The Adventures of Test Subject SP-1K3

by Dedion

Chapter 11: Even if it Kills Me...

Navigating the twist and turns of the Diamond Dog's mountain entrance proved to be far more confusing than the pony squad initially thought. After the first few hours of traversing the many caverns and abandoned mineshafts, to say that the group was annoyed would have been an understatement. Along the way, Storm Rider decided to lighten the mood a bit as they walked. The four ponies may have been in the same squad, but they barely got to know each other. Well except for Diamond Storm to an extent. She had read all their profiles before they were sent out.

"Sooo, rumor has it that you use to be stationed at a research facility, Sweet Crisp," Storm Rider started, "What was it like?" The cream-colored mare stopped for a moment as if her brain needed more energy to process how to respond to Storm Rider.

"It was... borin', to say the least," Sweet Crisp replied, "Mostly stood around and kept the peace before being transferred to the Griffon Front."

"Oh? Because that's not all I heard~" Storm Rider said, a sly smirk found itself plastered on her face. Sweet Crisp quickly turned her head to look at Storm Rider. Her cobalt colored eyes were brimming with confusion. "I heard that you... um... how do I put this? Let a dragon sample your... eh... baked goods." The smirk turned into a wide grin as Sweet Crisp's face contorted with surprise.

"Wh-where did ya'll hear that?!" she exclaimed.

"I have my sources," answered Storm Rider.

"By sources, she means me," answered the blue unicorn behind the two, "It's just a new rumor that most of the ponies pass around during free time mostly because the mares that transferred in from research centers were all going through their heat, except for a few. That few including you, by the way. So, that leaves some to assume that you, taking into the fact none of you are pregnant, had some "fun" with a dragon or two while you were stationed at the research center."

"How.... what?!" Sweet Crisp felt at a lost for words.

"It's either that or you just came out of your estrus cycle early. But let's face it, the former of the two is a way more juicer story. Am I right Saphire?" said Rider

"While I hate agreeing with you, I have to admit that it would make for an interesting story. I might have to send it to my friend in Windbrooke. He's an excellent writer." replied Sapphire

"How good is he?"

"Remember that book I let you borrow?"

"The Trials of Chocolate?!"

"He wrote that."

"OH. MY. GOD! You should do that! Crispy, honey, you could be in an amazing book, and I'd bet you'd get a ton of money from it! Now, all we need is some juicy details about that dragon lover of yours, and we'll be set!"

"Alright, you two," Diamond Storm finally decided to speak up, "I think that's enough teasing for one day. We still have a job to do."

"Ah, come on Diamond! Don't you wanna know if the rumors are true?!" Storm Rider asked.

"As of right now, I don't care. If in time, after this mission, that I find the answer to the question, I hope that the answer is no." Diamond Storm continued onward as Storm Rider, and the rest stayed a bit behind.

"Man, is she alway's like this?" Storm Rider questioned.

"That's my sister for you. She doesn't like to get sidetracked with useless information when she has something that needs to be done." Ruby Storm confirmed.

"But, this isn't useless!" retorted Storm Rider.

"It may not be for you, but to her, it is," Ruby replied, "And considering that this is a rumor with practically no facts backing it up, she has the right to think so." Rider quickly turned to Sweet Crisp before continuing.

"Come on, Sweet! At least tell us what he looks like." At that point, Sweet Crisp had had enough of Rider's 'teasing' and marched onward to follow Diamond. Rider gave a defeated sigh before she and Ruby began to follow Diamond as well. The four ponies got back into formation with Diamond in the front, Rider and Crisp in the middle, and Ruby in the back. The journey ahead fell back into silence.

However, the pony squad's long journey came to an end as they found a giant double door guarded by two diamond dog guards. The two guards soon made eye contact with the group of ponies. Almost immediately their posture changed. Gone were the relaxed statures they possessed before. Now they stood at attention, their grips tightened on their weapons, and once their gaze had landed on the ponies, they never left.

Each pony felt the intimidating stares from the guards. Their pony instincts were telling them to run away. However, they had a job to do. The group didn't break formation as they approached the giant door. "State business, pony." demanded a diamond dog on the right. Diamond took a moment to take in the diamond dog's features. The canine that towered over her was covered in dirty red fur — well, mostly covered to be exact. The majority of her right face was a massive burn mark. Diamond would have to question the diamond dog about the mark if she ever had the chance.

"We have been given a mission to inspect the Diamond Dog capital for any signs of dragons. While the princesses are sure you are not harboring any dragons, they have sent us to check as a precaution."

"Princesses sent four ponies... to check entire capital?" the dirty red diamond dog questioned.

"We have our ways," Diamond responded, "Listen, I know you don't like us ponies very well. Especially after what happened in the Griss Crystal Mines." The mere mention of that name made the diamond dogs tense even more. "However, this is an order directly from the princesses. Just let us in, look around, capture any dragons that may be here, and we'll be out of your fur in half an hour. An hour at most."

The dirty red diamond dog took a glance towards the other guard. For a moment, a hesitant look sparked in the guard's eyes but quickly vanished. The other guard gave a quick nod. The dirty red canine scoffed and began muttering something under their breath. They took a key ring from their belt before walking into a side room just to their left. "Ponies this way," they said as they unlocked a door that was considerably smaller than the one that they were guarding. As the group of ponies walked through the door, Rider commented about how disappointed that they couldn't go through the giant door.

"Remance..." started the other guard, "You think this good idea?"

"No matter if good idea. Ponies probably force way in otherwise and Remance can't die here just yet," Remance said, "Remance has pups to care for."

---

"Spike! If you don't stop throwing fireballs at me, I'm gonna kill you!" Little Fang yelled as she dove behind a giant stalagmite. A burst of flames erupted from the other side of it as one of Spike fireballs collided with it.

"But you said you'd help me test it out!" Spike yelled back as he circled the rock formation and shot off an emerald fireball from his hand. Fang yelped in surprise as she rolled out of the way of the incoming attack. Electric currents ran through her hair, making strands of it float in the air. She opened her mouth and let a bolt of lighting fly directly into Spike. The impact was strong enough to send the baby dragon flying a few feet backward. As Spike laid on his back, the unexpected attack knocked the breath out of him; he couldn't get up in time to stop Fang from firmly planting her foot on his chest.

He looked up at her and saw her hands on her hips with an angry expression on her face. Her air looked as if it was alive as it floated in the air with electricity running through it. "Care to throw any more fireballs at me?" she huffed.

"No... nope, I think I got it." Spike answered. Fang lifted her foot off of Spike and allowed him to get up. "You know, this the first time I've seen you really use your lightning before and I have to say, I don't want to be on the receiving end of that again. It stings worse than belly-flopping into lava."

"I'll take that compliment. Now let's hurry up and get back to the guys. I think we've killed enough time." Spike nodded as two went in search of their friends. The two baby dragons managed to make their way back into Ritinia. Spike had to thank the Diamond Dog for telling them where he could practice his pyromancy if he ever saw them again. After a few minutes of walking, Spike felt that something was off. In the back of his mind, he felt something. He couldn't put a claw on what it was but it as if something wasn't right.

Halfway through their walk back to their rendezvous point, the feeling grew stronger and stronger. So much so that the voices returned. Their words drenched in hate and malice.

"Here! They're HeRE! RuN! Find NOw! KiLL NoW!"

Their screams and demands forced Spike to stop for a moment and lean against a wall. The voices in his head were mixing with the sounds of the city, causing him not to notice a strong arm pulling him away into a back alley. The sensation of sudden movement drove the voices off for a moment and allowed Spike to see who had just picked him up. The pale red diamond dog from the night before had just scooped both him and Little Fang up.

"Sasha, what are you doing!?" yelled Little Fang. Sasha turned down another alleyway before responding.

"Hush, little one! Word travels fast. Ponies in Ritinia! Must get you out now!" Sasha explained. She continued to run through alleyways and ran up the series of ramps and stairs. Eventually, the trio ended back at the day market. Some of the traffic had managed to calm down, but there was still a decent amount of Diamond Dogs to serve as cover from any spying eyes.

"But why the rush? Ritania is like the whole mountain. It'll take them days to even find a hint about us!" Fang protested.

"Ponies have way of finding certain magic. Only matter of time before dragons' secret slips out. Need to get you out before then." Sasha rebutted. Fang seemed to quiet down after that. The trio continued to make their way to one of the places that Sasha was confident the two young dragons would be safe until her siblings brought the others, The High Cliff Mines.

---

The pony squad walked through the streets of the Diamond Dog city. Each of them received glares as they did so. Questioning them would prove to be difficult, but the pony squad went on anyway. Staying together, they went by stall after stall, building after building, and were met with the same results each time. It was either the Diamond Dog being questioned would ignore them, change the subject, shut them down, or threaten them in hopes of getting them to leave. That last result almost ended in a fight a couple of times, but it was either stopped by a spectating Diamond Dog or one of the members of the squad.

After a few more failed questionings, Storm Rider's frustration began to become evident. "All we want to know is where the bucking dragons are before we do this the harder way! Just a single scrap of useful information and we'll be out of your fur for good!" She yelled to a Diamond Dog trainer. The silver-furred Diamond Dog stared at the fuming pegasus for a few moments before replying.

"Listen, ma'am. I haven't heard nor seen any signs of dragons here. Also, could you please calm down? I have pups with me." the Trainer said. Rider leaned to the left a bit and saw a group of Diamond Dog pups behind the trainer. Some wore white vests and held a small box with them. A little chef's hat was perched on top of their heads. A few of them wore pieces of armor and carried a spear tightly in their grip. The chefs in training huddled behind their armored companions in fear; though the armored pups couldn't do much better as their armor clacked from their constant shaking.

The grey pegasus was stunned for a moment and couldn't find something to say. It was at this time that Diamond Storm stepped up apologized, "Sorry for taking up your time and I apologize for my squad member here. We'll be taking our leave now. Have a nice day." Diamond Storm quickly left, her three squad members behind her. The heavy sigh of relief from the pups did not go unnoticed by the ponies.

Diamond Storm led the group into an alleyway. Her horn ignited in a blue hue as she casted a soundproofing spell. For the next few feet, no sound would be heard anyone outside the radius of the caster. Once the spell was completed, She turned around and yelled, "Rider, what the buck was that?!"

"With all due respect Squad Leader, we aren't getting anything done with questioning these dogs!" rebutted Storm Rider, "We should have just scanned the place as soon as we got here."

"I know dealing with Diamond Dogs is difficult, but we have to do things by the rules. We have to give them a chance before we-" Diamond was interrupted by Rider.

"Buck the rules! There is a possibility that they are hiding dragons from us! I assumed that you know that since they are still in Equestria's border, the crown may take action if we find some here. If they don't want to tell us and be free of the consequences, then buck 'em!" Storm Rider yelled.

"I am the squad leader! You follow what I tell you and when I tell you to! If you have one more outburst, so help me, I will teleport you straight to Rainbow Dash with a note telling her to 'go all out'! You don't even want to know what happened to the last pony that happened to!"

"I've been sent to Dash before and survived. What could she possible-"

"Remember Private Feather Drop and Moonreader? The ones whose hair turned grey?"

"Y-yeah, why?"

"They were one of the few ponies that got the 'go all out' treatment." Diamond Storm smiled a bit as her words caused Rider to be taken aback for a moment. The pegasus sat down quickly after she heard what Diamond said. "Now, that you've calmed down, I agree with you saying that we aren't getting far with just questioning and I'm getting frustrated as well. So, it's time for us to use the scanning spell." The two unicorns' horn ignited. While Diamond focused on performing the spell, Sapphire worked on amplifying the spell's reach and other properties. After a few moments, the spell ended. "Well, then..."

"What happened? There aren't any dragons in here, are there?" Sweet Crisp asked. Diamond shook her head.

"There are dragons here, alright. Three teen dragons, maybe a few more. And they're all around the same place. Get ready girls; we're heading out." Diamond ordered. Once the group was ready, there was a flash of light as the group teleported away.

---

Sasha, Spike, and Fang stood outside the entrance to the mineshaft. The female Diamond Dog was going over the dangers of the mine and what to look out for. Before she could finish Garble ran passed the trio and down the mineshaft. He was quickly followed by Jet and Fizzle.

"Okay, we need to go. NOW!" Fizzle yelled as he picked up Fang. Jet scooped up Spike before they all entered the mineshaft. Sasha, who felt a little confused at the moment, looked at where the teen dragons had run from, and her eyes widened as she saw four ponies running straight at them. She quickly went to close the gate. However, she was shot in the back with two stunning spells before she could do so. Her muscles stopped working as she fell to her left with a thump. The pony group rushed passed her, weapons at the ready.

Jet cursed as he ran down the mineshaft. How in the world did the ponies catch up to them already? Fizzle yelled something that caught Jet's attention. The mineshaft was opening up ahead into a large cave. Just a little more and they would be able to get an advantage. That was until he got struck by a stunning spell. His body stopped working as he fell to the ground. Spike, who had been carried by Jet, was fumbled out of his grasp and tumbled farther than the teenager. Spike quickly rose up to help Jet, but a familiar clang rang out through the air. The red and blue unicorn had clamped a collar around Jet and Spike's neck. Immediately, Spike felt his strength draining. "Leave them alone!" yelled Fang. Fizzle struggled to keep the raging dragoness under control. Garble and Fizzle stayed in the air while the ponies were on the ground, surrounding Jet and Spike.

"We promise not to harm a single scale on their head if you come with us!" yelled Diamond Storm.

"Whose to say you won't kill us when we come down!? Why don't you step away from our friends before we get serious!" yelled Fang.

"We don't go around killing dragons because we want to." stated Sapphire, "We can't let you guys get away and cause terror and destruction everywhere you go. We'll stop you any way we can. If we have to kill, we will. So, if you really care about these to dragons we've got collared, then you will come down and we can..." the mare known as Sapphire continued to talk, but Spike zoned her out. He observed the situation. She and the red unicorn held a bow and arrow in their magic grasps. Their arrows and horns were aimed directly at the trio in the sky. Storm Rider stayed close to her squad with her wing-blades. However, Spike was sure she could get one of them, especially Fizzle since he was holding Fang. Spike heard a gasp and locked his emerald eyes on a familiar set of cobalt eyes. Spike began to breathe heavily at the sight of the cream earth pony. Sweet Crisp almost lost the grip on her sword as she stared at the purple dragon.

There were more exchanges of dialogue between the pony squad and the dragon trio, but all sound faded into nothing. The voices in Spike's head came again.

"It's hEr. It's HeR. We go BACK? Be uSEd as ToY?! NO, NevEr!! Don't WAnT to Go BAck. WOn't Go BAcK!!"

A thought ran through Spike's mind. This could be the end of them. Even if Fizzle, Fang, and Garble managed to escape, Spike and Jet were still collared. After this, Spike faced either death or becoming a subject to even more experiments. He had tasted freedom and was on his way to his homeland. Only to be caught by ponies and the chance of being sent to a facility grew ever more. The mere thought of going back to a facility caused purple flames to spark to life around Spike's body before being snuffed out by the collar. "H-hey, don't try anything funny, ya hear?!" Sweet Crisp yelled. The sudden yelling from their squadmate caused the rest of the ponies to glance back for a moment. At the same time, Fang to that moment to discharge a lightning bolt towards the pegasus. The lightning bolt found its mark in the blink of an eye. With loud thoom, the pegasus was struck down by the lightning and fell to the ground. Her fur was covered with black patches. Soon after the lightning bolt struck, Diamond Storm and Sapphire Bridge let loose their arrows. While one of the arrows barely missed Garble, the other managed to hit Fang in her right shoulder. She screamed as she clutched her injured shoulder. It was then the voices asked the question again. Only this time Spike felt as if it was directed more towards himself.

"KILl or go BAck? Kill or go back? KIll or GO baCK?"

Spike stood up fully. Purple flames ignited on his right arm. He grasped the collar around his neck. Sweet Crisp watched in fear as Spike melted the collar with his purple flames before throwing it aside. "Kill," Spike answered before erupting in dark purple flames.

Comments

[Infamous Paradox]

Man, it has been a long while, I am glad the story still going, thanx for the update!

[keroko]

I wonder if Sapphire even knows what's going on in that research centre, because if she does that entire moral high ground shpiel she's spouting becomes very hypocritical.

[Toilet Sprinkle]

Wow almost a a year between the last update. Glad to see this is still going!

[Tracki]

YES!!! it's back, this was the first story I read and the one that got me into the site.

[DarkDMan]

FUCK YEAH! Get that dragon raping bitch!

Awesome update!

[Dark-Aii]

Welp! I'm glad I stayed around. Hoping for an update. XD I was not disappointed!

[Love able chaos]

Burn em all Spike.