrosh." She whispered as she buried her face into her pillow. He slowly pulled his arm from the window and sat back down again.
"Goodnight, my little Dinky." He whispered back to her.
As he sat there, going back through all that had happened in his time here, he wondered if the Greatmother would be disappointed in him, or if she had brought this little filly into his life for a reason. As stubborn as Garrosh was, and as much as he didn't want to, he had to admit that this world (or at least this child) had begun to change something in him, and he had to briefly wonder if this chapter of his days would be the catalyst or key to fulfilling the Greatmother's task, and turning his life around.
"Gee, I sort of figured you had a stony little heart beating in that chest of yours, but I didn't think it could melt so easily at the hooves of a little foal." Goaded the silky voice of Starry Skies coming from around the corner of the house. Garrosh just rubbed his face exhaustively and raised a hand to point at her without even looking.
"A word of this to anyone, and I shall skin you alive." Then again, it would probably take a lot more time than that to make any significant changes for the better.