înapoia

by Sue Flay

4: Diamond Dogs

I found myself in a long abandoned quarry. The pit sinking into the earth, almost like a giant slammed his foot onto the ground. I made my way on the side of the decline, making my way towards the center of the mineral pit. Looking at the rocky surface I walked by I saw traces of limestone, which immediately made my mind wander towards my dear sister. I need to be like my sister, Limestone. Strong, fierce, sometimes callous. In this land, only the toughest will make it for any extended periods of time.

The sedimentary rock was made with some calcium, something to make your bones strong, powerful; Limestone was the perfect name for her.

I looked down towards the ground. I missed her more than I let myself believe, and I wish she was here with me. She’d probably ignore my lecture on limestone and how it was the perfect name for her, and how I wanted to be more like limestone. That goes for both the mineral and my sister.

I decided to take a piece of limestone with me, a reminder of the life I used to live, and to help me move forward, even in the most dire of times.

I pushed onward. It was about halfway through the quarry I started to feel vibrations under my hooves, and feared for another wave of dreaded reanimated corpses. As I braced myself for another fight, I was shocked, and a bit relieved to see Diamond Dogs jump out of holes they dug from underground to the surface.

Their eyes were on me, and even more so on the limestone that poked out of my frock’s pocket.

“Eh, what do you have there, pony girl?” One of the mutts asked, his voice sounding exactly how I’d imagine; slobbish and gross.

“I think she plans on taking some of our limestone, Rocco.” Another one commented, he too had the same tone in his voice.

“What should we do with her?” Asked what appeared to be the runt of the group. He was far smaller than the others, even a bit malnourished from what I saw. Not even hounds can scavenge themselves into prosperity at the end of it all, it seems.

“Ooooh, Diamond Dogs. They tried to kidnap Rarity once.” Pinkie’s voice resonating inside my head, making me forget my surroundings for just a moment. I didn’t hear what they were asking of me.

“Hey, pony girl! You listening to what I’m saying?” Rocco exclaimed, making me come back from my reviere.

I ignored what he was saying, their expressions clearly telling me that they meant trouble.

“Oh come on Maud, you could at least throw them a bone.” Pinkie giggle-snorted at her own joke, falling onto the ground in hysterics. It was a nice distraction, and I enjoyed the joke quite a bit.

“So, you’re not one for words, huh. Well, we’ll get some out of you real soon. Ace, Rufus, lets teach this pony a lesson she’ll never forget.”

They both charged me, forcing my to jump back to get some distance between us. They were all close together, not straying away from one another. I needed to seperate them, so I decided to dash away from them, making my way towards a linear path on the other side of the quarry. It was a path that was blocked in on both sides by towering walls of rock, and would make it to where they only had one way to go if they wanted to catch me.

I turned to see them hot on my tail, getting close to grabbing me. I zeroed in at the end of the path, knowing that if I did nothing soon they’d be sure to have me in their claws. I looked up and saw my answer, I then jumped onto the rock-face next to me, jumping back and forth between the two walls. When I reached the top, I noticed how the three were looking at me. Now was the time to attack. I grabbed one of the boulders next to me, and dropped it below, making them run in two separate directions, effectively splitting up the group.

I jumped back onto the side of the rock face, letting my hooves slide down the surface as I made my way towards the Diamond Dog that was separated from the others. I then let myself free fall the rest of the distance, landing on top of the mutt, knocking the air out him. I then got off of him, knowing he was out of commision for the rest of the fight.

I leaped over the boulder I previously dropped, and made pursuit after the remaining Diamond Dogs. I noticed Rocco was standing at the exit, Rufus right next to him. I then jumped to the wall, and while he took in that motion, I lunged at him, connecting my hoof to his face. I held back some, not wanting to give him a fatal blow. He was knocked out, leaving just me and the runt of the litter.

I took a step forward, and he took a step back.

“Why are you attacking me?” I asked him, I needed answers as to why they’d needed limestone so badly.

“You were taking our stuff, what were we supposed to do?” He replied.

“Why do you need limestone, it’s not a precious gemstone like your kind usual hunts down.” I walk right up next to him, never leaving eye contact.

“W-what’s up with your voice, got any emotion in ya?”

I slapped him across the face.

“Alright, alright, I get it, sorry. We use it to make cement to build walls to protect us from the scourge, ya understand? We need it to survive.”

I could see he was on the verge of tears, and I did feel some pity for the runt. “Rufus, was it?”

“Yeah, what’s it to ya?”

“Take me to where your kind is hiding out. We could come to a beneficial understanding if I could have a word with your alpha.” I narrowed my eyes a little, the best I could do to show I was angry.

“A-are you serious?” He stated, before realizing he didn’t want to be slapped again. “Sorry, just you don’t understand what you’re asking. The alpha will have your head, and I know you don’t want that.”

“Just take me to him.” I didn’t have time to waste going back and forth with him.

“Alright, alright, just follow me, okay?” He began to walk off, beckoning me.

“If you make any rash decisions, I will punish you. Do I make myself clear?” He needed to know his place, and know that I meant business if he tried to lure me into a trap.

“Trust me, I’ve had enough punishment today as is.” He stopped in his tracks, getting down on his knees before he began digging a hole. In just a moment the hole collapsed into a larger chamber, and as soon as I saw that I went and grabbed a large rock off to the side of it, lifting it up and jumping in. The rock snagged on the hole, and I let go of it to let it block the entrance to the place. Rufus’s friends would not be following after us.