The Travelling Argument

"He's planning on doing something incredibly stupid!" said Gem with a scowl.

Tex pleaded with her. "But-"

"No 'but'! You endangered all these ponies by bringing them here! Cleric, talk some sense into him. He plans to wipe out every Diamond Dog in here in order to save everypony, and possibly kill himself in the process!"

Tex turned to Willow. "Willow, you gotta trust me! They will be waiting for us outside if we don't, and there is no way we can take them all. If we do this right, everypony could walk away safely."

Willow narrowed her eyes. "And what about the dogs? Or you? By the Sisters, you didn't think this through at all, did you?"

"I would not recommend that course of action," said Star. "If your plan does not deal with all Diamond Dogs effectively, it may be in vain."

Some Diamond Dogs rushed into the room, which Swift quickly dealt with. "And I will personally punch you in the face if we meet up again," she said as more Diamond Dogs rushed to their position. "Better make a decision fast, I can't deal with them for much longer!"

"The dogs will be gone," said Tex. "There is no way that we could have gotten in and out without getting rid of them."

Gem sighed. "You're right. They aren't chasing so hard right now because they are going to be waiting at the exit for you all in ambush. But, if you do this, you could get hurt... or killed."

"But you and the others will be safe, and that's all I want."

Gem nodded and frowned. She levitated her bow closer to her and hung her head. "Open the cage and get inside."

"Everyone in the cage!" said Star, using her magic to unlock the cage and swing the door open. "MABOO! WHERE ARE YOU?"

Willow sighed and got into the cage with Star, but the rest of them hesitated.

"Are we going to see more 'real' unicorn magic?" asked Evening with big eyes.

"Please just get inside, Evening," said Willow. "And Tex, if we survive this... there will be words."

Valhalla stared at them in the cage and shook his head. "What happened to the zebra's plan? Why can't everypony just listen and follow along? But no, it's always 'gotta kill this, gotta kill that, gotta complicate all these other things'. What do I do with this smoke bomb? We can either use it now and try to escape, and just hope Maboo is keeping the dogs off us, or whatever it is you're planning. I don't know the complications of what that might be though."

"And what happened to my original plan, anyway?" asked Star. "It was Sky Runner plus one other pony gets Gem out, while the rest of us distract the dogs. But no! It's all 'Hey, let's go get a bow!' and 'Hey, let's leave Sky Runner outside!'"

Meanwhile, down some other tunnel.

"Hey guys!" said Maboo, staring nervously at a large pack of changelings. "Yeah, I thought only diamond dogs lived here too. Woof?"

Back with the group.

"I did think about your plan, but they wouldn't have let us out!" said Tex. "The smoke bomb would have just told them to prepare for the ambush!"

"Wait, you have a smoke bomb?" asked Gem curiously. "We could use that to lessen the damage Tex would take. But, first we should get everypony inside the cage. Zebra, I'm going to need your help with timing."

Valhalla continued to shake his head. "I still have no clue what exactly your plan is or why it involves getting inside that cage. I feel a better chance of escaping out here. We could have somepony use their camo ring to sneak out and distract them while the rest of us get away even. I'd do it if I have to."

"The cell is for your protection, you don't have to close it, I just don't want you to get hurt," said Tex.

Valhalla grunted. "Fine." He and Swift entered the cage with the others.

"Everypony safe?" asked Gem.

"I'm fine," said Star. "Swift?"

Swift nodded. "I'm good."

Tex looked around the cave. "Where is Maboo? I don't want her to get caught in the fire."

"Maboo! Come here!" said Gem. She turned to Valhalla. "Zebra, are you ready? Once this 'Maboo' passes Tex, throw the bomb into his mouth." She used her magic and pulled back her bow, creating an arrow of fire on the string and aiming it towards Tex.

Maboo finally came bouncing back inside the cave with a group of changelings following behind her. She smiled as she saw the rest of the group. "Hey guys! What's going on? Who is that and why is she pointing an arrow at Tex? Oh, I want you guys to meet my new friends. Say hi!"

One of the changelings looked at the group and snorted. "Graghk."

"I found these little guys while running from some Diamond Dogs. I was a little afraid at first, but when the dogs caught up with me the changelings ran in front of me and scared off the dogs. It turns out that these changelings feed off of fear rather than love! They've been spooking the dogs for a while now."

"Maboo... how did you become friends with a bunch of changelings?" asked Valhalla.

"That was easy! These guys haven't ever seen a pony before it seems, and they said I look a lot like one other changeling that was taken away from them a long time ago. I guess they like me."

"Maah, ershkaer krekili antu," said one of the changelings to Maboo.

"Uh oh, more diamond dogs are coming."

"Hurry up!" said Tex.

"Nice to meet you Maboo," said Gem. "All those that want to live should take cover. Zebra, call the shot."

"Maboo, are you coming or not?" asked Valhalla.

Maboo looked back and forth between her friends and the changelings. "No... me and the changelings are going to find another way out. I don't like the look of this, and neither do they. Good luck you guys, I'll see you surface-side."

As Maboo and the changelings ran down one tunnel, groups of Diamond Dogs could be heard barking and approaching the group's position.

Valhalla lit the smoke bomb. "Fire in the hole!" He tossed it at Tex.

In the next few seconds, Tex let out a short burp of fire, consuming both the smoke bomb and the fire arrow. He held his breath for Valhalla and Gem to tuck away safely inside the cage. An army of Diamond Dogs came running down the tunnels towards Tex. When he opened his mouth again, it let out a roar of fire, igniting the air and flooding every tunnel with flames for five minutes. Tex was knocked backwards, unconscious. As the flames subsided, all was left were charred pieces of rock.