The Ruins of Ponyville; Our Home

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I am called Sanguine, of the Dragon Tribe. Our village lay on the outskirts of Everfree Forest amongst the ruins of a town once known as Ponyville. Structures held together by planks of wood taken from old storehouses long since covered in dust make up our homes, accompanied by the lush overgrowth of nature blanketing the cobblestone streets. The petrified remains of carts and wagons lay scattered about, seemingly frozen in time only to waste away where they rest. Many colored paints blot the walls of these structures, accented by old signs in a language long lost to the ravages of time. Scattered plates, broken glass and splintered doorways tell a story of urgency and terror, yet none remain to tell the tale of what had happened.

None but Spike the Great, that is.

He is very large dragon. Our protector and savior. Spike the Great is our leader, our shaman and father to us all. His armored hide a pattern of purple scales that put gemstone to shame, decorated with emerald spines along his head and back, ending in a kind of mace on his tail. His breath both a giver of knowledge and taker of life. He had taken it upon himself to safeguard our people; to teach them, shelter them and help them prosper.

I think he is a fool.

He insists that ponies are meant to unite, to 'get along' and to cooperate in harmony. He refuses to believe that the war between the tribes exists, even when our people are captured, enslaved or simply killed outright. From the north, deep in the Everfree lay the Zebra. A tribe of savages that take pleasure in eviscerating their opponents in the most gruesome manner possible. It is a sport to them. To the east, the Pegasai. Their wings allow them great speed and maneuverability, yet Spike tells us of a time when they could truly fly amongst the clouds like a bird. I shudder to think of what they would do to us, had they the ability now. To the west are the Earthen, A tribe of neither wing nor horn, completely obsessed with mastering nature. They plant crops, till fields and work night and day all for the sake of a harvest that will never come; the Everfree makes certain of that. Lastly, to the south, creep the Nightwalkers. An unholy hybrid of Pegasus and Bat, they glide through the night sky without making a sound, striking the unwary forager and silencing their life in an instant.

We, the 'Dragon Tribe' as we are called, are Unicorns. Our magic allows us a greater flexibility in construction and tool crafting, giving us the upper hand over the other tribes and ensuring our central location remains a fortress. However, for all of our ability and knowledge, not even we can weather an endless siege. The four tribes surrounding us have fought amongst themselves for decades, seeing us an immovable titan. However, Spike the Great has grown ill, and he refuses to leave and recover. The other tribes have sensed this weakness and come together in a sick twist of The Great's hopes of harmony amongst Equines.

I stand outside of our meeting hall, a centrally located building in the ruins of Ponyville, as Spike converses with the village elders on a course of action. My clothing is kept to a minimum, earning me scorn from those of my tribe. They insist on wearing the heavy adornments of chain and plate scavenged from the ruins of our Goddess' temple in the forest. I wear only a belt across my chest, knives for plant cutting and potions for healing tucked in slots on it. I also wear a satchel on my left thigh for carrying items, a fur cloak to stay warm and provide a bed, a belt for carrying more herbal remedies and snacks, and my Spear for deterrence of any whom would attack me. I wore no pants or shirt, as others would insist on the grounds of 'modesty'. I insist on dressing this way to aid with speed, for practicality. What use is modesty when your enemy is gutting you? Why fight a battle when you can easily escape from one unscathed? Why confront a foe when you can simply out-maneuver them?

My choice in attire was not the only thing that separated myself from the Tribe, however. My tribe held the use of magic in very high esteem, given that it allowed our survival. I was not as gifted as they would like, and had become a forager because of it. When the others would refuse to leave our walls for needed supplies, they would send me. I could run faster than any other unicorn, simply due to not wearing heavy armoring and keeping in shape. Our elders often grew fat from the spoils of failed raids on our walls and I despised them for it. This further alienated me from their inner circle and from those that held the elders in a state of reverence.

I preferred solitude anyway. I would sneak out at night to walk along the nearby lakeside and think of better times. Times before the warring tribes, before the endless struggle to survive. It was in these musings that I was caught unawares.

"Sanguine!" A voice barked, jarring me from my thoughts. I held my spear closer to my chest out of reflex, lifting it from the ground as if ready to sprint off.

"Gah! You know not to startle me, Plate Mail!" I shot back, easing on my grip of the spear and letting the flat end strike the grass beneath me. The stallion before me was one of my 'friends'. In so much that somepony that tolerates your existence when all others shun you can be labeled as much. He had a dark coat of blue, eyes of jade and a mane of silver with streaks of white down the center. He was fairly rotund as well, his namesake plate-mail bulging around his midsection in a vain attempt to keep his fat protected. Like our entire tribe, he was a Unicorn as well.

"I don't know how I could've snuck up on you, Sanguine. I rattle with every step!" He replied, jiggling his belly and causing a mess of metallic clanking to make his point.

I covered my ears, the spear shaft falling between my shoulder and neck. "Would you quit that!? I can't hear myself think!"

The cacophony of noise finally stopped after Plate gained a few more chuckles at my expense, The obese waste that he was taking joy in my annoyance. "Come on, Sanny. Don't be like that!"

I rolled my eyes at the pet name. "Is there something you wanted, Plate?" I took my spear again in my hands, holding it like a protective totem between myself and the repulsive stallion.

"Ah, 'tis not I, fair maiden." He announced with an exaggerated bow and haughty accent. "Doth be the esteemed elders that seek your presence!"

I looked at him with suspicion. "Truly. The Elders want me. You must be joking."

He recovered from his bow, his plates clanking as they re-aligned. "I'm actually serious, for once. I don't know why they want you, but they called for you specifically."

I raised an eyebrow at that. "Well, that's unexpected. Do you know what they want?"

"They didn't tell me much, but I assume it has something to do with..." He leaned in, cupping his hand over his mouth to whisper at me. "...Spike the Great!"

My ears folded back in concern, accompanying my surprised face. "Spike? But what could I possibly do? I am not a healer, Plate Mail!" I protested in a harsh whisper.

"Go see what they want, because I don't know!" he shot back, grabbing my arm and giving me a shove towards the meeting hall. "And see if they still have any cake left!" He called after me.

The fat metal stallion walked off, soon joining some of his companions to join in a game of drink as he usually did. He might not be the most studious or reserved amongst the tribe, as was usually prized, but he was friendly towards me. That counted for something at least. I took up my spear and used it as a walking stick, my fur cloak slightly waving behind me as I briskly walked towards the meeting hall doors. I always preferred the open-ness provided by the lack of clothing, despite the looks I would occasionally get shot my way for dressing 'Like a savage'. I didn't care, and just to add to the discomfort of my stuck up tribes-mates I donned war paints to emphasize my nudity, just to spite them. It didn't hurt that I actually found the look to be pretty, either.

The walk to the meeting hall was a short one, having already been nearby. There were only a few scattered wagons that had been stripped for material to lay in my path, and they were easily avoided by simply weaving through them. Outside of the hall stood two guards, both wearing what Spike had dubbed 'Chain Mail' tunics that went below their groins. Of course, they insisted on wearing padding beneath this armoring to avoid the chains clinging and biting into their fur, but I still thought them silly for wearing it. They wouldn't need all that protection if they couldn't be hit in the first place. Idiots.

"Sanguine." A guard greeted pleasantly. He wore a full face helmet, and thus I couldn't place his voice.

"I am here at the request of the elders." I replied with respectful tone.

"You are expected." The other guard agreed. The two of them retracted the spears barring my path, each pushing open one side of the barely held together double doors that squeakily announced my entrance.

"Stamp your hooves out before you come inside~!" A voice cooed at me.

"Uhg." I groaned to myself. "Yes, Mother!"

The guards snickered before closing the door behind me. The stamping of hooves began and ended, a few flecks of mud flying free of my hooves and landing on a worn out 'welcome mat'.

"Oh, it's so good to see you!" My mother, Misty Memories called while walking towards me. She was dressed in a ridiculous gown that went nearly down to her hooves. How was she supposed to run in something like that, anyway?

"You as well, mother." I replied half-heartedly.

"Where have you been? I haven't seen you in at least four days!" She lightly scolded. Her voice was cheery with a note of concern.

"I've been scavenging, foraging, and generally avoiding everypony." I replied honestly. She became very upset when I tried to lie, so I had simply stopped lying in favor of brutal honesty.

"Oof, Celesti' knows why, dear." She scoffed, waving her hand. "Look at you! So scruffy! So barbaric!"

"I was told I was needed for something?" I replied, attempting to change the subject and keeping a neutral face.

"Oh! That's right. You were called here by Elder Sparkle!"

Sparkle. His full name was Novae Sparkle, supposedly a descendant of somepony named Twilight Sparkle, many times a grandchild. 'The reason for our great protector', he so often claimed.

"Do you know what he wanted?" I asked, my hand gripping my spear in anxiety. It was never a good moment to be summoned by him.

"It's about Spike the Great!" Mother explained. "The protector is getting weaker by the day, and-- Oh, listen to me spoil everything! You should really talk with Novae about it!"

I took a deep breath, heaving a sigh. "Alright. Let's see how my encounter with him goes this time."

"Good luck, dear!" Misty called, walking off in pursuit of some distraction or a mate to bed. My mother was pretty, as far as most ponies' standards go. Her coat was an icy blue, eyes a teal-green and her mane a blend of seaweed green and creamy white. Many rumors had come and gone about whom my father really was, given that I looked nothing like my mother. My own coat was pure white, my eyes aglow like a campfire even during the night. (A fact that spooked many young foals and caused me to be the center of ghost stories during slumber parties.) My mane was a crimson color for the most part, my bangs a coppery gold that reflected in the sunlight. Despite my fiery appearance, I much preferred the moonlight of Lun.

I realized I had caught myself thinking instead of doing and quickly lifted my spear enough that it wouldn't hurt Novae's precious wooden floors. He used the meeting hall as his own mansion, complete with trusted guards using the best of the scavenged equipment we had found over the years. Despite my dislike of him, I will admit that he was very good at his job. He was the head researcher and magus of our tribe; constantly working with Spike the Great to learn more and more arcane knowledge that had been lost to the ravages of time. He was able to quickly grasp and master any concept brought before him, though his studies left his social abilities and manners far behind in the dust.

"Oof!"

I had accidentally run into an aide, sending books and parchment everywhere.

"I'm sorry! Are you alright?" I asked with concern, catching a few books with my magic and other papers in my hands.

"Get your hands off of those, savage!" The aide barked, startling me. It was enough that I dropped the books in my grasp and the papers joined the rest on the floor before being scooped up.

"Ah-I..." I stuttered.

"Just get out of my way!" she grumbled, shoving past me in spite.

I fought the urge to impale the witch on my spear, the thought vanishing quickly as it had come. It would solve nothing anyway. I took a deep breath and continued on my way through the halls, eventually reaching Novae's chambers. Again, two guards greeted me.

"Sanguine, you are expected."

"You may enter."

They both opened the way for me, the double doors of better quality opening with the squeak of age. A large library was visible, books covering every space possible and creating a labyrinth of knowledge to bar my passage.

"Enough of this," I muttered to myself. "Novae! Where are you?" I called out into the room, the doors shutting behind me.

"Sanguine, is that you?" I heard Novae answer from far away.

"Yes!" I replied.

*POOF*

Novae teleported in front of me, my reflexes taking the better of my judgement and pointing my spear towards the sudden noise. He looked surprised for a second, before nudging the point away from his face. "So good to see you!" He replied sarcastically.

"Likewise." I grumbled.

"I need your help." He abruptly stated, throwing me off guard.

"Wh-what?"

"Spike the Great is sick." he explained, resting a hand on my cloaked shoulder. It slightly squirmed until the cloak was shoved to the side, his hand on my fur. "He needs gemstone in order to survive, and we cannot afford to trade with the other Tribes; Not as they prepare to overwhelm us."

I was distracted for a moment by the intrusion of his hand on my body, but refocused soon enough. "What do you mean?"

"Spike the Great, our Protector, Mentor and Savior, is sick. Starving, actually. The big oaf has decided that our safety was more important than his dietary concerns and starved himself to near uselessness." He looked over his shoulder towards a smokey snout that was poking from a mound of books. "Poor fool doesn't tell me anything." He tutted.

"What can I do to help?" I asked. I may not have liked Novae, but Spike was our everything. Everypony in the Dragon Tribe knew we were called that for a reason. He was the heart and soul of us all. The rope that bound us together, whether we wanted to be or not.

Novae's smile gave me chills. "Well, my dear Sanguine, we need you to go scavenge for us. Well, for Spike mostly... Actually, entirely for Spike."

"What am I looking for?"

"He needs Gemstones, preferably large quantities of them. He needs them yesterday, and he's too weak to get them himself. The assault yesterday nearly took everything out of him." he glanced worriedly at Spike with that last remark.

"Where do I go?"

"Diamond Dog territory, for starters."

I gulped. The Diamond Dogs had been known for centuries, even by Spike the Great in his youth. They were very fond of heavy armoring, large cleaving weapons and group ambushes. A single cleaver wielded by those monsters was nearly as tall as a pony!

"After that, you'll return here. That should be the first trip."

"Th- the first?"

"Yes." he patted me on the shoulder. "The second trip will be to the Ruins of Canterlot."

If my coat could get any whiter, it would've then. "Y-yo-you can't be s-serious!"

The Ruins of Canterlot were forbidden to all, by Spike the Great himself on penalty of 'Banishment'. He never elaborated on what that meant, but with how he sounded whenever he spoke, it was nothing anypony wished. He had told stories of Canterlot; The mountain city in the clouds. Overrun by monsters without description and filled with horrors beyond imagining.

"Psh, please Sanguine. It's just a city." he scoffed.

"Grr. You're not the one going there, Novae."

"It doesn't matter anyway. I've decided that you are the only one of us that is fast and agile enough to make your way past the surrounding tribes and accomplish this task." He declared officially, stamping a fist in his palm held at belly level, facing away from me.

I bit my lip. This was probably going to be a death sentence. I wouldn't put it past Novae to do something like that, as I wasn't wanted in the tribe anyway. I had always been an outcast.

"Chop chop, Sanguine. Our protector doesn't have much time left." He remarked semidetached, examining a book to give himself the appearance of doing something important.

Rather than cause a scene, I decided to turn around with my spear and march out of the chambers. I knocked twice on the doors and they soon opened, revealing the guards and Plate Mail at their front.

"Sanguine! I'm here to formally escort you from the village." He cheerfully said with a wide grin.

"Plate Mail?" I asked, my arms being grabbed by the guards and I was lifted off of my hooves. My spear was caught by Plate Mail before it fell to the ground.

"Oop, wouldn't want to scratch the floors!" He ignored me, spinning around and using my spear like a marching wand. "Onwards, lads!"

I struggled, my smaller stature helping me none against the muscled guards. "What's going on, Plate?" I demanded to know.

"Oh come now. You've got a mission to complete, and there's no sense in letting you lollygag around the place until its accomplished, is there?"

He pushed open another set of double doors to the outside, leading me through the town in view of everypony. Amongst the scandalous looks I received, I noticed my mother attempting to 'woo' a guard. Typical.

"Night Watch, open the gates, would you?" Plate called up to the gate guard.

"Sure thing!" She chirped, pulling a crank and causing the grinding of rusted gears along with the clanking of metal chains. Soon, a drawbridge lowered to the ground with a loud thud.

"Off you go then, Sanguine!" Plate announced, the two guards pulling back slightly before throwing me from the town across the gap of the drawbridge, sending me rolling in the dirt and mud a few times before coming to a stop. "Don't forget your friend!" He called.

My friend?

*zzZZZ-Thunk!*

My spear landed next to my head, causing me to recoil in fright for a moment. I looked up to Plate, whom was wiggling his fingers at me.

"Toodles!" He called, turning around as the gate clanked its way back to security.

I was covered in muck and mud, my fur matted along with my cloak from the grime. My mane was also dirty, but none of that mattered. For some reason, Novae had felt it necessary to make a show of my leaving the tribe. Did he simply want me gone? He could have just told me to leave, so why the show? I hopped to my hooves, leaning over to pick up my spear and brushing off my breasts, belly, groin and thighs.

I'll have to take a bath at some point, but that will have to wait. I have a mission to complete, tribes to avoid, and a dragon to save.

Avoiding Death By Zebra

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I had barely finished brushing myself off before a horn sounded.

*Brrrrrrrrrrrr-er-ruuuuuu!*

That was our horn, signaling an attack had been spotted. I whirled around, spotting groups of Zebra sneaking up the valley towards our fortress. This was not good at all. I was out in the open, outside of the walls and alone. If I tried hiding here, I was likely to get killed in the crossfire from their arrows and my tribe's magic. Zebra arrows were made from an enchanted Iron, spiraling from the edges towards a center tip. If even one of them gave more than a scratch, such as piercing armor or hide, then it was a death sentence. They were poisoned, enchanted to increase bleeding and their spiral made sewing a wound made from them nearly impossible. For our own side, frost magic was the most commonly used. Any fire or lightning would set our home ablaze indirectly if it started a forest fire, and was expressly banned from use. Unfortunately for me, Fire was the only magic I seemed to be good at, which forced me to become a forager.

*BWoooowowowowoohhh*

Oh hell, that was the Zebra's horn! I need to come up with a plan! I thought, gripping my spear nervously and looking around for a pathway out. There were a few buildings on the outskirts of our fortress, an old farm that had turned into a simple field that gave no cover for miles aside from the odd apple tree. There was also a ruined cottage that sometimes provided shelter during the night for travelers. During a raid, however, I wasn't about to risk hiding there in case a Zebra lay in wait for me.

"You'd better get a move on, Sanny!" Plate called from the battlements above. I had stood exactly where I was hurled not moments before, frozen in indecision. "The Zebra aren't going to wait for you to make up your--"

*BWOWWWW-OWOWOWO*

"--mind..." He finished worriedly. "GET OUT OF HERE!" He yelled, picking up a nearby crossbow in his magic and willing it to his hand. "They're here for us, not for you!"

That was Plate's way of caring about me, which compared to everypony else in my tribe was heartwarming. I nodded in appreciation. Now was the time for action.

"Good luck!" He called after me.

I turned around, picking up my pace and watching for random underbrush or debris that would trip me in order to avoid it. I had to get as much distance from the fortress and the assaulting Zebra as possible, so I chose the path directly opposite the both of them. This meant that I was heading both away from Diamond Dog territory, and towards the Nightwalkers. Thankfully, Novae had chosen to throw me out during the early hours of dawn. That would give me more time to circle around out of their territory and head towards the Diamond Dogs.

Hopping over a fallen log and darting between bushes, I made steady pace away from the battle that had just begun behind me. I glanced over my shoulder to see the assaulting Zebra carrying ladders made of log and twig to vault the walls, swiftly countered by crossbow bolts and ice lances impaling them. For any sane pony, seeing their comrades fall would be demoralizing. For the Zebra, it drove them into a frenzy. I didn't know how, but every assault on our walls came with more and more Zebra. I was convinced that I had seen the same faces of those I had killed in previous assaults return to fight again, as if from the dead.

I shook my head. I needed to keep my mind clear for now. I had to avoid any pursuers and not get killed because my head was in the clouds.

*zzzzZZZT-Thunk*

I looked at the arrow that had flown into a tree trunk just ahead of me.

Yes. Killed exactly like that, for example. I commented internally, looking over my shoulder in my hasty retreat to find two Zebra with bows aiming at me.

I ducked, dodging another arrow that would have pierced my spine. Weaving around a tree granted me another escape from death, an arrow brushing past my ear with harsh friction from the feathers on it.

"Stand still, white horn!" one of them barked, knocking another arrow.

Like that was going to happen. I kept low to the ground as I could whilst still sprinting, my spear held level to the ground alongside me in case a zebra impeded my path. The Zebra were generally good at running, but they also insisted on wearing armor. It was a mixture of scales and leather which provided some protection and mobility. Not as much protection as plate, but not as much mobility as nudity. There lay my sole advantage, Speed and maneuverability. Plate armor would have deflected most of their arrows easily, enchanted or not. My bare fur? Not so much.

"Got you!" A zebra called, standing in my path with a makeshift sword pointed towards me.

"Idiot." I replied. I had a spear. I lunged the point of it towards his heart, yet it was deflected by a rock that he had strapped over the vulnerability, deflecting my blow to land between his ribs and into his lung. Good enough, I suppose.

"Aaaugh!" He cried, slumping to the floor and holding onto my spear. His grip was too strong, and I had no time to pry it from his dying grasp. I left the spear lodged in him, continuing my sprint away from danger. I could possibly make another spear, but my life was more important than the weapon right now. I still had my plant knives and magic, after all.

*zzzzZZZZT* An arrow whizzed past.

I wasn't making the progress I needed away from these Zebra, and they were gaining ground on me now that I had confronted the impaled zebra. My ears twitched in a direction of falling water, and I bolted towards it. Perhaps I could lose them in the water?

"After her!" A gruff voice called after me, joined by howls of rage at the fate of their fallen comrade.

Less thinking, more running!

After dodging more arrows, getting scratched by a few that I would later have to mend, I arrived at the lakeside that I would spend most of my free time thinking. Looking between the waters and the approaching Zebra, I gained a bit of ground before running directly towards the lake, leaping into it and diving with held breath.

Muffled shouts were heard from above, filtered by the water surrounding me. My cloak was starting to weigh me down, so I quickly untied the strap holding it to my neck, allowing it to fall into the waters beneath me. Now I had only my pouches and belts, though I would be able to resurface later now.

A few arrows lazily made their way past me, having been shot from the water's surface. They didn't dare go into the water, as their armor would cause them to become waterlogged and sink to the bottom. My breath was running thin, though this was the perfect moment for my magic to make itself useful. I blew bubbles from what precious air I had left, taking one of them in my magic and carrying it to the surface. It slowly expanded there, taking in fresh air and became the size of a large vase. Dragging the mass of air back down and holding on to the last of my own breath, I pulled the large bubble over my head and gasped for air.

"Aaah! Hah, haha!" I laughed between gasps to myself. Either the Zebra above would become bored, or their assault would end and force their retreat.

*bump*

"Aaaah!" Something brushed my leg!

I spun around lethargically in the water, vainly attempting to look through the murky depths for what had touched me. My soaked fur and mane were helping my sight none, allowing me only a single eye that could barely see a few spear's length in front of my face. I decided that exiting the water was a better idea than sticking around to see what it was that lived in the lake's depths. I kicked and swam frantically for the surface, hoping the Zebra would have thought I had drowned by now.

"Gaaah!" I gasped when I surfaced, my mane flipping away from my face. I cleared the water from my eyes, blinking to regain my sight. Thankfully, the Zebra had already gone. I had lost my cloak and my spear, but saved my own life because of it. My strategy of 'savagery' seemed to work yet again. Clothing and armor is a curse anyway; so constricting.

"Enough of that." I grumbled to myself. I was still floating in a lake of unknown dangers, it was no time to be judgmental of my tribe. Swimming to the lake's edge, I eventually pulled myself free from the water and moved away from the shoreline. After all, whatever was in the water could have easily come out of the water like a Craig-o-dile to eat me. My short chase had lasted only an hour or so, Celesti's sun beginning to shine brighter on the valley beneath it.

I eventually found a clearing that was far enough away from both the Zebra and the lake, leaning to sit down.

"Aow!" I winced, body reminding me of the various scrapes, cuts and open wounds I had gained from my sprint away from death. The enchanted cuts from missing arrows were causing my wounds to bleed more than they should, and I would need to bandage them somehow. I reached for my leg pouch before remembering that the bandages inside would be worthless. I had just submerged myself in murky lake water, and I was not about to trust the sanitation of that lake with my health.

The more I rested, the more my wounds made themselves painfully known. I had to keep moving or I would die where I stopped. Picking myself off of the ground uneasily, I painfully stood. "Alright. Where do I find bindings in a forest infested with Nightwalkers?"

I wouldn't have to worry about them for a while if the tales of their tribe were true. They mostly came out during the night... mostly. Oh well, it wouldn't do me any good to be frozen with indecision yet again. I was somewhat drying off, thankfully free of the mud from earlier due to my 'dip' in the lake. I wouldn't have to worry about infection as much, being relatively clean. I would have to find shelter, possibly a cave if I was lucky. I would need to make a new spear and a new cloak as well, and bandage my wounds to help with the bleeding. The enchantment wouldn't last long since it was just a simple graze, but it was still a concern.

"I'm tellin' you, Tenna. I saw her come up out of the water!" an accented voice insisted in the distance.

I'm in no condition to fight even more Zebra, let alone run from them!

" 'An I'm tellin' you, Boomstick, that nopony can survive as long as she did in the water." another voice replied, most likely their companion. They both sounded like stallions, though their accent placed them as Earthen. What where they doing so far from their tribe?

"Ya know, I can always tell when you're bein' stubborn just to upset me, Tenna. You must'a seen it too!"

"I didn't see 'nuffin. You're gonna scare away all the wildlife at this rate, an' we won't be eating anythin' with you gabbin' on!"

"Well if you'd just keep your voice quiet, then maybe we could catch that mare that ran off!"

"Yer the one shoutin'!"

It was probably my best bet to remain quiet and still, but the scratches and scrapes ached and insisted on causing me more pain the longer they went untreated. It was all I could do to grit my teeth and try not to let a grunt of pain escape. I curled myself into a ball against a nearby treetrunk, hoping that holding onto myself would provide enough of a distraction that the injuries would be tolerable.

"Alright, if you're so convinced that mare survived, then where is she, 'ah?"

"Maybe if you'd open your eyes, you'd see the literal bloody trail!"

I looked to my side, and there was in fact a trail of blood droplets and disturbed foliage leading straight to me. I had completely forgotten to cover my tracks!

"Oh sure, it just has to be the mare, dun'nit? Well go on then, go get the mare if you're so keen on getting a knife in the throat!"

I checked my chest belt, and the two plant cutting knives were still there. I could definitely use my magic to kill the both of them, were I not injured and outmatched. I doubt I would be able to light a campfire for all the concentration that magic took in my current state.

*snap* went a tree branch nearby.

"Oh good job, mate. Let everypony know where you are!"

"Shut it, Tenna! I'm tracking!"

"Tracking a good stabbing is what you're doin'!"

I held my breath, keeping as still as possible while their voices drew closer to me. I could try to run, but I wouldn't make it very far before being spotted. As I waited, the pain from my wounds built up in need of release, causing a small grunt of pain to escape my lips.

"Hold on, you hear that?"

"Hear what, you goon?"

"A noise, you git!"

"Yeah, the only noise I hear is the sound of you beating your head against a tree."

"No, I'm serious!"

"Wait, really?"

"Yes, really! It sounded like it came from over there!"

"Hold on, don't be an idiot. You go that way, and I'll go around the other way."

"Right!"

Well, this was it. I had to run or they were going to find me anyway. I pushed myself against the back of the tree trunk, my wounds now very clearly making themselves painfully known, causing me to stumble. Rustling leaves and pained breathing were giving me away!

"Gotcha!" one of them shouted while grabbing at me. I ducked barely in time, crawling along the forest floor and into the best run I could manage.

"Stop runnin' or I shoot!"

Shoot what, an arrow?

*Click*

What kind of bow makes that noise?

*BA-BOOOOOM* Went a deafening blast of noise, shards of something blanketed the forest around me and embedded themselves in my backside, causing me to fall to the ground in agony. My entire body felt like it was on fire.

"Nice one, Boomstick!"

"I got her!"

"You used the stun-shot, right? I remember the last time you--"

"Of course I used the stun shot! What do you think I am, an idiot?"

"You don't wanna know the answer to that, mate."

"Yeah? Sod off, Tenna."

I was trying to crawl away, dragging my body across the floor in a vain attempt to escape the two Earthen behind me. They had hit me with some kind of wall of pain that I didn't understand, but I knew it was very loud.

"Oi, stop squirmin'." *click* "If ya know what's good for ya."

I froze. I didn't want to be hit by that wall again, and especially not so close. The one I identified as 'Boomstick' had two very hot cylinders pressed against my spine and pressed me to the floor.

"Well, ain't you a piece of work?"

The other Earthen came to my side, kneeling next to me. My body decided for me that it was too much effort to try and prop my front half off of the ground, causing my face to collapse into the grass beneath me.

"Yeah, bleedin' everywhere too. You think that was from the Zebra?"

"Well it ain't from my gun, that's for bloody certain."

"I dunno mate," Tenna replied, running his hand along my back and causing me to gasp in pain. "It looks pretty bad from where I can see."

"What do ya think we should do with 'er?"

From my position on the floor, my mane covered eye could barely see Tenna look incredulously at Boomstick.

"Mate, are you serious? You went and shot some poor mare without any kind'a point to it?"

"Uh..."

"You're an idiot!" Tenna yelled, smacking his friend out of my view. "Ya know what you're gonna do now?"

"Why'd you 'ave to hit me so hard?"

"Shut it! You're gonna take this mare, and fix her. You get me?" I felt a hand wrap around my arm, pulling me sideways to flip me onto my back. Now I looked up into the treeline to see their figures in full. They were both stallions, one was grey coated, the other was a tannish brown. They wore some kind of fancy clothing with frills, metal chest plates and belts across their chest and waist with a lot of cylinders of different colors. One of them had some kind of device slung on their back, two metal cylinders pointing skyward and attached to some wooden holder of some kind. The other wore a backpack with all kinds of camping equipment on it from the looks of it. Their eyes were both sky blue, their manes an opposite pattern of yellow and white. Brothers, maybe?

"Boomstick, are you even listening to me?"

"I... What?" Boomstick asked stupidly, taking his gaze off of what I assume was my naked body.

Tenna sighed, covering his face. "You're a real prize winner, aren't you?"

"Well she's pretty, int'she?"

"I'm going to smack you again if you don't shut your face, Boomstick."

"Whaaat?"

"Please tell me you didn' just shoot this mare because of hormones?"

"Ah..."

"That's it." Tenna declared, delivering a sudden and swift right hook to Boomstick's face, knocking him out cold. He fell backwards onto the ground with a thud and disturbance of leaves. Tenna then walked from the prone figure of Boomstick over to me, staring down for a time at my face.

"I can tell just by lookin' at you that you're far from good." Tenna said, looking down at me with his face blotting the sun.

"Aaauuu..." I groaned in pain. I had tried to agree, but my entire body knew only pain. I tried to hold myself and curl up again as some form of comfort, but Tenna quickly leaned down to stop me.

"Hold on there, you're bleeding everywhere." He said calmly, holding my arms to my side. "I can fix you up, but you' gotta be straight with me, ah'right?"

I grimaced in pain, nodding and shutting my eyes.

"No using your magic to kill us, no runnin' away, no attracting your friends to help you and no runnin' off. Got it?"

With my current state of injury, my only option was to accept. If I disagreed, they could simply kill me easily enough by stomping on my neck. I still had the greater task of healing Spike with recovered gemstones, but if I died then all would be for nothing. I could only hope that my capture wouldn't be permanent.

I nodded in agreement.

"Good on ya." He smiled, taking his hands off of me and un-slinging his backpack. He rooted around for a while before finally announcing in triumph, "Ah, there she is!", Pulling out some kind of brown bottle. "Now, this is gonna sting. A lot. You ready?" he asked, uncapping the bottle and readying it above me.

I nodded. I was not ready.

It burned like a fire where ever he poured it, causing a white foam to quickly spring up around my wounds. I tried to brush it off but his hands pressed down on my chest and pinned my arms to me. I tried kicking my legs at him, but he sat on top of them. I was completely pinned down while he poured more of that clear fluid on me, burning me even more.

"Hold still, you idiot! I'm trying to help you!"

My ears were pinned down in anger, growling in pain.

"If you don't stop strugglin', I'll have to give you some anesthetic via fist, unda'stand?"

What the hay is 'An-astettic'?

"Ah'right, you asked for this!" He shouted, pulling back his fist and driving it home into my face.

"Aaaugh!" I cried in pain.

"You still awake? I must be losing my touch!" He drew back again, his final punch causing me to black out.

Boomstick and Tenna

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I awoke to some kind of pressure on my chest. Opening my eyes to blurry vision, I moved my head to see whom I could only assume was Boomstick resting his hand on me.

"Uhg." I blurted. I tried to come up with something witty, but my head and body awoke along with me and threw everything into disarray. My head plopped back down onto some kind of padding as I noticed the rest of me wasn't on the grass.

His hand quickly left my chest, thankfully relieving the pressure. I assumed he was trying to grope me, but another look revealed bandages all along my midsection.

"You alright?" I heard a distorted voice ask. It was like he was underwater for some reason.

"Ehh?"

"Leave 'er alone, mate. She just woke up." I heard Tenna ask Boomstick. I rolled my head towards Tenna's voice, causing more pain for me in the process. "Easy there, Miss Unicorn."

"Why..." I asked, trying to move my arms to shield my eyes from the mid-day sun.

"Ah, no moving." He insisted, pulling my arm gently to rest atop of my chest. "Boomstick, go get a hat or something for 'er."

"Right." he agreed, walking off somewhere out of sight. I was laying out in the open in a forest clearing on some kind of makeshift bed. This would be a terrible spot if we were to get ambushed.

"How are you feelin'?" Tenna asked at my side.

"Auu." I complained.

"You don't speak much, do ya?"

"Hurts." I replied simply. Speaking took effort, and soreness was sapping all of my strength.

"I'll bet it does. Enchanted arrows, sticker bushes, lake water, and getting shot by Boomstick to top it off. Rough day?"

I nodded as much as I was able.

"Well, I'll let you in on'na secret. Boomstick over there has the hots for you, and his idiot self decided to shoot you like some wild animal and capture you. I thought our dear ol' dad raised us better'n that, and set him straight. If he makes any moves on you, he'll learn right quick how bad an idea that is." He vowed, pointing to his chest with a smile. "Trust me on it."

This didn't make a bit of sense. Why shoot me, pour some kind of burning liquid on me and punch me, then try to save me? "Why?" I asked.

"Why what?" He asked, confused.

"Why are you helping me?" I clairified.

He raised his eyebrows. "So, you can speak in full sentences!" He joked. My pained expression put a damp on his spirits though. "Right... well, lets say that we were raised to not be complete arseholes to ponies that don't deserve it. My brother seems to have forgotten that tidbit of information, leaving you in our 'care'."

I rolled my shoulder a bit, only for it to erupt in a fire of pain. "Aagh. Some care." I lazily jabbed.

"Well if you'd stop moving, it wouldn't hurt so much, would it?" he retorted.

I heard rustling of leaves, announcing the return of Boomstick. "I found 'er this boonie hat thing." He said, offering some large disc shaped headwear to Tenna.

"Sure mate. This'll do." Tenna replied, taking the hat and resting it on my head. It covered my horn and most of my face, giving me only a view of my bandage covered body and the surrounding grass. "Better?"

"Eh." I muttered.

"I'll take that as a 'yes', then." I heard Tenna stand and walk off towards his brother to talk. They were trying to be quiet, but I think all of their habitual shouting and loud walls of pain made hearing one of their weaknesses.

"You sure you wanna do this?" Boomstick began.

"Do what?"

"Take care o' some tribal?"

"It was your idiot libido that got us in this mess!" Tenna snapped quietly.

"I'm just sayin' we could leave 'er here."

"If you say somethin' like that again, I'm gonna make your anesthetic permanent, you wanker."

"Jeez, why so defensive of the miss?"

"Well for one, she's taken up half our medical supplies. For second, you bloody shot her for no reason. For third, She didn't even do anything to harm us, and we made her condition even worse 'cause o' you. We're morally obligated to nurse her back to health, an' I wont hear anythin' else."

"Morally obligated to suck my--"

*Thwack*

"Ow! You complete cu-"

*Thwack*

"Ah'right, fine! I'll shut--"

*Thwack*

"Would you fockin' stop?!"

"Get that weasly little maggot of being an arsehole out of your system right quick, mate!" Tenna scolded loudly. "So help me, you even think about abandoning another pony we could'a helped--"

"We both agreed never ta talk about that!"

"Well we need to talk about it!"

I was content to simply rest. Any attempt to move or get a better view of what was going on only gave me more spikes of pain, so laying still was the order of the day. I wasn't going to be going anywhere anytime soon unless...

I checked my chest, finding my belts and pouches had been removed. How did it take me so long to notice they were gone? I lifted my hat painfully to look around, finding what little I wore that amounted as clothing laying in a neat pile nearby. I scanned the pile, and saw the two potions that I kept on hand. Perfect.

I looked towards the arguing brothers, deciding to use my magic concealed by my new hat in order to retrieve the potions while they were distracted. Telekinesis wasn't that hard of a spell under normal circumstances, but with my entire body in pain it was an exercise and a half to just pry it from the holding loop. When my magic activated however, I heard a rapid series of clicking noises coming from Tenna and Boomstick.

"Oi!" Tenna shouted, rounding on me quickly. "What'd I tell you about usin' magic, huh?" he asked, smacking the hat from my head and flicking my sensitive horn.

"Aauu!" I complained, trying to move my bandaged arms in vain to nurse my body's newest complaint.

"No! Magic!" he insisted, jabbing a finger into my chest for emphasis.

"Fine!"

"What were you even doin'?" Boomstick asked. His pain thing was held in his hands, a strap around his shoulders letting it hang loosely.

I did my best to point towards the potion vials with my hand. "Potions, for healing."

Both of their eyes narrowed at me with a look of disbelief. "Right. 'Healin'' potions." Tenna scoffed, standing to full height. "What, you gonna poison us?"

I shook my head a bit too fast, hurting myself. "Nn-aau!"

Boomstick snickered at my expense, earning him a backhand to the chest from Tenna.

"Hey, If she wants her potion of 'healing', why not give it to her?" Boomstick reasoned.

"Because we barely know this mare, her tribe, and she has no reason to trust us aside from bandages and promises?" Tenna countered.

Boomstick sighed. "Fine, Tenna. You win." He then looked to me, patting his device thing hanging from his shoulder. "No potions, you get it?"

I carefully nodded my head.

"Good." They both said, walking away out of earshot but keeping an eye on me this time. Their conversation of hushed whispers continued, just as loudly as before.

"What are we gonna do wit' her?" Boomstick asked.

"I told you already, you git. We're gonna fix her." Tenna grumpily replied.

"I mean after that. We just gonna release her like a dog or somethin'?"

"She might not have the sharpest grasp on technology like us, but that doesn't make her a dog, you prick."

"I didn' mean it like that!"

"A'course you didn't." Tenna grumbled. "You just speak without thinkin' is what you do."

"Would you lay off for once?"

"Temporary truce. Next time you do somethin' stupid, you're fair game again."

"Grrr... fine."

The two of them then walked over towards myself, Tenna crouching next to me and Boomstick keeping a watch, I assume. Hopefully he wasn't spending his time staring at my now semi-naked body and actually ensuring nopony snuck up on us.

"So, about this 'potion' you're so interested in." He fell backwards, sitting hard on the ground and leaned towards my belts, bringing them closer to me. Potions included. He took the knives out, though. "What's so fancy about it?" he asked, sliding one of them from their holder and presenting it facing upwards to me between his fingers.

"Healing potion." I said simply.

He sighed. "Yea, you said that. How does it work?"

I looked at him blankly. What, am I supposed to be a healer? I don't know how it works, it just does! "I... um..." I nervously smiled as best as I could, which amounted to a small crack in my lips. "It just... does?"

His hand dropped, still holding the potion in his fingers as his other hand covered his face. "Of course it 'just works'." He moaned in annoyance. "I wish everythin' we came up with, 'just worked'."

"I can show you..." I offered nervously. I was still wary of annoying them, because at any point they could decide to kill me. I had overheard Tenna's desire to care for me, but with Boomstick I couldn't be so certain. He was the one with the wall of pain, after all. "I mean I'm hurt, it's a healing potion..."

"Sure. One sec'." Tenna replied skeptically, standing up and motioning his brother to him.

"She does anything that looks aggressive or violent, you blast her right in the chest. Got it?"

"Oh, not feelin' merciful now, are we?" Boomstick retorted.

"Just fokin' do it, you sod." Tenna shot back, dragging his brother with him by the sound of it.

The two rejoined me, and he handed me a potion. "No funny stuff, yeah?"

I looked at the potion, and at my bandaged arms, before giving him a look of need. "A little help?"

He kneeled down next to my arm, opened the potion vial and held it to my lips. "I swear, if this makes you into some kinda' raging wilda-beast, I'm not gonna help anypony ever again."

I stuck my neck out to meet the lip of the vial, and he slowly poured it into my mouth. When the vial had completely emptied, he set it down on the makeshift bed next to me. "Well... now what?" He asked.

"Can you remove a bandage on my arm?"

"Eh, you sure about that?"

"I'm sure."

"Alright. You get infected, it's on you." He conceded, carefully undoing various pins that held my bandages in place and carefully unraveled it. I was able to move my arm more freely now, and rested it across my chest for a better look.

"Now we wait for a moment, and it should work."

"This'll be good." Boomstick commented. "Magic potions of healing from a unicorn, fanciful."

"What, are you really gonna knock magic right now?" Tenna asked with annoyance.

"What's magic ever done that my gun or some other piece o' tech couldn't?"

"Apparently it heals better n' your gun does."

"A gun ain't for healin'!"

"Remind yerself of that when you shoot another unarmed mare for no reason!"

"She handled it!"

"Oooh, she handled it alright. You're lucky she don't have the strength to kill the both of us with a lightning bolt or somethin' right now, you idiot!"

"Hey, it's working." I commented into their exchange in an attempt to stop the endless bickering between them. It thankfully worked, as both of them looked down to my arm and saw the flesh mending itself back together like a thousand knitters with thread of muscle and fur.

"Well... I'll be damned." Boomstick said with awe.

"You got more o' those?" Tenna asked me.

"Just one. The others are limited, and kept with my tribe's healers."

His eyes narrowed at me. "So what's that make you, then?"

"I'm a forager and scavenger... I'm not allowed to use magic, and there were no other roles needed in the tribe."

"Why can't ya use magic? You no good at it?" Boomstick asked, leaning on a tree and scanning around for anypony trying to sneak up on us.

"I'm... decent with magic. The problem is that our home is flammable and... doesn't go well with fire." He smiled nervously.

"Jeez, now I'm really glad we have magi-tectors." he replied, subconsciously fiddling with his 'gun' as he called it.

"What?" I asked.

Tenna held up a small metal square with thin pillars sticking from it that he pulled from his waist belt. "One o' these. It detects active magic in a small radius around the user. Usually carry em when we're headed inta Uni-tory."

"Uni-tory?"

"Unicorn Territory, mystery mare." Boomstick explained.

"What's your name, anyway?" Tenna asked.

"I am Sanguine Dreams." I replied quickly, receiving odd looks from the both of them.

"That's an uncommon name if I've ever heard one." Tenna commented.

"Could jus' be a Unicorn name, yeah?"

"Well, at any rate, my name is Antenna, though most ponies just call me Tenna for short." He pointed to Boomstick. "This here is Boomstick, on account of his talent for shotguns. That's what he shot you with, by the way. He's my idiot brother."

"Hey, at least I used stun shot!" Boomstick protested.

"We're not gettin' into this argument again, Boomstick." Tenna groaned.

I looked down at my body and wiggled my fingers. Sure enough, most of my pain had subsided into the dull ache of sore muscles. "Do you think you could remove more bandages?" I asked. For some reason, he blushed at this and Boomstick looked away from the both of us. "What?" I asked.

"You want me to... undress you?" Tenna asked nervously.

"Well, you already touched me in order to bandage me, so I don't understand where the hesitation is coming from." I answered honestly.

"We didn't touch you!" Boomstick blurted out hastily. "Nothing bad, honest!"

I tried to move my arm to undo the bandages myself, yet they were still immobile for the most part. "Just get them off, would you?"

"Alright, Sanguine. Your call." Tenna agreed reluctantly. He then set to work undoing the bandages on my arms, neck, waist, legs and hooves. He avoided the bandages around my groin and breasts, for whatever reason. "There, all done!" He announced.

"You missed a few spots." I replied, attacking the bandages that were constricting my breasts due to my inability to find the pin that held them in place.

"Whoa whoa, hold on there!" Tenna interrupted hastily. "What're you doing?"

"Removing bandages?"

"But they're covering..."

"I don't wear clothes, Tenna."

"You mean, like all the time?" Boomstick asked in a faint voice. "Like, us catching you out in the woods a while ago wasn' a fluke or somethin' from your escapin' the Zebra?"

"Normally I would have a cloak and a spear... but those were both lost in my escape."

"Gaw!" He blurted, turning away from me quickly. His face was getting red as well.

"Really, you two are acting very strangely. It's just my body, not some kind of monstrosity." I said non-nonchalantly, opting to shift the chest bandages down my body along with the groin bindings, letting them heap into a pile on the makeshift bed. Now I was laying prone on my back, comfortable as I could get. I placed an arm behind my head to both massage my neck and to provide a pillow.

Tenna was just staring blankly at me, and Buckshot was messing around with his muzzle. "What are you doing, Buckshot?" I asked.

He looked to me, blood coming from his muzzle in thin red lines. "Nuddin! Um fine!"

"You're hurt!" I said with worry, trying to sit up against the protests of my still recovering muscles. A hand went reflexively to my chest in order to stop me, but Tenna quickly withdrew his hand when his palm accidentally cupped a breast of mine.

"S-sorry!"

"Uhg. You two are hopeless." I scoffed, doing my best to roll over and push myself to a standing position. Apparently Buckshot turned to look at me at the 'wrong time', as he shrieked like a filly when he saw myself bent over attempting to stand.

"Aaah!"

"Don't tell me this is going to be a constant thing!" I complained, getting to a single knee and pushing on it for leverage. "It's just me, Sanguine! I'm a mare! I have mare parts! Deal with it!"

"You don't wanna wear anything to cover up?" Tenna asked nervously.

"No! I'm perfectly fine with who I am, thank you." I snapped back, finally able to shakily stand. I looked over to my belts and pouches, making them my next immediate objective. "You mind helping me get those?" I asked Tenna, pointing to my belongings.

"S-sure!" he replied, scooting over on his knees and picking up my leg pouch first, handing it to me.

"Thanks." I said blandly, giving him a bored look. I wrapped the straps around my thigh a few times before tying it, moving my leg with some vigor to test the straps.

"Oh help me, they're jiggling." I heard Boomstick mutter, covering his eyes.

"What is wrong with you two?" I asked. I realized he had been referencing the slight movement of my breasts when I tested the straps. "This actually bothers you?" I asked, looking at him incredulously. "You're actually worse than my own tribe! They at least tolerated my nudity; You're outright embarrassed by it!"

I felt a belt get pressed into one of my open hands, and I looked to find Tenna avoiding eye contact. "You're kidding me. Just a moment ago you were all serious business and looking professional. Now you're a bunch of cowering foals!" I wrapped the belt around my waist, cinching it in front of me. My hand was soon filled with my shoulder belt, which I also donned and strapped between my breasts. I rolled my shoulders and moved around a bit to ensure everything sat properly, and it did well enough for having been removed with haste by these two.

"That's it!" Tenna announced, more resignation in his voice than confirmation.

"Alright, we have to get this set straight." I announced to the both of them. I was still weak from injury, but I had enough control of my body for walking and grabbing things. I grabbed an ear from both of them, bringing them close together in front of me at breast level.

"Ah..."

Nheh..."

"Listen, you two." I said officially. "I'm naked. I'm a mare. I don't like wearing clothing, and I'm not about to start wearing any. You're either going to have to get over it on your own, or I'll force familiarity about the issue, alright?"

"F-force what?" Boomshot asked.

"You both strip." I explained.

"Nope, not happenin'!" Tenna protested.

"Then get used to the nudity." I mandated, pulling the both of them into my bosom.

They both recoiled instantly, shoving me away and onto the ground while they had a small episode of freaking out. I chose to just rest on the makeshift bed while they recovered, my legs and arms still sore from the speedy recovery.

"Why'd ya have to go an' do that!?" Boomstick whined. "I won't be able ta think about anythin' else for days now!"

I picked the 'boonie hat' from the ground where it had fallen earlier and placed it on my head. "What, you've never been this close to a mare before?" I teased. I was reclined, my arms holding my upper half off of the ground behind my back by leaning on my elbows while my legs were spread lazily, making him extremely uncomfortable. "It's just fur, Boomstick." I said simply.

"That's a lot more than fur, Sanguine!" Tenna insisted.

"Oh well. It's your problem, not mine. Besides, if the Zebras are as distracted as you two are about my being naked, it works in our advantage, doesn't it?" I reasoned.

"You can't be serious." Boomstick asked with disbelief, his voice becoming shrill for a moment. "She's actually using her body as a distraction!?"

"I think it works, mate." Tenna replied, still covering his eyes and looking away from me.

"Yeah, I know it works mate, believe me!"

"I don't have to believe you; I can take a look at your trousers and confirm it!"

Boomstick blushed, attempting to adjust his pants in a way that would conceal his... 'appreciation' for my body.

"Are you two done freaking out yet?" I asked boredly.

"Give us a moment!" Tenna insisted.

I sighed. "Fine. Tell me when you're ready to do something, I guess." I pulled my hat over my eyes, laying down fully and reclining, my legs crossed at the hooves and with my hands behind my head for support. Hopefully this wouldn't take too long.

Influencing Friends

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I peeked from my hat. "You two done?"

They were opposite each other, both facing away from me.

"It's really not that bad, you two."

They weren't answering.

"Have you even seen a naked mare before? What about a naked stallion?" I asked, lifting the hat from my head and setting it behind me. I swiveled my body to lay on my front, allowing me to move on all fours and crawl towards them. "Why are you two so scared of going without your clothing, anyway?"

"It's not somethin' ya do, where we're from." Boomstick answered. Since he was being more receptive, I altered course and crawled towards him.

"And where are you from, exactly?"

"We're Earthen, if you couldn't tell from the lack of wings or horn."

I was right behind him now, so I decided to press my body against his back, my arms wrapping around his front while his head was nestled between my breasts. He tensed up and made a whimpering noise.

"Oh come on, really?" I complained, moving away from him and instead decided to massage his shoulders. "How are you going to survive if you can't get past a little nudity?"

"I think it'll just take some gettin' used to, Sanguine." Tenna finally spoke. I looked to him, noticing he had also been looking at me. Well, my flank for the most part, but still.

"I want to know why yer so... comfortable with being so vulnerable. I just can't wrap my head around it." Boomstick questioned, his head leaning back to look at me awkwardly before he decided to just turn around in his cross legged sitting position.

"Vulnerable?" I asked. "How am I vulnerable?"

"You're naked." Tenna replied, as if that explained everything.

I blinked. "And?"

"What do you mean, 'and'?" Boomstick asked incredulously. "You're naked! You've got no armor, no protection... and you're a mare!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I think he's just concerned for your... ah... safety?" Tenna lamely explained.

"Look, if you two want to have sex, then let's go for it. I don't have all day to foalsit the both of your insecurities." I honestly replied.

"A-ah, um... heh... erm..." The both of them stammered.

I reached to Boomstick's groin, pressing my hand onto his 'appreciative member' that was tenting his pants. "It's simple, alright?"

He quickly stood up, knocking me onto my back. "Nononononononono!" He jabbered, backing far away from me.

"What, you're not into mares then?" I asked, remaining on the grassy ground and deciding to spread my legs for stability... and boredom... and to make him even more uncomfortable. "You could always have some fun with Tenna." I suggested.

Tenna and Boomstick looked at each other in shock for a moment before they refused incessantly in unison, moving far away from both myself and each other.

"No!"

"Not ev'va!"

"Not doin' that!"

"Nuh uh!"

I sighed. "Oh well. Your loss then." I scratched my belly, then decided to get off of the ground while the two were still having yet another freak-out about sexuality. My arms and legs were still weak from the running, fighting, swimming and the hasty mending of the healing potion; but I was able to walk well enough. If I took it slow.

"Well, if you two are going to keep freaking out, then I'll have to leave. I have a task to complete and I've already wasted too much time."

That was enough to jar them from their addled state, the both of them rounding on me at once.

"Task? What are you on about?"

"I have to get gemstones from both the Diamond Dogs and the Ruins of Canterlot." I explained.

Tenna blinked and looked to Boomstick, whom shrugged.

"The what?" Tenna asked.

"Diamond dogs?" I repeated uncertainly. "You've never heard of them?"

The brothers looked confusedly at another before shaking their heads in the negative.

"They're about a pony and a half as tall, very muscular, wear crude plate armoring and wield swords or hammers that can cleave through or smash a pony in a single strike?"

They blinked. "And you're gonna fight them, wearin' nothin'?" Boomstick asked with surprise. "You're really somethin', ya know that?"

"Do you want to help me, or continue having anxiety attacks about my breasts and marehood?" I asked, caressing both for emphasis. They both heavily blushed and looked away from me.

"Uhg, you two are hopeless." I scoffed. I was already wearing everything I owned, minus the spear and cape I was forced to leave behind earlier. I could just walk off and leave them here now, but Boomstick's gun would probably help my quest a great deal, not to mention the added security from having three ponies to shoot at or try and cleave instead of just myself.

I walked over to Tenna and Boomstick, reaching with my arms to pull them towards me. It succeeded somewhat in getting their attention, but they were both wearing heavy chestplates and a lot of clothing, so it was more of a suggestion that they come closer. When they were nearby, I placed a hand on their shoulders. "Listen, you two. I need your help. My tribe has sent me, alone, to find what our protector needs to regain his strength. They're constantly under siege from the Zebra tribes, and I was the only one they could spare without weakening the fortress."

"Are you gonna wear clothes at any point in time, by chance?" Tenna asked.

"If I'm wearing clothing, something is very wrong." I replied.

"Right..." He mumbled.

"So, are you two going to help me, or sit here wallowing in your own sexual frustration?"

They looked to each other for a while before Tenna spoke up. "We'll have to talk about it, yeah?"

I waved my hands in dismissal. "Alright, talk amongst yourselves about it."

The two of them stood up a bit shakily and wandered over to a 'private' area. Their whispers were still loud enough for me to hear, of course.

"Should we?" Tenna asked.

"You're askin' me?" Boomstick replied in surprise.

"Yes, I'm askin' you!"

"The 'ell do I know? You're the smart one!"

"Well I don't know what do to, so I'm asking you!"

I sighed. They were already back to their usual argumentative banter.

"Look, she's got a place to go; we've got the guns, ammo and equipment to get 'er there, and she's not even opposed to givin' us a good fu-"

*Thwack*

"Ah'right, I probably deserved that one."

"Boomstick, listen. She's all better now compared to when we found her, and its because of that healing potion thing that she has. Do you know what we could do with that kind of 'magic' back home? How many ponies we could save?"

"Ah, right. I forgot about that!"

"Really? Your numbskull head already forgot about a magic cure-all potion?"

"Uh... breasts?"

Tenna sighed heavily. "Right. Fine. Whatever. The point is, if we can help Sanguine save her tribe, then they'll probably be able to open trade with Los Pegasus, right?"

"Yeah?"

"So... If we open trade with the Uni's, then we'll be accepted back into the city, right?"

"Maybe..."

"Uhg, are you thinking about breasts again?"

"No, I've actually moved on from that."

"So what is it, then?"

"Think lower..."

*Thwack*

I called out to them. "You two are in a very abusive relationship! You should seek wisdom from the leaders in your tribe about it!"

"We're not in a relationship!" Tenna called back, upset with me.

"It looks like you are!" I teased.

Tenna waved me off, continuing to whisper to his brother noisily.

"Alright, decision time. Do we follow Sanguine on her quest, or bugger off and do who knows what for however long?"

"You're making me decide?"

"Yeah, so if it all goes wrong, then I can blame you for it."

There was a pause between them, causing my ears to perk up and listen more intently.

"Fine. Let's go with Sanguine. May'be I'll get to shoot something using actual shells instead of stun shot." Boomstick decided. His brother placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Good on ya. Was hoping you'd say that, actually."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Let's go tell Sanguine." The two smiled at each other before walking to inform me of their decision.

"So?" I asked, wanting to keep the secret that their whispering was very loud so I could eavesdrop on them more often in the future.

"We'll do it." Tenna affirmed. Then he looked at my breasts. "Ah..."

"Do you need to touch them or something? Get it out of the way?"

"Wh-what?!"

I walked towards him, placing my hands on his shoulders. "Tenna, this is ridiculous and we all know it. If the two of you are really going to help me, then you have to move past whatever your fear of nudity is." I gently took a hand of his, and moved it towards my breast. His arm resisted, but his hand was eventually placed on one of my breasts.

"See? Nothing wrong, or odd or freaky. It's just a breast." I explained, sounding like a mother trying to soothe her foal about monsters under their bed. Then I noticed Boomstick was looking a bit jealous. "Oh for Spike's sake!" I yelled, yanking his hand onto my other breast. "There, happy!?"

They both had pleased expressions plastered on their face. "I swear, you two are pathetic." I grumbled.

Apparently, their need to touch my breasts was lasting a long while...

"Okay, Tenna, Boomstick?" I asked. "Seriously, you can let go now."

They weren't letting go.

I sighed. "You asked for it."

*Thwack, Thwack!*

"Ow!"

"Oi!"

"If you want to have sex, then just tell me. I don't have time for you two just standing here, feeling my breasts, alright?"

"S-sorry!"

"My bad!"

"Are you two both going to be okay for now?"

They looked at each other for a moment before replying. "Yeah, we'll be fine." Tenna replied. "Sorry 'bout all that, by the way. It's just... somethin' we're not used to."

"Well if it gets cold outside, you will have to get very used to it."

"What do ya mean by that?" Boomstick asked.

"You're both wearing clothing and you're both very warm. If it gets cold, I'm snuggling between you." I explained. Before they could protest or freak out again, I gave them both a slap in the face.

"Ow!"

"What was that for!?"

"Pre-emptive anti-freak-out strike."

I looked upwards, noting that the sun was now on its decent, meaning it would soon be dusk. I had spent most of the day being chased, wounded, recovering and convincing two stallions to move past their own mental barriers. Good progress?

"Right, we should be good now." Tenna announced, attracting my attention. He had on his chest armoring, his backpack of assorted things that I didn't really understand, and his ridiculous amount of clothing as well. Boomstick had on the clothing and armoring as well, accompanied with belts of cylinders of many colors and his 'shot-gun' slung on his back.

"Actually, I have a question." I asked to Boomstick.

"Yeah?" He answered, caught off guard.

"Why do you call it a 'shot-gun'? That would be similar to me calling a bow a 'Pullable-stick-launcher'."

"Uh..."

"We don't know why they're called what they are, they just are."

"And you gave me grief for not knowing how a healing potion worked?"

"Look, we just need ta' get a few things from our home before we join you, a'right?"

"What kind of things?" I asked.

"More guns, ammunition, a radio, medical supplies, clothing, toiletries, foodstuff, magazines... you know, stuff." Boomstick explained.

"I... I don't know about half of what you just said."

"Stuff we need to not die?" Tenna added.

"Oh." I blinked. "Very well, how long will that take?"

"Well... we have a small cache in Uni-tor-- Er, I mean 'here'." Boomstick amended, "It shouldn' take too long, and It'll give us a place fer the night."

"Well, I have no idea where this would be, so you should lead the way."

"Can you walk? You were beaten up pretty bad just an hour ago." Tenna asked.

"I can move, just not as fast as I'd like."

"Okay, just stay with us and you'll be fine."

I was ready, and the packing of the bed that was used to treat my wounds took a few minutes to finish before being strapped onto Tenna's back. Soon enough, we were traveling at a steady walking pace through the grass, brush and foliage of the surrounding forest. Tenna and Boomstick were quiet for once, I assume they were thinking about my inclusion into their group and... more likely my nudity. I would have to bed the both of them at some point or this would be a common theme, I suppose. I didn't even mind the thought of it, actually. Sure, I had just met these two in the forest after they shot me, but they did nurse me back to health and they seemed mostly harmless. To add on to the fact that my own mother was the town cum dumpster, I wasn't phased by sex in the slightest. She had me watch a few times as my 'education', in fact.

I was more concerned with the possibility that Tenna and Boomstick would be distracted by my nudity in a crucial moment where focus would be essential to all of us surviving, if we were going to steal gems from the Diamond Dogs and live. My tribe was used to my nudity; myself having always hated clothing from a young age and absolutely refusing to wear anything that wasn't practical like my belts or pouches. It seemed like clothing was a big issue amongst the Earthen with how much they wore. Shirts, pants, armored vests over their shirts, a jacket over that, belts and straps over that and backpacks to top it all. They must overheat very easily, wearing all of that. How do they even tolerate it?

"Are you checking us out, Sanguine?" Boomstick teased.

"How are you not overheating in all of that clothing?" I asked honestly.

"You were staring at his flank, completely oblivious to the world, and you're trying to figure out that?" Tenna asked with disbelief.

"What if you needed to run from a predator, or an attacker? You would overheat and be caught, or the scent of your sweat would give you away with it clinging to all that clothing. You would get tired from all the stuff you have on, weighing you down as well!"

"She's serious. She doesn't give a lick about your flank, Boomstick." Tenna said gravely.

"I still got to touch her breast." Boomstick countered.

"So did I, so it don't count for bragging rights, you dolt."

"Do we really need to have a sex talk again?" I asked. "Because if you really want me to suck your co-"

"No, we're fine, thanks!" Tenna and Boomstick interrupted.

"You two should find someplace comfortable and just blow each other." I said sincerely. "It would relieve a lot of the tension between you two."

At that point they chose to keep their mouths shut and ignore me, looking at anything but another pony for the time being. I don't really understand their aversion to sex in general. Why the stigma? Animals have sex all the time, anywhere they want. Why can't ponies? If both parties are willing, then whom could object? Actually now that I think about it, are all of the Earthen like Tenna and Boomstick? If they are, then perhaps it's some kind of tribal ritual where the mate would have to convince the other to take off their clothing... That might be fun, if clothing wasn't such an obnoxious chore. The cleaning, the repairing, the different outfits... I was much more comfortable just existing in my own fur, and I could decorate it however I wished as well. I looked down at my body, realizing that my paints had all been washed or cleaned off. Well, at least I can re-do the patterns. Maybe I could find a different kind of paint to use that wouldn't wash off in water! Actually...

"Do either of you have paints that I could use that won't wash off in the water?" I asked.

"What?" Tenna and Boomstick asked, caught off-guard by the suddenness of my question.

"Well, I've noticed my body paints have been washed or cleaned off, and I'd like to wear some that won't be removed so easily." I explained.

"So you wear paints, but not clothing?" Tenna asked.

"Yes? What's the issue?"

"I don't know... It just seems like paints are a different kind of clothing."

"What?"

"Well, I think that you see clothing as more of a decoration, right?" Tenna reasoned. "So, what's the point of you wearing paints?"

"I like to decorate my body, true, but some paints can be used to scare off animals by exaggerating my features, like my glowing eyes for example."

They both stopped, turned and stared at me. "Wait, your eyes glow!?"

Oh, right. They hadn't seen me in the dark yet. "Yes?"

"That's so cool..." Boomstick whispered.

"That's kinda creepy, actually." Tenna countered.

"What?! How could glowin' eyes not be cool?"

"Imagine you hear a bump in the night, wake up, and find her starin' at you with 'em?"

"Hey, if she wants to stare at me with glowing eyes, she can do whatever she wants, mate." Boomstick replied, still caught up in the excitement of the new discovery.

"You're hopeless." Tenna scoffed. "We'll be gettin' followed by some glowin' eyed beasty and you'll go straight towards it like a moth."

"I would like to point out that I have no control over the glowing of my eyes, so I'd appreciate you not treating me like a freak because of it." I pointed out grumpily. I had been teased as a filly countless times at the few slumber parties I had gone to. In addition to my nudity, It was a sore subject for me.

"Right, sorry 'bout that." Tenna apologized.

"They're still cool." Boomstick added.

"Thank you."

The conversation died at that point, allowing me to wax nostalgic for a moment during our walk through the forest towards wherever the destination was. As a filly, I didn't really have any friends. Well, Plate Mail counted as a friend, technically. In public, he would treat me as any other pony would. Complete contempt, disdain and avoidance. In private however, he was friendly, joyful and accepting. I suppose he cared more about his image than his morals, or perhaps his morals revolved around his image. Either way, he was the closest thing I had to a friend in the tribe, and these two were quickly out-pacing Plate Mail in that area.

Most of my tribe would probably get along with Tenna and Boomstick simply from the technology they used. Whatever a radio was, whatever magazines are, things like that. I'm certain they'd be interested in using their 'guns' instead of crossbows as well. Maybe the brothers' plan of trade wasn't so bad, but it wasn't my main goal. I was supposed to be getting gemstones to save Spike, and that's what I was going to do. Afterwards, I probably wasn't going to stick around the tribe any longer afterwards, seeing as they didn't want me there anyway. I could possibly travel with Boomstick and Tenna, though their aversion to my nudity would eventually grate on me worse than it already did. All I had to do to make them blubbering fools was play with myself in front of them and they would freeze up or start shouting incoherently. Embarrassing.

Speaking of playing with myself, that is something I would do on solitary walks to pass the time. I doubt I could do something like that with these two present; they would make it into a huge deal and start attracting all kinds of attention if moans of pleasure sounded from behind them. Maybe I could use it to tease them from time to time; slowly get them accustomed to my normal behavior so I could be myself in peace while they were around. Eh, I would do that later.

"Sanguine, you there?" Tenna asked, waving a hand in front of my face.

My head recoiled, blinking away the intrusion. "Yes, what?" I blurted.

"We're here." He explained, arcing an arm out dramatically to reveal a makeshift shack.

"Huh. Not... bad?" I offered lamely.

"It was built in a day; nothin' fancy."

"Well, I'll wait for you two outside while you grab whatever it is that you need." and probably play with myself while I'm at it.

"Suit yourself, Sanguine. Don't get killed by a Zebra or anythin'." Boomstick pointed out.

I sighed. "Alright, fine. I'll go inside with you two."

Tenna unlatched a bolt, opening the door for me and waved me inside. "After you, Madame Sanguine." He offered in a posh accent that reminded me of my tribe.

"Please don't use that voice ever again." I said a bit more harshly than I intended.

He frowned in surprise. "Oh, a'right then."

We moved through the doorway into a small shack that was piled to the ceiling with various things I could only identify as junk, not knowing what any of it was. The air was very dusty and stale, dead grass made up for the floor and a few bugs crawled out of the light from the doorway.

"Shouldn't take too long." Boomstick said. "Just need a few belts, some backpacks... ya know, stuff."

"Actually, would you mind carryin' a backpack for us?" Tenna suggested, handing me said backpack. "It's full of equipment we'll need. Hopefully it isn't too heavy for you, though."

The backpack was dumped into my arms and nearly made me topple forward. I barely balanced myself out but was only able to drop the backpack along with myself to the ground in a heap.

"Take that as a 'no' on the carryin', then." Tenna sighed. "You alright?"

"I'm fine, just not healed enough for carrying all that junk." I replied, pointing to the backpack on the ground next to me.

"It ain't junk, it's e-quip-ment." Boomstick emphasized sarcastically.

"Sure." I grumbled. "Is this everything you need?"

Tenna hucked a few more belts filled with cylinders to Boomstick, and grabbed what looked like another 'gun' for himself. "Yeah, we should be good now.

"Why does that one look different?" I asked Tenna, pointing to his gun.

"Oh, this beaut'?" He asked, holding the thing out. It had a wooden handle on one end, a single metal cylinder extending outwards and some kind of contraption on the top of it, bits of metal sticking out of the side for some reason as well as some kind of box on the bottom. "This here is 'Bertha', and she's my filly." he beamed with pride.

"Your filly," I deadpanned. "What?"

"He means that he gets a great big throbbin' erec-"

*Click*

"Ah'right, fock!" Boomstick shouted, his hands in the air with palms facing open towards Tenna. "Point that thing someplace else, would ya!?"

I understood the wall of pain from Boomstick's 'gun', but why the fear from the other one? "What does it do?" I asked.

"Well, bullets come out the slim end, here..." He pointed to the end of the cylinder on his 'gun', "and they make whatever I'm aiming at have a very bad case of the deads."

The deads? "I haven't heard of that sickness."

They both stared at me like I was an idiot for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"What?" I asked obliviously. If the other thing could shoot a wall of pain, why couldn't this other one shoot out disease? It only made sense, after all. A 'gun' for pain, a 'gun' for disease... though apparently they couldn't make a 'gun' for healing for whatever reason. Maybe they could shoot healing potions?

"Maybe we should 'and her a gun so she can figure it all out, ay?" Boomstick guffawed.

"I wouldn't give her a gun, mate. She might just shoot you for revenge!" Tenna added, causing both of them to laugh harder.

These ponies are weird.

Mane-tenence

View Online

While Tenna and Boomstick decided to lather oil all over their weapons, for some reason, I stepped outside of the stuffy shack for some fresh air. The sun was just beginning to set on the horizon, barely seen through the dense forest. I strained my ears for anything out of the ordinary and found everything was as it should be. Glancing back through the crack in the doorway, the two were now arguing about proper 'disassembly' methods for how to clean their guns. I checked my own belongings and found that Tenna must still have my two knives from earlier. I could still forage without them, but it would take longer.

At that point I noticed that my thoughts had completely escaped the existence of my tail for a solid day. I moved over and sat down on the grassy ground, lifting my tail over my thigh for inspection.

"Oh, great." I grumbled to myself.

There were twigs, dirt, thorns and branches all inside and entwined with it. I ran my hands through my mane and discovered the same problem.

"I think they were too busy freaking out about my marehood to point it out."

I decided to deal with the disaster that was my tail first, laying on my belly and bending myself to get a good view of my rear. It wasn't uncomfortable, and I had become known for flexibility after a few drunken nights in the tribe's tavern. Nothing too sexual, I was told... just putting my hooves behind my head and spinning around like a top on one of the bar stools while giggling like a madmare is all. That brought up another memory of my mother. The last time I saw her drink, she was in the center of several mares and stallions whom all were very appreciative of her marehood and more. I shouldn't have been surprised, it was practically her special talent to bed as many ponies at once and be able to move the next day like nothing had happened.

I tugged on a very stubborn branch that had wrapped itself around my tail, wishing I had my knives so I could just cut through and be rid of it. My mane and tail always had a ragged appearance from me doing that anyway. I never brushed either mane or tail, I just cut all the debris free and let the rest do whatever it felt like. It helped with my 'savage' appearance and gave me more free time to stargaze or just think while I foraged away from the tribe.

I looked at my surroundings again, making sure that nothing had snuck up on me while I was distracted with grooming. All of the animals had gone to sleep excepting the few nocturnal ones that I could see. The night was never as dark to me as others complained it to be, some of them pointing at my glowing eyes as the excuse. I didn't really like the daytime all that much anyway, so the night was even better for me. Nopony around to complain about my existence or to tell me to 'get dressed for once'.

The door to the shack creaked open, Tenna standing in the archway. "Oi Sanguine, you out here?"

"Down here." I answered, still fiddling with my tail. His eyes looked down for a moment and found nothing before locking onto my eyes.

"Gah!" He blurted, recoiling a bit. "I fockin' knew those eyes would be creepy!"

"Thanks." I deadpanned.

"Eh... sorry. I'm jus' not used to seeing a pair of glowing eyes staring back at me out of the darkness, yeah?"

"It's alright." I replied, not wanting to explain further that I had received far worse comments from my tribe.

He paused for a while as I cleaned my tail, either trying to think of something to say or staring at my flank as I worked on my tail.

"How do you bend like that?" He asked finally.

"Magic." I replied sarcastically.

"Sure." He scoffed. "Wait... do you mean like, literally because of magic?"

"No, I'm just flexible."

"Oh. So you're nudist, flexible and beautif-- I mean, uh... Nice?" He recovered from his slip, but it was too late.

"You think I'm beautiful?" I asked hopefully, halting my grooming and pushing myself onto my knees to look at him. I think the wide base that revealed my marehood was distracting him, but I didn't really care either. This was more comfortable than laying on my belly while talking to somepony.

"Um, well... I... Goodnight, Sanguine!" He blurted, slamming the door loudly and disturbing some creatures nearby.

"Coward." I complained, laying on my front once again to finish off the last bits of maintenance on my tail.

The moon was on the rise now, bathing the forest in the glow of a full moon. It was like a softer, kinder version of the sun that I could actually look at and appreciate. All the tiny scars on the surface of it telling of battles or trials that it had survived before any of us were born, giving it an otherworldly beauty that couldn't be found on Equiss.

I shook my head and was reminded of the foliage trapped in my mane. I tried to blow some of it out of my face and was rewarded with a twig smacking into me lamely.

"Well, here goes part two of grooming activities." I said to myself, rolling onto my back. One of my legs was arched like a bridge so I could move around a bit while the other lay flat. My tail was out to my side and resting along my right thigh as well, its relatively clean state feeling nice on my fur. From the few spots of my mane free of debris I watched the moon's journey across the sky for the night and was reminded of another factoid.

I never could get a full night's rest. No matter how tired I was or what I had gone through, sleep eluded me. I was always tired and prone to falling asleep if bored enough, and had become so tired out during my foraging journeys that I would just lay down and fall asleep in the middle of the forest, too tired to care if a monster or animal would come by to eat me. It had worked out in the end, I suppose. I was still here. The fact that I wasn't tired now must be from Tenna's 'annastetic' or whatever it was. I had fallen asleep after he punched me a few times, and I didn't feel tired now. Maybe that was the benefit? Some kind of martial technique that allowed the recipient to get some restful sleep while the practitioner mended their wounds?

My ears swiveled behind me, picking up a shuffling of leaves faster than I could register. I turned around on my flank, looking behind at the treeline. I scanned for anything out of the ordinary and could find little to point out. The odd owl shifting on their branch, watching for rodents or other prey to swoop down on; A nest of birds sleeping safely in the night and away from the predators that lurked below. All was normal.

I went back to my grooming and nostalgia trips to pass the time. I had cleared most of the twigs and whatnot from the front of my mane. Now I was working blind, my hands behind my head and attacking whatever they found with some difficulty. My back was against the shack's outer wall at this point, not needing to lay down to see the moon directly overhead. This all had taken a lot more time than I thought it would, but I guess with the day I had just survived I should be grateful it wasn't worse.

Now my mind had started on a track of thinking about all the nasty things that could be laying in wait for me to drop my guard. I could always groom myself inside anyway. I stood up and noticed that now that my tail was clean, I was actually able to feel its movements again. I think it had become so covered in debris and grime that I had just ignored it in favor of trying to avoid death as best I could. I pulled on the handle for the shack's door, opening it slowly. I had expected a creaking sound like all the doors in my tribe, but this one remain eerily quiet. It also smelled of the oil that the two had been using on their guns. Is that the point of oil? Make things not squeak?

I heard rustling behind me again and decided that sticking around outside wasn't the best plan for my continued existence, swiveling quickly inside and shutting the door a bit too forcefully. I cringed and peeked over my shoulder, expecting complaints from waking up Tenna and Boomstick, but the two were oblivious. They must be deaf!

I pulled the latch on the door to lock it, now thankful that the two hadn't locked the door while I was still outside and for trusting that I wouldn't just leave them behind. I suppose at that point I had earned a bit of their trust, given that they felt comfortable enough to not tie me up or something in order to go to sleep. Not that I wouldn't mind being tied up, that is. Nnf.

I was getting distracted, and it wouldn't help my relations with the Brothers Prude if I started fulfilling my fantasies as they slept. I chose instead to take a look around at their piles of junk that littered the small shack. One pile looked like a set of metal cylinders, probably for their guns or something. Another pile was the multi-colored cylinders that Boomstick always had on him, so I assume they were for his gun specifically. Piles of... clothes... not going to even bother with them. A few backpacks that were lined against the wall with the door; A cooking backpack by the looks of it, a backpack entirely for some strange smelling leaves, a fruit-pack and finally a backpack filled with some kind of tubes. Actually, what the hay are these things?

I pulled some kind of metal strip on the side, causing the backpack to open after I attempted to open it wrongly the first few tries. It made some weird 'Zzzzzt' noise as well. Thankfully it wasn't enough to wake either of the slumbering Earthen in the room, and I set to rooting around inside of their belongings out of curiosity. My hand brushed past a very smooth feeling tube and I lifted it clear of the backpack to view with my glowing eyes in the darkness.

"What are you?" I whispered. The thing had lettering that I wasn't familiar with. It was cool to the touch and flexed when I pressed on it, but soon regained its previous form when I relented. It wasn't metal, that was for certain. It wasn't wood, obviously... definitely not crystal...

I'm keeping this. This is too strange to just let sit in a random backpack in a semi-abandoned shack. I decided, placing the thing in my thigh pouch that I kept for objects of interest or for when something was too large to carry in my gathering pouches. My stomach then loudly rumbled in complaint of my negligence. Oh, right... I haven't eaten for an entire day.

I looked at Boomstick and Tenna; the both of them still sound asleep. Wanting my knives back in order to do a bit of foraging, I examined Tenna more closely by crawling next to his side and looking around on his body for where he might have hidden them away. Instead, I found something that was similar to a short sword! It was on a sheath strapped to his right leg, a fact that had either eluded me or had become a recent addition to his attire. For the sake of my own ego, I decided that he had just put it on before going to bed and that I was good at basic observational skills. I found a kind of strap that was keeping the sword in place, held by a metal button somehow. I tried unweaving it from where it was, but the thing just spun in place. When I tried pulling it, however, it snapped off! Did I break it!?

I looked up at Tenna's face with a bit of panic, expecting them to have awoken from both being indirectly touched and the loud noise. Thankfully for myself in this situation, he was practically deaf. I was beginning to become worried at this point, but a moment of observation confirmed that the both of them were still breathing. They're just deaf, not dead... Is that good? The deaf part, I mean. If they ever have to stay on watch, how are they going to hear anything sneaking up on them?

Deciding that I would have to talk with the both of them later about this new-found deficiency, I went about carefully removing the sword on Tenna's thigh. The blade was wide towards the top, tapering down to the hilt which was rectangular for some reason instead of cylindrical. There was also no finger guard, so I assumed it was more of a tool than a combat weapon. Surprisingly, it was also heavier than I expected. I had successfully taken the sword without causing a peep from either of them and felt a little better about wandering around outside to find something to eat.

I blinked with sudden realization. There was an entire backpack of fruit right next to me. What am I doing with my life? I asked myself in disbelief of my own stupidity. I set the sword on the dead grass next to Tenna and creeped back to the backpack. There were more of those metal buttons on the top of it, holding down a flap made of a material that wasn't cotton or plant fibers. After a quiet snap from both of them, I lifted the flap to discover that... these fruits were far past their prime.

Holding a hand over my muzzle so I wouldn't have to gag from the stench of rotting food, I quickly closed the flap and decided that my original idea wasn't a waste of my time after all. Hopefully the flap wasn't open enough to cause the smell to wake up the two brothers, but I wasn't going to wait around to find out. I slinked across the ground to grab the small sword and moved for the doorway. These two would be fine if I left them alone, right? I realized with a moment's hesitation, my hand hovering above the door's handle. They had guns, they had a shack in the middle of nowhere... and there were things shuffling around outside as well. They were also practically deaf. Great.

My options were to either go outside and hopefully find something to eat while leaving these two oblivious idiots to whatever fate the forest had in store for them, or foalsit the both of them and stay hungry for what remained of the night. It wasn't really a hard choice, it just made me feel stupid for not thinking of getting food earlier.

I sat down between Tenna and Boomstick, deciding to play bodyguard for the night. If anything came through that doorway, then I hope I could make enough noise to wake up the two oafs with guns before it killed me. I tried pulling the brothers closer so I could at least have some kind of warmth, but their gear and all the junk they wore made them far too heavy for me to move. My muscles were still sore from yesterday and they weighed far too much for me even on a good day. How do they even move with all of that on? I wondered.

Deciding to cuddle next to only one of them, I went for Tenna. Boomstick was only trying to penetrate my marehood, but Tenna seemed to be less willing to simply jump into the hay with me. For some reason, that made me trust him more. Either that, or the fact that Boomstick shot me simply because of his need to get inside me. Not that I wouldn't actually mind it in the first place, but that sort of thing decided the order in which I was likely to cuddle next to somepony. Sex and cuddles are completely separate wishes. My mother was likely to have sex with anything in possession of a libido, but to cuddle with somepony? That, she had decided, was a special honor. I hadn't seen her cuddle with anypony except for me, so I suppose that meant she cared dearly for me in some way... despite the fact that she cared for very little else. Or that she really wanted to bed with me. Eh... no thanks, I decided on the hypothetical scenario. I liked my mother, certainly. Just... not enough to bed her. She's taught me more than a few things when it comes to sex, but always insisted that I go out and find somepony to try them with. I should probably be thankful for that bit of restraint, considering how she looks at me when in private. I don't even mind the looks, it just confirms that I take care of myself, after all. Not like the rest of my tribe. I don't understand how she can even be near those tubs of lard, let alone have sex with them.

Tenna suddenly shifted in his sleep, rolling over to face me. He was still asleep, thankfully. The room would be completely dark to the both of them, and finding my eyes seemingly hovering above them from their glow would cause them both to freak out. I had pranked more than one of my tribe a similar way as a filly. I would hide under their bed after sneaking in through an open window, poking their hooves or sides until they woke. I would then make strange and monstrous noises from underneath their bed to scare them, and when they looked bravely underneath to confront their fears, they would find my glowing eyes staring back at them. Then they would wet themselves and sprint towards their parent's room, giving me the opportunity to flee outside of the room while giggling.

*Rustle rustle*

There's that noise again.

I took up the sword that I had pilfered from Tenna, slowly moving from my sitting spot to a low crouch and quietly stalked towards the door. I would have to open it, certainly, but If I remained quiet then I could catch whatever was on the other side of the door by surprise. I pressed an ear to the door, trying to listen for the heavy breathing of a beast or any other kind of noise, yet heard nothing. Pulling slowly on the handle, I opened the door just a cra--

A spear point was shoved into my face, causing me to panic and fall backwards onto my flank. A figure burst through the door, holding their spear at my chest and looked around the room quickly. With my sight I noted that they were female, about the same height as myself and... naked. Then I noted that they had bat wings, fluffy ears, slit pupils and fangs. She had bracelets and anklets of leaves, bodypaints all over her body with intricate patterns as well. Her coat was a soft blue, her wings a sort of lavender, and her eyes were a purplish blue tint.

It was a Night Walker! Had we run into their territory by accident? I wasn't even paying attention when Tenna and Boomstick were leading the way; I had just assumed they knew about the different tribes in the area!

"What are you doing here?" she hissed at me. Of course, Tenna and Boomstick were still completely asleep. Her spear point was hovering next to my heart, and I didn't want to risk being impaled from a misunderstanding. I let go of the sword, moving both of my hands slowly to my sides with the palms facing towards her.

"We're just here to sleep for the night, then we'll be leaving. Honest!" I whispered back, not wanting to anger her by speaking too loudly.

"You are trespassing!" She replied, poking me with her spear for emphasis.

"I didn't know we were so close to your territory, I'm sorry!"

She glowered at me, thinking over something in her head for a moment. "Be gone by dawn, or you will immensely regret your choices in life." she threatened, moving the spear tip away from me.

"I'll let them know!" I whispered back eagerly. Anything that let me keep myself intact was good, in my opinion.

She took a few steps back from the doorway, still keeping her eyes on me. I was on the ground still when she took flight, a flap of her wings carrying her out of my sight.

I breathed a heavy sigh of relief, my arms falling to my sides as I slumped over.

"Huh, what?!" I heard Boomstick and Tenna lurch awake with a start at the same time. I was laying on my back near Tenna's hooves, the sword on the dead grass next to me.

"What're you doin'?" Boomstick asked with alarm, looking at the sword.

"Protecting you idiots!" I barked with annoyance, trying to calm myself down.

"From what, a gentle breeze?"

"The Nightwalkers!"

"The who?" Tenna asked.

"You two put a shack in their territory!"

"So?" Boomstick dumbly questioned.

"So, I was almost impaled by a spear because of it!"

Tenna and Boomstick both grabbed their guns and hopped to their hooves. "They still around?" Tenna asked.

"She flew off already."

"She?"

"Flew!?"

"The Nightwalkers are a hybrid of Pegasus and bat, mostly nocturnal and fiercely territorial and defensive. I think the fact that we're all alive right now is a fluke." I explained.

"What'd they want?" Boomstick asked.

"They want us to leave by dawn."

With that, the first rays of sunlight struck Boomstick and Tenna in the face from the open doorway.

"Well, guess we should get a move on then, yeah?" Tenna replied, shielding his face from the sun.

Touchy Subjects

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"So, is there any reason we can't just... shoot the Nightwalker?" Boomstick asked.

Tenna and I both looked at him with a pained expression that we even had to explain the situation to him.

"Because she's part of a large tribe of ambushing, flying and vicious hybrids that kill you in your sleep?" I replied.

"Because yer a fokin' idiot?" was Tenna's reply.

Boomstick blinked. "I liked Sanguine's response betta'."

"We should really get going before they return." I urged. They're already wearing everything they needed, right?

"Hold on, Just gotta get one las' thing." Boomstick asked, holding up his gun like a finger pointing upwards as he shuffled around a pile of junk.

"What could ya need that we didn't already grab?" Tenna inquired impatiently.

"Goggles!"

Goggles?

"You know those don't actually do anythin', Right?"

"I feel better with 'em on!" Boomstick replied, now donning some kind of glasses with a leather strap that went around his head. The 'goggles' were oval in shape and covered his eyes. They were also green for some reason.

"How are you supposed to see anythin' with them on?" Tenna protested.

"Fine, I'll put em on my forehead then!" Boomstick stuck his tongue out at his brother, adjusting the eyewear. "We all set?"

"We were waitin' on you," Tenna grumbled before looking at me. "You need anythin'?"

"My knives?" I asked hopefully.

Tenna and Boomstick both looked at each other. "Well, we did catch you with his machete a moment ago. You can probably handle a knife or two. I mean, them bein' yours and all." Boomstick replied.

Tenna rolled his eyes at his brother. "Sure, here's your knives back." He said, the knives themselves sliding from his sleeve and landing in his hand.

I quickly swiped both of them, sheathing them in my chest belt next to the remaining healing potion. There was also herb and snack food pouches, but those had been ruined by my lake dive. I flipped the containers for both of them, dumping the contents onto the shack's dead grass floor.

"Alright, ready." I stated. They were both looking at me strangely. "What?"

"Did you just dump a whole load of plants onto our floor like nothin' was the matter?" Tenna asked.

I looked around at the piles of junk stacked to the ceiling. "Yes?"

"I don't think we have time for this, Tenna." Boomstick pointed out. "Sun is comin' up and if these 'Nightwalkers' are so spooky like you think, then let's not be 'round to piss em off, yeah?"

Tenna and I nodded.

"Are you two ready to follow me?" I asked.

"Let's shoot us some armored dogs." Boomstick affirmed.

We had left the shack far behind at this point. Nothing very much of note occurred along our travels beyond my foraging for various fruits that could be found and the typical arguing between the two brothers that followed me. I kept my ears sharp for any odd noises and picked up more than a few whispered conversations about me during the walk.

"You think she's ever gonna wear clothin'?" Boomstick whispered.

"She already said she wouldn't." Tenna replied.

"What if we haf'ta take her to Los Pegasus with us? She can't go walkin' 'round naked all the time. There's laws against it 'n everythin'."

"Why would she be goin' with us to Los Pegasus?"

"I dunno... Maybe she might wanna stick around after this quest of hers is done?"

"What, and be your wife or something?" Tenna scoffed quietly.

"I can have dreams, you sod!" Boomstick retorted with a chest smack to his brother.

"That's about the only place you're gonna find a mare like her with a colt like you, mate." Tenna chuckled.

My tail was swishing back and forth with my steps, which had probably brought about the conversation in the first place. I was still on the lookout for any berries I could use for body paint as well, but their conversations helped pass the time.

"How'd ya think she'd look in a corset?" Boomstick began again.

"Mate, forget about it. I think the day she wears anything, she'll have been replaced by a changeling."

"But that flank of hers!" He continued, ignoring Tenna. "and the way her mane and tail are colored along with that pure white..."

"I can hear your erection from here, Boomstick!" I called out behind myself, my tail lifting and wrapping around my waist to give him a teasing view for a moment. I then heard him go silent and looked over my shoulder, finding him staring open mouthed at my flank. His eyes flicked up to my face and I gave him a wink before resuming my usual pace, as if nothing had happened.

"Mate, she's out of your league and she's teasin' you." Tenna giggled. "Just let it go. At best, she'll want to be friends with a bloke like you."

Boomstick was silently fuming, or mentally having his way with me. At any rate, something they had brought up peaked my interest.

"What is a 'changeling'?" I asked over my shoulder, still leading the way towards Diamond Dog territory. We were far enough away still that noise didn't matter all that much.

"You never heard of 'em?" Tenna asked.

"Not until today."

"Wait, how'd you hear of them? It's just us three out 'ere." Boomstick asked.

"I overheard your conversation." I replied honestly.

I could imagine the looks on their faces as they shared glances of horror.

"You mean this entire time..." Boomstick gasped.

"And you didn't..." Tenna continued.

"Yes." Was my answer.

Unfortunately, that realization was enough to make them unable to talk or form a coherent sentence for awhile, so I let them be. I let my mind wander to the various other things I had been overlooking aside from my personal grooming lately. I haven't had sex in ages. So... that was a thing that existed in my mind, apparently as my first thought. Great. Good job, brain. Good priorities to keep track of. 'Oh, Sanguine is on a mission to save Spike? Let's keep track of when the last time we had a good roll in the hay with somepony!' Fantastic.

My tail twitched again as if irritated, revealing my flank and marehood yet again to Boomstick and Tenna behind me, making both of them spurt noises for a moment. They still weren't used to being around a naked mare, though I suppose it had only been a single day for them. I had been naked all my life on my own insistence, so their looks couldn't bother me. I had simply taken as a compliment whenever anypony in the tribe looked at me that way. It meant that my appearance, despite looking savage, was so enticing that even breaking tribal customs could be thrown to the wind in the face of my 'assets'. Sure, that had attracted the odd creep or seven from the tribe, but knives to the throat and sincere declarations of 'You won't have anything left to play with' to those that didn't take 'no' for an answer swiftly solved the problem.

My mind drifted back to the question of what Changelings even were, aside from what the name could tell me. Obviously they changed, but... lings? The 's' would probably mean more than one, so that would be... groups, right? I don't know what a 'ling' is, but it doesn't sound good. They also said 'replaced by a changeling', so does that mean they can act?

"Tenna?" I called behind me.

"Yeah?"

"What's a changeling?"

"They're shapeshiftin' bug monsters."

I stopped and turned around. "What?"

"They look like somepony you know and steal your feelin's for em." Boomstick explained.

...What?

"I can tell by the look on yer face that you don't get it." Tenna remarked amusedly. "Ah'right, picture this:" He was starting to pantomime his words with his hands. "Ya got regular pony 'ere, right?" I nodded. " 'An overe here, ya got a changelin'." He held out both hands like platforms, as if a tiny representation of both would stand on his palms. "When yer pony friend over here finds a pony they like, they get feelin's for em." He held up the hand that was 'holding' the changeling now. "Then this little fuck comes along, and shapeshifts to look like yer friend!" He said with a bit of anger, smacking the 'pony' hand away. "Now you go along with your life, thinkin' everything is fine and dandy aside from your friend actin' a little bit odd," he continued, holding up the changeling hand. "You think 'Gee, somethin' must be botherin' my mate from how strange he's actin'! So you go an talk to 'em about it. You ask em to meet you at your usual hang-out spot, thinking you'll 'ave a good chat and laugh about it!" he holds up a finger as if to pause, darkly chuckling to himself. "But!" He said suddenly, "You think, 'hey, why don't I just bring all my kit along with me, just incase things don't go so well, yeah?"

I was keeping track of the story, but my only response was to blink stupidly and nod that I was still listening.

"Right, so you go to the meetin' place to see yer friend. Lo and behold, he isn't there! You go on out for an adventure to find 'im, bringin' your dear brotha' along for support," He wrapped an arm around Boomstick's shoulder. "And you go on your merry way. Then, when you finally do find your friend, it turns out they're a fuckin' bug monster that's been sappin' the life out of everypony you know, and keepin' your friend in a great big glob o' goop the entire time!" He was very angry at this point, the story having gone from educational to personal experience. "You know what you do then?" He hissed. "You take your fuckin' rifle, you point it at that damn bug's head, and you BLOW IT THE FUCK OFF!" He shouted, throwing his gun to the ground in anger.

"Oi, Tenna! Keep it cool, mate!" Boomstick attempted to reason with him.

"That slimy insect cunt killed our fuckin' brotha', and you want me to be CALM about it?!"

"There was nothin' we could'a done!" Boomstick pleaded. Things were getting out of hand quickly now. I had greatly upset Tenna by asking about changelings and was now trying to calm Tenna down as well.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to bring up something so close to--"

"You don't know the first thing about close, U-nee!" He spat back. I assume the 'U-nee' was a slur for Unicorns amongst Earthen. Every tribe had their slurs for the others, though this was the first time I had actually heard any of them. Despite the attempted insult, the actual word meant nothing to me other than I was a unicorn.

What do I do? Tenna is having a breakdown! I thought in panic. I had seen my mother deal with situations like this, but it usually involved 'oral distractions' and I didn't think that now was the best time for something like that. Maybe a hug would work?

Boomstick and Tenna were still struggling and arguing, and I took that as my moment to strike. I practically tackled Tenna to the ground from his equipment weighing him down and making him top heavy, fighting against his flailing arms and holding on for dear life as he flailed about, trying to get me off of him.

"The fock do ya think yer doin'!?" Tenna shouted.

"You need a hug!" I yelled back, trying to hold on despite his arms attempting to shove me off.

"I don't want no fockin' hug!"

"Well, you're getting a hug!" I looked up to a shocked Boomstick. "Hug your brother!" I pleaded.

He looked at Tenna in confusion. "Don't you fockin' hug me!" he warned.

He looked back at me. "Do it!" I insisted desperately, trying to hold onto Tenna.

Boomstick looked to the sky as if searching for answers before declaring, "Fock me!" before diving on top of myself and Tenna, wrapping the both of us in a hug with his more muscular arms, squeezing the air from my lungs and causing Tenna to halt his protests.

"Too... much!" I squeaked. His forearm was across my entire back, squeezing myself uncomfortably into the gear and clothing he wore.

"Get... off!" Tenna grunted.

Boomstick released the both of us, falling to the ground in a heap of equipment and fur. I was on my backside, Tenna's backpack laying on my chest from where he had fallen. Thankfully Tenna soon rolled over, allowing me to both move clear and breathe. I sat upright, holding my chest and taking back all the air that had been squeezed from my lungs. I looked in surprise over to Tenna whom was recovering similarly, though it seemed like my plan had worked. He was too shocked about the sudden hug to continue on his path into a meltdown.

"The fock... was that... for?" He huffed, looking at me incredulously.

"You needed... a hug!" I replied, semi-cheerfully.

"I think that's the first time I seen her smile." Boomstick commented.

"Mate, if that's her happy face, then you're really doomed." Tenna shot back, the beginning of their typical banter informing me that everything was going back to normal.

"But look at it! It's so small and pure!"

I looked at Boomstick.

"And you just killed it." Tenna snickered.

I didn't smile often because there wasn't anything to smile about most of the time. Having anypony point out my own smile made me self concious from barely remembered experiences I had as a filly. All I knew was that at some point, somepony had noticed me smiling happily and beaten me for it. Since then, genuine smiles haven't been a thing regularly seen from me.

"Ah fuck, you've gone and made her sad!" Boomstick complained, moving towards me. "You need a hug too, love?"

"Love?" I asked in confusion before being lifted from the ground and squeezed tightly by Boomstick. I kicked my hooves uselessly in the air in a struggle before he set me down.

"Better?" he asked, taking a step back from me.

I took a moment. I actually was feeling a slight bit better. "Yes..." I replied cautiously. "Warn me next time?"

"A'course." He agreed with a nod.

Tenna had taken up his gun from the ground in the meantime, inspecting it for damage.

"Good ol' Bertha... ain't nothin' that can hurt you, old mare." He cooed to his gun.

Boomstick and I allowed Tenna to have his moment with his rifle before we continued. I decided it was best to give Tenna and Boomstick some room to recover after the eruption of anger I had unintentionally set off left me emotionally singed; another reason I generally preferred solitude. The emotions of others were so powerful sometimes that It was all I could do to not get wrapped up in somepony else's problems and go along for the ride with them. Somepony was sad? My own empathy for their situation would make me feel worse than they did. I just learned to avoid those with problems altogether to save myself.

"Oi, Sanguine." I heard Tenna call to me, more calm now that some time had gone by.

"Yes?"

"What about those Diamond Dogs? Anythin' we should know specific?"

"They're nearly double the average pony in height for the larger ones. Those tend to be in the role of a Pack Leader and wear heavy metal armoring that is usually poor in quality. It generally looks like pieces of scrap metal or roofing tiles held together with rope, vine or whatever else is on hand. The 'Alphas' are a lot stronger as well. I don't know how well your 'guns' will do against them, but they're not my main worry."

"The big plate armored dogs are the small fries?" Boomstick asked, confused.

"The Alphas use large swords or maces and take a moment or two for their swings to connect. I've dodged more than a few clumsy strikes... though your armoring makes that feat more difficult, I suppose."

There was a pause from both of the brothers, I assume to share a look of concern. I continued my briefing anyway.

"What worries me is the Pack. They're composed of the 'lesser' Diamond Dogs that can't rule over the others, so they bunch up into large groups. They generally wear only a plate over their chest and possibly a gauntlet over a paw that is sharpened with metal claws reaching out like a group of swords. They run in packs of two up to twenty and ambush their targets."

"Oh, great." Tenna scroffed. "Big lumbering oafs that can kill ya wit a single strike, or swarms of the bastards that jump ya."

"Finally, they have the Howlers." I continued. "They fit in neither role, but are generally smarter than either the Pack or the Alphas. They focus on creating or scavenging the armor and weapons for the others and are well protected by both Packs and Alphas for it. They're mid-height between the Alpha and those Dogs that make up the Packs. If they spot one of us, like their name suggests, they alert the other Dogs in the area by howling."

"So how tall are the 'Packs' then?"

"They're about... my height." I said uncertainly. "It varies usually, but they're generally the same range as an average pony."

"How do you know so much about the Diamond Dogs?"

"I'm the forager, scavenger, and sometimes scout for the tribe. They like sending me on suicide missions." I replied honestly.

"Great." Tenna muttered.

"So what are we fightin' the Dogs for, again?" Boomstick asked.

"They like making their dens in old mine-shafts filled with gemstone, preferring Diamonds like their name suggests."

"Oi, you hear that?" Boomstick whispered excitedly. "We could get us some diamonds to sell!"

"Yeah, if we don't get ripped apart by dogs." Tenna countered darkly.

Boomstick brandished his 'shot-gun'. "Come on, mate! A bunch-a dogs 'gainst Bertha and Boomy?"

I had to stop at that just to re-affirm what I just heard. I turned around to look at Boomstick, noting Tenna's equally disappointed expression matched my own.

"Boomy?" We both asked. "Really?" Tenna followed up.

"Well, you got ta name your gun, why can't I?"

" 'Boomstick's Boomy' doesn't seem that... inspired?" I suggested about as tenderly as I could.

"You're callin' Boomy dumb, ain't ya?" Boomstick asked with suspicious eyes. "Well Boomy's a strong gun, and you can't say nuffin' to make her feel stupid!"

I rolled my eyes and Tenna covered his face with his hand.

"Nevermind, Boomstick. Boomy is fine." Tenna sighed.

"Damn straight!" Boomstick agreed.

That pretty much killed the conversation as nopony could find anything to say afterwards to continue it into a useful direction that wasn't as awkward as what just happened. I lead the both of them onward after Boomstick had finished complimenting his shot-gun and soothing its imaginary ego. Dense forest overgrowth and underbrush soon began to thin out; old tree trunks from deforestation becoming a more common sight as we drew closer to the Mineshafts that the Diamond Dogs called home.

"Alright you two. You need to be quiet now. We're very close to the Dogs' territory and they already have a good sense of smell. We don't need to add hearing to their list of advantages." I whispered.

"What?" Tenna asked too loudly.

*Thwack*

"Shut up!" I hissed loud enough for them to hear.

We eventually reached an overlook that opened into a large quarry; staggered steps of stone cascaded downwards towards an open pit with a Pack lazily messing around at the bottom. I motioned for Tenna and Boomstick to come closer, pointing down at the Pack.

"Damn." Tenna commented in his 'whisper'. "They're a lot meaner lookin' in the flesh, ain't they?"

Boomstick held his shot-gun closer to his chest at the ready. "Doesn't mean they like gettin' shot." he grinned.

This emboldened Tenna, whom also readied his gun. The both of them looked to me for direction while I thought about a plan of attack.

Enter the Dogg

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I turned to Tenna and Boomstick whom were waiting patiently behind me. "I'm going to scout ahead for a moment. I haven't been this close before, and I don't want to lead us into their caves completely blind. Don't draw any attention to yourselves, and try to stay quiet."

Tenna made some sort of gesture with his hand onto his forehead before pointing at me with it. "Yes, ma'am!"

My confused look and raised eyebrow told him I had no idea what he just did.

"It's a salute." He grumbled. "Jus' get goin', would ya?"

I nodded and peeked over a large rock to see if the Pack had moved. They were still doing whatever it was that Diamond Dogs did, rolling around and probably fighting amongst themselves by the looks of it. I checked Tenna and Boomstick one last time as I stood up and caught them staring at my flank again.

"Do you two want to have a quickie, or what?"

Their eyes both shot up to mine with a guilty expression before they darted away, exaggerating coughs and looking overly serious.

"No-no, we're just um..." Tenna trailed.

"Coverin' your flank!" Boomstick finished. Tenna groaned.

"I can see that." I deadpanned. "Are you two going to be able to focus if everything goes wrong?"

"We'll be perfectly professional!" Tenna replied with another of his salutes.

My eyebrow raised skeptically. "Sure you will."

Deciding I had delayed long enough, I took a deep breath and vaulted myself over the rock. I landed softly as I could with my hooves and creeped low to avoid being spotted. My coat coloration worked in my favor for the terrain -the quarry being mostly marble and limestone- but my mane and tail stood out like a blazing fire and would be spotted easily. If we were going to sneak around in daylight, I would have to find something to cover up my mane that blended in. At night time however, it'd be my eyes that would stand out. Perhaps Boomstick's goggles would work to hide my eyes?

I was peeking over the ridge and looking deeper into the quarry. The Pack had been play fighting with each other I discovered. Most of them were now tending to the few wounds that happened from being too rough with their practice while the Alpha lorded over all of them in their heavy armor with a large mace over their shoulder held by a single paw. The other paw was busy picking up maimed Pack members and bringing them to what I assume was their Howler. This Dog was dressed in some kind of white coat that went down to the equivalent of his shins, some kind of white bandana and overly large glasses.

That's odd...

I wanted to get a closer look and figure out why the Howler was so different from the rest, but my mission for now was to find a way inside to get what gemstones I could without being caught by a passing patrol. Thankfully, the Dogs hadn't thought to post guards at the entrances to their den. A wooden archway propped up the mine shaft that lead deeper into the quarry and was possibly my only way in if I was going to avoid the group below. Taking a look and finding no dogs to impede my progress, I quickly darted forward to the archway and kept as low to the ground as possible. Reaching the archway and finding that nothing had spotted me I breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

Easy part is done. Now for the more difficult parts.

At this point, I had no idea where I was going. My only boons were my night vision from my glowing eyes and my agility from lack of armor. The dogs would be able to match my speed if they went on all fours, but standing on their hind legs gave me an advantage. They were more suited for chases and swarming, but I hoped that I wouldn't have to fight any in the first place if I was careful enough. The Alphas were strong, but their armor and form made them slow moving. It was difficult for them to balance on their hind paws exclusively, and their fighting style seemed to be a mixture of ducking on all fours with lunges and swinging their large weapons in a wide arc to smash or slice as many foes as possible. They would tire quickly if outmaneuvered, but I wouldn't have the time to do that if I was being swarmed by a Pack. My best bet was to avoid combat all together.

Deciding on that, I moved deeper into the mines. Chunks of marble and limestone were scattered about, accompanied by scratchings on the walls and random debris strewn around like a whirlwind had thrown somepony's belonging all over the place. The place was messy, certainly, but I was more concerned for accidentally stepping on something that would cause a lot of noise or that would make me trip. Or, in worse case scenario, some kind of trap that I could unwittingly trigger that might kill me.

I paused for a moment, my ears picking up noise. I ducked behind a dusty wooden box that had been there for who knows how long while I waited for the noise to go away, thinking it was a Dog. After a few moments of waiting, it turned out that I was right. Two dogs were talking to each other and walking my way at a lazy pace.

"You think Rex beat Wolf in fight? Wolf much bigger than Rex! Rex weak!" One argued.

"Yes, but Rex is the much smarter opponent. Anything that Wolf would throw at him would be neatly avoided by his superior agility and tactical prowess."

"You no use big words! Big words make issue dirty!" The first one barked in annoyance.

"It is not my fault that you do not read any of the literature provided to us, Hamshank." the second tutted.

"Claw better than book at smashing! Hamshank no need book!"

"If you happened to read a book, you would know that claws slice; they do not 'smash'."

"Hamshank smash you if you no shut face!"

The two continued arguing past me, causing me to be greatly confused. I thought Diamond Dogs were stupid? I shook my head. I would have to dwell on that later. I couldn't afford to be distracted now. I checked over the top of the box, my ears swiveling around to see if anything was still making enough noise for me to hear. After a pause, I decided that it was clear for me to continue.

I peeked down the hall that the two Dogs had gone down and found neither of them. Continuing the opposite way instead, I later found myself in some kind of large room containing a great deal of fur cloaks scattered on the floor.

Bedding, maybe?

Not wanting to stick around to find out, or for some dog to ambush me from behind while I considered dog sleeping schedules, I decided to ignore that room entirely and move along deeper into the mines. Weaving around debris that was in my way to avoid making noise, hiding behind boxes or other spaces where I could fit and sometimes simply hiding in a dark corner were my go-to places to dodge passing Dogs.

Ducking into a room to evade another patrol, I looked around to find myself in their armory. My expression lit up with joy, finding various weapons and armor. I was more interested in the spears!

Come to Sanguine! I thought happily, swiping a fairly well crafted steel spear from a weapons rack. Now I had a longer ranged option available to me that would be of more use than my knife. All I needed to find now was something to replace my cloak, and the problems of yesterday would be only memory!

"Why you keep losing claw?" I heard a voice complain right outside of the room. I panicked and dove into a pile of armor with a loud clanging giving me away.

"What noise!?" Another voice barked.

"You go see what noise!"

"No, You see what noise!

"It just noise! You go!"

"No! Noise maybe stab! You see noise!"

"You scared of noise? You scared pup!" The gruffer voice of the two taunted.

"You no want see noise; you scared pup!" the other countered.

"You take back!"

"Grrrrr-uuuf!!"

Then, to my relief, the two idiot dogs decided to brawl right there on the spot. They soon barreled into the armory room and continued their duel; knocking over weapons racks with a loud clattering and clanging of metal. This allowed me the chance to pry myself free of the tangled mess of jagged plating I had flung myself into and sneak out of the room. I hid behind more boxes and held my spear to the wall to avoid tripping more dogs that ran past to either find out what the problem was or join the fight.

When the fight had gained full force and turned into an all out skirmish, I decided that staying around was likely to get me killed from just being in the immediate area. With that, I sprinted off deeper into the mine. I was still keeping track of where I had been and thankfully the place wasn't a complicated maze. It supposed it made sense that miners wouldn't want to deal with a labyrinth if they had to swing picks all day at rock on top of everything. Further on that idea, I doubt that these Diamond Dogs would be able to navigate themselves out of a wet shirt, let alone a maze.

I decided I was far enough away from the skirmish of dogs to take a breather and ducked behind a larger box to catch my breath. I tried to keep my breathing as quiet as possible in this darker section of mine and noticed that the debris had toned down considerably compared to the more well lit areas. Checking that everything I owned was still on my body as well, I was caught off-guard when a voice spoke up right next to me.

"Hey there, cool cat." A smooth voice whispered in my ear, making me recoil and fall on my face in my moment of panic to get away. I scrambled to get my spear, but a paw stepped directly on top of it and snapped it in half. "Why the rush?" The dog continued, still with a calm and relaxed tone.

I was laying on my back, my body freezing in fear while my mind raced with all the ways this encounter could go wrong.

"No need to be stressed; chill a while." The dog insisted. They were the size of an Alpha but lacked the heavy armoring. They wore dark black robes that helped conceal them further in the darkness. Their face was concealed by a hood, only their muzzle poking from it. He didn't seem as vicious as the other dogs, but this could simply be a very large Howler.

"U-uh..." I blurted, my brain fighting my body's urge to run away while my legs were jelly, causing all of my internal red flags to wave at once and cause me to freeze.

The dog reached a paw out to me smoothly, confusing me. "You want to stay on the marble? That's fine." It then smiled, my eyes picking up pure white jagged teeth that made my fur crawl, imagining them sinking into my neck at any moment. "We can have a talk like this."

"T-talk?" I stammered.

"You went and snuck past all my dogs; didn't harm a single one n' all that. I can respect that, mare." His voice continued to be relaxed, soothing and somewhat melodic. It was sort of hypnotizing to hear, actually. "Makes me interested in the type of unicorn you are to do that kind of service for me."

"Service?" I asked. This was throwing me for a loop and my body had decided it was more interested in whatever was happening than running now.

"You didn't kill my dogs, dog." he explained. I assume that calling me a 'dog' was a term of... endearment, or something. "That's somethin' very rare."

"Ah... I'm..." I tried to explain my confusion, but my brain and mouth hadn't caught up with each other yet.

"You're confused, scared and not at all chill, am I right?" He asked, extending his paw towards me again. This time, I took it. "Let me do some explainin', then." When I was halfway upright, he lunged forward and flipped me onto his shoulder, a large paw and muscular arm keeping me pinned and unable to break free. "Chill, mare." he insisted calmly.

Well, he could snap me in half, bite me, throw me into a wall or just bark loudly if he wanted to kill me. I guess I was going to be a pony shoulder-pad for now.

"Take a moment to listen and feel the breeze." he insisted, carrying me off into a darker part of the mines. While I was on his shoulder, he continued to talk. "I know why you here, unicorn. You want some gems fo' your ponies, yeah?"

"Y-yes?" I responded, a step causing my reply to stutter.

"I can get you gems; that's easy. We all got more than we know what to do with anyway. What I want in exchange though, that's up to you to decide if it worth the price."

I heard some shuffling ahead and my worry spiked. A few Alphas were marching towards the dog that was holding me!

"What's happ'nin, my dogs?" My holder asked.

The two dogs looked at me with confusion, before one hit the other on the shoulder and snickered. "Hey boss. You get a good catch?"

"It ain't like that, B." He replied, shaking his head slightly.

"Oh... Well, she gives you any trouble, let us know." The other spoke.

The dog looked towards me, I assume from where his muzzle moved towards my face. "I think she won't be causin' problems." he grinned.

The other two chuckled darkly before moving past us, causing me to worry even more than I had been.

"Don't worry 'bout those two, they're like puppies."

I looked over my shoulder as well as I was able at the two Alphas walking away. They were completely geared in advanced plate armor, large two paw'ed swords and covered in spikes that had more than a skull or two adorning them.

"Sure. Puppies." I replied sarcastically

"What's your name, mare?" He asked, switching the subject.

I figured I might as well be honest. It's not like my name was a secret or anything. "I am called Sanguine Dreams." I paused for a moment and decided to ask, "What is your name?"

"Sanguine Dreams, huh?" He replied cooly, "I'll let you know mine if we reach an... understandin'." He paused in his steps for a moment before his muzzle looked in my vague direction. "Tell me, Sanguine. You gonna run if I set you down?"

"Well... you would probably be able to out-run me anyway, so there's not much point to that." I replied. There really wasn't. He had caught me when I was hiding, destroyed my spear and captured me effortlessly. What would the point of running be?

"That's good." He replied, lifting me from his shoulders and setting me down. I now learned that even standing, I barely came up to his waist. This dog is massive! "I was gettin' tired of carrying you around, even if you're lightweight."

"Uh... thanks."

"Don't mention it." He patted my shoulder. "Follow me; I got a lot to talk about with you."

He walked ahead of me, and I decided that following his wishes would be the best way to stay alive in my current situation.

"You want them gems cause your dragon is sick, right?" He asked.

"How did you know?"

"I got eyes and ears, Sanguine. Don't take much to keep 'em open." he replied cryptically. "My point is that we can help each otha' out."

"How so?"

"You need gems, we got gems. You got friends with guns, we don't."

My blood ran cold. Did that mean they had found Tenna and Boomstick?

"Chill, Sanny. They a'ight."

The tone of the conversation had changed dramatically, despite the continued cool from the Dog. I followed him stiffly along, my body tensing up as if I was walking into an ambush.

"They're right on ahead of us, so you can check on 'em for yourself." I tried to move but his paw caused me to stop. "In a moment."

His calm attitude was starting to unnerve me.

"I need yo help, Sanguine." he said suddenly. Why does everything need my help? First the tribe, now the dogs?

"What for?"

"We got us a little problem with some feather dusters; been killin' our hunters for days now and movin' in on our turf."

"Feather dusters?"

"Pegasai, Sanny. Bird ponies. You know." He made half hearted flapping motions with his arms before giving up on the effort. "They fly?"

"Why would they be attacking you?"

"Doesn't matter, does it? You got guns, they got wings. Shoot em out of the sky, we'll send gems to your little fort out there on the woods' edge."

Uh oh. "But, my friends are the only two I know of that have guns..."

"Hey, if you can solve that problem then good for you. All I need is these pigeons taken care of, and you got yo gems. If you can't have your friends here on the regular, then maybe they know where some guns are that we can use fo ourself."

The idea of Diamond Dogs with guns was unnerving, but so was being eaten alive. "I'll see what I can do..."

"That's all I'm askin', mare." He smiled, his large form looming over me and causing me to involuntarily back up a step. "Your friends'll be around that corner. The other dogs know you're comin', so don't worry 'bout 'em."

I nodded and backed away from the very large robed dog, sincerely hoping that this wasn't some elaborate game of his.

"Hey Sanny." He called out, still calm in tone but able to shout by just raising the tone of his voice in the echoing mines. "My name's Snoop."

Manipulated Mind

View Online

As I moved away from the Diamond Dog leader known as 'Snoop', I heard Tenna and Boomstick up to their usual arguing. As I walked closer my head started to swim and blur my vision, yet only for a moment. After shaking my head free, I decided it was probably just a head-rush and moved on.

"I knew it was a bad idea to follow 'er!"

"You told me to make a choice, an' I did!"

"Oh suuure, let's follow the naked mare to a den of dogs! It'll be a good bit of fun, won't it!?"

"It's not my fault the dogs was followin' us before we even got 'ere!"

At that, I rounded the corner to find Tenna and Boomstick in cages opposite another, dangling from the ceiling and trying to grab at each other through the bars. They were guarded by a small Pack of around five to seven dogs with an Alpha as their leader. I looked around and found that both Snoop and the two Alphas from earlier were gone now. Hopefully Snoop was right about these guards knowing that I was supposed to be walking around.

"Hey! Mare here for friends!" One of the Pack shouted, pointing a clawed paw at me excitedly. "Get key for mare!"

I blinked in surprise while still walking towards the brothers. Well, this was going a lot better than I expected. Sure, we had all been technically captured but... we were still alive and unharmed. That counted for something good.

"Sanguine, is that you?" Tenna called out to me, his cage swinging. "What's goin' on?"

"Um... I'll let you know when we're out of here!" I called back, picking up my pace enough to move things along. The dogs may have let us go, but they could also turn on us at any moment if we took too long in confronting the Pegasai. Again my head felt top heavy, causing me to stumble.

"You alright, Sanguine?" Boomstick asked when I was within normal speaking distance of the two. The Alpha was busy turning a crank that lowered the two cages to the ground, rattling and causing the cages to swing a bit from the irregular construction of both the chain and the pulley wheel.

"I had a spear again for all of two minutes." I replied, shaking my head clear of the strange feeling. "Yes, I'm fine."

"What happened?" Tenna asked.

"Their leader stepped on it!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands up in defeat.

"What about the gems?" Boomstick inquired.

"They... made a 'deal' with me. Sort of as a 'thank you' for us not killing any of them and for my clumsy attempts at sneaking around the place getting me caught." I explained, still feeling bad that I had been caught in the first place. Sneaking around at night and stalking animals was a lot different than sneaking around Diamond Dogs, or any other creature with a brain for that matter.

"What kind of deal?" Tenna wondered.

"We have to 'deal with' the Pegasai that are killing their foragers. They want the both of you to shoot them out of the sky, or to sell them guns to use themselves for it." I explained a bit nervously. I didn't know what their reactions would be, now that everything was said.

"Hey Tenna, that means we could go to Los Pegasus with Sanguine!" Boomstick replied happily before Tenna could object.

"Yeah, give these dogs a bunch'a guns? You think that's a good idea?" Tenna asked Boomstick sarcastically. "Maybe we should strap a big rocket on yer back an' make you the first pony to the moon?"

"They're just gonna use it to shoot some Pegasai; what's it matter to us?" Boomstick shot back.

"Use that brain of yers for once and think about it!"

"Um, Tenna, Boomstick?" I interjected into their shouting match. "We're still in the Diamond Dog Den." I pointed out.

The Pack and Alpha had gathered around the cages now on the ground, looking somewhat annoyed and making growling noises at the two of them. I was caught in the middle between the brothers and the dogs and very much wanted to remain in one piece.

"Oh." Tenna dumbly replied after opening his eyes to the situation.

"We'll talk about it after we shoot some Pegasai, yeah?" Boomstick offered.

"Yeah."

"Sounds good!"

After no more conversation came from the three of us, a Pack member came up to each of the cages with a different blobish key that looked like sharpened slag and opened the cages. Tenna and Boomstick still had all of their equipment on, minus their guns of course. They stepped out a little shakily onto the rough marble floor of the den, Boomstick jumping in place for a moment. Now my stomach was feeling strange instead of my balance being thrown off. I thought about telling Boomstick or Tenna, but the wrong words came out instead.

"What are you doing?" I asked Boomstick.

"Gettin' me land legs back." He replied, now rolling his shoulders.

"Oi, where's our guns?" Tenna asked the Alpha.

The large and heavily armored dog jabbed a paw thumb behind himself towards a weapons rack containing all of the cylinders that the two brothers like to carry around as well as their guns. This drew a few grumbles from Tenna, but Boomstick was happy as ever to find 'Boomy' and himself reunited.

"You can stop huggin' your wife at any time, Boomstick." Tenna groaned.

"Will your guns be enough to defeat the Pegasai?" I asked worriedly. I knew the Pegasai could fly, but that was about as far as my knowledge of them reached. Ponies with wings. I didn't feel comfortable going blindly into a situation where we could easily be killed from just lack of knowledge.

Why were my thoughts so skewed? Shouldn't I be telling somepony about this?

"Depends on how many of 'em there are!" Boomstick eagerly cheered.

"Hold on Boomstick, she has a point." He looked at me in appraisal for a moment before continuing "We've only got Bertha an' Boomy. She's got magic that she doesn't have a clue how to use, an' we're going in blind to shoot some birdbrains we've never even met or seen."

"I was also going to point out that I know of Pegasai only from stories in my tribe." I tentatively added.

"So... what then?" Boomstick questioned.

"I think we'll have to get more guns in Los Pegasus before we confront any Pegasai. Actually, I just noticed that; Guns from Pegasus to kill Pegasai. Isn't that like... poetic justice or somethin?" Tenna rhetorically questioned.

"It's actually known as coincidence." A large Diamond Dog pointed out, moving through the Pack and dressed in... the white coat from before! I had seen this Howler before I began my trip into the mines. He stood a full head taller than Boomer, making him out to be my size and a half larger than me. I couldn't tell his build from the oversized white coat that he was wearing down to his knees, but he was well dressed considering the shirt, shorts, pocket watch and glasses that he wore. He was grey in coloration with very deep blue eyes that I... actually found mesmerizing. They were like sapphires had taken over his eyes!

"An' who might you be, doggo?" Boomstick challenged.

The Howler held a paw to his chest, bowing slightly out of politeness. "I am Rufio." He stated plainly.

"Ruff." I giggled to myself. "Rufio Ruff." The feeling of dizzyness had returned along with the butterflies in my stomach and lack of balance. For some reason, I didn't care anymore. This was fun!

Rufio looked at me with concern. "Is she alright?" He adjusted a pair of glasses on his muzzle to get a better look at me. "Isn't it customary for ponies to wear clothing, as well? She is plainly naked."

"Yeah, we know." Tenna replied politely. "She doesn't like wearin' clothing for some reason."

Rufio looked to me, but I was still caught up with his name. I leaned in towards him and playfully whispered "Rrr-ruff!". I also noticed I had a small smile on my face.

"Most curious, isn't she?" Rufio replied, leaning away from me. "I've overheard part of your conversation about the Pegasai. I am to believe that it will take longer than Snoop has predicted, yes?" he asked of Tenna, making him out to be the leader of the group.

"Well, Sanguine here hasn't seen a gun in her life before meeting us -Big shocker there- and we don't have the ammo or supplies to go fightin' a big battle, let alone the ponies to come along with us for it. We're going to need more ponies in order to take on anything flying and train Sanguine in how to shoot straight if she's gonna be helpin'." Tenna explained.

Something about the way this 'Rufio' just existed made me happy to be around him. His fur was all fluffy and soft looking, like I could just jump on him like a large cloud. His eyes glanced my way a few times while he spoke with Tenna, growing more worried every time he saw me drawing nearer.

"How long will this detour take?" Rufio asked.

"It shouldn't take more than a few days to get to... where we need to. From there, we can get the equipment we need, possibly more guns as well as teach Sanguine how to use a gun."

There was a pause for a moment.

"Sanguine, what the bloody hell are you doing?" Tenna asked incredulously.

I was petting Rufio's arm, having rolled up his sleeve just to feel his fur. "Rufio is really soft." I purred.

"What's gotten into her?" Boomstick asked, the brothers moving towards me while Rufio remained still, staring at me curiously.

"I'm... not entirely certain." Rufio replied hesitantly. "We've captured more than a few unicorns that strayed too far from their fortress, but none of them have had a reaction like this."

"What do ya mean by that?" Tenna asked suspiciously.

"Oh! Nothing negative, I assure you." Rufio blurted quickly. "It's just... normally they're crazed or catatonic. This 'Sanguine' seems enthralled by my fur of all things."

"So~ft." I cooed.

"Oi Rufio, do you mind if we get somethin' from our packs? I've got a hunch." Tenna asked.

"By all means, Earthen. I am immobilized by Sanguine at the moment." Rufio replied cautiously, trying to lift his arm away from me.

"The fuzzy is mine!" I cried, clinging to his arm. I was now holding onto Rufio for dear life, lest my fuzzy be taken forever!

"Oi Tenna you best hurry mate, she's gettin' wacko!" Boomstick warned.

"I can see that!" Tenna shot back, sprinting past me to his backpack and digging through it. He flung pots, pans, clothing, foodstuffs and even a smaller thing that looked like a tiny gun before finding his 'Magi-tector'. "Here we are!" He declared in triumph, holding it upwards while fiddling with some turning metal bits on the device. After a moment it sprang to life and crackled a storm of repeating high pitched noise.

"Get out of here, now!" Tenna shouted, grabbing both backpacks and running for the entrance to the mines. Boomstick was running right towards me and reached out one of his arms, scooping me away from the beautiful fuzzy that was Rufio. Thankfully, the fuzz-master ran alongside Boomer with ease.

"Where are we going?" He asked, keeping pace.

"Away from here!" Boomer replied, dodging around a few stacked crates. I saw blurry images of surprised dogs moving out of our path and soon chasing after, caught up in the excitement.

"Rufio, you mind tellin' these blokes that we're not on the menu?!" Tenna yelled over his shoulder.

"I still don't understand why we're running!" Rufio barked in reply.

"I'll let you know when the noise stops!"

We ducked and wove past more obstacles, one of which being my poor spear that had been snapped in half. Most of my focus was blurring in and out, making sight a difficult task. After what seemed like ages of bouncing around in Boomer's arms, we arrived outside of the mines.

"There, you hear that?" Tenna asked, holding up the magi-tector. "It's slower our here than in there!"

"Yes, and?" Rufio asked.

"That means that your mineshaft is loaded up to the nose with magic, mate! Bad kinds'a magic!" Tenna insisted, waving the device around and pointing the coils of it at Rufio.

"...I don't understand what you mean. 'Bad magic'?" Rufio asked.

"The kinda magic that messes with yer head! Changeling magic!" Tenna hissed.

"How so?"

"It lowers your will to -not- do certain things... oh, what's the word..."

"Inhibitions?" Rufio suggested.

"Yea!" Tenna pointed excitedly, "That's it! It lowers your inhibitions and makes you do stuff you wouldn't normally do."

They all looked at me with concern, Boomstick setting me down onto the rough marble of the quarry outside. He held his hands to my side so I could remain upright and I leaned on them for support, my whole body feeling sick.

"Are you alright, Sanguine?" Boomstick asked, ensuring I didn't topple over.

"Head feels... eugh." I complained, holding my head in my hand as well as attempting to hold my stomach with the other. "I think I need to sit." I then toppled over backwards landing hard on my back.

Tenna and Boomstick crowded around me while Rufio observed from a distance, taking out some plank of wood with paper on it and taking notes.

"You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" Tenna asked Boomstick, the both of them kneeling at my side while I tried to hold my pounding head together.

"Might be one of them infiltrators nearby?"

"Yeah, maybe in the cave, too." Tenna replied gravely. "We're gonna need our guns for some huntin'."

Boomstick and Tenna looked to Rufio expectantly. "Oh, well yes. Gather your weapons and find the infiltrator. Do you need assistance?" Rufio replied.

"Trust us, we can find a changelin'." Boomstick said while standing in unison with Tenna. "You make sure she stays safe. The Changeling is gonna come lookin' for her sooner or later. They always know when somepony gets caught in their net."

I noticed the change in their demeanor, their accents slipping into a more refined version that lacked the slurring and casual nature it usually bore. I was feeling a little bit like bait for this changeling at the moment, but I was also trying not to vomit as well. Whatever mind magic this thing had cast on me was throwing my entire body for a loop, and I felt like I needed to go back into the mine to make it all go away.

"We'll be right back, Sanny. You hold in there." Tenna patted me on the shoulder before quickly turning to Boomstick, motioning for him to follow as they jogged back into the mine.

The sun that had blasted my eyes uncomfortably was soon shadowed by Rufio looming over me. "You are a very curious pony, Sanguine." He mused.

"Why is that?" I asked, rolling onto my side and trying to ignore the cold marble beneath me.

Rufio declined to answer my question and instead started walking away.

"Hey, what if the changeling comes back?" I called after him.

He looked around the area for a moment before returning to me, a large smile on his face that caused me to worry. It wasn't a friendly smile.

"Making sure the coast is clear, my dear." He purred.

"What?"

He then picked me off of the ground; the rush of my senses being overtaken coming back in full force.

"Let's go on a little trip, shall we?" He asked, adjusting my position on his shoulder by throwing me into the air a bit.

"Okay!" I chirped happily. The sickness was gone, replaced with the warm embrace of his very soft fur. I felt like something was wrong, by every attempt to figure out what was immediately covered in the need to follow Rufio and do whatever he wanted.

Maybe he would let me snuggle with him?

We had gone on a walk through the forest, leaving the mineshaft well behind.

"Are Boomstick and Tenna going to come with us?" I asked Rufio.

"Possibly. I need to be certain of several things before I can coax them into joining our little adventure, Sanguine." He cooly replied. "Can I trust you to follow me? You are very light for a pony, but it still becomes tiring to carry you after awhile." He asked politely.

"Sure!"

He set me down onto the forest floor, leaves crunching underhoof from having dried out. Rufio had chosen to rest in a wide open clearing in the forest for the moment, giving me the chance to snack on some of the food I had stored in my various pouches.

"What are those?" He asked, leaning closer to me.

"Just some berries I found in the forest earlier." I replied, popping a few into my mouth.

The conversation died at that point, Rufio becoming disinterested with my eating. We stayed in that clearing for a few minutes before I felt that something was wrong.

"Are we waiting for somepony?" I asked Rufio curiously.

"Yes. They should be here any moment now." He responded curtly.

I looked around at the surrounding bushes and found nothing out of the ordinary for what I had observed the past few moments.

"Are you sure? It doesn't look like anypony is coming."

"They will be here." He assured me, shifting impatiently and looking around with shifty eyes. He glanced at his pocket watch a few times, tapping his paw impatiently in the dirt.

We waited for what seemed like ages now, Rufio pacing back and forth and growling to himself in annoyance at how long everything was taking, complaining about the unreliability of changelings and the studies that he was unable to continue from having to guard me.

I was sitting on a log, following the adventures of a resilient caterpillar as it swiggled its way across the mossy overgrowth of the fallen trunk. It had nearly climbed a leaf when my ears twitched, causing Rufio to notice.

"Did you hear something?" he asked worriedly.

"I think so." I replied uncertainly. "It sounded like it came from-" I had been pointing in the general direction of whatever annoyed my ears when a deafening boom sounded from the treeline, the ground practically erupting with dust in an arc from direction the noise had come from originally.

I fell over backwards, my hooves in the air above the tree trunk as I was floored from the noise and covered my ringing ears. I looked skyward and saw a figure loom over me, grab me by the shoulders and drag me on my flank and tail away from Rufio. The further we got, the more sick I became. More louds booms came from the treeline, pausing for brief periods before resuming.

"Let me go!" I cried, struggling to break free.

"Come on, Sanny! I'm not losin' you too!" Tenna growled back, struggling to regain a hold on me as I squirmed. My emotions were becoming erratic, flinging themselves like an abused toy from elated to heartbroken to everything in between with every step and pull away from Rufio, whom I now had no idea where he had gone to. The booms were now following behind us, the noise accompanied by the sounds of the forest being shredded by what I could now identify as the 'wall of pain' gun.

"Stop strugglin'! We're tryin' to help you!" Tenna insisted, wrapping his arms around my torso and pinning my own arms to my sides, lifting me into the air and simply carrying me away further. "Boomstick, we gotta go!" He called over his shoulder.

"Jus' one more blast for good measure!" Boomstick shouted back, accompanied by another deafening roar of his 'Boomy'. "Ah'right, now we run!"

My ears were perpetually ringing, giving me a hint as to why the brothers were always so loud all the time. The feeling of sickness was starting to go away the further we got, but I was still incapacitated and unable to even move my arms where I wanted them to. This was partially because Tenna had pinned them to my sides, but mostly due to the overwhelming sickness of being away from Rufio. It wasn't as strong as it had been in the mines, but still powerful.

"You think she's gonna be alright?" Boomstick asked, huffing from keeping pace as the two ran away with me being held by Tenna. Earthen are very strong, I realized in my dazed state.

"We'll have ta see, Boomstick. I knew somethin' was funny about those mines, but Sanny here seems to be real bad with changeling magic." Tenna said between breaths and small leaps over obstacles that impeded our path.

"What's the plan?" Boomstick asked.

"We're goin' to Los Pegasus. Unnex should be able to fix this... hopefully."

"Unnex? That sod?"

"We'll have a proper talk about it when... we're not running, alright?" Tenna snapped back, leaping over a fallen log mid sentence.

After several more minutes and when the brothers could carry me no longer, they paused to catch their breath and recover.

"Think we lost em?" Boomstick gasped for breath, his hands on his hips as he paced around and kept his eyes on the lookout for anything moving in the treeline.

"They'd be swarming us if we hadn't." Tenna replied simply, setting me down on the ground while I covered my stomach in pain with my arms. "You're gonna be fine, Sanny; Don't you worry."

"Eugh." I groaned, curling into a ball in a vain attempt to make the sickness go away.

"How much ammo you got left?" Tenna asked Boomstick as he looked me over for any injuries or scrapes.

"Only used about six or eight shells. I got plenty if we get into a scrap again." Boomstick replied, putting more cylinders into his gun and snapping it back together when he was done.

"If things get dicey, you can always used the H-E Shot." Tenna suggested off hand, finding that I hadn't taken any injury worth worrying about.

"You sure? They might be more trouble'n they're worth in this forest." Boomstick asked with surprise, taking an orange cylinder from his chest belt and holding it up with an expression of worry.

"It's either death by changeling, or death by splinters and shrapnel." Tenna shrugged, unslinging 'Bertha' and putting his own cylinders into the gun.

"Ah, got ya." Boomstick agreed, swapping out the cylinders of red for the orange now.

"You okay, Sanny?" Tenna asked.

"My head feels like a river of fish trying to go upstream." I complained, the sickness having progressed around my body several times. My eyes were half lidded and fluttering in my attempts to keep them open while my hands tried to keep my head on my shoulders, pressing against my jaw and cheeks.

"Yeah, we're definitely going to take you to Los Pegasus with that much exposure." Tenna replied with finality, a click of Bertha for punctuation.

"Then we're gonna come back and shoot those Diamond Dogs and the Changelings." Boomstick agreed with a dark grin that promised many more loud booms to come.

The Dragon Tribe

by Queen Sanguine Dreams

The Ruins of Ponyville; Our Home

Avoiding Death By Zebra

Boomstick and Tenna

Influencing Friends

Mane-tenence

Touchy Subjects

Enter the Dogg

Manipulated Mind