• Published 9th Aug 2013
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Neither Created Nor Destroyed - Sage Runner



Twilight and her friends are taken from their homeland as surrounding nations prepare to invade, and unearth an ancient secret that could change life as they know it forever.

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Chapter Fifteen - Monsters

Fluttershy looked up at Haggert as they walked through the swamp. "So, are there a lot of you living up here?"

Haggert tapped his chin and gazed upward. "Yes and no," he said.

"I'm not sure I follow," Rarity said, looking at him quizzically.

"Well," he said, "yes there are a lot of dogs living up here, but no, not many from the Big Deep."

"I'm not sure I follow!" Reginald called out from up ahead. He walked alongside a silent Greyjaw, and both of their hands were bound behind their backs.

One of their guards shoved Reginald several inches forward. "No talking, prisoner!"

"Animal," Reginald whispered, turning his nose up.

"Yeah, we didn't know this at first either," Haggert said loudly enough for Reginald and Greyjaw to hear. "See, crooks get sent up here all the time; exiled, right? At that point it's basically a game of how long you can survive before getting ate." Rarity and Fluttershy exchanged nervous glances and took a cautious look at their surroundings.

"Most don't make it past a year," Haggert said. "The eight of us, well, we're strong, and we're cautious. We sleep in the trees at night and watch the ground in shifts."

"Does that mean the werewolves can't climb?" Fluttershy said. Her wings twitched.

"They can," Haggert said, "but not very well. They're so slow about it that it makes 'em ridiculously easy targets. It's weird, I know, that they can tunnel through solid rock with no problem but can't climb trees worth a sniff. But then, nothing about them makes a lick of sense, so we don't question it." He shrugged.

"So you've survived by staying off the ground," Rarity said. "Most impressive!" Greyjaw scoffed.

"Well thanks!" Haggert said. "You play your cards right, I just might find some other ways to impress you, gorgeous!" He blew her a kiss and winked.

Rarity forced a laugh. "Goodness," she said, giving a playful wave of her hoof, "a hero and a flirt!"

"You know it," he said. "Still, turns out we weren't the first to have that idea."

Fluttershy tilted her head. "No?"

"Nope. Turns out, all those hundreds of years ago when the dogs went underground, some of 'em climbed trees. There are entire treetop villages surviving here in the swamp." Reginald gasped, but quickly became silent at a glare from the guard that had previously shoved him.

"Yep, you heard right," Haggert said. "Folks are living underneath, and folks are living above. Crazy, huh?"

"You're full of it," Greyjaw said. Even so, his eyes wandered the treetops suspiciously.

Another guard shoved him. "We said no talking!"

"I'm gonna kill you first, Jack," Greyjaw said, glancing over his shoulder. Jack scoffed, but said nothing.

"I wouldn't have believed it either," Haggert said. "We found 'em by accident. Looking for shelter one night, found a ton of really tall trees close together, looked up and saw a bunch of huts made from wood and straw built around the bark, connected by a bunch of rope bridges."

"Goodness!" Rarity said. "Did they speak to you?"

"Yep," Haggert said. "We told 'em we were from down below, looking for a safe place to sleep. They tossed us these bows and arrows and told us to scram, said they didn't trust nobody that lived below tree-level. Their archers had eyes on us the whole time, so we didn't argue. Passed under a few other villages after that, didn't even try to talk to any of them."

"I see," Rarity said. "I suppose I can understand that. I doubt the lycanthropes have made their lives any easier than they have yours."

"True enough," Haggert said. "Anyway, you don't look like you'd be too good at climbing, so we're gonna take shelter here." They stopped in front of a large cave.

"Mister Haggert?" Fluttershy said, a frown on her face. "That doesn't exactly seem... safe."

"Don't worry about it," Haggert said. "We'll all keep our backs to the wall, the boys and I will guard in shifts, and we'll sit the hostages at the mouth, so if trouble does come around, their screams will alert us." Fluttershy, Rarity, and Reginald gulped. Greyjaw actually smirked.

***

The magic in Rarity's horn died down as the guards watching Greyjaw and Reginald slumped over, snoring loudly.

"That was beautiful, Rarity!" Fluttershy said in a whisper. "But where did that music come from?"

"Don't you remember?" Rarity grinned. "I learned that trick watching Twilight soothe the Ursa Minor back in Ponyville."

"Oh, yeah!" Fluttershy said. "Gosh, that seems like forever ago..."

"I know." Rarity frowned. She wrapped her foreleg around Fluttershy's shoulders and gave her a quick squeeze. "And we'll get back there again, but first thing's first!" They tip-toed carefully toward Reginald and Greyjaw, who had both fallen asleep from Rarity's lullaby as well. The ponies gently shook them awake.

"What's going on?" Reginald said, looking behind them at the sleeping pack.

"We're leaving," Rarity whispered, enveloping Reginald's bindings in her magic.

"Don't be stupid," Greyjaw said. "We leave now, they'll just follow our scent, and kill us all. I don't care what happens to any of you, but I plan on living through this, so go back into the cave and go to sleep."

"Now Greyjaw," Rarity said, "you know very well that you do care, at least a little." She flashed him a wide smile.

"After all, you've saved us twice now!" Fluttershy said.

Greyjaw sneered. "I was following orders. And I don't care about the dogs giving me those either."

"But what about Haggert?" Rarity said, raising an eyebrow. "He dislikes you because you refused to betray Mahugpin! Surely you must care about him, at least?"

"You think that was out of loyalty?" Greyjaw said. "I follow Mahugpin because he controls the muscle in the Deep. If he got taken out, especially by someone like Haggert, everything would just fall apart."

"So it's the civilians you fight for?" Reginald asked, raising his brow.

"Weren't you listening?" Greyjaw said. "Working for Mahugpin means I've got a bunch of Wolf-Class fighters watching my back. The more people I surround myself with, the less chance I get eaten by a werewolf."

He turned to Fluttershy. "So there you have it. I don't care about any of you, I don't care about any of them. You're all a means to survive. And when the time comes, I'll make my own escape, drag your sorry butts back underground, and you all can do whatever you want after that. Now shut up and go back to sleep!" Fluttershy and Rarity lowered their heads and sighed.

Reginald quietly cleared his throat. "I, for one, appreciate the gesture, ladies. However, my uncouth colleague—" he shot Greyjaw a glare before saying, "is right about one thing: If we run now, they'll find us, and you two will be in danger. I get the feeling Haggert is the fickle sort, so best not to take advantage of his hospitality for now. Have patience. We will find a way out of this."

"I appreciate your civility, especially after that rather rude outburst—" Rarity glared at Greyjaw as well before continuing, "but I'm fairly confident that between the four of us, we can outwit those ruffians and make it safely into the Big Deep." Her magic enveloped Reginald's bindings again. Fluttershy bit into Greyjaw's as well.

Greyjaw jolted his shoulder into Fluttershy's face, sending her stumbling backward. "Knock it off!" She emitted a faint squeal.

"Now see here!" Reginald whispered, a scowl on his face. "These ponies are risking everything to help us! There is no need for such behavior!"

"That's right," Fluttershy said, nodding emphatically. "No matter what, we're going to help you. I know that deep down, you're a good doggy, like Reginald!"

Greyjaw grinned. "Like Reginald, eh?"

"Perhaps not as refined," Rarity said, "but Fluttershy, here, is a wonderful judge of character. So, if she says you're good, then I believe it!" They both smiled.

"I wonder..." Greyjaw whispered. "Whadaya say, Reggie? Since we're all such good pals now, what's say we let 'em in on our little secret."

"Greyjaw!" Reginald hissed.

"What is he talking about, Reginald?" Rarity asked.

"We were never going to use you two to ask your princess for help," Greyjaw said. A wide, toothy grin spread across his face. He now had their undivided attention.

Reginald whimpered. "Greyjaw, please..."

"It's fine, Reggie," he said. "It's too late for them to do anything about it anyway, so why not tell 'em?"

"I don't..." Reginald bowed his head as Rarity and Fluttershy listened intently.

Greyjaw chuckled. "Oh, I get it! You don't want them to see just how 'good' you really are!"

"Wait..." Fluttershy said. "What is this about?"

Greyjaw looked her dead in the eyes. "Mahugpin had me swipe you two so the Elements of Harmony couldn't be used to protect Equestria from us!" A pair of equine jaws dropped.

"That's right, ladies, you've been had!" Greyjaw said.

When silence followed, he continued speaking. "But it gets even better. See, it isn't just us. We're working with the griffons and your old pals, the changelings. Twilight Sparkle," Rarity's and Fluttershy's faces grew pale at the mention of their friend's name. "Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash? All taken. They've all been handed over as food to the changeling queen, and Mahugpin was gonna do the same to you!"

"That's a lie!" Reginald hissed. He turned to Rarity. "Miss Rarity, Miss Fluttershy, I can assure you that Mahugpin had no intention of handing either of you over to Queen Chrysalis!"

"But the rest is true...?" Rarity spoke in a meek, quivering voice, looking at the ground. "Fluttershy sensed you all were lying to us about something, but I... we... trusted you anyway..." Her eyes met Reginald's, and the canine gasped. There was a fire in them that stung him to his very core.

"We trusted you, worried about you, risked our lives to help you, and for what?!"

Fluttershy placed a hoof on Rarity's shoulder to calm her down. "You said it was so the Elements of Harmony couldn't be used," she said, keeping her voice even for the moment. "Why?"

"I'm so glad you asked!" Greyjaw said. "All three countries were planning to invade yours, and I'm guessing that by now, they have. Every single pony you've ever known is probably being sucked dry by changelings at this very second, and us diamond dogs are claiming your land for our own."

"That's not possible," Rarity said. She lost her composure and began to hyperventilate. "We have an army, we have magic, we have..."

"And we have Clarion Call," Greyjaw said. "The unicorn that brought you here? Yeah, he got his hands on the Alicorn Amulet. You've heard of it, right? Long story short, his goal was to scrape together enough power to teleport the entire invading army right on top of your friends' heads. Trust me, I saw the invasion plans myself. Your home is ours by now."

Rarity sank to her haunches. "Sweetie Belle... mother and father... Spike..."

"You know what? I've changed my mind!" Greyjaw said with feigned enthusiasm. "Let's run off together. Huh, buddies?" He looked at Fluttershy again, and the smile died on his lips. Her pupils had shrunk, the corners of her mouth sloped downward, and her face was pale. She was leaning away from him, with one hoof raised, as if even the air around him were toxic.

"That's it," Greyjaw said, a more serious tone in his voice. "That's the look. Same one my parents gave me when they found out I'd been marked. Same one they all gave me. I knew I'd see it on you eventually." Reginald stared straight down at the ground, having long-since given up on trying to say anything to ease the tension.

"Well, now!" a voice shouted from behind them. "Gotta hand it to ol' Mahugpin, didn't think he had the stones for that kind of game!" Haggert walked toward them. "Ya see, gals?" he said to Fluttershy and Rarity, "it's like I said, the Deepers ain't no good. Don't worry though, you're with us now. May not have a home to go back to, but we'll figure something out. Get some rest, I'll guard these two for the rest of the night."

Fluttershy and Rarity silently gazed at Greyjaw and Reginald, who quietly looked back at them. With a slight shake of their heads, they turned and walked back into the rear of the cave. Tears ran down Reginald's face.

"They can't trust you, Reggie," Greyjaw said, staring straight ahead. "And you can't trust anyone. For all their talk about friendship and love, I guarantee you those girls would like nothing more than to see us both dead."

"You're a monster." Reginald said, choking on the word. "And so am I! What have we done?!"

Greyjaw nodded. "We're all monsters, and we're all on our own. The sooner you make your peace with that, the better." Fluttershy and Rarity spent the rest of the night laying on their sides, facing the cave wall in total silence. But neither of them got a moment of sleep.