Mysterious stranger used Flee!
Our tale today starts in a small town a few miles out from our diarchy’s seat. In particular, an unassuming little house on the edge of town, painted white and criss-crossed by black beams. A red brick wall surrounds a modest little garden, home to a pear tree and a small kennel, inside which laid a medium-sized dog, his fur black with large white splotches. His collar proudly bore a name tag reading ‘Crowley. Please return to Maidstone Place if found.’ His tongue lolls lazily out of the side of his mouth as he sleeps in the scorching summer morning. The only door to the house sits smack in the middle of the front wall, flanked by a small rosebush and a plaque declaring the house to be called ‘Maidstone Place’. The door itself was built of a sturdy oak. While an oak door was not unusual in this town, the iron bands that were riveted to it were. To one side sat a large, black iron lock. Its surface was pitted and scratched, with a coat of black paint to cover up each new addition to its already impressive amount of damage. The keyhole itself is imposing, with a very gothic look to it. There is no handle on the door at all. The hallway behind it was a plain white, with a soapstone statue of a lion sitting on a glass and steel table. The house itself is old, but its décor and general feel is very modern and minimalistic. There is a small window just above the door, allowing a stream of light into the house. The carpet is a black-and-white checkerboard, and the welcome mat is stained from the owner’s various rambles around the countryside. There is an umbrella stand sat next to the door, filled with an assortment of monochrome umbrellas. The hallway itself isn’t very long, just big enough to fit all the items in without feeling cramped. The stairs at the end of the hall are carpeted in the same checked pattern. The room to the left of the hall is a large kitchen. The owner obviously values practicality over aesthetic value as the kitchen is filled with assorted bits and pieces, all converging on a central stove which dominated the far wall. The floor is covered in large, dark wooden planks which reflected the light perfectly from the window above the basin. To the left is the attached dining room which embraces a modern feel again, with a square table made of black painted oak, surrounded by four chairs covered in a striped material, with a large amount of padding to make meals more comfortable. Through a doorway to the right of the table, there is a small utility room filled with variable appliances for washing clothes and the like. At the other end of the room is a door leading to the room to the right of the hallway. The room was filled with an arrangement of black settees around a fireplace surrounded by bookshelves. The front of the room is one big bay window looking out into the garden, through which streams a large amount of daylight, giving the room a light, airy feel like the kitchen-diner with its large glass wall overlooking a valley filled with fields. The upstairs of the house is split into four rooms, one fairly plain bathroom, a small single bedroom that was obviously unused, a small office that contained several piles of paperwork and a large master bedroom with an en-suite bathroom. The curtains in the room are drawn, and are adorned in yet more monochrome stripes. The carpet, matching the rest of the house was a black and white check. One wall is made of mirrored wardrobes, and along the wall facing the window are several chests of drawers. The bed itself is currently occupied by the house’s owner, who is swaddled in the white bedding. She was a dark grey unicorn, with a silvery mane that obviously wasn’t from old age.
The dark grey unicorn stretched her back, her bones popping as she rolled out of her bed. She grunted as she grabbed a brush with her magic and pulled it through her mane, the latent magic within the brush causing her mane to fall down, completely covering one side of her face. She grunted in satisfaction as she stumbled towards the door, determined to check for mail before she could flop back into bed and fall asleep again. Seeing that her mail basket was empty from the top of the stairs, she trudged back up to her bedroom. She forced herself to walk past her bed into the bathroom to shower.
After being revived by the shower, she trotted down the stairs humming a little tune. She walked into the kitchen and flung open a few cupboards in search of cereal. Her search having proved inconclusive, she groaned as she grasped the alfalfa from a small bowl on the sideboard with her magic. She really despised the stuff, but when the only other produce she could get hold of easily was cider she had little choice to eat it when her stocks of stored cereal ran down. She munched through the small bunch she had in her magical grasp as she walked out of the kitchen into the living room, perching on the bay window. As she sat there, her dog suddenly shot out of his kennel, stretching his chain to the limit. She leaned to one side to see what the commotion was about, and saw a shadowy figure moving off into the distance. Her dog was barking at something that was still in the garden, so she decided to investigate. She trotted into the hallway, and pulled up in front of the door. She peered through the large keyhole, but she still couldn’t find the source of her dog’s agitation. Sighing, she levitated the key off the table with the soapstone statue, and she unlocked the door with a loud clunk as the bolt shot back into the door through the latent magic activated by the key. As she pulled the door open, her attention was drawn to a small bundle that had been left by the mysterious stranger. She lifted the bundle with her magic and rested it on the table in the hall and walked outside to calm her dog down. She gently laid a hoof on its head, and with a sharp whistle the dog went back to its lethargic self. She went back inside, and retrieved the bundle as she walked into her living room. She perched herself on the window seat once again, and started to unwrap the bundle. She peeled back layer after layer of cloth, the material becoming softer and softer each time. When the package was reduced from the size of a mare’s body to the size of a small watermelon, she was shocked by an unexpected revelation. As she peeled back the layer of fabric that was shifting ever so slightly, a small furry muzzle poked out of the hole. It was definitely canine, but it wasn’t like any dog she’d ever seen. As she unwrapped more, it quickly became apparent that it wasn’t a regular dog at all, but a Diamond Dog puppy. The little creature squirmed in her hooves, finding a warm patch on her chest where he could snuggle up to. As the tiny pup curled up against her, she felt enraged that somepony could leave such a small baby all on its own. As she looked back to the remainders of its wrappings, she noticed a note that had been scrawled in the crude handwriting of a Diamond Dog. As she deciphered the barely legible scrawl, she discovered that it had been written in crude Equush, the language of ponies. It was crude, but still readable. She floated over another piece of paper and her pencil to transcribe the writing with her magic. The pencil flashed over the page as her magic automatically corrected the mistakes in the writing and copied it into a more readable script.
To owner of Maidstone Place,
I sorry for this, but there has been bad things in our den. This pup too small to live without help. Please, is to dangerous for him. I hope you will care for him. You only pony that not scared of us.
The grammar was atrocious, but the message came through loud and clear; the dens were under attack, and the runt pup wouldn't survive on his own. The mother had no choice but to leave him with her. There was no name given for the pup, so she realised she would have to name him herself. If he was to live with her, and most importantly other ponies, he needed a relatively normal name. He had small black markings down the side of his white muzzle, and grey lines running from his ears to his forepaws, so she decided to call him 'Monochrome'. She knew that it would be a bit uncomfortable to say, but she couldn't think up anything else.
"So my little Mono, what are we going to do with you?"
Chapter 2 - New Pup on the block...
Author: Netherweaver
MLP © Hasbro. Thanks for giving us the freedom to do this stuff, Hasbro.
As the mare looks down at Monochrome, she notices something about his eyes. They aren’t the small beady eyes normally buried deep in a Diamond Dog’s face. They are larger, and they aren’t the trademark pure black irises of a Diamond Dog. His irises are a light green, with a brown line circling the border with the whites of his eyes. His eyes dart around, aware of all that goes on in the room, such as the slowly rotating fan and the brightly coloured fish in a tank to one side. She’s confused by this, as her dog Crowley was interested in only the food cupboard. She chuckles as he snuggles closer to her, and shifts slightly to make him more comfortable.
“We’re going to have to get you to the doctor’s soon, aren’t we?” she says, moving him onto the seat next to her and going to get a blanket to wrap him in. When she leaves the room, Monochrome looks at his surroundings some more. His gaze lands on the fish again. He is entranced by their intricate patternation and colours, and as they swim around, he’s gently lulled to sleep. The mare returns to find him curled up against the side of the bay seat, sleeping soundly. She smiles as she lifts him in her hooves and gently wraps him in the blanket, being careful to not wake him. She sets him in a small basket that was sat in the room doing nothing, and takes it in her mouth, being gentle as always. She walks through to the door, and opens it with a nudge from her head, as she didn’t lock it after bringing Monochrome indoors. She pulls it shut with her magic, and sets out into town for the first time in weeks.
As she carries Monochrome down the main road to the surgery, she sees a flash of pink off to one side. Cursing, she casts a quick veil of invisibility and speeds up, being careful to keep the basket steady. She sees the pink mare walking away from them, and sighs with relief. As she passes through the crowds and makes her way closer to the surgery, she overhears the conversations of Ponyville’s residents. There was talk of Diamond Dog Alphas who disagreed with the peace attacking the dens of packs moving above ground. She arrives outside the surgery, and pushing the door open with a hoof, she enters tentatively. As she looks around tentatively, she spots the pony she is looking for, Dr. Muffin Top. She trots towards him, weaving in and out of the ponies in the room, all of whom seem to be couples who will be having foal soon. The young doctor sees her making a beeline for him and walks over to an unoccupied corner to give them some room to talk. He waits patiently for her to set the basket down so she could talk.
“Hello miss, can I help you with anything?” he asks in the universal ‘I’m a doctor and I’m here to help.’ tone.
“Yes, actually. Could you have a look at this little fella?” she replies, pointing towards Monochrome who is soundly asleep in the basket. The doctor nods, and gently lifts the little pup from the basket. As he gets a look at Monochrome’s face, his expression becomes serious.
“Do you mind if we move into my office?” he asks, setting Monochrome back down. The mare motions for him to go ahead, and the doctor picks the basket up. They proceed into his office, where the doctor gently places Monochrome on the desk up against the rooms wall. “This little pup is... strange, if you haven’t guessed.” the doctor says with a sigh. He gestures to Monochrome’s eyes. “He is obviously an Omega, a thinker, but his body is nothing like what it should be. His muscle structure is too wiry, even Omega dogs make Celestia look like a pipe cleaner. His eyes wouldn’t look out of place on Fyrefly. His ears don’t respond sharply to sound. I could go on, but I don’t think you care.” The doctor glanced up from Monochrome to the mare. “He’s basically an Omega dog with Pony genes.” The doctor gave an exasperated sigh. “I don’t even know what is going on anymore.” he said as he started to run all the usual tests. Reflexes, sound response etc. “Everything is normal... for a pony.” the doctor conceded. The mare stood before him, eyes ablaze with love.
“Look, I know you don’t have a clue what he is, but is he stable and healthy?” she demands, leaning dangerously close to the doctor. The doctor, feeling intimidated, just nodded quickly. “Good. We’re going home.” she says bluntly. She takes the basket with Monochrome in it and trots briskly out of the surgery, ignoring the looks from the other patients as she cloaks herself once again for the trip home.
The mare kicks open her front door, and places Monochrome on the floor as she turns to lock it. She slides the key into the lock, and with a sharp flash of magic turns it until the lock clicks into place. She turns around, and picking monochrome up she trots upstairs to her bedroom.
“Now sweetie, where are you going to sleep?” the mare asks out loud, knowing that her question would go unanswered. She looked around the room, and to her dismay, not a single spare piece of sleeping furniture was to be found. “Dang it, looks like we’re going to have to share tonight sweets.” she sighs, meandering back downstairs after lifting Monochrome onto her back. He was looking around with wide eyes as they made their way downstairs, and his little arms were wrapped around her neck. She once again made her way into the kitchen, only then realising that Diamond Dogs don’t eat vegetation. Then, she realised that the doctor had said that Monochrome had pony genes. Thinking about this, she reached out with her magic and took a single leaf of alfalfa and held it up to Monochrome. He looked at it for a few seconds before tentatively nibbling the leaf. He proceeds to take a large bite of it and gives a satisfied burp. The mare laughs at her new son’s cute antics, and the rest of the day flies by...
