The weeks following the duel were busy. Austin stayed in the castle for a week straight afterward, recuperating. The pain was not really present much and the magic left no lasting scars other than some bruises and a few small burns. The first week went by pretty fast for Austin. Twilight kept him in the castle so she could make sure he was healing well, which he was.
“Actually, you're healing remarkably fast, Austin,” Twilight said. She had that tone to her voice that she got when something interested her and she wanted to study it. Of course, she was not aware she had adopted this tone to her voice.
“I think its me being here,” Austin said, “I think being in Equestria is having an effect on me.”
“Hmm. Interesting,” Twilight said. “Well, I have an idea. One that might work out for the both of us.”
“Sounds sciency,” Austin replied, “Do tell.”
“Get out.” Twilight said. “Out of the castle. You have literally spent weeks here already. Go outside, have fun with your human friends. Ben is back now and I'm sure you have some catching up to do.”
Austin wasn't about to argue. “You just want me out of the way so you can do some science stuff, don't you?”
“You got me,” Twilight said. “Honestly, Austin. I've watched you the past couple weeks. Your skill with magic is remarkable, but your science skills are not really that great.”
“Say no more, Twilight. I'm gone.” With that Austin grabbed his black jacket and left the castle.
Austin caught up with Tessla and Ben outside. He wasn't wearing his big green coat, but that was most likely due to the fact it was a bright, warm, sunny day that didn't call for such large weather wear. Ben was wearing one thing that did strike Austin's interest, though. As he approached Austin saw the hilt of a sword jutting out from behind Ben's back.
“You like it?” Ben asked as he unsheathed it and showed it off. The sword was beautiful. A blade of pure crystal with a hilt of polished silver, and a few choice gems inlaid within it. It was about the length of a longsword, around three and half feet in length. Ben held it out for Austin to hold. He heartily accepted the blade. As soon as the sword changed hands Austin felt the full weight of it.
“This thing weighs a ton,” He said as he held it up. “I honestly could not use this without both my hands.”
“I know, but the thing is is that its light as feather for me,” Ben replied. “I don't know what it is, but I can use just fine. It's like it's the perfect weapon for me.”
“Cool,” Tessla said as he took the sword, “So why exactly are you walking around Ponyville with a sword strapped to your back?”
“Showing it off, making sure no more ponies like that Thorn guy show up.” Ben said as he scanned the area. “I'm also showing the Ponyville residents that there is someone here to protect them.”
“Well then. I guess that makes you Ponyville's first guard.” Austin said. “Congratz. Maybe we can get Pinkie to throw you a party.”
As soon as he said those words the ground just a foot away burst with an explosion of confetti and sugar dust and glitter and streamers. Random party favors rained down the area for a moment. When they all looked they saw Ponyville's Pink Party Pony standing there.
“You called?” She asked with her usual cheer.
“I am not sure,” Austin said. “You can never tell with you.”
“Oh well,” Pinkie said. “Hey, now that I'm here you guys want to have lunch with me and Fluttershy?”
“Sure, why not?” Was the unanimous answer. They were all hungry. Pinkie Pie hopped along through the streets and they followed her. Tessla was the only one who actually seemed to know where he was going. Unlike the other two he had actually been out in the streets more often.
They arrived at a nice little spot just outside of Ponyville. You could see them from the town, but it was nice and peaceful, away from the hustle and bustle that a small town has. Fluttershy waved to them as they got close.
“Oh, hello you three.” She softly spoke. “I didn't realize you would be joining us today.”
“That's okay, isn't it?” Tessla asked, “You don't mind that we're here.”
“Oh, not at all.” Fluttershy said with a smile.
An Hour Later. . .
“. . .So I'm standing there with this huge crystal shield. I'm supposed to be holding this thing up at all times, but it was so heavy. One day, Shining Armor comes in. Cadence had called for him and he was running full speed. He busts through the door and it catches me by surprise so I immediately throw my shield up and smack Shining Armor in the face.”
“Oh my. What happened after that?” Fluttershy asked.
“Well, it took him a full thirty minutes to come to. When he did he had not idea what had happened to him. Cadence told him it was the door. He bust it open so hard the door swung back and hit him.”
“My god,” Austin said. “All the funny stuff happens to you two.”
“What do you mean by that?” Pinkie asked. “What funny stuff?”
“Well, Ben's off having laughs with Princess Cadence,” Austin explained, “And I'm sure Tessla has told you about the pink chicken incident by now.”
“NO HE HAS NOT!” Pinkie screamed. “There was a pink chicken and I wasn't told about it. This is an outrage! I will not stand for it.”
“Um, Pinkie. You were gone when this happened,” Fluttershy said. “It was a few days after you were branded Public Pony Enemy number one.”
“Oh. You know, I still don't know what I did,” Pinkie Pie pondered the cosmos for an answer.
“Anyway, you two get the funny stuff. I get hit with the painful stuff.” Austin said.
“You know it's your own fault right,” Ben said. “I'll explain it later.”
“Hey, I just remembered something,” Tessla said. “I wanted to bring this up beforehand, but I forgot until just now. What are we going to do for money?”
“Good question,” Austin answered, “I doubt we're gonna be allowed to live here like freeloaders much longer.”
“You guys aren't freeloaders,” Fluttershy said. “But if you're worried about earning some bits, I could use some help around the cottage. I don't have much, but I might be able give you a few bits for your time.”
“Are you sure, Fluttershy,” Austin asked. “We don't want to take any money that you need for yourself.”
“It's fine. I don't need much,” Fluttershy smiled. She did indeed live a simple life, enjoying the simple things that life had to offer. “I'll let you know if I ever could use some help, okay?”
“Hey!” Pinkie Pie sprang up and hopped around them. “I have an idea.”
“Oh dear,” Austin said. “The four most dangerous words in any language.”
“I don't know what that meant, but maybe you could talk to the mayor about some work.” Pinkie said as she hopped about.
That was as good an idea as any. They packed up the picnic and said goodbye for the day. It was still early afternoon, so they had some more time in the day to hang out. They just walked aorund town for the rest of the afternoon. Tessla helped Ben and Austin get more familiar with the town, helped them know what was what and where it was at.
The Mayor went into work the next day with all intentions of taking it easy. It had been a rather slow week so far, and that was saying something given the town she was in. Ponyville was usually always subject to some strange and usually destructive event, but not lately. Well, there was that duel not too long back, but that was resolved pretty quickly, and with no destruction at all. However, she would be getting a reminder of all that was strange later on that day.
Her day started off normal as any other. She got some coffee from her favorite place in all of Ponyville. A small shop that made a delectable cup. After that she headed to the office. It was a short walk from the coffee place to there, and she gave a friendly hello to the ponies she passed. She entered the town hall with a smile on her face. She unlocked her office and sat down at her desk. She took a sip of her coffee before looking at the pile of paperwork that was stacked up on her desk.
“Well, time to get to work,” She said with determination. If she had knuckles she would have cracked them.
The hours went by as the Mayor was hard at work. Lunch had come and gone before she knew it. She had come back from eating out. It was actually a meeting she had with some residents of Ponyville. They had a few concerns that they wanted to bring to the Mayors attention. The lunch meeting went well and the Mayor came back to find that her day was about to get much more complicated.
“You want jobs?” The Mayor was dumbfounded, flabbergasted, and downright astounded. Never did she expect to see these three in her office, and looking for jobs of all things.
“Yes,” Austin said. “We would like to start earning out keep around here.”
“Right,” Ben agreed, “We want to start contributing more and stop simply living off other ponies.”
“That, and a few extra bits here and there would be nice,” Tessla input.
A knock at the door stopped the Mayor before she form her next thought. The door slowly creaked open and a pony's head peered around the door. It was mare, and she was doing her darndest to keep as much of herself out of the the Mayor's office as possible. She avoided looking at the the three visitors as much as possible and started shaking whenever she did.
“W- w- would you l-like anything?” She asked through a clattering set of teeth.
“Yes, please,” The Mayor answered. “Please, send in some water and a coffee for me.”
The three guys nodded and she left as quickly as possible. The Mayor got up and moved over to a nearby bookcase full of binders and folders, all of them looking very official and such.
“Forgive my secretary,” The Mayor said, “She can be a very timid mare at times.”
“It's quite alright,” Austin said, “We've gotten used to the fact some ponies will be that way around us.”
“Well, with the things you have done, can you blame her?” The Mayor was still searching the shelves as she spoke. “You fight off timberwolves, you defeat a renowned pony duelist, with magic no less. You are building up quite the reputation.”
“I suppose we are,” Austin whispered to no one in particular.
The Mayor selected a few binders from the bookcase and brought them over to the desk. She hoofed through a few pages of one before looking back up at the guys. “We have a fewodd jobs that you three could look into, but I can't promise anything.”
“What do you have for us?” Tessla asked.
“Sewer maintenance?”
They all thought about it for a moment. Instinctively, their minds went straight to hell no, but they still thought it through. Ben was probably too big to properly maneuver in the sewers. There was no way Tessla was going to be able to handle the smells and the filth down there, and Austin would most likely blow something up with magic. Not on purpose of course, but it would still happen.
“I don't think that's quite right for us,” Austin said, imagining all the houses in ponyville with their toilets exploding. Yeah, somehow he didn't think the excuse “Shit happens.” would get him out of that mess.
The Mayor searched the binders for a minute more. “How about window washers for Princess Twilight's new castle?”
A scream sounded off behind the guys before the could answer. It was the secretary again. She looked like she had just seen Tirek himself rising up from behind the Mayor's desk. She had also dropped the tray full of drinks.
“Ohmygosh! I am so sorry!” She said as she furiously scrubbed the spot on the carpet. “I was just walking in when I heard what you said and then I imagined opening my windows at home and the first thing I see being one of them.” She let out another small scream.
“It's okay, really.” The Mayor said. Please, get some more drinks and come back.” The secretary nodded and left. The Mayor sighed. “I don't suppose any of you know anything about cleaning floors, do you?”
Three heads shook no. It was also a no to the window washing thing. It pretty much came down to heights. None of them really like heights. Austin couldn't speak for the rest of them but for him it really wasn't that he was afraid of them, just falling from them.
And so the Mayor kept up her search. “How does a masseuse job sound?”
Again, a scream interrupted all thoughts. Again, the secretary pony was standing behind them, and she had that same look of fear she had on before. Again, she dropped the tray of drinks. This effectively doubled the size of the stain that was already ruining the carpet.
The secretary's eyes darted back and forth between the floor stain, the humans, and the mayor. A few times she looked between them. She was already a nervous wreck. This day was not making it any easier, and the Mayor was only going to forgive so much. Beads of sweat rolled down her face as her body shook. Her eyes were going in circles as she looked them all over. Finally she stopped, screamed as loudly as she could possibly manage and ran out the door, and out of the building.
The Mayor sighed once again. “It would appear I need a new secretary as well.”
===
“Well, that was a bust,” Tessla said after the left the Mayor's office.
“Yeah, it was.” Austin agreed. “We'll find something eventually. I'm sure of it.”
As they walked and thought about their dilemma, a couple ponies came up to them.
“Thank heavens I found you three,” Rarity said. Fluttershy fluttered next to her with a kind smile. “Fluttershy here told me of how you were looking to earn a few bits. Well, I could use some help around the boutique if you're interested. I can give you some bits, and maybe even a gem if you are lucky.”
“I'm in,” Ben said, and he was standing next to Rarity before anyone had registered what he said. He blushed a bit as not only his friends eyes, but the eyes of passing ponies fell on him. “Not to sound too eager or anything.”
“No, you should be eager, darling. For you get to work with an artiste of fashion!” Rarity dramatized this excessively before trotting off in a quick, yet ladylike manner with Ben sprinting after her.
“Also, I could use some help around the cottage now. If one of you could please help me out, that would be so wonderful.” Fluttershy said.
“You go, Tessla.” Austin said. “You read all those books on the animals of Equestria. You and Fluttershy could probably talk for hours on that alone.”
“Yeah, probably.” Tessla said.
“Oh, but what about you, Austin? What will you do?” Fluttershy asked, concerned.
“Don't you worry about me, Fluttershy. I'll be fine.” Austin said with a warm smile.
With that, Fluttershy and Tessla walked off. Austin could hear Tessla asking her about some of the animals he read about as they walked off. Soon after they were out of earshot and gone. He was left alone to do as he wished.
Austin walked through town wondering what to do. As he neared the market he got an idea. Maybe he could stop by Lyra and Bon Bon's place to see how they were doing. Sure, why not? He strolled over to the shop, opening the door slowly. He was a bit nervous. He wasn't sure how they would react to seeing him. He knew two things.
One: They would most likely be happy to see him. It had been weeks, so they might be a little unhappy it took him this long to visit, but he could live with that.
Two: They would probably announce his presence like it was Celestia herself coming by for their sweets. He really didn't like the attention being on him unless absolutely necessary. But he went in anyway.
The first thing that met him was the smell. The sweet scents of dozens of decadent candies wafted through the air to meet his nose. Each of them smelling like the best versions of themselves, all mixing and melding together to create a wondrous aroma. He took a few deep sniffs. He smelled the distinct scents of caramel, butterscotch, and something else he didn't know above everything else. He wondered if they made candles that smelled like that. Maybe he would get a few. It would be a nice smell to have around the castle, and he doubted that Twilight would disagree.
“HEY!!”
Austin looked over to where the voice was coming from. It was Lyra. She was sitting in a corner playing her sweet music when she noticed him. She immediately stopped, jumping up to greet him.
“Hey! About time you came by to see us.” Lyra said as she gave him a hug. It always surprised him how many ponies were huggers. Austin returned the hug, and then Lyra called back to the kitchen area. “Hey, Bon Bon! Guess who's here?”
Austin could hear the clamor of pots and pans as Bon Bon ventured out. “I swear by Celestia, if it's your family again trying to get free samples of everything, I'll-” Bon Bon stopped mid sentence. She raced up and gave Austin a hug. He hugged back and they let each other go. Bon Bon gave him a light tap on his arm with her hoof. “About time you came by to see us.”
“That's what I said,” Lyra told her.
“Great minds think alike,” Bon Bon replied.
The two mares stared into each others eyes for a moment. They seemed to lose themselves for a moment, forgetting everything and everyone around them. Austin got the impression this happened to them a lot.
“Yeah, I've been meaning to come by, but Twilight's kept me plenty busy.” Austin said, breaking the silence.
“Oh, sorry about that.” Bon Bon said with blush. “You said something about Twilight keeping you busy? I'm not surprised, with you doing magic and all. We witnessed that duel that took place here a few weeks back. You are quite the duelist.”
“Thanks, but I didn't come here to talk about me. How are you two doing?”
The group talked for a few moments. Bon Bon had to rush back to the kitchen to keep her latest batch of whatever it was from burning. After that they all sat down and talked. The shop wasn't real busy, but a pony came in every now and then. Occasionally, they would stay a few moments longer to talk to Austin. He didn't mind. None of them had anything bad to say. Time flew by and nighttime was descending by the time he left. Austin waved the pair goodbye and wished them a goodnight before heading back to the castle to turn in for the night.
Morning dawned the next day and Austin rolled out of bed sluggishly. He yawned one last time before heading off to the shower. The showers in the castle were a lot like the ones back in the human world. He turned the knob and let the hot water rush over his body. He loved the feeling of the water over his shoulders and down his back.
After his shower Austin dressed and headed down for breakfast. He was surprised to see that Ben and Tessla were not present for the morning meal. Strange. They loved breakfast. He ate quietly by himself. As breakfast ended he saw Spike rushing through the hall outside.
“Whoa, Spike. What's the rush?” Austin asked as he exited the dining hall.
“Twilight's real busy today,” Spike said. “And I slept in half an hour late and now I'm behind schedule. So I can't talk now. Sorry, bye.”
Austin stopped Spike before he could rush down the hall. “Wait, Spike. One last question. Where are Tessla and Ben?”
“Rarity came to get Ben for some help earlier and Tessla headed over to Fluttershy's to see if she needed help a little while later. I really gotta go now!”
Spike rushed down the hall, leaving Austin with his thoughts. Austin was also left with a sort of unnatural silence he always felt in Twilight castle. It was only in Twilight's castle that he felt it, and only when he was alone.
“Weird,” Austin whispered. “So Ben and Tessla are helping out. I wonder what they're doing.”
Ben and Rarity
Ben had spent some time helping out Rarity the day before. He spent the majority of that time just cleaning up or sorting through things or organizing other things. He didn't mind doing any of it, as long as he was helping out and getting some bits. Much to his surprise Rarity came by and asked him to help out some more. He leaped at the opportunity.
Ben walked with Rarity to the boutique. She hadn't yet said anything about what kind of help she was needing that day. In fact, she hadn't really said much of anything. She just walked along, staring off in the distance and smelling the flowers as she walked by. She hummed a little tune as she went, but Ben couldn't make out what it was, if it was anything at all.
“So, what do you need help with today?” Ben asked, trying to spark up some conversation.
“No need to worry, darling,” Rarity said. “I just need the help of someone big and strong today. Normally, I would have Spike helping me out, but he is so busy nowadays. And since you helped me out so much yesterday I thought of you.”
Rarity didn't look back at him. IF she did she would have seen that his cheeks had turned a little red. She said I was big and strong. Ben forgot reality for a moment as they walked. He was only snapped back by Rarity's voice breaking through.
They stopped at the boutique for only a moment. Rarity was already packed and prepared for the day. She levitated her saddlebags onto her back and pointed out a much larger pack that was for Ben. He walked over to it and lifted it up with one hand, or at least he tried to.
“Holy crap! This thing weighs a ton!” He exclaimed. “What is in here? What are we going to be doing?”
“I suppose I should explain,” Rarity said. “You see, my supply of gems is running rather low and I need to acquire some more.”
“Oh, we're gem hunting.” Ben said. “That makes sense, with what you mentioned about Spike usually helping you out. But what is all this stuff got to do with it?”
“Gem hunting is an involved process. Spike being a dragon makes him uniquely suited for making the process a bit easier, but he isn't here. You are, and I thought that you might need this stuff.”
Ben didn't feel like arguing with her, and neither of them wanted to take the time to go through the bag. And so, the pair set off to hunt for gems. Once Ben got the pack onto his shoulders it wasn't that heavy. As long as he didn't lean back he would be fine.
A little while later Ben and Rarity found themselves walking along. They had left the borders of Ponyville some time back, and were in completely uncharted lands to Ben. IF he had to guess he would say they were going through some section of the White Tail Woods, but he had no way to be sure if he was right or not.
“Here we are!”
Ben stopped and looked out. They had come to an area of flat plains outside of Ponyville. There was evidence that she had come here before with Spike and they had dug up a great many gems. Ben looked out over the plains and all he saw were holes. Some small, and some large.
“You've been coming here for a while.” Ben pointed out the obvious.
“Yes, well, why not take advantage of such supple land. Although, we will have to walk a bit more to get to the gems.”
“Lead the way.”
As it turns out, Rarity's definition of 'a bit more' translates into half an hour of walking. By that point the pack on Ben's back was getting really heavy. Sweat dripped off his face with each step. Rarity didn't seem phased at all. As the sun rose higher into the sky, she pulled out a sunhat from one of her saddlebags and was now wearing that. Ben wiped away some sweat and just trudged on.
“Here we are,” Rarity said as short time later. “I mean it this time.”
“Good,” Ben said. He put the pack down and sat next to it for a moment. “I need to rest for a moment.”
“Take all the time you need,” Rarity said, “I'll be off marking the nearest gem deposits.”
Rarity nearly skipped off like a shoolfilly. Her horn glowed as she activated her gem finding spell. Ben watched as she moved back and forth, watching the ground intently. Every now and then she would stop and exclaim her joy as she found some gems. She would then take a stick and mark the spot with an 'X'. After a few moments of watching her mark nearly a dozen spots Ben rose up. It was time to do his part.
He moved over to the nearest 'X' on the ground. He brought the pack along with him and set it down next to him. He assumed that there was a shovel or something in the pack. That would make sense. There was no shovel. There was no sense.
Ben opened the pack to see a collection of random things. It was like the CMC had packed this so they could go crusading for a year and have everything they could possibly need for whatever situation they got themselves into. As far as Ben could see not a single thing was of any use to him there.
“Uh, Rarity,” Ben called out. “We got a bit of a problem.”
“Oh, really? What is it?”
“You should see this for yourself.”
Rarity trotted back over to Ben after she marked her fifteenth spot on the ground. The smile on her face had not dissipated at all that day. It had been there since morning, but it was about to leave. Rarity came over and Ben showed her the pack. She peered inside to see the mess and her smile was gone.
“ARGH! I am going to ground her for a month!” Rarity shouted. “Sweetie Belle, I asked you to do one thing. One thing!”
“Perhaps we can help you.”
Both Ben and Rarity spun around to see that they were no longer alone. Two had now become five, as three joined them. These three just so happened to be Diamond Dogs, however. It was at that time that Rarity and Ben had the same thought between them. Oh great. Not these guys again.
“You better just move along,” Rarity said. “We want nothing to do with you or you kind.”
Ben stood as tall as he could and even puffed his chest out a little bit. He was going for the big and imposing look. He didn't know if it was working or not, but the Diamond Dogs were not moving. They seemed to be more interested in Rarity than him, anyway.
“Please, we really do just want to help,” One of them said. It was the short one with the jowls. “We realized our mistake last time, and want to apologize.”
With that said the other two leaped back and dug up a pile of gems each. They offered them up to Rarity like it was tribute to appease a goddess. And that was how Rarity treated them. She closely inspected each of the gems, keeping most of them and storing them in her saddlebags. The few that she rejected she tossed to the side. The Diamond Dogs cringed as they watched the gems fly off into the bushes.
“Well, if this is how you wish to apologize I see no harm in it,” Rarity said. “But be warned, if you try and double cross us or something my large friend here has a pack full of dangerous items he can use to make your day much worse.”
“Oh no, we wouldn't dream of it.” Said a Dog. It was the tall one this time, with the red vest.
And so the day went on. The Diamond Dogs dug up every gem pile that Rarity had marked and the ones she was marking as they worked on those. A few hours had gone by and they had dug up somewhere around thirty piles of gems. Needless to say, Rarity did not have room for all of those gems in her saddlebags. Meanwhile, while they were doing that Ben was going through the pack a bit. Trying to find any of those dangerous items Rarity mentioned. He really hated not being in on a bluff, and then being surprised when it comes up. Improvising wasn't his strong suit.
So far Ben had found many things in the pack of random things. Rope was the most useful thing he had found so far. He also found a pad of paper but nothing to write with, a feather duster, four fireworks, a box of tacks, a boomerang, a pair of underpants, a pad of pink post it notes, six inflated balloons, a colorful box, two reels of wrapping paper, a magnifying glass, a pony tuxedo, three bottles of medicine, and ten rolls of duct tape. That was what he found in just a few hours and he was only halfway through the pack.
“How did they fit all this stuff in here?” Ben mumbled to himself.
“Oh, what is going on over here?”
Ben spun quickly to see one of the Diamond Dogs standing there. The short one with the jowls again. He looked over to see the other two were busy talking to Rarity. By the looks of it they were laying on the flattery, and laying it on thick. Rarity was so caught up she didn't even realize that one of them had left.
“Nothing,” Ben blurted out in response to the Diamond Dog. “Absolutely nothing is going on.”
“Ooohh,” The Diamond Dog darted past Ben and started going through all the items. “What are these? Dangerous items that Lady Rarity said you had?”
“What? No, of course not. Do these things look dangerous to you?” Ben said. “Hell, this is practically a party.”
“Dangerous items must be in here then,” The Dog said as he peered into the open pack. He stuck his whole head into the pack to look. Ben tried to stop him, but it was too late.
A second later and Ben heard a snap and the Dog started howling in pain. He yanked his head out the pack and Ben saw an oversized mousetrap stuck to his jowls. He was clawing at in an attempt to get it off. It was not working. In his struggle the Dog didn't notice the items Ben had already laid out. His foot slipped on a roll of duct tape and he fell on the colorful box, which proceeded to launch him into the air with the force of spring powered boxing glove.
“Where do they get these things?” Ben asked the universe.
Rarity was completely taken in by the Diamond Dogs flattery. They were lavishing her with compliment after compliment and she was loving it. She knew they didn't mean a word of it, but that didn't stop her from letting them keep going. That is until one of the fell from the sky right between them all.
The Diamond Dog fell with a scream, landed with a thud, and cringed as the mousetrap snapped off his face and flew off to the side. Everyone just stared for a moment at the fallen Dog. He was eagerly trying to keep what breath remained in him where it was and trying to get more.
“Oh my,” Rarity finally said, “What happened to you?”
The Diamond Dog lifted a hand weakly and pointed over to the side. All eyes turned to see Ben strolling up to them with the pack slung over his shoulder. Rarity was confused, but the Diamond Dogs were quick to come to a conclusion. They jumped over their fallen brother and attacked Ben.
“Hold it!” Ben cried as they got close. He had one hand in the pack already. “I have many dangerous items in here. I can make your day much worse.”
The two Diamond Dogs traded a single glance. “We'll risk it.”
There was nothing left to decide. Ben would have to fight. For himself. For Rarity. The Diamond Dogs were closing in. He reached farther into the pack and pulled out the first thing he could grasp. He yanked it out and held it menacingly.
“Beware, Dogs!” He said.
“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!”
Ben looked up at his hand to see that he was holding onto the rubber ducky he had found. Great. I pull out the most useless item I've found. Ben did the only thing he could and threw the rubber ducky at them. It bounced harmlessly off one of them with a small squeak.
“He has nothing. Get him!”
Ben scrambled to find something in the pack. He fumbled around until he found his hands on a box. He pulled it out and threw it, not even knowing exactly what it was. Luck was with him however, as the box spilled tacks all over the ground between him and the Dogs. They couldn't stop in time and ended up falling over one another as they rolled into the tacks with many exclamations of pain.
“Ha! I do have things. I have tack- tics!” Ben shouted. He reached in the pack for more things to use. However, the Dogs recovered much faster than he expected. They were slowly making their way out of the the field of tacks.
Ben reached in until he found the boomerang. He stood up and aimed carefully. He threw the boomerang with all his might. It flew through the air on a collision course with the Dogs. They could see it coming, and then it was gone. The wind has suddenly kicked up and took the boomerang away.
“Dammit!” Ben let out. “Don't worry, Rarity. I'll be there soon. Just give me a minute.”
“Oh, I'm not worried dear,” Rarity said. She was sitting on the fallen Dog and filing a hoof. “You are doing quite well, actually.”
The next things Ben pulled out were the pad of pink post its, and a bottle of manespray. By that point the Diamond Dogs had reached him. They were about to swipe at him with their digging claws, but Ben was faster.
He spun and lashed out with the post its like a ninja. He pasted their faces with enough pink post its to spontaneously summon a pink party pony, but that didn't happen. Instead Ben stepped back and sprayed their posted faces with the manespray, letting it seep into the paper. As the Diamond Dogs clawed at their faces Ben found the duct tape and fireworks. He quickly moved around them, taping two to each of them. Of course he had no way to set them off, but they didn't know that.
The two finally managed to free their faces up and they breathed deeply a breath of fresh air now that they could actually breathe again. It was just after that that they noticed the duct tape and fireworks.
“You better leave us alone, or I will set those off and send you both to the moon,” Ben bluffed. “I wonder if you will come back in a thousand years.”
Another shared glance between them. “ARGH!”
Ben really thought that would work, but he forgot how stupid these Dogs could be. He quickly reached into the pack and pulled out the first thing he could find. It was heavy, really heavy. He pulled up with all his strength.
“A cinder block? That explains why it was so heavy.” Ben said as they came upon him. “Here, hold this for me.”
Ben shoved the cinder block into the claws of the Diamond Dog wearing the red vest. He didn't wait for a response as he pulled out the magnifying glass and the three bottles of medicine. He turned around with a wickedly devious smile across his face.
“Now, lets see who is sick, shall we?”
Ben lunged forward and inspected the Diamond Dog not holding the cinder block. It just so happened to the be the bigger, bulkier one. Ben did a small, simple examination of the Diamond Dog. Nothing to intimate, although the Dog's breath alone nearly ended things then and there.
“Ah, it is as I feared.” Ben said as he gazed through the magnifying glass into the Dog's left eye. “You are infected with the sickness. And since it is highly contagious, I must assume you have passed it to your friends as well. You will all need to take these pills three times a day for a month.”
Ben held out the bottles of medicine for them to see. The Diamond Dogs stared at the bottles. They could see the pills inside, and they were huge. How were they supposed to swallow those? Each of them gulped with nervousness.
“One more thing,” Ben said as if he read their minds, “These pills are suppositories.”
“NOOOO!” The Dog in the red vest threw his hands up, dropping the cinder block. It landed on his foot, causing him to scream even more. His arms flailed about and hit the other one. He fell over onto his belly. Ben's magnifying glass caught the glare from the sun at just the right angle and set spark to the fuses of the fireworks duct taped to him. Very quickly, Ben found the rope and tied their tails and feet to each other. Just as he finished the last knot the fireworks launched, carrying them both off to an unknown destination.
“Haha! I win.” Ben stated proudly.
“Not quite, darling.” Rarity said as she jumped off the other one. “I believe this one is coming to. You might want to deal with him.”
Rarity was right. He was coming to. The first thing he saw was his two brother Dogs flying off somewhere in a blaze of embarrassment. He got to his feet and found Rarity. He quickly went to attack her.
Rarity backed away slowly from the angry Dog. He was angry and she was alone, and her wits would do her no good here. As she backed up she felt her hoof hit something. She heard a small squeak underneath her. She looked down to see that she had stepped on a rubber ducky.
“So that's where my ducky went,” She said.
She reached down to pick it up. As her head lowered the Diamond Dog saw something. It was flying through the air. It was also spinning. And it was getting bigger. He didn't know why, and then it hit him. Rarity came back up to see one end of a boomerang sticking out of the Dog's teeth.
“Nevermind, Ben. This one is taken care of.” Rarity said as she walked off with her ducky.
With all the stuff Ben used to fend off the Diamond Dogs there was now much more room in the pack. Him and Rarity loaded it with as many gems as possible and then some. After that they headed back to Ponyville. They wanted to go home and relax.
“So, Rarity,” Ben said. “Do you think we have enough gems?”
“Ahaha.” Rarity giggled at Ben's question. “My dear, first rule of fashion: You can never have too many gems.”
Later That Evening
“Whoa,” Tessla said. “That sounds intense.”
“And totally untrue,” Austin said. “If we weren't in Equestria, I would swear you were lying. But I actually believe every word you just said.”
“Hells no! No way that's true,” Rainbow Dash slammed her cup of cider down. “I don't believe a word you just said. You saying you beat three Diamond Dogs with nothing but tacks, fireworks, duct tape, and a lie.”
“It's called bluffing, Dash,” Ben said, proud of himself. “You can do a lot with it.”
“Bullshit,” Dash said, right before her head hit the table. Sounds of snoring came from her a few seconds later.
“Well, that was my day,” Ben said, “Tessla, how was your day?”
“Me and Fluttershy just went around feeding the animals and caring for them. The most exciting thing I did today was bandage a bluejay's injured wing. Trust me, your moving up the badass scale with that story.”
“Bullshit,” Dash said in her sleep in between loud snores.
“Come on.” Austin said. “We should probably head back to the castle.”
“Yeah. I'm beat.” Ben said.
“I thought you won?” Austin joked, to which Tessla facepalmed.
“Don't worry guys,” Applejack said as she waved them goodbye. “I'll take mighty fine care of Dash.”
===
Austin shot up from a dead sleep to a hard banging on his door shook him from his post Luna dream state. He hopped out of bed and went to the door. He opened it to find Tessla standing there. He looked worse than Austin did, with his hair barely even put up.
“Ben wants us,” Was all he said.