Dog Deals

Judgement day, it was here and this time I was not on the receiving end.

Sitting on my throne in a manner that can clearly be read as 'boredom'  to those that are on the receiving end of my angry glare.

Lining the walls of my throne room was the nobility, family members of those that have been kidnapped or those that have been kidnapped are in attendance. There was also a few nobles that have been robbed by the dogs that are in attendance here but they were for the most part, pissed off at the dogs, hating them greatly.

Sitting in the middle of the throne room was the captured diamond dogs, every last one of them was here and surrounding them was two regiments of my guards, the rest of them were either out on patrol or are resting up in the barracks or infirmary.

All of the dogs were scared, the females were holding their many children, the males were snarling or barking at the guards who in return pointed their glaives and crossbows at them in kind, a few dogs would whimper pathetically as a result.

"Order! Order! The Tribunal is now in session. The Honorable Emperor Skolas will now take over." Bastion shouted as he stomped his hoof on what looks like a small gavel thingy.

"Thank you Watch Commander Bastion, now would one of the dogs be the voice for the colony so we can proceed with the trial." I said with a bit of a frown on my face, hidden from sight with my rebreather.

One of the dogs in the crowd, the one called Maxi, steps forward and stands before me. I can still feel his connection to the crystal heart and I know that he has gleamed off of it a tad bit of intelligence and human ingenuity.

"I am Maxi, a miner for the clan in the high snow lands. I will speak for my people for this trial." the german shepherd-like dog said as he kneeled before me, the rest of the diamond dogs in attendance are standing up, looking around in fear.

"Maxi, you and your clan are for the crimes of multiple accounts of assault, assault with a deadly weapon, attempted murder, armed robbery, grand larceny, breaking-and-entering, kidnapping, the theft of a sacred artifact, and invading a sovereign nation. Do you have anything to say on your behalf or on the behalf of your clan?"  I said with power and authority in my voice, I slammed my staff down to prove a point and to instill a bit of fear into them, trying to make them submissive in order to get the desired result that I want.

"Y-yes, I do have something to say." the dog said as he stood up, trying to look me in the eyes but was looking away from me, afraid.

"Then say it, come next time tomorrow you won't be able to say anything against the ruling." I said, making it clear that this is his only chance to save himself and his people.

"We were forced to come out here to pay off the debt to our benefactors back home across the lands. Most of us didn't want to go with the raiding plan, we actually wanted to do a trade deal of sorts just to earn enough gold and gems to pay off our clan moving fees so we don't have to be dependent on them anymore." Hmm...some wanted to be peaceful while the leader wanted to be aggressive, look at how well being hostile to us is eh ex-alpha.

"Did you have an enforcer to make sure you do your job?." I asked as I wanted to know if they had one, usually enforcers are brutal, tough and they show no remorse or mercy to those under their feet.

"Yes, the capital hired a teenage dragon to watch over us, they said his name was Garble...he was always in an angry mood. He killed a few of my friends because he thought they stole from the treasury." Wow...an enforcer dragon, and brutal at that.

"And this dragon...this Garble, what does he look like?" I asked as I look around slowly, trying to gauge a few of the noble ponies that are in the room.

"He has red scales, white scales on his chest running down, and an orange frill on his head. He also has wings and he knows how to use them...he usually scares us when he starts roaring at us to get us to work harder." Man this dragon is seriously working his way up my shit list.

"Hmm...Bastion, get a guard and have them send word to the Wall...have them keep an eye out for this dragon...this Garble. If this dragon shows his face I want to know in what direction, how fast he is flying and if he has other friends with him. A dragon shouldn't be out in the cold due to it being their weakness and that prolonged exposure to the cold can be lethal...he or they if he is not alone must be hiding somewhere if they were not in the dog colony at the time of our raid." I rather be prepared for an imminent dragon attack then be caught off guard and have my guards and civilians injured or killed by a pissed off flyer.

"Yes my Kell." Bastion said before leaving my side and grabbed a guard to spread the word.

"Now then, I want to know why your leaders thought it would be wise to raid my city to capture my citizens and to rob them of everything they own?" I asked, steadily dropping all hints of anger as I started to ease myself into a kinder mood.

Being a leader I know I must show both a merciful and kind side and when things are gearing up for a more heated side, then a wrathful and harsh face is needed.

"Our leader before you executed him with his own sword, he thought that with what was on the surface and along with the ponies we would have been able to pay off the debt and more. We would have been given enough food and supplies to survive on our own for the rest of our lives...but now it seems that we won't even get to live that long." A leader that thought that was his only choice to get what was needed. The alpha wasn’t doing this out of stupidity, but out of desperation.

"Did you dogs really think that we would just sit back and allow this to happen let alone allow it to happen a second time?" I asked as I recalled that the treasury was lined up with stolen loot, some of it was in the form of raw gemstones and metal ores, parts of what looks like from that possible lucrative mine at the bottom of their town.

"No..."

"Then why would you follow his orders? If you knew what the consequences could have been then why would you follow the orders of someone who was going to instigate an incident that could very well spark the fires of war between two nations?"  In truth I would have made the first strike if they did decide to declare war, if their cities was above ground then I would make it rain fire from the zeppelins we have, all five of them. If they are below ground then just map the in-and-out of the capital, plug it, and burn it.

"Because we were taught since birth to never question anything our alpha tells us to do." Huh, taught to never argue or talk back to your alpha, like the rule of never talk back to your parents unless you want your ass beat.

"So you were told to be mindless drones to someone that just so happens to be on top?"

"Yes..." Yup, I am doing them a favor by giving them this deal. Give them a limited freedom is better than no freedom at all.

"Wow...that just straight up sucks."

"Yes, it does."

Looking at all of the dogs I can see that they are scared, they are afraid, and they are desperate. They thought that if they can pay off this debt of theirs then they can live free without worry or fear...it's a damn shame that their leaders are so fucking stupid.

"Then you might be glad that I have a deal for you and your kin." I said while wearing a wry smug grin, working this contract out in its earliest stages will be hard but if I can get the crystal ponies and diamond dogs to work together then we can do many great things together.

There was plenty of grumbles and shouts of confusion, almost all of the nobility that are in attendance. Apparently they thought that these dogs deserve nothing other than either a quick execution or banishment into the cold wilds beyond the barrier.

“And what is this...deal that you speak of?” Maxi said as he stared at me with varying hints of curiosity and interest.

“You work off your debt, to the empire not to your kingdom that sent all of you out here.” I said, showing one of my many cards that I am hiding in my sleeves.

I can’t show everyone my tricks and gambits, especially to those close to me, I rather not have to make a sadistic choice if they get caught up in my plans.

“Trade one debt and enslavement for another? Do you really think that would be better off for us?” Maxi said as he looked at me, showing small hints of a snarl on his muzzle as I stared down at him.

“Actually yes, I do think so. You will pay off this debt by working for the empire for five years, working off your debt instead of having to pay with gold or gems when you could be using them yourself to better your lives.” I said as I started to weave my promises and lies together, yes they would be free from us in five years but after that what then? They would be out here all alone and they would be dependant on us, which means they would still have to keep working for the empire until they can find a way to stay on their own two feet.

Maxi was thinking it over, he lowered his head and started to think on how this will affect his people and for the most part himself.

“You want us to work for you, indentured servants, and you know not all of us are that smart, following any kind of complex orders would end badly.” That part I actually worked out, giving away free education is a sure fire way to get them to love me more, cause after all the old saying of bread and circuses are one of many ways to control the masses.

“That is why you will be doing what you love to do, whatever it is and if the job is needed then it will be done. I will not force any of you do to things that you dislike let alone hate and if it happens to be metalworking, mining, wood carving or some other trade then so be it.”

Give them a sense that they can still control their destiny, whatever that may be, and they will bend the knee long enough to have the wool slowly be pulled over their eyes and soon enough believe in the lie.

He started to think on it again, trying to find some way to see if I am trying to shortchange or outright cheat them.

“I don’t get you...why are you helping us? Every other alpha back home or here would have forced us to work hard for the bare minimum and often hurt us if we slack off or try to lie or steal. Why are you being so nice to us?” Maxi asked me as I looked at Forge for a moment, noticing that she was shifting from hoof to hoof, trying to keep herself in check before I turned back to staring at the newly elected alpha dog.

“Because Maxi, I have a heart, I am not unnecessarily cruel. When the path of the blade and blood are needed then I do so but not without trying to find a way to make it not end in a complete and total massacre. I could have killed every single last one of you back in those caves but I didn’t because I believe in second chances, all of you deserve that chance because being forced to work as slaves always doesn’t end well.”

“Now I am not giving you a second chance out of pity, no you are getting this chance to redeem yourselves, to prove that you are capable of being better than your peers, to prove to those back home that there are those that are kind and willing to help them instead of breaking them down and leaving them in squalor.” Cause giving pity chances would make me look weak and I rather not have that appearance to the international community if they ever decided to pop over and find us.

“This second chance...will it extend to all of us? Even those that are recovering from their injuries?” Why of course it would! That would be just stupid, leaving out the wounded would be like a slap to the face, ‘Oh hey you're injured and you heard about this second chance your people are getting, well guess what you don’t get it cause you're currently in the sick bed.’, what kind of idiot would do that?

“Yes, all of you will be given this chances, all of you will have to redeem yourselves with the five years of labor for the empire. The young will be exempted from this rule because they are far too young to have a hand in something like this.” Come on, fall for the bread and circuses I am dangling in front of you.

“I...I must tell this to them...they must know.”

“Take all the time you will need.” Excellent! He took the bait I was dangling out in front of him.

Turning to Forge, Shining Pearl, Glittering Quill and Bastion I waved them over and quietly started to talk to them.

“I want your thoughts on this deal, leave nothing out but do keep it quiet so only we can hear it.”

The first one to talk was Forge, naturally since she was standing right beside me at the time.”

“Are you bucking series Skolas? These dogs dared to break into our homes, kidnap our friends and family and steal from us, and you want them to work under us to pay off that debt? Are you huffing crystal smoke weed?”

Turning my head to Shining Pearl she coughs to clear her throat before speaking up.

“Well, my Kell you and I already have this talk before and I must say that this is exactly what I was expecting to come out of your mouth. My Kell, I am not sure if it is within my place to say this but if you do get these dogs to work off their debt then make sure they do it away from us because I can not trust them.”

After that was Glittering Quill and she is still the same chipper pony that does not ever seem to ever look down or sad. I think this pony is doing some sort of drug or is just naturally high on life.

“I think that they want to be good again, let them. I bet they would make the best of friends with those they have wronged! Maybe even become valuable members of the empire!”

Never change Quill, never change.

“My Kell, this is your decision and yours alone. You make the choices and we just follow through with them, no matter how strange it may be but I must say this. If we do truly plan on letting these dogs stay here then they must be sent somewhere else to temporarily live, their old homes is squalor and those are not ideal places to raise the young of any kind. If they are to thrive let alone gain any favors with us then they must first be built up and improved upon before anything can happen.”

“That I can actually agree with you Bastion, that was a part of my plan all along. We will improve their homes so they don’t have to worry about them returning to busted conditions, they will be treated for any disease or ailment that they have, and they will be fed. For the most part they might be working in the few mines we have, which it will increase the output but then they will also be on a side project for the empire...an emergency shelter far from here in case the absolute worse happens.”

I already have the ideal place set up, a mountain that is far from here and that is easily defendable because it is up a hill and from what the land looks like seeing that it is frozen, a river runs beside it.

As long as no one finds that hidden place and that it gets constructed in time then all the better.

“So do we all have an accord or must we go round about this topic till hell freezes over?” I said with a grin on my face, obscured from view from my rebreather as those that I consider my friends look at each other before they all agreed.

“Excellent…” turning back to Maxi who was standing there still, waiting for us to get done talking, it seems it is through speaking to his dogs on the matter.

“So what is our fate...emperor?”

“Your fate, is to work off your debt. Although this debt is toward your own kingdom but we are offering you a better place to live, a new chance at a better life and a second chance at having your own lives instead of being forced to steal and raid others just to survive.” I said as I waved for Quill to come over, she was holding the written agreement that I had painstakingly put together the previous night just for this occasion.

When she came over to me I removed it from her side before taking the quill and ink from her as well, she was waiting patiently for us to sign the agreement so that she can put it away in a sealed glass case for all to see, after making a copy so that one can be on display while the other is hidden from public view.

“With this contract, you will be leading the diamond dog colony that is underneath the Crystal Empire, you will be the one that makes sure that they follow the agreement to the letter. The diamond dog colony will be under our protective care until the five years are up, and once the allotted time has passed then you may choose to either stay underneath our protection or strike it out on your own. At the end of the five years the choice is yours and yours alone.”

The dog looked at the contract and read it over, he knew how to read due to his new found intelligence and with it he became the perfect leader for his clan, that and with the connection to the crystal heart I know that he will be influenced by its gift, hopefully.

I don’t know what is going on inside his head but from what his face is saying I can tell that he is actually thinking about it.

“Emperor, this contract...will you really help us get better?” Maxi asked me, he still had his doubts about this deal.

“Yes, there is much that must be done but I do believe I can help you and the rest of your clan get better here up in the frozen north.” I replied back with a toothy smile hidden from view.

Looking at the contract once more I watched as Maxi silently mouthed the words out as he looks it over and it was over because once he was done reading it he gave it a once over before taking the ink and quill from me and Glittering Quill before writing down a rather sloppy signature but it was still written in his letters.

“A new future, for my clan, and for the Empire.” Maxi says with a slightly uneasy smile but I knew that deep down that this was the best choice he could have picked with what he was given.

Putting my own signature on the contract as well I announced that there will be peace between the Crystal Empire and the Diamond Dog Clan with no name. Maxi decided to call his clan the Crystal Dogs, a name that is partial from the Empire but still showing a sign of new loyalty and obedience to me.

As soon as the contract was signed there was at first a subdued applause from the nobles but when they got the whispers of what was actually signed and the benefits of snubbing a kingdom by depriving it a colony and a mine they started to come around and give an actual applause. Once Maxi swore fealty to me and the empire the orders were given throughout the city and what was outside but still within the barrier, that the diamond dog clan is under our protection and that they will not come to harm from our own citizens.

Letting the diamond dogs leave my throne room I turned my head to see the nobles grumbling a bit before making forced smiles when they noticed that I was looking at them. They left without saying a word once the dogs were outside, they were soon followed by my inner circle leaving as well, all of them have their work cut out for them and they didn’t have time to waste.

The next order of business for the diamond dog clan was to renovate their home, to improve it and to rebuild and improve everything within the stone walls that lies below. Homes will be rebuilt with sturdier material, food will be sent below so they don’t have to ration themselves to whatever they had to spare, guards will be on patrol in heavy gear to prevent an attempted uprising if it were to ever occur.

I knew what I was doing, these diamond dogs may be under our protection and are working off their debt and their crimes but there is something about them that I can’t exactly trust about them. I don’t know why but for some reason I know that some day, some time in the future, they might try to betray us from within.

Those thoughts plagued me on the night I was making the contract, would they betray us if they were given the chance to? Would they try to rob us and make a mad dash back to their kingdom? Will they try to harm us, those that are willing to put up with them and give them a second chance at a new life?

With those in mind I made sure to pass the word to the enchanters within the Hall of Mirrors that lie just outside the palace to the south to create and enchant half of the lampposts that line the streets of the city to act as a surveillance system to keep an eye on the diamond dogs. Guards will be tasked to look at the recordings through crystal lens within the security room that was once a chamber filled with dusty blank tomes, now repurposed to act as the security room.

Until I can trust them to not betray us, they will be watched, silently, secretly, and above all else, unnoticed from the eyes of the general population.

I don’t know why but I can’t shake this feeling that I will be betrayed, not sure if it is just a feeling or maybe an omen.

But that feeling can wait for now, cause right now I have more blueprints, schematics and other plans to give to the Think Tank that lie outside of the palace. The Academy for the Gifted Minds, the only place of higher education within the city, there was a few schools within my kingdom but they were all there to teach history, common sense, the laws and other basic things that a growing pony would need to know.

A week has barely rolled over when an equestrian messenger came flying to the city, and after being checked for anything that might be used as a weapon or any other object that can be used as a spying device he was allowed in but was quickly escorted to the palace to give his letter or message and leave.

When the message arrived I opened the letter and looked it over, it was from Princess Celestia, the co-ruler of Equestria, raiser of the sun, benevolent ruler, and ex-ruler of the Crystal Empire. I wanted seriously laugh at her for losing the empire to a mortal unicorn when she herself and her sister were both undying immortals with a massive reserve of magic and power at their disposal and still lost.

Instead of laughing I instead looked at the letter, saw that it said that she has heard of what happened within the empire and if I needed any assistance.

With Glittering Quill on hand I wrote back a response saying no in a kind manner, and that if she wants to send any kind of diplomatic ponies up here to form a peace between the two nations then she can do so. I then had Glittering put a tracker spell on this letter to make sure that it actually goes to Equestria instead of it going off the grid and never to be seen again only for it to reappear and to have a bunch of spies and assassins within the city.

I can only hope that Celestia doesn’t see this as a chance to try and reclaim the empire for herself and her sister or her little Cadence, cause if she did then I would be outright furious with her. I still can’t believe that her ponies believe that her little ponies think that she and her sister can move the sun and the moon.

And now that everything is being taken care of I can now finally do what I have always been dreaming of doing for a while now.

Walking to a nondescript room that seems a bit out of the way I knock twice before thumping on the door three times before knocking one last time, the lock opening up and I walk in to see my friends are here waiting for me.

“Forge, Quill, Pearl, Bastion, Gem, you ready to play.” I said as Bastion started to pass out the cards on the table.

“Yes Skolas, we are, we have read the rules of this...card game of yours and I must say that this is rather...strange, to say the least.” Glittering said as she grabs her cards and looks at them.

“I think it's awesome, I already got a card in my hooves and I think it's hilarious.” Forge said as she snickered, showing Pearl a card that was in her hooves.

“Forge, I don’t think that having the card with the words ‘Micro Penis’ is considered awesome nor hilarious.” Pearl said and as per usual it killed Forge’s happy mood with her ungodly attitude.

“Ease up there buzzkill, let me have my fun.” Forge smirked as she chided Pearl for her proper antics at a friendly card game.

“Pearl, this game is meant to not be taken seriously. Just relax, mellow out, and take that stick out of your plothole.” I said as I sat down with my back facing the door.

“Relax? But this is a game! Relaxing could mean defeat and I will not lose to a mare who thinks taking a shower once a week or at her worst once a month is considered hygienic.” Pearl said as Forge sticks her tongue out and blows a raspberry at the noblemare.

Gross...month long body stink.

“Girls, just relax, sit back, have some fun, nothing is at stake here. Just enjoy yourselves and for the love of god no fighting.” I said as I grabbed my cards and snickered a bit, why of course I would get both the ‘Bees?’ and ‘More Bees?’ cards.

Rolling her eyes at me I watched as Shining Pearl grab her cards with her hooves and tried to figure out on what to do with them.

“Okay, name of the game is called Cards against Humanity, I trust you all read the rules, now time to pick who goes first. Who pooped recently?” Yeah….I totally said that and did not get slapped by Shining Pearl for being ‘vulgar’.

“Skolas...this card game is..so uncouth and uncivilized! How can you even think of playing it?”

“Because it’s a nice game, and besides, I rather play this than go to the seamstress...she is strange to say the least.” I don’t like her, she reminds me of that white unicorn mare from Equestria...my guards said that she is a seamstress and kept asking too many questions.

“You just don’t like her because she keeps hitting on you.” Pearl said as Forge’s ears shot up before folding back a bit.

Pony Emotions from Forge: Folded ears means she might kill somebody she hates or might whoop their ass till next sunday.

“No I just hate her because she keeps trying to get me to wear pink.” And I hate the color pink in my clothes.

“What’s wrong with pink?” Chroma asked as he placed his cards on the table, not even bothering to look at them.

“Uh...not a guy color unless they are flamboyant. I prefer either the shades of blue or black.” Bastion chuckled underneath his hooves as he looked at his cards.

“Pfft, you don’t have any taste in fashion.” Pearl said as she shuffled her cards in her hooves, mixing them up a bit.

“Uh, I am a guy that prefers actions rather than fashion.” I said before snicker, I had a dead babies card.

“Whatever...lets just get this started, I have an appointed tomorrow and I rather not be late because I stayed up all night.” Pearl said before we started to play.

I lost, apparently Glittering Quill is a better player than any of us, she has an excellent poker face.