Dog Days

by Rare Twinkie

3-New Enemies, New Friends

Dog Days
By Rare Twinkie
Chapter 3: New Enemies, New Friends

Across Ponyville, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were sitting at one of the many tables, their hooves locked in a death grip. As each tried to overcome the other, Fluttershy stood watch as the unofficial referee, stretching her hooves impatiently. Normally, she wouldn't have minded being a referee for their competitions, but they had been going at this almost all day, and she was getting hungry.

She was relieved to see Rarity, Pinkie and Spike run into town, hoping that they would be able to get her out of having to prove who was the strongest pony. But something about their anxious, serious expressions kept her from calling out to them. They seemed to be in a hurry as well, leaping over rocks and barely avoiding crashing into other ponies. Even Rarity was foregoing her usual care as she ran after Pinkie and Spike, who were at least a few feet ahead of her.

When she saw the unconscious dog on Rarity's back, Fluttershy couldn't keep silent any longer.

"Oh, my goodness!" she cried, loud enough to get Applejack's and Rainbow's attention. They stopped their hoof-wrestling competition and turned to see their friends running past.

"What's the rush, guys?" Rainbow asked.

"It's horrible, Rainbow Dash, just horrible!" Rarity cried, pausing to breathe for a moment. She groaned as she adjusted the unconscious Huck onto her back. "A horrible creature attacked us in the Everfree Forest!"

"And it attacked Huck, too, with a big bolt of lightning!" Pinkie added, swinging her hooves out wide for emphasis.

"What in tarnation were y'all doin' in the Everfree Forest?!" Applejack demanded.

"It's a super long story, but to make it super duper short, Huck got hurt by that mean monster and now Twilight's fighting it by herself!" Pinkie explained breathlessly.

"WHAT?!" Fluttershy, Applejack and Rainbow Dash shouted.

"Why didn't you stay to help her?!" Rainbow asked.

"She told us to get Huck to the hospital," Rarity said, inclining her head to Huck, "as well as get word to Princess Celestia about what's going on."

"Say no more, Rares. We'll go help Twilight fight that crazy creature, right, girls?" Rainbow said, turning to Applejack and Fluttershy.

"You betcha," Applejack agreed.

"Um...I think I'll stay back and help Rarity and Pinkie take Huck to the hospital," Fluttershy said softly. "The poor thing needs help immediately."

Rainbow sighed. "Alright, Fluttershy. You guys get that dog to the hospital," she said. "AJ and I will take on whatever's fighting Twilight."

"I'll send a letter to Celestia back at the castle!" Spike said.

"Come on, everypony! We have no time to lose!" Applejack shouted.

With that, the group split up in three different directions, hoping that they would reach their assigned destinations in time.

---

The creature lunged at Twilight, answering her challenge without a word. She leaned backwards, avoiding the thrust of its sword, and lashed out with a kick to the face. There was an audible crack as her hind legs connected with the creature's face, and Twilight was certain that several bones had been broken. The force of the kick launched the creature back, sending it crashing into the ground. She quickly gave chase, a sphere of magic gathering at the end of her horn.

This is almost too easy, she thought. I'll be able to subdue this creature and meet back with Rarity and the others in no time. I just hope that Huck is-

Her thoughts were interrupted by a hiss of electricity and a clap of thunder. A black and green blur whizzed past Twilight, blisteringly fast. She saw the large, looming shadow behind her, and gasped.

"You were unwise to lower your defenses, pony," the creature boomed, and in a lightning fast motion, brought the sword down on her back with enough force to send her tumbling out of the sky. She slammed into the ground, and the creature raced towards the spot that Twilight had crashed in, sword aimed at her chest.

Twilight saw the creature zooming towards her, and winked out of sight, reappearing at least ten feet away from the crater that she had landed in. Rather than crashing into the ground as she thought, it quickly changed its direction by five feet and chased after her, black and green energy gathering on its sword. Twilight once again winked out of sight, and then reappeared behind the creature, a sphere of light gathering on her horn. She fired the sphere, only to be caught off guard when the creature whipped around and deflected the beam back at her with its sword. Twilight had no time to move, and she was hit head on by the attack. She hit the ground again with a pained scream.

"You were unwise to challenge me, pony. Now, you die!" The creature laughed, a sound that made every hair on Twilight's coat stand on end. With glowing eyes, it drove its sword into the ground, sending a torrent of green lightning surging towards her. Twilight struggled to get back up, to take off before the attack made contact, but that was when something lassoed her around her waist. The next thing she knew, she was yanked backwards with incredible force, and once again found herself landing on her back. A rainbow streak raced over her head, crashing into the creature and tackling it out of the sky.

Twilight rubbed her eyes and stared into the face of her savior. "Thanks, Applejack," she said. "I owe you one."

Applejack untied the rope from Twilight's waist. Her expression was grim. "No problem, Twilight. Rarity and Pinkie told us what was goin' on," she said. "Rainbow thought you might need some help."

"You'd have no idea how right she was," Twilight said, getting up. She looked over and saw Rainbow swiftly avoiding the creature's bolts of green lightning. "That thing is giving me a hard time."

"What the hay is that thing?!" Applejack asked.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out! And the only person who knows the answer is currently in Ponyville Hospital!" Twilight snapped.

Applejack opened her mouth to say something, but she was interrupted by a loud shout. She and Twilight turned to see the figure fly through the air and straight into a tree. He slid off of its slick surface and hit the ground with a thud.

Rainbow backflipped in mid-air, a proud expression on her face. "Woohoo! Now that's what I'm talking about!" she cried.

"Way to go, Rainbow Dash!" Twilight raced to the creature, who was struggling to get up. "Now, let's find out who or what this thing is."

Right before she got close to it, the creature locked eyes with her, and Twilight jumped back, getting into a fighting stance.

"Mark my words, pony, this is far from over." His body started to glow a bright green as he said those words.

Applejack covered her eyes. "What in the world is he doin'?!"

"I have no idea!" Twilight shouted back. There was a loud explosion, and when everyone uncovered their eyes, they saw that the creature was gone.

"Ponyfeathers! He got away!" Rainbow snarled.

"We've got to find him before he does anything else!" Applejack cried.

"He used a teleportation spell in order to make his escape. He could be anywhere!" Twilight explained. "First things first, we need to tell Princess Celestia what's going on."

"TWILIGHT!" The alicorn turned around to see Spike running towards her, a scroll in his claws.

"Spike! Did the Princess get the letter you sent?" she asked, running to meet him halfway.

"Yeah. She wants you to meet her at Ponyville General Hospital as soon as possible," Spike said, "since she wants to talk to Huck about what's going on."

"Right. Come on, girls," Twilight said. "We can't keep the princess waiting."

---

"Other than a few injuries, he's perfectly fine. He'll have a horrible headache when he wakes up, but he'll live," the doctor said.

"Wow. After getting blasted by dark magic, that's all he's sustained?" Rarity asked, surprise on her face.

"Yes. I've never seen a dog like him before. He must be of an extremely rare breed," the doctor said, looking over at his patient.

Huck was laying in the hospital bed, his eyes shut tight. He had bandages on his left arm and across his head, and there was an IV tube in his left arm as well. Pinkie sat on his left side, her bouncy curls slightly deflated and a saddened expression on her face. Fluttershy sat next to her, a hoof around her friend's shoulders.

"Thank you, Doctor. I'll tell Twilight as soon as she arrives," Rarity said.

As soon as he left, Rarity turned towards her friends. She was just as worried about Huck as well, especially since he'd taken a blast of dark magic head on during their encounter with the monster. A flash of anger went through her as she remembered how coldly the creature had declared that he would kill them all after Huck had saved their lives by almost giving up his own. It was times like that she wished she had Twilight's magic skills, as she could have used them to put that creature in his place.

She was interrupted from her thoughts when she heard a loud groan come from Huck. She turned so fast, she thought she heard a bone pop in her neck. Fluttershy and Pinkie stared at Huck in surprise as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Wh...where am I?" he asked. He winced as a sharp pain tore through his head. "Ow, my achin' head..."

"HE'S AWAKE!" Pinkie squealed, her mane instantly reflating. Before Huck could even utter a word, he was gathered up in the small pony's hooves, squeezed so tightly he could hardly breathe.

"Oh, thank Celestia!" Rarity cried, running over to Huck's right side and giving him an equally tight hug. "We were so worried about you!"

Huck coughed weakly. "Thanks, Rarity, Pinkie...I appreciate y'all taking me here," he said, gently patting Pinkie on the head with his good arm.

"You poor thing!" Fluttershy gasped, her expression full of concern. "Who would do this to you?"

At the mention of "who", the battle from earlier flashed into Huck's mind. His expression melted into an angry scowl. "That's what I'd like to know," he said.

"Uh, Huck, I think you're scaring her," Pinkie said.

"Oh. Shuckins, I'm mighty sorry about that," Huck apologized quickly. "I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at the person who attacked me."

"Oh, that's good. I'd be a little angry at someone who attacked me, too," she said.

"I'm Huckleberry Hound. Or, Huck for short," Huck said. "What's your name?"

"I'm Fluttershy. Wow, a dog that can talk! That's so amazing!" Fluttershy then leaned into Huck's face. "Where do you come from? Are there more talking dogs where you come from?"

"Uh-huh," Huck answered, "and cats, and bears, and mountain lions and more."

"Wow! I'd love to visit it someday!" Fluttershy said. "It sounds so exciting!" When she saw Huck's stunned face, she backed off, a shy blush on her face. "Sorry...I get kind of excited when I meet animals..."

"That's okay," he said. "It's just that you're not the only pony who's leaned in my face today."

"We can visit Huck's world together, Fluttershy!" Pinkie chirped, pronking in place.

"Uh...how about I find a way to get back home first, and then I'll see what my friends say about it, okay?" Huck replied. He didn't know how his world would react to foot-tall colorful ponies...especially ones like Pinkie Pie.

The doors to his hospital room opened, and Twilight peeked inside. She smiled when she saw Huck awake, and then turned to speak to someone outside the door. "See, I told you he'd be awake by the time we got here, Rainbow."

"Well, go in already!" a scratchy voice replied. "The princess is waiting to speak to the guy!"

Twilight walked into the room, followed by three ponies that Huck had never seen before. The first pony was dark orange with white freckles under her dark green eyes, and a blond mane that was tied with a small red scrunchie on the end. She wore a cowgirl hat, and had a lasso on her back.

The second pony was light cyan, and had a short mane that was every color of the rainbow. She flew into the room ahead of Twilight, and the third pony stepped in. This pony was taller than Twilight, and had a pristine white coat, a long flowing mane divided into streaks of cerulean, turquoise and a light pink and magenta eyes. She had on gold jewelry and wore a crown on her head which made Huck immediately realize that she was royalty of some sort. Rarity, Pinkie, Spike, Rainbow and Applejack all bowed down before her as she came to his hospital bed.

"Huck, I want you to meet one of the rulers of Equestria, and my personal mentor, Princess Celestia," Twilight introduced. "Oh, and my friends, Applejack and Rainbow Dash."

"Howdy, partner," Applejack greeted.

"'Sup," was Rainbow's response as she hovered over them.

"An honor to meet you, Huckleberry Hound," Celestia spoke, her smile warm. "I take it you've enjoyed your time in Equestria so far."

"Howdy, folks...and Your Majesty," he said, bowing as best as he could before Celestia. "Shuckins, well, aside from landing in the hospital, this place is quite interesting. I never expected to meet a lot of colorful people here."

"You're one to talk about colorful," Rainbow piped up, which caused Huck to look up at the pegasus, who was hovering over him. "You're a blue dog!"

"Rainbow!" Twilight admonished.

Huck didn't seem the least bit bothered by her comment. "Trust me, that's kind of normal for me," he replied. "People tend to do double takes when they see me back home."

"Indeed." Celestia's smile disappeared to reveal a concerned frown. "I wish our meeting was under more pleasant circumstances, Huckleberry, but seeing as a dangerous creature came from your world and into Equestria, and has attacked my former student and her friends, I need you to tell me everything that you know about this creature."

"Well, it's not much, Your Majesty," Huck answered, twiddling with his thumbs, "but all I know is that that...thing tried to kill me back in my world. I ended up falling through a Mirror Pool, and ended up here. I reckon he followed me so he could finish the job."

"I was just explaining to Huck that Mirror Pools don't allow for travel between worlds," Twilight explained to Princess Celestia. "The creature that attacked us was using dark magic. Do you think that he could've used it to alter the Mirror Pool?"

"That is possible, but I'd need to see it for myself in order to be certain," Celestia said. "And you said that it escaped after Rainbow Dash and Applejack arrived to help you, correct?"

"Yep! I sent him packing!" Rainbow Dash said, mimicking a few punches. "We were about to go look for him, too, but that was when Spike told us about your response."

"I see. In either case, I'm relieved that nobody else was hurt," Celestia noted. "What you did back there, Huckleberry, was very brave."

"I almost forgot to thank you!" Pinkie cried. She then looped her hooves around Huck's neck again and shook him back and forth. "Thank you so much!"

"Y-You're welcome," he answered, trying to gently push her off. "I kind of reacted on instinct."

"I'm surprised you haven't been corrupted by the dark magic that hit you," Twilight said. "Do you have any sort of hidden magic abilities?"

"Uh...no. I'm just your average, run-of-the-mill dog from North Carolina," Huck said. "I don't have any secret abilities whatsoever."

"Uh...what's North Carolina?" Rainbow asked.

"It's the state where I'm from," Huck answered, "back on Earth."

"Oooh," the ponies gasped.

Celestia chuckled. "I see you have a lot of explaining to do to your new friends," she said.

"They've been asking me all about my world ever since I got here," Huck said. "I do have one question, Your Majesty."

"And what is that?"

"Uh...what happens now, since I'm pretty much stuck here? That job offer I found in the paper is pretty much a scam," Huck inquired. "And it's pretty much the only reason I came to this place at all."

Celestia put a hoof to her chin. "I'll find something for you to do during your time here," she answered. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must speak to my student privately."

"Ah, I see. Well, it was nice meeting you, Your Majesty."

"Likewise. Get well soon, Huckleberry. We'll be in touch." Celestia then strode to the door, Twilight trotting after her.

As soon as the door closed, Huck said, "Wow. Two princesses in one day? How many rulers are there in Equestria, anyway?"

"Oh, there are many, many more," Rarity said. "Celestia and Twilight are just two of the rulers here."

"Huh..."

"Can you tell us about your world now?" Pinkie asked eagerly, leaning into Huck's face for the fourth time. "Pleasepleasepleaseplease?!"

"Okay, okay," Huck answered, gently shooing Pinkie away. What is it with these creatures getting into people's faces? "Well, if you really wanna know everything..."

---

"You said you wanted to speak to me privately, Princess?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, Twilight," Celestia said. She stopped, turning to face her. Her expression was serious. "I am very concerned about this situation, you see. I sense that dark magic is at work."

Twilight nodded, trying her best to not shudder at the memory of the creature she'd fought. "That creature...it looked like a human, but I'm not quite sure it was. He was cold towards us, so indifferent as he tried to kill my friends...I don't know what would've happened if Rainbow and Applejack hadn't come in time."

"Indeed. That creature could have gotten loose and attacked innocent ponies," Celestia answered. "I'm not too happy that he got away, but that just means we'll have to search for him."

"Do you want me to lead the search, Princess?"

"Yes. You and your friends are the only ones who can find and defeat it," Celestia said.

"What about Huck? Until we capture this creature and find a way for him to get back home, he's stuck here!" Twilight said.

"I told him that I would find something for him to do, seeing as he was currently looking for work," Celestia noted. "And I think I know just the job."

Twilight looked confused. "What job is that?"

"You'll see in a week or two," Celestia explained, her smile sly.

---

Two weeks later...

"Pinkie, don't you think you should be eatin' your food instead of juggling it?" Huck choked out, trying his best to not burst into another fit of laughter.

"Of course I'm going to eat it, Huckie! I just wanted to cheer you up, since you look so blue!" Pinkie said. She was standing on top of a ball, juggling pancakes, a syrup bottle and some berries while dressed as a clown, making a funny face as she did so. At last, Huck couldn't hold it back anymore, and burst out laughing, even though he had started to eat his own food. This action caused a pancake to go down the wrong pipe, which made him start choking.

"Pinkie! Look what you made him do!" Rarity admonished.

"Don't worry, guys! I've got this," Rainbow said, flying over to the choking hound and smacking him in the back with her hoof. With a hacking cough, the piece of pancake flew out of Huck's mouth and landed in Rarity's hair. The unicorn screamed in horror at the sight.

"MY HAIR!" she cried, and hurriedly grabbed a napkin to wipe it out of her hair. Applejack struggled to contain a snicker, while Rainbow fell over laughing. Huck, in between coughs, also started to laugh, much to Rarity's embarrassment. "Seriously! This could've been a horrible, horrible disaster! Do you know how long it takes to get food out of your hair?!"

"It ain't that bad, Miss Rarity," Huck said between giggles. "At least it wasn't a bottle of syrup!"

"Yeah, Huck's ri-" Pinkie gasped as the bottle of syrup went flying out of her hoof and landed on Rarity's head. In seconds, her mane and face was covered in sticky maple syrup.

"Oops," Pinkie apologized.

Rarity's face went beet red, and Huck almost fell over laughing, as did everyone else at the table. With a small sigh, Rarity excused herself from the table and made her way to the bathroom, muttering about how many times she'd have to wash her hair to get the syrup out.

Huck held his side with one hand, wiping his eyes with the other. "Hoo boy, that was too funny," he gasped. "Thanks for cheering me up, Pinkie. I kinda needed that."

Pinkie smiled brightly. "I told you laughing would make you feel better!" she said.

"How's the arm, Huck?" Twilight asked. "It's not bothering you too much is it?"

"Naw, not really," Huck replied, holding up his cast. Already there were some signatures on it from Twilight and her friends. Pinkie had written hers in pink frosting. "I've survived worse when I do my jobs."

"Really? That's awful!" Fluttershy gasped.

"How many jobs do ya do anyway?" Applejack asked.

"Eh, it depends. I never seem to hold a job for long, though," Huck said, playing with his pancakes. "Something crazy always happens to me that leads me to get fired or I leave myself."

"Such as?" Rainbow asked.

"Well, when I was an electrician, I caused a blackout in another city for a week."

"Wow," Rainbow replied. "I don't think I'll be asking you to do any utility jobs for me."

"You and me both," Huck said.

"Well, maybe Princess Celestia will find a job for you that doesn't involve some crazy disaster," Fluttershy added. "That way, you won't get hurt on the job again."

"Thanks, Miss Fluttershy," Huck said. "I mighty appreciate that.

Just then, the doors to the dining room room opened, and Spike came running in. "Twilight! Celestia has a letter for you!" he said.

"Really?" Twilight used her magic to bring the letter out of his hands and she opened it, reading it.

"What does it say? What does it say?" Pinkie asked.

" 'My dear Twilight, I am pleased to inform you that I have finally secured a job for your guest, Huckleberry Hound. Please have him come to Canterlot so he can apply for it. I look forward to seeing his skills. Sincerely, Princess Celestia'," Twilight read.

"Well, Huck, it looks like you won't be stuck here doing nothing after all," Applejack said.

Huck stared at Twilight, utterly surprised. "Shuckins...when she said she was going to find something for me to do, I didn't think she was actually going to get me a job," he said.

"What makes you say that?"

"Well...back home, people who tell me they'd find me something to do never got back to me," he explained. "Either they got too busy, or they didn't really mean it in the first place."

"Celestia always keeps her word, Huck. When she says she's gonna do something, she means it," Applejack explained.

"Yeah! You won't have to worry about being lied to by the princess," Rainbow said.

"And she wants me to go to this here Canterlot place today?" he asked.

"Yep! So, you'd better finish up your food, since you have a job interview with her," Twilight said.

"Doth my ears deceive me? Huck's going for a job interview?!"

Everyone turned to see Rarity standing in the doorway, her mane clean and done in elegant curls. Her eyes were sparkling with excitement, and a familiar feeling of dread began to sit in Huck's stomach.

Oh, no...

"I simply must make you an outfit appropriate for a business interview! And since you're going to Canterlot of all places, you need to look professional and posh!" she said.

"M-Miss Rarity, I could just wear the outfit that you gave me weeks ago!" Huck protested, ready to jump out of the chair and run.

"But that's more of a travel outfit, darling! You need something that shows that you're serious about working!" Rarity came over and pushed Huck out of his chair, making him drop his fork. "And I have just the design for you!"

"Somebody, help!" Huck cried, right before he was shoved out of the door.

Twilight chuckled. "I hope Princess Celestia won't mind Huck coming for his interview a little later than intended."

"Yeah," Rainbow sighed. "Knowing Rarity, this is going to take a while."

---

A few hours later, Huck and the rest of the ponies were at the train station, waiting for the train that would take them to Canterlot. Huck was dressed in a white suit with a dark blue shirt and a matching white tie. As she had done with his previous outfit, Rarity had stitched his initials on the left breast pocket with rubies and gold.

He only hoped nobody would mug him for his clothes while he was in Canterlot.

"OOH! Here comes the train now!" Pinkie squealed. Huck looked up to see a pink and purple train with heart emblems dancing along the sides pull up into the train station, which let out a burst of steam as it pulled to a stop.

"All aboard!" the conductor called.

"Gosh, even the trains are colorful here," Huck muttered.

"Come on, Huck. We can't keep the princess waitin'," Applejack said, nudging him softly.

"Oh, right," Huck said. He gathered his suitcase and made his way on board the train, with the ponies following not long after.

Little did anybody know that something was watching them from the shadows. A pool of black magic had sprouted up on the wall, and two green eyes peered out, watching as Huck and the ponies boarded the train. The eyes narrowed as it followed Huck, who was talking to Twilight and Spike.

"So, he's going to be in Canterlot as well? Just my luck. I'll have to remain on the low until he leaves...then and only then can I put my plan into action."

With a watery laugh, the portal disappeared, just as the train pulled out of the station.

Author's Note:

The creature that attacked Huck and Twilight is still at large, but at least Huck has some new friends. Next chapter will be about Huck's new job, and someone that Huck knows all too well appears, too. I won't tell you who, though.

I like writing Rarity and Twilight in this story. For some reason I can just see Rarity forcing Huck to try on a dozen of her designs, as well as Twilight trying to perform experiments on him. Poor Huck is stuck with quite a colorful bunch.

Reviews are great, but constructive criticism is even better!

~Rare Twinkie

Comments

[nightmaster0]

Great chapter.

[Starcat5]

And once again Ponies forget that Diamond Dogs exist. One would think that at least Rarity would remember...