//------------------------------//
// Coercion 
// Story: Fortune Favors The Bold 
// by TheEquestrianWing 
//------------------------------//

In another setting, Bronze Star might have found Spike's outburst hilarious. But now was hardly the time for humor. One of his friends had just been abducted by a group of underground-dwelling mongrels. Another of his friends appeared to be in shock.

Spike turned to Bronze Star and questioned him hysterically "What are we going to do? Whatarewegoingtodo? Whatarewegoingtodo? WHATAREWEGOINGTODO?"

Bronze Star gripped the baby dragon by his shoulders and told him "Calm down, Spike! Calm down! For the sake of Starswirl the Bearded, you need to calm the buck down!"

Spike was still notably disturbed, but he managed to ease down slightly. His breathing was quite labored. He distraughtly pronounced "We've got to save Rarity!"

"And we will," Bronze Star assured him, "But I need to know; who were those beasts?"

"They said they were 'Diamond Dogs,'" Spike recounted fearfully.

Bronze Star's eyes widened in alarm, and he murmured nervously "Oh, no."

"You know them?" Spike presumed.

"I've heard of them," Bronze Star revealed, "They're a race of overgrown canines who live beneath the surface. They covet jewels with an unearthly desire. For that reason alone, they've been forbidden to come within thirty miles of Canterlot. You see, they'll do anything, and I mean ANYTHING to increase their supply of precious stones."

"But why would they kidnap Rarity?" Spike enquired shakily.

"My guess is they want her for her gem-finding spell," Bronze Star theorized, "They must've seen us harvest the quarry and discovered her ability to locate hidden gems."

"Actually, that makes sense," Spike conceded, "Before they attacked us, one of them said she was a better hunter than them, so that could be what he meant."

"That'll mean big trouble for us," Bronze Star illuminated, "These creatures are very elusive and very greedy. Once they get their paws on something they want, they never let it go. At least not willingly."

Spike reverted to his previous unsettled state of mind. He uttered apprehensively "So, how are we going to rescue Rarity?"

"I have a plan," Bronze Star apprised him, "Firstly, I need to ask; are you capable of running all the way back to town by yourself?"

"I… I guess so," Spike timidly replied, "Why?"

"I need you to go back to Ponyville and get help," Bronze Star instructed him, "As soon as you find some, come right back here."

"Okay," Spike avowed, "What about you?"

Bronze Star took a deep breath, gazed down into the large hole, and decisively announced "I'm going after them."

Spike was stunned by that. He assumed "By yourself?"

"Yeah," Bronze Star affirmed, "Somepony will have to scout ahead before we send a group down there. May as well be me. SIG Sauer's taught me plenty about infiltrating hostile territory."

"But there's no telling how many dogs are down there," Spike debated.

"Not to worry; I'm prepared," Bronze Star insisted. He opened his knapsack and pulled out a sharpened knife. He declared "Ever since that incident with the cockatrice, I've started carrying this around with me for protection. Since I'm armed and an experienced fighter, I should be alright."

Spike had to admit; Bronze Star made a very compelling case for his capability. As much as he desired to save Rarity, he was a little reluctant to leave the gold stallion by himself. He did not want the prince to have to rush into danger alone.

Bronze Star noticed Spike's discomfort, but he quickly devised a solution to remedy his uncertainty. He declared "Tell you what. Just to be safe, I'm going to change into my Alicorn form. That way I'll also have the advantages of magic and flight on my side. By combining those with my combat training and my weapon, I'll be ready for anything the Diamond Dogs can throw at me."

"Alright, that sounds like a great idea," Spike muttered in approval, "In that case, I'll make sure all the ponies I bring back from Ponyville know your real identity."

"I appreciate that," Bronze Star stated thankfully, "Now hurry back to town. If I'm not back by the time you are, just wait for me. If you still don't see me for fifteen minutes after you return, go after Rarity by yourselves. I can take care of myself. Don't worry about me until after you locate Rarity."

"You got it," Spike acknowledged, saluting the prince, "See you soon. Hopefully."

Bronze Star nodded and returned the salute. Spike then turned around and hurried away from the area. The gold stallion watched as the baby dragon sprinted his way back to Ponyville. Once he was out of his sight, Bronze Star turned back to the hole. He closed his eyes, cleared his mind of distractions, and removed the illusion spell on his forehead and back. Once his wings and horn reappeared, he took a moment to test them. After verifying that they were in fine condition, he slowly stepped up to the mouth of the hole. He then leaned forward and dove into the hole.

He was in absolute freefall for about a hundred feet. He was plummeting through a vertical tunnel that had been expertly dug in the earth. After that, he spotted what appeared to be the end of the tunnel. He spread his wings and flapped them robustly to break up his descent. Once he stopped plummeting altogether, Bronze Star hovered in the air for about a minute. Then he carefully lowered himself to the tunnel's opening. When he reached the opening, he warily poked his head out.

He discovered that he had arrived in a large cavern. He turned his head in all directions, and to his fortune, the place was empty. Subsequently, he dropped out of the tunnel and landed firmly on his hooves. Once he was on the ground, he studied his surroundings.

He was impressed by the cavern. It was made of stone and earth, and its walls and ceilings were heavily fortified. Clearly, the cave was not a naturally-occurring structure. It had been crafted entirely by the Diamond Dogs. Bronze Star had to admit; while Diamond Dogs were not very wise or clever, they were excellent miners.

He just hoped they were not TOO excellent. Otherwise, he would probably have to traverse through a labyrinth of tunnels while he was down in the caverns. He might also run into a number of traps or obstacles along the way. And there was no telling if he would actually get any closer to Rarity even after he endured all of that. For all he knew, these passages could have gone on for miles in every direction. Including downwards.

Still, he was not going to let Rarity down. He would do everything he could to find her and save her from these foul beings. While he might not have known where or how to locate her, he was very determined to succeed in this scenario.

Bronze Star proceeded unhurriedly and vigilantly down the passageways of the cavern. He made sure to keep his knife bared at all times. He trotted at this moderate rate for about fifty feet, and he still did not encounter any Diamond Dogs. So he decided to pick up his pace. He soon accelerated to a full gallop, but he was very light on his hooves, so he was able to avoid making any noise with his hooves. He was very grateful for his excellent memory, as well; he was able to compose a map of the cavern in his head.

After moving without interruption for five entire minutes, Bronze Star finally encountered someone.

He had been travelling through a straight corridor when he came across another corridor that ran perpendicular to the first one. Just before he reached the intersection, he spotted a Diamond Dog on the path ahead.

The dog was also clad in armor, and he was walking back and forth in a line. Evidently, he was patrolling the area. Bronze Star kept a close eye on that dog, and he waited until his back was turned. Once it was, the gold stallion rushed up behind the dog, seized him from behind, and wrapped his left front leg around his throat.

The dog immediately started resisting Bronze Star. Although he was larger and bulkier, Bronze Star sill possessed superior strength and agility. He squeezed his front leg tighter around the dog's throat, and after another twenty seconds of this, the dog finally succumbed to this assault. He slipped out of awareness and went limp.

Bronze Star smirked in appeasement and carefully lowered the Diamond Dog to the ground. Then he studied the vicinity and ascertained that no one else was there; just the single patrol dog. After that, he contemplated if he should continue on his previous path, go back the way he came, or choose a different route. In the end, he headed to the east on the adjoining corridor.

Over the next twenty minutes, Bronze Star encountered several more Diamond Dogs. Luckily for him, he rarely came across more than one of them at any time. He was able to disable them with the same stealthy tactical method he had used on the first dog. Sometimes he bumped into a pair of them, but he was able to separate them from each other and take them out individually.

In all that time, he managed to avoid detection. He never once had to use his knife, and he was hoping he would not have to resort to using it at all. Just to be safe, he held it in his front hoof at all times.

After wandering through the tunnels in almost complete silence for about a half hour, Bronze Star heard voices. It sounded like a group of people yelping in distress. That was accompanied by a high-pitched feminine voice that went "Whee! Ha, ha, ha!"

Bronze Star recognized that voice as Pinkie Pie's. He listened closely, and her voice appeared to originate from the east. Based on how her voice reflected off the walls of the cavern, she must have been below the surface when she cheered.

Not long after, Bronze Star heard another voice scream "Nooooooooooo!"

Obviously, it was Spike. Based on his voice's point of origin, he must have been standing at the same level as Bronze Star when he yelled. On the bright side, at least Bronze Star knew he was no longer alone in the caverns. However, despite how loud Spike had yelled, he sounded as though he was at least a couple hundred meters away from the gold stallion. Based on the negative nature of Spike's outburst, the baby dragon and the ponies he had brought back were no closer to finding Rarity than Bronze Star was.

Bronze Star could have used the Royal Canterlot Voice to reach out to them, but he would risk alerting the Diamond Dogs to his presence, too. So for the present, it looked as though he was still on his own.

Then a thought occurred to him. If the dogs really wanted Rarity for her gem-finding spell, they must have taken her to the section of the quarry with the greatest concentration of gems. Of course, Rarity was the only one who had that spell. Unless she had taught Twilight Sparkle how to perform it, of course. As for Bronze Star, he had to resort to more unconventional means to singling out the tunnel with the richest gem deposits.

He recalled everything he had ever learned about the history of mines in Equestria, and when he put all that information together, he noticed an intriguing pattern. Most of the time, the biggest and most prosperous yields in a mine were in the section that was directly northwest of its center. With that in mind, he got the idea to head to that part of this cavern.

As luck would have it, his inclination produced fruitful results. Ten minutes later, he arrived in the region that was northwest of the heart of the cavern. When he got there, he heard a whimpering that was unmistakably Rarity's. She sounded very close by; like she was in the very next chamber.

Since he could not ignore the possibility that Rarity was not alone, Bronze Star did not rush to her. Instead, he steadily trotted to the end of the tunnel and peeked around the corner.

Sure enough, Rarity was right there. She had been backed against a wall by Rover, Fido, and Spot. She pleaded with them "Oh please, Diamond Dogs. Please let me go."

"No!" Spot refused.

"You're our precious little pony," Fido proclaimed.

"Forever!" Rover added in, "Muhahahaha!"

Bronze Star watched this scene, and he rolled his eyes and mumbled under his breath "Why is it every articulate adversary we face has an evil laugh?"

"But whatever do you want from me?" Rarity franticly inquired.

"Gemsss!" Rover uttered lustily.

"Yes!" Spot conceded, "The gems. The jewels."

"Find them!" Fido demanded, "Find them all!"

So Bronze Star's theory as to why the Diamond Dogs had captured Rarity was correct. They got the idea to force her to use her gem-finding spell for them. That was unusually astute for a Diamond Dog.

At any rate, Rarity seemed to take that news surprisingly well. She brightened up and stated "Oh! Is that all?"

She trotted forward a few steps and used her magic to examine the ground.

Bronze Star considered the idea of intervening and getting Rarity out of there right then. But Spot, Fido, and Rover were keeping a close eye on her. There were a number of armored guard dogs in this chamber, too. While Bronze Star was very proficient in skirmishing, he would not be able to engage all of them at once. Plus, he still had no idea how they were going to get out of the mine. He knew it would only be a matter of time before the dogs he had knocked out were discovered by their companions. Once that happened, the route he had used to get to this part of the mine would be swarming with dogs. So whenever Bronze Star and the others escaped, they could not go back the way he came.

For the moment, all he could do was watch and plan.

After a few seconds of searching, Rarity located a healthy stash of gems. She picked up a stick with her magic and used it to mark an X on a spot on the ground. She pronounced merrily "There. A lovely pocket of jewels are right there. Now, if you'd be so kind as to show me the exit?"

She was about to leave, but an armored Diamond Dog appeared in front of her and pointed a spear at her menacingly. The three alpha dogs gathered around the X, and Rover remarked "Good!"

He laughed nastily and told the white mare "Now, dig them up, pony."

"What?" Rarity uttered in disbelief, "But you said you wanted me to find the gems."

"Yes!" Spot affirmed, "Find and then dig."

"Dig?" Rarity repeated incredulously.

"Yes," Fido responded, "Dig."

Rarity hesitantly approached the X. All at once, Fido, Rover, and Spot ruggedly pointed at it. Realizing she had no choice, Rarity groaned in uneasiness, and she started patting at the ground with her front hoof. She softly grunted in displeasure as she did this. Apparently, this was her version of digging.

Spot, Rover, and Fido just blinked in perplexity as she did this.

A few seconds later, Fido zoomed forward and snapped "What are you doing? We said dig!"

Rarity stopped "digging" and sternly rejoined with "Forgive me, but prior to you so rudely dragging me into your dirt pit, I had a pony-pedi and I am not about to chip a hoof because you dislike my style of digging."

After that, she continued gently patting the ground with her front hoof. All the while, she grunted uncomfortably.

Bronze Star could not help but snicker at this display. Evidently, Rarity was not going to make this easy for the dogs.

Before long, Rover covered his face with his paws and murmured in exasperation "Oh, for goodness. Fine! Just stop. Stop!"

Rarity complied with this order and backed away. Bronze Star noticed that a number of armored Diamond Dogs were sticking out of the entrance to a tunnel on the ceiling of the chamber. Rover looked up at them, pointed at the X, and commanded them "Dig, dogs! Dig! And fast."

The armored dogs dropped out of the tunnel, landed on the ground, and proceeded to clear away the dirt around the X. Rarity smirked in satisfaction. She had managed to get herself out of digging.

However, the alpha dogs had other plans for her. Fido picked up a wagon of gems, and Spot picked up the harness that went with it. The former of them declared "She won't dig, she pulls."

The two of them walked over to Rarity. The fashion designer gapped in astonishment and backed away from them, saying furiously "I beg your pardon, but what, pray tell, are you doing?"

"Others will dig," Fido clarified as he and Spot backed her into another wall, "You will haul the wagon."

"Prrrecious pony-pedi will be preserved," Spot proclaimed as he slid the harness on Rarity's back.

As the two dogs fastened the harness to the white mare, she derided them with "Well, somebody certainly needs proper nail care. When was the last time you two had a manicure? You're scratching up my coat with those jagged things!"

Rover slunk forward and bade her "Please be quiet!"

"Good heavens, what is that smell?" Rarity asked in disgust.

"Smeeeeeell?" Rover mumbled, leaning closer to her.

"Ah, mystery solved," Rarity cheekily commented, "It's your breath."

Rover seemed bewildered by that statement. He took a moment to smell his own breath, and he realized that it actually was rather foul. Even so, he disregarded that fact and muttered "Enough! Search, pony!"

"Well, since you insist..." Rarity grumbled. Over the next minute, she trotted around the chamber, pulling the cart in tow. As she moved, she used her magic to pinpoint every horde of gems. Every time she found one, she used her stick to mark it. At one point, she inadvertently caused a small piece of the ceiling to collapse on two of the diggers. Bronze Star found that both amusing and ingenious. Rover, Fido, and Spot always stayed close by Rarity's side as she moved. All the while, she made some very eloquent observations about the Diamond Dogs and their lifestyle.

She ranted with "But I must say the working conditions in here are simply dreadful. Musty and damp, it's going to wreak havoc on my mane. And this air is stifling, suffocating. And when I try to take a deep breath, the stench of all you dogs makes me nauseated. You look and smell like you haven't bathed in weeks. Have you never heard of soap? You could all do with a good round of soap and water."

She was not kidding about the bathing part. When two of the guard dogs sniffed their armpits, they both passed out. So far, she had taken out four of them without delivering a single blow. Bronze Star thought this rather convenient. If Rarity kept this up, she would soon reduce the Diamond Dogs' numbers to an amount that he would be able to successfully fight off by himself.

Just then, Rarity stopped the wagon and professed "Oh water, oh water, I'm terribly thirsty. Could I please have some water?"

By now, she had succeeded in greatly irritating the alpha dogs. Spot shuttered and spoke impatiently "Good gracious, I can't take this anymore. Be quiet, pony!"

"And that's another thing," Rarity rebuked them, "I would appreciate if you stopped calling me 'pony.' I am a lady and I wish to be addressed as such. So you may call me 'Miss' or 'Rarity' or 'Miss Rarity.'"

"Enough!" Rover shouted, grabbing his ears, "Your whining! It-it-it hurts!"

"Whining?" Rarity scolded him, "I am not whining. I am complaining. Do you want to hear whining?"

"Uh-oh," Bronze Star whispered to himself. The dogs were in for it NOW.

Rarity then said in a profoundly bothersome and sarcastic tone of voice "Thiiis iiis whiiining! Oooh, this harness is too tiiight! It's going to chafe. Can't you loosen it? Oooh, it hurts and it's sooo ruuusty! Why didn't you clean it first? It's gonna leave a staaain! And the wagon's getting heeeavy, why do I have to pull it?!"

Fido had jumped into the cart in an attempt to drown out Rarity's shrieking. Spot and Rover both had their paws clamped over their ears. All three of the dogs were struggling to mute the agonizing sounds, but nothing they did was even remotely successful in muffling Rarity's obnoxious tirade.

Bronze Star chuckled at the scene. At this time, he did not know who to feel sorrier for: Rarity or the Diamond Dogs.

Ultimately, Spot collapsed to the ground, groaned, and demanded "Make it stop!"

"Stop whining!" Rover yelled.

"But I thought you wanted whiiining!" Rarity wailed, stomping her front hooves.

Rover fell onto his stomach and firmly held his paws against his ears. He gazed up at Rarity and desperately pronounced "Geh! We'll do anything, pony!"

Rarity stopped her irksome rant, but she glared at Rover as though she was cross with him. Noting his mistake, Rover quickly corrected himself with "Oh, uh, uh, we'll do anything, 'Miss Rarity.'"

As he laughed nervously, Rarity gazed off to the side and dreamily asked "Anything?"

Bronze Star was amazed at how easily Rarity had managed to turn the tables on the Diamond Dogs. She did not even have to throw a single blow to get them to submit.

Currently, she appeared to have the situation here well under control. Because of that, Bronze Star figured he could afford to leave her for a short time. While she handled the alpha dogs, he decided to slip away and search for an escape path.

Bronze Star made a note of the chamber's location so that he would remember how to return to it. Then he departed from the chamber. He silently galloped through the tunnels and looked everywhere for any possible path that could lead out of the mines.

Pretty much all the floors to the tunnels were smooth and flat. However, after aimlessly searching for a while, Bronze Star came across a passageway whose ground was slanted slightly uphill. That discrepancy attracted his attention, so he decided to pursue that pathway.

As he followed this route, Bronze Star noticed that it consistently went upward. He was fairly confident that it led to higher ground. Within minutes, he arrived in a vast hall. After confirming that the area was deserted, he crept quietly into the hall. Ever since he had entered the mines, he had been keeping track of how far below the surface he was, and if his calculations were correct, he was less than twenty-five feet below ground. Including the passage he had taken to get here, there were eight other tunnels that could be accessed in this hall. Bronze Star was inclined to believe that at least one of them had to lead outside.

A moment later, he spotted a gleam of light coming from one of the tunnels. He trotted over to the mouth of this tunnel and gazed inside. Like the last passageway, this one ascended at an angle. The light became brighter, and it originated somewhere above Bronze Star's head. It was less than twenty meters away, and he could tell that the light was the Sun's natural rays.

Bronze Star smiled and said to himself "Bingo. A clear path to the surface. This'll be perfect for when we make our getaway."

"Well, congratulations," a raspy voice mockingly stated from behind him.

In response, Bronze Star swiftly turned around, and he was greeted with a dismal sight. Just a moment ago, he had been alone. Now the room was swarming with Diamond Dogs. Somehow, they had snuck in without the prince noticing.

There where thirteen Diamond Dogs in total. All of them were clad in armor, and twelve were armed with spears. The thirteenth won was armed with a shield and sword, and he wore a cape, as well. He stood at the center of the pack, towering over his associates. Clearly, he was their leader.

The caped Diamond Dog gave a wicked grin and pronounced "Boys, it would appear as though today's our lucky day. First we captured the gem-finding pony, and now we have our very first visit from the rulers of her people."

Bronze Star raised an eyebrow and presumed "So you know who I am?"

"Of course," the caped dog affirmed, "Just because we live below ground, that does not mean we know nothing of what goes on above our heads. We know all about the ponies and the immortal Alicorns who lead them. I would have thought they'd be smart enough not to intrude on our turf. It seems you have proven me wrong, Prince Bronze Star."

"Well, for that, I apologize," Bronze Star scathingly retorted, "Believe me, I would prefer not to linger in this filthy place any longer than I need to. I am only here to recover what you took."

"What did we take?" the lead dog demanded.

"You're holding my friend Rarity prisoner," Bronze Star illuminated, "Free her, and we'll leave without conflict."

The dogs laughed at that proposal as if it was completely ridiculous. Once they quieted down, the leader declared "It will not be that simple,"

"Then perhaps we can negotiate," Bronze Star suggested hopefully, "There must be something we have that we could give you in return for her release. Surely you are capable of reason."

"Reason?" the caped dog spat heatedly "You think you can reason with me? Do you know who I am?"

"No, I do not," Bronze Star drily replied, "You know my name, but I know not yours."

"You speak to Brutus," the leader revealed, "Remember that well. That is the name of your new master."

"'Master?'" Bronze Star remarked, as if he found that concept amusing, "Last time I checked, my people were YOUR masters."

"Yes, until we retreated to a place where they could not pursue us," Brutus contended angrily.

"I don't know about that," Bronze Star wryly countered, "I'm here, after all."

"Yes, and here you'll stay," Brutus firmly decided, "Princess Celestia would give a healthy ransom for your safe return."

"That's your plan?" Bronze Star muttered, scoffing, "To use me as a bargaining chip?"

"Yes, you are now our hostage," Brutus decreed.

"Forgive me if I'm wrong, but doesn't a person have to be disarmed and restrained before you can declare them as your hostage?" Bronze Star sarcastically alleged, "Take a look at me. I have a military-grade weapon, and I'm completely capable of independent movement."

"Are you blind or something?" Brutus bellowed crossly, "Look around you. You are outnumbered thirteen to one."

Bronze Star chuckled and spoke derisively "I'm amazed you can count that high."

Brutus grimaced in anger and snapped "You'll learn to control that tongue of yours, or I'll cut it out!"

"That so?" Bronze Star dared him, raising his knife, "I'd like to see you try."

"Very well," Brutus proclaimed. He gazed down at his subordinates, and he sternly ordered them "Take him."

All at once, the twelve armored dogs charged towards the gold stallion. He waited until they were within reaching distance of him. Then he reacted.

He focused on the closest dog and shoved his body weight against him. The dog was knocked flat on his back, and Bronze Star landed on him hard. After that, he jumped off the downed enemy, landed on his hooves, and turned to face the other eleven dogs.

Another dog tried to grab Bronze Star, but he ducked underneath the dog's legs, seized him by his hindquarters, and threw him against a wall.

A third dog tried to stab Bronze Star with his spear; the gold stallion easily evaded his blows. Then he clutched the dog's shoulders and tossed him at two other dogs. The three of them roughly collided together; all three were effectively taken out at once.

The remaining seven dogs attempted to surround the gold stallion. He avoided this by spreading his wings and rising into the air. He was high enough so that they could not reach him. He focused on the nearest dog and soared towards him, shoving him forcibly to the ground.

Immediately after, he picked up another dog, sailed upwards, and slammed him against the ceiling. He managed to drop him on another dog below him, disabling that one, too.

The last four dogs tried to get Bronze Star to return to the ground by throwing their spears at him. He used his magic to rapidly teleport to different parts of the room. By carefully timing his movements, he was able to confuse the dogs and take three of them out individually.

When there was only one dog left, Bronze Star landed back on the ground and faced him one-on-one. The dog was determined to succeed where his colleagues had failed. He lifted his spear and bolted towards Bronze Star. The gold stallion did not so much as flinch until the dog was upon him. Then he almost effortlessly raised his free front hoof and struck the dog in the face. The dog groaned and collapsed on the ground.

It had taken Bronze Star less than five minutes to neutralize all twelve dogs by himself. He looked around the hall and nodded in satisfaction.

He then looked up at Brutus. The caped dog was notably flabbergasted by what he had just seen. Bronze Star grinned and told him slyly "Wow, that was anticlimactic. Then again, I should have known better than to expect much from them. I hope you have a little more skill."

Brutus glowered and lightly nodded his head. He drew his sword, held it in a threatening manner, and proclaimed "I'd be happy to oblige."

Bronze Star assumed a defensive stance again, and he goaded the caped dog "Come and get me, then."

In response, Brutus raised his weapon and darted towards the gold stallion. He waved his sword violently; Bronze Star just barely managed to parry his blow.

He soon learned that Brutus was indeed much more skilled than his twelve subordinates. He had to put up some serious effort to resist his attacks and defend himself at the same time.

After about three minutes of intense dueling, Bronze Star spotted an exploitable flaw in Brutus' technique. The upper half of his right leg was unprotected. The prince waited for an opening, and then he waved his blade at the caped dog's weak spot. He managed to nick Brutus' thigh. He did not slice him deep, but he did cut him enough to knock him off balance. Bronze Star rebounded and used his hind legs to buck the caped dog in the back.

Consequently, Brutus fell flat on his stomach. Before he had a chance to recover, Bronze Star jumped onto his back and struck him repeatedly on the back of his head with the hilt of his knife. By the time he relented, Brutus was barely offering any resistance.

Bronze Star smiled in satisfaction and flipped the caped dog onto his back. He stood over him and professed "For a society that lives in isolation from civilization, you dogs must not have a lot of time on your paws. Otherwise, your fighting prowess would have been considerably better than THAT."

"You'll regret this," Brutus mumbled menacingly.

"Oh, shut up," Bronze Star sharply retorted. He lifted his knife and struck Brutus on his forehead, knocking him out cold. After that, he went around to the other twelve dogs and knocked out those of them who were still conscious, as well.

Now he was standing in the hall with thirteen incapacitated Diamond Dogs at his hooves. The best part was that his knife was totally clean. He had disabled all of the dogs without spilling a drop of blood, just as he had hoped to do.

A lot of time had elapsed since he had last seen Rarity, though. Now that he had secured a safe escape route, he decided to return to the chamber and ensure that she was alright. If there were fewer Diamond Dogs around this time, he would be able to get her out of there without any further delay. Of course, considering what he had just accomplished in the hall, he doubted he would have any trouble.

When he got to the chamber, Rarity was still pointing out the locations of various gem hordes in the ground. However, that was the only thing she was doing for the Diamond Dogs. The circumstances had changed; she looked more like their mistress than their prisoner now.

Currently, the dogs were hanging decorative banners for her, fanning her, and had given her a goblet of water to drink. They were doing all the digging themselves. In fact, Fido, Spot, and Rover were hauling the wagons.

Rarity sipped water from the chalice, sighed, and remarked in slight disappointment "This water is hardly sparkling. But I suppose it will have to do."

Several meters away, Spot, Fido, and Rover were struggling to transport the wagons across the chamber. They did not seem to be questioning this at all.

Rover panted in exhaustion as he caught his breath. Then he seemed to come to his senses. He uttered snappily "Wait! Why are we doing this?"

"To stop the awful noises from the pony's mouth, remember?" Spot replied. He then made a sound to imitate Rarity's whines, but Rover hastily covered the smaller dog's mouth with his left paw.

"Yes, yes, I know," Rover stated edgily, "This is ridiculous! Letting a pony order us around. What are we? Mice or dogs?"

Fido and Spot looked at each other, and they said simultaneously "Mi... dogs?"

"Dogs do not pull," Rover firmly observed, "Ponies pull. Let her make the awful noises."

The three alpha dogs promptly unfastened themselves from their carts. Rover then rolled his cart all the way over to Rarity and proceeded to place the harness on her back. She did not even seem to notice him until he began fastening it. She glowered at him and demanded "What are you doing?"

While he adjusted the clasp, Rover deliberately knocked over the goblet she had been drinking from.

"Hey, you spilled my drink," Rarity pointed out, annoyed. Rover ignored her and finished fastening the harness. Rarity could feel it dig into her coat, and she whined "Not sooo tiiight!"

"Ha!" Rover rejoined in defiance, "Make the noises all you want. But move while you make them."

He slapped Rarity's flank and jeered "Hyah, mule!"

Rarity seemed quite stunned by that statement, but it gave her another idea for how she could turn the tables on the Diamond Dogs. She slowly looked over at Rover and uttered in shock "Did you just call me a... mule?"

Rover anxiously gazed off to the side, and then he looked back at her and mumbled "Ehh..."

Right then, Rarity's eyes were flowing with tears. She said gloomily "Mules are ugly. Are you saying that I too am ugly?"

She then collapsed onto her stomach and started crying loudly. Rover stared at her in astonishment.

Spot walked up to his side and queried "What are these noises?"

"He called me ugly!" Rarity drearily claimed.

"No!" Rover disputed, "Mule! I said mule!"

"An old ugly mule!" Rarity uttered in misery, "And it's true! Just look at me. I used to be beautiful, but, but nooow..."

Fido appeared next to his compansions and stated reassuringly "No, no! You're still beautiful, po... uh, Miss Rarity."

"You're just saying that!" Rarity whimpered.

"No, you're still pretty and... and..." Spot insisted.

"Oh, uh, uh, nice," Rover added in, "Yeah."

"I don't believe you!" Rarity murmured sadly, "You never liked me!"

She continued wailed noisily. Right now, the Diamond Dogs were struggling to retain both their hearing and their sanity.

As for Bronze Star, it was extremely difficult for him to resist the urge to laugh. He noticed that Rarity's sobbing had driven most of the armored guard dogs out of the chamber. Including the three alpha dogs, there were only five dogs left. Bronze Star was about ready to move in.

Fido, Spot, and Rover clamped their paws over their ears, but this did nothing to muffle the Unicorn's wails. Rover uttered impatiently "Oh, I've had just about enough of this!"

"So have I," Bronze Star brashly announced, stepping out of his hiding place.

After he made that declaration, Rarity and the Diamond Dogs turned to face the gold stallion.

The two armored dogs promptly charged towards him. He just smirked and casually walked forward. When the first armored dog reached him, Bronze Star seized him by the neck and slammed him into the ground. When the second armored dog reached him, Bronze Star raised his free hoof and punched him squarely in the face.

Both dogs were now lying on the ground, moaning in anguish. Bronze Star nonchalantly sauntered past them, and he gradually approached Rarity and the three alpha dogs. Beneath her apparently hopeless appearance, Rarity was overjoyed. The Diamond Dogs, however, were shaking in fear.

"How'd you get here?" Fido inquired anxiously.

"I found a hole in the ground," Bronze Star cheekily retorted, "Funny thing is, I wasn't planning on coming here today. But don't worry; I'll be leaving now. And she's coming with me."

Rarity dropped her miserable act, grinned widely, and got back to her hooves.

When the Diamond Dogs did not say anything, Bronze Star pointed his knife at them and commented "Do you have a problem with that? Your buddy Brutus had one, and I had to beat some sense into him. Literally. Must I do the same to you?"

"Hey, no need for threats," Rover asserted, holding up his paws.

Spot nodded his head and agreement, saying "You want her, she's yours."

"She's not even worth the trouble," Fido perceived.

"Very good," Bronze Star remarked, lowering his knife, "Now, get that harness off her."

"Yeah," Fido avowed. He then approached the white Unicorn and prepared to remove the harness from her back. However, Rarity gestured for him to stop.

"Actually, leave it on," she stated, "If it's all the same to you, I think I'll take this cart."

"Out of the question," Rover rebutted, "Those gems are ours. You and your lover can go, but the gems stay."

Bronze Star rolled his eyes at that last remark, and Rarity's facial expression tightened. She cried crossly "For the record, he's NOT my lover. We both have our sights set on another pony. But you do NOT want to mess with him. Or me! Need I remind you that you wouldn't have FOUND these gems without me? They're rightfully mine! So I'm taking them with me. You got theat? They're mine!"

Fido, Rover, and Spot covered their ears again, and Fido declared "Fine! Keep them!"

"Thank you," Rarity said appreciatively.

She was prepared to leave, but Bronze Star had a clever idea. He trotted over to his friend and told her "Actually, Rarity, hold on. You came out here for gems, right?"

"Correct, Bronze," she affirmed.

"Well, I think you deserve some compensation for all the trouble you've been through," he proposed. Rarity grinned and nodded in agreement. The gold stallion turned to the three alpha dogs and observed "Surely you can spare more than one wagon of gems."

"Are you trying to extort us, Alicorn?" Spot mumbled irately.

"Are you kidding me?!" Rarity snapped angrily, "'Alicorn?' Don't you know who he is?! He could have you thrown in a dungeon for all eternity, you vicious brutes! If you know what's good for you, you'll treat him with respect!"

"Okay, okay, no more!" Rover pleaded with her. The three alpha dogs rushed out of the chamber and hastily returned with five more loaded carts of gems. After that, Rover declared "You can take all that! Just stop tormenting us, we beseech you!"

"I will," Rarity proclaimed easily. She then smirked wickedly and shouted "But get out of my sight! Or I'll…"

"Noooooooo!" the three alpha dogs yelled in unison. They bolted as fast as they could away from Rarity.

Bronze Star watched as they sprinted away, and he chuckled in amusement. He turned to the white Unicorn and revealed "Believe it or not, I pity them."

"Truthfully, I do, too," she claimed, giggling.

Just then, a door on the other side of the chamber was thrown open, and Twilight Sparkle and Spike entered the chamber. Spike had a rope around the lavender mare's muzzle, and he was using a stalagmite as a sword. He waved it around and announced "Lady Rarity, I'm here to save you!"

Six other mares entered after the magic student and her assistant. They were Cassia Sprig, Paisley Branch, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack. The eight of them were greeted with an unexpected sight. Spot, Rover, and Fido were running towards them frantically; they were screaming over each other: "Save us!" "Please, save us!" "Make it stop!" "Please!"

When they reached the seven mares and the dragon, they stopped. Twilight Sparkle raised an eyebrow and queried "Excuse me?"

"So picky," Spot commented.

"And critical," Fido added in.

"She won't stop talking," Spot disclosed.

"And crying," Fido remarked.

Rover gestured over his shoulder and revealed "We, uh, give her back. Yes."

Bronze Star and Rarity gradually approached the group of eight. The latter was still pulling the cart in tow.

"Rarity!" Spike cheered giddily, hopping off Twilight's back, "You're safe!"

"Why, yes," Rarity confirmed as Spike hugged her. She looked up at the mares and favorably told them "Hello, girls. You arrived just in time to assist me."

"Assist you with what?" Applejack inquired in perplexity.

"With those," Rarity elucidated, gesturing to the five loaded wagons behind her. The others seemed amazed by how many gems there were.

"You're letting her leave with all these... jewels?" Spike presumed in astonishment.

The alpha dogs were cowering in fear in a corner of the chamber. Rover stated pleadingly "Yes. Take them. And her with them."

"Please!" Spot implored them.

Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight Sparkle each hooked herself up to one of the other five carts. Spike climbed into the one Rarity was hauling. Paisley Branch, Cassia Sprig, and Bronze Star were the only ones who were unburdened.

The gold stallion wanted to ensure that the group made it out safely. He instructed the two security officers "Paisley, Cassia, watch the rear. Make sure we're not followed. I'll cover the front."

"Aye, Your Highness," Paisley Branch acknowledged.

"Got it, Your Highness," Cassia Sprig asserted.

Bronze Star smirked at their responses. Ever since he had revealed his true identity to the entire task force, all of its members had been much more reverent to him.

"Okay, let's blow this dump," the young prince proposed. Nopony needed to be told twice. Rover, Fido, and Spot watched in angry defeat as the nine ponies left.

As the group departed from the chamber, Bronze Star informed the others "I found a passage that leads directly to the surface. Follow me; I'll take us there now."

The young prince led the eight mares through the quarry's many tunnels. The place was like a maze, but he had not forgotten the route that would bring them outside. Within ten minutes, they found the corridor that went uphill. Bronze Star told them in advance that there were thirteen Diamond Dogs in the area ahead, but he had already dealt with them.

When they arrived, they found the armored Diamond Dogs unconscious. All the mares seemed astounded, particularly Paisley Branch and Cassia Sprig.

"You neutralized all these dogs singlehoofedly?" Cassia Sprig assumed.

"Yeah," Bronze Star validated, "I attempted to negotiate with them for Rarity's freedom. They were unwilling to see reason, so I resolved the conflict with a less diplomatic approach."

Paisley Branch smirked and pronounced "If you did all this to them just for kidnapping Rarity, I'd hate to imagine what you would have done if they kidnapped Applejack."

Everypony except the farmer and the prince chuckled at that statement. As for Bronze Star and Applejack, the two of them just frowned and gazed off to the side apprehensively. The last time they had been this close to each other, their meeting had ended dismally, and they had not talked to each other since then.

Ultimately, Bronze Star shrugged and professed "Let's just say that if they ever tried, I'll make them regret ever going up to the surface. Oh, well; I doubt they'd be able to get their paws on her, anyway."

"I agree," Rainbow Dash contended, "After all, it was because of Applejack that we managed to avoid capture, too. She helped us take out a bunch of those guard dogs when they tried to use us as workhorses."

"Yeah, that was mighty enjoyable," Applejack recounted, smiling.

Bronze Star was glad that she was in a good mood. He just hoped she would stay positive if he ended up talking to her.

Funnily enough, a moment later, Applejack trotted next to Bronze Star's side and remarked "By the way, you know something funny? On the way here, Spike almost kissed me by accident."

"Really?" Bronze Star said in interest.

She nodded her head and disclosed "Uh-huh. He was fantasizin' about rescuing Rarity, and I'm guessin' he mistook me for her or something."

"Nice," Bronze Star muttered in amusement, "And meanwhile, I was in the process of actually trying to saving Rarity down here."

"How about that," Twilight Sparkle noted, "Looks like the pairings were switched today."

"Indeed," Bronze Star conceded. He had to admit; there was quite a bit of irony in this setting. However, it was debatable if either of those "pairings" really existed. After all, Spike's affection for Rarity was almost completely one-sided, and Bronze Star was uncertain of the exact nature of his relationship with Applejack.

At least she was actually talking to him again. Moreover, she was acting as though their argument at the embassy never occurred. Either that, or she was pretending it had not happened. Still, he was glad that they were on speaking terms, and that she was not behaving as though their special relationship had never occurred. He hoped she was willing to talk more later on.

While the group passed through the hall, Pinkie Pie curiously looked around the area. Shortly before they reached the tunnel that led to the surface, Pinkie Pie told them "Wait, stop."

The other ponies halted in their tracks and turned to the pink mare.

"What is it, Pinkie?" Fluttershy queried.

Pinkie Pie continued gazing around the vicinity. Then she turned to the gold stallion and murmured nervously "Bronze, you said there were thirteen dogs, right?"

"Yeah, so?" Bronze Star replied.

"Well, look around," the pink mare bade him, "I only see twelve."

Straightaway, Bronze Star and the mares turned their attention to the unconscious Diamond Dogs. They counted them up several times, and each time, they arrived at twelve total. One of the dogs was unaccounted for. Bronze Star quickly found out which; none of the dogs on the ground were wearing a cape.

Brutus was missing.

After ten seconds of inactivity, Bronze Star thought he felt a wisp of something on his head. He quickly realized it was a miniscule amount of earth that must have fallen from the ceiling. The gold stallion looked upward, and he was greeted with an alarming sight.

Brutus was hanging from the ceiling. As soon as the gold stallion spotted him, he released his grip and dropped to the ground below. He landed on his back paws a few feet away from Applejack. Then he snarled angrily, drew his sword, and muttered furiously "You will pay for crossing me, Bronze Star. I'm going to take away the one you love."

Brutus then turned to Applejack and raised his sword high in the air.

Under normal circumstances, Applejack would have been able to move away safely or fight back. But because she was attached to one of the carts of gems, her range of motion was severely limited, so she was unable to do anything of the sort. She couldn't even trot backwards.

Brutus flashed an evil grin and plunged his blade forward. In less than a second, he drew blood.

But it was not Applejack's blood.

In the split-second beforehand, Bronze Star had intervened. He did not have enough time to counter Brutus' attack; his only option was to dive in front of the orange mare and take the blow for her. Brutus' sword sank into his lower chest.

Everyone there recoiled in shock. A few of the mares screamed. Even Brutus himself was astounded by what just happened.

For a few seconds, Bronze Star groaned in tremendous pain. However, his anguish was quickly replaced by a stronger and more dangerous feeling. He felt inexpressible rage passing through him. Completely ignoring the massive ache in his abdomen, he brought a terrible grimace on his face and slowly gazed up at Brutus. When the Diamond Dog saw the expression on Bronze Star's face, he was overcome with fear.

Bronze Star slowly raised his own knife into the air and slashed Brutus underneath his chin. He managed to draw blood as well; he cut the caped dog's throat open. Immediately, Brutus dropped his sword, stumbled backwards, and collapsed onto his back.

The blade of his sword was still protruding from Bronze Star's lower chest. He hastily gripped the weapon by the handle and yanked it out. The prince yelled in pain as he extracted it, but he managed to avoid collapsing.

Obviously, Bronze Star needed some time to recover from his injury. Applejack placed her front hoof on his shoulder and asked frantically "Bronze, are you alright?"

He lightly nodded his head, but he remained focused on the Diamond Dog. Once he regained his bearings, he limped toward Brutus, jumped onto his chest, and stared down at him. His facial expression was still conveying the utmost hatred and fury.

Brutus was too weak to fight back; he was bleeding steadily from his neck. However, Bronze Star had purposely missed his jugular vein. So he would not bleed out. Unless, of course, Bronze Star chose to inflict more damage.

For the first time that day, Bronze Star felt a great desire to do just that. He glared down at Brutus, gripped his knife tightly, and raised it over his head. He looked as though he was going to stab Brutus in the head with it.

"Bronze, don't do it!" Twilight Sparkle implored him.

The young prince ignored her and brought the knife crashing down. But he abruptly stopped when the tip of the blade was less than an inch away from Brutus' eye. The dog yelped in two forms of surprise; first in horror, and then in disbelief.

As Bronze Star held his knife in front of Brutus' face, he mumbled through gritted teeth "It would be incredibly easy to kill you. I wouldn't need to think twice about it, and I doubt anyone would mourn you after you're gone. Even so, I'm going to prove that my species is superior to yours. I'm going to spare your pathetic life, you monster."

He then withdrew his knife, learned forward, and darkly pronounced "But if you EVER harass one of my friends again, if I see you anywhere near Ponyville, if I catch so much as a whiff of your stench, I will put you in the ground permanently. Understand?"

Brutus was terrified. The witty, humorous stallion he had faced earlier was gone. He was seeing a totally different version of Bronze Star. This side of the prince only came out occasionally, but anyone who was unfortunate enough to witness it prayed that they never saw him like that ever again.

"DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?" Bronze Star shouted.

Although he was frozen in fear, Brutus lightly nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"Good," Bronze Star muttered. He then slammed the hilt of his knife against Brutus' forehead, knocking him out again.

Bronze Star gazed down at his defeated opponent and took a deep breath. Then he swiftly climbed off the caped dog. When he was back on the ground, he groaned and clutched his abdomen. Paisley Branch and Cassia Sprig promptly came to his aid. They knelt next to him on either side.

Paisley Branch helped him stand on his hooves. She asserted "Hang in there; I got you, Bronze."

At the same time, Cassia Sprig tried to get a look at his wound. She requested "Come on, let me see it."

Bronze Star reluctantly removed his front hoof from his side. Brutus had cut him pretty deep. The periwinkle Pegasus studied the injury, and then she grimaced in displeasure and commented "This looks pretty bad, Bronze. It needs to be treated right away."

"Yeah," the cobalt blue Unicorn coincided as she helped Bronze Star remain upright, "We better get you to a hospital before-"

"No!" Bronze Star firmly interrupted, "No hospitals!"

The mares were alarmed by that sudden outburst.

"Why do you say that?" Pinkie Pie queried.

"Because there's no way I could receive treatment without giving myself away," Bronze Star expounded, "If the doctors ran any tests on me, they would know right away that I'm not an Earth Pony."

"He's right," Twilight Sparkle verified, "Even medical students can tell the anatomical differences between Alicorns and other types of ponies."

"So if I check myself into the hospital, I may as well broadcast my identity to the entire town," Bronze Star proclaimed.

"Well, um, news flash, Bronze," Rainbow Dash drily muttered, "In case you've forgotten, you don't exactly LOOK like an Earth Pony right now. The townspeople wouldn't need a doctor to tell that you're an Alicorn. So what's the point?"

"You've forgotten that I don't forget, Rainbow," Bronze Star cheekily rejoined, "I know full well that my wings and horn are visible. Luckily, I still have the strength to change back into my Earth Pony disguise."

"That IS good, but what about your injury?" Rarity pointed out, "You don't have the ability to heal yourself, too, do you?"

"Actually, I have something like that," Bronze Star revealed, "I'd tell you about it, but it might take a while to explain. I'd prefer it if we got the Tartarus out of here first."

"Great idea," Spike agreed.

Bronze Star took a moment to clean his knife and slide it into his knapsack. After that, Paisley Branch and Cassia Sprig both gave him a helping hoof. The two security officers escorted the prince up the tunnel that led to the surface; the six mares with the wagons of gems followed close behind.

A few minutes later, the group was outside. Soon they were making their way back to Ponyville.

By now, Bronze Star had eased back into his usual jovial self. He smiled happily and announced "You have to admit; that was quite an adventure."

The eight mares murmured in agreement.

"No argument there," Paisley Branch uttered.

"I haven't had this much excitement since the Summer Sun Celebration," Cassia Sprig claimed.

"You sure you'll be alright, though?" Applejack asked in concern.

"Yeah," the gold stallion asserted, "The blade didn't pierce my Refresher Box."

"Your what?" Pinkie Pie queried in confusion. Several of the others seemed just as baffled as her.

"His Refresher Box," Twilight Sparkle answered for him, "Alicorns have an extra organ that other ponies lack. It's believed to be the very thing that makes them immortal."

"It has no scientific name; we simply refer to it as the 'Refresher Box,'" Bronze Star explicated, "A few minutes ago, I told you that I have an ability to heal myself. To be precise, the Refresher Box is what does all the healing. Whenever I get hurt in any way, the Refresher Box kicks in and repairs the damage. It can fix anything from a minor scratch to a concussion to a broken limb. It can even patch up injuries that would otherwise be fatal to other types of ponies. In fact, it's already begun working on my stab wound. Take a look."

Bronze Star had Cassia Sprig and Paisley Branch turn him around so he could show the other mares his chest. While some of them were disgusted to see his wound, they all noticed that it did not look as bad as it did when they were down in the cavern.

"You see?" Bronze Star declared, "My Refresher Box has already assessed the damage, and my body is in the process of repairing itself. It's already begun to cauterize the bleeding."

Rainbow Dash whistled in fascination and commented "Sweet."

"So, this happens every time you get hurt?" Pinkie Pie presumed.

"Yes, it does," Bronze Star affirmed, "My Refresher Box never fails me. So I never have to worry about anything."

"What if your Refresher Box itself got damaged?" Applejack proposed.

"That's unlikely," Bronze Star declared, "But not impossible. I'd rather not think about that."

"Right," the orange mare avowed.

"So how long does it take for your Refresher Box to heal you?" Fluttershy queried.

"Depends on the injury," Bronze Star elucidated, "Regardless of that, it always takes a while. The one downside to having a Refresher Box is that its healing process is very slow. Even the smallest of scrapes can take over an hour to heal."

"Is there any way to speed up your rate of recovery?" Rarity questioned.

"Well, the healing process is most effective whenever I'm standing still," Bronze Star illuminated, "So until it's better, I'll have to do as little movement as possible. I've never got an injury like this before, but I'm fairly certain it'll be at least a couple days before this one closes itself. It'll take several more days for the wound to fully heal. Looks like I won't be doing a lot of strenuous activities for the next week."

"If you want, Paisley and I could accompany you back to the embassy, Bronze," Cassia Sprig offered.

"You sure, Cassia?" Bronze Star asked the older pony.

"Of course," the periwinkle Pegasus affirmed.

Bronze Star smiled and commented gratefully "I appreciate that."

"Think nothing of it, Bronze," Paisley Branch told him in assurance, "By the way, you may want to switch back to your other appearance before we get back."

"I was about to do that," the prince claimed.

He had the baby dragon and the eight mares shut their eyes, and then he cast the illusion spell on his horn and wings again. Once he was back in Earth Pony disguise, the group continued making their way back to Ponyville.

On the way, Rarity told the others about her experiences down in the mines, and how the real victims of that fiasco had been the Diamond Dogs instead of her. Her friends found it amusing that she had irritated them so much that they had chosen to free her and send her away with six cartloads of gems.

"I can't believe you found all these gems!" Pinkie Pie pronounced.

"Heh," Rainbow Dash wryly muttered "I can't believe you tricked all those dogs."

"Just because I'm a lady doesn't mean I cannot handle myself in a sticky situation," the white Unicorn coolly debated, "I had them wrapped around my hoof the entire time."

"I can vouch for that," Bronze Star interjected.

Twilight Sparkle trotted closer to Rarity and told her excitedly "I can't wait to write to Princess Celestia to tell her what you taught me today."

"Me?" Rarity said in perplexity, looking over her shoulder, "What did I teach you?"

Twilight Sparkle smiled and perceived "Just because somepony is ladylike doesn't make her weak. In fact, by using her wits a seemingly defenseless pony can be the one who outsmarts and outshines them all."

Currently, Spike was lounging in Rarity's cart, munching on one of the jewels. He spoke candidly "Hm... 'Outshines' is right. Now you have enough gems to cover Sapphire Shores's costumes."

"Not if you eat them all, Spike," Rarity countered, using her magic to pull the half-eaten gem out of the baby dragon's claw.

As Spike sulked, the nine ponies burst out laughing.

Bronze Star then turned to Twilight Sparkle and stated "Great lesson, Twilight. But make sure you add that in the event that all else fails, it never hurts to have a weapon in your hoof."

The lavender mare snickered and sarcastically uttered "I'll think about that."

As the group made its way back to Ponyville, Fluttershy trotted beside Paisley Branch, Cassia Sprig, and Bronze Star. When she got a closer look at his injury, she proclaimed "Bronze, you probably shouldn't wait until you get back to the embassy to bandage your wound. How about you come to my cottage instead? I could go ahead and bandage it for you."

"I thought your specialty was in treating animals, not ponies," the gold stallion recounted.

"It is, but I know plenty about first aid," the yellow mare informed him, "I've treated plenty of my friends in the past. I could also do a thing or two to alleviate the pain."

Bronze Star thought for a moment, and then he nodded his head and pronounced "Okay, Fluttershy. Thank you."

"Not at all," she said quietly, smiling.

Soon the ten ponies reached the southern border of Ponyville. There they broke off into two smaller groups. Bronze Star, Paisley Branch, Cassia Sprig, and Fluttershy were in the first group; they would be going to the yellow Pegasus' cottage. The other group was composed of Applejack, Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Spike; they would go to Carousel Boutique.

Since Fluttershy was not in the second group, she removed herself from the cart of gems she had brought back from the mines. Somepony in the other group would have had to take it back instead. Applejack offered to haul it. Since she was the strongest pony there, the farmer could easily transport two carts at once.

Fluttershy then proceeded to attach her cart to Applejack's. When she was done, the yellow Pegasus headed over to the prince and the two security officers. Just before she reached them, Applejack stopped her and whispered something into her ear.

Bronze Star had no idea what it was, but he noticed Applejack appeared to be looking at him. When she was finished talking, Fluttershy just smiled and nodded her head.

Before the ten friends went separate ways, Bronze Star had Cassia Sprig and Paisley Branch bring him over to Rarity. He spoke just loud enough so that only the four of them could hear him. He remarked "Rarity, remember our conversation from earlier?"

The white mare solemnly nodded her head in response. Bronze Star proclaimed "You already answered almost all of my questions. There's just one more thing I would like to ask you."

"Alright, I'm listening," Rarity conceded.

"That customer you had on the Sunday before you met Rough Rider… what was his name?" Bronze Star requested.

"I'm afraid he never told me his name," Rarity professed, "I asked him for it, but he managed to evade telling me."

"Damn," Bronze Star mumbled, "In that case, could you give me a description of him, instead?"

"I suppose," Rarity muttered. She needed a moment to think, and then she murmured "Let's see… Early thirties, strongly-built, slightly taller than the average stallion… As for his appearance, he was a Pegasus. His coat was a brownish-tan, his mane was composed of two shades of blue, like sapphire and navy. He also had plum eyes, and his cutie mark was… well… I believe it was a compass. Either a compass or a set of directions you'd find on a map. I know it was something that resembled a rhombus. I'm sorry if I sound vague. That stallion was a first-time customer. I never saw him before that day. Nor did I ever see him again any time after."

"It's alright," Bronze Star claimed, "You've been extremely helpful. Thank you."

"Anytime," was all she said in response.

It was then that the nine ponies and the dragon split up. As the smaller group made its way to Fluttershy's cottage, Paisley Branch looked to the gold stallion and inquired "What was that about?"

"Yeah, what's so important about this 'stallion?'" Cassia Sprig enquired.

"I'll tell you at our next meeting, if not sooner," Bronze Star insisted. The two mares were content with that.

Soon, they arrived at Fluttershy's cottage. Once they were inside, the yellow Pegasus instructed the cobalt blue Unicorn and the periwinkle Pegasus to bring the gold Alicorn over to the couch at the back of her room. As the two security officers helped the prince get comfortable, the wildlife preserver went to get some supplies.

She came back a minute later with a first aid kid. Then she kneeled in front of Bronze Star and tended to his wound. It took her about two minutes to diagnosis the injury, three minutes to treat it, and five minutes to wrap it up.

Bronze Star already felt much better after those ten minutes ended. Now that his wound was no longer exposed to air, his Refresher Box would be able to concentrate on healing him properly. Fluttershy might not have been a licensed physician, but she definitely had the capacity to heal all sorts of injuries.

As Bronze Star grew accustomed to his bandage, Fluttershy gathered up her medical supplies and returned it all to the first aid kit. She put away everything except a cloth she had used to wipe away the excess blood from Bronze Star's wound. Before she put that away, she tore off a piece of the cloth and put it in a tiny plastic bag. Then she labeled it with a marker.

Bronze Star watched her and asked "What are you doing?"

"Cataloguing a specimen of your blood," Fluttershy enlightened him.

"Why?" the gold stallion queried.

"It's my way of keeping an official record," Fluttershy explicated, "I always do this whenever my patient has an open wound."

"Is that so?" Bronze Star said in bewilderment.

"Yes," Fluttershy affirmed, "You seem surprised, Bronze."

"Well, no offense, but I would have thought you'd be adverse to things like blood," Bronze Star admitted.

"I am, but I can put up with it if it's for a friend or an animal," Fluttershy professed.

"That's admirable of you," Bronze Star remarked in approval.

"Thanks," Fluttershy said gratefully.

Bronze Star really did find it commendable that Fluttershy could so easily set aside her dread of blood to help a friend. He had always respected ponies who faced their fears, particularly if they were doing it for a friend's benefit. Valor was his defining attribute, after all.

Once he took into account what Fluttershy told him, he realized something. Perhaps her system of gathering blood from her patients could help HIM in another way. Most ponies would have considered this idea a longshot, but he felt it was worth checking out.

After a long interval of quietness, Bronze Star presumed "So, you collect a bit of blood from all your patients?"

"Just the ones where the blood is visible," Fluttershy specified, "For the ones with no external blood, I just take a hair or something."

"Okay," Bronze Star avowed. He paused for a minute, and then he leaned forward and commented "You remember when you treated Arthur all those months ago?"

"Of course I do," Fluttershy answered him, nodding.

"Well, you told me that when you examined him, you found some blood on his talons," Bronze Star recounted, "You said the blood wasn't his, but I don't suppose you gathered a sample of it, anyway?"

"Actually, I did," Fluttershy illuminated, "It was a little hard to obtain, since it was mostly dry at the time. But with some difficulty, I managed to get it all."

Bronze Star smiled in a mixture of relief and delight. He then took a deep breath and muttered "Forgive me if this sounds strange, but… would it be alright if I borrowed that blood sample?"

All three mares found that to be a rather odd request. Even so, Fluttershy just nodded her head and told him "Sure. Stay right here; I'll go get it."

The yellow Pegasus slipped out of the room for a minute. Again, Cassia Sprig and Paisley Branch looked to Bronze Star in confusion. He smirked and stated dismissively "Trust me."

Soon after, Fluttershy returned to the room. She was carrying a tiny plastic bag in her front hoof. Inside the bag was a glass slide that had been lined in the center with a see-through cover. This part of the slide was red, due to the bit of dried blood it held. Fluttershy held the plastic bag out to Bronze Star, and he gladly took it into his own front hoof.

After that, he got up off the couch and declared "Well, thank you for your help, Fluttershy. I better get going now."

Without warning, Fluttershy stepped in front of the gold stallion and lightly pushed him back onto the couch. She muttered sternly "Bad idea. You should stay off your hooves for at least an hour. That'll give your bandage time to set in place."

"It couldn't do that when I'm trotting around?" Bronze Star queried.

"It could, but not as well as it would if you sat down," Fluttershy perceived.

"Fluttershy, I'm grateful that you're looking out for my well-being," the gold stallion proclaimed, "But I can't stay here; I've got work to do."

"The work can wait, Bronze," Fluttershy adamantly countered, "Listen to me; you should consider yourself extremely lucky that you're still ABLE to trot. If that dog had stabbed you just a couple inches deeper, his sword would have impaled you. I know you have an incredible tolerance for pain, but you're not invulnerable. None of us are."

As much as Bronze Star wanted to get back to the embassy and return to his work, he could tell that Fluttershy was very serious about this subject. In fact, the corneas of her eyes looked as though they had gotten bigger in the last minute. He had a pretty good idea what that meant, and he did not want to risk finding out if he was correct. Bronze Star hastily leaned back in his seat and coincided "Alright, alright. I won't argue with you anymore. Just refrain from using the Stare on me, please."

Fluttershy snickered and said softly "Okay."

There came another period of quietness, and then Bronze Star asked "How long would you recommend I sit down?"

"About an hour," Fluttershy conjectured, "You don't mind staying here that long, do you?"

"No, an hour's fine," he asserted.

"I could make some tea, if you'd like," Fluttershy offered.

"Alright," Bronze Star accepted happily.

"Cassia, Paisley, you want any?" the yellow Pegasus asked the two security officers.

"No, thanks," Cassia Sprig replied.

"I'm good," Paisley Branch responded.

"Suit yourself," Fluttershy acknowledged. She then turned around and headed into the kitchen.

Bronze Star waited until she was out of the room. Then he looked to the cobalt blue mare and the periwinkle mare, and he professed "Paisley, Cassia, I need both of you to run an errand."

This sounded more like a command than a request, but both mares agreed to aid the prince. First, he briefly explained what he had been discussing with Rarity earlier that day. After that, he assigned each of them a task. He gave Cassia Sprig the plastic bag with the blood sample, telling her to drop it off at a certain place. He asked Paisley Branch to pick something up at the embassy and drop it off at the same location.

He figured their errands could easily be accomplished within an hour, so he asked them to come back to Fluttershy's cottage as soon as they were finished. Once he gave Cassia Sprig and Paisley Branch their instructions, the two mares left the cottage and went to carry out their assignments.

Fluttershy came back a few minutes later with two teacups. She gave one to Bronze Star and sat down beside him on the couch. When she noticed Paisley Branch and Cassia Sprig were gone, he claimed that they both had to go back to town for something, but they would be back in an hour.

For a few minutes, the yellow mare and the gold stallion idly chatted. Bronze Star remembered what he had seen right before he, Paisley, Cassia, and Fluttershy had left the others. He looked to the yellow mare and said "Hey, Fluttershy?"

"Yes?" she commented.

"Earlier, I noticed Applejack whispered something in your ear," Bronze Star recalled, "If you don't mind me asking… what did she say?"

Fluttershy did not answer straightaway. After a short pause, she smiled lightly and revealed "She said 'Please, take care of him. Tell him I said 'thank you.' And tell him… I'm not angry.'"

When Bronze Star heard those words, he felt waves of joy wash over him. So Applejack no longer harbored any ill feelings towards him.

Of course, that alone did not imply that she wanted to get back together with him. After all, she had asked Fluttershy to deliver that message instead of delivering it herself. Maybe she was still unwilling to talk to him directly. However, that was unlikely, seeing as how she had clearly spoken to him several times back at the mines.

Whatever the case, Bronze Star was fairly certain that his relationship with Applejack was salvageable in some way.

Forty-five minutes later, Paisley Branch and Cassia Sprig returned to the cottage. When they got there, they asked Bronze Star if he was ready to head back to the embassy. First, the gold stallion looked to Fluttershy for her approval, and to his fortune, she did not object this time. She was confident that he was well enough to trot now.

Cassia Sprig and Paisley Branch both gave Bronze Star another helping hoof, and together, they escorted him across town, all the way to the embassy. They aided him all the way to the entrance of the building. When they got there, he bade them a good day and told them that he would see them tomorrow morning at the task's force next meeting.

He got back to the embassy at roughly five o'clock. That was normally the time when Dapple Rhomb headed home. She had already packed up, and she was ready to leave. In fact, she encountered Bronze Star right at the main entrance. She was alarmed to see his bandage, but he told her not to worry about it. She informed him that nothing new had cropped up while he was gone, and she assured him that she would see him early the following day.

Before she left, Bronze Star got a last-minute idea. He suggested that Dapple Rhomb bring along Rough Rider with her tomorrow. When she asked why, he simply told her that maybe Rough Rider would like to see what his wife did at work. Plus, he claimed he did not get houseguests often, so he figured an immediate relative of his only employee would be as good as any. In the end, he convinced Dapple Rhomb to accept his proposition; she agreed to bring her husband to work tomorrow. After that, she signed out and left.

Bronze Star had another reason for inviting Rough Rider over. He was planning to do something big tomorrow. Or rather, he was preparing to do something big tomorrow. Currently, his decision on whether or not he would go through with this plan was still pending. But he would make his decision very soon. Specifically, he would make it as soon as a certain object arrived at the embassy. Paisley Branch and Cassia Sprig told him to expect the object before the day was over, so he only had to wait for seven hours or less.

While he waited, Bronze Star figured he may as well get something done, so he went up to Sir Haywood McCrank's room. To his good fortune, the indigo stallion was there. He had gotten back a while ago; his visits with Colgate and Berry Punch had only taken about three hours in total. Bronze Star suggested that they discuss the progress they had made in their secret investigation. Haywood McCrank was more than happy to accept that proposal. The two stallions proceeded to review what they had done that day.

Sir Haywood went first. It had been a relatively uneventful day for him. He had simply gone to see Colgate and Berry Punch, and he had asked them to recount their first encounters with Rough Rider. Both mares had been able to thoroughly describe the events to him.

The circumstances of their business deals with Rough Rider were nearly identical to those of Rarity's business deal with him. Both Colgate and Berry Punch had ordered a product from his catalogue a week in advance, and both of them had never before seen the particular magazine they had found his catalogue in. In addition to that, less than a day before they found this magazine, both of them had had a customer whose description perfectly matched the description of the stallion Rarity had serviced on the Sunday before she met Rough Rider.

Bronze Star and Sir Haywood McCrank were certain that this was no coincidence. It must have been the same stallion who visited all three mares, and he must have been the one who left the magazine with Rough Rider's catalogue behind. Still, they had no idea who this stallion was or how he was involved in this affair. All they could do was speculate and wonder.

Once Sir Haywood was finished recalling the events of his day, Bronze Star had his turn. He had been through quite a lot in the past twelve hours. His conversation with Rarity only occupied a minor part of his recollection. He described the incident with the Diamond Dogs in vivid detail.

Sir Haywood found it humorous how Rarity had managed to gain the upper hoof on the Diamond Dogs. He never would have thought it would be possible to win over an adversary by pestering and irritating them to the brink of insanity. Since Bronze Star had been there, he could confirm that such a thing was indeed possible. He still could not get Rarity's obnoxious whining out of his head.

When Bronze Star got to the part where Brutus had attacked him, Sir Haywood was clearly shocked. Of course, he had noticed the gold stallion's bandage even before their talk began, but he had simply assumed the prince had inadvertently injured himself somehow. He was relieved when Bronze Star informed him that he had managed to subdue Brutus and get the rest of his friends out of the mines without incurring any other casualties. Still, it would be hard for the prince to get around by himself for the next week. Sir Haywood offered to remain nearby at all times in case Bronze Star ever needed assistance.

Bronze Star also covered what had gone on at Fluttershy's cottage. To him, that was perhaps the most significant part of his day. He told Sir Haywood all about how Fluttershy collected a sample of blood from her patients whenever blood had been drawn. That was when he had asked to see the blood sample she had taken from Arthur's talons when she repaired his wing. He had had Cassia Sprig and Paisley Branch take the blood sample and an item from the embassy somewhere for an "experiment."

Now he was waiting for the results of that experiment. He had resolved that as soon as he received the results, he would use them to choose his next course of action. If they came back negative, he would do nothing. If they came back positive, then he would be faced with a difficult scenario.

At eight o'clock, there was a knock on the front door of the embassy. Sir Haywood helped Bronze Star get to the front door, and the gold stallion answered it. Nurse Red Heart was standing on the other side. She was carrying a large sealed envelope on her back.

She grinned and stated cordially, "Hello, Mr. Ambassador, Sir Haywood."

"Good evening, Nurse," Haywood greeted her.

"What can we do for you, Red?" Bronze Star asked.

"I have something for you," the white Earth Pony disclosed. She pulled the large envelope off her back and held it out to the gold stallion.

Bronze Star took the envelope in his front hoof, and then he grinned and uttered gratefully "Thank you."

"Of course, sir," Red Heart asserted. Just then, she spotted the bandage on Bronze Star's chest, and she queried anxiously "Are you alright?"

"Yes, it's just a flesh wound," he claimed serenely, "Nothing you should worry about."

"If you say so," Red Heart avowed. After a little silence, she bade them "Well, have a pleasant evening."

"Good night," the two stallions rejoined in unison.

As the white mare left the premises, the indigo stallion and the gold stallion went back inside and shut the door behind them.

They both gazed down at the envelope, as if they were uncertain about opening it. However, they knew they HAD to open it; the information inside could change the course of their entire investigation into the murder plot.

Ultimately, the prince just looked to the superintendent, as though he was expecting some advice from him on how to proceed.

"Time for the moment of truth, I guess," Haywood McCrank drily declared.

"Right," Bronze Star concurred bluntly.

After that, the gold stallion opened the envelope and removed its contents. He spent the next five minutes going over them. When he was done, he passed the information along to Sir Haywood so that he could examine it, as well. After the federal investigator had his chance to study everything, he returned the material to the young prince and waited for him to make his decision.

After a minute, Bronze Star sighed and gravely nodded his head. Sir Haywood nodded in acknowledgment. They both knew what had to be done.

The next day, Noble Edict and her security officers got to the embassy at eight o'clock sharp. Dapple Rhomb always got there by nine o'clock, meaning she would arrive within one hour. Bronze Star and Sir Haywood had that long to explain the situation to the other members of the task force.

Luckily, it was more than enough time; the two stallions were able to discuss all the events of the previous day with their six colleagues. There were parts of it that even Paisley Branch and Cassia Sprig had been unaware of. By the end of their recollection, the security officers were quite shocked.

Even so, they were all supportive of Bronze Star's decision, and they assured him that they would back him up all the way. He was very thankful for that. If things got ugly because of what he was about to do, he would need their help.

Five minutes before nine o'clock, Dapple Rhomb and Rough Rider arrived at the embassy. Bronze Star was there to greet them when they entered the building. After they signed in at the front, he told them that he was not the only pony who wanted to make them both feel welcome. To prove his point, he asked the couple to step into the conference room for a moment.

The purple mare and the olive stallion saw nothing wrong with this request, so they complied with it without hesitation.

Bronze Star held the door wide open for Dapple Rhomb and Rough Rider to pass through, and he closed it once they were inside.

At the time, Copper Hollow had been standing beside the door. As Dapple Rhomb, Rough Rider, and Bronze Star walked over to the table, the copper stallion approached the door and locked it. In addition to that, Rollin Fields and Almond Wheeler had been standing conspicuously close to the windows, as though they were guarding them.

Bronze Star sat down in his usual spot at the head of the table, and he gestured for Dapple Rhomb and Rough Rider to sit in the chairs that adjoined his. As they sat down, Bronze Star shuffled a stack of documents in front of him. On the top of the pile was the envelope Nurse Red Heart had delivered.

Once they were comfortably settled, Bronze Star looked back and forth between the purple mare and the olive stallion. He had a very pleasant expression on his face. After a minute of quietness, he looked at his secretary and muttered "Dapple, have I ever told you how grateful I am to have you?"

"Yes, you have, sir," Dapple Rhomb responded, "Quite often, I might add."

"That's because I truly am appreciative for everything you do around here," Bronze Star pronounced, "If not for you, I probably would have driven myself to exhaustion."

"Well, I'm grateful to you as well, sir," Dapple Rhomb claimed, "You gave me a job I love. A job with excellent hours and incredible pay. In fact, I'd say it's the best job I've ever had."

"I'm glad to hear you say that," Bronze Star commented, "In that case, could you do me a favor?"

"What?" Dapple Rhomb asked.

"Say my name," Bronze Star requested.

Dapple Rhomb and Rough Rider found that to be a strange wish. They looked to each other in confusion, and then they turned back to the gold stallion. The purple mare said straightforwardly "Gold Streak,"

"Are you sure?" Bronze Star murmured, leaning closer to his secretary.

"Is this a trick question or something?" Rough Rider stated sardonically.

"You decide," Bronze Star said in response.

"Then I'm going to say Gold Streak again," Dapple Rhomb thought aloud.

Bronze Star stared at her intently. Then he sighed, faced forward, and mumbled "Very well."

There was a lengthy interval of silence following that comment. It ended when Bronze Star turned back to Dapple Rhomb and told her "By the way, I want to apologize for that incident last week. The one with my pet hawk Arthur. I have no idea what he was thinking."

"It's alright, sir," Dapple Rhomb asserted, "Rough and I have no plans to sue, and as you can see, my face has already healed."

"Yes, it has," Bronze Star conceded. After another pause, he noted "Don't you think the scars Arthur left on your cheek bear a strange resemblance to the knife scars on your neck?"

"Really?" Dapple Rhomb inquired in fascination.

Bronze Star firmly nodded his head, and Rough Rider uttered "Huh, I never noticed that. Isn't that peculiar?"

"Indeed it is," Bronze Star acknowledged, "That aside, I find it bewildering that Arthur attacked you in the first place. He is a fierce bird, but he never starts a fight. Unless he's in one of three special situations."

"Special situations?" Rough Rider repeated.

Bronze Star nodded again and expounded "Arthur only throws the first blow in a skirmish if I order him to attack, if he sees a known enemy of mine, or if he has a personal grudge against the person he's attacking. Now, I've never told him to attack anypony in Ponyville, and I'm pretty sure Dapple isn't my enemy, if the past nine weeks are any indication."

"I should say so, sir," Dapple Rhomb contended, "So, what does that leave? You think Arthur has a grudge against me?"

Bronze Star shrugged and uttered "Could be."

"That's absurd," Rough Rider disputed, "Why would your pet hawk have a grudge against my wife?"

"I have a theory," Bronze Star disclosed, "Want to hear it?"

Dapple Rhomb and Rough Rider looked at each other again, and then the latter of them sarcastically replied with "Sure, why the Tartarus not?"

Bronze Star slowly got out of his chair and rested his front leg on the top of it. He gazed off at the wall, and then he announced "Let me tell you a story. About seven months ago, Spike travelled to Canterlot. Of course, since she interacted with Spike on a daily basis, Dapple Rhomb knows that he went there primarily to serve as Princess Luna's guide. However, that was not the only reason he went to the capital city. You see, Twilight Sparkle and I asked him to swing by our houses so he could pick up a few of our belongings and bring them to Ponyville. I also asked him to pick up Arthur. Seems like a pretty straightforward task, right? Well, get this; when Spike got to my bedroom, he found my pet hawk lying on the ground. His wing had been bent straight backwards."

Rough Rider winced at that and remarked "Wow, that must've hurt."

"That's just horrible," Dapple Rhomb gloomily observed, "What happened next?"

"Well, Spike was able to bring him to Ponyville the next day," Bronze Star recounted, "As soon as I saw how much pain Arthur was in, I took him to Fluttershy. She discovered that his wing had been broken, and it must have been done intentionally by a pony. So my house must've had an intruder, and Arthur had tried to fend off."

"Wow, that's… astonishing," Rough Rider remarked.

"Not as astonishing as this next part," Bronze Star mentioned, "Fluttershy also found out that Arthur didn't go down without a fight. You see, he had some blood on his talons that wasn't his. So whoever his attacker was, at least he managed to inflict some damage of his own on them."

"Good for him," Rough Rider mentioned drily, "Mr. Ambassador, I'm sorry if I sound imprudent, but is there a point to this story?"

"Yes, I'm getting to it," Bronze Star asserted. There came another pause, and then he continued with "We never found out who broke into my house. Luckily, nothing was stolen, so I suffered no material loss. Even so, I wanted to know who was responsible for harming Arthur. Unfortunately, I had no apparent means of finding out. Until recently."

"What do you mean?" Dapple Rhomb inquired.

"Yesterday, I learned that whenever Fluttershy has a patient with blood visible somewhere, she collects a sample of it to keep a record," Bronze Star disclosed, "Even if the blood is not the patient's, she catalogues it accordingly. As luck would have it, she kept a sample of the blood on Arthur's talons. She let me borrow the sample for a project I'm doing."

"She did?" Dapple Rhomb asked, intrigued by that tidbit.

"Uh-huh," Bronze Star affirmed. He picked up the envelope from Nurse Red Heart, opened it, and removed a tiny plastic bag. It was the same bag that held the bloody glass slide Fluttershy had given him. He held it up for everypony to see.

"What kind of project involves using seven-month old dried blood?" Rough Rider muttered acerbically.

"A mysterious kind," Bronze Star cockily responded, "That's not the only blood sample I collected for this project. I also used this."

At that, he removed a larger plastic bag from the envelope. Inside this one was a bloodstained towel. He looked down at his secretary and observed "You may recognize this, Dapple."

"Sorry, can't say I do, sir," the purple mare retorted.

"When Arthur attacked you, I used this to wipe your face," Bronze Star reminded her, "I thought about throwing it away right after I finished, but something urged me not to dispose of it so soon. So I held on to it."

"Do you have a blood fetish or something, sir?" Rough Rider asked wittily.

"No, but I DO have an ever-present longing for the truth," Bronze Star countered, "Please do not interrupt me. I'm getting to the best part of the story."

"Very well," Dapple Rhomb and Rough Rider stated in unison.

Bronze Star placed the bloody slide and the bloodstained rag on the table. Then he pulled out the last items in the envelope: two sheets of paper. As he looked over the papers, he illuminated "Yesterday afternoon, I had Paisley Branch and Cassia Sprig take these two blood samples to the forensics lab at the hospital. They had Dr. Curt Tread and Dr. Gale Torrent conduct a DNA test on both of them. After that, they instructed the physicians to compare the results of the tests and send me their findings afterwards. They did just that. You know what they found?"

He was actually expecting a response from either Dapple Rhomb or Rough Rider, or both. Alas, all they did was shrug and shake their heads.

Despite this, Bronze Star smirked and tossed the envelope and the papers in front of the two spouses. The papers turned out to be the DNA tests of the two blood samples Bronze Star had provided. They were remarkably similar. In fact, there did not appear to be any discrepancies between them at all. It was as though the same blood sample had been submitted both times.

Dapple Rhomb and Rough Rider gazed up at Bronze Star, and he smugly revealed "The two samples were a complete match."

Ever since they had entered the conference room, Dapple Rhomb and Rough Rider had seemed calm, cool, and collected. Now, beneath their seemingly indifferent appearances, they were starting to get anxious. It was fairly easy for Bronze Star to detect this feeling from them.

"This indicates that Arthur has a VERY good reason to harbor a grudge against you, Dapple," Bronze Star perceived drolly. A moment later, his smugness immediately turned to fury, and he mumbled through gritted teeth "And now, so do I."

"There must be some mistake, sir," Dapple Rhomb insisted.

"My wife would never-" Rough Rider began.

"Would she?!" Bronze Star interrupted crossly, "Don't insult me by feigning ignorance. You're both too smart for that. Much too smart."

"Sir, do you have any idea how… outrageous you sound?" Dapple Rhomb snapped.

"I can venture a guess," Bronze Star shot back, "But when you have as much evidence as I do, it doesn't matter how outrageous your theory is."

"The evidence is wrong," Rough Rider debated, "Sir, just because we were in the castle on the same day that Spike found your pet hawk, that doesn't entail that we could have broken into your room!"

Bronze Star slowly turned to look at the olive stallion. Then he chuckled and pointed out "I never said my bedroom was in the castle."

Dapple Rhomb and Rough Rider turned pale when their realized their mistake. This slipup just made Bronze Star feel all the more satisfied. He gradually sat back down in his chair, and he sternly told them "Let me make a few things clear. I don't like being used. Or being spied on. Or being lied to. Or believing that I know a pony only to find out they're hiding a dark secret. Above all, I ABHOR it when somepony goes out of their way to totally deceive another pony."

Rough Rider seemed disgusted by that statement. He scowled and uttered angrily "After what you've been doing here for the past eight months, you of all ponies have no right to criticize anypony else for using deception."

Noble Edict raised an eyebrow and noted "That sounds like a confession to me."

"I think it is," Bronze Star coincided. He turned towards Dapple Rhomb and asked her "What do you have to say to that?"

The purple mare was silent.

"Speechless, huh?" Bronze Star stated, "If you have nothing to say about this matter, then say something else."

He leaned closer to his secretary and demanded "I ask you again; say my name."

At the moment, Dapple Rhomb was unable to even look the gold stallion in the eye. The only pony she could face was her husband.

However, when she looked at Rough Rider, the olive stallion had a confident grin on his face. He looked his wife in the eye and calmly nodded his head.

In response, she sat up straight and bore the same type of grin on her own face. Then she turned to her employer, looked up at him, and cheekily proclaimed "Fine. You want me to come forward? Then I'll come forward. I figure that's the least I can do… Bronze Star."