Canis Fidelis: Harmony

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21

The sun set over the western coast of Equestria in an explosion of fiery orange colours that seemed to match the shades of the autumn leaves clinging to the cold brittle branches for dear life. Despite the distinct chill that hung in the air for this time of year, Princess Celestia smiled. She liked autumn, particularly the colour of it. There was just something so beautiful about watching the brown, red and orange leaves swirling free in the wind under the colourful sunset.

“Another perfect day,” the alicorn sighed. “Wouldn’t you agree, Philomena?”

There was a high pitched cry from the bird perched on the balcony railing. Lifting her head, the flame-feathered phoenix almost looked like she was mimicking the princess’ smile.

High atop the Canterlot Tower, Celestia stood on the balcony that overlooked the entire kingdom of Equestria. It had been her home for longer than she could remember, and it was with an air of pride she maintained her position to watch over it; to protect every one of her dear subjects.

Though the ponies of Equestria weren’t Princess Celestia’s subjects alone. For when night fell, and Celestia retreated for sleep, a new guardian watched over little ponies everywhere.

Celestia’s horn stopped glowing as little more than an inch of the sun continued to peek over the horizon. With a grin, she counted backwards from five.

“Two,” she whispered, “one...”

Right on time. The ripple of feathers fluttering in the wind rang out before a gentle thud on the marble floor behind her. The delicate clink of metal slippers walking in a quick stride followed, drowned only by her formal voice.

“Rest, my sister,” Celestia’s younger sister, Princess Luna announced as she moved to the taller alicorn’s side. “As always, I will guard the night.”

The smile on the older princess’ face only widened a little more. “There’s no need to be so formal all the time, Luna.”

Catching her older sisters smile, Luna mimicked the gesture. “Very well… ‘Tia,” she added putting emphasis on Celestia’s pet-name.

Celestia chuckled, but seeing a pulsing magical aura engulf Luna’s horn she didn’t retort. She didn’t want to distract from the moment.

Whereas autumn was her favourite time of year, this very moment was her favourite moment of the day. Twilight – surely a moment her protégé Twilight Sparkle might adopt in the future – but for now she would enjoy her sister’s handling of these fleeting moments between light and dark.

Luna licked her lips, closing her eyes with calm focus. Celestia watched quietly as if her sister were about to paint her masterpiece.

Her nights were always a masterpiece.

A moderate cobalt blue light bulb blinked to life within Luna’s horn. The appendage shimmered with energy as a sudden wind whipped up around the princesses. Catching, her night-sky mane billowed upward and stretched through the sky above them, like a preview of what was to come. While her mane twisted and coiled through the darkening sky, her tail did the same; stretching in the opposite direction towards the crescent of sun still poking over the shimmering horizon.

The tip of her tail snaked and twisted through the sky, cutting a swathe of darkness splattered with white dots and an aura of dark blue through the burning orange light. The delicate strands at the tip seemed to touch the edge of the sun while her mane seemed to reach over the eastern horizon.

She pushed and pulled at the same time. While gently nudging the sun behind the horizon, she coaxed the timid moon into the sky. The transition was instant. The sky darkened to a dark purple colour. The moon’s pale glow bathed Equestria in harsh shadows as the sunlight was replaced by the comparatively cold moonlight.

A ripple of distortion ripped across the sky as she withdrew the magical aura of her mane and tail. In the wake of the ‘blast wave’ she prickled her canvas with clean dots of varying intensity. Looking at the vast desert of stars spread across the night, Celestia couldn’t help smirk.

Showoff.

Hardly anypony knew exactly how much effort Luna put into the transition between day and night. Hardly anypony knew how much effort she put into her trade. It was an art to her.

Nopony knowing what she put into her night… it was a waste.

Luna seemed happy though. She seemed happy roaming the night, protecting the land under her blanket of night, and protecting the dreams of her subjects at the same time. Every night, it was just business as usual.

But Celestia still worried. It was her responsibility to keep everypony – Luna included – safe. It was her job to worry.

The nights were cold and quiet. Lonely, and she had nopony – not even a pet – to keep her company. Looking to the loyal phoenix perched on her back, Celestia slowly walked up to Luna’s side.

“Luna? Perhaps you would like Philomena to keep you company tonight?” it was an offer Celestia made every night.

And as per usual, like it was part of their own little ritual, Luna would answer, “There is no need, sister. I will be fine.”

But tonight Celestia took her sister by surprise by adding; “Perhaps I should stay up tonight. To keep you company. It must get awfully lonely in the tower all night.”

Luna blinked a few times with surprise before rounding on Celestia. Her expression betrayed her thoughts accurately. “N-no, that is quite alright. It should be fine.”

Celestia didn’t move. She looked unconvinced.

“It’s fine, ‘Tia,” Luna assured with a brave grin. “I will see you at breakfast tomorrow.”

Celestia nodded with a secret chuckle. Breakfast. Of course, Luna’s breakfast was actually lunch. She would retreat to her bed shortly before Celestia raised the sun in the morning, and she wouldn’t emerge until midday. It was a hectic sleeping schedule, and she wondered how the alicorn of the night stuck it. But somehow she did.

Leaning closer, Celestia nuzzled Luna’s cheek. The younger princess immediately shrank away.

“‘Tia!” Luna pouted like a teenager being embarrassed in front of her friends by her parents. “I’m on watch!”

“Just be careful,” Celestia pleaded with a warm smile. “If there is any trouble...”

“... come and get you. I know.” Luna said practically urging Celestia to go.

Nodding, the taller alicorn finally turned and walked off to the far end of the balcony. Her magnificent wings spread to their full length, and taking her example the phoenix on her back did the same. Philomena launched herself into the air as the princess hopped over the railing. Celestia’s wing’s arched as they caught on the air, whipping her out of sight on an invisible force.

Watching her disappear, Luna sighed with relief. Finally she was alone. Just like she was used to. She had grown so accustomed to the loneliness night brought; it had become a comfort.

At least in loneliness she didn’t have to wear a mask.

Some time ago she had attempted to blend in with her subjects after being secluded from them for so long. It had been a disaster. So much had changed since her banishment as the wicked Nightmare Moon. And even as she learned how to behave in modern society, she felt like she was throwing a part of herself away just for the sake of fitting in. Like she had become an actor in some terribly written play. She liked to be formal. She liked the ancient ways and traditions. The familiarity gave her comfort.

But now she only felt comfort when she wasn’t trying to fit in.

Her only comfort was loneliness.

Her train of thought was derailed as her night was invaded. It was like a blast, a brilliant flash polluting her blanket of darkness. Fingers of the white light clawed at the sky, twisting between the jagged branches of the Everfree Forest canopy before fading in a near instant.

Luna kept her eyes fixed on the section of the dark woods from which the flash of light had escaped. It was far below her, beyond the foot of the Canterlot Mountain, roughly half and hour’s flight away. Though that didn’t bother her.

It was the fact the disturbance was practically on Ponyville’s doorstep that bothered her the most.

Luna knew full well what she was supposed to do. Celestia insisted she be called should something serious happen during the night. Luna knew her sister was fiercely protective, not just of her but of her subjects as well. She would want to know about this.

Princess Luna hesitantly looked the way Celestia had flown to her room. No doubt she was enjoying the end of her day; probably reading one of Twilight Sparkle’s friendship reports in bed with a glass of milk. She didn’t really want to bother her big sister with what may well be nothing. It could just be Zecora brewing up something.

But on the other hand, the Everfree Forest was not only home to zebra sages and crumbling ruins. There were dark things in the deepest recesses of the woods. Dark things even Luna would hesitate to engage. And if one of those things were wandering close to Ponyville...

Luna leaned back, lowering her head and spreading her wings. Her mind was made. It wasn’t worth calling Celestia just yet. And it was definably unacceptable to overlook it. She would have a quick look first; be absolutely sure whether or not Ponyville was in any danger.

Leaping forward, Luna flapped her wings and took flight to investigate...

He inhaled sharply through his nose. The smell of sweat and blood still overwhelmed his senses.

The breeze felt cold on his wet nose. The bristly grass felt damp even through his insulating layers of fur. His chest heaved as the German Shepherd sighed deeply testing the wind. The salty smell of human faded; replaced with the smell of nature.

Grass, dirt, moss, flowers, bark, leaves…

The smell of a cold autumn night. It reminded him of home. The outdoor kennels where he’d retreat after a hard day of play and training. It reminded him of the nature trails where he and his fellow Military Working Dogs were treated to a nice long hike off the leash once a week.

Bungee peeled open his eyes and strained to focus. Keeping perfectly still he waited for his irises to adjust to the low light. He was prone, laid on his side with his legs spread out to one side. All that moved was his chest as he breathed calmly.

Very slowly Bungee lifted his head, bits of soggy leaves and moss clinging to the side of his face. The dog gave a little shake, letting the debris fall as he looked around the dark woods.

He remembered the endless desert from earlier. He remembered the dried out compound. He remembered chasing Lieutenant Rouke through a dark hole in space. He didn’t remember anything about a forest.

Taking in the sights as he rose to his paws, Bungee panted almost happily forgetting his troubles for a few moments. He liked forests. Not for any particular reason. Instinct told him they were good. The tangled undergrowth and the canopy hanging high above his head was a comfort. Forests were home to things he could eat. Forests were sheltered, rife with positions he could naturally sit camouflaged. Forests were an Eden designed to sustain creatures like him.

The dog quickly found his focus though; lowering his nose to the ground to take a few sniffs. He still had a job to do. And if he followed Rourke to this forest, the man wouldn’t be far away.

Alas, Bungee quickly lost the scent. His senses were overpowered by the smells of the forest. But it was different from the nature trails back home. This forest was clean. Pure. There were no underlying tones of human. No pollution.

Bungee looked up through the claw-like branches of the trees and spotted the stars on the inky night sky. The pale full moon stood vigil, and Bungee fought the natural instinct to howl. It was the first time he’d seen a moon so clear, unobstructed by layers of smog and other airborne garbage.

Bungee was definitely not in Kansas anymore.

Lowering his gaze to the undergrowth, he took a few tentative steps forward. Wherever he was, instinct and a dash of practiced common sense told the dog whatever world he was in worked on the same basic rules of home. The air was breathable. The foliage looked edible, so no doubt the animals were too. The smells were fresher, but they were familiar. He’d be able to filter through them to catch Rourke’s trail again – that he didn’t doubt.

The only aspect on which Bungee was lost was where to begin.

Taking a deep breath, Bungee made sure to commit Lieutenant Rourke’s appearance and smell to memory. He made sure the relevant data was seared into his brain.

Then with a small leap, the dog galloped off into the dark forest; nose down in search of shelter. It was getting cold, so Bungee’s survival instinct told him to bed down for the night. A cave would be a perfect place to hold up, but he’d settle for a fox-hole or a dense shrub. Anywhere sheltered from the elements – and more importantly – from view.

Eventually he found what he was looking for.

It didn’t take him long, and he didn’t wander too far from the clearing he’d woken up in. less than a hundred metres further up was another clearing tucked up against the edge of a steep drop off. Cut underneath the drop off was something of a hollow. It was bedded with moss and re-enforced with a thick tangle of roots from the tree growing on top of the overhang. With a curtain of grass hanging over the hollow, it was well sheltered and camouflaged. A perfect spot for Bungee to retreat for the night, especially in foreign terrain.

Crawling into the hollow, the German Shepherd curled up to conserve body heat. In the comforting glow of the morning sun he planned to find some higher ground and get a lay of the land. From there he’d be able to assess Rourke’s escape route and begin tracking the human properly.

Considering he was permitted a good night’s rest. Something that might not be granted judging by the noise that filled the dog’s ears no sooner had he settled down.

His ears twitched, then perked up. Bungee tiredly lifted his head and angled his gaze under the curtain of grass obscuring his view from the rest of the clearing. The grinding sound of rocks shifting through dirt was impossible not to hear. He didn’t need super hearing to detect it, as it was so close he could even feel the vibrations of the shifting dirt under his body.

Sniffing, Bungee tried to detect what could be causing the tremors. A mole perhaps? Maybe he’d invaded the hollow of a family of rabbits? If so, that was breakfast sorted at the very least.

Alas; Bungee caught no scent of the local wildlife. And that was when he realised something unsettling. He was disappointed in himself that he hadn’t noticed it before. He caught no scent whatsoever of the local wildlife. He didn’t even hear the song of evening birds. Not even the buzz of insects. There was nothing. The forest had been perfectly still up until that point.

It had been dead.

Shuffling forward, Bungee poked his head through the curtains of grass. His view of the clearing unobstructed, the dog felt a jolt of adrenaline yank all sleepiness out of his system. What he saw was something he could barely comprehend. No training, experience nor instinct enlightened him on what he was seeing. He was simply staring at it, without understanding how or why. But that didn’t change the fact it was happening.

Geysers of dirt plumed up in the clearing, scattering blocks of clay and clods of grass into the air; raining down in a heavy haze. Stub-ended limbs clawed out of the earth, stamping at the wet grass and pulling forth the attached bodies. The scent hit Bungee in an instant as he clambered to his paws, putting himself between the emerging creatures and his lodging.

One by one the beasts emerged, clambering onto all fours and shambling about trying to orient themselves. Bungee was stunned. They were unlike anything he had ever seen before. They were unlike anything that should have been able to live.

The scent came first. It was overpowering. Dizzying. It was so thick it seemed to make the air around the creatures haze and distort. It smelled like carrion; old, rotten meat having festered and rotten in a swampy ditch and taken on the additional aroma of decayed vegetation.

Then there was the sight of them.

Three of them – four legged creatures, they were like horses. Only they weren’t like horses. Too petite and too pudgy, they were better classified as ponies – and even still only a little bit bigger than Bungee.

But at the same time they weren’t ponies. Not really. They were better described as corpses.

The fur – what was left of it – was a sickly green colour, and the yellowed flesh underneath was mottled with putrid yellow sores and bits of decay. The eye-sockets were empty, black pits but seeing none the less. Blackened, pointy teeth filled the maws that snapped at the air and their mindless groans warbled by broken vocal chords escaped their throats. They were dead. But at the same time alive, driven by a single simple purpose.

Consume.

Fixing their empty gazes on the dog – spotting the opening feast to celebrate their new lives – the undead ponies slowly made their way forward, soft looking hooves shuffling through the grass. They closed in slowly at practically a snail’s pace. It gave Bungee time to think about what to do.

Years of threat-assessment and escalation-of-force training kicked in. His brain working with machine-like logic seemed to tick off a mental checklist exactly as he had been taught. But even still, how to deal with the problem at hand was a recluse.

He didn’t dare lunge at them. If he did, Bungee would have to bite. And wrapping his mouth around the putrid flesh of the zombie ponies was not an appetising idea.

Instead he assessed the creatures’ speed of movement. They were slow and shambling, while Bungee was quick and agile. He could easily outrun them; but this was his spot. He wasn’t going to give it up so easily.

So, lowering his head, Bungee snapped out a fierce bark. He was going to have to settle for intimidation, just like he’d been trained. Normally though he’d expect a tug at his collar as an order from his handler to intimidate a target. Unfortunately he had to think for himself that night.

Thinking to how he’d trained with Samantha made Bungee to think of how the woman had died again. He felt a pang of sadness grip his heart, but he quickly shook it off with another loud bark. It wasn’t the time for grief yet. That came after.

After he found Rourke and tore his throat out.

The undead ponies didn’t flinch though. Their trajectory was unchanged and they kept advancing on the German Shepherd.

Bungee backed off, his tail brushing the curtain of grass covering the overhang. He barked again, and again, practically barking himself hoarse.

Multiple questions sprang to mind. He wondered who – if anyone – would hear his barking. He wondered if anyone would come to his aid. He wondered what berthed these monsters in the first place.

All questions were quelled as Bungee retreated one more step, his rear practically pressed into the hollow as he was cornered by the three undead ponies. As they closed in the stench of rotten lemons became even stronger. Bungee tried to hold his breath, but his eyes still watered. His heart hammered against the inside of his ribcage as the rush of adrenaline and lack of fresh air made his head spin.

He didn’t stop barking, still hesitant to strike. There was little else he could do short of running. And when the monsters were only a metre away did Bungee see no other choice.

Cursing himself and whatever unholy force that gave the zombie ponies life, Bungee threw himself sideways and dashed around their flank. The nearest pony snapped at the dog, but the teeth cracked and chipped against each other as the zombie caught only air in the wake of Bungee's tail.

Whipping around, Bungee kept his eyes fixed on the monsters, smoothly backing away towards the edge of the clearing. Once he was safe in the undergrowth he’d turn and run to find a new shelter for the night. Not that he’d be able to sleep very well having just seen an advance of decayed ponies.

Before the dog reached the edge of the clearing though, something happened.

A beam of light blasted them all from above. At first Bungee thought a cloud had shifted to reveal the moon, and was once more fighting the urge to howl. However, the light wasn’t from the moon. It held the same kind of power. The same comfort and ‘warmth,’ but the beam was far too intence. It was like a concentrated burst of moonlight projected through the darkness.

And the beam only widened as the source glode down into the clearing.

The creature descending through the blinding light like an angel about to deliver a righteous smiting was a female. Most definitely a she. And like the decaying monstrosities, she was a pony.

Though the size of a full-grown mare, Bungee could tell by her slender build and petite features she was more like a pony. But at the same time not quite. Ponies – as far as Bungee was aware – didn’t have grand feathered wings like those of a bird, and didn’t have long, pointed spiral-engraved horns protruding from their foreheads. Ponies didn’t have wavering manes and tails that glowed like a night sky pockmarked with glittering stars. Ponies didn’t have night-blue coats with crescent moons stamped on their flanks. Ponies didn’t wear metal slippers on their hooves and a tiara as black as midnight to match the sleek chest-piece.

However the elegant creature touching down before Bungee had all of the above.

The grand pony landed delicately on all fours with her chin held high and a cold, professional look in her eyes – curling her wingtips downward a little only serving to make her presence all the more imposing. Even as the searing light projected from her horn faded, no longer burning into the rotten flesh of the undead monsters – and melting the fear gripping Bungee’s heart – they hissed and instinctively retreated from the grand pony.

“Princess-sssssssss Lunaaaaaa-hssssssss!” one of the beasts hissed venomously.

Another one stood his ground while the final cowered completely trying to hide the remaining half of its face behind a putrid hoof.

The grand pony, Princess Luna as the vile monsters called her huffed, narrowing her eyes.

“Hateful creatures,” she stated before inhaling sharply. What came next was not merely her voice, but a torrent. It shook the ground and caused the air before her to waver and distort. Undergrowth exploded, grass was flattened and trees were bent over, snapping like toothpicks.

“BEGONE!” she bellowed with the zombie ponies caught in the funnel of destruction.

The undead ponies were torn apart by wind and fire. Rotten flesh was seared and charred as they were combusted – peeled from their bones and the ash and embers scattered in the wind. Their skeletons glowed like hot iron before they were pulled apart and disintegrated into clouds of fine grey dust lost in the woods.

One moment they were there cowering from Princess Luna. And the next they were not.

All that was left was a patch of flattened grass and the smell of burnt hair and flesh.

Bungee watched as the pony lifted her head and cried out, her voice returning to normal volume. “Grogar, we know thou art out here ye snivelling coward! Show thyself!”

There was no reply. No evidence of this ‘Grogar’ being anywhere nearby. No sign of whatever had created the undead ponies.

Turning on the spot, Luna finally spotted the German Shepherd standing nearby. He gingerly edged closer to her as she folded her wings to her sides – nose twitching as the dog curiously sniffed at her hooves.

Smiling, Luna lowered her head to his height. “Well hello there, little doggie,” she said, careful to use her public voice. She didn’t want to speak too loudly or with command, for fear of distressing the dog.

Relaxing however; Bungee huffed as if to say, who is she calling little?

“What’s your name?” Luna proceeded to ask the German Shepherd, almost expecting him to answer. “Where’s your owner? Are you lost?”

Bungee didn’t answer, only cocking his head confusedly to one side. He was still trying to comprehend the fact this creature was speaking like a human did, never mind trying to decipher exactly what she was saying.

The cute gesture of confusion elicited a small giggle from the alicorn.

“Sit?” the grand pony asked softly, almost unsure.

Bungee just watched her without response. His jaw hung open as he breathed calmly, still stood on four paws. He saw her expression shift, clearly growing impatient. It was a shift from kindness to impatience he recognised from when his earliest handlers were training him to behave and react to their commands.

Her voice grew with her impatience before she commanded, “I said, SIT!”

That voice. It was so familiar. It sounded almost exactly like Samantha when she gave an order. Warm and kind, but at the same time commanding and overflowing with authority. Remembering his best friend, a pang of sadness seized Bungee’s heart; but he did as Princess Luna commanded - practically hearing Samantha's voice in her stead.

Quickly the German Shepherd sat back on his haunches, keeping his head high and attentive.

Luna smiled at the sight, satisfied by the dog’s obedience and posture; but also surprised her Royal Canterlot Command didn’t sent him whining off into the night. In fact, he didn’t really seem to react to anything other than her royal voice.

Everything about him, from the condition of his fur and musculature, even the vest covering his torso was precise. There was a wild but intelligent and determined look in the German Sheperd’s large hazel eyes. Like he had seen things that would scar lesser souls and come out on top none-the-less.

Reaching out with one hoof, she scratched the dog behind his ear. Closing his eyes and enjoying the contact, the canine panted happily. Luna giggled again seeing the dog’s tail beat the ground. That was when she noticed the gear covering his torso. Lowering her head she inspected his vest curiously.

“What an odd garment for a dog to wear,” she mused softly. She looked over the pouches, the flaps held down by velcro, even patting the antennae and other alien looking equipment. A quick magical scan told Luna the vest served as protection as well, housing some layers of armour that seemed to have saved the dog from a bullet that had flattened and burst on impact.

It begged some urgent questions like; why would a dog need such protection and who would be callous enough to shoot at a defenceless animal?

As her hoof scratched the collar, Luna saw a name embroidered in bright yellow capital letters.

BUNGEE

“Bungee?” the princess grinned. “Your name is Bungee? That’s a cute name. But where is your owner?”

She further investigated the pouches on Bungee’s rig. Maybe there would be a note with an address to take him to. She only found some dog-treats, a few helpings of food, a water bottle, a collapsible bowl and some kind of brick with a soft black panel laid into the surface, push-buttons and an antennae like that on the vest.

With a confused sigh, Luna’s hoof travelled up to the German Shepherd’s neck, flattening one last pouch on its way up. A loud squeak rang out, causing the princess to jolt.

Bungee too jolted, though not with fright or surprise. He jolted with joy.

His eyes lit up as he closed his mouth a little. With ears perked up he let his tail beat the ground harder as he watched Luna expectantly. Curiously the princess moved her hoof back to the pouch and pressed it again. Another squeak caused Bungee to sit up straighter with a look of fresh alertness entering his eyes.

Luna gingerly pulled open the pouch with a velcro ripping sound and charged her magic. Reaching inside with her telekinetic grip, she produced a ball. It looked no more interesting than a normal tennis-ball except for the hole with a squeaker set into the hardened shell. She tightened her telekinesis and gave the ball a squeeze.

It squeaked in response, eliciting an impatient bark from Bungee.

Luna smiled, holding up the ball and swaying it from side to side. Bungee’s gaze followed attentively, not once glancing away from the prize.

“You want this?” Luna asked almost teasingly. “You want the ball?” – Cocking it back, she launched the ball across the clearing causing it to bounce into the grass with a squeak – “Go get it!”

The ball had barely hit the ground by the time Bungee was on top of it. He’d leapt from a seated position and shot across the clearing like a bullet. Pouncing on top of the squeaky tennis-ball with both his front paws, he made it squeak loudly before happily picking it up in his teeth. Biting down he made it squeak several more times as he trotted back to where Luna stood waiting.

“Good boy!” the princess praised with a smile, scratching him behind an ear. Luna really wasn’t one to talk so informal around ponies, but chattering like a moron with this dog… it felt right.

Bungee let go of the ball, now coated in dog-slobber, and Luna caught it in her magic grip. The dog seemed well trained, and Luna wanted to see exactly how well trained.

Holding up the ball, Luna held it close to her chest.

“Bungee, sit.” She commanded, and the canine obeyed immediately. His eyes however remained fixed on the ball. “Bungee, stay.”

Figuring he’d obeyed since he didn’t budge, Luna slowly pulled the ball back and gently threw it past Bungee. His head turned to keep his eyes fixed on the toy, but he didn’t move.

The ball bounced once – twice – then rolled to a halt in the grass. And still, Bungee remained glued to Luna’s side, eyes fixed on his squeaky goal.

“Aaaaaaand,” Luna paused, watching as Bungee seemed to anticipate the order to fetch. He rose slightly from his seated position and craned his neck as if willing to stretch and grab his toy from where he stood. “Wait!” – Bungee twitched, but sat back down – “Aaaaaaaaand... go!”

Bungee was on his ball in two seconds flat. It squeaked loudly as he chewed and trotted back to Luna to play some more.

Dropping the ball by Luna’s fore-hooves, the dog sat down and looked at her expectantly again. Unfortunately Luna couldn’t play anymore. She had other things to do, primarily guard Equestria for the night. She would have to find his owner and drop him off.

A dog so beautiful, so well behaved and so well trained; his owner should have been close by. Luna looked around. Her horn glowed and her eyes turned as pale as the face of the moon while she scanned the surroundings thoroughly, but didn’t pick up a single life form. Not even a night owl, or a mouse staying up late.

There was nopony to be seen in the dark forest. And she couldn’t in good conscience leave the poor thing out there alone. So what to do…?

Author's Note

Edits:
05/07/13
- Fixed an error (paws instead of hooves)
- Made an edit to Luna's inspection of Bungee's gear

25

The sun touched Canterlot, beaming down light and warmth causing the evening condensation that clung to the land to evaporate into banks of low hanging mist. The streets of the city began to bustle with some activity in the early hours of the morning. Bakeries fired up their ovens, flooding the streets with the tantelising scent of baked goods. Shop owners opended up shutters and re-arranged window displays.

High above the streets in the highest palace tower Princess Celestia stood – her ever faithful phoenix huddled beside a mug of coffee, keeping it warm in the cold autumn morning. The princess’s mane and tail withdrew from the horizons in a similar display to Luna’s twilight, only this spectacle brought a burst of colours to the sky rather than a blanket of night.

Luna on the other hand was nowhere to be seen.

In her bedroom – a tower neighbouring the highest in the palace – the alicorn of the night dropped forward and hit her bed’s soft matress with a distinct ‘phlumph! ’ Several goose-feathers and silk blankets plumed into the air before settling gently on the princess’ back.

She was sprawled diagonally across the bed, her chin having missed the pillows completely. Her face was buried in the duvet, and her eyes were shut tight.

At least, they were – untill something hit the bed beside her.

A pair of paws sank into the sheets beside her head, drawing a groan from the tired princess. As her eyelids peeled open, the heavy bags under her eyes became even more evident. Shifting her gaze upward, she was greeted by doggy-breath.

Bungee inched his face closer to hers, panting heavily enough to blast the alicorn’s face with hot breath. His tongue rolled out the side of his maw as he seemed to watch her expectantly.

Luna sighed at the sight of the German Shepherd she had taken home last night.

“Of course,” she muttered to herself, remembering. “You must be hungry.”

With a long tired groan, Luna managed to get her hooves under herself and push herself into a standing position. With her head so low she was practcially dragging her chin over the ground she walked off the bed and Bungee bounded excitedly to her side. As the dog ran he snatched up the squeaky ball he’d so lovingly carried thus far.

Ordering him to sit, Luna quickly tweaked her magic over Bungee’s vest and worked to figure out how to take it off. She imagined he might sleep more comfortably without it. The plastic buckles clicked as they let go and she opened zippers before tugging the vest off over the dog’s head with her kinesis, leaving only his collar with nametag behind. Levitating it onto her writing desk, the princess quickly tore open one of the pouches with a hoof and produced a bag of food.

Licking his chops, Bungee hurriedly shuffled closer to Luna’s side, watching with rapt attention as Luna produced his food-bowl and poured a measured helping of food. Turning with the bowl balanced in her magic, Luna slowly placed it down next to her desk. She half expected Bungee to have tackled her by now, but the same way they had played in the Everfree Forest, Bungee waited for the order to eat.

Luna smiled a little seeing the dog crane his neck to sniff the edge of his bowl. But he didn’t dare leap on it without permission.

“Okay, Bungee. You can-...” Luna’s eyes widened.

She had barely finished the final syllable of his name when the German Shepherd was face down in the bowl, happily scarfing down his breakfast. Smiling with a shake of her head, Luna was reminded of the times she’d spotted the pegasus named Soarin from the Wonderbolts enjoying a good apple pie.

As Bungee had his breakfast, Luna turned her attention to the dog’s gear laying on her desk. Biting her bottom lip, she wondered how to proceed. Her eyes shifted downwards at Bungee happily eating his breakfast before Luna’s horn began to glow with magic. Pulling up a chair and sitting down, the princess decided to rifle through the pouches on the vest again; properly this time.

She pried the flattened projectile out of the armour-layer, then placed it on the dark stained surface of the writing-desk. Shifting her collection of crumpled parchment, empty bottles of ink and dull quills to one side, she then opened all the pouches and pulled out everything within.

She organised everything according to size, and then re-categorised what she recognised and what she did not. To the left she found herself looking at simple and obvious things, like Bungee’s water bottle and food as well as what looked like a grooming and dental kit. On the right half of the desk she had filed some inexplicable devices, as well as the vest itself among what looked like a plastic cartridge with metal diodes – marked with plus and minus mathmatical symbols respectively – and some kind of plastic brick.

Curiously Luna pulled on the antennae that sat on the dog’s back. It was like some kind of hinged unicorn’s horn, only a scan produced no kind of magic Luna was familiar with. Looking to the side of the antennae she spotted what looked like a suitcase handle of sorts. Only it was loose at the front, and hinged at the back. Taking it in one hoof she gave the handle a good tug, causing it to snap upwards with with sharp ‘click!’

Blinking, the princess found herself looking into a square glass face, behind which was a circular lens. It was like the lens of a common camera, only much more sophisticated than anything she had seen in Equestria.

Putting down the vest, Luna picked up the object that looked like a brick adorned with buttons and a pair of black straps. Holding it in her magical grip, she pressed the device agiasnt her right fetlock and worked the straps around her front leg. Curiously she flexed the antennae similar to that on Bungee’s vest before she found a big round green button on the side.

“Green means go,” Luna mused with an optomistic grin, and with the edge of her hoof she pressed it.

The device hummed. The rectangular depression lit from black to a glowing light grey. And amoment later Luna found herself looking in a mirror – sort of. She was looking at herself, but she wasn’t looking at herself looking at herself like she would be if she were looking in a mirror. She was looking at herself with her gaze angled downward at her foreleg.

With wide eyes Luna darted her gaze upward and stared into the camera lens on Bungee’s vest before looking down at the device strapped to her leg. She went on like that for a good long while; even after the crunching sounds of Bungee’s eating were replaced by a pronounced burp.

While the dog stood patiently watching what Luna was doing, the alicorn princess slowly came to a realisation the device on her leg was able to project what the camera lens on Bungee’s vest was seeing. Testing some of the other buttons, she was able to adjust the zoom, angle of the gaze, lay some strange light and colour filters over the image. And eventually she figured out with the device somepony could see what Bungee was seeing, without nessicarily being in the same room with him.

“Your owner must be some sort of spy,” Luna thought out loud with a blank monotone. Even as she said it she felt the theory was terribly cheesy.

Turning off the device, Luna packed everything back into Bungee’s vest and left the gear on her desk. She’d let the dog go without it for a while so he’d be more comfortable. Picking up his bowl and leaving it next to the laundry basket for the chamber-maids to clean later, Luna gave Bungee a quick belly-rub and retreated once more to her bed.

Just like before, she tiredly threw herself forward and landed with a ‘phlumph,’ this time managing to land her face in the pillows. Her eyes were shut and she swam in a relaxing darkness letting sleep take her.

‘SQUEAK!’

Luna’s heart skipped a beat as her eyes jerked open again. At the exact same time Bungee landed on all fours on the bed beside Luna, dropping his ball on the pillow next too her head. before Luna could even think of reprimanding him, Bungee leaned in close and nuzzled the side of her face with his cold wet nose.

“What the-...” Luna opened her mouth to say something more only to have the dog plant a long lick right across the side of the pony’s face. “ACK! Bungee!”

With an excitable groan the dog backed off, his rear legs slipping over the edge of the bed, but his front paws still propped up on the matress. His bark that followed was a high pitched variation, as if to say; C’mon! What are you doing laying down? We got stuff to do!

Looking between the ball on her pillow and the dog watching her closely, Luna gave a long sigh. Bungee was a healthy athletic dog, that much was obvious. And what else should have been obvious was to attain that health and athleticism he must have had a strict training and exercise regime.

“I’m not getting any sleep untill you have morning exercise, am I?” the princess figured.

Bungee panted, seemingly smiling as if to confirm the pony’s suspicions.

Whereas sun touched Canterlot; the sun did not reach a certain little building in the Everfree Forest.

Built far deeper into the woods than any pony dared tread – deeper than even Zecora dared explore – the house was built with natural stone and cemented with twisted grey thorny brambles and vibrant green moss. The low walls were balanced at uneven angles that tapered towards the flat roof made of mouldy logs laid directly across the top with ferns and other weeds growing across. There was a single chimney spitting smoke into the air that hung low in the forest causing a smelly haze to blanket the area.

There were no windows. There were no pleasant features bar a muddy stairway leading down into house that looked more like a compound than a home. There was only the reek of death surrounding it, coupled with the visual aids of crucified avian wildlife nailed to the walls and the skulls of various other animals sat on pikes. Blood stained the porch like something no longer clinging to its mortal coil was dragged inside.

Even in autumn, some of the canopy leaves stubbornly clung to the claw like branches overhead, blocking the morning sun and shrouding the building in gloomy shadows. Inside was similarly gloomy – and grim.

Oil lamps and a fire in the hearth cast harsh flickering shadows throughout the compound. Wooden dividers compartmentalised the space inside, with a basement stairway leading deeper into the earth in the far corner-room. The main chamber had an uneven earthen floor, and smelled heavily of decay. Tables and work surfaces were built from a mixture of wood and bones of larger creatures. The walls were lined with shelves, stacked with various alchemical ingredients as well as multi-coloured specimen jars home to preserved... pieces – for lack of better description. More skulls and decayed wildlife served as décor, providing a rather nice homely feel for Grogar of Tambelon.

His little compound reminded him of home. It was his own little personal slice of heaven. Though all he was missing was the throne that gave him ultimate power over Equestria and all ponykind. But that was a work in progress. First things first, his conquest had to begin. But one could not conquer without an army.

And that was where his frustration lay.

“Worthless!” the stout ram bellowed. Rearing back on his rear legs, he locked his hooves on the nearest table and flipped it over sending the surgical tools atop it skittering across the room in a glittering display.

“Worthless!” Grogar repeated, whipping around with his angry eyes aglow with a bloody aura and a hot mist huffing from his flaring nostrils.

Seeing his rage, several of his experimental minions cringed and retreated shyly. The zombie ponies akin to those he raised in the Everfree clearing last night – shortly before Princess Luna decimated them with naught but her vocal chords – managed to limp and shamble out of the way as their master barged through their midst. Had they not moved he surely would have trampled them into pieces just for the fun of it.

“Unacceptable! UNACCEPTABLE!” the ram bellowed, giving into the habit of monologuing, even if it was only for himself. It certainly wasn’t for his witless minions. “Damnable princess with her damnable voice! She tore right through my latest experimental warriors! Months I worked on them. These undead creatures are WORTHLESS!”

The small brass bell hanging from the thick leather collar strung around Grogar’s neck began to glow a putrid green colour. A similar aura surrounded the contents laying on one of his surgical beds where a partially dissected zombie pony lay writhing in confusion. With a crash all the individual pieces were sent flying across the room in an attempt to ease the ram’s frustration.

He had just left the head laying there. Looking down at his scattered body parts, the zombie pony rolled what was left of his eyes and sighed deeply.

In the meantime Grogar charged through the midst of his clumsy minions again. Only this time a three legged pony wasn’t quite fast enough to move, and her face became acquainted with one of Grogar’s thick, curled horns. Collapsing to the ground with stars circling her half decayed head, she was quickly picked up by her fellow zombies. Not much use, since she seemed to lose another leg as they dusted her off.

They quickly hid the freshly dismembered limb behind their backs and gave innocent decayed smiles as Grogar whirled to inspect them with narrowed eyes. The two-legged zombie mare keeled over and slammed face-first into the floor. Turning back to his glass display case home to a collection of old artefacts, the ram tore open one of the doors and reached inside towards one of his more recently acquired relics.

“Damn you, Tirek. And damn your Rainbow of Darkness.” – Grogar lifted a small leather pouch in one cloven hoof then threw it across the room with a ‘hrmph!’ – “It was not worth trading my soul.” Rubbing his goatee thoughtfully, the ram’s thick lips twisted into a small smile around the sharp tusks and fangs that protruded from mouth. “But at least I’ll savour the stupid look on his face the day he tries to cash in.”

One of the zombie ponies with both his bloodshot eyes still intact looked cross eyed at the Rainbow of Darkness now embedded in his squishy, partially melted face. Impatiently Grogar walked over and bucked the zombie pony in the flank, tearing the pouch from the zombie’s face with his putrid telekinesis.

Looking at the ancient artefact of evil, the demonic ram sighed as he mused, “These decayed monsters are no good. Incompetent, slow, brainless and weak! I need to try fresher corpses. But there are so few in the Everfree Forest. And the graveyards are all sanctified. That will not do. Not at all.”

That was when thunder and lightning filled his demesne of decay and demise. Grogar was startled, mainly since he had not conjured either, despite the urge to in his rage and disappointment.

And then he saw his minions fall. They dropped one at a time in explosions of gelatine and shards of bone. Their heads popped like over-inflated balloons spreading more of a mess across the trashed laboratory. With each flash and bang another zombie pony would fall until only one was left.

The two legged mare was still writhing face down on the ground, her butt stuck up in the air as she tried to shamble around without forelegs.

Whipping around, Grogar looked to the entrance of his home. On the muddy steps leading down to where his compound was dug into the forest floor stood a figure, framed in the daylight that began to spill into the space. The silhouette was like one he had seen only once before.

Suspicion was painted all over Grogar’s face as he felt a very old instinctive dread rise up from his gut as he identified the silhouette.

“Need fresh corpses? Why not create some?” the figure asked as it stepped into the lamplight, causing the shadows to peel back and reveal his unique features.

Straight bipedal form, black and silver hair with dark eyes, hands with digits – five on each – and clad in sandy coloured fatigues. There was a weapon in both hands – a pistol, but unlike any pistol Grogar had ever seen. The barrel was not a metal tube with wood furnishings but almost black shaped with a black finish. The flintlock hammer was non-existent, boggling the ram’s mind how it even fired in the first place. And then there was the fact it had fired several shots accurately in quick succession, it was clearly a weapon advanced well beyond anything Equestria had developed thus far.

Grogar’s suspicions of what the owner of the weapon was were confirmed in an instant. The figure was indeed human. Human like the one who had defeated him before all those aeons ago. A time before Equestria had formed. A time before Princess Celestia and Luna ruled the day and night skies. Back when Grogar was trying to conquer Ponyland.

Megan. The girl’s name still left a bitter aftertaste on his tongue, so he did not dare say it.

Though this human before the ram was not like her. A male, he was taller, wider and definitely older. Clad in fatigues obviously intended to be uniform, designed to protect, camouflage and pose intimidation on foes. The design certainly worked in all aspects, Grogar had to admit.

Though Grogar had to wonder if he felt intimidated by the human’s stance, uniform and skill… or perhaps he simply hated humans of all shapes and forms since his defeat at the hands of the Megan girl.

Though this human didn’t seem to be advancing on him. He didn’t seem interested in harming Grogar, but simply dispatched his minions to hammer his offer home.

Why not create some corpses?

Was the human offering to help him build an army? Or was this some sort of ruse? Grogar wasn’t sure, but never-the-less he found himself squinting with intrigue.

“Continue…”

The same way the Canterlot tower was home to some strict schedules in the evening time; around midday the Canterlot gardens would abide by similar schedule.

In the midday sun – weather permitting of course – Princess Celestia would schedule an hour of free time. She would always sit on the same garden chair at the iron table with a seat set opposite her. She always chose the same white tablecloth with rose-red silk napkins, and always ordered the same brunch be brought up from the royal kitchens.

Scones freshly baked that morning with sweet whipped cream, strawberry preserve and butter. And she always made sure to have a bowl with ice-cold milk and a box of cereal set opposite her for the inevitable arrival of her dear younger sister.

Luna would often join her at exactly eleven o’clock, having her own breakfast close to midday. However, much to Celestia’s shock, it had been Luna who made it to the gardens first, waiting for the older princess with her scones all laid out and ready.

It was odd to find Luna out of bed early, but it mattered little. After all, it wasn’t the oddest thing to happen that day.

Their brunch meetings were – in an official capacity – a debriefing period. It was time Luna would normally use to report any disturbances in the night, or any other issues to Celestia so she’d be up to speed on what was happening in Equestria under the stars. Personally, Celestia preferred to consider their meetings a civil meal shared by siblings allowing them to socialise. After all, their different sleeping schedules and varying duties would often separate them, so Celestia cherished every moment she could spend with Luna.

And normally Celestia would have plenty to say, eagerly chatting with her younger sister, often drawing conversation away from the nightly report. Though today…

Today she had no words…

“… so I thought it might be nothing. It turned out to be some undead creatures,” Luna finished reporting. “Likely another of Grogar’s necromantic experiments. They were dealt with easily; there was no need to concern you at all hours of the night. I hope you’re alright with this.”

“Uh-huh.” Celesta didn’t say anything more, her scone laying forgotten on the china dish set before her. She couldn’t find the words as her large eyes remained fixed on the tennis ball fixed in her sister’s kinetic grip.

Her eyes shifted left to follow the chew-toy, then darted right as Luna absently threw it across the garden lawn. The white alicorn watched in amazement as the German Shepherd standing vigil by Luna’s side darted off after the ball.

“Celestia?” Luna asked finally noticing her sister’s trance. “Are you alright?”

“Yes!” Princess Celestia confirmed loudly, snapping out of her daze as the dog brought back the ball and dropped it beside Luna’s chair. “I’m simply concerned is all. This seems quite serious.”

“I agree.” Luna nodded.

“After all, this has gone on too long.”

“Indeed.”

“It’s quite shocking, really.”

“Of course it is.”

“I mean, are the pet shops and kennels even open after midnight?”

“I kno-… uh…” Princess Luna blinked hard a few times with confusion. “Pardon?”

“This is indeed a very dire situation,” Celestia continued gravely. “After all; look at this.” She pointed down at the German Shepherd, smiling broadly with a mixture of glee and disbelief. “YOU HAVE A PET!”

Luna sighed, slapping a hoof over her face. “Ugh.” Of course, after everything she had reported about Grogar and zombie ponies in the Everfree Forest; Celestia only came away with the fact Luna had a canine friend.

“What’s his name?” Celestia asked eagerly, leaning over to scratch the dog’s ear. He let her, panting happily.

“This is Bungee,” Luna introduced impatiently. “What about Grogar? Shouldn’t we do something about that menace?”

“Grogar may be evil, but he’s also without ambition. His experiments will remain exactly that. Experiments,” Celestia said unworried. “Not to worry. He hasn’t harmed anypony yet, and he doesn’t have the spine to. We can handle him in due time. Why a dog?” she suddenly asked changing the subject. “Don’t get me wrong, he’s beautiful. But wouldn’t you prefer a companion who could fly and keep up with you?”

“He has a harness, I can carry him with ease if I have to. Besides, Bungee is surprisingly quick on his paws. Sister, we really need to focus on Grogar-…”

“Where did you get him? Was Fluttershy up late last night?”

Luna sighed explosively, throwing Bungee’s ball again and letting her chin hit the table with a thud that rattled the china. There was clearly no chance they’d talk about what to do about Grogar until she got this out of her older sister’s system.

“No, I found him.” Luna explained. “He was cornered by some zombie ponies. I searched the forest thoroughly, but I couldn’t find his owner. Perhaps he wandered off. So I took him home to take care of him.”

Celestia’s expression changed as she watched Bungee come back with his ball, dropping it by the older alicorn’s side this time. Celestia’s horn glowed with golden light as she plucked up the ball in her own magical aura and threw it for the dog.

Celestia wasn’t smiling anymore. In fact, she looked remorseful.

“Are you sure you should keep him, Luna?” she asked.

Luna’s eyes widened with panic as Bungee came running back. Jumping down from her seat, the princess quickly wrapped her forelegs around the dog, hugging him tight against her chest. Curiously Bungee looked up at her and licked her chin.

“I remembered to feed him!” Luna assured like a panicked foal sensing the stray puppy that followed her home was about to be sent away. “I can take care of him! Why can’t I keep him?”

Celestia smiled warmly, closing her eyes and shaking her head calmly. “That’s not what I meant, Luna,” she said soothingly. “I meant; he has a collar. He is well fed, well groomed and well taken care of. He clearly belongs to somepony already.”

Casting her eyes downward, Luna gave a sad nod as she sighed, “I know.”

“And they’re probably worried to death.”

“I know!” Luna nodded more vigorously. “I was going to take him to Ponyville today and ask around. I was going to hang up posters too.”

Celestia smiled warmly, a little pride for her sister’s sense of responsibility swelling up in her chest. “It is for the best, Luna… but,” – the taller alicorn cocked an eyebrow, raising a hoof to her crooked grin – “taking him to a kennel might be unpleasant. Until somepony comes forward, you could of course keep taking care of him.”

Princess Luna’s face brightened to rival the sun’s summer-time glare. “Really!? Oh, thankyou-thankyou-thankyou, ‘Tia!” Luna cried as she leapt up and bounded off across the garden, beckoning Bungee to follow.

With an excited bark the dog galloped after Luna as she went to have some posters printed and organise a chariot to take them to Ponyville. Celestia rose to her hooves tempted to follow.

Though sensing she wouldn’t be able to keep up she instead opted to call after her sister; “Just so long as you clean up after him!”

Even as she said it, Celestia took one step and her hoof landed in something soft and wet. Closing her eyes with a shudder, she didn’t dare look down for fear of what she’d stepped in.

That better be a cupcake…

After weapons were holstered and they sat down over a cup of root-tea, Grogar found his fear and mistrust of the human grossly misplaced. This ‘Rourke’ fellow – as he had introduced himself – was rather civil. Objective, formal and serious. But civil. He clearly had an agenda in mind. But that was alright.

Grogar had one too.

“… thus my home, Tambelon remains in Tartarus,” Grogar finished telling of his previous stint in the world of ponies. A tale of how he was thwarted by the colourful bastards and a human girl who had come ‘over the rainbow,’ “and I have escaped the pit into Equestria millennia later by the skin of my teeth.”

“Quite a story, sir,” Lieutenant Elliot Rourke said watching Grogar’s last zombie minion. The ram had grafted the mare’s third leg back on and balanced a tray housing an earthenware tea-set on her back. Gripping his cup of tea between two fingers he was about to take a sip when he noticed the zombie mare was drooling – thanks mainly to a lack of a bottom-jaw – as she gave him bedroom eyes. Cocking an eyebrow he quickly turned away from the zombie as she hobbled off. “You obviously miss your home,” he added trying to sound casual.

“Oh, Hades; I do. I see it every time I close my eyes,” Grogar admitted sipping his own cup of foul smelling roots soaked in hot water. “The streets are paved with the skulls of foals. The canals of bile flow freely through the loughs. And the drapes. Oh, the drapes! We’re famous for them. Forged with only the finest quality pony flesh.”

“Sounds like a...” – Rourke paused to grimace – “nice, place.”

“Yes, I do miss it. And it is pleasantly putrid this time of year. But one day. One day I’ll taste the blood of the princesses and raise my home from the pit once more,” the ram added with a dark whisper. Realising he was rambling at his guest however, Grogar remembered the human’s initial offer when he entered the ram’s home and decided to move the conversation along. “But enough about me. What about you; my hideous and murderous friend? Why are you here?”

“Like you, just trying to save my home. There’s something here I need. Something that could end a war,” Rourke informed formally, shifting his rifle out of his lap and to his side. The way he sat he always seemed ready to jump up and attack.

Either that or the pony-bone crafted chairs were just uncomfortable for the human.

Grogar scoffed with a twisted smile. “Yes; well don’t let the princesses catch you with those weapons. They’re not too keen on letting threats to their precious little ponies running around.”

“Princess Celestia and Luna I presume?”

Grogar nodded impressed. “You’re well versed in the area for a human. As I understand it no other humans beside Megan and her idiot friend have ever visited the world of ponies.” Grogar winced as if the name blistered his tongue.

“I keep my ear to the ground.” – Grogar frowned causing a smirk to tug Rourke’s lips – “Human expression,” Rourke quickly added.

Grogar gave an understanding nod.

“Since we’re both after the same thing, it might be beneficial if we work together,” Rourke continued to say. “I could use magic backup, and you seem to have a good grasp on it. You need fresher bodies for your minions, and I should be able to source them.”

“Yes, well my magic isn’t as powerful as that of the princesses. And my minions are still quite vulnerable as you saw yourself. But they are also completely useless against those royal Canterlot voices.” Grogar cringed at the mere mention of the princess’ mighty voice, remembering how Luna had shouted apart his latest batch – and every batch before that – without breaking a sweat. “The princesses needn’t even charge up a fireball. They can just shout my minions to pieces. As impossible as it may sound to a person like you – believe me – it’s just as impossibly infuriating to me.”

Rourke took all that in and cocked an eyebrow. “I can imagine.”

It seemed kind of impossible to him for anything to ‘shout’ a zombie to pieces. Then again, he was in the land of ponies and magic. Magic that Rourke had no grasp of, nor any power over. He could quite easily find himself outgunned.

All the more reason to have an ally with magic and an agenda that suited his. He needed Grogar on his side. He just needed to work a deal.

“How about I deal with the princesses for you, and you can turn Equestria into your own real-estate.” Rourke offered simply.

“Deal with the princesses.” Grogar deadpanned. “Are we talking about an assassination?”

Rourke nodded.

“Lovely. Though I doubt you’ll provide your services for free,” Grogar sniffed, never having heard of a humble assassin. “What are you after in return?”

Rourke grinned realising there was no pulling the wool over his horned friend’s eyes. “The Elements of Harmony,” the lieutenant admitted honestly.

That seemed to surprise Grogar. Not to the point it sent him reeling. His crimson eyes just widened significantly. “Whatever for?”

“You obviously have no use for those bits of precious in your master plan. Why I want the jewels is my own business.”

“Do you even know what it is you’re demanding?” Grogar scoffed.

“I have an inkling,” the human assured before leaning forward and holding his hand out across the table. “So, do we have an accord?”

Grogar’s expression went a little uneven. His mouth scrunched thoughtfully up to one side as he cocked an eyebrow – one eye growing much larger than the other. His more chipped hoof rubbed his woolly goatee thoughtfully as he tried to conjure a mental list of pros and cons to this deal.

He honestly had no use for the Elements of Harmony. He had intended to destroy them before launching is offensive so they wouldn’t thwart his plans. But if the princesses were both assassinated the wielders would be so distraught they might not even be able to conjure the magic to use them against him. There would be no harm in letting Rourke have his prize.

With a foul smirk, Grogar gave a firm nod. He held up one hoof, his sickly magic glow engulfing it. There was a crack of bones and pop of cartilage. His hoof changed shape, one half twisting up and warping into a clawed thumb. The other half twisted down and broke into several segments with a sound of brittle wood splitting under stress.

Growing into a set of gnarly fingers, Grogar reached out with his newly formed hand and they shook on it, initiating their partnership.

“We have an accord.”

29

Upon arrival, Bungee noted the pony before he noted the town. And in a way, that was just fine. Looking at her you could – in a way that escaped the dog’s comprehension – clearly see a good representation of Ponyville in Twilight Sparkle.

Both were neat, welcoming, kind; carrying themselves well with an air of confidence, but cautiously, like they knew they had plenty to offer but didn’t want to either show off, or make any promises of grandeur they knew they couldn’t keep.

Like her town, Twilight Sparkle was a bright pony. Unlike her town, she had a lavender coat. Only a little bigger than Bungee was. the unicorn had darker purple hair in her mane and tail along with some neat streaks of fushia – natural or dyed nopony would ever know. She smelled like books –paper of various grades and ages was very evident. She clearly read a lot judging by the faint print-stains on her forehooves where she rubbed them over the pages to keep her line. Once again nopony would be able to tell if her reading was for her love of the activity or out of necessity to learn or study.

“Princess!” Twilight announced hurriedly with a smile and a bow. She sounded out of breath, like she had run full tilt from her home to meet Luna – they had been standing at the edge of town where the chariot from Canterlot had landed for a few minutes. “I’m sorry I didn’t prepare a welcoming committee. I only just got your letter.”

“It’s quite alright, Twilight Sparkle. We came with all haste.” Luna returned the smile, her voice wavering a little as the alicorn struggled to remember to use her civil tone instead of her royal voice. She was getting too used to talking to Bungee in what she considered her normal voice – a firm commanding tone – her practice was beginning to slip.

“And this must be the lost doggie,” the lavender unicorn said looking at the German Shepherd.

Bungee felt some joy tug his heart with a wag of his tail as Twilight Sparkle turned her attention to him. He was a Military Working Dog and a predator to the core; always had been. But he was still a dog. Primal canine behaviour was watered down by centuries of domestication, and as such he still liked to have attention paid to him.

“Hello, Bungee,” Twilight Sparkle added, petting the dog softly. “My name is Twilight Sparkle.”

As if to answer her, Bungee leaned in and licked the pony on the cheek. It wasn’t hard, she was almost at eye level with him. And while most might recoil at the sight of a great big attack-dog darting closer to them, Twilight Sparkle merely giggled as if she could sense his good nature.

As the unicorn wiped her cheek with a hoof, Luna levitated a stack of posters out of her saddle-bags and offered half to Twilight. Each leaf of paper had a mug-shot of Bungee. It read:

DOG FOUND

Name on collar: Bungee
German Shepherd
Well trained

Fanning through the posters to check all was in order, Twilight nodded. “Excellent. Shall we, princess? We can start at Fluttershy’s cottage.”

“Of course. I would like Bungee to wait here. I’m not quite sure how he’ll react to other animals,” Luna reasoned before turning to Bungee and adopting her royal tone. “Bungee! Sit!” she commanded.

The dog did as he was told without hesitation.

“Stay!”

Bungee just watched as Luna and Twilight Sparkle trotted off. He wasn’t too worried. Princess Luna had given him a job. He was to sit and stay here, obviously to guard to carriage they had ridden from Canterlot. Turning his head to look, he could see the two pegasi with bat-wings talking casually among themselves, standing beside the carriage. The best way Bungee could assist Luna was by doing as he was told.

He was told to stay, so stay he would.

But what if something went wrong? What if somepony came to take him away? What if he was forced to move from this spot? What if somepony was in trouble and Bungee was the only one who could help? Then what?

Did he stay? Or did he act?

These were all thoughts far out of Bungee’s mind. He knew that when something came up he’d do what he always did. He’d improvise. Follow instinct. Follow training. Just like he’d been taught.

It was what he was good at.

While standing guard – head and ears high and attentive - Bungee found his eyes drawn to the edge of town where the grass ended and some dark looking woods began. The treeline looked familiar. Thick undergrowth, tangled trees all twisting around and leaning on each other for support with fire-coloured leaves hanging stubbornly on the cold branches.

That was the forest he’d woken up in last night. The ‘Everfree Forest’ Luna had called it when she was talking with Princess Celestia. That was the place he’d faced those walking abominations. He didn’t want to go there any time soon again, despite what instinct told him about how awesome forests were.

But it wasn’t the trees or bad memories that drew in his eyes. It was movement. Three brightly coloured dots making a mad dash for the treeline. Three foals trying desperately not to be seen in the tall grass as they skulked into the woods.

The sight of it bode only ill in Bungee’s mind. That forest was wrong, no other way to describe it. Ponies – especially foals so young – had no business treading there unless they had close air-support.

He was torn. On the one hand Bungee didn’t want to disobey Luna’s orders. On the other hand he didn’t want to go back into that dark forest. And on yet another hand, the dog’s instincts told him he couldn’t just let those foals run into a forest full of God-only-knew how many evil things that ate ponies for supper.

With a whimper Bungee glanced to the guards still chatting by the chariot, then to the way Luna had trotted off with Twilight Sparkle. He shifted his weight from one hip to the other trying to think of something. Finally his eyes were drawn back to the three foals.

They were at the forest’s edge. They seemed to hesitate, conversing animatedly and casting furtive glances the way they had come.

For a moment Bungee thought they might just abandon their reckless path and turn back to town. For a moment the dog figured he could let the rising panic settle. And in that moment, Bungee felt disappointment wring his soul.

The three foals didn’t look back, bounding over the threshold into the dark forest.

Bungee’s mind was made. There was only one thing to do…

The world was full of dangers.

Playing hooky was dangerous. Sneaking off without anypony knowing where you were was dangerous. Entering the Everfree Forest was especially dangerous.

But getting your cutie mark was dangerous work.

So the Cutie Mark Crusaders had decided; it was time to get dangerous!

So without further ado, the three fillies – who should have been in school – bounded over the threshold and into the deep dark Everfree Forest. Each of them knew the risks having wandered into the forest before and faced a Cockatrice. But they had a mission to fulfil.

Surely they’d get their cutie marks for exploration, just like in the stories.

“Are you sure about this?” Sweetie Belle squeaked, the tiny unicorn shivering as she trailed near the back of the group. Under the clawed branches of the forest she suddenly found her resolve sapped away.

Walking in front of her was Applebloom, keeping her head low so the big bow in her hair would get caught on low hanging branches. “Last time we were here things didn’t exactly ‘pan out.’ Ya’ll remember that, don’cha, Scootaloo?”

At the front of the group with a stick clenched between her teeth, Scootaloo swung her makeshift weed-whacker from side to side, flattening out the undergrowth so they could walk with relative ease. Breaking out into a small clearing, the Pegasus dropped the stick and grinned confidently.

“Relax. This time will be different. It’ll be more like the story Rainbow Dash read to me about Daring Do. We’ll be exploring, not looking for monsters,” Scootaloo explained with a hopeful glance to her orange flank. No cutie mark just yet, but she was hopeful.

“B-b-but what if a monster just happens to get in the way?” Sweetie Belle shivered with a paranoid glance at the surrounding area.

“It’s the middle of the day,” Scootaloo assured. “Everything dangerous is still asleep. Besides, we’re not going far. We’ll explore around that bush,” – she pointed at the next cluster of undergrowth – “and then we’ll head back. We should know if our destiny is exploration by then.”

Applebloom and Sweetie Belle looked at each other for a moment then shrugged. Just around the next bush and back didn’t sound too bad. they were barely ten metres into the forest anyway. Feeling their confidence return, they walked up to Scootaloo’s sides.

The faithful trio trotted up to the bush Scootaloo had pointed at and looked up at it.

It was a looming piece of undergrowth, a tight tangle of branches coated in fluffy looking leaves. Despite autumn having taken the trees and the canopy, the undergrowth remained thick as ever. And the bush Scootaloo had chosen for them to explore through before heading back to Ponyville was testament to that.

“So how do we do this?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“On three?” Applebloom shrugged.

Scootaloo nodded, liking that idea. All three of them got ready to step through as the orange Pegasus counted up.

“One... two... THREE!”

They stepped forward, forcing their way through the tangle of branches in a single bound... and then they fell.

The bush wasn’t as deep as they thought, and the whole thing collapsed under their weight. It folded over and sent the three fillies tumbling down the steep slope hidden on the other side.

They were like a trio of snowballs rolled down a snowy slope. With every revolution they only seemed to pick up more momentum. Rocks, roots and dirt punched them on all sides like the world itself was caning them for playing hooky. They couldn’t make out which way was up or take in any of the terrain beating their flanks as they tumbled left and right.

It felt like hours before they hit the ground, completely turned around. They had slid down gulleys, bounced over stones, thrown under branches and dragged through ditches. The path had wound them through an impressive portion of woods, and when they did finally slide to a halt they had no idea which way they had fallen or which was the way back to Ponyville.

Though being lost was the least of their concerns when Sweetie Belle and Applebloom picked their faces up out of the mud to realise they were a crusader short.

Groaning, Sweetie Belle rubbed her head, picking a few bits of fern and branches out of her curly mane. “W-where’s Scootaloo?”

No sooner had she said it they heard their friend cry out. Looking up with wide eyes, the two fillies saw an orange blur fly through the air right at them. They split up, diving to either side as the filly landed between them with a distinct thud.

A thud and a sickening ‘crack!’

What followed was screaming. A scream akin to an injured animal realising it was thoroughly screwed. Their tiny hearts hammering against their ribs with unsettled panic, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom darted to their friend’s side. What they saw was horrible.

Her rear left leg was twisted at an unnatural angle, so much so none of the fillies needed to be a doctor to tell it was broken. Scootaloo wings fluttered violently, but she didn’t gain any lift. Unable to move she just lay there, staring with watery eyes at her leg.

Fear and agony escaped Scootaloo’s throat as she belted the air out of her lungs with force; though her voice heard only by the empty forest.

Scootaloo’s screaming unsettled her friends; and it wasn’t only because she was in pain. After all, the Everfree Forest wasn’t a place you’d want to scream in pain. In the Everfree Forest, when a fox heard a rabbit scream, he’d come running… though not to help.

In time Scootaloo’s screaming had reduced itself to a whimper. Tears streamed down her face as she sat still – still trembling – with Sweetie Belle at her side holding her comfortably. Her head was leaned back between the unicorn’s forelegs as she took comfort with the feeling of her friends heartbeat against her head and the sweet scent of the perfume Sweetie’s older sister wore that seemed to cling to her fur.

Anything, even that froo-froo scent was a welcome distraction from the pain knifing through her leg. But it wasn’t enough. She needed a doctor; a painkiller even or she might go insane and try to gnaw her leg off just to be rid of it.

The undergrowth moved and Applebloom broke from the branches, galloping back to her friends after a short reconnaissance of the area.

“Anything?” Sweetie Belle’s voice broke with fear.

Applebloom shook her head. “Ah’ d’nno. We fell quite a way, ‘n ah’ got all turned about. We could start walkin’, but we might jus’ get more lost. B’sides, ah’m not sure Scootaloo can get very far. The ground’s uneven everywhere, ‘n followin’ that hill back up is outta the question.”

“I’m fine you guys...” Scootaloo protested trying to clamber to her hooves. The moment she was up though, her rear leg buckled and she fell back into the dirt. “Ah! Ponyfeathers!” she snarled through gritted teeth, fresh tears streaming down her face. She didn’t scream though. She refused to let herself.

“Scootaloo did cry pretty loud,” Sweetie Belle offered.

Scootaloo interjected with an offended huff. “I did not cry!” she quickly wiped away the water on her face.

“Hopefully somepony heard,” the unicorn finished.

A rustle caught all three’s attention. Whipping around, the fillies backed away until their rumps were pressed up against the steep slope they’d tumbled down. Just ahead the thick layers of undergrowth Applebloom had explored earlier were rustling, the leaves shaking violently from side to side as something tore through them. The ripple of movement grew louder as it came closer in a zig-zagging pattern, breaking branches and plucking loose leaves in its wake.

Unable to look away, the three ponies gulped loudly as one.

“Ah’m really hopin’ that’s somepony comin’ to the rescue.”

The way the oncoming creature zig-zagged, thrashing through the thick growth it was more likely to be a land-shark closing in on its prey than a pony. However since land-sharks didn’t exist – that the foals knew of – Diamond Dogs would have to do.

They sprang from the bushes one at a time. Despite the drastic size differences between them, all three hounds landed in a similar fashion, moving with the same lumbering grace as one another. They landed on their muscular arms before kicking their small legs forward, standing poised before the ponies as if they were about to pounce.

A ripple of chuckles crossed the three Diamond Dogs as they observed the quaking foals they had found. The smallest – seemingly the leader despite being a hateful looking little ankle biter – lifted up one claw and snapped his fingers.

“Sheemsh like we found shome losht foalsh boysh,” the alpha slurred in a barely intelligible accent.

At the snap of his fingers his two larger fellows prepared to pounce. The biggest of them however still wore a big goofy grin barely visible under his heavy brow – so heavy in fact the half of his face above his nose wasn’t even visible.

“Aww, they’s so cute, boss,” he rumbled, how he was able to see them without any visible eyes a mystery to all.

“Yeah, they’ll look adorable on my plate,” the medium sized dog said with a sarcastic roll of his eyes.

Balanced on their tiny legs, the Diamond Dogs reached up with their massive hands, slowly stepping closer. Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom screamed, a high pitched sound that almost threw the dogs off-guard. Their eyes were closed, hearts hammering against their tiny chests as they belted out everything their little voices had. Somepony heard had to hear them. Anypony, right?

Unfortunately their voices didn’t carry very far through the trees of the Everfree Forest. Nopony heard them.

Only another dog.

But this one was not poised to pounce the foals, instead was poised to bite some Diamond Dogs.

He landed with a distinct ‘thump’ between the Diamond Dogs and the three foals. They stopped screaming to look, staring at the German Shepherd standing ready to bite something. His rear legs were spaced widely, with his front legs lowering his chest low to the grass. His head was low too, but his gaze was locked on to the Diamond Dogs. Lips peeled back bearing glistening fangs as a growl dominated the air around them.

Bungee had never seen anything like the Diamond Dogs before, but that hardly mattered. His mind was too clouded by training and instinct to really think about it. All that mattered was protecting the foals. Normally he wouldn’t have bothered to put himself between predators and small horses, but this was different. Ponies around here were like people as far as the dog was concerned. And by that logic, the three foals were like children.

He wasn’t about to let a bunch of hungry bipedal mutts have children for dinner.

He wasn’t entirely sure what to make of the Diamond Dogs at first. They were like people, but not really. All he knew was that they were threatening to hurt the three foals. That made them bad people. And Bungee knew exactly what to make of bad people.

By looking at the sharp nails, bulging muscles and maws filled with sharp teeth much like his own; Bungee could make a sound educated judgement and consider them fairly dangerous. The Diamond Dogs had the advantage over the German Shepherd since they were able to claw and bite at the same time, whereas Bungee could only bite.

But Bungee was smaller. He was quicker. With that assessment made he knew exactly what to do.

Still growling at the Diamond Dogs in standoff mode, Bungee backed closer to the three fillies and lowered his stomach to the ground. The foals watched with confusion, wondering what was on the dogs mind.

It was Sweetie Belle who seemed to figure it out first, reaching out to hold on to one of the support straps on Bungee’s tac-vest.

“You think he wants us to climb on?” the unicorn asked in a fit of anxiety. She was squeaking with every deep, rapid breath; to the point Applebloom thought she might pass out.

The earth-pony glanced between the German Shepherd and the Diamond Dogs. “Ah’ think we got nuthin’ ta’ lose. Get on!”

The fillies all fell onto him. Scootaloo first, straddling the dog’s shoulders with her forehooves hanging on to his collar. Sweetie Belle was next, holding on to the mid-support straps with Applebloom on the rear holding on to the bottom edge of Bungee’s tac-vest.

As he rose to his paws again, Bungee watched the confused looks on the ogre-mutts – carefully finding his balance and testing the fillies’ weight. He’d done this before – with a human baby of course. But back then he was just showing off at a school open day; not facing off against three carnivores. The foals didn’t weigh much, but Bungee figured he wouldn’t be able to lay down a solid sprint for very long. He’d have to play this smart as well as fast.

“Oi, wot’s that mutt doin’ wit’ our supper?” the biggest of the three said doltishly.

“Ask me like I have a freakin’ clue,” the medium one snarked.

Bungee glanced backwards. He couldn’t climb back up the way he’d come and hope to out-run the beasts; not straight uphill with three fillies on his back. So Bungee started edging towards his right, keeping his gaze and snarl locked on the three Diamond Dogs as he moved. He was looking for a way to escape this clearing and hopefully find a shallower path back to Ponville.

Ponyville was the objective. Getting the fillies back to town was all that mattered.

He was nearly on their flank, ready to dash off into the forest when the Diamond Dogs realised Bungee was about to make off with their dinner.

The biggest one once again imparted his limited wisdom about the situation. “Hey, boss! I ‘fink that dog’s makin’ off with our food.”

The alpha scoffed. “No, ya’ think? Don’t jusht shtand there! Shic’ ‘em boys!”

Bungee seemed to give a toothy smirk through his snarls when he heard that. Sic ‘em. That was a phrase he was very familiar with.

The snarkier of the three lifted his claws high again and leapt forward. His elegantly curved trajectory brought him right down on Bungee as the dog lowered his stance a little. The Diamond Dog’s shadow grew, blocking out the sun filtering through the branches completely, the claws and teeth growing larger with every passing moment.

The fillies on the dog’s back felt their eyes grow larger than was normally possible. For a second they all three had the same idea to jump from the German Shepherd’s back and make their own escape.

But their faith was rewarded as they felt him twitch beneath them.

Their grips on his tac-vest tightened and Bungee moved.

One minute Mister Snarky was looking down at his dinner all served up on a bed of German Shepherd. He could practically taste the foal-flesh, all tender and juicy and sweet. Next thing all he saw was grass and fallen leaves.

As Bungee darted to one side, the Diamond Dog slammed face down into the ground, digging up a nice big mouthful of dirt as an alternative to his would-be pony-gourmet. Before the other two could catch up, Bungee was sprinting through the forest. He ducked under low branches, leapt over roots and swerved between trees. Undergrowth whacked him in the face, but blinking he pushed on ignoring the discomfort.

Keeping her head low, Scootaloo and her friends avoided the unending assault of foliage. Their eyes were shut tight, tears streaming as they were screaming. Not once did they dare look back to see what the rapid thud of paws in soft dirt following them was. They were afraid of what they might see.

Bungee on the other hand did hazard a glance. Looking back on the run he saw Mister Snarky was on his paws again giving chase. His brothers, Dolt and Alpha were just ahead of him. All three Diamond Dogs were bounding on all fours to keep up with the German Shepherd. And it didn’t seem like they were having any trouble.

Bungee gave a lamented groan, sucking in a fresh breath of air. As he predicted, he wouldn’t be able to lose them in a straight up sprint.

Looking forward, Bungee suddenly felt shock seize his body. But he didn’t let it seize him for long.

A blur of stony grey rocketed right at him as Bungee ran headlong at a massive boulder perched on the shallow hillside. Thinking quickly and twisting to his side, Bungee leapt forward with his front legs outstretched.

His paws hit the cold stone as he coiled, planting his rear paws on the surface before leaping off again to the right. Landing smoothly without missing a stride he glanced back just in time to see Dolt had jumped at Bungee’s tail.

Dolt slammed headlong in to the boulder with a sickening ‘crunch’ before sliding to the ground with a massive lump forming on the top of his head.

As Dolt fell off his immediate-threat-list, Bungee spotted Alpha and Mister Snarky fall in behind him.

Turning forward again with his jaw gritted and a determined expression dominating his face, Bungee leapt into a fresh sprint. He was following the slope diagonally uphill, adjusting his course only to weave around trees.

Turning sharply to his left, Bungee rounded a large tree and practically looped back on himself. Mister Snarky darted up along the other near side, claws digging deep into the bark. His teeth bared, the Diamond Dog snapped his jaw at the foals hanging on to Bungee – but Mister Snarky tasted only the air in the wake of the German Shepherd’s tail. Pausing only to growl angrily, the Diamond Dog pushed off and gave chase, his brother – Dolt – catching up again.

Looking away with his eyes squeezed shut, Bungee fought through a low branch whipping him across the face and broke up out of the undergrowth. Still heading diagonally upward, he sprinted full tilt as fast as his legs would carry him. His paws pounded the smooth section of dirt and moss relentlessly as he glanced back to see he put a larger gap between him and the Diamond Dogs as the heavier beasts struggled through a patch of soft mud.

Reaching a ridge sloping down to his side, Bungee gave one last bound and soared over the edge.

Another pang of surprise gripped him as he saw the ground sloped away very suddenly over the ridge.

Landing, his paws didn’t purchase on the dirt. There was no grass or undergrowth holding the far edge of the ridge together, just widely spaced trees that seem to have shed pine needles over the loose dirt. Straightening his front legs, Bungee slid downhill in a practically seated position, springing up only the bounce from side to side to avoid crashing into trees.

All three foals on his back screamed, their voices wavering oddly with every jolt of the dog’s body as they bounced over small rocks and debris. Behind them the Diamond Dogs yelped and also clawed for purchase on the soft loose dirt. Though Bungee was only overtaken by miniature rockslides.

At the bottom of the slope, Bungee leapt forward, whipping around one-eighty degrees before landing – sliding backwards on all fours. Lowered to the level ground with his nails digging into the dirt, Bungee managed to skid to a halt, shaking his head and sneezing from the dust he’d kicked up.

“Applebloom!” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle screamed at the same time.

Snapping his gaze upward, Bungee saw he’d lost one of the fillies. Applebloom was sat dazed and pathetic just up ahead at the foot of the slope. Looking up higher Bungee saw the Diamond Dogs – all three of them again – sliding down to catch her.

Bungee’s first instinct was to go snatch up Applebloom and keep running for Ponyville.

Something stopped him though. A smell. It was different from the forest smells. Different from the musky Diamond Dogs and different from the sweet ponies. A sour, salty smell. The smell of bare flesh and starchy fatigues along with grease, oil and metal. The smell of human.

Bungee’s gaze darted off into the forest, looking into the wind. It was the smell of Lieutenant Rourke.

Bungee’s priorities suddenly changed. Samantha’s murderer was here! Close by the smell of things. The scent was fresh. Bungee would have no difficulty tracking him.

Barks filled his ears and he looked back at Applebloom and the Diamond Dogs bearing down on her. Panic drove Bungee’s heart into overdrive. He didn’t know what to do anymore. He wanted to protect the innocent. But he also wanted vengeance.

But what was more important to Bungee?

Sucking in a fresh breath of air, Bungee found his second wind and shot forward like a bullet. His choice had been made. He hoped he could live with it...

Alpha leapt down on Applebloom. The bow-wearing filly looked up and screamed.

He wasn’t sure if it was because he was fast, or just plain dumb luck – Bungee swept right under Alpha’s nose and snatched up Applebloom by the scruff of her neck. Keeping her neck gently gripped between his teeth like a mother carrying a pup, Bungee kept moving, not bothering to look back to see what became of Alpha – the loud ‘thud’ painted a pretty clear mental picture.

Rourke’s scent vanished, replaced by Applebloom’s. Bungee’s gut felt heavy, but he felt good about his choice none the less. His mission to protect others still took precedence over vengeance. It was what made Bungee who he was. A warrior.

It was what set him apart from the likes of Rourke.

Suddenly finding a spurt of bravery seeing Bungee had saved Applebloom, Sweetie Bell looked back to wave a hoof at the Diamond Dogs.

“Leave us alone you mangy mutts!” she screamed loudly.

“Mangy muttsh!?” Alpha cried as he leapt to his feet and gave chase. “Oh, now I’m definitely going to shkin you all alive!”

Realising she’d only made the Diamond Dog angrier, Sweetie Belle gulped, grinning sheepishly at an unamused looking Scootaloo. “Eh-hehe. Oops.”

Panting through the filly clutched in his mouth, Bungee saw the light ahead intensify. He could see the treeline! Just beyond he caught the candy scent of ponies and heard the tell-tale patter of their hooves on the Ponyville cobbles. He was close.

This was the final sprint.

Hearing the Diamond Dogs bark angrily behind him, their running paw-falls growing more rapid, Bungee lowered is head a little. He pushed the muscles in his legs harder despite the burning sensation. His lungs burned for air – it was much harder breathing through Applebloom. His head went a little light.

He fought for focus. He ignored the darkness closing on the edges of his vision. He willed himself to stay awake. Willed himself to keep running.

The paw-falls of the Diamond Dogs grew louder.

Bungee made his stride longer. He pumped his legs less often, but pushed harder to propel himself further and faster with every bound. Greyhounds didn’t have shit on him.

One of the foals screamed. Bungee couldn’t tell which. Passing out of the treeline he was blinded. White light filled his vision as he leapt into the full glare of the sun.

Something hard collided into Bungee’s side.

The kevlar in his vest absorbed most of the impact protecting his ribs, but without this paws digging into the earth he was unable to hold his ground. Without any grip he was thrown sideways, wind driven out of his lungs. The fillies on his back scattered. Applebloom fell from his mouth allowing Bungee’s yelp to ring out.

Hitting the ground on his side, Bungee rolled head over heels before flopping down awkwardly on his stomach. Shaking out his head, the dog blinked hard a few times.

Alpha had caught up and tackled him out of the tree line. They were all laying spread out over the clearing of grass in full view of Ponyville.

Alpha was already up on all fours focused in the centre of Bungee’s field of view. Everything else was a blur, and the Diamond Dog’s outlines became more crisp like a sharpness filter slid over Bungee’s eyes.

Trapped in one of Alpha’s claws was Scootaloo – writhing and squealing as his grip twisted her broken leg further out of shape.

“Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle cried out before crying out to the ponies on the edge of town. “Help! Somepony help!”

While some ponies came running from the town, Alpha was already descending his sharp teeth on Scootaloo… until a black and brown blur slammed into the Diamond Dog’s chest.

Bungee had leapt up from his laid down position and tackled Alpha in one bound. Though it wasn’t the force that levelled Alpha. It was the shock. For what else was the Diamond Dog supposed to feel when four rows of pointed teeth closed around his throat.

With both paws pinning Alpha’s torso to the ground, Bungee squeezed his jaw. The Diamond Dog choked and gagged, struggling to breathe through a constricted wind-pipe. His hands batted weakly at the dog’s head, but blinking and squeezing harder, Bungee held fast.

He heard voices. Voices of ponies that seemed to want him to stop strangling the Diamond Dog. Ponies were compassionate; Bungee had to give them that. But he didn’t react to their calls. It was like he couldn’t hear them; not truly.

“Let him go!” one pony shouted.

“Stop! Stop!” another commanded, possibly one of Luna’s chariot guards.

“Down! Heel! Sit!” came Applebloom’s panicked commands as she hoped Bungee was anything like her older sister’s dog.

He didn’t listen. Overwhelmed with anger, his grip tightened. This was the Diamond Dog’s reward for trying to hurt foals. This was all he deserved!

Alpha’s eyes rolled, mouth opening and closing silently.

“BUNGEE, STOP!”

That voice. Bungee’s memory flashed.

He was only just out of training. He still had his large puppy-paws and an eager glimmer in his eyes. He was in a field just off the base. A woman was waiting there. She was pretty. She was nice. Everything about her was right, from her posture, to her smell and the sound of her voice.

“Come,” she had commanded, and Bungee had obeyed. Obeying her felt right – simple as that.

When he sat at her boots she knelt and cuddled him. She promised to look after him. He promised to protect her.

She said her name was Samantha.

Bungee felt himself torn back to reality. All of a sudden, like a switch had been thrown, he wasn’t angry anymore. He had acted automatically upon hearing her voice. He had let go of the Diamond Dog and backed cautiously away, keeping himself between Alpha and Scootaloo. He could have sworn that voice…

Was that Samantha?

Daring to take his eyes off Alpha as the Diamond Dog cowered back towards the treeline where his brothers were waiting; Bungee saw a tall figure approach. She was framed by the low sun, and for a moment the silhouette almost looked human.

He shook off the daze as she stepped closer, out of the sunlight and the details focused.

Princess Luna looked worried.

Realising Bungee hadn’t permanently harmed the Diamond Dogs, and satisfied they hadn’t harmed the German Shepherd, Luna’s brow furrowed. She suddenly looked angrily to the dogs on the treeline, cowering before the alicorn’s majesty.

“DISAPPEAR!” she commanded.

The Diamond Dogs were sent running, yelping and whining with their tails between their legs, back into the forest where they came from. Letting a small grin take her expression, she looked back down to Bungee. The vigilant hound wasn’t sitting idle.

Rather he was walking between the three fillies he’d carried out of the forest, checking them one at a time before settling beside Scootaloo. Sniffing her broken leg he barked loudly a few times to draw attention to the snivelling filly.

Seeing her injury, Luna quickly strode closer, her horn glowing midnight.

“Fear not, young Scootaloo,” the princess soothed laying a reassuring hoof on her head. “This will not hurt.”

The same midnight shade around her horn engulfed the filly’s leg. Scootaloo whimpered before there was a distinct ‘crack’ as the bone’s reset and magically mended.

Breathing hard, Scootaloo looked up with watery eyes, testing her leg by flexing it. There was no more pain. Flesh, bone and torn muscle were completely mended by the princess’ magic. Slowly the filly managed to climb to her hooves before blinking away tears.

“Thank you, Princess Luna,” the Pegasus said hoarse from crying and screaming.

Bungee’s nose twitched as he picked up some new scents. The smell of apples and a sweet scented perfume.

“Applebloom!” his ears heard a mare’s voice drawl.

A second cried out in a more sophisticated, dramatic voice, “Sweetie Belle!”

Turning his head the same way his ears had twisted to pick up the voices, Bungee saw two ponies gallop closer to where the crowd of onlookers were gathering. The ponies he saw were like opposites. One with orange fur tangled and smeared with a few flecks of dirt. She looked like she had been working out in fields – definitely a farmer by the scent of livestock clinging to her coat. Her friend was a brilliant white unicorn. Her purple mane and coat were immaculate with polished and manicured hooves. The unicorn was definitely the ‘indoorsy’ type.

“Girls,” the unicorn cried out with distress. “Are you alright? What happened?”

“Rarity!” the fillies called out at the sight of the unicorn before looking to the orange earth-pony. “Applejack! We’re sorry!”

From there the trio belted out their explanation.

“We played hooky to look fer’ our cutie marks.” – “And we thought we could find it exploring the Everfree Forest!” – “We weren’t going to go far. Just to the fourth three and back! But we fell down a slope!” – “And Scootaloo broke her leg. Ah’ tried ta’ find the way back, but we got lost!” – “And three Diamond Dogs showed up! They were going to eat us!” – “But this dog showed up and stopped them!” – “We rode on his back!” – “And he outran the Diamond Dogs and then kicked their flanks before they ate me!”

“I’m sorry we played hooky. We’ll never do it again!” Sweetie Belle cried, lunging forward and wrapping all fours around big sister’s foreleg.

Rarity just blinked before sharing a very confused look with Applejack. Both mares were unsure whether they should reprimand the foals for playing hooky in the Everfree Forest or reprimand them for making up ridiculous stories about super-dogs.

While Rarity and Applejack were trying to get the story out of the foals straight, Luna stood by Bungee’s side. She gave him a light scratch behind the ear, watching the German Shepherd thoughtfully. The dog merely watched bemused wondering what the heck was going on.

Or rather, wondering where his treat was. After all, he did save three fillies from being eaten.

Catching the inquiring look in her princess’ eye, Twilight Sparkle stepped closer.

“Princess?” she asked gently looking between the alicorn and the dog. “What are you thinking?”

Luna shook her head, still trying to comprehend it all. She was sure there was some fable to the young trio’s tale, but much of it she’s seen herself already. “Bungee saved them. He’s a hero. A watchful protector.” The princess paused as she came to a realisation. “The equipment, the courage, the training – it all makes sense now. There is no more doubt as to who Bungee’s owner is. There is only one possibility.

“This is Mare Do Well’s dog...”

The mysterious masked mare of menacing marvel scowled, creasing her cowl. “... that’s not my dog.”

It was secretly the answer Luna had been hoping for. It meant she could continue keeping Bungee around. But at the same time she was confused as to how Bungee couldn’t possibly be Mare Do Well’s pet-sidekick. It was the only thing that made sense.

A chill of disappointment ran down Luna’s spine, coupled with the chill that hung in the night air. Moonlight lit their rooftop meeting, casting eerie shadows over Mare Do Well’s masked face. Luna couldn’t help feel she had wasted several hours of her night searching the Canterlot rooftops for the masked vigilante.

Though it wasn’t a complete waste. She was after all talking with a fellow mare of the night.

Looking between the masked mare and the picture of Bungee she was holding up, Luna blinked a few times with confusion. “Are you sure?”

Mare Do Well’s masked eyes narrowed, small moonlight slits just about visible under the shadow left by the wide brim of her hat. “I think I’d recognise my own dog, princess. Or perhaps I would if I even had a dog!”

Really she was a little relieved. Even after exchanging so few words with the vigilante, Luna didn’t figure the mare for a pet-owner. Bungee might’ve been better off with Luna even if Mare Do Well was his owner.

“I’m sorry to have bothered you then,” the princess apologised before turning away.

She was stopped by the masked mare’s raspy voice. “It’s interesting,” Mare Do Well mused casually, pacing a small circle across the flat rooftop. “I’ve been tracking a new player on the villain circuit. He’s raided a few supply caravans, even kidnapped a few ponies.”

With a frown, Luna turned back to the mare. “I’ve heard no such stories.”

Mare Do Well laughed. But it was unlike any normal pony’s laughter. It had no warmth, no joy. It was cold and empty; low and harsh in tone. It somehow managed to sap the little cheer Luna had away from the alicorn.

“You ought to get out of your palace more often, princess!” the vigilante jibed casually. “Authorities are stumped. Nopony can identify the individual, or his species. Whatever he is, he’s not a pony. And he’s taking refuge in the Everfree Forest.”

“What does this have to do with Bungee?” Luna demanded.

The cowl twisted; a scowl or a smile Luna couldn’t tell. “There was a magical rift in the Everfree Forest the day you claim to have found Bungee. The same day, the creature I’m tracking started appearing. Maybe we just found Bungee’s owner.”

“Preposterous!”

“The pony-nappings started the moment this dog arrived. You describe Bungee’s demeanor and belongings as foreign, almost alien. Alien; like this creature I’m tracking.”

“Coincidence!”

“Not coincidence.” Mare Do Well snarled defiantly. “Conspiracy.”

Luna shook her head disbelievingly. Bungee was not an evil creature... was he? He almost tore the throat out of that Diamond Dog earlier. He wouldn’t have stopped if Luna hadn’t stepped in.

But it was to save three foals! That didn’t make him evil did it?

Luna wasn’t sure. What Mare Do Well was proposing was terrifying. But at the same time... was Luna only defending Bungee because she was had grown attached to him? She hadn’t even known him long enough to build a proper bond.

Eventually Luna shook her head again. “No! I found Bungee in standoff with zombie ponies! He saved a group of foals! The creature you speak of cannot be his owner.” Luna straightened her posture, showing off her own defiance. Intuition told her Bungee was not evil, and that was good enough for her. “Bungee is a good dog. In fact; he is a great dog!”

The vigilante said nothing for a moment before she shrugged. “Maybe. But you need to keep an eye on him all the same. That dog is connected to this alien pony-napper somehow, and now I’m all the more determined to find out how and why.” With a quick stride the vigilante trotted past the princess, her long purple cape catching in the cold wind. “I have a lead I need to check on. I’ll be sure to keep you in the loop, princess.”

“Thank you.” Luna nodded.

Turning to see the vigilante off, the princess looked out across the empty rooftops. Mare Do Well was gone already, leaving in her wake only traces of her cold mysterious essence.

Luna shivered uncomfortably, wondering what any of this meant if she was wrong and Mare Do Well was right...

Author's Note

Image courtesy of Dogs Trust Ireland

Edits:
16/07/13
- Bungee's excessive sentience revised

33

He’d been watching the whole process with riveted attention. The deep blue pony hadn’t stood a chance. Grogar’s handiwork had left its mark, blood staining his torso like a bright red sweater. His coat had turned to a dead pale green colour and his irises had shrunk as the life drained from them. Even when he got up and stood before the necromancer, the eyes remained dead.

Rourke hadn’t said anything throughout the process of transforming his latest victim. He hadn’t made sound. He doubted Grogar even knew he was standing leaned up against the doorpost. He didn’t want to take another step into the ram’s workshop, for fear of slipping on some of the colourful viscera carpeting the ground.

Lieutenant Rourke had kidnapped almost a baker’s dozen ponies and brought them to Grogar. Most of them were travelling traders and the like. The ram had been working through the night with excitement, the result a dozen walking corpses and their guts strewn all over the workshop.

The human turned up his nose, but remembered this was all necessary. Messy, but necessary. He needed the Elements of Harmony, and he needed pony society out of the way before he could get them. He needed Grogar for that, and Grogar needed an army.

“Fetch me that blade, m’dear.” Grogar growled excitedly, pointing a hoof toward one of his tool-racks.

The three legged zombie pony – who Rourke often referred to as ‘Tripod’ – had served as assistant as long as Grogar had been cutting up and re-animating his victims. She hobbled towards the tool-rack and started rummaging through the various rusty appliances.

Watching her, the ram sighed. “No, not the mallet. The blade. The sharp pointy thing… yes! That one!”

He sighed again as Tripod hobbled back to his side with the blade sticking out of the side of her head. The mare seemed equally confused about how that had happened exactly. Regardless, Grogar grabbed the handle with his magic and yanked the knife from her head.

Carefully he moved the knife to his newest zombie’s neck and gently started cutting into the surface flesh. His eyes were narrowed and the tip of his tongue was visible as he concentrated on flexing the knife as he cut.

Confused, Rourke straightened up. Cutting into a perfectly good minion seemed pointless.

“Ahem!” he coughed loudly.

Grogar’s eyes suddenly widened with surprise. With a sharp flick the blade dug deeper into the pony’s neck and sliced clean through muscle and bone before hissing through the air and across the workshop. Tripod hit the deck, cowering under her single fore-hoof so her head wouldn’t be taken off before the knife thudded into a wall.

The newest addition to Grogar’s undead minions wasn’t so lucky. With a crunch and a flop his head tumbled to one side and hit the ground at his hooves.

Rourke pulled an innocent face as Grogar rounded on him – livid.

Taking in a deep breath, holding it before exhaling, Grogar managed to quickly calm himself. Lifting the severed zombie pony’s head in his magic he looked into the stump on the still-standing body. “What is it, lieutenant?”

“I was just taking a break.” Rourke admitted, rooted to the spot. He definitely wasn’t going to enter while Grogar was working with knives. “What are you up to?”

Grogar considered the severed head with a trained eye then looked into the gaping mouth like a jeweller appraising a diamond. “Just some experiments.” He absently snatched up an emerald from his worktop and jammed it into the zombie pony’s bloody stump. “I’m installing my latest batch of minions with enchanted gems. Hoping to immunise them from the Royal Canterlot Voice, just in case your plan fails.”

Rourke chewed his tongue, holding back a rebuke. Keeping calm he simply said, “I’ll keep my end of the deal.”

“Yes-yes, I’m sure.” Grogar said with a noncommittal tone. He seemed more focused on jamming that gem into his latest minion.

Satisfied it was in place he turned the head over and jammed it with a ‘crunch’ back on the body.

Somehow, without even grafting muscle and tendon the zombie was able to move his head to look around. Though only in a limited capacity, since Grogar had jammed the head onto his shoulders so hard the re-animated pony didn’t seem to have a neck anymore. Regardless, he flexed his legs experimentally then snapped to attention like a four-legged decay scented soldier.

Looking quite satisfied with his work, Grogar suddenly narrowed his eyes. “Did you say you were on a break?”

“You ever handle human weapons before? What I’m doing is not exactly something you want to rush.”

Grogar seemed to accept that answer and dismissed Tripod and ‘Neckless.’ Watching them both hobble away to join the other zombie ponies next door, Rourke noticed the mare seemed to be rubbing up against Neckless. In response the re-capitated zombie blushed – somehow.

Zombie love, Rourke rolled his eyes. And here I thought this couldn’t get more gross.

“So have you figured out a delivery method yet?” Grogar asked. “Getting close to the princess won’t be easy.”

“I was hoping you’d be able to help me with that one.” Rourke admitted. “A teleportation spell maybe?”

Grogar hummed with a stroke of his goatee. “There are wards all over the palace. But I might have something strong enough to punch through. How do you feel about black holes?”

“Haven’t thought about them much.” Rourke deadpanned.

With a nod, Grogar trotted past Rourke, his hooves squishing casually across the gore as he moved. “Follow me. I’ll see what I have.”

As the ram passed, the human heaved, feeling a tickle at first, then sneezed violently. Grogar seemed to ignore him as the human was doubled over, hands covering his screwed up expression. Sniffing sharply, Rourke only succeeded in inhaling something else, causing another sneeze.

This time Grogar cocked an eyebrow at the human.

Rourke quickly shook his head, rubbing his nose hoping to relieve it of the airborne fur choking his sinuses. “Allergies,” he sniffed. “Animal hair.”

Grogar glared, clearly not taking kindly to being called an ‘animal’ before moving on to his library. “I’ll see what I have for that as well…”

Bungee snorted, waking with a start. He had one hell of a weird dream. He’d been stuck in a land of colourful pony creatures that could talk, and was being chased through a forest by large bipedal dogs.

But it was all over now. He was curled up in his basket, safe and sou-…

“Oh, you’re awake!” a soft voice cheered.

Bungee’s ears twitched with every clip clop of her hooves. Looking up he saw her. A butter coloured Pegasus, smiling softly as she spoke, calling out to Bungee.

Oh…

It all came flooding back in an instant. The night alicorn. The chase through the woods. The talking ponies, ogre-dogs and walking corpses. Not dreams. Memories. In fact, Bungee didn’t even dream last night. It had just been a restful, blank sleep.

He remembered Princess Luna, Princess Celestia, Twilight Sparkle, the foals in the forest and finally Fluttershy. The Pegasus with the long pink mane and tail. Luna had left him at her house for the night, with one simple order.

“Be good,” she had told him.

He’d done exactly that. He listened to everything Fluttershy wanted. He ate his dinner. He ran around the yard a bit for some exercise. And then he curled up for sleep. No trouble. No fuss. He had no intention in letting Luna down.

“Did you sleep well, Bungee?” Fluttershy asked sweetly.

Bungee’s eyes smiled and his tail batted the side of the basket. There was something about the Pegasus that seemed to likeable. She was gentle, kind and caring. And that was just her voice. Though Bungee preferred Luna’s clear authorative commands, Fluttershy’s presence was definitely tolerable.

Leaning closer to the dog, Fluttershy gave a smile, scratching him behind the ears. “Why don’t you go play outside with the others while I get breakfast ready?”

Play, Bungee understood that word perfectly. But others? The meaning of that was quite vague. At least it was until he found himself outside in the cottage back-yard.

Last night the picket fence area had been empty. The chicken run was quiet, the tree was still, the grass was clear. In the morning sun Fluttershy’s home was a concerto of activity.

Birds chirped and fluttered between the trees and the bird-houses. Chickens clucked and pecked at the sandy base of their run. There were bunnies bounding about the place, butterflies and other insects soaring about. A turtle made a slow crawl across the yard, blocking Bungee’s path as he curiously sniffed the air.

It was quite an overwhelming sight as he found his attention drawn all over the place. His head twitched from side to side, gaze darting between rabbits and low-flying birds. He even jolted into a pounce-ready stance as a squirrel sprinted right under his nose.

A little startled, the dog backed away until his rear smacked into a wooden post. The fence surrounding the yard shook and rattled, as a voice rang out.

“Would you please be careful!?” the voice said.

Male, it didn’t sound in Bungee’s senses like a normal voice would. It had a little bit of a reverb to it. And it didn’t enter his ears. It was like the words were being injected directly into his brain.

Lifting his head, Bungee looked around to see where the voice came from, but he didn’t see anypony. Cocking his head confusedly, his ears flexed as the voice was heard again.

“Up here, dummy,” the voice sneered in a more noticeably snobby tone. It was quite nasally, like that of a spoilt brat.

Looking up, Bungee’s eyes were drawn to the top of the post he’d bumped into. Perched atop was a cat. Bungee resisted the urge to bark. Not only because of his training. But because he was afraid his bark might scare the perm out of this cat.

This cat was one of a breed Bungee had only rarely laid eyes on before. Neatly permed, sparkling white fur. A long luscious tail, an expensive collar and a big purple bow tied into the quiff of fur atop his head. He had lazy looking eyes to go with his lazy posture as his pudgy body lay curled atop the thick wooden post.

“That’s right,” the cat hissed into Bungee’s brain, his voice projected without so much of a wiggle of his mouth. “You almost knocked me down. So what do we say?”

Bungee stared, understanding the words perfectly, but perfectly puzzled about how he should react. Or what he should even do.

The cat’s chest heaved as he rolled his eyes and sighed. “Come on, muttley. It’s not very hard. Two little words. I’m…” he paused, letting the first word sink in, “sorry. And now you. Go ahead. You can do it.”

Bungee cocked his head, still staring at the cat.

“Oh, goodie!” the cat chortled with deadpan sarcasm. “A dumb dog! Very original.”

Bungee’s head twisted, cocking in the opposite direction. His brain was literally working in overtime trying to figure out what was happening. Humans could talk, that was obvious. That was normal for him. And now ponies could talk, Bungee had come to terms with that. But this was something different completely.

If Bungee knew what the word meant, he would have described the cat’s ability to talk as some sort of psychic link. And the cat wasn’t the only one who could do it.

“Ah, leave ‘im alone, Opalescence!” a voice cried, defending the dog.

Bungee’s ears instinctively swivelled to hone in on the girl’s voice, but failed. He instead relied on pure intuition and felt his gaze turned to another dog.

The brown and white collie trotted with a happy pant across the yard, her tail wagging a little. She was smaller than Bungee, but only because she had a much more lithe physique designed for intense sprinting. Bungee had seen dogs like her on military airfields before; trained to chase away the birds that posed a threat to planes taking off and landing.

But this collie was trained for farm work; that much was obvious. He could smell the dirt and livestock on her fur.

“What are you doin’ here, Opal?” the dog said in a distinct accent.

The cat – Opalescence – gave the back of his paw a lick and rubbed it over his head. “I am here for my grooming. What are you doing here, Winona?” he sneered, turning the question on her.

“Ah’ heard there was a new dog in Ponyville. Ah’ jus’ had ta’ come see. ‘N Ah’m glad Ah’ did. He’s a handsome fella’r, ain’t he?” Winona cocked her head towards Bungee and winked with a chuckle.

Watching her mouth as she was speaking, Bungee couldn’t seem to figure out how he was hearing her words if she wasn’t moving her lips like ponies and people did when they spoke. He merely cocked his head confusedly, wondering how that worked.

“Ya’ll don’ say much, do ya’, partner?” Winona asked a little crestfallen. Shaking it off, Winona quickly caught herself. “Ah’m Winona. What’s ‘yer name?”

Bungee cocked his head a little more, causing Opalescence to snort loudly.

“I knew dogs were stupid, but this is taking the cake!”

Winona growled up at the cat. “Don’ be rude! Ah’ll remind ‘ya ‘yer outnumbered here.”

Turning her head, Winona called out to a passing stark-white bunny.

“Angel?” the collie called. “Do ya’ll know our new friend?” she asked with a nod to the dog wearing a ballistic-vest.

Looking over mid-hop, the frowning rabbit skidded to a halt and changed direction. Bouncing closer, his narrowed eyes scanned between the dogs and the cat. “Yup,” – the bunny nodded vigorously – “he was staying over last night. He’s Princess Luna’s dog I think. Fluttershy called him Bungee.”

“He’s named after elastic cable?” Opalescence snorted loudly. “How adorable!”

Angel Bunny snorted hearing that. “Opalescence. That’s a girl’s name, aint it?”

“Well Opalescence isn’t a girl!” the cat snapped angrily.

Winona and Angel shared a look and chuckled. That cat was a spoilt brat. He deserved to get his whenever the opportunity arose. Why – even though he was just a small rodent – if Opalescence wasn’t out of arms reach Angel would kick his fluffy butt up and down the yard. He may have his own prima donna moments from time to time, but Angel couldn’t abide by making fun of the new guy just because he was a little different.

A sniffing caught Angel’s attention as he felt something cold poke him in the back of the head. Turning around all he could see were a big pair of hazel eyes and Bungee’s big nose in his face.

“Gah!” Recoiling, the bunny flicked the dog on the nose causing Bungee to retreat a little confused. “Back up, dawg.”

Wagging his tail, Bungee panted excitedly before darting his face closer to sniff Angel’s ears.

Growling impatiently, the small rabbit planted on of his feet on Bungee’s nose and pushed him back again. “I said back up, dawg!” His fluffy little arm was cocked, ready to show the German Shepherd the pimp-side of his paw. “Don’t make me slap you!”

Winona giggled looking between the fuming bunny and the dog who seemed to think he was playing.

“Where do ‘ya think he’s from?” she asked. “Maybe he speaks another language? Uh… parle vous English?” – Opalescence rolled his eyes at Winona’s pronunciation – “Hmmm. Maybe not.” Seeing Bungee didn’t seem to react – riveted on Angel’s every movement – Winona sighed rubbing the back of one paw under her chin.

“That there’s a military dog.” A crotchety old voice groaned.

Turning their heads they saw a wrinkly old tortoise crawl closer. His pace was slow, but he wore a set of speedy looking goggles over his eyes. His usual shell-mounted helicopter rig was at the Ponyville Library. He’d crashed a while ago totally destroying his flight-gear. Twilight Sparkle was doing what she could on repairs. In the meantime Tank was grounded at Fluttershy’s – since he wouldn’t be able to make it up to Rainbow Dash’s house until his helicopter was fixed.

Rolling his eyes at the old tortoise, Opalescence sighed impatiently. “What do you know you old purse?”

“Tortoise,” Tank corrected. “And that’s Staff Sergeant Tank to you, fluffy-froo-froo!” – Opalescence hissed – “I’m ex-military. Used to be the pet of a Royal Guard medic, yonks ago! I carried wounded ponies to safety. Slow ‘n steady ‘n all that jazz. I’ve seen his types before. Strong legs, good back, sharp teeth! Sniffer dogs, used to find lost ponies or rout out ambushes and the like. Which reminds me of that time back in ninety-six. Back then we all had fancy uniforms, but only got paid a nickel, though that nickel ‘d buy you quite a bit. You could go see a movie, buy a bag of popcorn and get a whuppin’ for that nickel. The whuppin’ was to make sure you paid attention to the movie, because moving pictures were kind of rare back then. A thing to be proud of and paid attention to of course...”

Tank just seemed to ramble on from there as the pets quickly lost interest. Sharing a few looks, they wondered if the tortoise was right.

“A military dog? Maybe he’s Princess Luna’s guardian? Is that why he can’t talk? He’s trained not to share secrets?” Winona asked.

Angel shrugged. “I don’t think he’d risk sharing secrets by saying hello.”

Winona hated to admit it, but it was starting to look like Opalescence was right. Bungee didn’t seem foreign. Maybe the explanation was simple. Maybe he was just stupid.

Feeling something brush her tail, the collie jumped with her heart in her throat. She nearly joined Opalescence atop the fence post, looking back to see Bungee was sniffing around her tail.

“Whoa, nelly! Easy, partner! Gettin’ a little friendly there?”

Before any of the others were able to react, or even try to get an explanation out of the dog, a familiar voice called across the yard. It was a soft, gentle voice despite the volume of her call.

“Bungee?” Fluttershy called over the bottom half of her cottage’s garden door. “Come! Come here, boy!”

Bungee was off in a flash, leaving Winona and the others in his dust. He was across the yard in just a few bounds as Fluttershy opened the back door for him.

The door shut behind him with a rattle of wood and the metal latch.

Winona, Angel and Opalescence were staring blankly at where the dog had been a few moments ago, unsure what had happened there. One minute he was sniffing Winona’s butt, the next he was gone without so much as an explanation. Every one of them obeyed Fluttershy’s commands of course, but never so immediately that they would rudely run out mid-conversation.

Not that Bungee had been conversing much.

“And just like that, he’s off.” Winona sighed.

Angel chuckled. “Not even a goodbye.”

“What did you expect from a dog?” Opal sneered.

Tank was still rambling on mindlessly about what a nickel would buy him back in the day.

Meanwhile, inside Fluttershy’s cottage, Bungee was flat on his back, his front legs curled up against his chest. His mouth hung open, tongue rolled out the side as the yellow Pegasus stooped over him delivering a belly-rub of epic proportions. Bungee was at peace. He had reached nirvana – a higher plane of existence. Nothing else mattered as he happily kicked one of his rear legs.

“Who’s a good boy?” Fluttershy praised, secretly surprised at how quickly Bungee had answered her commands. Even Winona wasn’t that quick, especially when she was distracted by playing with the other animals and pets. “Who’s a good doggie then?”

Standing by her was a taller, darker figure. Her night-sky mane caught on an invisible breeze, brushing the low ceiling of the cottage as the princess watched. With the look on her face one wouldn’t able to tell there was a burden weighing her heart.

Luna smiled with a shake of her head. “Fluttershy, would you please not talk to the highly trained attack-dog like a lap-dog?” They shared a chuckle. The events of the previous day with the Diamond Dog was one of those that scared you at the time, but was something you laughed about with friends afterward. “Thank you for taking him,” Luna thanked.

“Not a problem. He was no trouble at all,” Fluttershy assured. “If you like you could leave him here whenever you’re busy, princess. I don’t mind.”

Luna thought for a moment. The burden on her heart weighed a little heavier for a moment. Her conversation with Mare Do Well last night echoed in her brain. She had been thinking about it all night and all morning. Thinking about what Mare Do Well had suggested.

Thinking about whether Bungee’s owner really was a despicable pony-napper.

It raised some interesting questions. Like whether it was possible for an animal to be evil; or was it their master who crafted their allegiance? There were of course creatures like Timberwolves and cockatrice, but in truth it was simply their nature to hunt. They did what they did simply because evolution and survival drove them in that direction. There was no good or evil involved really.

Luna liked to believe animals were not evil. They did not commit evil, their masters committed evil and dragged them down for the ride. But it was of course a grey area. Much about Bungee was a mystery to Luna, and Fluttershy did mention when the dog was dropped off she wasn’t able to read the dog as well as she could other animals. There was definitely something different about Bungee.

Was it evil? Luna did not think so. Saving the foals from the Diamond Dogs was a clear sign that Bungee’s intentions had been good. Going for the Diamond Dog’s throat had been an action of necessity.

But what of the pony-napper? There was still a chance Bungee did belong to the creature Mare Do Well was hunting. And what if he came looking for Bungee if it was a case they were related? She wasn’t going to potentially put Fluttershy’s life in danger.

Luna faked a smile. “Thank you, Fluttershy, but that won’t be necessary. Until we find his true owner, I would prefer to keep an eye on him myself.”

Fluttershy nodded brightly before turning back to Bungee and giving him one last cuddle. “Alright. Now you be good for the princess, you hear?” Bungee licked her cheek and the Pegasus giggled.

Be good. Luna smiled as Bungee followed her out of the cottage. Considering the evil monster Bungee might be; that statement was quite ironic.

41

She sighed as she woke up, eyes still closed as she felt the last of the fatigue leave her. With a small grin, she reached out and stretched her forelegs, flexing a crick out of her neck with a light ‘pop!’ Slowly the aching in her limbs and joints dissipated as she forced her eyes open.

Could use a coat of paint, she thought to herself as she noted the flaking paint. She just lay there staring at the weathered ceiling of her bedroom as she listened to the morning birds twitter happily outside. The sun filtered through a crack in the curtains. Downstairs she heard a commotion. Hooves pattering on the wooden floor. No doubt her roommate was up already.

Sighing again, Lyra Heartstrings pulled her covers aside and rolled out of her bed. The mattress complained.

“Could use a new mattress too.” She mused.

All the seafoam coloured unicorn’s thoughts, all her musings, they were all perfectly normal. Completely disjointed, unrelated little things that contributed nothing to the grand scheme of life the universe and everything. They were just simple little thoughts that came up as her day began to unfold. The exact same thoughts she had the morning before, and the morning before that. Every morning was the same, all the things she procrastinated time and time again. An old college habit.

It was only when she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and turned to look across the rest of her bedroom that she noticed something new. New was not good. It immediately upset the unicorn, causing her eyes to widen as she stumbled back against the frame of her bed.

“Hello, Lyra.” The new thing rasped without looking up from what it was doing.

Lyra worked her mouth, but no sound came out. Her eyes took in the broad brimmed hat hiding wether or not the new thing was a unicorn; the long purple cape hiding potential wings and the dark purple body-suit hiding the coat-colour. She could see the cowl hiding the fact whether or not it was a stallion or a mare, the pale eyes and the spinning metal object balanced on one of the padded hooves.

But her mind failed to comprehend.

Lyra couldn’t believe she was staring at Mare Do Well. The Mare Do Well. Not just some caped cruscader Twilight Sparkle and her friends had dreamt up to show up the ever overconfident Rainbow Dash. This was the vigilante who had been born as a result of their misadventure. A real vigilante, in the flesh.

“I… mah-mah-Mare D-Do Well?” the unicorn shook her head as the vigilante flicked her hoof upward.

The four pronged metal object whipped upward before she caught it again and tucked it away under her cape.

“Whatever label for me makes you comfortable. We need to talk,” Mare Do Well’s raspy, androgynous voice explained. “My sources tell me you have been talking about knowing what has been kidnapping ponies lately.”

“W-… uh…” still dumbfounded, Lyra let her rump settle on the floor, shaking her head.

As Mare Do Well’s blank eyes locked on the unicorn, she heaved a light sigh. She was clearly running out of patience. But she was a hero. A protector of the innocent. She couldn’t start beating answers out of poor Lyra like she would any other thug.

So she maintained her composure, pulling the brim of her hat a little lower over her creased cowl to hide her blank, intimidating eyes. “Focus, Miss Heartstrings. Do you know something or not?”

“Um…” cocking an eyebrow, Lyra tried to peer through the mask wondering whether she was still dreaming. “Maybe?”

Mare Do Well let a secret smirk tug at her lips. Maybe was better than no. And after every other one of her other leads had been dead-ends, she was willing to take maybe.

“Good enough.” Taking a few steps forward, Mare Do Well melted from the shadows, letting the sunlight pouring between the curtains strike her form. In Celestia’s radiance, her buff figure was less imposing as she politely seated herself before the unicorn. “Let’s talk about what you know.”

“A-alright.” Lyra nodded as she began to explain, still unsure. “I, uh… a trade caravan, they, uh… they came into town yesterday. They were hurt. Said something attacked them and took their friends. They described what they thought they saw. It sounded… it sounded kind of like the creatures I met some years ago.”

Mare Do Well hummed thoughtfully. “Creatures you met?”

“Yes. I was abducted.”

“Abducted,” the masked mare repeated as if testing the word. “By whom?”

“By... by a human. Or at least; a group of them.”

Mare Do Well’s pale white eyes narrowed. Human wasn’t a word she was particularly familiar with, and it showed on the expression her cowl pulled. “Explain fast.”

“R-right. Uh…” Lyra’s eyes darted about the room as she thought of something. “They didn’t say who or what they were, but I was sure they were humans.”

“How do you figure?”

“Well... because of this.”

Getting up she quickly trotted to her wardrobe and pulled the doors open. Pushing aside several hangers over which dresses, socks and sweaters were draped, she revealed a cork-board stuck against the back panel. Pinned the board were scraps of paper, notes, newspaper articles, copies of historical documents and notes referring to library book-numbers.

“What is this?” the vigilante asked as she joined the unicorn. She noted several sketches of alien looking creatures with flat faces and standing on their hind legs. There were also detailed diagrams of what looked like five-fingered claws.

“These are my notes. I studied ancient Equestrian history in college.” Lyra explained with a hint of pride. “My major was on the Lunar Republic, but my interest was always in the Rainbow Knight.”

“The Rainbow Knight?”

Lyra nodded. “Yeah. Story goes that there was a creature who came to the world of ponies over a magic rainbow and brought the world back from the brink of darkness. A creature called Megan. Only a few very old documents claim to know what she was. Apparently she was a human. Even fewer documents describe her appearance. But the general gist of it is that a human is a creature that walks upright on two legs.”

“So you met more of these humans when they abducted you? Why?” Mare Do Well demanded.

Lyra seemed to flinch, but it wasn’t at the vigilante’s tone. It was something else. It was the sight of her sketch. She turned away from her notes, quickly trotting back across the room. Mare Do Well watched her curiously, eying the unicorn’s body language.

She could read Heartstrings like a cheap paperback book. She had all the clear indicators. Mare Do Well had seen them plenty of times on victims of muggings and abuse. The way she had flinched at the sight of her own drawing. The way she slouched and trembled halfway across the room.

The way her whole body jolted as Mare Do Well slammed the wardrobe doors shut, just to be sure she was reading the signs right.

Lyra was afraid.

Moving closer, the mare lowered her tone and smoothed her voice a little. The harsh androgynous voice faded a little, and much to Lyra’s surprise the vigilante adopted what sounded like the tone of a kind-hearted stallion. But she couldn’t be sure.

“What did they do to you?” Mare Do Well asked softly.

Lyra felt an ounce of comfort as she felt one of the vigilante’s padded hooves touch her shoulder. She had expected the touch of an individual who beat criminals in the dead of night to a pulp with her bare hooves to be abrasive and cold. Much to her surprise, the touch was warm and gentle. Comforting.

It reminded her of when she was a filly. She’d wake up in the dead of night screaming, haunted by nightmares. And then her father would always come galloping in to hold her. To lull her back into more pleasant dreams.

“They-…” Lyra paused as her voice broke. Clearing her throat, she tried again, “They had questions. About me. About magic. About Equestria.”

“What did you tell them, Lyra?” Mare Do Well’s voice whispered.

Lyra squeezed her eyes shut. Her lip was trembling. “It wasn’t my fault. They hurt me. Hit me with sticks that fired electric sparks…” she broke off into a soft sob, her whole body shaking in time.

“What did you tell them?”

Tears broke through the unicorn’s eyelids and streamed over the fur on her cheeks. She sniffed as more water ran from her nose.

The question was repeated. “What did you tell them?”

“... everything…”

The sky was clear bar a few dark cumuli. A cool autumn wind brushed the countryside, but the sun was in full view casting her warming rays across Equestria. In all, for a soggy autumn morning, it was very nice.

Mare Do Well hated it.

In fact, she hated inter-city transit. It was long, tiring, and in the daylight hours it was hard to hide. It was hard enough hiding her wings underneath her cape throwing around crooks and thugs. But in full flight it was near impossible. The whole point of her costume was that she could be anypony. She could be anything. With her cape and hat she might be a pegasus, or perhaps a unicorn. Maybe neither… or perhaps even both.

As she glode with the winding train tracks connecting Ponyville and Canterlot far below – weaving between hills and chasms the same way she wove between the dark clouds spitting a light drizzle – the vigilante was deep in thought. Her hind legs hung limp with her forelegs tucked up under her chest. Her wings were spread wide beyond the edges of her billowing mantle, making for an impressive wingspan that might rival that of a princess.

Her concealed eyes were absent as she mused over what she had learned from Lyra Heartstrings. After she had calmed down, the minty-green unicorn with a lyre stamped on her flank had told the vigilante everything. And what Mare Do Well learned disturbed her.

Lyra hadn’t just been tortured by these humans. She had been interrogated. From her descriptions, Mare Do Well figured the abductors had been in some sort of military uniform. That meant one thing.

Invasion.

That was of course if Mare Do Well took Lyra’s story at face value. But to be honest, she wasn’t sure why she shouldn’t. She was after all a vigilante who donned a mask, leapt from rooftops and beat criminals and monsters in the dead of night with her bare hooves. If either of them were eligible for being committed to a mental institution, surely the sane thing to do would be locking up Mare Do Well without a second thought.

In that respect, the vigilante didn’t have to worry about Lyra spreading the word and causing a panic. Even she had thought the whole ordeal to be a strangely vivid nightmare. But Mare Do Well wasn’t about to gamble the future of Equestria. So she started listing facts.

As far as she knew there was only one human kidnapping ponies.

How was the human abducting ponies? Clearly humans had advanced technology beyond anything Equestria had developed thus far. She would have to plan her engagement carefully.

Why was the human abducting ponies? The easiest explanation was that this was an invasion of some kind. But then why abduct ponies? They must’ve had all the intelligence they needed by now. Food, maybe? Did humans eat ponies? It might be worth investigating.

But a more pressing question; why only one human? An expeditionary force perhaps? Recon? Or a more likely answer; this invasion was unsanctioned. Humanity at large was not to blame. Equestria was threatened by the will and actions of a single man. Mare Do Well hoped she was that lucky.

Armies would be difficult to handle.

A single man she could handle.

Regardless of plans and motivations, Mare Do Well had everything she needed thanks to Lyra. She would make sure that unicorn was properly compensated for her troubles when all this was over. In truth, it was Lyra who was the real hero here. Mare Do Well was just the stooge who saw it through to the end.

Thanks to Lyra the vigilante had a description and a name.

One more question stabbed Mare Do Well in the brain like a punji-stick. Luna’s furry little four pawed friend with rows of dagger-teeth. The dog, Bungee. Where did he fit in? Was he affiliated with the human invader? And if so why befriend the princess? If the human’s objective was the downfall of Equestria somehow, why would his dog be running around saving foals from hungry Diamond Dogs?

Perhaps the dog and the human were connected, just not in the way Mare Do Well originally thought. For now though, she would focus on the human. The dog’s fate would be considered after.

It was a lot of data to process and organise. She needed to get home. Back to the comfort of her lair. She would add to her notes, pin some new facts to her criminal-board. And then she would sleep. She would collect herself, and when Luna’s moon showed itself again she would continue her search for answers.

Canterlot had loomed into sight, the shimmering city sliding underneath the flying vigilante. She stopped flapping her wings, holding them horizontal as she caught on the up-draft of a chimney. Pushed higher into the air she hovered completely stationary for a moment.

Her eyes narrowed as a flash of light arced through the skyline. Dust and debris billowed up into a thick black smokestack curling up from one of the Canterlot Palace towers. The rumble of the explosion came after, low like distant thunder. And Mare Do Well found herself attracted like a very hungry bear to honey.

Thoughts of the comforting dank of her basement and her lumpy cot were pushed to the back of her mind as her wings flapped. With a distinct crack like the shot of a start-gun, Mare Do Well was launched forward, diving down on the palace. Stretching out her legs she slashed through the air like a bullet, no more than a streak of black and purple to the naked eye.

It was only at the last possible minute that she oriented all fours for landing and stretched out her wings. Her feathers ruffled noisily as she plunged into the bank of thick smoke. All she saw was black, swirling around choking the air with burning, acrid soot and ash.

Her rear hooves hit the rubble-strewn marble of the balcony first, before her front hooves followed and the vigilante slid to a halt. She squinted and coughed softly. The smoke was too thick. She couldn’t see a thing.

Until her hat began to glow. Pure white light engulfed the rigid purple canvas, rippling and wavering with the paleness of the vigilante’s eyes. Slowly but surely under the force of her will, the smoke parted like a curtain before her, clearing a section before Luna’s wrecked bedroom was fully visible.

As the glow in her hat faded, the vigilante calmly stepped forward. No bodies thus far. That was good.

It was when she reached the door leading out into the hallway that she stopped with a start. The emotionless dark purple mask betrayed nothing of her shock. There they lay. Immortals on the floor, coated in rubble; unmoving.

A brilliant white pegasus clad in gold, smeared with soot and his armour dented in places lay at Mare Do Well’s hooves. One wing was splayed out under his body, twisted and broken, the other spread out over his face for some protection. His chest rose and fell slowly with shallow breaths. The explosion had knocked him out cold, but he was breathing at least.

The figures that worried him the most were pale white and dark azure. The still figures of the mighty alicorn that protected Equestria. The goddesses in charge of the sun and moon respectively.

Celestia’s coat was charred like the golden vestments; dusted with debris and soot. Her mane and tail lay in tangled pink heaps, lacking the magical aura that usually engulfed them. The younger regal sister was the same, her vestments missing completely with her eyes clenched shut.

Mare Do Well was about to check them for signs of life when a growl caught her attention. Soft at first, then louder with every passing moment. The sound was coupled with a snapping of teeth and the soft scrape of claws on the rubble littered floor. The vigilante stopped in her tracks as she saw the figure stood over Luna’s still form put itself between the two ponies.

Four legged with a long muzzle, pointed eyes and fierce predatory teeth. His torso was clad in a black vest that seemed embedded with some shrapnel. The dust stained his brown and black coat with some blood seeping into the fur on his foreleg.

Bungee, Mare Do Well mused, remembering the dog’s name. I wonder what his contribution to this was.

Even as she thought it, she didn’t need to be the world’s greatest detective to figure it out. It all just sort of clicked into place. Bungee had been standing over Luna, nudging her, waiting for her to wake up. He was putting himself between her and the vigilante. He was protecting the princess. It wouldn’t surprise Mare Do Well to learn somehow Bungee had saved the princesses.

The alicorns stirred. They’d be fine. Bruised; sure. Cut; maybe. Pissed as hell; definitely. But they’d be fine.

Lifting up a hoof, Mare Do Well gently gestured Bungee to calm down. “I’m not your enemy, dog,” she rasped before adding thoughtfully, “In fact, I think I could hazard a guess we have a common enemy. I bet you even know his name.”

Her conversation with Lyra earlier had been insightful. Not only did the vigilante have a description of the creature she was hunting, she also had a name. “Rourke.”

Mare Do Well watched curiously as the dog seemed to calm. No longer bearing his teeth, his growl lowered before Bungee’s whole expression softened. Still watching the vigilante though, his whole disposition towards her changed, like he understood exactly what she was saying.

It wasn’t that sight that amused Mare Do Well however. Looking into the dog’s eyes, she saw something else. It had appeared at the mention of the human’s name. It interested the mare very much.

Hiding a grin, the masked mare nodded. “I thought so.” She chuckled, suddenly realising what she was doing. Can’t believe I’m talking to a dog.

Bungee’s ears perked up first, twisting down the hall before his eyes were drawn in the same direction. Mare Do Well had to follow his gaze before she heard it too. Shouting voices. Heavy hoof-falls. The scrape of armoured hooves on the palace floor.

Help was coming. The princesses would be fine. There was little left for the vigilante to do here.

Bungee looked back, but by that time the masked mare was gone without a trace. Her scent had vanished, he couldn’t even hear her hoof-falls, nor the ripple of her cape in the air. All she had left behind was a whisper. A final command from a complete stranger, and yet Bungee had every intention of obeying it.

“Take care of the princess.”

In truth, Bungee didn’t even need telling.

45

Luna flinched as she finished telling Princess Celestia her story about Bungee. Not because she had withheld potentially important information from her sister. But because a piece of shrapnel was unceremoniously pulled from her shoulder.

The Royal Guard field medic let the piece of metal fall with a shrill chime as it hit the floor before engulfing the weeping wound in healing magic. Progress was slow, but slowly the open flesh on the alicorn’s shoulder began to knit, mending in a soft orange glow of the unicorn’s focused magic.

Having felt her flinch, Bungee shuffled up tighter against Luna’s chest. Looking up he gave her chin a lick, drawing a smile from the princess. Lowering her head to nuzzle the dog’s soft fur she wrapped her foreleg around him a little tighter.

“Good boy,” she whispered softly, realising nopony had actually commended him for his actions. It was obvious he had saved her from that explosion, but in the chaos that followed nopony thought to thank the hero.

Looking from the small scar that would form a grim reminder of the explosion, the medic quickly masked the mark with a simple spell then nodded to the stark-white princess standing nearby. She had healed her own injuries – merely a few scrapes and bruises. The pegasus guard was sitting nearby, another medic binding his broken wing with a magical splint. Luna however had her alicorn resilience to thank for not being killed. She had been the closest to the explosion and had absorbed the brunt of the blast.

Though even Celestia couldn’t deny were it not for Bungee’s strange actions she may well have been killed.

Still, she could not shake a very bad feeling.

“So,” Celestia began to recap, watching absently as several gold-clad guardsponies were sweeping the area and carrying away debris. “Mare Do Well suggested this dog might be dangerous. He almost killed a Diamond Dog and attacked you. While I would normally reserve judgement on the words of a vigilante, I have yet to see evidence to rebuke her theory.”

Letting go of the German Shepherd, Luna leapt to her hooves, putting herself between her rescuer and her sister. “Bungee did not attack me!” She protested loudly, turning a few passing guards’ heads. “He was pulling me away! He saved me from the explosion!”

Lifting a hoof to interject, the pegasus with the broken wing added, “I will admit, highness. It did look more like he was pulling her away.”

Celestia rounded on the guard, but not with anger like he had expected. Still, the guard flinched as his wing pulled against the splint and the medic tsked, telling him to sit still. Celestia – in the meantime – was looking at the injured pegasus a little curiously.

She was still suspicious of Bungee, regardless of his actions. His intentions were hard to read, being a dog after all. “And how would he have known there was going to be an explosion?” she asked.

Frowning, the private rubbed his chin inquisitively. “Dogs have keen senses, princess. We’ve used them for search and rescue plenty of times. There’s something about them; I dunno, we don’t’ fully understand it, but they can hear and smell things – even sense things – we can’t. I’ve seen dogs find ponies I considered lost for eternity.”

Celestia would have to take the guard’s word for that. Turning her head she saw the NCO in charge of the team investigating Luna’s bedroom step out of the greyish haze curtaining the room beyond the threshold. The earth-pony guard was trotting on three legs, inspecting something clamped to his forehoof.

“Sergeant Buckshot? Any idea what the cause of the explosion was?”

The sergeant’s eye-patch shifted as he frowned, curiously shifting the cigar stub lodged in his mouth from one corner to the other. “Hay if I know, your highness,” the cycloptic pony sighed gruffly. “This ain’t like anything I’ve ever seen before.” He held out his hoof to reveal that he’d found among the rubble.

Long and thin, it was quite like the horn of a unicorn only made out of twisted black plastic. It was melted mostly with a tangle of scorched and frayed wires at the base like the horn was ripped out of a pony’s head taking some brain-matter with it.

Only it wasn’t a horn. Luna saw that immediately.

“I’ve seen that before!” Luna announced beckoning Bungee to join her as she trotted closer. “It is some kind of receiver. Similar to the one on Bungee’s camera device, see?” reaching down she flexed the antennae on Bungee’s vest upward so everypony could see.

Sergeant Buckshot held it beside the dog and shrugged. “Looks the same to me.”

Celestia sighed as all suspicions were confirmed. Clearly there were greater sinister forces at work here, and they didn’t have all the pieces of the puzzle. Not yet anyway. “Clearly your would-be assassin is related to Bungee somehow. That settles it...”

Luna felt a tinge of panic grip her chest. Darting down to one side she wrapped two legs around the German Shepherd, hugging him tightly. Bungee had no idea what was going on, but his tail wagged at the attention he was receiving anyway.

“This settles nothing, sister!” Luna protested. “If Bungee was in cohorts with the one trying to harm me, why would he save me?”

“If you will let me finish...” Celestia snapped in a terse tone. Her little sister flinched, but the alicorn of the night didn’t let go of her faithful companion.

Celestia felt a little bit of pride take her. Her sister barely even knew the dog but was ready to protect him at the drop of a pegasus-feather. At the sight of Luna trying to shuffle between her and Bungee, Princess Celestia’s stern expression softened and she smiled with the radiance of the sun.

“I was about to say that,” she continued to say in a gentle manner, reaching out and tenderly scratching Bungee behind the ears. “Bungee is clearly here for a different reason than this new threat. We must get the full picture. But the only one who can answer all our questions is Bungee.”

Sergeant Buckshot’s one eye swivelled between the princesses and the dog before he let out a deep chuckle. “Well it’s not like you can just ask, princess.”

Luna and Celestia shared a knowing look “We can’t.”

But Fluttershy could.

Theoretically.

Assuming she got over the fact there had been an attempt on the princess’ life and assuming she was willing to throw herself into that situation to assist, there was still the issue that Fluttershy wasn’t able to fully connect with Bungee the same way she did with other animals. He still seemed to like her and obey her commands, but there was a certain silence about him. Like when she spoke to him, the dog only half understood, like there was some kind of barrier blocking Fluttershy’s animal-empathy. He only understood certain key words.

But in theory, that barrier could be torn down. It was as Twilight Sparkle had always said when she was under Celestia’s tutelage. For every situation, there is an appropriate spell.

Luna had that spell. They just needed a means to communicate with Bungee. Theoretically, Fluttershy should have been capable.

As mentioned before, assuming she mustered up the courage. Assuming she managed to recollect herself from the quivering butter-coloured mess of fur and feathered cowering in the corner.

“Fluttershy, please,” Twilight Sparkle pleaded her friend. Her other friends were present too to show their support. For whatever good it did. “The princesses don’t have anypony else to turn to.”

“B-but its t-t-too much,” The timid pegasus whispered. “An assassin alien? How could I p-possibly help w-w-with that?”

One of the ponies in Fluttershy’s cottage stepped forward, his heavy metal hooves striking with a noise that caused the poor pegasus to flinch. He was a blur for a moment – gold and white – before he stopped in the centre of the room, looking down at her. The sergeant was one of a dozen Royal Guard to accompany the princesses on their rushed visit to Ponyville. One of Celestia’s elite personal guard – they were the elite.

When Bungee looked at the sergeant and the pegasi under his command, the dog was reminded of Navy SEALs.

“You can help very easily, ma’am,” the sergeant interjected standing beside the attentive looking German Shepherd. “You’re the Element of Kindness! You talk to animals! This dog knows the answers to all out problems. We just need you to have a chat with him and get us some intel we can use to track down the assassin and take him out.”

“Bu-but I can’t read Bungee like other animals,” Fluttershy squeaked feebly, cringing away from the buff looking stallion. “He understands, but he never answers.”

The sergeant stomped a hoof irritably. Bungee noted the expression and the stance. There was irritation in his eyes and disappointment in the way he carried himself, but he stood upright and steadfast. Like he was ready to keep going despite hitting a wall of failure. Like ‘failure’ wasn’t in his vocabulary.

The sergeant really was the pony equivalent of a SEAL.

“Well he’s our only lead. There’s gotta be a way!” the guardspony huffed.

Fluttershy recoiled as the pony’s hoof struck the ground with a bang rivalling that of a start-gun.

“That’s quite enough, Sergeant Ironwing.” Celestia said stepping in.

The sergeant looked up to the princess immediately, before hanging his head dejectedly. “I’m sorry, highness. It’s just a…” he paused, as if unable to come up with a word to describe how he was feeling, before saying, “it’s a frustrating situation.”

The princess considered him for a moment before nodding. It was the Royal Guard’s mission to protect the regal sisters. Both of them. They took their jobs very seriously. And this attempt on Luna’s life was not just a blow to the sisters, but a blow to the guard as well.

Celestia could understand how the stallion felt.

“I understand. Why don’t you check on the other guards?”

The sergeant gave a deep bow, his chin brushing the floor as he backed away towards the door. “Right away.”

While Celestia smiled kindly to her most faithful guard as the stallion opened the door to the cottage and started barking orders at the other armoured stallions waiting outside, Luna stepped in to see if she could reason with the traumatised pegasus.

Lowering her head to the pegasus’ level, she was not once left alone by Bungee. Even the dog moved closer and gave Fluttershy a reassuring nudge with his nose. Fluttershy instantly smiled at the gesture, reaching out and stroking Bungee.

“We had some simple solutions in mind, Fluttershy,” Luna informed in the most gentle and calm voice she could muster. It was a soft, weak voice she recognised from a long time ago. From mere moments after she had been freed from the curse of Nightmare Moon. Bungee looked confused, hardly thinking it possible for that voice to be coming from the princess. “First, a very simple spell that will make Bungee take a short nap. Then another; one I use quite often. As Princess of the Night I watch over Equestria in the darkness, but I also watch over the dreams of my subjects to protect them from nightmares. I can place the dream-walker spell on you and you can enter Bungee’s dreams. You know the minds of animals best. You are connected to them. Once you are in Bungee’s mind – in his world – you should be able to communicate with ease.”

Fluttershy squeaked, curling into a tighter ball and cowering with her hooves over her face. “But what if it goes wrong?” she babbled out so rapidly it even made Bungee jump back in surprise. “What if I get stuck in a dream land and never wake up? What if Bungee has a nightmare and I have to face horrible monsters? What… what if…?”

They lost her again, all Fluttershy’s friends sighing deeply as she went through at least ten more ridiculous sounding scenarios. There didn’t seem to be any way to convince Fluttershy that nothing would go wrong. After all, it was the princess – and alicorn – casting the spell. They would have understood if maybe Twilight had been doing the casting, but Princess Luna definitely knew what she was doing.

It seemed hopeless all the same. But luckily Rainbow Dash knew exactly what to say.

She darted forward, scooping the other pegasus up by her face and lifting her head high in her forehooves. “Fluttershy, c’mon. Princess Luna needs your help. And think about it. It’s not just the princess’ life that’s in danger. The assassin is going to hurt Bungee too.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened with sudden clarity. What Rainbow Dash said hit her like a ton of bricks. She suddenly realised all the stakes. The fate of an innocent little doggie hung on the line. And what kind of monster could bring itself to harm a defenceless animal. The thought of it sickened her.

It syphoned off all of Fluttershy’s remaining will and focused it into determined hate.

“That... big... MEANIE!” the pegasus suddenly screamed, successfully freaking everypony out with the transition from meek to scary in five seconds flat. “I’ll do it.”

Realising Fluttershy had unknowingly shown more regard for the life of an animal than her beloved’ princess, the rest of the Elements turned pale. Sergeant Ironwing’s jaw was on the floor with disbelief.

Celestia however gave a chuckle, leaning down to Twilight so didn’t seem to be moving anymore. “It’s interesting to see her priorities, isn’t it?”

Luna didn’t seem to mind either. Her mind was focused on the task at hand. With a nod she lay down, patting the ground beside her. “Bungee, down!” she commanded.

The dog obeyed, dropping to the floor beside her. Rolling onto his side, he kept his head high and attentive, his shoulder pressed up against Luna’s.

“Alright, Bungee,” the princess whispered into his ear. “It’s time to take a nap.”

As if understanding, Bungee lowered his head until his chin rested on the floor between his front legs. With a grin, Princess Luna angled her head forward and gently touched the top of bungee’s head with the tip of her horn. An electric spark jumped into the air and Bungee’s eyes closed.

With a sigh, he was out like a light; falling into a deep sleep.

As Fluttershy stood by their side, Luna continued to explain, “We will be psychically tuned into your conversation with him. Everything you learn, we will learn.

“Remember, Fluttershy. We need to know how my would-be assassin is connected to Bungee, as well as who and what it is.”

Fluttershy didn’t nod. Her nerve seemed to falter a bit as zero-hour approached, but she remained steadfast enough to stand without trembling.

“I’m ready, princess,” she whispered, and Luna angled her horn forward.

The tip touched Fluttershy’s nose. There was a familiar electric spark, and then nothing…

To Fluttershy, it seemed like nothing had happened. She was looking at her hooves, slowly counting the grains in the floorboards beneath her. For the longest time she thought nothing had happened. She blinked a few times.

Still nothing. Not even a bit of fatigue. Did she do something wrong?

“I think-…” the pegasus looked up and stopped, nearly choking on a gasp.

She had intended to tell Luna something had gone wrong. Only much to her surprise, the princess was gone. As were her friends, Princess Celestia and the scary Royal Guard. There was no more cottage, and looking down she saw the comfort of the wooden floor had left her – replaced with dull, emotionless concrete. She was standing in a doorway, looking into what could only be described as a bedroom.

But it was nothing like a pony bedroom. This was featureless, dull and cold.

There was no window, all the light coming from a lightbulb hanging from the bare, peeling ceiling. The concrete walls and floor were unpainted. A wardrobe painted stark white was pushed up against one wall, beside it a similar wooden writing desk with a metal chair. Beside that was a radiator mottled with rust and rot. Along the opposite wall was a bed with a metal frame, starchy white sheets and a dog’s bed laid at its foot.

When she saw what inhabited the room, Fluttershy’s heart stopped.

She recognised Bungee in an instant. His collar and tac-vest were missing. He was sitting happily with his tail hammering the ground as a figure sat on the bed before him – grooming him with a brush.

Raking the brush through Bungee’s fur was a creature unlike anything Fluttershy had ever seen. It was alien, almost like an ape but taller with a more developed spine and fur-less mocha skin. It had no tail, and the only hair visible was on the top of the head, a gold coloured mane cut short at the back with some long bangs along the side and on the fringe falling along the sides of a narrow face with sharp features. Full red lips and pale green eyes, the alien’s deft build was clad in baggy clothes coloured in woodland colours. Blotches of brown and green with some navy thrown in for good measure.

“O-oh, I’m sorry,” Fluttershy began, stumbling backwards out of the room.

The creature ignored her, continuing to groom the dog with a smile on her face. Fluttershy frowned before reaching up and gently knocking on the door frame. She expected to make a sound, but there was none. She stomped her hooves. Still nothing.

It was like she was there, but not quite. Like a ghost walking through whatever dream Bungee was having.

Moving closer, Fluttershy watched the alien’s lips move. It was singing something, softly. The pony had to strain just to hear the feminine voice confirming the creature was female.

“You got a friend in me,” the creature sang. But it was unlike any normal singing voice she had ever heard. It was off-key. Terribly off key. The Cutie-Mark Crusaders had done better in their talent show. But neither Bungee or the alien seemed to care. “You got a friend in me. When the road looks rough ahead and you're miles and miles from your nice warm bed; just remember what your old pal said. Boy, you've got a friend in me.”

Overlooking the off-key singing, Fluttershy paid attention to the lyrics. She looked between Bungee and the alien, and suddenly it hit her.

It was plain as day. The way she was grooming him, stroking him and singing to him. The way Bungee was looking up to her, hanging on every word. The way his whole world brightened at just the sight of her. Fluttershy would have had to be blind not to see it.

“So this is your owner.” Fluttershy whispered with a smile.

And just by looking at her – putting aside the alien features – Fluttershy could already tell she liked Bungee’s owner. She seemed to genuinely care about the dog.

The sound of footsteps caught in Fluttershy’s ears. Looking up she saw a towering figure stand framed in the doorway. It was like Bungee’s owner, only a little different. More broad, square features and a lower waistline. Judging by the near-bald style of the mane and the tone of voice, this one was male.

“Hi, sarge? Can I drag you away from your boyfriend for a moment?” the male said in a teasing tone. Though he said it without smiling.

Bungee’s owner looked up. “Is it important?” she asked.

The male nodded, causing the female to sigh. “Kinda.”

“If this is another one of your attempts to hit on me, corporal; I’ll sic my boyfriend on you.”

That made the male smile, but only a little. “Bungee wouldn’t attack me. He loves me.”

As if to answer him, Bungee gave a low growl. Fluttershy couldn’t honestly tell if it was genuine or playful. Regardless, she caught herself chuckling at the pristine timing.

“Okay, point taken.” The male lifted his hands defensively before pointing down the hall. “Can you help me out in the mess hall, sarge? Lieutenant Rourke was preaching again; got some of the boys a little riled up. I swear; that guy’s gonna cause a riot one of these days. That’s if the brass doesn’t hang him first.”

“I’ll meet you there.”

The male nodded and marched out of sight again. Leaving just the three of them, Bungee’s owner quickly finished grooming the dog and jumped to her feet. “Bungee, come!” The dog followed as she bent over and pointed at the small bed at the foot of her own. “In your bed. Good boy.”

She knelt, stroking the dog as he obeyed her every whim. Lifting his head, he bumped his nose against hers, pausing between pants to give her chin a lick. The female chuckled.

“The world’s going to pot and now we’re losing Lieutenant Rourke,” she sighed. “How come you’re the only dependable man in my life, Bungee?”

The dog didn’t answer, as expected. Telling him to stay, the female rose to her feet and followed the other uniformed alien out of her room. Bungee didn’t move, obediently staying where he lay.

As she found herself alone with Bungee, Fluttershy moved closer. She was obviously invisible to the actors in the dog’s dream, but she had to wonder if she was invisible to Bungee as well. If that was the case, it would make communicating harder than before.

Luckily however, the dog’s ears perked up and his gaze shifted to meet hers as he heard her hooves on the floor.

“Hi.”

Fluttershy blinked at the voice. She had been staring at Bungee that whole time, and she could hardly believe it. He had a voice! Just like the animals Fluttershy spoke to in Equestria. Just like any other pony!

The pegasus was overjoyed. Finally that barrier that locked her out was gone. She could finally see through Bungee. She could read him. She could hear him.

Bungee’s voice was a little raw sounding. Rough and grizzled, but in tone only. His manner of speech seemed bright and cheery. Even his expression held happiness as his eyes seemed to smile and twinkle even in the poor light.

Finally she smiled and answered him.

“Hello, Bungee.” His ears perked up as he understood her, bolstering the pegasus’ confidence. “I’m Fluttershy.”

“I know. You’re the pony with the big garden and all the animals.” Bungee’s cheer seemed to fade as his ears drooped down against his head. “They talked to me for some reason. I don’t know how to answer though.”

Fluttershy gave the dog a reassuring pat on the back before glancing the way Bungee’s alien owner had left. “Who was that?”

Bungee’s cheer returned in an instant, like a switch had been thrown. “That was Samantha! She was my handler. She was my best friend in the whole wide world!” his ears were perked up and his tail batted the edge of his bed.

“She seems nice.”

“Oh, she was!” Bungee panted. “We fought bad guys together. She always took care of me. I loved Samantha! Princess Luna reminds me of what she was like.”

Something about what Bungee was saying was making Fluttershy a little uneasy. It wasn’t his demeanour, the dog was being nothing but nice. It was the way he seemed to be talking about his handler. Finally it hit her. “You keep saying ‘was.’ Where is Samantha now?”

Like before – another invisible switch thrown – Bungee’s cheer vanished. His whole posture drooped alogn with his pointed ears, and his tail stopped wagging. “She... she’s dead.”

Fluttershy gasped at that, reaching out and quickly consoling the dog. “That’s terrible! I’m so sorry, Bungee. What happened?”

“It was a mission. We were stopping a bad man. A bad man called Lieutenant Rourke was going to do something bad. We couldn’t stop him. He killed Samantha, and then he fled to Equestria.” “I followed him. I’m going to kill Lieutenant Rourke.” All the joy and bouncy cheer drained from Bungee’s voice. It only left the rough, grizzled sound of a warrior preparing for battle.

“Bungee, you don’t mean that.”

The dog growled under his breath. “Yes I do! I do mean it! I followed him here. He’s in the Everfree Forest, I caught his scent. I know he’s out there. And I know he was behind the bomb in Princess Luna’s room! He’s doing it again! He’s going to take my best friend away from me again! But I won’t let him!”

“But Bungee, you can’t kill somepony,” Fluttershy reasoned soberly. Despite her tone, her heart was hammering against her chest at a thousand beats per second. It made her feel light headed.

She was losing him, and she could only watch helplessly as the dog began to snarl to himself.

“Rourke isn’t a pony! He’s not even a human anymore! He’s a monster! And I’m going to tear him apart!”

Fluttershy took a step back from Bungee. She hadn’t heard what he had been saying about tearing him apart. She had been too busy looking into Bungee’s eyes. She saw something there. Something frightening. Every time he said the name – the name Rourke sparked something dark in the dog.

Before she could properly define what that darkness was, the world flashed white. Bungee was only partially obscured, like he was centred on an over-exposed picture. The environment seemed to melt away to white.

And then the light faded slowly, replacing the sterile grey walls of Samantha’s room with the cosy wood furnishings of a small Ponyville cottage.

It took a good few moments of blinking for Fluttershy to realise the dream was over. Bungee was sat up, silent as he normally was, watching the pegasus with a cocked head. Fluttershy tore her eyes from the dog and she glanced around the room. From her friends to the princesses and Sergeant Ironwing standing by the door. All of them – as Luna had explained – had been tuned into her conversation with Bungee.

All of them looked unsurprisingly concerned.

Still, Fluttershy instinctively felt the need to stammer out a plea for explanation. “W-what happened?”

The silence continued for a few moments longer before it was pierced by Celestia’s voice, “I asked Luna to end the spell.”

Looking over, the pegasus saw Rainbow Dash delicately hover closer, taking her hoof in her own. “Hey, Flutters? Why don’t we take a step back from the vengeful attack-dog?” the tomboyish pony’s voice cracked as she fought for calm.

Every ounce of the element that made up her being told Dash to protect her friend. Her first instinct was to tackle Bungee to the ground just in case. But her common sense told her a fight with a canine trained to tackle and neutralise larger more dexterous foes was a fight she would lose… lose badly.

The Royal Guard sergeant took a cautious step closer from the door. “I think-…”

He was interrupted immediately by the racket of Luna’s metal hooves on the wooden floor. Reminded of machine gun fire, Bungee lifted his head with his ears perked up – eyes fixed on Luna as she rushed over.

She took her position beside the dog, wrapping a foreleg around the dog’s fluffy neck and hugging him close against her body.

“He’s not dangerous,” Luna announced in Bungee’s defence. “I swear, he is not dangerous. He has the best of intentions in mind.”

“Regardless of Bungee’s intentions;” Celestia said, her tone causing everypony to twitch awkwardly in fear, “this Lieutenant Rourke thinks he can commit murder, come into Equestria, harm my subjects, target my sister and get away with it!? Sergeant, prepare my personal guard to ride immediately. I will see it to personally he is stopped.”

The sergeant liked to think he was a hardened soldier. He was an NCO leading an elite wing of pegasi sworn to protect the princesses. But when he heard Celestia’s harsh tone he winced like a colt being reprimanded by his mother. He’d never seen her angry before. Annoyed from time to time. But never as angry like she was then.

He feared he might catch a preview of what her rage might look like in his darkest nightmares.

As the sergeant stood petrified, Luna eagerly turned to her older sister. The dark coloured alicorn stood to an attention that would normally be expected of a Royal Guard, chin high and a determined expression on her face. Seeing her posture Bungee quickly mimicked her attentive stance.

“What would you have us do, sister?” Luna asked.

“You will stay with Bungee, here in Ponyville under the protection of the Elements of Harmony,” Celestia ordered managing to soften her voice a bit.

Regardless, her voice – or rather the statement it had carried – sucker-punched Luna in the nose.

“Protection!?” she cried as if her honour had been offended. “Sister, I hardly require protection! And Bungee has Lieutenant Rourke’s scent! He will be invaluable in tracking the human!”

Celestia nodded. “And you also heard what he told Fluttershy. He would kill Lieutenant Rourke the moment he lays eyes on him. I’ll have no more bloodshed. And we will certainly not stoop to this human’s level. He will be captured – alive – and will face fair trial.”

Luna scoffed at her sister’s lack of faith that she could control Bungee. Neither of them needed protection, and with Bungee’s help the hunt would certainly go much faster. “But, Celesti-...”

“Those are my orders, Luna.” Princess Celestia nearly shouted. Her voice wavered on ‘orders’ as she caught herself with an uneasy glance to her subjects.

Fluttershy was cowering by Rainbow Dash. The other ponies were looking uneasily at the princess. They had never seen her like this, not even the time Twilight Sparkle had used the want-it-need-it spell had the princess been this angry. And speaking of Twilight; Princess Celestia’s faithful student seemed to be in shock.

Looking away from them she turned to the still-petrified NCO of her personal guard. “Sergeant?”

“Y-yes, your highness?”

“Do you not have something to do?” she asked.

Managing to pull himself together, the gold-clad pegasus gave a quick nod. “O-of course.”

Looking back to her sister, Princess Celestia gave a deep sigh. “Stay here, Luna,” the Princess of the Sun asked pleadingly as she moved to follow the sergeant. “Please…”

Author's Note

Apologies for bringing pacing to a grinding halt with this tedious chapter, but it was necessary before we move things on to climax. Next chapter is the last in this act before we move on to the endgame.

49

The way she was sprawled lazily over Fluttershy’s couch; Luna felt like one of those lazy Saddle Arabian sultans. She figured she must have looked the part too – all the while waiting idle as the threat of death gripped every pony in Equestria. The frustration was almost too much to handle, so she didn’t think about it, doing her best to side-track herself.

Laying on the couch, the alicorn’s horn glowed. The receiver unit for Bungee’s camera hovered in front of her as the princess prodded some of the buttons and played with the settings. She had no idea what she was doing or what she was trying to achieve. All she seemed to be doing was wasting time. Hiding in Ponyville when instead she should have been out there helping her sister track her would-be assassin down.

Letting out a small cry of frustration as her mind came full circle, she threw down the device on the wooden coffee table. At the same time her head was thrown back against the hard backrest of the couch. She stayed like that for a long time – just glaring at the ceiling – all on her own.

Bungee watched from across the cottage. He hadn’t made a sound, just watching Princess Luna as she slid down the couch, rolling on her back until her head was propped up on the armrest.

The Elements of Harmony were gone, just leaving the two of them in Fluttershy’s home. Princess Celestia hadn’t left any guards so their presence in Ponyville would be discreet. Twilight had run back to the library to do research on ‘humans.’ Applejack was at the farm finishing her chores and packing overnight bags to stay with Luna and Fluttershy until Princess Celestia returned. Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were doing the same. As for Fluttershy herself, Bungee’s keen ears could hear her pottering about in the garden, caring for her extensive horde of animal friends.

Luna was bored and worried. A dangerous mix.

Moving closer, Bungee quickly hopped up on the couch and crawled over Luna as if she weren’t there. The princess let out an ‘oof,’ winded as the dog accidentally planted a paw directly on her stomach. Meeting his gaze, she was quickly consoled by a tongue lapping over her face.

The alicorn giggled, trying to crane her head away to no avail.

“Bungee, stop!” the princess squealed as she tried to push off the dog.

The dog seemed to smile, feeling a little uplifted as he stood over the mare. Seeing her smile he felt himself uplifted. He liked to see her happy. She was his new best friend after all – it was only natural.

Oblivious to what Bungee was thinking, Luna gave a sneaky smirk. Without warning she darted closer, wrapping her forehooves around the dog’s body, tackling him into a tight hug. Bungee’s eyes widened as he let out a grunt of surprise.

“Gotcha!” Luna teased, refusing to let go as Bungee desperately squirmed and writhed in an attempt to escape.

Pressing his paws into the soft cushions of the couch, he managed to scoot low and slip his head out from under the alicorn’s grip. Panting as he sat up on the opposite end of the couch, Bungee watched as Luna tried to re-orient herself for another attack. Bungee was faster.

With a high pitched bark that was more like a laugh than a canine threat, the German Shepherd pounced on Luna’s neck. She felt his cold nose nuzzle through her mane and tickle her neck as the alicorn rolled off the couch. Bungee followed, hopping on his hind legs as his forelegs remained wrapped around Luna’s neck.

“Alright, alright!” Luna giggled trying to shrug her ‘attacker’ off. “You win! I surrender, I… AAAH!”

Still chortling like a giddy school-filly, the princess lost her footing and hit the ground on her back. Bungee immediately landed on top of her, mercilessly assaulting her face with doggy-kisses. Spluttering, coughing – but still laughing – the princess weakly pawed at the dog’s fluffy coat.

“Mercy!” Luna laughed desperately. “Mercy!”

Bungee was about to grant just that when his ears perked up. Luna’s did exactly the same, and drawn to the sound of creaking wood they both looked up to a figure framed in the cottage doorway. Luna looking like a filly caught with her hoof in the cookie-jar, Bungee standing by with his tail wagging and mouth hanging open.

“This is taking care of the princess?”

Despite the emotionless rasp of her voice, Mare Do Well was clearly surprised. Particularly revealed by the slight inflection of her voice, and the fact one of her masked eyes was larger than the other as she watched the princess and her faithful canine companion rolling around on the cottage floor with a frown creased into her mask.

Luna and Bungee glanced at each other a little sheepishly before standing up.

As Mare Do Well let herself in and trotted towards the princess, Bungee looked through the open door. A breeze wafted in, clawing gently at his face. He seemed to stop breathing for a moment, mouth closing as he gaze darted off through the doorway. Noticing something carried on the wind, he curiously moved towards the open door.

In the meantime, the masked mare was systematically checking the room was secure – peering through each window for a moment and checking under the tables and chairs for good measure. Halfway through her checks, satisfied the area was reasonably free of eavesdroppers, she explained why she was wandering about in broad daylight. She was after all a nocturnal pony. The sun shining a spotlight on her wasn’t a comforting situation for her.

“I know you almost exploded,” Mare Do Well began to explain in a matter-of-factly tone. “I’ve been working through the daylight hours, tracking your would be assassin.”

“Your concern is touching.”

“I shook down my leads,” the masked mare rasped, ignoring the princess even while facing her. “I believe there is a human behind all this. Behind the abductions, behind the fresh influx of zombie ponies, behind the bomb in your bedroom. His name is Rourke, and his plans for Equestria may not be savoury.”

Luna nodded, simply replying, “We know. He is in the Everfree Forest somewhere.”

Mare Do Well was silent for a good while, staring at the princess with her mouth agape, stretching a concave in her dark purple mask.

“Then why are you wasting your time here?” the vigilante snapped, already trotting to the door. “C’mon. If we’re quick we should be able to find him before sun-down.” Realising there was only one set of hooves rapping the floor, she stopped to look over her shoulder. Princess Luna hadn’t moved an inch.

“What?”

Luna slowly shook her head. “My sister commanded me to remain here.”

Mare Do Well didn’t really laugh, but that comment brought her fairly close. “She commanded you? So much for the diarchy.”

“Excuse me?”

With a sigh, Mare Do Well turned to face the princess, trotting back to meet her. “Aren’t you supposed to be ruling Equestria together?”

“She fears for my safety,” Luna replied.

“Like you need protecting,” Do Well scoffed. “You always do what she tells you?”

Mare Do Well had a point there. Besides, the Elements of Harmony weren’t around. Mare Do Well had slipped in without Fluttershy noticing. All it would take was a simple invisibility spell for her to slip out unnoticed. And what would Celestia do if she found out.

Ground her?

Luna smirked as she answered, “No,” then quickly turned on the spot calling out to Bungee.

“Bungee, come!”

There was no reply to her call. No brush of his fur against her leg as he pinned himself to her side. No sound of his claws on the wooden floor. Not even an affirmative bark or whimper to indicate there would be a delay obeying the order.

There was no sign of his presence. There simply was no dog.

Bungee was nowhere to be seen.

“Bungee!?” Luna suddenly cried, her heart stopping in a moment of panic. “Bungee, where are you!?”

She threw herself across the room, eyes darting from side to side as she searched for her pawed friend. She ducked low to check under the coffee table, she even charged upstairs and glanced about Fluttershy’s room.

Without a sign of the dog upstairs, she dropped down the stairs again, wings half spread to slow her rushed descent. Mare Do Well stood idly by watching the princess run in circles like a mad mare.

Suddenly the strands of her azure mane caught on a noticeable breeze. Following the waft of air, her eyes were drawn to the open door. Luna’s eyes widened as she saw the distant Everfree Forest treeline framed in the doorway. Everything clicked in place.

She knew exactly where Bungee had gone.

“Oh, no,” she whispered, moving towards the threshold. “He said he caught Rourke’s scent in the forest.” If she knew a thing or two about how fast Bungee was – and she liked to think she knew plenty – the German Shepherd was probably halfway across the Everfree Forest by now.

“Talking and tracking of his own accord? That is one smart dog.”

Luna shot Mare Do Well a dirty look. “It is a long story. We need to catch up to him.”

The vigilante scoffed at the mere concept of that idea. “Tracking a fast mover with generations of predatory instinct. Yeah, that sounds fun.”

Luna didn’t say anything, drawing the vigilante’s eyes.

Mare Do Well realised Luna’s gaze was turned away. Following the princess’ eyes, soon both mares were looking at a plastic brick with an attached antennae laying on the coffee table…

The dog hesitated as he watched the brush sway in the wind. A cluster of leaves formed a miniature tornado of reds and browns, whirling out of the tree line and settling in the damp grass. The town of Ponyville lay in the direction of his tail.

Ahead of him the Everfree Forest seemed to stretch for an eternity.

Bungee put his face in the breeze and smelt it again. The smell of death and decay. The smell of human. The smell of his target.

The smell of bad.

It was like the forest was engineered to hold nothing but bad memories. First undead ponies. Then the Diamond Dogs hungry for filly flesh. And now Lieutenant Rourke.

Bungee sighed, stepping forward and following his nose. Following the breeze. His target was zeroed in. The man wouldn’t escape this time.

The dog hesitated regardless. He cast one more glance over his shoulder. Fluttershy’s cottage stood on the hill far behind him, the size of a toy in the distance. Bungee felt bad leaving Luna behind – he felt bad for disobeying her. He relished the emotion. It reminded him he was still a good guy. Still a warrior. But he had to do this for Luna’s safety and the safety of all the other ponies out there.

“Bungee! Hey, Bungee!” a southern drawl called.

The German Shepherd flinched. A familiar voice; a very nice voice. But the sound of it was an annoyance he didn’t need. She’d try to stop him, he just knew it. He’d been discovered, bringing the mission to an end before it even began.

Though in truth Winona had no idea what was going through Bungee’s head. She’d just seen him pause on the edge of the Everfree Forest, wondering what he was up to. She knew all about those woods, about all the dark things in there. It was no place for ponies or pets. And she wondered if Bungee even knew that.

“What’re ‘ye up ta’?” the Collie asked, walking up to his side. “Yer’ not goin’ in there, are ‘ya?”

Bungee answered with silence, staring into the trees.

“He’s in there, ain’ he? The one who killed ‘er.” Winona suddenly said. Bungee didn’t have to be a genius to know she was talking about Rourke. “Ah heard Applejack talkin’ ta’ Applebloom ‘bout what happened ta’ ‘ya,” Winona continued her voice growing more solemn in Bungee’s head. “Ah’m sorry ‘bout what happened ta’ ‘yer owner. But y’all have ta’ understand, revenge ain’ the answer.”

Bungee ignored all of that. Whether he didn’t understand or didn’t actually care, no one would ever find out. He just took a defiant step forwards. Into the forest…

A blur of white and brown blocked his path, causing Bungee to recoil. Lifting a let up to his chest, he edged to one side, giving Winona a sideways look. She stood there, stubborn as her owner Applejack with a similarly stubborn expression on her face.

“Now hold ‘yer horses,” Winona continued to say. “Are y’all deaf or jus-…”

The Collie stopped dead, recoiling the same way Bungee had in the opposite direction.

Bungee still hadn’t said anything. But simply looking in his eyes, Winona saw something. Something that terrified her and caused her to balk. Quickly stepping out of his way, she watched with a mixture of fear and awe as the dangerous, mute lunatic moved on soundlessly.

In a single bound, Bungee disappeared into the woods. In moments he rocketed into a full sprint, weaving between trees and leaping over low undergrowth. The forest blurred past him as he followed his nose, guided straight and true towards his upwind target.

Even if he could’ve said something to Winona; there wasn’t a damn thing worth saying. It was Bungee’s mission to protect. To do this, the dog had to do whatever it took. To defend lives – to defend Luna – he would become the darkness many feared even talking about.

Rourke would not exercise restraint. He wouldn’t think twice about pulling the trigger and adding another pony to the bodycount. He had already attempted to take Luna’s life; he wouldn’t stop.

If Bungee was going to beat him, he would have to follow the same rules.

53

Celestia groaned painfully. Her throat felt raw from screaming orders over the thunder. Her ears still hurt from the deafening bangs that had filled the air. Peeling open her eyes she was still seeing multi-coloured dots swimming around in her field of vision.

The alicorn had to blink hard a few times before her blurry vision focused. As it came slowly, she was beginning to remember what had happened in the woods. It could have only happened moments ago, but with every muscle in her body screaming in agony it felt like she had been running for hours.

It hadn’t been her choice to fleet. It had been the sergeant’s orders. An unknown hostile had the high ground, and they were trapped under a rain of high velocity projectiles. Celestia had lit up the ridge with magical fire, but the angle of attack merely shifted. Their attacker had ruled the high ground and didn’t stop moving from one concealed location to another.

Then ponies started dying.

That was when the sergeant told Celestia to run, quoting all sorts regulations and authority overrides to her face. Before he eventually threatened to buck her lights out if she didn’t get herself out of the killzone.

So Celestia had run. Though not with the purpose of escaping. She had removed herself from the combat zone only to double back and flank wide with the hope of getting eyes on the attacker.

Her flanking manoeuvre had ended in a deafening bang and a flash of light as bright as the sun, followed by something heavy hitting her hard enough in the mouth for her to taste blood in the precious moments of sobriety before slipping into unconsciousness.

Waking up, Celestia lifted her head from the cold floor, squinting as she looked around.

The first thing she saw were bars.

Golden shimmering bars of light; they reminded her of the glow of her magic. Wavering yet solid, she eyed the bars slowly realising they surrounded. Vertical and horizontal support beams enveloping her in a perfect cube.

A cage of magic.

Forcing herself to her hooves, the princess shook out her mane a little. She noticed there wasn’t a metal clink of her regalia, and looking down she saw her royal jewels were missing. From her tiara to her golden slippers she’d been stripped down, her mane no longer billowing with all the colours of summer. Her bright pink mane and tail drooped sadly in frizzy waves.

A little impatiently she snapped her gaze up again, the rest of the room beyond her cage sharpening into focus. She made out the muddy floor, wooden ceiling and stone walls. The place smelled of rot and death. And then she saw the source of the smell.

Parts. Some from ponies. Others from other creatures she couldn’t identify in the murky mess that littered the shelves and worktops. It was like looking at a grizzly surgery, but the surgeon was a madman. That meant this lab could belong to none other than Grogar. There was barely a doubt.

That was when some motion caught her eye. Snapping her gaze around, Celestia locked eyes with a pegasus stallion stumbling through the murk of Grogar’s workshop. The tarnished golden armour and the ruffled mane were hard to mistake. Few could tell the royal guardsponies apart, but after centuries of having them guard her life she had gained a knack for it.

“Sergeant!” the princess cried as she scrambled closer to the bars of her cage.

As she did, a jolt of golden energy sprang from the nearest bar and zapped her on the nose. The mare yelped, hopping back and rubbing the small smoking scorchmark before blinking away tears and looking at Sergeant Ironwing.

The pegasus didn’t answer her. He didn’t even acknowledge her. He just stared right through her, and soon Celestia figured out why. The sergeant’s body was littered with swollen crimson pockmarks where he’d been riddled with bullets. His eyes were lifeless, mouth hanging open a little as the zombie-pony looked away and shambled off.

More motion caught her attention. Celestia was slower to react to it this time, staring after Ironwing as he limped mindlessly away. With her eyes closed, her chest feeling like it had taken on a bucket of mercury, the alicorn slowly turned to face the new motion.

With a flare of rage she immediately recognised the ram and the creature walking by his side.

The approaching biped wasn’t hard to identify. There was nopony else he could be other than the human, Lieutenant Rourke.

“I could have finished her off on the spot, Grogar,” he said to the ram as they moved up to the edge of the cage. “Why did you stop me? Why waste time with this cage thing?”

Grogar gave a gruff chuckle. “I haven’t seen this alicorn since she was a tiny insignificant filly. Indulge me, please.”

The human shrugged. “Fine.”

Walking to the edge of her cage facing them, Celestia’s expression smouldered with anger. “Grogar? You did this?” she demanded to know with a nod in the direction the echo that was Sergeant Ironwing had moved.

Looking up at the alicorn incredulously the ram nodded as if it should have been obvious. “I did indeed. Though with a little help, I must admit. I’m ashamed to say I never would have thought of making my own corpses rather than relying on those decomposed frames I usually use. I lacked...” – a hoof tapped his bottom lip thoughtfully – “how would you put it? Ambition?”

The princess’ eyes fell shut, squeezing out tears that trickled down her white cheeks.

“Hubris got the better of me.” Celestia’s heart sank. She should have listened to Luna. She should have dealt with Grogar sooner, then none of this would have happened. Then her dear little ponies would still be alive. “I should have sent you straight back to Tartarus the moment I learned you were free.”

Rage suddenly filled her heart as her eyes jerked open again, ablaze with fires flickering in her glistening irises. Her mane caught on an invisible draft, reddening like the sunset skies while curling and fanning like a wildfire.

“A mistake,” the alicorn hissed in a tone that injected terror into even Grogar’s lifeless soul, “I will not make again!”

A surge of adrenaline yanked at Rourke’s limbs. Moving with choreographed precision and speed he snatched his rifle out of its sling and shouldered the weapon. The barrel was mere inches from the wavering bars of Celestia’s cage, levelled directly on her chest. All it would take was three shots.

Double tap to the heart, then a dead-check to the head...

Grogar surprised the lieutenant. With a glow of his magic the necromancer jerked the rifle away to one side. Rourke yanked the weapon back with a frustrated growl, keeping it safely pointed at Celestia’s hooves while glaring at the ram.

“Wait!” Grogar hissed. “Wait…”

The inferno raging around Celestia passed as quickly as it had kindled. Magic bounced off the cage bars, intensifying the magical glow before slowly dissipating into a misty haze. The cage flickered, but it held, absorbing Celestia’s magic as she sparked it.

“Wait for what?” Rourke asked. “To see if this cage works right? ‘Cuz if it don’t we’ll be fucked before we know what went wrong.”

“Nono, I know the cage works. What kind of king would I be without a queen at my side?”

Celestia pulled a disgusted expression, recoiling from the cage bars between her and Grogar. “Are you suggesting I would be your bride, monster!? You’re insane!”

“I agree with the talking horse,” the human agreed with a reasonable tone before Rourke exploded into a shout, adding, “Are you out of your mind!?”

“Hard to be out of something you never had,” giggled the ram a little maniacally with a wide uneven smile plastered over his face. A smile in any context just looked wrong on Grogar’s face. “Besides, if we kill her, who will raise the sun and moon?”

Rourke gaped angrily. He was about to make some kind of argument about Grogar risking the mission just so he could get his freak on. But that comment about needing Celestia to raise the sun and moon completely threw him.

He eventually just threw his arms up in defeat. “… this whole world is fucked up!”

Grogar smirked, growling darkly, “Oh, quit whining. Come, I could use a hand mixing some love poison.”

“What’s that?”

“A speciality brew of mine. Something to make the dear princess a bit more… compliant.” Grogar explained as he started leading the way to his alchemy lab. “I developed it back in the day to overthrow this little nation I had my eyes o-…”

The ram was unexpectedly interrupted by a gasp for air followed by a thunderous sneeze. Even as she watched the human heave before the sneeze, even Celestia jumped from the sudden loud noise.

Frowning, Grogar turned on the spot to see Rourke recover, covering his face with both hands as he sniffed a few times.

“Allergies again?”

“Yeah, your filter spell doesn’t work for shit,” Rourke sniffed. “Do you have a dog around here or something?”

“No… why?”

“Usually that’s all I’m allergic to.”

That was all Rourke managed to say before the ceiling caved in over his head.

Sometime earlier…

Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent’s fate.

Sun Tzu was talking about a number of things, but his primary message with this philosophy was about using subterfuge and stealth to overcome an opponent; even an opponent larger and more powerful than you. For the record; Sun Tzu plagiarised that philosophy.

Since the beginning of time predators had used stealth to overcome a great many obstacles. No matter the prey, with the proper application of stealth predators have torn down the mightiest of creatures. And it was likely by watching this application by predators that Mister Tzu got the idea to apply this philosophy to his own battle-plans.

Bungee was no stranger to stealth. It ran in his blood, much like teamwork. Millennia of instinct – no matter how watered down by domestication – was hard to ignore. Unfortunately, Bungee was alone. He didn’t have a pack to run with. So he had to rely on stealth more than ever.

Especially against the odds laid out before him.

Laying on the ridge overlooking the bowl shape the Everfree Forest seemed to make, only the top of the German Shepherd’s head with his pointed ears were visible. And even then, the drab colours of his fur blended in with the autumn leaves carpeting the dirt. Still, Bungee kept his head low as he observed patiently.

The cold hard facts were as followed;

The low compound below was home to various smells. The smell that interested Bungee was the smell of Lieutenant Rourke. The smell that overpowered the human’s odour and worried the dog was the stench of death.

That stench of death was a visible concern. Bungee counted at least a dozen pale figures wandering the compound’s perimeter. Zombie ponies were on a relaxed patrol pattern. But they were unpredictable. Bungee would have to improvise on the fly if he was going to sneak past.

And that brought him neatly on to the final fact.

He was one dog against who-only-know how many zombie ponies. Stealth was a must. If he was discovered Rourke would either bolt or join with the zombie ponies to murder Bungee in one of a variety of colourful ways.

He would need to stay on top of the situation. Speaking of which…

Bungee felt his eyes drawn to a ridge flanking the compound. It elevated a good few feet above the building’s flat roof of logs. Perched on the ridge seemed to be a tree. Although, what was left of a tree. Possibly blown over in a storm, it had keeled over with the top connecting with the compound’s roof, a massive cluster of roots and dirt torn clean out of the earth leaving a massive crater in the forest floor.

From the ridge to the compound’s roof, Bungee traced an invisible line from his overmatch position to the fallen tree and across to the roof. From there he could find a weak spot and breach right on top of Rourke.

If Bungee were expressive, he would grin. He didn’t care for what happened after he dealt with Rourke. The zombie ponies could do whatever. He would try to stop them, but all that mattered was completing the mission. Ending Rourke.

If Bungee managed that he would be happy. It would be good enough.

Shuffling to his paws, Bungee slipped over the ridge and trotted with his head low down the side of the bowl. He would quietly bound from side to side, dodging and weaving through the sparsely placed trees, pausing only to peer down at the patrolling zombie ponies – and when satisfied they were looking the other way he would continue his approach.

Pausing, Bungee smelled and listened. A mere dozen metres away a zombie pony shuffled through the dead leaves. The clumsy footfalls were impossible to mistake.

Waiting patiently, the dog listened until the sound faded, then peeked around the trunk of the tree he used for cover. Seeing the zombie pony’s back was turned, Bungee galloped from cover and made a swift dash for the ridge with the fallen tree.

Suddenly hearing a shuffle over his quiet pawfalls, the dog felt his heart skip a beat. Rounding a thick tree up ahead was another patrolling zombie. This one was missing a neck, his head screwed clumsily onto his torso and held in place with a few x-shaped plasters. His dead eyes shifted, the pony slowly turning in Bungee’s direction.

The German Shepherd was faster, diving front paws first behind a low tree stump. The stump was large, half dug up – probably by rodents looking for shelter – exposing a maze of roots in the dark earth.

Sliding to a halt on his belly among the roots, Bungee shuffled into one of the larger hollows and peered through the roots. His fur blended into the dirt and leaves, camouflaging him from the zombie pony’s un-alert eyes as he shambled closer. Eyes bright and aware, Bungee lowered his head a little more between his forelegs, like a sheepdog staring to intimidate some livestock.

“Uhn!” a voice grunted.

Neckless halted in his tracks, mere feet from crashing into the stump Bungee used for cover. Turning on the spot, the zombie watched another undead pony limp closer. Tripod wore a smile on the side of her face that was still relatively intact.

“Gruh?” she asked.

Neckless shrugged as best he could without his head falling off. “Whuuuuh,” he agreed, shuffling away from the stump and towards Tripod.

Having an ‘almost’ conversation, the two zombie ponies had their backs turned as Bungee crawled out of the roots, smears of mud and leaves clinging to his coat. He didn’t care; the debris fell off as he swiftly put one paw in front of the other, carrying himself around their blind side and up around the ridge with the fallen tree.

When he’d reached the makeshift bridge connecting the ridge with the compound roof, bungee wasted no time clambering through the brittle roots and onto the log. Within moments he found himself above and out of the zombie patrol’s field of view.

A good two baker’s dozen feet above.

The bark of the fallen tree was slick in the autumn drizzle and it angled downward towards the lower compound roof. Putting one paw forward, Bungee quickly tested his weight on the log. It held, but the pad on his paw slipped a little. His whole body coiled instinctively, digging his nail into the bark to hold himself in place.

His heart was pounding in his chest as Bungee looked down. The world seemed to stretch.

Feet suddenly seemed like miles. Bungee’s whole field of view curved and warped as he took a step back, rear paws touching the comfort of dirt again.

With a deep breath, the dog had to remind himself it was just like the assault courses he’d trained on back home. Of course, this was a little more slippery and quite a bit higher, while surrounded by zombie ponies who could easily mob him… but in essence it was the same.

Thinking of home made him feel safe, even though he knew damn well he wasn’t safe. But that feeling was enough to bury vertigo and push Bungee forward.

His nails dug into the bark as he stubbornly pressed forward. The comfort of the cool dirt was gone. All that held him up was the wet, mouldy log suspended over the forest floor far below. As he moved though, the German Shepherd made mistake of looking down.

This time it wasn’t the distance from the ground that threw him. This time Bungee tried to suddenly freeze as he saw a zombie pony wander underneath the makeshift bridge.

As he did, the dog slipped. His front paws sprawled out one way, rear paws the other way and he fell straight down, chest slamming into the slick surface of the bark. Suppressing a cough and a whimper, Bungee dug his claws into the tree, stopping his fall with just his rear legs and tail dangling in the air right above the zombie pony standing idly below.

Bits of moss and bark drizzled to the forest floor, some landing on the pony’s head. It didn’t seem to notice, dumbly brushing it off and sauntering on with a limp; not thinking to look up at the dog hanging there helplessly for a moment.

Curling his whole body, Bungee managed to dig the nails on his rear paws into the bark and clambered unevenly atop the slick bridge again. Catching his breath, the German Shepherd shuffled onwards, more carefully this time. And when his paws did touch the roof of the compound, Bungee finally let out the breath he’d been holding in relief.

Shaking off the winding blow and the few moments of heart stopping fright, Bungee sniffed the air, weaving slowly forward as he carefully put one paw in front of the other. Compound looked old and felt uneven. The ceiling sagged a little with every step, so he kept his weight spread out as best as he could, moving slowly and smoothly and pausing only when he caught a whiff of his target.

Sweeping back to where the scent was strongest, Bungee caught it. It was definitely Rourke’s smell seeping up through the cracks in the roof. The dog honed in on it and figured he was standing right over the human’s head.

That was when the wooden beams under his paws sagged…

Before Bungee could even think to move, the roof collapsed under his paws and the dog fell through.

Moss, dirt and wood choked the air as bungee fell in a blur of motion. He wasn’t sure which way was up or down until he hit the ground with a distinct thud. Murky dust filled the air as light filtered through the gaping hole left in the ceiling.

Blinking away dirt, Bungee rolled from his side onto his belly and looked up to see his target.

Rourke stood there, waving off the dust and dirt with one hand, rifle gripped in the other. He was focused in the dog’s field of view, standing in an overhead spotlight, highlighted with everything around the man blurring and darkening. Bungee didn’t hesitate. From his prone position on the muddy floor, the dog leapt forward, mouth agape and fangs bared.

And with a single powerful snap, two hundred pounds of pressure per square inch forced his teeth into Rourke’s arm. He felt the man tug as he screamed out loud with pain and surprise, but Bungee didn’t let up. He pulled back, tugging sharply from side to side in an attempt to pull the man off his feet. But Rourke wouldn’t go down.

The lieutenant steadied his stance by lowering his centre of gravity and keeping his feet widely parted.

Finally managing to get the dirt out of his eyes, Rourke looked down at the dog clamped onto his forearm, keeping the rifle pointed off to one side. The human pulled. Bungee bit down harder and pulled back.

They couldn’t keep it up for much longer. Soon Rourke would go for his knife with his free hand and Bungee would be at a disadvantage. He had to gamble.

Pulling as hard as he could, Bungee tried to get the human off-balance before letting go of his arm. In an instant he leapt up, jaws aiming for the throat. He had to get Rourke on the ground as quickly as possible. He had to end this fight before it started proper…

Unfortunately Bungee was too slow.

He missed as the human jumped back, lifting a knee to his chest and lashing out with a kick. The rough sole of his boot hit Bungee right in the side of the head, nearly knocking the sense right out of him. The blow left Bungee tasting blood, and he was pretty sure it wasn’t Rourke’s. Launched across the workshop with a yelp, Bungee landed low on all fours before dashing for cover into the shadowy corners of the room.

Lieutenant Rourke’s rifle came up and started barking its retort in an instant. The smoke burned in Bungee’s nose and the flashes of light forced his pupils to contract. In an instant the whole room faded to darkness, lit only for unfathomable brief moments with the fire flashing from Rourke’s rifle trying to track the dashing dog.

Stupid gun. Bungee hated the damn things, especially now. All sense of smell was gone as burnt gunpowder choked the air. His night vision had been completely cancelled out by the muzzle-flare, darkening the whole room for the dog. All he could really do for the moment was duck into cover and hope for some breathing room.

Bullets slammed into the workshop walls and tables. Rourke’s aim jerked from side to side, the rifle magazine half-spent as he searched for the target. His eyes squinted into the shadowy corners as he tried to find the dog. He couldn’t see the mutt and slowly lowered his weapon. Maybe he’d scared it off.

Groaning, Rourke reeled as he noticed the stinging pain in his right forearm. Looking down he could see small dots of blood spreading into his sleeves. That bite had broken skin. This mutt wasn’t screwing around.

“Grogar, fetch me a-…” Rourke was about to ask for the med-kit he kept in his backpack, when a black and brown blur shot out over one of the worktops.

Planting his paws on the surface of the worktop, Bungee uncoiled like a striking snake and launched himself directly at the human. His maw was spread wide, teeth aimed at the human’s exposed neck…

Moments from his target, Bungee was jerked off course.

A putrid green glow enveloped Bungee’s vest and held him in place like a giant’s hand. The dog snapped his jaw and clawed his paws at the air beside Rourke’s face as the human managed to recoil out of range. And with a flick of Grogar’s magic, Bungee was tossed clean across the room; over the tables littered with sharp implements, and into a wooden cage sat right beside Celestia’s cell.

Hitting the back of the cage, Bungee yelped and slumped to the ground, looking up. He was seeing double, but he didn’t care. Shrugging the blow off, the dog scrambled to his paws and threw himself back towards Rourke, only to have the cage door slam shut in his face.

The lock’s click was drowned out by the creak of the cage as Bungee threw himself against the wooden bars with all his might. His head nearly split with pain of the impact, but again and again he recoiled and threw himself against the cage door. He was so close. Rourke was right there!

And he was foiled by some bound branches boxing him in.

After the eight time, Bungee stopped throwing himself at the cages, angrily watching the human recover from the attempt on his life.

Breathing hard with a mixture of shattered pride and pain, Rourke shouldered his rifle and jammed the barrel between the bars of the wooden cage. Despite having a gun pointed squarely at his head, Bungee didn’t flinch. He just kept his glare fixed on the human, growling fiercely all the time.

Gritting his jaw, the human tightened his finger on the trigger. It met the first pressure point, tightening back a little more. With a click it would release the spring loaded mechanism and unleash eh firing pin, ejecting a bullet out of the chamber, down the barrel and into the dog’s head…

But he stopped when he saw something.

Confusion, then realisation took over Rourke’s face as he let go of the trigger, engaging the safety and lowering the rifle.

“Wait...” he whispered softly, moving in closer to inspect the dog and the gear he wore. “Wait, I know you. I recognise that gear. That’s... you’re a Military Working Dog, aren’t you? Not just that, you...” With widened eyes, the man looked at the black ink tattoo etched on the inside of Bungee’s left ear. “M192! You’re Gunnery Sergeant Bellew’s dog! What was your name? Bingo...? Bennie...? Bino...?” The lieutenant paused to think, rubbing the bridge of his nose before suddenly looking up with a snap of his fingers. “Bungee! That’s it! Bungee.”

Bungee started barking loudly and quickly, as if warning the lieutenant from speaking his name. Rourke merely chuckled with a frown.

“Oh, and you know exactly who I am. You know I killed your handler don’t you.” With a glimmer of a smirk, the lieutenant leaned on his knees, edging closer to the cage holding the growling German Shepherd. Rourke looked right into Bungee’s eyes and he recognised that gaze. “I can see it in your eyes. You want nothing more than to drop me like I dropped Samantha. That is remarkable. A dog out to avenge its handler. I never would have believed it unless I saw it for myself.” The man straightened up with another chuckle. “And I’m dealing with talking horses.”

Letting his rifle hang in its sling, Rourke stepped back from the cage and turned away from the dog as his barks settled to a low growl. Grogar looked between the human and the newfound canine adversary with a bit of confusion.

“Aren’t you going to kill it?” He asked.

Rourke shook his head in response. “No, I can’t just kill it. It seems like a waste. No, what I’ll do is let it watch what we have in store for Equestria. Let it know it failed just before I kill it.”

The demon ram scoffed. “In my experience leaving an adversary alive when you have the chance to kill it usually ends badly.”

“That’s rich coming from you.” – Grogar rolled his eyes under Rourkes accusing glare – “It’s just a dog. How much trouble can it be?” he reasoned with a casual wave. “Leave it in the cage; we’ll deal with this later.”

Grogar sighed out a; ‘fine,’ moving towards his alchemy station to prepare the love poison he had in store for Celestia. Figuring he may as well help to speed up the process, Rourke moved to join him. But as he did, there was a distinct stomp of a hoof on the ground.

It was Celestia in the cage beside Bungee’s. She stomped up to the edge of the cage, locking her glare on the human soldier.

“Lieutenant Rourke!” – the human immediately turned to face her with an angered, ‘What!?’ – “I don’t understand,” Celestia admitted.

“What don’t you understand?” Rourke shook his head as he moved closer to the alicorn’s cage, hearing Grogar pottering about his alchemy lab nearby.

The princess wasn’t sure where to even begin. So she started with the most paramount questions. “Why are you doing this? Why are you harming my little ponies? Why are you helping that monster?”

“That monster” – he bent his fingers to indicate quotation marks on his emphasis – “is going to give me the Elements of Harmony.”

“He does not have them,” Celestia chided, causing Rourke to chuckle.

“I know that. But once he takes over Equestria he will.”

It still didn’t make much sense to Princess Celestia. Before all the forces of evil wanted was to rule Equestria, gain riches and enslave her little ponies. Never before had she met an individual whose goal was to procure the Elements of Harmony for himself. And even if he managed, he wasn’t one of the bearers. He wouldn’t be able to use them.

“Why do you want them?” she asked cautiously.

“I need the Elements of Harmony to save my world.”

Celestia gave a mirthless laugh. “Really?” she sounded unconvinced. “If that is what you needed, why not just come to me and ask for help!?”

Rourke pulled a confused face wondering what the alicorn’s angle was. “You’d let me take them?”

“I would have gladly sent them to save your world,” Celestia explained calmly. “There would have been no need for any of this violence!”

Realising what the talking horse was thinking, Rourke laughed. “Princess, my world isn’t being destroyed by an evil monster. My world is suffering a long term energy crisis. The elements are an answer to that crisis. They are a source of infinite energy. When I take the Elements of Harmony, you will never see them again... ever.”

Celestia’s eyes widened as she shook her head, nearly recoiling until her flank pressed against the back of the cage.

“But... but the Elements of Harmony are what protect Equestria! We would be left vulnerable to attack!”

“My world is at war!” Rourke retorted angrily. “My people are fighting – killing each other over resources. These are the names the friends I’ve lost just because some corporate oil-baron’s profit margin dropped a few percent,” – he tapped a finger agiasnt the flag pinned to his chest, adorned with names written in black ink. “So when I ran out of space on the first flag I decided humanity needed an alternative power source.

“The Elements of harmony were scouted out in a planetwide evacuation experiment we called the Ark Project. We thought we were tunnelling a stable wormhole to a rich new planet with resources, but in truth we had found away into parallel dimension where magic was real. I led the project, discerning that the Elements of Harmony was our best bet of survival.

“But our do-gooder leaders decided leaving whole cities and societies to starve or be eradicated by our enemies was fine and dandy, but saving our people by condemning a few ponies worlds away was too much. All the evil they’d done to our own people, and they couldn’t bring themselves to wipe out some colourful fucking horses?”

“All things have a right to exist.” Celestia snarled. “Your leaders were wise.”

“Wise? Wise!? They sit in their comfy conference rooms talking about change but are too chicken-shit to take responsibility and actually do what needs to be done!” – Rourke pointed out in a random direction – “It is a dog-eat-dog universe, princess! Survival of the fittest! And I am going to make sure humanity stays on top of the food-chain!”

“I am very sorry for what is happening to your world; but you cannot just lay waste to my world to save your own.”

“Watch me!” Rourke yelled before calming himself. “You’d do the same in my position.”

Celestia gasped angrily. “No! I wouldn’t! Never!”

“Is that so? Well then think of it this way. Would you sacrifice your world for mine?” Celestia remained silent at his twist of words, and Rourke nodded grimly before walking away from her. “No, I didn’t think so.”

Author's Note

The start of this chapter is shit because I’ve gone with ‘tell’ instead of ‘show.’ I was simply not motivated to write the opening action sequence that I had planned. I intend to come back and fix this atrocity of a chapter someday. But with all the tedious plot-crap out of the way we can finally get on with the climax.

Please point out spelling and grammar errors.

Edits:
22/10/13
- Fixed random spelling and grammar issues

57

Celestia could only watch as Rourke stirred a sickly looking brew, allowing Grogar wander around his alchemy lab.

“Where did I leave that feather?” the ram muttered absently as he pottered in a scatter-brained fashion.

At that point Celestia realised the love poison was almost ready. No doubt the fiends had a way to force it down her throat. And then she’d belong to Grogar; mind, body and soul.

Sighing deeply, the princess slumped to the ground. She may as well become a slave in some comfort. In the cage beside her she could hear Bungee was still scratching about. The dog hadn’t settled down the whole time he’d been captured. He’d tried to dig into the hardened clay of his cage’s floor, he’d tried chewing at the ropes binding the box. All to little effect it had seemed at first. Celestia had given up hope of either them escaping and submitted herself to the hopeless situation.

“I should have listened to Luna,” Celestia admitted her mistakes. “Not just about Grogar, but about you as well. You would have saved us from the lieutenant’s ambush. My guards may have lived to see their families again. Luna would know what to do right now. She always knew what to do when we were younger. We’d get in so much trouble some times,” she gave a nostalgic giggle thinking about how she and her sister had run circles around their nannies as foals.

“She’s always been stronger than I. Not in ability, per se; I’m talking about emotionally. She’s always been more willing to do what needs to be done without regrets. She’s a mare of action. I guess I’m a little less old fashioned. Now and days all Equestria’s problems are solved with peace, diplomacy and the power of friendship or love.” Celestia paused to smile a little. “This whole situation has made me feel so… so foolish. So naïve. It’s like I’ve forgotten the dark ages.

“Mind you; I’d prefer to forget the dark ages altogether,” the alicorn snorted before realising something. “So here I am. Talking to a dog.” She sighed with a weak smile, turning her head to Bungee’s cage.

Celestia wasn’t quite sure what she had been expecting to see. Just to have Bungee sitting there hung on every word as if he was able to answer?

Of course not. Bungee only half understood and barely comprehended what the princess had been talking about. So he had busied himself with something else.

Bungee’s front paws battered the corner of his cage’s floor, scraping deep into the clay rapidly, one after the other. At the same time he had his teeth locked on the bars of his cage’s door, pulling and pushing it, causing it to flex with each cycle of his frantic digging.

“What in Equestria are you up to, Bungee?” Celestia whispered, rising to her hooves to get a better look.

Her new angle towering over the German Shepherd gave her a better view of the dog gnawing at the bars of his cage in one corner. The ends of the bars were laying in splinters under the dog, merged with a small mound of clay where he was digging a gulley under the cage door.

Celestia’s eyes widened as there was a soft crack of Bungee gripping the wood in his teeth and breaking back a few lengths to make more space for him to slip out of the cage. It was enough space to grant a pony freedom, it was more than enough for the dog and his tac-vest.

Taking a deep breath, the alicorn princess felt a wave of hope overcome her. “Oh, Bungee, you beautiful hound,” she whispered with a furtive glance to Rourke and Grogar with their backs to the cages.

Recognising the praise, Bungee momentarily looked away from what he was doing and looked at Celestia; almost throwing her a proud smirk.

‘POOF!’ “Ah!” Grogar gave a victorious clap of his gnarly forehooves. “It’s done!”

Celestia gasped, looking across to the alchemy lab just in time to see a poof of pink clouds emanating from a vial held in his magical grip. The clouds turned pitch black and took on the appearance of skulls before finally dissipating.

Corking the prepared vial with a bulbous base, Grogar took the glass in his teeth, only widening his wicked smile. With his human colleague in tow, the ram slowly moved towards Celestia’s cage. A lump formed in the princess’ throat. She was suddenly not so ready to surrender to her fate. She didn’t want to be Grogar’s slave. She felt sickened at the mere thought of the vulgar things he might make her do in her love-drunk state.

Fortunately she had Bungee.

Seeing the hostiles approaching, Bungee wasted little more time. It would be a matter of moments before they noticed the number he’d done on his cage. He needed to move fast.

Dropping prone, the dog shuffled forward, slipping out under the splintered bars of the cage door. His vest caught for a moment, but with a quick twist the German Shepherd was able to tear himself free before either Grogar and Rourke could look down at him.

By the time they realised the dog was off the leashed, it was way too late.

Bungee leaped from his prone position. It was like he’d grown wings as he soared through the air like a guided missile. Only to everyone’s surprise, his target wasn’t Rourke.

Planting all four paws on the human’s back, Bungee’s weight caught Rourke off balance and pushed him to the ground as the dog leapt forward. His fangs bared, he rocketed at Grogar next. As the lieutenant hit the ground flat out with a mouthful of earth, Bungee’s fangs sank into Grogar’s neck.

He was foul, his coarse fur was greasy and bitter, and at this proximity Bungee was overwhelmed by the dizzying stench of decay. But he fought through it, forcing Grogar into the ground. The force of the tackle threw the vial of love poison from the ram’s mouth. It shattered at the foot of Celestia’s cage, the alicorn instinctively taking a disgusted step back from the oozing puddle that evaporated into a black heart shaped cloud that cracked down the middle.

At the same time, bungee’s teeth found the string of Grogar’s bell, and with a sharp pull he tore it open, letting the bell clatter uselessly to the ground.

With the dazed hostiles down for the moment, the Military Working Dog leapt out of range, whirling to keep his front towards enemies. Bungee glanced between where Rourke was climbing to his feet and Celestia still trapped in her cage. He prioritised in an instant.

He was taking a step towards Celestia. She was in danger, Bungee’s priority was still to protect innocents. But Celestia countermanded his orders.

“Go, Bungee!” the princess commanded loudly, seeing Rourke was bringing his rifle to bear. “Run! Get Luna!”

Bungee was gone by the time Rourke whirled to face the escaped German Shepherd. The dog ran like a bat out of hell, rocketing out of Grogars compound with enough acceleration it warranted investigation into how he’d moved without causing a sonic boom.

Rourke saved his ammo, lowering the rifle again as he rose to run after Bungee. He was stopped however by Grogar’s surprising order.

“Wait! Let it go!”

Rourke gritted his teeth, for a moment suspended between dashing out of the compound and turning to the ram. “Let it go? Are you mad!? That dog is trained to lead re-enforcements and search-and-rescue to objectives!” he finally turned to Grogar, glaring. “It’ll be back with help and our element of surprise will go straight out the window!”

“All the more reason for you to stay here.” Grogar emphasised. “With your help I can whip up a new brew of love poison in no time. And with Celestia on our side to hold off her sister we’ll be unstoppable.” A small smirk skipped happily across the dark ram’s face. “Besides; I have a little surprise for any re-enforcements that happen to show up before then… well, maybe not so little.”

Hearing that, Celestia suddenly felt the warmth of her renewed hope replaced by a cold chill of terror.

She was growing a little impatient. They had been sleuthing through the Everfree Forest for almost an hour. And nothing…

Ping.

Nothing other than that persistent ping. It had grown more rapid in the past few moments, but she failed to see its relevance…

Ping.

In fact, that ping didn’t seem to signify anything really. It was just really anno-…

Ping!

“Argh!” the alicorn of the night suddenly let out in a very un-princess-like manner. She threw her head back, crying out at the overcast sky hanging over the grim forest.

Snapping her gaze to her side Luna looked down a little at Mare Do Well. The vigilante was walking on three legs, looking at something strapped to her left fetlock.

“Are you sure you are reading that thing correctly?” the princess asked referring to Bungee’s camera receiver.

It wasn’t just a visual receiver, but seemed to be a tracker of some kind too… at least, so they had theorised.

“For the hundredth time, princess, I don’t know, alright?” Mare Do Well cried, stomping to a halt. “This button;” – she jabbed a random button on the device’s console; nothing happened and she jabbed the same one again – “I don’t know what that does! All I know is that there’s two dots, a ping, and I’m just trying to get us there!”

Luna sighed, realising she was getting snippy over nothing. She was just frustrated and worried. Worried about her sister. Worried about what Rourke could have in store for Equestria.

Worried about Bungee. He was her companion, her friend. The concern was natural.

“We’ll find him prince-…” Mare Do Well started to say, but she suddenly stopped. Her eyes narrowed towards the sparse undergrowth ahead.

The forest had thinned out into tall pine trees. The floor was mostly clear with just clusters fo rocks and undergrowth here and there. The landscape weaved up and down only a little giving them a clear view up to the next hill. Beyond that however the Everfree Forest was a mystery. Mare Do Well didn’t like it. The Royal Guard would have called this area a killzone. It would be where ponies went to die.

And they’d wandered right into it.

But beyond that, there was the sound. A soft rumble, it reverberated through the ground but was at the same time audible. A rumble escalating with every fleeting moment almost in time with their combined heartbeats.

Steadying her stance, Mare Do Well whispered harshly; “Did you hear that?”

“It sounded like thunder,” Luna whispered back.

“No... not like thunder... like death.”

They froze, eyes fixed on the ridge far ahead of them…

And to their surprise a single figure galloped over the crest.

Bungee’s mouth was hanging open, his tongue rolling out the side as he panted hard. He was in full sprint, rocketing down the hillside towards the ponies. Spotting them, the dog barked loudly. It was impossible to tell what the bark was all about, but Luna assumed he was as happy to see her as she was to see him.

“Bungee!” Luna cried happily. “It looks like he’s bringing the party to us!” the princess added triumphantly to the vigilante.

Mare Do Well’s cowl creased into a frown at that concept.

Luna on the other hand was smiling, seating herself and holding out her forelegs for the dog.

Only to her surprise, and disappointment, the dog didn’t run into her embrace. Mere metres away, Bungee whipped right around, sliding to a halt on all fours. His whole body was poised forward, forelegs stretched out so his head was low to the ground. His glinting titanium teeth were bared in a fierce growl aimed at the ridge he’d just run across.

“What is it, boy?” Luna asked, not even noticing the tremors shaking the fallen leaves carpeting the earth.

She was about to move to the dog’s side when a hoof slapped across her chest. The vigilante at her side held the princess back, pale white eyes fixed on the same target as Bungee. Like the dog, Mare Do Well had noticed the growing tremors.

A quick-step gait, it grew even more audible as the range between them and whatever caused the sound decreased. And with a burst of trees being thrown aside like a box of toothpicks, it bounded over the ridge revealing itself to them.

Another dog, only much larger. Larger than any dog in Equestria, larger than any pony. Almost the size of a dragon, it was covered in fur the colour of pitch. So black, it seemed to absorb all the light all around. The fur was offset by three sets of vicious glowing red eyes and a metal spiked collar around each of the necks.

It was a three-headed pitbull from hell.

It was Cerberus, the guardian of Tartarus. And he looked rabid.

Mare Do Well sighed audibly as Luna assumed a combat ready stance like her fellows. “That doesn’t really look like a party to me, princess,” the masked mare commented.

Cerberus’ chest inflated, expanding as all three heads took a deep breath. A moment later came the bark. A mighty bark, so loud it was like an explosion. All the eardrums present popped as the trio were subjected to a sudden shockwave.

The gale force wind bellowed up Mare Do Well’s cape, nearly plucking loose her hat had she not held it down with a hoof. Bungee – like Luna – closed his eyes and looked away as the shockwave whipped him in the face.

The sound passed the like the blast of a hand grenade, leaving only a distinct ringing in the dog’s ears. Opening his eyes, he noticed Luna was looking at him. Inarticulate screams of unseen ghosts filled his ears. Her mouth was still moving as the deafness passed. Though everything was muted, he could hear Luna crying havoc. Bungee didn’t hesitate beyond that point.

The princess had let slip the dog of war.

Facing the approaching hydra-headed hound, Bungee threw himself into a sprint. Though less of a sprint, it was more of an assault. His head was kept high, jaw open a little as if ready to bite on a moment’s notice, eyes fixed on the target.

Assessment of the hostile canine was not difficult for Bungee.

The giant dog had a very unsteady build despite his mass. Long spindly legs with broad puppy-like paws. He had diminutive rear legs placing his rear close to the ground, and with the massive chest and three heavy heads all his weight was placed on the forelegs.

Bungee would take advantage of his adversary’s ridiculous proportions.

As the Military Working Dog assaulted the waiting monster-dog, Cerberus leaned forward a little to meet the charge. All three heads cocked back before darting towards the comparatively tiny German Shepherd. All it would take was one bite. Bungee was like a morsel to the monstrous canine.

The powerful jaws snapped shut – one after the other in quick succession like machine gun fire – with a spray of white froth, but the teeth only cut into air. Bungee had leapt aside already. Cerberus was big and strong. But he was slow and exposed. Bungee was quick and concealed.

Landing a couple of feet to the side of the gnashing teeth of Cerberus, Bungee landed on all fours with a slight skid. His weight shifted and put more pressure on his paws, digging them through the damp leaves and into the soft dirt. His toes curled, digging his claws into the earth for more traction, and as soon as he had purchase; the dog launched himself under the three throats of Tartarus’ guardian.

In comparison, Bungee was like an ankle-biter to Cerberus. So he did exactly that.

As he sprinted under the large dog, his head tilted to one side, jaws snapping shut around Cerberus’ foreleg in the ankle region. Whipping around, Bungee’s teeth tore through the fur and flesh before he pulled back out under the demon-mutt’s opposite flank.

With a sudden, powerful tug, Cerberus’ left foreleg was pulled out under his body and out to his right side.

Cerberus’ expression of shock was multiplied by three as he suddenly keeled forward, planting all three faces into the ground. Letting go of the canine’s leg, Bungee hopped back as the flanking head closest to him reared back.

With a snarl, the right-side head snapped at the air by the German Shepherd, but the way his head craned he couldn’t quite get at Bungee.

Dodging to one side, Bungee’s training kicked into high gear. He immediately escalated the force he was exerting on Cerberus. It was time to put this oversized pooch in his place.

Leaping in a neat curve, Bungee landed on Cerberus’ back before he could re-orient his legs to stand up. The sudden added weight kept the three-headed dog flat on the ground before Bungee tilted his head like before. Only this time his teeth aimed directly at the middle neck.

Locking his jaw on the soft flesh in Cerberus’ neck, Bungee held tight and pulled. The force wasn’t enough to break Cerberus’ tough hide, but it was enough to hurt, eliciting a yelp from the mutt.

Struggling, Cerberus managed to plant his paws on the ground and push himself up. as he did he gave a vigorous shake. The world seemed to waver and tilt to Bungee before the sheer force of the motion threw the German Shepherd sideways. His teeth slipping from Cerberus’ centre neck, Bungee was tossed head over paws across the woods.

Curling, the dog twisted as best he could to straighten himself out mid-air; but his efforts were in vain. His mid-section slammed into a tree, driving the wind out of his lungs. Layers of kevlar panelling absorbed most of the impact preventing total breakage of Bungee’s ribcage.

A thud followed by a groan rang out as Bungee hit the forest floor in a daze.

Letting out a growl, each of Cerberus’ head licked their lips at the morsel they had found. Approaching the Military Working Dog still shaking off his rough landing, Cerberus’ middle-head snapped at the other two, claiming dominance as he demanded the first bite. But after that there’d be little left for the other two.

“Hey, dog-breath!” a coarse voice yelled, stopping the enormous guard dog in his tracks. “Pick on someone my size!”

Half turning, Cerberus saw who had called him out.

Mare Do Well was running with speed that could well match Bungee’s. Her hooves were barely even hitting the ground. Made more so as she ducked to one side around Cerberus’ flank. Without missing a beat she leapt up against one of the straight Everfree trees and galloped another gait before leaping higher into the air, gaining enough elevation so even Cerberus had to look up to keep a set of eyes on the vigilante.

Somersaulting sideways time seemed to slow. Mare Do Well kept her head pointed at the ground, narrow eyes fixed on the three headed dog. The sun peeked through the clouds at the exact right moment, flaring around the soaring vigilante and blinding Cerberus. As the gigantic canine recoiled with a pained bark in slow motion, Mare Do Well’s cape billowed up. A flash of chestnut and silver followed as a rain of projectiles splashed down over Cerberus.

Feathers, dozens of them tipped with broad, bladed steel points overwhelmed Cerberus. They slammed into the dirt around him, hit his hide and riddled him like a thousand bee-stings.

Time screamed into its normal progression again as Mare Do Well curled up and rolled through the air, crashing into a tree. Only unlike Bungee, she had done it on purpose. Hooking a forehoof over a horizontal branch, she whipped right around it before vaulting straight up, straightening out with a flaring twist and landing on all four hooves on the perch above Cerberus’ heads.

“Want some more, muttley? Come get it!” the masked mare challenged.

Shaking out vigorously, Cerberus shook off the projectiles sticking out of his coat and darted towards the tree Mare Do Well sat in. all three sets of jaws crunched down on the trunk like a piece of tasty cartilage and the giant dog tore the tree out of the earth, roots and all.

Turning, the dog shook the tree vigorously, launching the vigilante from its branches. She landed somewhere out of sight, rolling to a halt with a pained grunt. Dropping the tree again, Cerberus forgot about the mare and looked back to where Bungee was supposed to be laying dazed. Only he wasn’t dazed. He was back on his paws, standing ready for another assault, barking defiantly.

Cerberus returned the bark, about to charge...

Cerberus suddenly yelped, stumbling to one side as a crash of energy splashed across the side of his left face. Turning to where the offending magic came from, the giant dog saw another barrage of magic preparing to launch.

Levitated in front of Princess Luna were a trio of glistening orbs, glowing the same colour as her horn. The plasma began to crackle with energy, beams of lightening connecting them at random intervals like the lethal bolts of electricity shooting from a tesla-coil. The static energy caused her wavy mane to frizz and parts of her dark fur to stand on end.

With a concentrated glare, Luna launched the plasma orbs, one after the other in quick succession. As they were thrown, more were generated to add to the pool of ammunition; only to be launched immediately after the first wave. Bursts of four to five orbs followed the first trio – smaller orbs but equally painful – splashing across the three-headed monster’s body, fur crackling as it stood on end with the static energy. He flinched with each successive blow before lowering his heads and trying to cover them with his front paws, growling angrily all the time.

As she fired volley after volley of stinging magic, Luna spread out her wings. The right tip rose high, while the left angled downward with the feathered tips touching the ground.

“We’re going to restrain him!” Luna cried over the crackle of energy filling the air. “Bungee, come!”

The dog understood in and instant as the alicorn angled her flank at Cerberus. Dashing forward, he ran straight at Luna. As he came within range, he sucked in a deep breath and held it. It may well be his last if this went horribly wrong.

Bungee ran in a quick step right up Luna’s wing and onto her back. Jumping forward he landed all fours on the princess’ opposite wing, felling it sag under his weight nearly tipping him all the way to the ground.

And with a powerful flex of her flight-muscles, Luna cried out and threw Bungee up, her wing acting like a spring-board to give the dog the much needed altitude. The German Shepherd immediately added to his momentum by uncoiling his rear legs and leaping forward as he was launched; nose forward, back straight, forelegs tucked under his chest and streamlining his body as best he could.

His maw opened at the last moment, then snapped shut. But his teeth didn’t meet flesh or fur. He immediately tasted the leather of Cerberus’ collar.

Hanging on to the left-side head’s collar, he caught Cerberus off guard and pulled the flanking head low to the ground. Bungee’s paws hit the ground and he didn’t hesitate. Pulling as hard as he could, he kept Cerberus off-balance, keeping the collar pulled as low to the ground as he could.

Luna reacted in time. The machine-gun fire of plasma bolts ended as he formed a magical tether. One end of glowing ribbon snaked its way through Cerberus’ collar and tied off. The other end rooted itself deep into the earth, keeping the oversized dog’s collar anchored to the ground.

Realising the full extent of Luna’s plan, Bungee quickly let go and dashed under the middle head before Cerberus could properly fathom what was happening. Leaping up, with Cerberus pulled down low the German shepherd didn’t need too much elevation. His jaws snapped shut around the opposite flanking collar and his weight pulled Cerberus down until Bungee landed flat on his back, refusing to let go.

At the same time Luna wove another magical tether, bolting down the second of Cerberus’ heads like the first.

The middle one still free gave an angry bark, trying to crane over his right-side brother and snap at Bungee. The Military Working Dog was already gone though, rolled to his paws and dashed just out of range.

The middle head started snapping at the air, thrashing about wildly and refusing to hold still. Bungee didn’t have to be a genius to know this last one was going to be hard. But he had to act fast. Luna’s tethers were pulled taught and seemed to be straining. Cracks formed in the ground as the roots held on for dear life, but if Cerberus kept thrashing he’d tear them right out.

Gritting a jaw, Bungee put one paw forward, ready to try and get in there to hold down the final head...

With a streak of purple, he suddenly realised he wouldn’t have to.

Mare Do Well descended from the sky like an angel; out of nowhere. She planted all four hooves close together on the top of Cerberus’ final head, pushing it violently to the ground. Violently enough that she cratered his whole muzzle into the soft earth.

Luna immediately tethered the final collar down as Mare Do Well leapt clear, landing lightly in front of the three headed dog.

Despite being unable to move, Cerberus still thrashed. He dug his paws into the ground. His foaming jaws snapped desperately at the air. But soon fatigue took over.

With a tired sigh, Cerberus finally admitted defeat and lay still; breathing hard and glaring at the trio that had bested him.

“Contrary to popular belief, three heads are not better than one,” Mare Do Well quipped darkly.

Breathing hard, the mare backed away from the pinned guardian of Tartarus. Looking up she saw Luna and Bungee join her at a safe distance; catching their breath too.

“What do you want to do with him?” the vigilante rasped.

“Leave him. We’ll come back and deal with him later,” Luna suggested. “We should focus on finding Rourke.”

“Agreed,” the vigilante nodded before moving in front of Bungee.

“Alright, dog. Listen up! Rourke! Bad guy! You find, I bust! Deal?” Mare Do Well ordered.

Luna scoffed at the sight of the vigilante trying to talk to Bungee. “You are rather terrible with animals, are you not?”

Mare Do Well scoffed too, pointing out Bungee’s attentive stance. The dog maintained her gaze on the vigilante as if taking every word.

“And you’re underestimating how smart the mutt really is, aren’t you? Look in his eyes when you mention the human’s name. Don’t you see the look? The hunger?” the masked mare asked.

Luna cocked an eyebrow; unable to see it. “A hunger for what?”

“Justice,” Mare Do Well lied without missing a beat.

It wasn’t really a lie, she could see Bungee did crave justice. Just not the kind of justice the princess – nor Equestria’s society at large – was used to. It was a hunger for a darker form of justice. Vengeful justice. The kind of justice Mare Do Well learned plenty about; beating thugs to a pulp in Equestria’s pissy underbelly.

Vengeance was a dark and foreboding forest filled with demons. Even when braved, it could consume a soul whole. Mare Do Well knew that better than any pony. But even still, she would not deny Bungee the chance to find his own way through those dark woods. Every soul had a right to find its own way, and if a soul did emerge from the darkness – it emerged better, stronger.

“Bungee claimed he would murder Rourke if they ever met again,” Luna reasoned with a little worry. Though she was positive Rourke deserved the fate, she was uncomfortable with her fuzzy companion carrying out the grisly task.

Mare Do Well shrugged. “Perhaps he will. But then perhaps he won’t. It’ll be something he’ll figure out when the time comes.” Pushing past them, the vigilante set off into the woods to continue the search for the villains. “He is a smart dog, princess. Have faith.”

“That sounds a little strange coming from you,” Luna teased with a smirk.

Mare Do Well scowled without stopping. “Don’t get used to it.”

Bungee and Luna shared a humorous glance before following the vigilante.

61

The zombie ponies guarding Grogar’s compound charged… or, hobbled. One raised his head, lip-less maw spread wide and letting out a wail that signified an order to attack contacts on the perimeter.

The groan died in its throat as a razor tipped feather slashed through the air and hit the zombie right in the eye. With a sideways twitch, the pony crumpled and dropped to the ground laying still for the last time. Dozens more projectiles rained form the high ground with straight, terminal trajectories. Over half found their targets; headshots.

A good dozen zombies dropped, but there were many more to be had, limping up to the ridge where the trio were attacking from.

As Mare Do Well was raining an unholy plethora of bladed projectiles on the flanks to keep the attackers bunched together, Bungee and Luna charged right down the middle breaking ranks. Luna’s blasts of magical energy only matched by Bungee’s ferocious war cries; barks echoing off into the distance.

Between them and the bunker were a healthy horde of zombie ponies, rabid and ready to get some killing done. Three versus fifty hostiles. Even odds.

Charging up to the line, Princess Luna drew a deep breath, preparing her lungs and voice for the first melee. Though, not so much a ‘melee’ per-se. Her breath exploded from her mouth with a mighty cry – the Royal Canterlot Voice echoing across the woods. Whole trees swayed, patches of grass and undergrowth flattened. Clouds of fallen leaves danced into the air, playing in the shockwave emanating from Luna’s vocal chords.

“BEGONE!” she yelled as loudly as she could, the effort thrown into her usual tone causing enough force to shake the ground.

Zombie ponies were lifted into the air in ranks, tossed like toys down the hill where they hit the ground and crumpled. The area directly ahead of the princess was cleared, a forty-five degree angle neatly uprooted by just her voice.

But much to her shock, there were no embers. The unclean undead weren’t cleansed by the sheer power of her words. They simply rolled to their hooves and proceeded with their charge.

“What on…” she could hardly finish her flustered comment when a particularly speedy zombie lunged forward, cutting her off.

The princess recoiled as two rows of filed down yellowed teeth snapped at the air mere millimetres from her neck. Within the same moment as the interlocking teeth came gnashing down at her air, the zombie was thrown sideways by an unseen force.

Unseen, until both figures hit the ground and the black and tan blur rolled to his paws.

Bungee shook off his daze having collided with the zombie pony mid-air, tackling him off course. Stumbling to one side the German Shepherd found his centre again just as the zombie pony tried to get up and charge Luna again. Locking his teeth around the pony’s mane, the dog tugged fiercely with a low growl, flooring the zombie once more. The monster kicked and bucked, struggling to find balance, before he twitched and suddenly went still with a razor tipped feather sticking out of his head.

Stepping back, Bungee looked up to see Mare Do Well enter the fray.

The vigilante leapt hooves first past Luna, scissor kicking a zombie pony in the head. The sheer force of the blow twisted the head right around with a sickening snap, and the creature’s body fell limp. Landing gracefully, the mare’s scowl was visible through her mask as she regarded the momentarily stunned princess having been saved by her dog and masked ally in quick succession.

“Shake it off, princess!” Mare Do Well snapped with a flare of her cape. At the same time a plethora of razor tipped feathers scythed through the air, suppressing the advancing zombie ponies for a moment. “Go with the simple methods!”

What followed were two more snaps of necks as the mare leapt up and swept a rear hoof around in a whirling flying-kick, twisting one head around before twisting another with a powerful swing of a forehoof.

Luna managed to shake it off and nodded. Her horn glowed in an instant, and a solid beam of light matching the colour of her magical aura materialised in the air before her. Leaping forth into the fray after Bungee and Mare Do Well, Luna started swinging.

The magical blade curved like a scimitar as it sliced through ranks of zombie ponies. She had never been one for swordplay, but unlike with chess, she could still beat her older sister in fencing. Though despite looking like she had reasonable knowledge of what she was doing, there was no finesse to her motions. Just semi-controlled cutting, left-right, up and down.

Heads rolled one way. Legs, tufts of manes, tails. There was no blood; just a light sizzling with each cut leaving a cauterised stump on both ends of the dismembered zombie ponies.

Bungee never left her flank, often breaking a zombie’s attempted tackle on Luna’s side, or grabbing a mouthful of mane or tail to hold a zombie still for Luna.

Mare Do Well’s progress was on the other hand much more fluid. She’d let the zombies get behind her, but it did them no good. She never stopped moving, so they couldn’t even keep up to hit her from a blind side.

Leaping into the fray, she whipped three-sixty degrees in a deft flying-kick, snapping around three heads in one sweep. Before landing, one of her forehooves came down, connecting with the next zombie pony, a reanimated pegasus guard. His helmet was missing, and the blow caved in his skull against a rock. Without even realising she’d put Sergeant Ironwing out of his misery, she threw herself sideways, shouldering the next monster to the ground.

A hoof stomped down on his neck and the creature stopped squirming with a flare of Mare Do Well’s cape, three feathers embedding in the side of his face. At the same time a wide fanning array of projectiles shot from Mare Do Well’s opposite flank, causing four charging zombies to tumble back head over hooves.

But it was in that moment of inactivity; that brief instant where she wasn’t moving that she lost her stride.

In that pause, a zombie pony grabbed her. Or her hat to be more precise.

With a hard tug, the pony held the hat in his yellow teeth by the brim and pulled it clean from Mare Do Well’s head. Leaving her mask in place, the long chestnut coloured horn protruding from the forehead of her mask was revealed in its glinting glory. Gilded with a spiral pattern, much like that of the princess it ended in a delicate point.

Gritting her teeth, the masked mare reached out and locked a hoof on the zombie’s throat. Pulling him in close, she immediately threw her head forward, her horned forehead slamming violently into the zombie pony’s face with a ‘crunch!’ Pulling back – the hat fallen from the zombie’s broken grasp - she immediately dragged the dazed pony in close again, slamming her forehead into the zombie’s face again.

Again and again and again and again… until the zombie dropped to the ground, a bloody porridge with bits of shattered teeth where the creature’s face had once been.

When Mare Do Well whipped around, flinging two feathers into the face of the next pony, there was a distinct spiderweb of cracks across her right eye-lens. She didn’t seem to notice, or just didn’t care as she ran furiously into the next melee. More limbs broke, more faces caved in the onslaught that followed.

She only paused when something pulled at her shoulders. Looking back she saw a zombie pony clutching the edge of her cape in its teeth. Another latched on, with a third jumping on the stationary mare’s back. Grunting, the mare felt her face pushed against the ground as she struggled to straighten up, sharp teeth nipping at the air by her ear.

Growling, she quickly shifted her weight sideways and rolled, pulling down the zombies holding on to her and flattening the pony trying for a free ride. A distinct ripping sound echoed in her ears, and the mare’s heart sank. Not too far. There was no pain, so the ripping noise wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

With the zombies falling off her, the mare pushed her forehooves hard against the dirt and somersaulted backwards, landing heavily on all fours with some reasonable range between her and her attackers.

Glancing back she saw the damage; her cape was ruined, some tatters still hanging from the offending zombie ponies’ mouths. With and angered growl, the vigilante snapped her revealed wings forward, unleashing a volley of razor tipped feathers.

With a whisper quiet ‘thwip’ the zombies dropped to the ground and lay still.

Taking a deep breath, Mare Do Well turned her head to see Luna cut through the last few zombie ponies still standing. Bungee in the meantime was snipping through the remains to make sure there were no survivors. The trio were the only things standing in a small sea of corpses either torn up or riddled with chestnut projectiles.

Turning to face her, the princess gasped lightly at the sight of Mare Do Well. And it wasn’t the damage to her costume that shocked Luna . It was the horn planted on her forehead and the pair of chestnut feathered wings folded neatly against her back that really threw her.

Mare Do Well was an alicorn? And to add to that, without the oversized hat throwing off her proportions and a baggy cape draped over her form she did seem awfully buff for a mare.

Luna wasn’t sure what to make of the vigilante anymore. Was she some sort of lost relative? Removed perhaps? Was she perhaps a princess from a faraway land? She’d only known of alicorns to be princesses, not rough-around-the-edges vigilantes who beat individuals to a pulp with their bare hooves.

Realising she was staring, Mare Do Well scowled at the stunned princess.

“What?” she growled darkly.

Luna quickly shook her head innocently as the vigilante led the final stretch to the compound. “N-nothing.”

“Good,” the masked mare grunted.

Though Mare Do Well and Princess Luna were following the lines of common sense; Bungee was used to the motions that followed. He was stacking up in preparation of a breach. Luna took cover at one side of the only doorway leading inside, Bungee at her side. Mare Do Well stood opposite them.

Luna’s horn glowed as she looked up from Bungee standing ready to pounce to the masked mare. An orb of light formed in front of Luna, and Mare Do Well gave a firm nod. Luna nodded back and the orb of light shot into doorway…

BANG!

The thousand decibel bang was preceded by a flicker of light, even while standing outside it burned spots into Bungee’s field of vision. But what came next was almost second nature to him. He had this procedure drilled into him since he was a puppy.

Samantha had taught him well.

Slipping around the doorpost, Bungee sprinted into Grogar’s compound making as much noise as he could. He was barking in rapid fire as he ran, sweeping the area as he fearlessly crossed into the enclosed space. It was as he remembered from before. Celestia’s cage over against one wall. Dividing walls beyond hiding other rooms. Grogar’s grizzly workshop of death dominating the space.

And there they were. Four hostiles. Grogar and Rourke, joined by two particular zombie ponies.

Rourke was covering his eyes with his sleeve, while Grogar stumbled around blindly in a puddle of his latest ruined love poison batch.

The zombie pony Neckless didn’t bother fighting, throwing himself to the ground and cowering under his forelegs. Tripod tried to hobble away to no avail. Bungee was on top of her in and instant, colliding with the three legged mare and knocking her to the ground. Pinning her under his front paws he growled in her face. The zombie pony’s expression twisted innocently as she behaved.

Rourke and Grogar were recovering from the flashbang spell Luna had unleashed. Bungee looked up and locked eyes with the lieutenant. As he climbed off Tripod, he let her scramble towards Neckless and allowed the two to slip into the next room to cower. They weren’t exactly Grogar’s finest creation, but in a way that was a good thing. It had made them harmless.

Head low, Bungee stalked from side to side as Rourke realised the dog was back. Already he could tell the human was regretting not killing him. A mistake he’d probably not make again.

Rourke immediately snapped up his rifle from its sling and aimed at the dog. There was a click of the safety before a rapid double tap.

Bungee didn’t flinch as the bullets evaporated into dust, debris scattering to the ground mere inches from striking the dog. Gaping, Rourke looked up to see the midnight alicorn step up behind her dog, her horn aglow with fierce magical energy. Two more shots rang out. Another double tap – a loud pak-pak – this time aimed at Luna.

The rounds immediately flattened against an invisible barrier erected between the pony and the human. The alicorn’s horn was still flaring dangerously.

“That hardly seems fair,” the human growled, backing into a corner of the workshop with Grogar.

Satisfied the hostiles were relatively secure, she ordered Bungee to heel and looked back at Mare Do Well. Bungee didn’t budge, keeping his stare fixed angrily on Lieutenant Rourke.

“Mare Do Well?” Luna called out.

Framed in the doorway, watching for any zombie ponies that may be left over and following them into the compound, the masked vigilante gave a noncommittal grunt.

“Are we secure?”

“Relatively. Make it quick,” the vigilante nodded without taking her eyes off her sector.

Turning back to her imprisoned sister, Luna’s horn began to glow.

On the inside the cage was impervious to magic. But on the outside… not so much.

Luna’s blast of magic shattered the bars, sending a million embers scattering into the air before flickering and dying out. Flexing out a crick in her neck, Princess Celestia quickly stepped out of the patch of dirt she had been confined to. Black streaks stained her brilliant white coat, her pink mane and tail were dirty and tangled.

She had every right to wear a pissed-off expression.

“Luna,” Celestia greeted casually.

“Celestia,” the younger sister returned.

Bungee watched silently, looking between them with his tail wagging slightly.

Their conversation as cut short by a loud “Buck!” that drew everypony’s attention. Turning to look, Celestia saw Mare Do Well’s wings flick out in turn, each flick flinging a plethora of razor tipped feathers out the compound’s doorway.

As she jumped back, it was revealed zombie ponies were mobbing the position. Three zombies stumbled through the open doorway as Mare Do Well flicked her left with forward. The tattered remains of her cape wavered up as a trio of razor feathers darted forward, each of the projectiles hitting a zombie pony right between the eyes. With a wet squish they fell in a heap like all the zombies before.

“Say, wouldn’t you like to hurry up and arrest the bad-guys so we can leave? This ain’t as easy as it looks!” the vigilante yelled before her horn began to glow with amber light.

The orb of light surrounding her horn cracked, beams of light splitting from the core as Mare Do Well charged forward. She leapt clean over the fallen zombie ponies and charged outside; crying out at the top of her lungs as she did. What followed could only be described as an explosion. Amber light pooled the floor just inside the compound’s doorway as the blast shook the foundations. Dust drizzled from the ceiling as the first magical blast loosed from the vigilante was followed by several more as she let loose on the approaching undead horde.

Nodding to her sister and her loyal canine companion, Celestia turned to where Rourke and Grogar still stood in standoff. “Lieutenant Rourke and Grogar! You’re cornered! Surrender!”

“Or what, ‘ya fuckin’ pansy?” Rourke snarled without lowering his rifle.

Luna averted her gaze a little, letting Celestia make that call. And the answer surprised her.

“Or you die.”

Even Grogar was shocked at that, his red eyes widening visibly. “T-that’s a little d-dark for you, Celestia.” A stammer didn’t sound good in his voice.

Celestia’s glare did not falter. She was a hundred percent serious. And that caused the ram to gulp audibly. All of the princess’ glow was gone. That motherly affection had disappeared. The whole ordeal had reminded her of old Equestria. A time before Equestria even.

Dark ages. Dark pasts. Dark times where Celestia wouldn’t have thought twice about doing what needed to be done to protect her ponies.

Grogar recognised that look and knew very well how serious Celestia was.

In moments the ram had made a full one-eighty, revealing a side Rourke hadn’t seen before. Grogar was grovelling, dragging his stomach across the ground as he threw himself before Celestia’s majesty. He’d transformed from a necromancer into a kitten.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry, princess! Please!” Grogar whined, turning into a blubbering fool. “Don’t send me back to Tartarus! I’ll be good! I’ll sit quietly in the Canterlot dungeons!”

Rourke scowled with part surprise, part disgust. “Don’t be a chicken-shit, Grogar,” he snarled out the corner of his mouth.

“Buck you!” Grogar snapped over his shoulder at the human. “You don’t go to Tartarus when you die! You don’t know what it’s like!” Grogar’s eyes widened at a sudden realisation and he quickly pointed a hoof at Lieutenant Rourke. “Him! It was all his fault! Killing your subjects was his fault! You know me, Celestia! I never would have murdered ponies on my own accord!”

“You fucking asshole!” Rourke yelled realising the ram was trying to pin it all on him.

“Oh, buck you!” Grogar repeated at the human. “If you never came along we never would hav-…”

BANG!

The shot was deafening and startled everypony – even Bungee was caught completely off-guard. Before they knew what had happened they saw Grogar slump to the ground. One eye was missing, replaced with a sucking bloody hole. The back of his head was gone completely, shards of bone framing an exit wound, and what remained of the necromancer’s cortex drooling all over the floor.

When they looked up realising Rourke had executed Grogar with a headshot it was already too late. He pulled something from his vest and tossed it at them. A small metal ball with bolt yellow writing clattered to the floor in front of the trio, the ponies cocking their heads.

Bungee instinctively recognised the ball and didn’t pause to watch. Leaping to one side he collided immediately with Luna, in her surprise dragging her to the ground and laying down on top of her, putting his body between her and the ball.

Not about to second guess the dog again, Celestia leapt to the deck on top of them, her horn flickering with light.

The M67 hand grenade exploded a moment later.

The fragmentation grenade was not designed to kill with concussive force like most conventional explosives. The fragmentation grenade, as the name suggested, was designed to be more visceral than that, killing with steel fragments scattering into a kill-radius of about five metres.

Inside the confines of Grogar’s shack, Bungee and his companions were well inside that kill-radius.

Jagged steel fragments hissed through the air as the black smoke cleared. A small crater pronounced the area the grenade had rested in and the surrounding area was embedded with vicious looking pieces of army-green steel.

Some of them even stuck into the golden bubble of light enveloping the two alicorn and the German Shepherd. Princess Celestia’s magic flickered and the bubble collapsed allowing the fragments of shrapnel to fall to the ground. Slowly the two alicorn lifted their heads and looked at each other before the dog between them squirmed.

Luna smiled as Celestia managed to get to her hooves, scratching Bungee under the chin. “Good boy, Bungee,” she said realising this was the second time inside twenty-four hours she’d been saved from an explosive by the German Shepherd.

Bungee wasn’t paying attention. He was on his paws scanning for Rourke. And following his nose he found his target. He caught Rourke’s heel as he disappeared into a back room, slipping around one of the compound’s partitions.

He was getting away!

Pausing for a moment in a poised stance, Bungee suddenly jumped around where Luna lay and sprinted after the human. Stealth and finesse were out the window as Bungee’s anger took over, the dog barking loudly as he gave chase.

Sliding around the corner Rourke had disappeared through, the German Shepherd scrambled for balance and traction before shooting down a set of rickety looking stairs leading down into the earth. Each tread creaked and groaned under Bungee’s weight, but he didn’t seem to notice over the clicking of his nails on the wood as he pattered all the way down with short but rapid steps. At the bottom he followed the usual breach and clear pattern. Sticking close to a wall and seeking out cover, he swept the area for hostiles to prioritise.

There were none. In fact the basement was empty. The brick walls were bare, the floor was clear. There was no lieutenant. He was gone, though it hardly seemed possible. There was nowhere to hide, and nowhere to run.

Apart from a hole.

It was a hole in the brickwork, framed by the blocky outline where the bricks were missing. Only instead of leading into a dark tunnel or meeting a solid wall of earth, beyond the hole there was nothing. A vast plain of greyish earth under a grim sky.

Even Bungee knew, looking through the hole in the basement wall, that that shouldn’t have been possible.

Walking up, the dog curiously looked down at where the brown clay of the basement floor suddenly ended and gave way to the grey earth at the threshold. A soft warm breeze blew into the basement through the hole. It had no smell. Rourke’s scent was nowhere to be found, but there was nowhere else he could have gone.

But it wasn’t just the lack of the human’s smell that was upsetting. There was no smell. No sound… nothing.

Lowering his head, the dog reached out with one paw and gingerly pressed it onto the ground in the plains beyond. He expected it to be like the portal that brought him to Equestria. He expected disorientation, unconsciousness and discomfort… there was none of that. It was just like stepping out of one room and into another.

So he pushed his way through. On the other side the wind faded. And then there really was nothing. The air was stale and odourless. Not to dry. Not to damp. Just normal.

Plain.

Standing looking out over the plains, not too far away Bungee saw a river. Shallow, home to crystal clear water glinting in the grim light bathing the barren plain and flowing gently from the right to the left. Beyond that was an endless desert of nothing. No rocks, no vegetation. Just endless grey clay right up to where the grim sky met the grim earth.

Looking back, Bungee saw much of the same. With one difference.

The basement wall. At least, part of it. About ten metres long and ending in jagged, crumbling edges, it was built of red brick just like the inside of Grogar’s basement. And the hole right in the middle led like a doorway back to the world he’d just come from.

Confused, Bungee quickly moved around the other side of the wall and looked up against the bare bricks. At the back the hole wasn’t visible, but when Bungee walked around the side he had stepped out of; there was the hole leading to Grogar’s basement again.

It wasn’t enough to give Bungee a headache, but it was enough to blow his mind. Mind you, after talking ponies, magic and zombies the dog had been left with a rather open mind.

As he walked around the portal-side of the wall, he spotted Celesi and Luna, following the dog through.

Luna looked surprised, looking around with awe. Her older sister had clearly seen this place before, as her expression was impassive. Grim even, like she had been here before and had no desire to return.

“What is this place?” Luna whispered as Bungee took position by her side on his own accord.

Celestia answered with a voice as uninviting as her expression. “This is purgatory. The river Styx will lead us to the gates of Tartarus,” she pointed to the river flowing gently past them.

Luna was willing to take Celestia’s word for that, but she was still confused. “Why would Rourke come here?”

Even Princess Celestia wasn’t sure of that, but she made an educated guess. “An escape route of opportunity to be sure. But it won’t be long before he realises Tartarus is a prison for the greatest evils our world has ever known. If he throws open those gates...” Celestia trailed off with a shake of her head unwilling to think of the darkness that would befall Equestria. There would be no coming back from that. Not even with the Elements of Harmony.

“We need to catch up to him,” Luna decided, taking a firm stance and cropping the ground with a hoof. Realising the princess had a ready stance, Bungee mimicked looking ready to run.

“No.” The older alicorn’s answer took her sister by surprise. “I’ll catch up to him. You should take Bungee and head back. Should I fail somepony needs to watch over Equestria.”

Luna scoffed with a glare. “We will both watch over Equestria when this is done,” she chided. “Together, as it has always been. So with all due respect; shut the buck up, ‘Tia.”

Such language! It was hardly befitting of a princess. But at the same time it didn’t surprise Celestia. Luna had every right to berate her sister. Celestia had made all the wrong decisions up to this point. She had to remember Lieutenant Rourke didn’t follow the rules of Equestria. Her way didn’t work, so she would have to try his.

She looked down at Bungee, the German Shepherd watching the two tall ponies eagerly… expectantly.

Celestia sighed with a nod and a smile. “Very well.” – Luna smiled back – “Together.”

So together they set off, following the bank of the Styx; walking the razor’s edge.

65

Bungee felt his heart sink into the pits of his stomach as he stalked a few feet ahead of Luna and Celestia. Being aware of the surroundings had been easy enough, even with the lack of odours hanging in the air and the way sounds seemed to mute over long distances. At one point Bungee had wandered a little too far ahead of the alicorn and hadn’t realised Luna had been calling him to slow down until they had galloped a short spell to catch up.

Bungee could still use his eyes to scan the vast, flat landscape… but even that only lasted until a grim mist rose from the Styx.

Thick banks of the stuff swirled all around, parting and shifting around the trio as they crunched over the scorched, lifeless earth of purgatory. It hung around them like a light grey smokescreen, obscuring everything beyond a few metres. They had to stick tight to the ruler bank of the Styx just so they wouldn’t get turned around.

Bungee didn’t like it one bit. And as such, he became much more wary of his surroundings.

Especially when a dark silhouette materialised through the mist.

At first Bungee thought it was a man. Pitch black and solid in the banks of mist, tall with defined arms and legs. The Military Working Dog braced himself, ready to charge and pounce, half-expecting it to be Rourke. Half expecting the light of gunfire to flash at any given moment.

But when the curtains of mist slowly parted, Bungee felt confusion replace some of his unease. But that didn’t mean he stood down.

It wasn’t quite a man, nor a pony. The approaching figure was something in between. Black iron hooves, the centaur’s pony-half was covered in matted, unkempt dark steel grey fur, matching the armour covering his chest and forearms. The brimstone red skin covered his bulging arms and his face, his long black hair and beard covering his neck and chest. A pair of horns stuck out of the sides of his head, angling upwards and ending in vicious bull-horns.

His yellow eyes glowed with the malice he was well known for.

Materialising from the mist came Tirek, identified by Luna and Celestia’s joint gasps.

“Tirek,” the princess of the sun hissed venomously, a tone that didn’t suit her usual radiant appearance. But of course down in purgatory – with everything that happened – she wasn’t as radiant as she usually was.

Celestia’s hiss along with Luna’s slight balk from the approaching creature was enough to tell Bungee that the newcomer would not be friendly. Though he needed little telling, he was more comfortable with confirmation of such before he started biting.

But it was while Bungee watched silently; Tirek completely ignored the dog with his malicious smile revealing sharpened teeth to the alicorn princesses. Celestia lowered her head like a reflexive action, horn sputtering out golden light.

But that’s all it did. Sputter. There was no glow. There was no manifestation of her will. She conjured little more than a few sparks, and nothing more.

Eyes widening with a little shock, Luna did her best not to falter, taking a step forward to put herself between the lord of evil and her older sister. For whatever good it would have done.

“Stay back, Tirek!” Celestia warned as she tried to conjure another spell. Again, just a splutter of magic and then nothing.

Tirek gave a rumbling chuckle, his heavy, hoarse voice carrying enough bass to wind both ponies. “Tut-tut, Celestia,” He chided playfully. “Have you forgotten that magic doesn’t work in purgatory?”

“How are you out of Tartarus!?” Luna growled loudly, secretly fearing Lieutenant Rourke had already thrown open the gates separating hordes of pure evil from Equestria.

“I have Grogar to thank for undoing my bonds to that place.” Tirek grinned. “And I have him to thank for subduing that pooch – Cerberus – that loved to keep an eye on me so. Getting out of the gates was easy without help.”

At least that answered the fact Tirek hadn’t been released by Rourke. Perhaps there was still time. But they still had a problem.

A lord of darkness standing in their path.

Moving closer to the alicorn standing their ground together, Tirek’s smile widened further, his eyes filling with something other than malice at the sight of Luna. She could almost feel his eyes over every sleek curve of her body, caking her already grimy coat with filth in their wake.

“You’ve grown up nicely since we last met, Luna. I’ll make sure that when I return to Equestria we will become intimately reacquainted.” Reaching out slowly, the centaur moved to brush Luna’s cheek with his callous fingers.

And the alicorn didn’t flinch out of her stubborn glare.

At that very moment where his skin came in contact with a few strands of Luna’s fur; that was when Tirek was truck. The furious hammer of a guardian angel smote him, smashing him in the chest and swatting him clean away from the two alicorn like he was nothing more than a bothersome insect.

The dark lord of the shadows – overlord of the Rainbow of Darkness – had been tackled and was being held down by his beard, clutched in the maw of a very angry German Shepherd. Bungee had straight up sicced him.

Anything remotely sinister – least of all a centaur of darkness – didn’t get to touch Luna. Not without Bungee’s permission.

Tirek cried out with pain, his hands clawing at Bungee’s face as he tried to find something to grab. But every time he cried; every time he clawed, Bungee would pull harder.

Glancing to her side with a small smile, Princess Luna saw her sister’s jaw was almost on the ground. With Celestia gaping with surprise, Luna quickly walked up to where a teary-eyed Tirek was being brutalized by her canine companion.

Lowering her head to Tirek as he fell still, Luna lowered her voice menacingly as well. “As you can see; Bungee here is worse than Cerberus. One word from me and he will break you in ways you didn’t even know you could be broken. So if you ever enter my line of sight again; I so much as sense you are thinking of me in any context whatsoever, I will have you begging for your life before I end it. Are we clear?”

Blinking away tears of shock and pain, the centaur quickly nodded. Though thinking it was an attempt to struggle again, Bungee gave a warning tug at Tirek’s beard, drawing a yelp from the dark lord.

“Bungee, heel!” Luna commanded, and Bungee immediately let go of Tirek.

Slipping free of the German Shepherd’s grasp, the centaur quickly scrambled away and managed to climb unevenly to his hooves.

“Now get your flank back to Tartarus,” Luna ordered.

Tirek didn’t waste any time to see what would happen if he pushed his luck. With his arms swinging for balance, the centaur turned about face and ran off the way he had come, vanishing into the mist while tripping over his own hooves.

As he vanished, so did the mist that heralded his presence. It began to lift, slowly revealing more and more of the area around them. It didn’t lift completely, but at least it was enough for them to navigate safely downstream without getting turned around or wandering into an ambush.

“That was quite scary,” Celestia admitted, puffing up her cheeks as she blew out a relieved breath.

Luna chuckled with a shake of her head as she moved off ahead with Bungee striding eagerly at her side. “Tirek is nothing more than a bully. He is nothing to be afraid of.”

Following with a smile, Celestia added; “I wasn’t talking about Tirek.”

At the very gates of Tartarus, the source of the mist was revealed. And the so called ‘gates;’ they weren’t exactly gates.

At the edge of purgatory, the world dropped into a steep cliff. It wasn’t a ravine or a chasm, as there was no opposite side. It was just a sudden drop off into which the Styx fell, striking the rock face just over the lip and misting the air with water particles. The earth just dropped away beyond.

Dropping away into a vast infinity below. A dark pit. The dark pit. Tartarus.

And standing at the edge was Lieutenant Rourke, gazing down; considering the prison of the damned.

He only looked up and over his shoulder when he heard the hooves crunching on the brittle dirt. His eyes narrowed angrily when he realised a set of paws joined them.

“I really should have shot the dog,” the man mused darkly as he turned to face the princesses and their stalwart canine guardian.

The princesses of Equestria didn’t look the least impressed. With human-like expressions, that much was easy enough to tell. It was Bungee that surprised the human. He’d seen dogs snarl, snap and growl before. But never glare.

And the German Shepherd was glaring at him. It almost forced a bemused smirk on Rourke’s face; looking as though it was carved out of stone.

Rourke knew he was done. Outnumbered and outgunned, he simply threw down his rifle and held out his arm.

“I surrender,” he announced almost smugly. “Take me to your dungeon. Isn’t that what you pansy ponies do with unarmed men who surrender, right?”

“It’s too late for that,” Celestia huffed angrily with a shot of mist from her nostrils. Luna mimicked the action in agreement while pounding the earth with a forehoof.

Rourke frowned wondering what the folks in Geneva would’ve said to that. Then he shrugged, remembering he too didn’t give any amount of fucks about any of the Geneva Convention. “Fair enough.”

Lieutenant Rourke’s hands were a blur of motion. Neither Luna or Celestia saw the motion coming, as he snatched up an object holstered on the front of his tac-vest. There was a flash of black polymer, and Bungee was already rearing back to leap forward. He knew exactly what was coming next.

Bungee jumped as Rourke’s trigger finger jerked back and a deafening crack rang out, the dog leaping to put his own body between the gun and the princesses. But the dog was too slow. Far too slow for a speeding bullet.

He landed neatly on his forepaws before lowering himself to the ground to absorb the rest of his weight hitting the deck. As he stood there, low and poised, he quickly realised he was unscathed. He hadn’t caught the bullet. But who had?

That was when he heard a cough, and Bungee’s memory flashed. A memory of a desert compound before meeting ponies; before coming to Equestria, and Bungee’s blood turned to ice realising where Rourke’s first shot had landed.

“LUNA!” Celestia screamed hysterically, her voice nearly reaching royal Canterlot levels had it not broken with the tears erupting from her eyes.

She darted to one side, trying to catch her little sister, but Princess Luna was already on the ground. Her whole body was convulsing, dark globules erupting from her mouth as her eyes stared off blankly into space. Crimson seeped into her coat from a ragged hole in her chest. The exit wound blew out her right side, right between the ribs, spitting more crimson that pooled under her like a black carpet.

Celestia was draped over her sister, forehooves trying to plug the ragged wounds torn into her body. All the while Luna was trapped in a seizure of pain and fright.

All he heard was a voice.

No, it whispered, not in a pleading whisper; but a furious growl. No. Not again.

It was a demand that history wouldn’t repeat itself. A demand that no more friends would fall such ill fate again. And it was followed by fierce action to prevent exactly that.

Bungee threw himself angrily at Rourke, barking and snapping as he sprinted. He really didn’t care about living or dying anymore. All that mattered was drawing fire away from Celestia and Luna. All that mattered was putting Rourke down.

He had to finish the mission.

More shots filled the air as Rourke saw the dog coming. But as he tried to adjust his aim the rounds merely cratered into the purgatory dirt around Bungee.

One ripped close by though, tearing a hole in one of the pouches on his vest. The German Shepherd didn’t seem to notice. Valour wasn’t the word to use to describe Bungee’s emotional state, but he wasn’t entirely blinded by rage either. The training was still there. The training to recognise it was Rourke’s pistol that posed the greatest threat. So that was his primary target.

Lunging forward like a guided rocket, Bungee snapped his jaws shut on the wrist of the hand holding the gun, throwing the human and the dog sideways. Bungee’s paws stretched out for landing, his jaws still locked shut as Rourke fell sideways with him.

But then his heart skipped a beat. It was like missing the last tread when descending a set of stairs. That sudden sinking feeling mixed with a jolt of fright. Bungee had expected to land, but didn’t hit any dirt as the two of them went tumbling over the edge of purgatory and into Tartarus.

Bungee let go of Rourke’s arm as they spiralled around each other, bouncing on some outcroppings as they tumbled head over heels. In the confusion the human had let go of his gun sending it clattering off in a random direction, out of sight and out of mind.

And then they hit. A dusty ridge somewhere off to the side of the waterfall crashing down into the darkness of Tartarus. They bounced and slammed to a halt on that little platform just above the threshold of darkness that threatened to swallow them both whole.

They both lay still for a moment as the clouds of dust and grit settled around them.

Their hard landings were both absorbed by the kevlar panelling in their tac-vests. But the unarmoured parts of their bodies were left sore and bruised. Not to mention the fact the impact had still driven the wind right out of them.

Rourke was the first to make a sound, coughing into a fist as he slowly sat up, groaning and rubbing the back of his head. Looking over he saw Bungee wasn’t far away, shaking off the landing and climbing to his paws. With a sigh he looked between the dog and purgatory’s ledge a good dozen metres above. It didn’t look like a tough climb, even the dog could make it…

And therein lay the problem. He wasn’t going to be able to fight Bungee and climb at the same time. So he’d have to do it one at a time.

With a shake of his head the man rose to his feet, brushing some of the dirt and dust off his fatigues. Bungee did the same, only with a vigorous side to side shake that rippled down his body and ended with a fluttering of his tail.

“So this is what it’s come to, eh?” Rourke sighed tiredly with another glance between the dog staring venomously at him and his route to escape. “Literally on the border of life and death, trapped in a final fight with my adversary… only to shake up the usual cliché, my adversary is a fucking dog!” the human chuckled reaching to the back of his belt, a chime of metal sliding over metal ringing out. “Well come on then, mutt. Come and get me.”

As he challenged Bungee, the human revealed he was holding a long bayonet in one hand. The blade’s straight edge curled slightly at the end into a right angled point, with serration running down along the spine of the weapon. With a deft glint the weapon slipped into a reverse grip as he raised his arms to defend himself.

Snarling, Bungee swiftly darted forward, meeting the knife with teeth.

As the dog came into range, Rourke reeled back and rotated his arm forward, aiming a standard stab at the dog’s neck. Seeing the motions, Bungee leapt to one side, hearing a light hiss as the blade cut only into air. But even then the dog was too slow to follow up with an attack, his paws hitting the loose dirt causing him to skid and lose balance.

As he fought to restore his balance, Rourke’s blade angled ninety degrees to one side and jabbed outward. With a thud, the point slammed into Bungee’s side with enough force that would have normally broken skin.

Bungee huffed for air as the blow threw him to one side. But the knife stopped against his armoured vest protecting his lungs and heart. Using the momentum of the blow Bungee managed to turn the attack into an opportunity. Digging his paws into the ground as best as he could, the German Shepherd twisted his head right around and managed to catch hold of Rourke’s forearm, flexing his jaw muscles in preparation to sink in his teeth as hard as possible.

But as he did, Rourke was already retaliating as swiftly as possible. His knife was immobilised, but his free hand was not. Grabbing Bungee by the collar, he lifted the dog clean off the ground. And as he did so, he drove one knee forward, straight and true.

The hard joint slammed into Bungee’s gut, right where the armoured panelling of his Storm Intruder vest ended. The blow drove all the air right out of the dog, forcing him to reflexively let go of Rourke’s arm out of sheer pain. The blow even knocked the dog back – that’s how much force was thrown into it – tumbling Bungee upright in the air and letting him land on all fours.

Before Bungee could even suck in a fresh breath, Rourke lifted his off-foot and swung it around in a low roundhouse kick.

“Kai!” the dog screamed as the blow made contact.

The rugged cordura crook of his boot slammed into the side of Bungee’s face, knocking all sense out of the dog. He span away with the blow yelping, nearly tripping over his own paws as he was whipped a near three-sixty degrees on the spot. It took all sorts of willpower to not just collapse on the spot.

Blinking away stars and the double vision, Bungee did his best to shake it off as he kept his gaze locked on Rourke. In the dog’s daze, the human wasn’t about to sit and let Bungee come to his senses. As predicted, he took full opportunity of the situation and charged, swinging his knife’s serrated edge in a wide arc aimed for the dog’s throat.

Bungee made do with the blurry vision and ignored the stars exploding before his eyes. Angling his muzzle downward, the dog ducked low, shuffling his paws in a short, quick step so he kept low and darted to one side at the same time.

The blade slashed high over Bungee’s head, nipping a few hairs off the top of his rigid ears. As it did, Bungee darted up again, maw open wide and aiming for the exposed side of Rourke’s neck.

But the human saw the attack coming. In fact, he’d tempted the dog into it, impressed how the mutt had gone for the bait. In an instant, the knife slashed back along the same curve.

Bungee caught sight of the glinting steel in the corner of his eye and dug his paws into the dirt. He skidded as he reeled back, abandoning the attack just as it was launched. His jaw snapped shut and he squeezed his eyes shut as he tried desperately to go into reverse to avoid the bite of the knife.

He was lucky it missed… for the most part. Bungee wasn’t that lucky.

A stinging pain seared diagonally across the top of Bungee’s muzzle causing his eyes to water; but he suppressed his yelp. The knife had only nipped his skin, leaving a hook shaped cut, but it had shed blood that trickled down into the fur across the side of his face.

Jumping back a couple of paces, Bungee shook off the pain and blinked away the tears. Rourke’s knife was becoming a problem. Unlike the human, Bungee didn’t have arms or legs to defend himself with. He only had one method of offence. His bite. He needed to get rid of that knife. But the lieutenant was fast to react. Simply biting wasn’t going to do the trick; he still had a sick feeling where he’d been kicked in the gut to testify to that.

That was when the dog saw something. It was the way Rourke was standing in a bladed stance, his knife held out in front and free hand cocked as if ready to throw a punch – it gave Bungee a crazy idea.

Lowering his head like a sheepdog glowering at livestock, Bungee gingerly stepped forward. Rourke lowered his stance slightly, smirking at the dog’s cut. Bungee gritted his teeth. He didn’t bark, he didn’t snarl, he didn’t growl… all focus was placed on what he was about to do.

Darting forward with a sudden burst of speed, he kept his eyes on Rourke. The human did the same, gaze only shifting as Bungee weaved and bobbed from side to side with his approach.

And then suddenly – at the last possible second – Bungee veered off course. Rourke was surprised. It was like they had been playing ‘chicken,’ and the human had won. But in his brief lapse of concentration, Bungee gained the higher ground.

Leaping up to one side, the dog planted his paws on the rough stone of the cliff face beside their arena. His other paws followed as he ran a single gait along the cliff-wall and leapt onto Rourke. Only his target wasn’t the man’s throat. That would give him the opportunity to stab, bypassing the vest and eviscerating the German Shepherd.

Instead, Bungee bore down on Rourke’s knife arm, teeth interlocking over the forearm just above the wrist once more.

But it wasn’t the usual offensive bite, where he’d lock his jaws as tight as he could to inflict pain and hopefully cause the man to drop the weapon. This was a whole new bite.

It was his first dog-fu bite.

He’d seen Samantha do it all the time; not by biting mind you. He’d seen her grab a man’s arm a certain way, and flex it another way. A way it wasn’t meant to be flexed, rolling her own limbs – sometimes even her whole body – and twisting in with a series of lever actions to immobilise a foe. Of course, Bungee didn’t have the same kind of limbs so he couldn’t do it like Samantha had.

But he had just figured out how to emulate the action.

Rolling forward with his momentum, Bungee curled up as best as he could and somersaulted forward over Rourke’s arm; the ‘radius’ and ‘ulna’ bones in the forearm locked in his jaw. As he fell, tumbling forward, Rourke’s body turned against the human’s accord. The limb twisted as Bungee rolled, the man’s shoulder rolling it its socket at the same time, drawing a cry of pain and surprise from the lieutenant.

Bungee’s rotation only ended when his rear paws hit the ground, and flexing his body forward, lowering his chin to his chest forced the man’s face down into the dirt by the time Bungee was back down on all fours. At the same time there was a sickening pop from Rourke’s shoulder, drawing another cry of pain from the man. His fingers extended automatically and the blade fell free, the weighted handle thudding audibly as it hit the ground.

In that moment, as Bungee let go, Rourke rolled over onto his back in an attempt to scramble away. But he was too slow.

Bungee was already on top of him, front paws pinning him by his chest and his jaw wrapped around the man’s throat. Everything up to that point seemed suddenly forgotten to Bungee. He froze, and wasn’t entirely sure why. Everything he had worked for. This whole ordeal. It had been for this very moment.

Was he savouring it? Was he hesitating?

He squeezed, but didn’t exert as much pressure as he should have. His teeth dug into Rourke’s skin, the force crushing his wind-pipe and causing him to gag for air. There was a pop that sounded suspiciously like an Adam’s-apple breaking. Bungee didn’t loosen his grip. But at the same time, Rourke didn’t seem to be struggling.

Opening his eyes, Bungee looked down at the human’s wide eyes. Wide with surprise. There was no fear to be had. But Bungee on the other hand couldn’t seem to calm his heart beating in overdrive.

It felt like his heart might break one of his ribs when he saw one of the human’s hands move down to his tac-vest. Bungee was frozen, unsure what to do. His training told him the lieutenant was going for a backup weapon, and at this range Bungee wouldn’t have time to avoid or retaliate. He was locked in position.

It was do or die… but he couldn’t for some reason. He stayed frozen and uncommitted like that; half-choking the life out of the human.

But Rourke didn’t reach for a backup blade. Instead he grabbed the flag pinned to his chest and tore it free. The flag of blue with a circle of stars. The flag he had served. Penned to it the names of the family and friends he’d lost in a pointless war. Stained on it, the lieutenant’s own blood, sweat and tears.

He pinned it to a velcro strip on Bungee’s vest, then the human closed his eyes in calm anticipation of what would happen next. The German Shepherd indulged him.

All it took was a flex of his jaw muscles and a pull of his head. And with a sickening crack, it was all over.

Bungee’s eyes were squeezed shut. His mouth was dominated by the warm, thick taste of metal. It drooled from the corners of his mouth with the wet globs he’d torn free. He refused to swallow.

His ears picked up the wet gagging noise of Rourke’s final breath… and then nothing. Not even the faint thump of his heart anymore. The man was gone. The mission was almost over. All he had to do was verify his kill.

But when Bungee opened his eyes, he didn’t look at Rouke. He didn’t dare.

Bungee felt empty. He had no idea what to expect vengeance to feel like; but he hadn’t expected this. He had expected a little bit of succour. But he couldn’t help but wonder if this was what Samantha really wanted for him. To devote a portion of his life chasing a dark cause.

It certainly didn’t bring her back. Nothing would.

The dog gagged and coughed. The blood tasted foul on his tongue. It matched the feeling taking over his heart.

It was wrong. Killing out of necessity was one thing. Killing to survive was another. Killing to protect the weak or innocent, it was what Bungee was trained to do. To protect and serve.

Protect and serve.

Killing for vengeance felt unnecessary. And unnecessary death – waste of life – felt a whole new category of erroneous.

Walking to where the Styx cascaded down the rocks nearby, he dipped his muzzle into the frigid water, washing the taste of pennies from his mouth. Satisfied the blood was gone he looked up again.

It struck him hard; the realisation it was over. The mission was over. He had completed his objective. But he didn’t feel like celebrating. Instead he remembered what Samantha used to tell him post-missions.

“Mission complete, Bungee. You can wander off now.”

So he did exactly that – with no one or nopony to stop him, he started walking. Beginning the climb back up to the world of the living.

Standing in Grogar’s basement, Bungee watched the portal into purgatory collapse in on itself as if sensing that its own usefulness had passed. Bricks slid into existence from the blocky frame of the portal, crunching and grinding noisily over each other as they rebuilt a wall in place of the hole from the outside in. The hole shrank and shrank before Bungee’s eyes; before with a dull thrum the hole vanished completely, the pinpricks of purgatory’s light filtering through the cracks flickering out as the grouting magically replaced itself.

Bungee had found his way back to the basement not only following the river Styx upstream; but also following a crimson breadcrumb trail. Little flecks of crimson dotting the earth, making a winding trail all the way back to the portal that led back to Equestria and across the basement.

Following it over the cold earth of the basement floor, Bungee reached the steps and started to climb to the compound’s ground floor. At the top of the steps, he felt his heart sink when the little drips of blood suddenly changed to a large splatter, forming into a dragging smear across the compound floor.

Bungee didn’t get to see much of Grogar’s old home; standing in the dog’s path was a tall greyish figure. Celestia’s coat didn’t have any of its old brilliance left, smeared with dirt and crimson across her back. Her head was hung low, eyes shut with tear stains on her cheeks.

Her eyelids opened, revealing her eyes were bloodshot from crying. Slowly her pupils angled upwards to look at the dog. She looked worse than she had been before. Her expression was a whole new level of dreary. So dreary, that Bungee felt as if his chances of ever being happy about anything in any given future were being sapped away.

Celestia’s expression shifted a little with a flex of her facial muscles as she opened her mouth and asked in a broken voice; “Is he dead?”

A simple enough question. A simple enough answer.

But Bungee didn’t answer. Not only for his lack of ability to do so; but if he could actually speak could he bury shame to actually mutter an answer?

He would never know. But the look in Bungee’s eyes betrayed the answer regardless. The dog expected Celestia to be angry. But to his surprise, she was not.

She simply nodded with a sigh. “Very well.” What had to happen had been done. It wasn’t pretty, but in the end it was for a greater good.

Even Bungee knew that. Rourke wouldn’t have stopped. He never would have stopped. Not until Equestria was in ashes and he had what he wanted. His motivations on the one hand noble – on the other hand atrocious. In a way, a grim reflection on Bungee’s own actions.

His motivations had been to bring a murderer to justice. To protect his new friends – Equestria and its ponies. Noble.

But also to avenge someone. To kill, just for the satisfaction of it? Atrocious.

And still the alicorn princess managed a smile. A tiny little dismal smile of virtual relief. Equestria was safe. They had that at least.

Stepping to her side, Celestia revealed the rest of Grogar’s wrecked compound to the dog. It was a mess. Tables and benches were upturned. Blast damage from the grenade Rourke had dropped was evident, and there was still shrapnel all over the place. Specimen jars were shattered, cracked or leaking. Grogar’s corpse still lay unmoving to one side.

And then of course there was the smear of blood leading from Bungee’s paws to a still, night-blue form.

Luna lay on her side in a small pool of light-absorbing liquid. Crimson stained the corner of her mouth with hard black scabs matting her coat and hair. Her eyes were shut, dark eyelids standing out against the rest of her coat. Standing over was a semi-familiar figure.

Were it not for the smell and the shredded remnants of the costume, Bungee never would have recognised Mare Do Well... or whoever the hell he really was. Where the costume was even more battle-damaged from the more recent fights with zombie ponies as Bungee and the princesses had assaulted purgatory, more of the vigilante’s buff physique was revealed.

Most of the mask was missing, revealing a square, sharp muzzle of a stallion. Only one half of his face was still hidden by the remnants of his mask, along with a cracked lens over one eye. Much of the purple sleeves and body suit were missing, revealing a chestnut coat with a short chocolate mane and tail, dark brown forming a five-o-clock shadow on the end of his muzzle. His hat was still missing, and the cape had been shorn away completely, revealing his alicorn nature.

The horn glowing with amber light extinguished as Bungee approached where the vigilante seemed to be trying to heal the princess of the night. Though all progress halted when he looked up to lock gazes with the dog.

The stallion’s expression didn’t change. Staring for a brief moment, the alicorn considered Bungee, then gave a nod. If he was impressed it didn’t show. Without a sound he turned away from the princesses and their canine friend, and left. Not a word. Not a sigh. Not even a moment’s hesitation. Just his hooves thudding on the floor as he walked out through the compound door and disappeared. If they would ever see him again; only time could tell.

But Bungee wasn’t thinking about the next time he’d see the vigilante. His eyes remained fixed on Luna’s still form. Celestia didn’t follow his gaze. She still had her back turned, probably afraid of what she might do if she laid eyes on Luna in her current state again.

Gingerly moving closer to where Luna lay, Bungee noted the gaping bullet holes in her body were gone. Clearly the vigilante’s magic had done something. But had it been enough?

Slowly he nudged her face with his wet cold nose the same way he had nudged Samantha in her final moments; expecting his handler and best friend to wake up…

69

Several weeks later...

Night fell over Equestria in the usual fashion. The sky exploded with stars and the moon hung vigilant among the sparse clouds.

Shutters and curtains were drawn. Doors were locked for the night. Ponies were returning from visits to friends or from dinner dates. Many more ponies had guzzled down their warm milk, chowed down some cookies and were preparing to turn into bed. The night was reserved for the nocturnal student studying for an exam in the morning; for the writer’s-block addled writer desperately trying to meet a deadline; for the lone lovers enjoying the quiet of a beautiful flower garden glowing in the moon’s silver light.

It was for the lone traveller drawing a cart of goods from Ponyville to Canterlot for the market the next morning.

But the night was also for the evils in Equestria. For when the night fell, so did the darkness.

Nopony knew more about the dangers of the road at night than Caramel Apple. But at the same time he didn’t take much notice. The family orchards needed to make ends meet, and selling apples up in Canterlot was lucrative. So he’d spent the day picking the best apples he could to meet the standards of the hoity-toity clientele up in the capitol, and to save money on a train ticket he simply walked to the city. It wasn’t a very hard walk, but it was still a good few hours travel.

And by the time his journey started, the sun was already setting. Now in the dead of night, Caramel was still walking, just half an hour from the city’s gates, the stars the only ones keeping him company. Aside from the Apple Family apples in his cart of course.

But there was one other thing keeping him company. Something that didn’t belong. Something Caramel Apple would prefer not to have keep him company.

The earth pony stopped in his tracks, skidding slightly as he halted suddenly. He didn’t have much choice as three large figures leapt from the woods right in front of him. The Canterlot city gates were in sight. The glistening city was right there, within galloping distance.

But between poor Caramel and it were three Diamond Dogs. Dolt, Mister Snarky, and last and least their oldest brother, Alpha; complete with his odd lisp.

“How ‘bout ‘ye hand ‘em apples over, pony?” Alpha growled “Along with any shine ‘ye have in that shaddle bag.”

“B-b-but I d-don’t have any bits,” Caramel stuttered, instinctively placing a hoof over his saddlebags. “I-I’ve g-got to s-sell the-these apples f-fi-first.”

“We’ll trade for ‘em then,” Mister Snarky growled with one of his large paws curled in a fist and cocked; ready to throw a punch. “I’ll trade ‘ya a knuckle-sandwich!”

Dolt gave a long, slow chuckle – as he was sure that was a funny comment made by his brother but he hadn’t fully figured out exactly why it was worth chuckling over. Caramel on the other hand flinched. He flinched hard.

Hard enough that he stumbled back a few paces, the cart wheels grinding noisily on the road as it rolled back a little. Noticing, Dolt chuckled again. Wanting to try and scare the pansy pony, he too stepped forward, separating himself from his pack of brothers, curling large mitt into a fist.

As he cocked to punch though, Caramel didn’t move. He didn’t have time as a shadow darted through the darkness.

It collided with Dolt, knocking the muscle-bound Diamond Dog clean into the air before whipping around with something biting into his forearm. It twisted his whole arm behind his back, causing the mutt to howl with a mixture of surprise and pain. And with a thud and a mouthful of dirt, Dolt slammed into the ground.

Standing over Dolt was a four legged figure. Smaller than a pony, and fluffier too with a black-and-tan colour pattern. A narrow muzzle filled with pointed carnivorous teeth, pointed alert ears and eyes that shone in the moonlight. Protecting his centre mass was a midnight black vest, and his broad front paws were pinned to Dolt’s back keeping him pinned.

Lifting his gaze to meet theirs, Bungee didn’t even have to bare his teeth. He just gave a menacing growl, eyes narrowed.

Alpha bolted without a moment’s hesitation, disappearing into the dark woods and crashing off into the distance. He had been the one who’d come closest to meeting his maker the last time he faced Bungee. The Diamond Dog wasn’t about to take any chances.

Mister Snarky’s fight-or-flight reaction leaned closer to the ‘fight’ though.

With a loud cry, the Diamond Dog shot forward, directly at the German Shepherd. But it was quite obvious he was terrified, because there was no order to his attack. He was just swinging his fists from side to side like a maniac. It looked more like an insane man’s stupid dance in an attempt to get some sort of gimmick off the ground.

His ‘attack’ however was cut short by a blast of dark blue light. It was hard to see in just the light of the pale moonlight, but it splashed across Mister Snarky’s chest and flattened the dog into the ground. Groaning, he lifted his head hearing a command.

“Bungee, come!” the voice ordered in a loud authoritative tone.

Looking over his chest, the Diamond Dog saw Bungee jump from Dolt’s back and run to Caramel’s side. Only he didn’t stop. It hadn’t been Caramel Apple’s voice. It had been loud and female. Walking past Caramel, the German Shepherd formed up neatly by the left flank of a tall figure that seemed to melt out of the shadows.

Looking up, both Mister Snarky and Dolt were physically shaken by the sight of Princess Luna with her faithful companion approaching them.

“Bungee, right side,” Luna ordered in a low tone, her glare fixed on the Diamond Dogs.

Without hesitation, Bungee backed off and slipped around behind her, forming on her right echelon; and in a better position to charge the Diamond Dogs if they tried to go for Caramel. Quaking uncontrollably, going for the earth pony was the last thing on either two ogre-mutts’ mind as they managed to slowly scramble to their feet. It was only when Luna gave them some proper instructions on what to do next that they actually moved with purpose.

“Disappear,” the princess snarled in a menacing growl.

And the two Diamond Dogs took off after Alpha, yelping off into the night with their tails between their legs.

Leaving just the two ponies and the dog standing on the moonlit road in sight of the Canterlot city gates, Caramel Apple smiled gratefully and bowed deeply to the princess of the night. “Thanks, princess.”

Luna grinned, nodding kindly. “As you were, young Caramel.”

The earth-pony stallion gave the princess and her faithful dog a wave before moving on. With his cart in tow, he made the final leg of his journey to Canterlot for some well-deserved rest, and – hopefully – a bountiful sale at the market in the morning.

But for Princess Luna and Bungee-M192 the time for sleep was far off. For them, work had only just begun.

Galloping off into the night, the princess weaved between the inky trees, ducked under low branches and leapt over rocks and exposed roots. And never once leaving her was her steadfast companion. The dog sprinted in time with her, reading her ever motion and only breaking formation when absolutely necessary; so he wouldn’t crash headlong into something. It was like they knew what one another was thinking. Like they shared the same thoughts.

Perhaps even shared the same heartbeat.

With a flap of her wings, Luna launched herself into the air and broke from the treeline, out onto a steep ridge. Angling her hooves down, she landed heavily on a large rock that hung over the cliff-face like a ship’s maidenhead. Framed over the treetops behind her were the towering mountains and the shimmering city of Canterlot. Ahead of her lay the vast plains of Equestria, sprawled out for her to watch over. Quiet and peaceful under her canvas of glittering stars.

At the same time, Bungee broke through the undergrowth behind her, shuffling up the rock and perching himself beside the princess.

Looking down at her faithful companion, Luna smiled. Looking up at his handler, Bungee returned the gesture; the left corner of his mouth tugging upward into a smirk.

The two of them stood vigil over the ponies of Equestria. Smiling guardians of the night under the full moon.

Seeing that moon again, shining like the first night he’d come to Equestria; there was no fighting instinct anymore. Lifting up one foreleg to his chest, Bungee raised his head and howled to the moon. He howled with happiness; at the top of his lungs and with every fibre in his being.

Though he would remember and love Samantha – he would always remember – the howl freed him of his past convictions. Freed him of his burdens and his grief. It propelled him into his new life; his new responsibilities.

It marked the first chapter of Bungee’s next memoir. And for all the same reasons; Luna howled with him…

Princess Luna is my handler. We eat together. We sleep together. We train together. We play together. We fight together.

I can find things she can’t. I can disable the bad guys she’s too slow to reach. She keeps me safe. I keep her safe. We can count on each other. She’s my best friend.

My name is Bungee. I like breakfast, my squeaky tennis ball and playing catch.

I am a Military Working Dog.

The End

Preview

It was saddening. It wasn’t his hometown; that title was reserved for the Canterlot palace where he lived with Luna. But seeing Ponyville in such a state was enough to make his heart sink.

‘Such a state’ being on fire.

The German Shepherd stood seemingly lost in the chaos sprawling all around him. Plaster and brick crumbled all around. Shattered glass lay over the cobbles. Carts were upturned, gardens uprooted and thatch ablaze in an inferno that brought a bright glow to the night air.

Bungee took a deep sad sigh, the overpowering smoke choking the air burning in his nose and cutting out all other scent.

“So ends the reign of oppression,” a warm voice bellowed out into the night – though dripping with enough malice that Bungee felt like it had left a sticky residue on his fur. “The trespassers fall as we did in the beginning.”

Looking up over the blazing Ponyville rooftops, Bungee saw his home fall. The Canterlot palace broke in two with a fiery explosion clawing at the sky. Rubble bled down the mountainside as the city’s outskirts crumbled away.

The scream of a foal drew Bungee out of his daze. Jerking his wide eyed gaze from the crumbling capitol, the dog’s ears swivelled to hone in on the sound ringing out somewhere across the soot carpeted streets.

His whole body followed suit as he leapt into action.

“No longer are we confined to the Everfree Forest. Our birthright – our home – is returned to us.”

The foal wasn’t sure what happened as the whole wiorld seemed to tilt and sway around her. Her hooves kicked for purchase but met only air as her neck felt taught.

A mare screamed and cried as Bungee erupted from a burning building, through the smouldering door hanging half open. Some embers clung to his coat and the black panels of the tac-vest protecting his torso. Gripped in the dog’s maw was a foal, held up by her neck like a puppy carried by a mother.

Running to the sobbing ponies, Bungee placed the child at their hooves. They wasted no time in embrasing the young pony, unsure exactly how to thank the dog. Bungee didn’t need any thanks.

He just needed to know what was happening… and why.

But something told him he was about to find out, as a heavy footfall caused the ground to shake. The building he’d pulled the scared foal out of crumbled, collapsing in on itself with a distinct crunch of white hot wood, spraying billions of dancing fireflies that extinguished into the night sky.

“The oppressors scatter like embers over sand. Yet you stand unmoved, guardian.”

Another heavy stomp shook the ground. Bungee looked down, then at the nearby ponies. They were looking up past the dog, eyes widened in terror as they scrambled away. Gathering what they did they joined the ranks of other panicking ponies running through the ashen streets of Ponyville as it fell.

They ran away. And soon it was just Bungee on his own, turning to see what had spooked them.

It wasn’t hard to identify, a massive hulking beast stood in the middle of the street, framed by a pair of burning buildings. A body made of wood, fur made of splintered bark; nature’s canine towered high above bungee and most of the higher buildings that still stood n Ponyville. Whole trees and their evergreen foliage made up some tufts of fur on the shoulders and the tail, with thick ferns acting like eyebrows hanging over the glowing green eyes.

A mist of death wafted from the maw of wood containing countless teeth sharpened to vicious looking spikes.

“Come then faithful dog,” the voice challenged, projected through the giant timberwolf’s gaping jaw. “Have your resolution.”

Bungee didn’t need any more invitation. His expression twitched, snapping into a fierce growl before he launched himself forward; teeth first into hell.

CANIS FIDELIS

Reclamation

Author's Note

Canis Fidelis: Reclamation

"God created dogs because we needed guardians."

Tags: [Adventure]
Character Tags: [Mane-Six] [Princess Twily] [Luna] [OC] [Other]

10.5

“He is your friend, your partner, your defender. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours; faithful and true to the best of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.”

A dry heat choked the air. The empty compound was like an oven under the blistering desert sun. All that could be seen for miles around were scorching sands and smooth dunes seemingly untouched by man. The dry shrubs growing through the cracked concrete paving the low building’s perimeter stood motionless in the still air.

With the heat it was a wonder they didn’t spontaneously combust.

With the heat, Gunnery Sergeant Samantha Bellew was surprised her loyal wingman was still standing.

With a small grin, the soldier glanced away from the sights of her rifle and looked to her panting companion. Though to merely call him a man was probably being a bit insulting.

For three years the duo had been inseparable. Samantha and her wingman ate together. They slept together. They trained together. They played together. They fought together.

He could find things she couldn’t. He disabled the bad guys she was too slow to reach. She kept him safe. He kept her safe. They could count on each other. He was her loyal guardian. She was his best friend.

His name was Bungee. He liked breakfast, his squeaky tennis ball and to play catch.

He was a Military Working Dog.

Rising from her crouched position, Samantha removed a gloved hand from her rifle and patted her thigh twice – distinctly. All the while she rose to her feet and moved down the bare hall littered with rubble and banks of sand backed up against the walls and corners.

Recognising the silent command, Bungee swiftly and silently followed the soldier, keeping his head low and pointed ears alert. The canine jogged on his handler’s heel like a fellow soldier holding a point-man’s shoulder in preparation to breach a room.

Right behind them were the rest of the armed forces making up their team, soldiers one and all armed to the teeth and clad in fatigues intended to hide them in the sandy terrain while at the same time shielding them from the hostile sun; as well as hostile fire. Bullets and armour weighed down heavy on the humans, giving them little reprieve of the sweltering temperature causing sweat to soak their bodies.

Even Bungee was armed and armoured, kitted with the latest greatest K9 assault and recon gear.

On top of his wits and his teeth, the dog wore a midnight-coloured tac-vest not unlike that his master wore. The K9 Storm Intruder vest housed tough supportive straps acting like a harness, so Bungee could do anything his human comrades could from parachuting to rappelling down the side of a building. The double layer Kevlar lining under the tough Cordura exterior protected his vital organs from small arms fire and blades. Integrated was a wireless camera mounted on a foldable arm so Bungee could scout ahead of his handler and send back a crystal clear live feed of what he was seeing – even in the dead of night. He could even receive orders via a custom earpiece, so he knew if he was to proceed with recon or return to Samantha.

There was even a pouch reserved for his favourite toy.

Reaching the end of the hall, the group met a neat T-junction. To the left was a darkened section of the compound where the windows were shuttered and blocked creating a zone of poor visibility. To the right was a clear corridor of peeling paint and broken plaster with the harsh sun blasting through the open windows.

Marching to a halt, Samantha reached down and caught the back of Bungee’s collar with one hand, her other keeping her rifle level and ready to fire. Satisfied the dog was holding position with his head comfortably pressed against her leg, Samantha raised a hand to halt the soldiers behind her. They immediately threw themselves against the nearest wall for cover with their weapons pointed outwards and sweeping in overlapping arcs.

As the soldiers made that little section of the compound theirs, Samantha grabbed the arm on the back of Bungee’s harness and extended the recon-camera. Switching on the equipment she checked the receiver with a screen strapped to her own forearm. The screen lit up and revealed the view from Bungee’s camera, only just framing the top of his head and the tips of his ears.

Now she could send him off, but still keep an eye on him.

“Okay, buddy,” Samantha whispered scratching the dog behind the ears. “Time to hunt some bad guys.” Pointing down the darker end of the compound so the German Shepherd knew where to go, the gunnery sergeant kept her commands simple and direct. “Bungee, find.”

Having already been given the scent of their target prior to insertion, Bungee knew what he was sniffing for. Lifting his nose, he tested the dry air before lowering his muzzle to the floor and sweeping forward, his head bobbing from side to side in wide arcs.

Satisfied the camera was giving a good feed and Bungee knew what he was doing, Samantha waved the rest of her men up to begin their search for the objective in a different direction. Time was a luxury they didn’t have. If they didn’t hurry the HVT would finish what he was doing and might drop off their scope completely.

Bungee would be able to cover more ground on his own anyway, and his sharper senses made him more effective in the darker sections of the compound. In truth, keeping him on a leash was only impeding the mission’s progress.

Pausing only once, Bungee looked back to see Samantha lead the rest of the humans down the other way. Noting their direction so he could find them if he was called, the dog faced forward again and continued into the darkness.

His sniffing only ended when he had to exhale sharply. And then the sniffing continued. His pattern was steady and methodical. Sweep left, test the scent. Sweep right, test the scent. Rinse, repeat. It wasn’t training so much. The training had taught Bungee to search for specific things his handler needed.

The actual searching came from pure instinct.

Bungee didn’t even realise he was wandering through complete darkness, guided by smell and hearing. He would check each room methodically without trusting his eyes too much, testing the smells and sounds with a pause before moving swiftly on when he was satisfied the area was clear. The only sound he made was the dry snivelling noises emanating from his nostrils, and the soft click of his nails on the concrete floor.

Some might argue it was cruel to use dogs in warzones. And those were usually the ones who clearly underestimated the capacity, courage and determination of a dog dedicated to his handler. Every day, Military Working Dogs saved the lives of soldiers by boosting morale, sniffing out bombs and hostiles; even flanking and attacking unsuspecting enemies.

In return, handlers did everything in their power to keep their furry friends happy, healthy and safe from harm. Their relationship as almost symbiotic.

A well trained dog is more than just a military asset. He is a member of the squad. A brother in arms.

That dedication to protecting his friends and others from bad people makes him a warrior.

A soft sound caused Bungee to stop everything. His ears flexed, twisting to hone in on the sound as he stood with bolted attention. His alert eyes scanned the darkness, double checking the darker corners just to be sure. At the same time his nose picked up on a familiar scent. The tell-tale waft of sweat with a distinct pattern; a unique odour underneath the usual sour salty tones that was the smell of humans.

It smelled exactly like the old shirt Samantha had made Bungee smell on the helicopter ride.

Bungee waited patiently, taking in the scent to be absolutely sure. And then his sensitive ears picked it up again. Voices, the scraping of metal over stone, the percussion of fingers typing on a keyboard…

The tell-tale click of a rifle-bolt slamming shut.

Bungee stopped panting in an instant. Lowering his head as if ready to charge, the dog slowly stalked forward. Following the curve of the hallway he noticed the lighting change. The darkness seemed to recede as he saw an open doorway up ahead with sunlight spilling into the dark corridor forming a wedge of light across the floor.

The target’s scent strengthened as he approached; the noises of human presence growing clearer.

Silently the German Shepherd approached the doorway, keeping low to the ground. With his belly practically sliding over the dusty floor, the dog shuffled up to the edge of the door frame. Peeking his head around, he took in the sights with a little surprise.

The room was larger than any of the others in the compound. It was well lit by some battery operated working lights. There were no shadows left, between the working lights and the sunlight spilling in through the open windows and the holes in the ceiling. Shrubs grew in through the cracks in the floor, probably drawing dregs of water from the old plumbing, and the space was littered with old boxes, crates and chunks of rubble where part of the roof had collapsed.

There were men all around. Some on the high scaffolding erected like a watchtower on the far wall. Most were on the floor wandering between the scattered cover.

All of them wore recognisable uniforms. The same uniforms Samantha and the rest of Bungee’s friends wore. But Bungee knew they weren’t friends. These men were bad guys, and they were armed.

One in particular stood out.

He was standing in front of a large ring shaped device sprouting large ribbons of wire leading into the quietly humming generators. More tangles of cabling ran into the computer stack the man was working on.

The leader of the group seemed to have a glow about him. An aura, that drew in Bungee’s eyes. He recognised his stature, his build and his features. But above all, he recognised the scent.

Lieutenant Elliot Rourke; the target.

Shuffling forward around a little more, Bungee leaned sideways to angle the camera on his back around the door frame. Freezing like that, the dog waited for Samantha to check her live-feed.

It didn’t take long before Bungee heard her voice whisper through his earpiece.

“Bungee, stay.”

Shuffling back and out of sight in the shadows, the dog did exactly as he was ordered.

Soon enough he picked up a fresh scent. A friendlier, more subtle smell. A smell that made Bungee happy. The smell of talcum powder fighting to cancel out the sour sweat didn’t quite overpower the soft meaty odour of the dog-treats she kept in her back pocket.

Turning his head, Bungee saw Samantha and the rest of the squad catch up to him. Shuffling up to a seated position, the dog felt his tail beat the ground softly, watching their vague silhouettes move closer through the darkness.

In the dim light, Bungee could see his handler was smiling. The woman folded down the camera arm of his gear and gave the dog a congratulatory petting.

“Good boy, Bungee.” She praised, causing his tail to wag a little harder.

With a soft click of plastic she undid the straps holding the screen to her forearm and slipped the receiver device for the K9-cam into an empty pouch on Bungee’s vest. The recon gear wouldn’t be of any use anymore anyway, and to the big dog the added weight was barely noticeable.

Patting her leg, she ordered him to stay by her side as she signalled to the other soldiers to form up around the doorway. They did so quietly and swiftly in preparation to breach.

Bungee knew exactly how a breach worked.

The first in was the point-man, the one armed with the smaller looking, but louder sounding gun. He would sweep to the left, keeping his back to the wall as he took in hostile contacts and searched out better cover. The next in was Samantha, moving to her right to do the same, followed by the others.

And it was Bungee’s job to run a little ahead of the woman in case there was a bad guy close by who wanted to hurt his friend.

“One…” Samantha whispered.

Bungee trembled with anticipation. His ears pinned back as his chin was practically touching the floor.

“Two…”

Bungee’s tail lifted high, his legs poised to launch himself forward.

“Three…”

The point-man standing opposite Bungee and Samantha smirked with a downward glance to the dog. “Shepherds lead the way,” he snickered.

“BREACH!”

“BREACHING-BREACHING! CONTACT, TWO O’CLOCK HIGH!”

“MOVING…! TAKING FIRE!”

“RETURN FIRE, RETURN FIRE!”

Chaos, was the best word used to describe what happened next. Bungee was sprinting headlong through the gates of hell. Fire and acrid smoke filled the air. Metal projectiles hissed through the air as thunder rang in the dog’s ears. He didn’t dare look up. He didn’t like the sound of guns, but he didn’t like the sight of them either. The flashes of light were bothersome, and the smoke they gave off burned in his nose. But if he kept his head low, they wouldn’t bother him too much.

He couldn’t let the guns bother him. He needed to focus.

Bullets cratered the wall just above Bungee’s head. He paid it no mind hearing fresh thunder. Right behind him Samantha returned fire. Like her smell, the sound of her gun was gentler; comforting even. A distinct automatic pop-pop-pop instead of the guttural crack of the other guns. He took comfort, knowing that if she was firing, she was taking care of him.

Soon though, it was Bungee’s turn to protect Samantha.

Up ahead was a bad man intent on hurting Bungee’s friends.

He had emptied his gun into the wall attempting to zero in on Bungee and his friends while they laid down wide layers of covering fire. He had lifted his rifle over the top of a crate and fired blind for the most part, hitting nothing but environment. Breaking cover, he was looking to cut off Samantha while smoothly reloading his gun.

Within moments Bungee assessed the danger by the man’s armament, stance and direction of movement; escalating the urgency of his actions accordingly. Instinct and training joined hand in hand and the dog reacted.

Launching into a fresh sprint, Bungee didn’t let him finish reloading. If he finished, the bad man would fire at his best friend. Bungee would stop him before he could.

Leaping forward, it was as if the German Shepherd had grown wings and flew. He soared a good few feet through the air, maw open wide and lips peeled back into a snarl. His white teeth gleamed in the sun as he bore down on the enemy soldier.

And with a sharp snap, his fangs locked on the man’s forearm. Bungee’s weight dragged them both to the floor, the rifle fallen forgotten with a distinct clatter of metal on concrete. The moment Bungee felt solid ground under his paws, the dog pulled, sharply tugging his head from side to side.

The man screamed trying to punch the dog in the face and thrashing his legs. Bungee shook off the blows with ease, growling through the mouthful of sleeve and arm filling his mouth.

Samantha joined the fray, running right up to the man pinned down by the dog; she kicked him in the face as she passed. The man stopped struggling and Bungee instinctively let go feeling the enemy’s consciousness slip.

“Heel!” Samantha ordered loudly as she dropped to one knee and slid into cover behind an old metal crate.

Sparks exploded from the cover as rounds directed at her glanced off while Bungee shuffled into the shadow of the crate at her side. Despite the chaos, Bungee looked eagerly up at Samantha.

But there was no praise for his actions this time. She had a serious expression plastered on her face as she pressed her fingers against the hardened earpiece integrated into her helmet.

“Kilo-two-three to Baseplate,” the woman yelled into the mic hanging right in front of her mouth, “we have the target in sight! We have been engaged! Situation deteriorating rapidly! Request shoot-to-kill order, over!”

Through the gunfire and shouting – even the insulation surrounding her earpiece – Bungee could still hear a voice reply on the radio. “Copy that, Kilo,” it said. “Wait one.”

A short pause later a different voice called back. “Baseplate to Kilo-two-three, your orders are unchanged. The target is to be secured intact, do you copy?”

Frustrated, Samantha let her hand fall from the vox-controls strapped to the shoulder strap of her tac-vest. Gripping the side of the crate they used for cover, she narrowed her eyes and lifted her helmeted head over the top.

Directly ahead of her she saw the target work unfazed on his console. A round flattened against the ring shaped object by his side. Without flinching, the man continued typing, glancing between the glowing screen and the keyboard.

A distinct hum filled the air. The generators let out a fresh roar of life as static energy visibly manifested on some of the conduits clamped around the circumference of the ring. The smell of ozone thickened the air as bolts of energy connected the various chevron-shaped conduits forming a spider web of flickering lightning bolts.

Cursing, Samantha watched as a smooth layer of glistening tar-like substance spread over the webwork of lightning. Inch by inch a whirling darkness consumed the ring. It thickened, sucking in all the surrounding light, leaving a hole of pure nothingness standing in space before them.

Ducking back down as the armed hostile moving to the target’s side swivelled sideways and aimed a burst at her, Samantha clicked her vox again.

“Baseplate, the target just opened up the Ark!” the gunnery sergeant cried into her radio-mic. “We’re about to lose him! We’re under heavy fire! There’s no time! I have the shot; let me drop this fucker, over!”

The angry voice from before returned in reply. “Gunnery Sergeant Bellew, you safety that weapon! Your mission is to take the target alive! Do you copy!?”

“Damn it!” she hadn’t even bothered to delay in pressing the vox-button when she replied. She wanted command to know exactly how dismayed she was. “We copy, Baseplate! Stand by!”

Twisting around, Samantha returned both hands to her rifle and quickly assessed where the rest of her team was. Bungee lay unflinching by her side. The others were spread out across the chamber, each in cover and popping up to return fire on the thinning hostiles.

Taking a deep breath, she bellowed out at the top of her lungs, “COVER ME!”

In response every one of her team sat up and fired. The layers of overlapping suppressive fire thickened, filling the air with rounds. Enemies cowered as they were met by an unholy wave of metal death crashing all around them. Several hostiles screamed as they danced to a muted beat before dropping to the ground and laying still. The unlucky ones found themselves stuck in cover to face the continued wrath of Samantha’s team.

Without hesitation the gunnery sergeant bolted around the side of the crate; her boot-soles purchasing enough so her feet didn’t slip out from under her as she threw herself into a steep charge. Her rifle remained level despite the insane angle her whole body was pivoted in, and the weapon kicked twice in quick succession.

The enemy soldier stood by the target’s side flinched. The sling of his rifle pulled taught as the weapon slipped from his hands and it swung to his side as he fell unevenly. Landing in a heap, he dug his fingers into the sticky mess soaking into his left sleeve.

Skidding around the side of the metal crate right behind Samantha was Bungee. Digging his claws into the floor he managed to find a bit of grip and leapt up to the gunnery sergeant’s heel as she straightened up and marched closer towards the target.

He was an older gentleman still wearing the rank markings of an officer; probably just out of his forties judging by the cropped silver hair touching his temples. The flag pinned to the target’s sleeve was identical to the blue flag studded with a single four-pointed white star worn on Samantha’s sleeve. Even Bungee wore one pinned to his vest.

But the man wasn’t worthy of it like the gunnery sergeant and her dog.

“Lieutenant Rourke!” Samantha screamed, identifying the high-value-target. “Stand down!”

Lifting his gaze, Lieutenant Elliot Rourke turned away from the console he worked on to reveal the rifle hanging by his side, and the pistol holstered to the front of his tactical vest. Centred on his chest was another flag, identical to that pinned on his sleeve. The one on his chest had several names inked into it with black pen, as well as a patch of dried blood soaked into one corner.

At the sight of Samantha, the target gave a scowl before returning his attention to the console.

“I’ve almost brought humanity back from the brink of extinction, Samantha!” he replied while working on stabilising the Ark’s power-flow. “I’m not stopping now!”

Leaning forward a little, Samantha dug the stock of her rifle deeper into her shoulder. “The Ark Project was shut down for a reason! The cost was too great for a solution that might not even work! What’s the point in saving humanity if we lose our humanity in the process!?”

Satisfied the portal flickering by his side was stable enough for now, the older man stepped back, gazing into its light.

“The resource wars are killing us, Samantha! You of all people should know that! I’ve lost too many friends over nothing, and so have you,” he cried over the combination of gunfire and the hum of the Ark. Turning he faced the gunnery sergeant with a determined look in his eyes. “I won’t let man’s petty squabbles be the end of us! So either you stand down, or you shoot me...” his thin lips twisted into a sly grin. “Oh, that’s right. You can’t! You follow orders like a good little soldier, don’t you?” dismissing her, Rourke returned to his work on the console.

Gritting her jaw so hard she felt the tendons in her face stretch painfully, Samantha flicked her thumb over the safety lever of her rifle. “Lieutenant, don’t make me-…!” she didn’t get to finish.

What terrified her was the concept of disobeying orders. But as much as failing a mission terrified her, losing her friends terrified her more.

“Eat shit, bitch!” his voice yelled as he sat up from where he lay.

The man Samantha had shot in the arm while breaking cover had his hand closed around his sidearm. The weapon cleared his holster and was aimed directly at her. Samantha saw the motion over the sights of her own weapon and twisted the rifle to bear.

Everything seemed to move slower than usual. The man’s finger tightened on the trigger by the time Samantha’s rifle muzzle was only half-aimed in his direction. Her eyes widened as she realised she wasn’t going to be fast enough. Fire escaped the enemy pistol, propelling a bullet into the air…

And then a black and brown blur filled Samantha's field of view.

A canine yelp pierced Samantha’s hearing and she watched in terror as Bungee crashed into he ground at her feet, laying on his side with a rear leg kicking in pain. It only took a split second for her to realise the dog had leapt into the path of the bullet.

“NO!” screaming as she fired, Samantha laid a sustained burst of fire into the chest of the wounded enemy.

He kicked and twitched as nearly half a magazine pounded a good dozen holes in his body armour. Eventually, when the barrage of lead ended, so did he; slumping back with the offending pistol falling from his limp hand.

Throwing her rifle over her left shoulder, Samantha felt the sling pull taught and the rifle hang across her back as she dropped to her knees over Bungee. Her hands ran over the side of the canine’s ballistic vest as she tested the integrity.

Her heart skipped a beat when she realised Bungee wasn’t bleeding. Feeling a lump on his side, she lifted her hand to see a round flattened against the Kevlar.

Just as she considered celebrating with a smile, another piercing noise met her ears. This one was attenuated with pain however.

Both Samantha’s and Bungee’s eyes widened as they looked up at the same time. Rourke was facing them, his own pistol in two hands with smoke escaping from the muzzle.

Bungee was on his paws in an instant. Widening his stance as he growled, he stood ready to accept another volley of fire. He was torn between the decision of standing between his handler and another bullet, or charging and disabling Rourke before he fired again.

Only Bungee was left confused as Rourke simply turned away, holstering the pistol again.

The dog didn’t understand. The target had them in his sights. They were at his mercy. Why would he stand down?

Then Samantha made a noise.

It was a wheeze a first, then followed by a wet gag and a gargle.

Whipping around to face his handler, Bungee felt his heart race. Nothing else seemed to matter. Not the gunfire, not the bullets filling the air. Not even completing the mission.

His eyes were fixed on his handler as she grasped her throat with both hands.

Flecks of red stained the pale skin on her cheeks. Her eyes were wide with shock, and there was a darkness drooling out between her fingers. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Only more of the terrifying darkness.

Samantha fell back and hit the ground, kicking her legs as her whole body convulsed against her will. Bungee had no idea what was happening or why. Whining, the German Shepherd rushed over, throwing himself on top of his handler to serve as protection from the firefight still raging around them.

Looking down, he could see the fear in her eyes and couldn’t bear to see it. He was familiar with the emotion of fear, and didn’t like it much himself. He’d felt it plenty of times when staying at Samantha’s side in the thick of a firefight. He was feeling fear himself right now, watching more thick liquid pool the ground beneath the woman.

Then a spark of sobriety entered her eyes again. Blinking hard a few times, she gaped and gasped through the blackness filling her mouth. In that brief moment of focus she looked up to see a faithful protector huddle over her.

Seeing her faithful wingman, Samantha smiled… and then nothing.

Bungee whimpered, seeing the light of life in his handler’s eyes extinguish.

She kept him safe. He kept her safe. She was his best friend.

And then she was gone.

Lowering his head, Bungee nudged his cold nose against Samantha’s face. She didn’t react like she normally did when he woke her in the same manner in the mornings. She was supposed to flinch, then look at him and smile. She was supposed to tell him off for standing on her bed. She was supposed to move!

Bungee whimpered giving her cheek a lick. The taste of her blood was bitter on his tongue, made all the more bitter by the slow realisation his handler – his best friend in the whole wide world – would never talk to him again.

She would never walk him again. She would never feed him again. She would never play with him again.

She would never love him again.

Then it hit him, swelling up from an unknown place in the deep recesses of his psyche.

The emotion was so archaic he barely recognised it at first. Only once did Samantha ever need to tell him off, back when Bungee was still learning to be a proper Military Working Dog. He had barked during a stealth exercise, and Samantha had reprimanded him for it. It had been the last time he made such a silly mistake. It had been the last time he had felt sad because his handler was angry.

But now, the creeping sadness cornered him once more...

Before a new emotion clouded his brain. It was like an explosion, or a wildfire eating up all of Bungee’s training and instinct. It drove him, forced him into a frame of mind that demanded blood to be shed.

More specifically; it demanded Rourke’s blood be shed.

Bungee didn’t know it at the time, but that ferocious emotion taking him over was called anger. It drove him to peel his lips back into a venomous snarl aimed in Lieutenant Rourke’s direction. It drove him to seek out something nobody ever thought a dog would ever seek out.

Revenge.

Snapping at the air as he snarled, the German Shepherd slowly stepped off Samantha’s still body. Leaving her in his wake, the dog started with a slow walk, completely ignoring everything around him. The sounds of gunfire was muted. The scent of burnt gunpowder was just like normal air. His vision tunnelled.

He was locked on to the target. But no longer just the target in a mission. No longer somebody else’s target, a wanted fugitive or war-criminal.

Lieutenant Rourke had become a target in a new mission. He was the target of Bungee’s mission. And Bungee’s mission parameters were to see the man dead in the most visceral way imaginable.

Bungee broke into a jog as he saw Rourke had his back to him. The lieutenant was stepping forward, closer towards the pool of darkness centred in the giant ring known as the Ark. He didn’t see the dog coming. He wouldn’t even know what hit him.

Bungee’s jog escalated, and he launched himself into a sprint. His paws pounded the concrete in quick succession as he rapidly closed the distance between him and the target.

“Bungee!” a voice cried, barely piercing through the murky rage clouding the canine’s brain. “Bungee, wait!”

For the first time since he was a puppy in training, Bungee ignored all commands. More voices joined the first, ordering him to heel, ordering him to sit and stay. They ordered him to return to them, but he left their orders – like them – in the dust. Bungee didn’t care anymore. He didn’t care about living, he didn’t care about dying.

All he cared about was where on that murderer he wanted to sink his teeth.

A fierce bark escaped the dog’s throat as his maw spread wide. It was like he was demanding Rourke to turn and face him. Like Bungee wanted to see the life drain from the man’s eyes as he ripped his throat out. But even as he didn’t turn, Bungee leapt at the human’s back all the same.

His maw was open, front legs tucked against his chest with his tail trailing straight and streamlined in his wake.

Rourke took a step forward, his chest touching the surface of the rippling tar within the Ark.

Bungee’s teeth inched to the man’s neck.

And in a flash of light, they both disappeared…

On December sixth, 2010, Taliban fire mortally wounded United States Marine, Private First Class Colton Rusk. His bomb-sniffing dog Eli jumped on top of him to provide both protection and comfort. After the young man's death, officials granted Eli an early retirement so he could return to the U.S. to live with Rusk’s family.

This is but one example of the inseparable relationship shared by a handler and his Military Working Dog.

Every day brave canines stand unwavering by the sides of the brave men and women of law enforcement and the armed forces.

They keep each other safe.

And in turn they keep us safe.

PseudoFiction presents…

A non-canon MLP: FiM fanfiction…

CANIS FIDELIS

Harmony

Author's Note

Edits:
17/06/13
- Removed music link (was kinda lame)

37

He’d been bounding out ahead of her, then bouncing happily back to her side with excitement as they wandered the empty palace. In the morning hours everypony had jobs to do. The guard were busy rotating between posts. The servants were preparing the royal breakfast. Maids were beginning the daily routine of dusting and cleaning. All that was heard as they crossed the marble floors were the sharp clicks of Luna’s hooves, and the scratching of Bungee’s nails.

The excitement drained out of him the moment they reached their destination however.

Bungee stood vigil by the door as Luna wasted little time trotting into her bedroom. She looked tired in the dim glow of the morning sun peeking between the curtains; her mane and tail drooping to the floor and heavy bags under her eyes. The alicorn sighed heavily as she mustered up enough energy to charge her horn. An aura of magic tugged at Bungee’s vest as he saw his food pouch was pulled from one of the pockets.

The dog didn’t move, still standing by the door. He didn’t watch with anticipation as Luna poured the remnants of the food into his bowl and mused out loud about needing to buy more. He didn’t pounce on his bowl and proceed to scarf down the breakfast he’d been looking forward to since Luna picked him up from Fluttershy’s cottage.

He stood stock still, only his nose twitching as he tested the air.

The smell of Luna’s bedroom was familiar. Lavender scented candles, old paper from the parchments on her desks. The waft of ink from the uncorked inkwells.

But there was something else there. Something out of place. A smell that should not have been there. A scent he knew he’d smelled before, as it tugged at Bungee’s older memories.

“Bungee, breakfast.” Luna said as she noticed Bungee hadn’t moved. Her head cocked a little with confusion. “Are you not hungry?”

Bungee lifted up a front leg, his eyes fixed on the bed. He was halfway between pointing and walking towards his bowl. Something was wrong. His tail lowered to his calves as his eyes narrowed a little. He wasn’t sure what it was yet, but something was definitely wrong.

Bungee’s heart skipped a beat as something possessed Luna. He took a step forward, staring as her mouth opened as wide as it would go.

Lifting a hoof to her agape mouth, Luna yawned loudly, before sighing in recovery. She shook her head while blinking hard a few times.

“I just need some sleep, Bungee. A few hours at least. We shall play later.” she promised as she started walking to her bed. As she moved she levitated her tiara from her head and removed her slippers on the move. Her chest-piece fell loose and hit the floor with a hollow clang. She didn’t bother to retrieve it, leaving the regalia where they fell.

As the stripped alicorn moved to the bed – her bare hooves clicking softly on the floor – her mane fell. A magical sparkle drifted from the aura before it drooped and separated into individual strands. As the glittering stars and the solid aurora outline faded, what was left were a conventional mane and tail of light azure.

As Luna approached the bed, Bungee whimpered. It suddenly hit him why he was upset. It wasn’t the change in their simple schedule of breakfast and play. It was the feeling. The smell. It was wrong.

It was bad.

The smell only intensified as Bungee threw himself at the bed, the source of the odour. He needed to get Luna away. They needed to get away from the smell. Away from the bed.

And he got her away the best way he knew how.

Pain knifed up from the base of her spine, right above her flanks causing the princess’ eyes to widen. She felt her hooves slip on the floor as she was pulled back, feeling the strands of hair in her tail pulled taught. Turning to look, she saw the end of her tail clenched in Bungee’s mouth as he straightened out his forelegs, pulling the princess back.

“Ow, Bungee! Stop!” Luna commanded, stopping herself from shouting angrily.

Bungee didn’t stop. Letting go, he darted closer and grabbed a mouthful of her long mane. Pulling with renewed vigour he felt her head lower to the ground as she squealed with surprise.

“Ow-ow-ow-ow!” the princess screamed louder than before. “Stop! Bungee, stop!” she yelled angrily now, on the verge of unleashing her Royal Canterlot voice.

Bungee growled through gritted teeth, jerking his head from side to side and dragging Luna through the open door. As they left the room though he didn’t stop pulling. They weren’t clear of the smell. Not yet.

They weren’t safe.

“That is ENO-… OW!” Luna was thrown off mid-spell as Bungee tugged harder nearly tearing her mane out.

The energy shimmering around her horn spluttered and faded as she felt herself thrown off-balance. Nearly thrown to the ground chin-first, Luna managed to keep her footing. Fear permeated from the princess as last night’s conversation with Mare Do Well bobbed to the surface of her mind. It was seared into her ear canals.

Maybe she was right, a small voice in Luna’s mind thought. Maybe he is evil, and this is it. Any moment now those teeth will find their true mark and it will all be over. Maybe she was right… why didn’t I listen?

“Princess!?” a voice shouted over Luna’s distracted thoughts.

She glanced up before Bungee tugged at her hair again, pulling her further away from the open door. Luna only caught a quick glimpse of white and gold. A pair of feathery wings were extended as the royal guard charged towards the commotion.

“What in Equestria!?” the guardspony cried as he grabbed the dog by the collar.

As one foreleg tried to pull Bungee away, his other hoof clamped on the dog’s jaw attempting to pry the mouth open. Bungee bit down harder.

“Bad dog! Bad dog!” the private shouted. “Down! Heel! Give! Cut it out! C’mon!” the stallion was screaming at wit’s end. He didn’t know what command to use next. He could try shouting louder, but doubted that would work.

The private thought of breaking a stick beside Bungee’s head. Maybe that would make him let go. But where to find a stick!?

Bungee was unhindered in the meantime. Planting his paws on the slick floor, he yanked his head to his left, pulling Luna another few inches away from the bedroom. Away from the acrid stench. Away from danger.

A new voice pierced all their senses. A honeyed, motherly voice; soothing to the senses but filled to the brim with terse authority – voice as warm as the sun she commanded.

“What is going on?” Princess Celestia cried as she ran towards the commotion.

The grand alicorn’s horn began to glow with golden light. Only yesterday that light was used to throw Bungee’s ball for him. Today that light wrapped round his vest and pulled taught on the supporting straps. With the princess and the guardspony pulling at the dog, Luna stumbled another step away from her room.

The dog shifted his eyes to see something familiar on Celestia’s face. A mixed expression. One of fear, worry and something darker. Something that didn’t suit her. A look of anger.

Bungee recognised it, because he had worn those same expressions on his heart when he watched his handler die.

Bungee kicked his paws as he felt the ground leave him. The combined efforts of the white alicorn and the pegasus lifted him up while trying to pry him from Luna. A golden glow embraced bungee’s muzzle as he felt her magic snake between his teeth and start pulling at his jaw with more success than the guardspony had.

He felt some of Luna’s mane slip, raking over his tongue and flossing between his canines. Growling with defiance he managed to muster up more strength and directed it to his aching jaw-muscles. His teeth snapped shut, interlocking over each other and holding Luna tightly again. As a result, as Celestia jerked the dog back, Luna was pulled with him; gaining another few steps between her and the bedroom.

“What is the meaning of this!?” Celestia shouted as Bungee’s jaws remained clamped shut through magic and hair. “Bungee, stop! What has gotten into you!?”

Even as she demanded an explanation, the air wavered. Bungee exhaled sharply, knowing what came next. His eyes shut and his ears popped in the sudden air-pressure change.

Celestia’s magic didn’t worry him. In fact, he didn’t care about it. He was afraid of something worse.

He was afraid of the explosives in Luna’s bed.

Wind rushed out of Luna’s room, preceded only by a flash of light. The rush of air played on the ends of Luna’s tail and made her fur stand on end. Like the waves of the ocean rippling closer to the shore, the ripple of fur rushed across her body, transferring onto both the guard and Princess Celestia. The ponies winced at the light and rushing wind.

And then the bang deafened them. Fire and noise consumed Luna’s bedroom. The bed was combusted in an instant. Debris and shrapnel surfed on a shockwave centred around the poster bed. The walls buckled and the ceiling was torn away choking the air with chips of dust and plaster.

The shockwave hit them all, plucking them from the ground and sending them spinning into the air. Bungee felt sick. He wasn’t sure which way up. Sneaking a peek through cracked eyelids he could only see a sickening blur of white, gold and dark azure.

Then the ground struck him. He felt it punch him out of what felt like spite, the dust and settling debris scraping through his fur. The sticky grit felt heavy. The world was still spinning. He could hear only bells. Enormous, deafening bells.

Bungee forced his eyes open. They were dry and abrasive. His vision refused to focus. He was on his side, legs sprawled out to his side somewhere. He couldn’t feel his paws. All he saw of Luna was an azure blob laying somewhere in the corner of his field of view. Desperately he tried to move. He wanted to get closer. He wanted to see if she was okay.

He failed. Every soot filled breath was a labour. Fatigue unlike anything he’d ever felt constricted him. It was like the world itself was crushing his chest.

Eventually he just let the comforting embrace of sleep take him.

The dust settled slowly over the four figures as nothing moved…

Tribute

Acknowledgements

Thanks to the Military Working Dogs who risk their lives and stand vigil every day to protect us and our way of life. We owe it to them to be worthy of such devotion, loyalty and bravery.

Thanks to the MWD handlers and all the other armed forces and law enforcement personnel for protecting our basic freedoms from the evil that – unfortunately – roams out in the big bad world. I may never truly understand what drives you, but I can certainly appreciate you.

Thanks to my dog who inspired everything about the way Bungee moves and reacts to obstacles and situations. She is my guardian, protector and most importantly; my friend.

Thanks to the ever supportive FiMFiction.net community. Thanks for all the thumbs up, the faves and all the comments with suggestions, criticisms and encouragement. You guys are really cool.

Thanks to Lauren Faust for making My Little Pony awesome.

Thanks to Hasbro for letting My Little Pony become awesome.

Finally I’d like to thank the mods for not tearing down this fic even though it’s awful ;D

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Characters, Settings, Designs and Themes © to Hasbro and the Respective Owners. Please support the official release.