No Strings Attached

The group of thirty-one halted once they sighted the mouth of the cave, the trail having stopped once snowy ground turned to hard dirt. Flickers of illumination could be seen further in, Doflamingo guessing that wall-mounted torches or other such means had been installed. Seeing no guards he ushered his soldiers forward, the thirty equines following their Emperor to the entrance. Crouching down, Doflamingo peaked into the tunnel, no guards present in the underground passage-way.

Doflamingo turned and pointed at the group of guards assigned to guard the entrance, each of the ten ponies nodding as they moved to conceal themselves around the mouth to watch for any dogs attempting to enter or leave. The entire group had left their halberds in the city, Doflamingo deciding that the pole-arms would be more of a burden in close-quarters fighting so swords and maces had been brought instead.  The only exception was the changeling who had introduced himself as Chatter, the private preferring to use his magical abilities in lieu of a sword or mace.

“Sergeant Opal Blitz.” Emperor Doflamingo whispered, the addressed mare moving towards him on three legs, a sword attached to her right fore-leg thanks to the gems on her armor. All of the Crystal ponies had practiced moving on three legs while wielding a sword, dramatically increasing their combat abilities. Doflamingo crouched down as she halted next to him, the Emperor pointing to nine of the guards including the changeling as the mare awaited the Emperor’s orders.

“I suspect that this tunnel will open up into a central cavern. Take those nine guards and head to the left, position Private Chatter somewhere elevated so he can target any Dogs that move to harm the prisoners. Remember that the civilians are the top priority.”

“Got it sir,” Opal Blitz replied with a hush, “What are you going to do? Will you need support?”

“I’m going to walk right in and kill something. In the ensuing chaos you and the second team will come in from the flank and secure the prisoners.” The Commander raised his head to glance at the leader of the second flanking team, a Corporal named Star Shard. “Corporal Shard,” the ruby-colored stallion approached, neglecting a salute due to the circumstances. Doflamingo didn’t mind, he’d much prefer to have his soldiers focused on the job rather than formality.

“Reporting sir,” the Stallion responded as he joined Sergeant Opal Blitz, the mare giving the Corporal a nod.

“You are to take the opposite side to the Sergeant here, once again wait for the signal then charge your troops into the sides of the dogs. Focus on the prisoners first, I know we all want revenge but that can wait. These dogs don’t seem incredibly bright so if we all focus on our objectives then I’m confident your superior training shall win the day. Anything comes up that’s not in the plan I am faithful that you two will be able to improvise.” Both ponies beamed at the praise, the Corporal raised a hoof in question.

“One thing sir, what is the signal to attack?” Doflamingo lifted a finger and wagged it in front of the Corporal.

“Simple,” he stated in a soft voice with a grin, “I will control some of the dogs to fight each other for a short time. Once you see that, start killing them and I’ll release my hold over them. It will disorient their already dull senses further.” Neither squad leader could argue that such a signal would go unnoticed and from what they had gathered the Emperor was no slouch in combat. “All good to go?” the biped inquired as he turned towards the cave mouth, receiving two soft affirmatives. “Perfect, they say that every dog has its day,” the Emperor stated as he entered the mouth of the cave, his troops following behind him.

“Today is not going to be that day.”

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Slick Sheen glared at his jailors hatefully, the lime colt the only Crystal pony that wasn’t wallowing in pity. Never in his sixteen years had he felt so much anger towards someone, not even when King Sombra had assigned him to the Crystal mines. He stood in front of the rest of the captive Crystal ponies, the dogs having managed to grab seven ponies including him. A brown colt no more than ten years old was trying to hide behind a tan mare, his mother most likely. Two stallions, both hues of silver shielded two young mares, one pink and one orange. All seven ponies had been placed into a small metal cage, the Diamond dogs having roughly throw them in as soon as they had entered the circler cavern.

The pink mare, appearing to Sheen to be around the age of twenty was sobbing quietly on the floor as one of the stallions tried to comfort her. Apparently the Diamond dog who grabbed her made some remarks about how this was only a small den that had only been used for a month. The Dog had informed the mare that there was no female Dogs in the den and had remarked about how she didn’t look like she was suited for mine work so she would be used for something else. Sheen shuddered when he thought about what the dog had been insinuating, the young stallion vowing to not let a single dog inside the cage while he still drew breath.

What made the dog’s words even more horrifying were the contents of the neighboring prison, twenty-three Equestrians all appearing to be in states of severe malnutrition and mistreatment. The foreign ponies seemed to act like statues, no sounds or movement apart from the occasional twitch or wheeze. The age of the prisoners varied, ranging from foals to middle-age and Sheen wondered just how Equestrians had been captured out here.

Unless of course the dogs brought them with them when they set up this den, meaning that it was possible that they would take the Crystal ponies away as well. A little bit of Sheen’s courage died at that thought, his mother and father were most likely extremely worried and one colt could not hold off fifty dogs by himself. The thought of what would befall his fellow prisoners however strengthened his resolve, if these dogs wanted to enslave anypony they would have to go through him.

“Looks like he still hasn’t given up yet,” Chortled the Dog that had abducted Sheen, the foul creature ambling over towards the cage. The dog had a large lower jaw and was three times the size of Sheen, the dog wearing a filthy orange vest over his dirt-brown coat with a metal club attached to his belt. The canine stopped at the door of the cage and crouched down so his yellow eyes were level with Sheen’s, the dog’s breathe stinking of decay. Sheen decided that thinking about the dog’s diet was not the best thing to do. The colt glared back at the dog, his deep green eyes matching the dog’s stare.

“Back off you animal, you lay one more filthy paw on us and you’ll regret it!” Sheen shot back, he always had a bit of a stubborn streak. The dog found this threat absolutely hilarious, looking back towards his fellows who were dividing up valuables they had managed to escape with.

“Hey, pony here thinks he’s going to stop us!” The dog yelled, his fellows laughing along with him. Sheen gave every dog a fierce gaze, the monsters all filling the roughly circular cavern with mocking laughter as they turned to face the spectacle. The colt was about to fire back a retort but he stopped, shadowy figures quickly emerging from the tunnel leading to the surface going un-noticed by the dogs that were too caught up in their mirth.

The colt was incredibly surprised to see the Emperor walk out calmly down the middle, even more so when he noticed how calm he was in spite of the situation. Two groups of guards arrived soon after, splitting up as they headed to either side and moving as to not draw attention. At first Sheen was confused, why weren’t the guards charging in to free them? He soon figured out what they were hoping to achieve, the guards all concealing themselves to the sides of the cavern using the multiple rock formations scattering the area as cover. The only guard that acted differently was a changeling in armor, the guard choosing a spot upon a right on the upper left-side where it crouched behind a rock.

The Emperor continued his solitary march, Sheen unable to look away as the human appeared to smile as he approached the dogs. An ear attached to a bluish-gray dog twitched, the canine standing up as he noticed the Emperor.

“Hey, Monster!” the dog yelled as he grabbed his rusty iron sword, “Stop!” All of the dogs in the cave turned towards the shout, grabbing their assorted weapons as they prepared to face the intruding creature. The Emperor didn’t look concerned despite facing a large number of Diamond dogs, the human merely observing the surrounding area as he flicked his fingers in a twitchy manner. Sheen noticed that his smile seemed to harden as the Emperor swept his sights over the two cages and their occupants, an eyebrow raising as a medium-sized dog wearing heavy iron armor strode up to confront the ruler.

“Why are you here, creature?” the tan dog inquired in a much more articulated voice then his fellows, “this cave is ours, leave now or we will attack you.” The Emperor let out a chuckle at this, the seemingly humorous reaction carrying a menacing undertone causing a shiver to run down Sheen’s spine.

“Oh, but you have already attacked me,” the Emperor stated, the lead dog narrowing his eyes. “I happen to be the ruler of that city you just raided and I’ve come to reclaim my subjects,” the dogs glanced back towards the captive crystal ponies. “While I’m at it I think I’ll take those Equestrians as well,” Doflamingo stated as he pointed at the cage containing the focused ponies, the prisoners beaten expressions filling with a tiny bit of hope.

“How do you expect to achieve that, creature?” snarled the lead dog, “we outnumber you and I am Beta Rotty, second only to Alpha Pedigree and one of the most fe” The dog was cut off as the Emperor released a peal of laughter, the human fighting to control his merriment.

“Fufufufu! That is quite a pathetic name. Tell me, are you dogs so stupid that several of you have the same name? Maybe some common dog names like Rover or Lassie?” None of the dogs answered, in fact three of them were named Lassie but they were so confused by the creature’s behavior that they neglected to mention it. It would probably not go so well anyway. The Beta was slowly getting angrier and angrier; the creature mocking the Alpha was really starting to get on his nerves.

“Silence creature! If you think that our names are so funny I’m sure that your own is much more hilarious. That is even if an ugly monster like yourself has a name.” Emperor Doflamingo stopped laughing; calling him ugly was a step too far. He maintained a grin on his face as he idly positioned his hands in a kind of stance, a predatory gaze focused on the Beta, but hidden through his shades. Sheen shivered again, joined by every other being in the cavern. The colt swore that the temperature somehow lowered as the Emperor stopped laughing.

“My name you say?” The Emperor repeated as the Diamond dogs started to move forward a little. Emperor Doflamingo took a step forward, all the dogs except for Beta Rotty stepping back away from the human. “My name is Donquixote Doflamingo and I will be your death.” As soon as he said this the Emperor waved his arms slowly, flexing his fingers in a strange manner. What came next surprised everyone in the cavern.

Slowly, the dogs began to raise their weapons, but their faces were in a state of shock and confusion as they tried to struggle, but their bodies were not under their control anymore. Doflamingo had already attached his strings to the majority of the Diamond Dogs in the cave except for the so called leader. While he could control every single dog indefinitely in order to have them kill each other, he felt the need to give his soldiers more combat experience so they could slay the dogs without his interference. After all, their better equipment and training should insure no casualties and he wanted them to get used to killing threats to the Empire.

The dogs were beginning to panic now, some shouting that they couldn’t control their bodies. The leader turned toward his fellow dogs confused, giving Doflamingo the opportunity he wanted as he flicked a finger from his left hand, causing five of the Diamond Dogs that he was controlling to raise their swords and spears. The five dogs rushed their leader, who had a surprised look in his face before he controlled a dog with a spear to shove it at the leader’s head. The spear penetrated through the dog’s skull, running him through and killing him in an instant. Every other dog was terrified at the sudden betrayal that one of their own had caused while Doflamingo proceeded to gleefully control the other four dogs to start chopping the dead dog’s body into pieces in a flurry of blood and tears. The controlled dogs were sobbing at what they were doing, unable to control themselves and not knowing how to make it stop. The other dogs began to shake themselves out of their stupor to try and attack the monster and traitors in a howl of fury.

At this point, Doflamingo began controlling the other dogs he ensnared with his strings, roughly half of them, and started having them attack their fellow comrades, the first five dogs he had controlled joining them after having dispatched their leader.

The dogs were so fixated on fighting their own that they didn’t notice the flanking forces of Crystal Empire guards until it was too late. The guards rushed towards the two cages, Sergeant Opal Blitz heading towards the Equestrian prisoners while Corporal Star Shard rushed his troops in the direction of the Crystal pony cage. Both groups met in the middle of the area, twelve guards forming a protective circle while the rest set to work unlocking the prisons.

The Diamond dogs continued to fight amongst themselves, thanks to Doflamingo’s powers, but some broke free from engaging the controlled dogs, who were constantly shouting pleas to save them from whatever it was that was controlling them, a few surging forward to engage the Emperor while a few others charged the protective line of guards. Any dog that attempted to breach the perimeter was met by a Crystal pony wielding a weapon with decent skill, what the ponies lacked in size they made up for in skill-at-arms. However, a trio of dogs smart enough to skirt around the line almost invaded the protective line.

A burst of green energy popped the head of the dog, showering the area with bone fragments and brains causing the few others that followed him to yelp and halt their charge. One dog was heavily wounded when a piece of his former comrade’s skull gashed his head, the canine collapsing to the ground in agony. The other received minor cuts, the small grey dog searching for the source of the blast and spotting the crouching changeling preparing to fire off another shot. The dog leapt at the changeling, the ensuing melee lost in the chaos of the wider battle.

In the center Doflamingo had used the time to continue to inflict minor wounds on the uncontrolled diamond dogs, smiling to himself even as a group of seven dogs charged him, all armed with crude spears and clubs with the majority dressed in iron armor that covered their chests and nothing else. Doflamingo laughed as he made a sweeping motion at the group of dogs with his right hand.

“Pentochromatic strings!” he yelled out as five lines of strings erupted from his fingertips, forming a fence that not only halted the dogs advance, but knocked them back with several slash marks etched across their bodies as they hit the ground, rolling in pain after being cut by something sharp, but invisible.

The speed at which the human moved was amazing, Doflamingo calmly pointing a finger at the fallen dogs. He yelled out, “Bullet Strings!” where rapid shots of strings pierced each dog’s head, putting them down before they could recover from their wounds.

The Emperor was casually using his magic to continue to have the dogs kill each other, no others daring to approach him after he had taken care of the group that charged him so easily with his strange magic.

Over near the prisoners Opal Blitz pulled her sword from the un-armored chest of a raider, the dog having landed a hit on the Sergeant’s armored shoulder with its mace. Her armor had saved her from harm, a slight ache the only reminder of the attack. The dog had not been so lucky, the sergeant quickly sinking her sword into him without remorse. While today was the first day Opal had taken a life, this dog being the third, she felt no sadness at all and that surprised her. Blitz had never seen herself as a cold-blooded killer but maybe she was one, no better than the raiders she was killing. A quick glance back towards the still-locked cages eliminated this line of thinking however; these raiders deserved everything that happened to them for what they had done.

Opal Blitz looked down the line and noticed that the dog’s resolve appeared to be wavering, all of the Crystal guards having reaped a toll of bodies while not sustaining a single casualty. The dog’s weapons were unable to pierce the crystal armor while due to the enchantments on their swords the Crystal guards were able to cut through the raiders’ armor like it was nothing. The tactics of the slavers were also lacking, the dog’s merely charging while the Crystal Guards maintained their tight formation, ensuring that by funneling the dogs into the center the numerical advantage that the dogs held was lost. All the battle needed was something to finally break the spirit of the dogs and drive them away to the surface where the third group was waiting.

This something was provided in the form of a thrashing dog, Commander Doflamingo having picked the small slaver up by the throat after it had foolishly tried to sneak up on him. Using a great strength that Opal Blitz had never seen the Emperor wield before, the Emperor managed to fling the dog over the heads of the remaining combatants, before swiping at the airborne canine with a hand, ripping the dog into little pieces that showered the surviving dogs with gore and viscera. With howls of fright the rest of the dogs, only twelve that were not under the Emperor’s control ran for the tunnel leading outside. The guards and Emperor let them be, allowing the canines to retreat outside. A few moments later the sounds of war cries filtered down, the third squad having engaged the fleeing raiders under the Emperor’s orders that none were to survive.

The only survivors left were the dogs that the Emperor was still controlling, a majority of them being eliminated by their comrades. The controlled dogs were still sobbing about what they were forced to do before the Emperor suddenly flicked his left hand upward, lifting the remaining dogs into the air with yelps of fright. Doflamingo finally dispatched them after releasing the strings he used to control the dogs before making swiping motions with both of his hands, forming a net of strings that caught the airborne dogs, slicing them up into little chunks and bits. All of the ponies stared in awe and fear at the Emperor, his smile never leaving his face as he ordered for the release of the prisoners before moving away.

Sergeant Blitz looked back at the cages, the guards having resorted to smashing the locks with maces in an effort to break them open. They were rewarded with success, the feeble locks shattering before the guards began to extract the prisoners, however the Equestrians seemed hesitant to move. Opal’s heart nearly broke as she witnessed a filly that could be no more than five press her dirty pink coat up against the back of the cage, the foal’s ribs showing clearly through bruised skin. One by one the rest of the Equestrians left their cage, until only the filly remained. The Sergeant found herself moving towards the young pony, a blood-stained Private unsuccessfully trying to coax the child out.

Pushing past him Opal entered the cage, taking care to avoid the holes filled with waste that were sunken into the ground as she approached the child. She was aware of multiple sets of eyes on her as she slowly advanced upon the filly, a blue eye briefly glancing at Opal before disappearing behind a filthy orange mane.

“I won’t hurt you,” Opal softly stated, the filly flinching at her voice, “All of the dogs are gone, we’re going to take you somewhere safe.” The filly slowly looked at Opal as the mare delicately held out an armored hoof, choosing the one which was not covered in blood. For what seemed like an eternity the filly didn’t react until she reached out a small hoof of her own, Opal grasping the limb with the crook of her hoof. She smiled at the child who didn’t utter a word, Opal Blitz leading the foal out of the cage where the Equestrians and Crystal pony captives were being given various winter clothing for the trek back to the city. Water and food was also being dispensed, the Equestrians acting like fresh water and food was a gift from the heavens themselves.

The third group who had been outside entered the cave, all of the dogs had been dispatched and they were carrying extra supplies. Although the original plan was to meet them outside with the battle finishing before the prisoners could be freed they had to improvise, not necessarily a bad thing. Opal grabbed a blanket from a Corporal and placed it over the filly while reaching for a container of water before stopping at the sight of the Emperor and a few guards gathered around a rock up on a ridge to the left of the cavern, right where she had stationed Private Chatter the changeling. She quickly passed the filly to the Corporal, the other mare distracting the child with an offered sandwich as Opal rushed towards the gathering of guards.

When she reached the scene her heart sunk, a pool of red and green blood mixing on the rock floor. Opal arrived just in time to witness the Emperor pull the corpse of a Diamond dog off of the body of an armored changeling.  The changeling had deep gouges in his muzzle that looked like tooth marks, oddly enough that seemed to be the only wounds he was sporting. His horn had been lodged firmly in the Diamond dog’s chest, the smell of roasted flesh wafting up from the wound where the changeling had obviously discharged his magic. Opal held onto her breath as the Emperor quickly stripped the changeling’s chest armor, ripping through the winter-clothing underneath. The human placed an ear against the changeling’s chest, Opal guessing that the Emperor was listening for a heartbeat.

“He’s still breathing,” the human stated as he lifted his head and rolled the changeling onto his side, making sure that the Private’s airway was clear. “Looks like he almost suffocated after that dog fell on him, most of the blood is from the bite wounds but they don’t look life-threatening. Never-the-less the sooner we get back to the city the better,” the Emperor stated as he stood up, Opal gasping as she noticed that the Emperor was covered in blood.

“Sir, are you wounded?!” she exclaimed, the Emperor smiling down at her as he looked over his body before shaking his head.

“It’s nothing Sergeant, I just got too carried away with cutting up those dogs,” Emperor Doflamingo replied as he lifted the unconscious changeling onto his shoulders, the changeling’s fore-legs over his right shoulder while the hind legs dangled over the Emperor’s left. A guard grabbed the pieces of steel armor that had been removed and packed them away, Doflamingo moving towards the exit with his cargo. The group made to follow him, many of the ponies eager to escape from the corpse-filled cavern.

Opal Blitz had witnessed what the Emperor had done to the dogs and stupidly asked if he was wounded during the attack, which of course he wasn't, but she had simply forgotten how deadly the Emperor was in combat. Opal was also startled when something bumped against her, the pink filly from before walking alongside her. Opal was confused, why wasn’t the foal with its mother or father? A thought struck Opal, the Sergeant halting at her position at the rear of the group. She looked down at the filly that had stopped with her, could it be that the child had been orphaned by the Diamond dogs?

Anger and sadness mixed and muddled within Opal, after seeing her own parents taken by Sombra the thought of normal beings enacting such cruelty filled her with disgust. It seemed that slavery was not just limited to evil unicorn tyrants, everyday creatures practiced it too. Seeing that the group was almost out of sight Opal jolted out of her train of thought as she hurried to catch up, the filly moving along with her.

The foal had yet to utter a single word but Opal figured that it was only because of the shock; surely the child would speak once they were back in the city. Pushing all thoughts of what would happen to the foal out of her mind for the time being Opal reached the end of the convoy, the group almost out of the tunnel and back into sunlight. Once everyone was back in the Empire she would ask the Emperor what to do, despite the displays of extreme violence while fighting the dogs she had heard that he was a kind soul when he was calm. If anyone was able to answer her questions then she was sure that it would be him.