• Published 12th Jun 2015
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I Am Not a Charlatan! I Am Mysterio, Master of the Arcane Arts! - The Quidam



Ethan Mcintyre had dreams to become an actor, magician, and/or special effects artist. So who else should he go to a convention as, but the supervillain, Mysterio! How could things have ended with him in a magical world due to a mysterious figure?

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Issue 13-The More You Learn...[Part 4]

Author's Note:

Happy New Year One and All!,

It has been quite a while since we have seen this story get an update. I certainly was busy this holiday season. A lot of people to serve in my line of work, especially around Christmas and New Years! I hope your holiday experiences were at least good like mine was! OR at the very least you all were able to make the most of it! I know it gets tough, but remember that we all can feel better so long as we allow ourselves to feel and reach out towards others!

This isn't just one update, no! Instead I thought it would be nice to make these chapters longer as well as post them both up at the same time! Isn't that nice? As usual, feel free to comment on them as well as to conscientiously critique them, or just throw out a good question. Again, your comments keep my creativity going and I love responding to people who are willing to offer something to say about it. So please, enjoy the next installments as we reach the end of our venture in this arc!

Mysterio had just gotten done conversing with the imprisoned swords-doggie. They had talked about several things involving himself. Unsurprisingly the Coyotes (or The Desert Ash Pack as he was told their name) had been spreading word about him as some form of ‘Death Master’ due to their belief of one of his illusions being a form of necromancy. Another time he might have patted himself on the back for pulling off such a feat of renown, but the next bit of news deterred that sense of pride and curb stomped it. Word had spread about the sorcerer named Mysterio and how he could perform feats such as ‘raising the dead’ and ‘opening Tartarus’ to other parties as well! One of which the swords-doggie informed him through writing was heading here at a pace that drove him to strike the night before the day they were due.

It was now afternoon and Mysterio was feeling an urge to kick himself at letting it be known Clutter Coulee was under his protection, and not expect anyone to come by to refute it!

Still, he did his best to step out that door and walk calmly out despite the moment before being when his helmet’s HUD thought to inform him of several bio-signs waiting for him outside that were not Bo, Norah, Tsavorite, or Trixie. He gazed about the collection of unwavering glances in his direction, neatly folded his hands behind his cloaked back, and politely said with a bow, “Well, good afternoon!”

Surrounding him and the shack he exited was some of the toughest looking dogs he had ever laid eyes on. The Coyotes he fought before could only wish they came across as powerful and organized as this pack based on their presence and stances alone. They consisted of female dogs which was obvious based on their appearances and apparel. They certainly weren’t dressed for the desert, but rather looked like they would be right at home in the Savage Land. That or Themyscira based on how ripped some of them were. Seriously! From the bigger dog breeds he could recognize like Hyenas to some smaller ones like Pomeranians, if they weren’t built like they could tear apart a tank, they looked like vicious track stars that could easily beat the blood out of him after slitting his throat with a well sharpened nail. Already he could tell that they were leagues above those coyotes he fought before based on how strategically they surrounded him. The larger ones that looked like they could out muscle him in close quarters stood by at the ready. Next to them were their sisters who looked skilled with their choice weapons that included halberds, spears, and whips. Farther back were those who had arrows notched at the ready to fire at him.

Going back to his experience fighting the coyotes, he felt confident facing those thinking they were but slavers who fought with pointed sticks and had large numbers but few brains shared among them. He also had Mysterio’s tech- magic to put them in their place. But after encountering the Swords-Doggie with his strange metal and skill level, he was even more unsure of his competency if this situation went south. He wasn’t as immortal as he thought; rather less ‘squishy’ of a sorcerer as he should be. Fortunately, it seemed his choice in being polite was the right call as these were unsettled a bit by his lack of fear or tenseness at their presence. They looked at one another as if they were expecting more from this strange figure. Yet their distraction didn’t last long as a figure stepped forward from their ranks; one that Mysterio was not expecting to encounter amongst this crowd.

She was a higher member of the pack based on her much more elaborate dog collar and how she stood a head taller than most of them, but the later could have more to do with her fur. It was thicker around her upper torso, wrists, ankles, and the tip of her tail, with an opposing hue of color where it was thin enough to show off her thickened and well-toned limbs. With her body type being that muscular, and with how she was dressed in the pelts and furs of past hunts he wouldn’t be surprised to mistake her for an anthrosized lion from a distance. Yet it was definitely the color of her main patches of fur that would keep him from that conclusion. It was a startling contrast to the desert landscape to see something so white, and the only thing more juxtaposed was seeing this type of dog breed presented before him as the biggest threat of this pack surrounding him.

“Afternoon is good, I suppose.” The Poodle (of all breeds!) greeted curtly with an accent that sounded Russian. Her head’s fur-style looked like a Ushanka, or other form of hat, so perhaps she was or at least some Ponyland equivalent.

‘Yeesh, and Maze thought the Ponies here were like Amazons! She's like Ludmilla Drago if she really took up her husband’s training regimen after becoming a poodle!’ He internally quipped at this apparently Russian-sounding Diamond Dog in charge. Just standing a couple of meters before him and having to look up to meet her eyes was more than enough to have him do everything in his power to not throw a flinching hand down and trigger her into attacking. She had to be the alpha, for who else could give the example of reaching an intimidating stature despite stereotypes toward your breed? Before he could dwell further on her surreal nature, a young voice piped up drawing the sight of all of them towards the source.

“Runo?” Norah asked in childish wonderment at the sight of this Amazonian poodle and her mob of warrior dogs.

“Little Norah?” The Poodle signaled for the others to lower their weapons from her as she moved towards the pup to inspect her closer.

‘They know each other?’ Mysterio pondered as he looked at the reactions of everyone. Sure, the pup might have known her name from it being on her tag, but her next act told him otherwise.

“Runo!” the pup pounced onto the larger femme’s torso, showing that even with her obvious strength was pushed back a step by Norah’s enthusiasm. “It is yous! You’re still alives after me and Bo went our own ways!”

“Little Norah!” The Poodle, now identified as Runo, exclaimed with a more cheerful demeaner. “You is alright?”

“Of course!” Norah nodded. “Me and Big Sis have been makings our fortunes in this scrapyard since we saws yous all last! Even making new friends like the Magic-Boss Mysterio here!”

“Ya? Well den, we shall see your big sis about how she is doing and hear more of your tale!” Runo seemed to be placated now it was confirmed Norah and Bo were all right. Or perhaps they had some code of starting fights around children. In either case, the dogs seemed to lessen their stances to fight, but kept a good eye on Mysterio. “She is fine, da (1)?”

“You tell me. I am but an entrepreneur trying to do business with Miss Bo and her junkyard. Considering that I have yet to see her or my companions, I can only assume they are preoccupied.” The Sorcerer did nothing to show hostility in his words, but the message was clear: Any hostilities enacted today would be on their heads, not his. While he was certain if it came down to it he could break for an escape, the fact that these femmes got the drop on him and Tsavorite or Trixie had yet to make an appearance, he assumed that he might risk their lives in doing so.

“You assume much, Sorcerer!” Runo let Norah down as she widened her clawed hands before forming them into fists that were large enough to be equivalent stone hammers.

OR perhaps I assume enough?” The sorcerer moved his own gauntlets from his back towards his front with a holo-cube hidden in his fingers. He crossed them to avoid triggering the pack’s eagerness to spring into action, but was ready to drop them the second her saw one of their toes so much as twitch. “Where are they?”

“Right here!” Bo shouted as she stepped towards the crowd, drawing everyone’s attention toward the junkyard dog. However, everyone’s eyes seemed to widen more on the state of the two walking next to her. “Sorry for the wait, y’all, but these two were abouts to light a powder keg the size of Zebrican Manticore and that would be pretty bad knowin’ y’all’s tempers!”

Walking very closely to one another was his two subordinates. Or rather, one was walking while the other was unfortunately unable to. That was because they were both bound to one another back to back in what looked like a pair of barrels, only made of that strange black metal instead of wood. Tsavorite served as the main mover seeing that she was the larger of the two and free to use her legs, whereas Trixie looked like an oversized toddler in a shoulder carrier that bound her body up to her neck. Neither had access to their arms, and to make it more laughable, Tsavorite had her snout bound by a metallic ring while Trixie had her mouth free to use for many choice words!

-and shove it right below that flapping tail of hers! That is just when that bitch wishes Trixie is done, but that’s just what she’s going to do to start-!

Apparently Tsavorite had had her fill of Trixie yelling in her ear, for she used her tail to swing at the magnetically connected container on her back, causing it to rapidly spin. Trixie unfortunately had the displeasure of feeling the swirling displacement until the dragoness used her tail to stop her right-side up. Tsavorite gave an amused glance, wishing she could laugh, but immediately ceased when Trixie looked dizzily at her and said.

Oooh…You realize if Trixie gets sick…ugh…she is not to blame for you being in her way…Ulp!

Tsavorite couldn’t speak, but her narrowed glare was enough to convey the message, ‘Do it, and die!’.

Bo just ignored the two’s antics. Instead she focused on being sure she maintained control of the situation. “I hads to be sure they wouldn’t cause trouble. The last things I need is either you or my ol’ pack to wreck this place even further, Mysterio! And don’t give me that look, Runo! I’ve seens this sorcerer’s magic first hand. If he wasn’t willing to hold back for the sakes of me, Norah, and his servants, he would wipe you all off the desert floor.”

‘That is utter bull, but I’ll take it!’ Myterio thought as he took advantage of Bo’s embellishment of his capabilities. It gave him the confidence boost he needed to walk up to his limb-locked friends, and even bump shoulders with a few of these feral femmes while he did so as if he owned the place. He looked at the two, making sure they were unharmed. “If I promise to keep these two from acting out, could you release them from your binding? I’d do it myself, but I’d be worried about the repercussions of using my spell work against your…techniques.”

Honestly, he had no idea how to undo whatever Bo did, but on the plus side, it sounded like he could do it easily! Bo nevertheless accepted his request knowing that Mysterio was true to his word. She stepped towards the two imprisoned members of Mysterio’s forces, and tapped her nails against the metal. A second later, and the entire metallic object transmogrified into sand! Trixie slid of the dragon’s back and landed on her rump dizzy but annoyed. Before she could give the she-doggie a piece of her mind, Mysterio stepped in to stop her with a hand on her shoulder as if to say, ‘Now’s not the time!’

“Now I hope you don’t mind Tsavorite, but I’m gonna need you to keep the binding on your maw. We may be friends, but I know how…hungry you get when some-doggie tries to fight your Boss.” Bo said with a comforting tone, but a quick wink was a big indicator that she was throwing breadcrumbs for the three of them to work with. “And that’s not mentioning whatever magic Trixie here can pull being Mysterio’s apprentice.”

The three got the message that playing along would be in their best interests. That and the surrounding dogs perking up at these tidbits was more incentive to keep up their tough personas.

“Quite right, Miss Bo. So why don’t you and Norah catch up with your old comrade then?” he tilted his head toward Runo who looked at this occurrence with amused scrutiny. “I’ll keep an eye on everyone here.”

“Does that sound agreeable, Runo?” Bo asked the she-doggie in charge. The two shared a glance together, but before a silent conversation could start, Norah had scampered up her Big Sis’ back and onto her shoulders to meet the direct eye contact of the she-doggie huntress.

“Oh please! Please! Please!” Norah asked excitably to the Diamond Dog poodle as she gave a puppy-eyed stare as further incentive to go along with it. “Big Sis and I would loves to hear how every-doggie’s doing back at the old den!”

Bo raised an eye with a smirk, knowing that despite the time apart and the intense training regime of her old pack, they still had a weakness she could exploit: Norah’s puppy antics!

“It sounds good. It has been too long!” Runo relented, finding even her tough demeanor softened by the pup’s adorableness. She still brought it back to the forefront as she addressed the other Golden Nailed members with this to say, “Rest of you, remember! I may be Beta, but that just means it takes Alpha to keeps my tail in line! So, be on your best behaviors and keep in line for both of us, ponimat'(2)?!

The pack barked in agreement that they understood. Mysterio and his group almost felt compelled to yell their agreements alongside them due to her dominating presence she gave off with her decree. To think, that this huntress was just the second-in-command, the Beta, of the pack! Mysterio was certainly not looking forward to seeing who the leader was if this was an inkling of he being even more domineering!

Kayfova(3)!” She clapped before walking alongside Bo. She scratched Norah on the chin with a paw that could have easily encompassed her muzzle, and receiving happy yips in return. Doing so caused he to smile as she asked, “You lead the way, da?”

“Of course! I know just to place to gets privacy, and it has been a long time. Lots to catch ups on!” Bo seemed especially cheerful and eager to catch up to this fellow she-doggie. The two could be seen chatting away as the three headed off for a more private setting. This left Mysterio to figure out how to break the tension that was left over among all the attendants.

‘Well, looks like they are going to be a while. May as well try to get something out of this.’ He looked towards Trixie, who’s inner fire seemed to be dying down as her angry stare was met with a few dozen eyes that were willing to return the glare in full while holding weapons. He decided to break their glaring contest with a snap of his fingers and kept making a swishing motion with his hand. The she-doggies looked confused at what he was doing. Yet Trixie perceived it as being a signal to hand him back the deck he had lent her for practice.

With his cards in hand, and a bit of a strange green aura forming over his figure, he began to intricately shuffle them as he knew for certain he had everyone’s interest in what he was about to ask. “So, ladies, can I interest you in a game of ...gin rummy?”

The moment he saw a few of them looking towards one another and start whispering, he knew he had them and that made his inner con artist shiver in glee!

[}0{]

An hour or so later, it seemed that inner con artist was well satiated with the prizes of its latest pursuit. While these females were skilled hunters and mostly lived in a place with ferocious beasts, apparently, they were never warned about the perils of the one known as the ‘Card Shark'! From the instance they realized they were in his territory it was already too late and they were hooked and sank deeper and deeper into his grasp!

Fortunately, he was a merciful creature and had a stronger code of ethics when it came to card games and women: Never take more than you can carry, else you shall get carried away! If there are women present, then that means dignity is never put aside. Granted, these were female anthromorphs, but the principal was the same, dammit! It was when they were about to start throwing in their clothing, that Mysterio drew the line and started to purposely lose a few rounds to keep them from going that far. As much as he liked using his magic hands-and cards! -he was still a gentleman, and wanted to ensure that if anything, he didn’t take away their dignity. That and he was certain that his two subordinates were about to start a war with how disgruntled they look at the first she-doggie who was willing to throw in her top and start a chain reaction with the others who lost most of their possessions. (He swore he saw Trixie’s mane begin to flare up and Tsavorite nearly burst her maw binding open at that!) It was after that they too joined in the game, and risked what little bits and accessories they had into the pot as well! Surely their master would go easy on either one of them and graciously grant them the winnings. Right?

By the time Bo and Runo came back, they were surprised to see the she-doggies, the dragoness, and the unicorn mare bereft of most of their golden accessories and money while Mysterio was trying his best not to look snide about his new collection of treasures.

“Sorry ladies, got gin again!” He held out his hand to show a straight from one to nine of clubs! “Looks like I’m keeping this pile of treasures! …Except for this one.”

He pulled out a golden ring from the pile and tossed it back at the female who was about to shed tears at its loss. “You dropped this in earlier, not thinking it would be lost. I’d be careful of that. A lesser man wouldn’t mind taking away a woman’s wedding ring, let alone a dog’s!”

“Thank you!” The she-doggie gratefully exclaimed as she hastened to put it back on her finger, never willing to part from it ever again. “I woulds never bets it away but-”

“Pride gets the better of us at times. It’s understandable.” He shrugged. Seeing the three Diamond Dogs return, he set his cards down and stood up from his seated position. “So, did you enjoy your talk?”

“We did.” Bo crossed her arms at the sight of the magician and his winnings. Unlike Norah who looked amazed at all the shiny objects he now had, she was not so impressed with how greedy it made him appear. “Seems you made out like a bandit.”

“Did I?” He then snapped his fingers. The pack looked about one another as each one whispered in surprise. All their accessories were returned to them, as if they were never taken! Tsavorite and Trixie were shocked at the shift in their misfortune as well for they too regained what they had bet and lost. All that remained front of Mysterio was a pile of golden coins that the she-doggies lost to him earlier in the game’s beginning rounds.

“All I seemed to win was this pile of loose change. Oh well!” He gathered the coins up into a sack, and recollected his cards as he up and walked away. “Better luck next time, I suppose.”

Tsavorite and Trixie hurried to catch up with him after their amazement settled down, leaving an astounded crowd behind that included a large Collie-mix and a toned-up Poodle blinking owlishly at the twist of their perceptions.

“You see what I mean? That one is shifty, tricky, but at the end of the day, he’s very nice!” Norah explained with childish matter-of-factness. After what she had experienced these past few days, she solidly believed Mysterio was a force she considered ‘good’, not ‘bad’ like other adults in her life seemed to suggest.

“I see.” Runo nodded as she noted how Mysterio performed. She would wish to hear the pack’s observations, but from what she could already discern was enough. He was indeed honorable, and powerful. Judging from the odd scent in the air, he had the entire pack enthralled at some point during their games. Perhaps that was how he could win games of chance, but it was difficult to say without experiencing it firsthand. It was definitely a clear sign he could have done more to them and didn’t because he chose not to. And that finalized her decision that this was indeed a worthy target who had caught the interest of her Alpha. “Before you go, Sorcerer, I have message to convey from my Alpha.”

Mysterio stopped as he heard Runo calling to him. ‘That’s right, as tough as Runo seems to appear among this group of Amazons, she is an understudy…so who is the main actress?’

He turned to face Runo, almost bumping into his other friends as he did so, but stood tall as he asked, “And what, pray tell, is that message?”

Bo looked nervous at the news that Runo had a message to give, while Norah looked eager to hear. Both had their own perceptions as to what it meant to be a subject of this Alpha’s attentions.

“My Alpha…My Malkia, who leads us of the Golden Nailed has heard about your skill. How you are magic user strong enough to control death and open Tartarus itself on whim. She has hunted the most ferocious beasts and slain the most menacing foes. And she has given me the honor of relaying her words.” She said with a hand to her breast in salute before her reverent look became a threatening smirk as she said, “Her words were thus, ‘Run fast, Death Master. You who has made this world more interesting. There are many who wants to chase you, but I want to be the one to catch you!’

The Golden Nailed pack broke into a bout of laughter at the words of their Alpha conveyed to the one named Mysterio.

Norah looked excited at that! Her old Alpha thought Mysterio could make a good playmate!

Bo however looked even more worried. She knew how such a decree played out. She was once an more active member of Golden Nailed after all!

Tsavorite looked angered at this claim to her Master being like prey. Let her, or any other try to take her master! They would never get past her! Never again!

Trixie looked alarmed at the news, but developed a haughtier look as she reminded herself internally that her teacher was the best sorcerer she had ever seen!

It was hard to tell what expression Mysterio conveyed due to the nature of his helm being a round shiny object like a pearl. “And who is this, Malkia, who leads you all?”

Runo raised her arms and formed her large paws into a heart shape under her top. Doing so at first seemed to provocatively emphasize her bust, but it also highlighted another importantly detail of her person. That was the mark of a lion’s face with a golden paw layered over it on her chest. In an overwrought manner, she proclaimed the name of the one to which she served. The one whose mark graced her body as well as those of her clan sisters. “She is Zolotaya, Heir of the clan Kraven, whom we all bear her mark proudly knowing that we are her kin as she decreed it so!”

That pronouncement had quite the effect on the supposed ‘Death Master’.

Outside his expressionless helmet he confidently said to her, “Well tell your Alpha, I, Mysterio, hope she has legs strong enough to chase me, and arms strong enough to grasp me! For like the stars in the sky, I shine brightly, yet forever remain out of reach!

But on the inside, he faintheartedly cried, KRAVEN!!! As in Kraven the Hunter!? God Almighty! What am I going to do!?

[}0{]

‘What am I going to do?’ Spike asked himself for what felt like the tenth time that day.

Growing up in Canterlot most of his life, Spike found a sense of ease wandering the city streets and castle as he did. Seeing some of the places he would walk by like the small shops and districts was refreshing. Donut Joe’s place was the highlight for the best sugar crystal donuts he so loved! He even got to swing by to see Night Light and Twilight Velvet to assure them that their daughter was all right and not panicking being away from the Royal Archives she used to trek daily. They shared a laugh at seeing that she now officially lived in a library! He couldn’t see Shinning as he was apparently away on some official business, but his parents promised to let him know he at least stopped by. All in all, it was a good break from his daily routine of being Twilight’s assistant and straightening out the books that she had the poor habit of letting stack up from her study sessions and other such tasks.

Of course, he still had his mission to complete. He didn’t just get this opportunity to visit the capitol and the castle on a whim, as much as he wished. Any other day he would eagerly hope to traverse to the castle of the Princess who practically raised him and Twilight when Velvet and Night were busy with their tasks as Archmagi. While he was meeting one of the two mother figures in his life, (Three depending on how he felt about Twilight that day), the matter of which they were meeting was outside a friendly visit. No, instead it was official business for the subject of their talks was a Mysterious figure whose unseen presence seemed to be causing ripples into their lives: Mysterio!

Spike had hoped that he would have a bundle of information to prepare into a report to Twilight that would take days to organize and provide him an excuse to extend his stay in Canterlot. Instead he found very little that could make up the length of one of his dictated letters to the Princess.

“So that’s all you know, your majesty?” Spike asked as he finished his quill strokes on the parchment. The two of them were sitting calmly at a table among the royal bookshelves he one spent a great deal perusing for Twilight when she stayed at the castle. Across from him however was not the purple unicorn, but her royal highness, Princess Celestia. She had put aside her Day Court duties for this nice break from her royal routine. Yet even coffee and cake (for he was one of the few who knew how she truly felt about tea) didn’t seem to lighten the discussion as much as she hoped it would.

“I’m afraid so, Spike.” The Alicorn sighed with a mug to sip as she composed herself. “I wish there was more that I could say, but honestly everything you see in that report is nothing more than the culmination of rumors.”

“I’ll say!” Spike perused the details again. Already it sounded like something from one of his comic books with how this figure seemed to be doing things he would never thought possible without the Princess’ doing. “Sounds like this Mysterio is pretty scary if he can really do all these things. Yet why are you going to tell me this stuff if I’m not even allowed to tell Twilight?”

And that was another thing that bothered him. Celestia warned him about writing what he discovered right away. Instead asked him to tell her later when she was back at home, and then decide if they should tell the rest of their friends.

“Spike, you know I trust her very much. As my student, she has had access to things that not just anypony, except those of the royal family had a right to. Why some might consider her, as well as you, practically my heirs. That alone is enough to make her a pony of interest.” And that was a big part of the problem. Mysterio might not be considered a threat to the crown, but he certainly might have already been guilty of assault against one of its prestigious representatives as well as other ponies of interest. “So far, the only ones that even know of Mysterio’s presence here in Equestria are myself, Luna, you, your friends, and a few of my most trusted officials. But the number that know of Twilight’s encounter with him is even less! Their reactions to that has me hesitant to even send a diplomatic party to him in case any of them were react poorly and trigger him into attacking. And before you say anything Spike, consider this: Not even Shinning knows about Mysterio’s misconduct to Twilight, and even I worry about what he would do if he found out!”

That stallion alone would get the moon for his sister if she asked and it would take Luna herself intervening to stop him in his crazy attempt. If word reached him of how Mysterio used mind magic on her, well, it was bad enough Colonel Harte Liebe knew. She didn’t need TWO highly ranked military officials with a quarrel against a sorcerer who could be a skittish ally.

“I guess that’s true. I can kinda see where you are coming from.” Spike nodded as he took a slice of cake more than Twilight would let him have had she been here. “So I guess I’ll just tell her when she picks me up at the train station that I may have gotten carried away with my free time that I just put off any reports about Mysterio to her.”

Wouldn’t be the first time he got lazy and put of his homework. Oh, Twilight would be annoyed, and might even give him extra chores and put off giving him his allowance, but he’d sacrifice a bit of his liberties if it meant keeping her safe a bit longer with what he could do to help.

“Still, that leaves me having to tell Twilight why I was unable to write to her as I was sent here on ‘official Royal Business’ and not supposed to be on vacation; let alone for a few more days than expected! I hope you can appreciate my sacrifice, your majesty! This means I won’t be getting my issues of Power Ponies this month!” the young drake bemoaned as he stared pointedly at her, hiding his mouth’s expression behind a cup. It was a very sly grin.

“Oh, my poor little drake! How will he ever survive?” Celestia held a similar expression behind her own cup as she bemoaned in a motherly fashion. Twilight might be Celestia’s ‘studious surrogate daughter’, but Spike was a ‘surrogate son’ to her more mischievous side. ‘“I’m sure Twilight will come to forgive you. There are worse things than being unable to write, after all!”

[}0{]

Back in Ponyville, Rarity was busy reading a novel of…passionate romance of the ages. She was enjoying a break from her daily workload of dress designing and decided to take it at the library. The unicorn figured it might be nice of her to do so considering the previous slumber party she ended up enjoying with her friends Twilight and Applejack. Applejack ironically had a similar idea for she too was there looking for books regarding agriculture and other harvesting tips. While both were seated, and appraising their topics, their third friend was not so relaxed as she was currently busy trying to do some sort of magic that judging by her annoyed grunts was not doing what she wanted.

“Land sakes! Is she still tryin’ to change that paper into some sort of ‘nother magical doohickey or what ‘sit?” Applejack asked as she watched Twilight end up burning a hole into another letter and going from annoyed, to now hastily trying to put the fire out on her desk with a telekinetically pulled flower vase. “That’s the third time she’s done that after rewriting the darn thing! Can’t she just warp it away and then call it a day?”

Rarity set her reading glasses off her nose with a huff as she too found Twilight’s magical mishaps too distracting to delve into her reading. And it was such a good part, too!

“If only! Sending things a great distance like Spikey-Wikey can takes an amazing amount of power, precision, and other factors that you must consider. Otherwise you end up destroying the object in the attempt, or misplace it somewhere on the route. Twilight seems to be a bit out of practice from such a form of magic if she is having this much trouble with it. I must say, she is acting like this is her only option for messaging without our dear drake around.” The unicorn knew why Twilight was so adamant to perform the technique. After she had written a Friendship Report for their party, she realized she had no direct line to send her mail besides Pegasus Post. Rather than use that method, or even wait for Spike’s return, she instead opted to try to warp the letter herself, only to have it burst into flames. It was humorous to see that night, but seeing her still fail with it now was not so funny. “That isn’t to say she can’t do it. It’s more like if you tried to plow those fields of yours after months of doing nothing but apple-bucking, darling. You end up not being used to not needing much strength at first for such a task.”

“Really? You mean Miss Student-of-the-Princess is just too strong to send a letter through magic? She can take on Nightmare Moon, set an Ursa into bedtime, and cast spells that were taught to her by our own ruler, but that?” Applejack was now trying her best not to break into a chuckling fit at saying it aloud. “Should I even point out that it’s not just letters that she’s having trouble with since Spike went on his trip?”

“Probably not!” Rarity giggled as she agreed that the two had enough fun at Twilight’s expense. “Twilight, darling, please just take a break. I miss Spike, too. However, this is not making it better.”

Still the purple unicorn was determined to send a letter to Spike as she prepared another piece of parchment and dipped a quill in ink. “But I know I can do it! I used to do this when he was sick or when Celestia and I took longer lessons outside the castle! Just one more attempt!”

“Now don’t that sound like Rainbow tryin’ to beat me in a cider competition! Twilight, before you go off and light your horn again, do you even remember what you were goin’ to ask Spike at this point?” Applejack questioned. Twilight was just about to write her letter again, but then actually considered her friends’ concerns and realized how distracted she was.

“Um...” Her ears lowered as she sheepishly lowered her quill. It occurred to her then that she barely had an inkling of what exactly she wanted to put into her letter now. Each attempt to create something became more frantic with her frustrations at failing what she considered a simple spell. “Well, I know part of it involves our friendship lesson…”

“And..?” The mares asked in unison.

“I get it! I shouldn’t let my worries and frustrations get the better of me.” Twilight groaned out at their smirking expressions. Still, she calmed down with appreciation at how they cared about her feelings. “I suppose this situation could be more serious than just missing Spike and realizing how much more I need him here. There are certainly worse things than being unable to write.”

[}0{]

“There are worser things than beings unable to writes, ya knows!”

“Pardon?” Ethan said as he turned towards the Diamond Dog at work, and very important work at that. For she was busy tinkering with the way to get them from Clutter Coulee, across the desert, and all the way back to Castle Wonder. Considering how busy the two of them were at their tasks, he was surprised to have the silence broken by her bringing up that topic of all things.

“I says there are worser things than beings unable to learns Doggie Script and Pony Talk.” Bo said as she pushed herself from under the object she was hard at work soldering bolts and tightening sprockets. Said object was raised above her by more chains with those strange magnetic ball bearings and gave her enough room to roll about its underside on a wheeled platform for her leisure. “For instance, not being taken seriously in your ideas just cause your paws are smallers than the dunderheaded diggers of your species.”

Ethan could only shrug at that personal anecdote. “True, but it still doesn’t change the fact that someone has messed with my head, Bo. Someone made it’s that I could survive, sure, but also that I would be limited on what I could learn and teach others. It’s beyond unnerving and insulting! Besides, look at yourself now! You’re clearly showing how wrong those dunderheads were about you!”

Bo seemed to take a bit of pride at that declaration. She deserved the praise of course for her hard work as it validated why Ethan had an urging to come here of all places. The other-worlder had come originally looking for a source of materials for what he needed to make. Yet it was through a vision from the mysterious being known as The Quidam and his brilliant stone that he was compelled find something here. At first, he thought it was to do what he did best with junkyards; recycling what others considered junk and making them into art. However, by spending more time at Clutter Coulee he found another truer reason: to acquire a machinist for his team!

And what could provide better proof of acquiring such a person than seeing her work on completing a side project years in the making, now with a renewed purpose to finish it! Here they were in a garage that Bo claimed as her main work space and Ethan could still hardly believe the surreal nature of what he was witnessing. For while the object looked a bit more old-fashioned than the ones he knew of back home, he could still be awed at the fact in this world of mythical creatures and magic, there was the equivalent of a Big Rig Truck being created and assembled. Bo may be a dog, but he was amazed at her skills and the time frame in which she could work with to essentially make a breakthrough in transportation with her ‘Pony-less carriage’. What would take probably weeks of factory labor was nearly completed in a couple of days thanks to her muscle grease, his helping hands and newfound smarts, and whatever power she seemed to hold over shaping metal with such ease!

“Diamond Dogs tend to be terrible at crafting things themselves. Oh yous still gets the ones who makes things and can dos a pretty nice jobs with it. But the most of them don't have the patience to work with their oversized paws to be artsy and creative.” Bo groaned as she reminisced about her people’s narrow-mindedness. “So when it comes to greaser work like fixing things it is left to the pet-ponies or the runts who don't have to be careful with their paws.”

She got up and grabbed more tools to continue with her tinkering as she prattled on her story. Ethan followed suite, paying close attention to this insight into the dog’s culture with rapt attention. It seemed the she-doggie was finding herself eager to have such an attentive pupil for she kept talking without any loss of speed or care to her task at hand.

“Lot of the time, I ended up having to go into tight spaces, or using pony tools to fix pipes and sprockets for whatever reason since I was considered only so useful as a pup. Turns out my small paws makes me great at tinkering!” She grinned before letting out a sigh. “It’s just too bads no dogs really cared abouts it.”

“No dogs at all?” Ethan dared to ask. He thought that a culture that seemed to emphasize gem collecting and pack behavior would appreciate a good tinkerer or two.

“Well there were a few who could appreciates it, but doggies in general don't think it would be easier to use fancy machines like ponies do. Like think of big digging machines for shinies; no dog would want something that big and cumbersome to maintain when they have a pair of big trusty paws for digging. Add the fact that I was a runt and a potential pack bitch with no named clan to back my barking, and you’ll find that my hobby was nothing more than a dream.” She laid back down on the roller platform and had a sad frown on her muzzle as she muttered, “Didn't help that there wasn’t much option to show it off in the pet shops.”

“I’m sure had you the opportunity you would have outshone any of the others there besides you!” Ethan tried to emphasize as he handed her a toolbox. Still he had to ask because there was still a detail that he couldn’t wrap his head around, “So what are these pet shops like?”

A few days ago, Bo would have avoided answering the question, or had even gotten mad and the Hyooman for daring to ask it. But considering what she did for her, especially regarding her regained paramour, she didn’t feel as dismayed at the inquiry.

“I’m sure ya’ll hyoomans probably haves them in your territory or at least something similar!” Bo nonchalantly replied from her low position as she got back to winding in the nuts and bolts. She may not feel as upset by it, but that didn’t necessarily mean she wanted to dive into the topic.

‘Lady, you have no idea about my definition!’ Ethan thought as the logo for Petco appeared in his mind. He may never look at it the same way again if this was leading into what he was thinking. “Maybe, maybe not. But I’m not going to judge you based on what it could be. Unless maybe that’s why you let Norah put an explosive collar on Trixie despite claiming to hate slavery-”

The hardworking she-doggie banged her wrench against the side of the vehicle as she immediately barked out, “Her collars are not for ‘Slaves’! They are signs of ‘Pets’!”

“And there’s a difference?” Ethan raised an eyebrow. “Come on, Bo. We’re comrades now! Enlighten me to the cultural ideals I am clearly ignorant of! What makes collars so important for Diamond Dogs that…”

Ethan stopped himself as he almost asked what he wanted to know, minus any sense of tact. Bo caught on to what wasn’t said nonetheless, and seemed to feel a hint of appreciation for him doing so. It was something she herself was worried about bringing up now that…HE…was back into her life. Needing a distraction, she decided to explain to Ethan why collars played such an important role in the ways of Diamond Dogs.

“Ponies gets these cutie marks when they come to find out their purpose in life.” Bo counted on her fingers as she went over her points. “Don’t have a clue what dragons or griffins gets. I knows minotaurs get nose rings, but Diamond Dogs don’t get things like that. We gets collars made for ourselves by ourselves.”

Ethan said nothing. Mentally he was taking note, despite seeming to be standing still as aboard. Bo continued knowing she had his full attention on her every word.

“Collars are not signs of ownership like brands! Collars show that you truly belong! That you are not strays, but a part of something with worth and value.” She grumbled. “At least, it does for the most part. You can thank the Bandit Age for losing that distinction to other species.”

Ah, the Bandit Age. Ignoring Norah’s wonderful adaptation to it, he guessed it could be the reason it seemed the Diamond Dogs lacked the cultural extent the ponies seemed to possess, based on what he perused in the castle library.

“So collars are like…licenses?” Ethan asked, thinking in terms of how they were used in his world. That was the closest he could think of at the top of his head. Bo scratched her muzzle as she considered this term, and found it would probably be the best one to use.

“Kind’ve. They can shows who is mated and who is family, but just having one is a sign that you are not nobody. You have a name! You have a life! A purpose! An existence! So long as you have that collar it is yours!” She rubbed at the spot on her belly where underneath her overalls that brand was certain to be. “Brands and marks are different. Those things tend to never go away and you’ll always carry it with you. You remembers this mark I showeds you?”

Ethan nodded. How could he forget considering she partially flashed him so that he could see it? “You mentioned that you didn’t just get it to look badass, as I recall.”

“What you don't know is that it actually covers up several others that I got over the years.” She grimaced as she recalled the number, but gained a bit more hopeful expression as she remembered the last one on top. “It’s a mark that Zolotaya herself wears as her promise that we of her pack are boundeds not just her, but she is bounds to us too! She placed her mark on me personally, and it shall be the last mark I will ever wears of that nature.”

“Sounds like it was quite the reprieve from a life of servitude.” He commented. “I mean you sound almost proud to have gotten it.”

“Hardly, but perhaps you will gets why.” She huffed, but saw the hyooman was attentive to her every word despite his commentary, so her story progressed. “In Diamond Dog values, slaves are weakest members on the doggie-pile who gets captured, sold, and traded around for all sorts of reasons by other packs; one of the better ones is to stock the pet shops. Pet shops are not like slave auctions. You are fed, groomed, and respected much better than slaves ever do! More importantly, you gets a way to gets adopted by customers. You may have to spend your time trying to show off your skills, or be entertainment, but then you have ways to become part of better packs who wants you and other chances.”

Sounds like Pet Shops weren’t as bad as he feared. Granted they probably were much worse than he could imagine in actual practice, but at least it sounded like they weren’t just bordellos. They kind’ve sounded like they could be open to hiring perhaps workers or bodyguards if the skills were sought after. But he was getting distracted and there was still more to hear.

“For a while, I was just tossed around, doing what a slave’s life dictates in my puppy days. But at least what I did kept Norah, who had not even been old enough to earn her name, safe and innocent. Eventually I ended up with her at a pet shop for a long time. Time enough that I grew into quite the pretty bitch despite my runtiness, and had a few admirers. One in particular, who you know, I missed very much and hoped would buy us…!” She spoke with pride, and self-respect. Ethan nodded as he was getting a good idea of her contexts so far. Not heavy in the risqué details, but it seemed Bo at least was making it sound like she was at least…better in her pet shop days with more opportunity. Especially considering her previous comment of having admirers, it sounded like there was a hopeful turn.

“But then it happened!” Or perhaps not based on how her pride seemed to dim.

“What did?” He had to ask. Bo seemed undecided as to how to address this next point. Not that it was embarrassing, but more like it would put her at a disadvantage to the sorcerer.

“You remember Norah’s story about how we Diamond Dogs are descendeds from Crunch the Rockdog?”

“How could I forget?” No seriously, how? That story was told through stuffed animals and Norah’s enthusiasm made it more…memorable to say the least.

“Well, there is more to it than that. Sometimes it shows up more than usual in his great-grandpups. Like with me, and with…him.”

Now this was an interesting detail! “How so?”

At this, Bo gave a genuine smirk, knowing she had the perfect opportunity to show up the powerful sorcerer at something even he probably could never do! She sat up in front of him, making sure to keep eye contact on her captive audience.

“Watch carefully now.” She said as she held out the wrench in her paw. At first, Ethan saw nothing out of the ordinary as she held it in her nails. Then, like a ripple in a pond, a shadowy tinge began to spread throughout the tool until in completely engrossed it. It became blackish gray with a brownish tint. Ethan was no geologist, but after seeing Bo dip the wrench into the toolbox and a having a bunch of nails and screws stuck to its surface was proof enough that she somehow turned it into some form of magnetite or similar mineral.

“How did you do that?” He asked with honest amazement as he looked forward to the answer. The explanation of what she did would also explain the magnetic prison cell and the binding that she could put Tsavorite and Trixie in!

“Some Diamond Dogs have such a connection to the earth that they can make other things into a certain kind of rock! The stone type I make seems to be pretty special because it can draw other metal to it, too!” Bo’s smile reformed into a sad glance as she recalled the rest of her tale. “But the way I founds out about it was a terrible thing.”

Before he could ask ‘How?’, her story continued at a much more furious pace as the tension built up the more memories she evoked.

“Back in my days in a pet shop, I woulds…do my business while Norah was safe and away from trouble. One day, a doggie thought he could get to Norah and have fun with her while his pack-mates were keeping me preoccupied. I could hear her yip in distress as they were about to corner her!” She barred her teeth at that, making herself look more than a bit ferocious as she recalled the feelings of absolute rage at those dogs. “I wanted these dogs dead for even thinkin’ about touching her! So I felt a deep instinct in me and mades it so he and his pals never could. Next thing I knew, they were statues that were drawn to each other like tingly metal, and shattered when they crashed together!”

She calmed herself down, which Ethan was more than thankful for, seeing that everything metal in the garage started to shake as if wanting to fly towards her!

“I was afraid I would be cast out, or worse, put down, but instead I was put for sale for a much higher price!” She looked at the wrench in her hand as focused on returning it to its normal state, before tossing it carelessly back into the toolbox. “I was traded around packs doing dirty work for rougher bosses until one pack I was a part of got the dumb idea of taking on one of the Big Bosses of the Diamond Dogs: The Golden Nailed. Of course, he got most of them killed and I was one of the few that was worth a damn. Their Alpha, Zolotaya, bought me and Norah as pets and eventually made us part of her pack.”

‘I’m guessing that’s the lead into her business with the Golden Nailed Pack and…Miss Kraven?’ He was still unsure what to make of that name being here, but that was a problem for a future issue, now wasn’t it? Right now, he was busy hearing an ally bear a bit more of her soul to him.

“But that’s all I will says for this story. The point is that I lived through quite a lot, and hoped Norah never understood what was really goings on arounds her. For the most part, she never seems to act like anything we were doing in our lives from when we were slaves to when we was pets was some sort of game; one in which we would wins better lives and wear pretty collars.” It took her a while, but she had a lot to say in hope to get the hyooman to understand her line of thinking. “So when I noticed her occasionally giving our workforce these collars she made…”

“You just hope it is a pup playing pirate with no idea what ‘pillaging’ actually means?” Ethan summarized with how he comprehended Bo’s feelings to why Norah’s collar giving wasn’t meant to be as corrupted a concept as it should have been. Bo perked up at his understanding.

“Yes! It’s like that! Anytime a drifter or such came by they did their work, and left when they met the debt. You can dig around if you don’t believe me, but not once did I ever think that these collars Norah passed out were explosive.” Her ears dropped as she moaned. “I should have known better.”

Ethan crossed his arms as he thought carefully on his next words to Bo. He still had his reservations to the ideas of ‘Pets’, ‘Slaves’, and ‘Identity’ that these collars seemed to signify. However, knowing that he personally felt that he had to keep his own cultural norms and standards somewhat secret to his friends, he felt that he barely had a right to judge them on their customs that were long ingrained into them. If anything, it wasn’t like she was defending them with pride. Rather, she was hoping she could forgive them for appearing comparatively vicious, yet sadly unchangeable.

“I suppose it’s understandable then. You only thought Norah was picking up on things with a child’s understanding, not realizing that she was learning more than you wanted.” That was a fair point to the she-doggie who had the unfortunate task of being the lone model of her younger sister’s behavior. He still was sure to ask, “So, nothing happened to your previous workers?”

“Nope! I made sure they left when the ponies or other deliveries came and gave them a ride to some dwelling places. Never heard from them again after, but they left here alive!” She nodded vigorously.

“I believe you.” Ethan nodded his assessment. “Norah however should change her behavior to collars though if we are to work together. She’ll also still have to ask Trixie to forgive her, but I don’t think it will be as bad as you think.”

Bo had to raise a brow at that admission. “No? Why not?”

“Because the bomb wouldn't have gone off had Trixie removed it. It only blew up because she found the detonator.” He recalled how Norah found the detonator and used it to explode the bomb as well as how the thing did not go off in the time she mentioned it would when he ripped it off. “Otherwise, why would she had made the effort to find it alongside the task I gave her?”

“So she is not such a bad dog?” Bo asked with a sense of renewed hope. To which Ethan chuckled a bit.

“Oh, she’s still a little scamp, but you can rest assured, you are doing a good job of keeping her from becoming bloodthirsty!” He then had another curious thought considering that the Diamond Dogs. “Now you bring up another question: what about your own collars? Judging by the ones I saw those ‘Golden gals’ wearing, you and Norah probably had some that were very fancy.”

“Oh, I still got them somewheres safe. Besides the chances of Norah losing hers, they would brings too much unwanted attentions. Considering who gave them to us, they are worth much more than the gold they are crafted from.” Bo shrugged, before gaining a devilish grin and posturing like a poster girl. “Besides, as if I needs more attentions given to my cleavage!”

Ethan snorted at that! “I’m sure your boyfriend will appreciate the lack of distraction.”

Bo giggled a bit at that, but the mood slowly died as the unasked question resurfaced between the two.

“So, he had a collar there?” The human finally decided to lead into the unaired topic.

“…Yes. He did. One that denoted him as a Knight of the Bone of Scone. One of our Big Boss Packs” Bo breathed out softly. “But now he doesn’t have that, nor…-sniff-…his bark.”

“How bad is it, Bo?” Ethan asked. “I mean, I can guess, but…”

“When a doggie’s collar is taken away, they lose everything with it: Their pack, their mate, their purpose, their identity; Everything! They are made to be nobody! Oh they can start from the bottom and possibly regains everything they hads except…-sniff-…” Tears were starting to trickle in her eyes and yet she still focused on finishing. “…When they are made barkless, they are marked for death! For even if they have the best digging claws, there ain’t no doggie who would trust one who can’t even barks for help if a tunnel collapses! Or bay at the moon to extol the dead! He can hides it, but if any packs know for sures, especially the Big Bosses…!”

Ethan patted her shoulder in soothing circles as she regained her focus, and stopped her tears.

“I gotta finish the motor carriage! I can always cry later when I’m halfway gone from here, right?” Bo quickly got herself back to work, feeling that she shown quite enough of her softer side today. Ethan nodded as he moved to help the she-doggie as best as he could, yet his thoughts still wandered to these recent events with a new insight as to what was going on.

‘Two lovers reunited, but only to discover one marked for death. And here I am to bear witness to this story.’ Ethan recalled just why this truck was made especially important. It was the parting phrase that Runo said as she and the pack of huntresses left. She whispered it to Bo, but it was told with him close enough by to hear it. Judging by the poodle’s knowing look, he was meant to hear it as well.

“Remember what I said, Sestra (4). Our Alpha gave you a bit of leeway when leaving, but that only goes so far over others who we see as prey. Still, I won’t tell her about your ‘vlyublennyy shchenok’ (5), for old time sake. Dosvedanya (6)!”

Just the way she looked at him was enough for him to understand that the one she referred to as prey wasn’t just him. Already it was clear that he was not on the best terms to start with for this pack and whatever good will he had was hanging by a bit of twine. Still, he made a motion to express a few more parting words and gifts he handed to her for Miss Kraven. Perhaps it was overtly reckless to do so, but the fact Bo now divulged such a great deal to him was proof that it was appreciated. Even if she didn’t, he felt he would have ended up doing the same. He always did have an issue with reacting heedlessly to how others that badmouthed himself or those in his care.

[}0{]

If there was a lesson he learned from all this, it was that there was an expansive truth to ‘No news is good news’. The incident in his dad’s shop was graced with how the hefty press and the prevalent news vans missed reporting it. Whatever sources that caught notice of the incident, seemed to bury it in the later pages and smaller segments of their chronicles. At least any solid facts didn’t reach much beyond blurry details and unsupported hearsay. Unfortunately, the rumors of what happened still spread their roots across the nearby people and reached the ears of his teenage peers.

It would have been one thing if he was receiving sympathy when he returned to school at summers end. He would have appreciated a never-ending tide of condolences and other students asking if he was ok. It would have been irksome, but understandable. Yet somehow by the end of his first week back, the rumor mill devolved into him becoming a potential threat to the entire student body! People started avoiding him when they didn’t have to encounter him. Those that did seemed to be metaphorically tiptoeing around him as if he had broken glass pouring out of his shoes. Despite all his efforts to the contrary, he just couldn’t get them to understand that yes, something bad happened to him, but he was still a good guy!

No one seemed to get this! Not the counselor he was ‘recommended’ to make appointments with, not his teachers, nor his acquaintances. He barely had what he considered friends, and they seemed to suddenly find excuses to sadly not have time to hangout or at least study with him. All it did add up to was the feeling of being choked by an unfeeling grip. It was pouring into a cycle that was making him sad, anxious, and standoffish to start off with. Now it was really eating away his tolerance for things and Ethan’s patience was thin enough as it was!

It finally came to a burst one day when a certain Robbie Cutherland said the wrong thing at the wrong time. For you see, he thought it would be quite hilarious to make an off collar joke about the owner of McIntyre’s Magnificent Merchandise not being much of a man if it took his wimp of a son to keep the place safe from thieves. Maybe there was more that he was about to say that would have made the others at his table laugh during lunch. Maybe not. There certainly was no laughter when that so-called football star found himself bleeding on the ground due to having a large biology textbook slamming his head into the table! And into the bench! And into the ground…repeatedly!

“You can say he’s a shitty magician, or that he can sell better stuff! I’d bring it up to his attention and he’d get better! But you call him less of a man because I pulled the trigger! THEN I’ll JUST HAVE TO WIPE THAT SMIRK OFF YOUR F*KING FACE YOU #!##!##!” Ethan roared with each pounding.

It took half the football team to retrain him and even then, they were unsure if it was shock at seeing the skinny armed nerd doing what he did, or that his anger made him that much stronger that their numbers were needed. Robbie wouldn’t be well enough to play another game for the rest of that year. Not just from his injuries, but from the shakes he would get whenever the crowd roared in his ears. Still his problems were small nuggets compared to the wide berth Ethan now got whenever he would step into the cafeteria and hallways.

It was hardly any surprise that despite being a hardworking and respectable student, he faced a few days’ suspension for that. To be honest, he was glad, because he was feeling a budding desperation to start ditching if it meant he would avoid the whispers and suspicious looks behind his steps. He expected his dad to punish him or berate him, but in a twist of events, he saw the older McIntyre was doing his best to hide the hint of pride at his son standing up for him again and showing he wasn’t as broken as he feared. He lost his privileges but he felt a bit happy at seeing that he gained a bit more respect. Still it was a harsh period in which young Ethan would learn to cherish those that would eventually stand with him despite being told he should be avoided at any cost.

[}0{]

He needed a break from the garage. The memories of his high school days weren’t something he wanted to sink into. Besides, it seemed Bo was taking some time to herself. The fact she was using her now unconcealed abilities over metal made the work go much faster, so he wouldn’t be surprised if he was holding her back by being there. Besides, he had other business to conduct in the meantime.

For instance, the young pup who was looking over a pile of miscellaneous items while trying not to question the other person at the table across from her: The ‘Barkless One’. He never gave a name in their conversation, nor would Bo reveal it. All he seemed to have to identify him was his swords. One of which he was cleaning while tempering its cracks with careful touch of his one nails. It seemed he too had similar powers to Bo’s powers (He should come up with a name for it, unless there was already one) for he started to trace intricate words and sybols on them, before going for more cartoony ones when he noticed Norah started to watch what he was doing. She giggled a bit at seeing a cat chasing after a mouse.

“What you got there, Norah? More loot?” Ethan asked as he stepped to the table and sat down with them. The two dogs barely seemed to notice him nearby until he greeted them.

“Just some shinies some pups I knews gave their mommas to pass on to me if they saw me.”

That threw him for a loop. Sure, he could tell some were married based on their reaction to that one who bet a ring, but also mothers? Not exactly something he would consider when facing them at the end of a spear or other pointier object.

“Looks like they must have missed you as much as you missed them.”

“I guess.” She didn’t sound that happy about that which both male figures noticed.

“Looks like you got something on your mind.” He sat next to her. “Want to talk about it?”

“It’s tricky.”

“Try me.”

“Well…you knows that me and Bo are sisters, but did you knows we don’t even knows what happened to the rest of our families?”

Ethan shook his head no.

“Bo and I don’t even share the same daddy!” She yipped out. “I mean, look at her, and look at me! She’s big and fluffy ‘cause her daddy’s a Bernard! I have no clue what mine was, other than he wanted me and my litter dead!”

‘Good grief!’ He thought, but his uncovered face said it all. The swords-doggie said nothing, not that he could, but his tightened grip on his blade was indication that he didn’t like that news either. Norah started to shed tears as she prattled on her woes.

“I have brothers and sisters that I have never met! Most of which are definitely gone for good! Yet now I can’t even have friends.” She started to cry, leaning into the other Diamond Dog for support.

“Can’t or won’t?” He interrupted.

“Huh?” The pup asked as she settled down. Even the older dog looked a bit confused at this question.

“You heard me. Can’t or won’t?” He spoke up, giving her a resolute eye, before settling down. He initially wanted to lecture her, but didn’t want to make her feel worse doing so. He certainly wasn’t that heartless yet. His stare therefore became more gentle, but still focused as he went on to expound to her. “I know in some ways, Bo is at fault for that. I won’t excuse her for that, other than to say she is clearly doing her best to take care of you. Yet Norah, that doesn’t excuse the fact that I’m certain that collar trick you did to Trixie isn’t the first time you did it.”

The swords-doggie tilted his head add that bit off information. Seeing his reaction to the tidbit, Norah immediately began to start defending her actions as any child would ought to do.

“But I knows what ponies like her always do! Trying to takes advantage of us cause we’re not as rough or mean like other doggies they’ll come across.” She defended. “They always thinks just cause we’re nice doggies we can’t be smarts enough to know when we are tricked, or not as special as they are. The same goes for Minotaurs, Griffins, and every other somethings! Besides, what does that have to do with anything?”

“Everything!” He explained further with a pointed finger on her nose. “If there is one lesson I can impart on a pup like you, it’s that no matter how others treat you, they will only judge you by how you treat them in return. Do nothing, and they may walk over you, but do too much and they might trample you underfoot! So, if you want to avoid a bad result, you got to treat them right. It may sound simple yet tricky, but it is what makes the difference in setting off another enemy, or making a new friend.”

“So what shoulds I do?”

“Well, you can start by saying you’re sorry. Not just saying it, but showing you mean it.” He quickly came up with a suggestion of how to do that. “I recommend showing it through a gift. That way she’ll know you aren’t just doing it ‘just because’.”

Norah thought about it, but the brightened look on her face, and her hurried pace out of there were good signs she knew just what to do now. That left Ethan alone with the swords-doggie who appeared somewhat bemused at what transpired in front of him.

“I know, she’s just a pup. That still is something I feel I needed to impart to her as we are all going to be stuck with each other for a while. Better to tell her how she can improve her friendships before she ends up making bitter rivalries with us all.” Ethan said while also considering, ‘That, and I think Trixie’s rivalry with Tsavorite for whatever reason is going to be distracting enough! No need to add Norah, and possibly Bo, and end up having an all-out civil despite between all of us.’

The dog relented in a bit of an unexpected manner as he held out one of his blades with the phrase {I understand} written on its surface.

“So you let your blades talk for you now?” Ethan had to hold back a grin at the idea of a warrior literally have his weapons do the talking for him.

{Faster for me than sand scribbles} The dog ‘said’ in another blade.

True. Ethan was impressed that his power allowed such a thing combined with his skilled control. Then again, perhaps the Dog’s language was easier to write with than his mind could perceive. Either way, he shrugged. “Fair enough. So how are you holding up?”

The Dog pondered before a moment before answering in two sides of a blade.

{I am fine. I am still alive. Bo and Norah alive too.}

He flipped it over.

{Bo is different. I am different. We are not same.}

“And?” He asked.

The swords-doggie wiped the blade before replying with,

{I still like Bo. Bo still like me.}

Another flip.

{What do you want?}

“Now that, is the big question!” Ethan thought carefully as he was not only lacking his Mysterio outfit at the moment, but the Doggie was looking as though the answer would determine what would cover his sword next: more words or blood. “What do I want? Well I assure you, I don’t want any harm to come to any of us. That is for certain.”

{Good. Not Enough though. Need More.}

He flipped it back to the previous question.

{What do you want?}

“I want you to understand, what I want is complex. I have trouble putting it into words. So, let me answer your question with another.” Ethan held out a hand and offered this to the swords-doggie, “How would you like to help me achieve a better world?”

[TO BE CONTINUED…]


(1) yes
(2) understood
(3) very good
(4) sister
(5) lovesick puppy
(6) Goodbye


{OMAKE}

Everyone was going to bed, and heading their own seperate ways. But two doggies where still lingering by the fire, alongside Ethan who was about to leave, but slowed his pace as he heard Bo start up her conversation.

“So, I knows I’m not the…well, willowy collie you used to know. Well I am, yet am nots…um, I means-! I still…fancy you…that for sure never changed.” She swayed in place like a schoolgirl confessing to her crush which was cute or funny depending on how you saw her larger frame acting so skittish. “I…understands if you don’t feel that way…it has been so long and I don’t blames you for expecting-!

The swords-doggie began to come closer towards her, not breaking eye contact. Bo was nervous at how resolute he appeared as if there was something he had to do. Perhaps he was going to show her a sign for her to back off-!

-Scratchy! - -Scratchy! - -Scratchy! -

Bo stopped her worrying in stunned surprise before her eyes rolled back close as a blissful smile formed on her muzzle. The swords-doggie had leaned in close, reached behind her back, and was currently scratching behind her ears. The intimate distance he maintained and the smile he gave at her own pleased reaction was all the confirmation she needed that yes, this doggie still cared for her too! Thus, her own tail started wagging in glee at her heart being set a flutter.

Seeing this nice moment cause Ethan to recall something else they discussed in the magnetic cell.

“If you care about Bo as much as you do, then you have to show it with actions if you can’t express it with words!” He thrusted a clenched fist to his own breast in determination as he confidently proclaimed, “Trust me! You use this technique and she will be putty in your hands to mold as you see fit!”

He told the dog this as part of his discussion over the way Bo reacted to his silence. Apparently, he too was worried about how she would react to seeing him, a ‘Barkless’. He gave him a bit of a pep talk and gave him a tip about how to get a dog to know you cared for them. Granted, it was what he did with dogs back home, but it seemed to work here based on how Bo seemed to like it.

More importantly, the Barkless Swords-doggie appreciated the good advice based on how Bo had started to looked bashfully giddy before sweeping him into a deep hug. Before he left, he noted that the dog’s thumb was raised in a salute; one in which the human subtly returned.

On that night, Ethan knew without a doubt The Bro Code was truly universal!