Ch17: Memory-Can I keep him?
A Vivid Dreamer – Ch17
Memory: Can I keep him?
The return lanterns allowed mining teams to easily find their ways back home. The task of maintaining them and protecting the outer tunnels was generally tasked to groups of three dogs, but Bertha was an exception. Her longer strides allowed her to move more swiftly than most dogs, and her impressive size and strength allowed her to beat most foreign threats by intimidation alone, and what didn't fear her soon learned.
Although no other dogs were out on her patrol route, the lanterns still needed to be maintained so they would be ready for peak hours.
Pawing through one of her pockets, Bertha pulled out a fair sized gem and replaced the dying light of a lantern, and gave it enough charge to last another day. She hung it on a support beam before moving to the next tunnel. She had performed this task an uncountable number of times during her shift already, and many more lanterns remained. Patrol was usually monotonous work.
Usually.
Bertha began patrolling the tunnels again, but stopped when she felt faint vibrations. She balled up her paw and began tapping out a call signal against the tunnel wall, and waited. No dig teams should have been out, though, so she wasn't surprised when she did not receive a reply... The only thing Bertha knew for sure about the vibrations was they were coming from the Badland Tunnels, from wyvern country. That usually meant trouble.
She was running as quickly as she could while minimizing the sound of her footsteps, but every few minutes she had to stop to relocate her target. As she neared it she become more and more worried; these tunnels weren't usually maintained because of the risk of attracting the wrong kind of attention, and on occasion they became the nesting grounds of unwanted neighbors. She was forced to hold one of her light gems aloft to find her way through the maze. Minutes passed before she finally saw the light reflecting against two bright, red eyes, which quickly hid themselves further in the dark. Upon seeing the creature, Bertha dropped to an aggressive stance and unsheathed the great sword from across her back.
“Show yourself!” She barked as she directed the gem in its general direction. The tunnel was flooded with a harsh blue light, which washed away the darkness and blinded the eyes it concealed. While Bertha was relieved the eyes did not belong to a creature of scales and wing, she was still on edge. What she saw was definitely a dog, but not one she could recall ever seeing or smelling. She slowly walked down the tunnel and shielded the gem's light as she approached. As she neared she picked up more of the nuance of his scent; he wasn't simply unfamiliar, he was young, too. Only a pup. This was not something she had expected.
“You should not be here, little one. These tunnels are not safe.” His ears twitched to face the sound of her voice. The white dog dropped the paw covering his face and started to blink his eyes clear. Seeing Bertha’s legs before him, he tilted his head back… further, further, and further, until he had to arch his back to look Bertha in the eyes.
“Wow… you're big.” He managed to rasp as he leaned back until he lost his balance and fell onto his haunches. In his seated position he held his paws to his head. “I've been... in these tunnels... for days... I think?”
Bertha could only stare as he fell back unconscious.
After recovering from the shock of his poor condition, she brought the gem closer to inspect him. She was surprised by what she saw. She was able to discern was he was a canine, but he didn’t look like a normal diamond dog. His arms only reached to his thighs, his ears were large and stood upright on the top of his head, and his snout was long and pointed. However, in spite of the strange proportions of his body, his most striking feature was his long, soft, snow white fur.
As she become more confused by his form and concerned by his condition, Bertha ran her paw through the large frill of fur of his neck, searching for his collar. “Come pup, your parents must be worried about you.”
“Stray?” Bertha exclaimed as she pulled her paw back in shock. Questions flooded her mind as she couldn’t understand why a pup of this age would be wondering these tunnels alone, without a pack, without a collar.
She leaned down and carefully lifted him into her arms. She watched with concern as he curled up into a small ball against her chest, unnerved by how light he was. She began the slow trek back to the Den, but she never took her eyes from him.
The rest of the return lanterns would have to wait; this was too important. The Alpha needed to know.
/*\
Bertha walked through the training caverns while seeking the Alpha. She entered a large area and heard the sounds of many dogs wrestling, sparring and exercising. After spotting her pack leader speaking to his charges on a raised platform, she continued forward.
A pair of pups sparred with blunted spears as she passed. The two jabbed and parried until one was lucky and nicked the other one's ear. The injured pup yelped and clutched his wound before turning to his opponent. With a bark he leaped forward and the spar devolved into a two toned ball of fur rolling around the pit. Bertha couldn’t help but smile as she watched the spectacle and heard the frustrated cries of their instructors.
Bertha climbed the platform and approached the greying Alpha; she still held the sleeping pup in her arms as she waited for him to finish speaking. The old dog, realizing he was being overshadowed, ended his conversation and turned to address her. “Bertha, shouldn’t you be on patrol?”
Bertha bowed as low as she could, dropping so her head was below his. “Forgive me, Zak, but I thought you should know...” Standing up again, towering over him, she gave him full view of the pup. “I have found stray.”
Stepping forward to see, He ran his paws over the pup's form. Not finding a collar, brand, or tag, he began sniffing. “I haven’t seen dog like this before. He does not seem well. Take him to Sparky and doctor pony. We'll talk when he wakes.”
Bertha gave a small bow as she headed to the infirmary. She stepped through the entrance and found herself in a long chamber filled with rows of mattress covered slabs of stone. Many of the beds were filled with dogs, who suffered sprains and bruises, but a few were in casts. There was a brown dog, who was half of Bertha's height. He wore a white lab coat and a stethoscope, and he was talking to a patient. The other doctor was a white unicorn, who was reading a notepad, but did not otherwise seem busy.
Seeing Bertha approach, the unicorn made a mark on her document and set it down. She looked up with a small smile. “Bertha? What brings you here? You hardly ever get hurt.”
Bertha knelt down, so her chest was level with the pony's head, and rolled her arm to reveal her charge. “Miss Charm, I found him wandering Badland tunnels.”
Healing Charm let out a gasp as she saw him curled up in Bertha’s large forearm. “Come, put him down here. Let's see his condition.”
Bertha gently placed him on the mattress. As soon as she removed her paws the pup shivered from the sudden drop of temperature. Her horn glowing, Charm used her hooves to inspect as much of his body as she could. “Very odd, indeed. He is definitely of the Terra Canidea family… but I somewhat doubt he's a Diamond Dog. He vaguely reminds me of one of the old fox breeds. He is quite young and show signs of albinism...” She muttered as she worked. When she finished her horn dimmed and she looked up at Bertha with a smile, which allowed the large dog to relax. “Aside from mild dehydration and being underweight he seems in good health. Once he's awake we’ll get some water and a few gems in him and he should be fine.”
They stood there for a moment or two before Bertha began to scuff at the floor with her foot. Charm tilted her head as she watched the large dog. “Is there something else you wanted?” Bertha nodded. The two stood in silence again before Charm spoke again. “Well then? What is it?”
Bertha drew in a large breath before releasing it. In a whisper, which was barely audible to Charm, she said “I can take care of him”.
Charm, pretending she didn't hear, looked around the infirmary before allowing a smile to creep on her face. She turned to Bertha and asked “I’ve got quite a few injured dogs here. It’s really no place for a sleeping pup. Why don’t you take him off my hooves?”
Bertha vigorously nodded her head up and down.
/*\
Bertha made her way through the tunnels to the female chambers. As she rounded a corner she ran into a yellow dog, who was barely tall enough to reach Bertha’s chest. The new dog quickly noticed the white form hugged to Bertha's chest. Seeing Bertha’s hopeful face saddened her. “Bertha? Why are you carrying that pup?” The yellow dog leaned in to take in the pup’s scent before looking back up. “This is definitely not one of our pack. Why do you have him?”
“I found him wandering lower tunnels. He is stray, Izzy. He is not well. I took him to see Charm, and she said I can take care of him.” As she looked down at the pup cradled in her arm she smiled to herself.
“Even if he is stray… Bertha, he is not yours. Don’t get hopes up. He may not accept you as mother.”
Bertha’s smile fell and her eyes lost their shine. “No, Izzy, I am only making sure he is healthy.”
Izzy shook her head as she walked past Bertha, stopping only to give her a pat on the shoulder. Bertha continued in silence as she walked down the tunnels to her bed chamber. As she entered the alcove she reached up to activate the gem lantern and illuminated the room.
The room was simple. The back wall had multiple grooves carved out, which acted as shelves. The right wall held a mirror and a small collection of tools used to maintain appearances. The left side of the chamber was dominated by a collection of pillows, which lined a large divot in the floor. That was her bed.
Bertha removed her weapon and placed it on the wall by the entrance before she walked to her bed. She carefully placed him in the center of the pillows and took a seat under the mirrors. She watched the rhythmic rising and falling of his chest as she remembered her dreams.
/*\
It did not take long before the pup became restless. His movements woke Bertha, who was lightly dozing. Seeing the pup raise its head, she quickly reached for her water urn and began pouring it into a clay bowl. She watched as the pup began to inspect his surroundings until his eyes settled on her. She lowered the bowl to him. “Drink.”
He brought the bowl up to his face and peered inside. After he determined its contents he lifted it to his lips and eagerly drank. When he finished he placed the bowl in his lap and looked up at her. “Thank you, Miss…”
Bertha tilted her head slightly, “My name is Bertha. Not Miss.”
“Sorry... Thank you—“
“Oh! You must be hungry!” She smiled as she turned to open her gem bag. Her smile widened as while she sifted through its contents. Satisfied with her pick, she turned around and dropped a large gem in the clay bowl. “Eat!”
The pup looked wide eyed at the diamond in his lap. It was half of the size of his head. He gave Bertha a quizzical look, but she motioned for him to eat. He took the diamond in both paws and stared at it as he turned it over. The pup looked up at Bertha again as his ears folded back. “Seriously?”
Bertha tilted her head in confusion. A hungry pup sat before her with a gem in his hand, but he did not touch it. “Doctor pony says pup is sick and needs to eat more gems. I agree, I carried you and you are too light.”
She watched as the pup brought the diamond back to mouth. He opened it and tried to take a bite, but his teeth only scratched the surface, which caused a loud squeal. Bertha had to cover her ears and the pup yelped in pain as he dropped the gem to cover his. After recovering, Bertha looked down and picked up the gem.
He watched as Bertha closed her entire paw around the clear jewel. The muscles of her arm tensed until the gem cracked under her might. She opened her paw and revealed the once solid diamond now lay in jagged shards. The pup's eyes were widened in shock, his jaw was opened in surprise, and his ears were folded back in fear. She placed the shards in the clay bowl, picked him up, and held him close. He yelped in surprised and asked “What are you doing?”.
“If you won’t eat gem then I’ll feed you.” Bertha picked one of the smaller shards and brought it to his mouth.
“Wait—“ Bertha shoved the shard into his mouth soon as he opened it.
She tightened her grip against his struggles and held his muzzle closed with her paw. While keeping him trapped under her forearm and holding his muzzle as he tried to pull away, she lowered her head to his ear and spoke in a low tone. “Chew.” He immediately stilled and his ears folded back. She repeated again, but with a softer tone. “Chew.”
She could feel his jaw moving within her grip. There was a slight crunch, which was followed by slow chewing. When she was certain he was eating, she released his muzzle. After he swallowed his bite he looked up at Bertha and gave her a crooked smile.
“That tasted better than I expected.”
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Yay!
Double Update. Wow, I like Bertha's character in this. I find it interesting that you are not useing the mane six, not surpriseing though. I am still not used to creating multiple characters and keeping track of them.
2719903
Don't you think the mane 6 are over done? as for multiple characters I'm already seeing problems arising. That's why I'm writing down brief summaries of the characters I'm using in a separate document for quick reference between writing sessions.
2719903
What I mean by the Mane 6 is that it can be interesting if done correctly. Ive cringed enough as what I've done to Celestia that i don't think I'm ready to start messing with peoples favorite ponies.
I admit I would be slightly scared if a creature who could crush a diamond in its hand, shoved something that could be likened to a chunk of broken class in my mouth and told me to chew.
Caught up to this story, and its fun! I will await more eagerly!
Love the new chapters, can't wait for more!
2719929
B-but...Celestia is my favorite pony! D:
2779723
It is the magical land of equestria, who is to say that moon goes through phases? Perhaps it produces its own light. But as for measurement of time, Bertha is not a pony. So to alleviate any doubt ill be saying this, diamond dogs measure time differently. Perhaps I should have expanded on that more but I don't think it would have fit within the context. Thank you for the input though.
I am still writing this story don't you mind. I've got one of the largest chapters I've ever writing getting edited and two others. The problem is that they are out of order and I am currently working on the chapters that will piece them together.
2780136
Good to know you haven't abandoned this. I got rather used to your fast update rate.
Take your time. I firmly believe that writers should be given however much time they need until they are comfortable with their work before putting it out there.
2797896
Yeah sorry, had to deal with schooling for a bit. But as for my story I have at least three other chapters sitting, waiting to get a look over. The second problem with the delay is that this chapters I have finished are out of order and require interceding chapters to connect them. And that brings me to my final problem, writers block. I'm having a hard time connecting these new chapters but is nothing to be concerned about it. I'm working on that currently as in right now, but fimfiction is being a huge distraction.