Chapter 16: The Best of Limited Options

Pre-read/Edited by: Edragon

“Are you actually serious about this?” Thane asked with a slight tilt of his massive head. “No offense or anything Lucian, but diamond dogs… well, they aren’t exactly known to be the most level-headed of races, even at the best of times.”

“To be honest, I’m far from sure,” the pale lycan sighed deeply, drumming his fingers against the smooth timber beneath his palm. “But what choice do we have? A threat now lies at our very doorstep Thane. Besides, they cannot truly be that thick skulled, can they?”

The green dragon just snorted in return. “Trust me Lucian, I’ve had my fair share of encounters and experiences with them.”

Lucian stood leaning against the elegant wooden railing of Twilight’s balcony, the lycan feeling the hard timber fibres run under his fingers as the force Thane’s heavy breathing, along with the heat and smell that accompanied it, ran across his face. For the last half an hour he had stood there and pondered what to do next, everypony else having gone their separate ways; Luna had left for Canterlot to warn her sister of their nation’s threat, and Raze had taken Silver-Fang for a hunting lesson in the depths of the Everfree forest.

Since then, Thane and Twilight had been his main and only sources of company and conversation, seeing as Dash had afternoon weather duty commitments, and Ash had taken Spike off on a gem hunt for the day; they were ones he had eventually come to explain his rough plan to, though their reactions were, unfortunately, far from supportive of his idea thus far.

The lycan was slowly pulling at his short black beard with a free hand as he spoke, the warmth of Celestia’s midday sunlight washing over his pale skin, and his crystal blue eyes all the while wandering out over the peaceful and quaint town of Ponyville. As he thought, his sharp gaze slowly wound its way through the sprawling equine settlement, then to the surrounding green fields and apple tree orchards that lay on its far rims, and finally to the rolling cluster of rocky and untamed mountains that rose above the distant horizon; said mountains, and the creatures that dwelled within their dark caverns below the surface, were the current issue in his debate with the green dragon and lavender unicorn.

“Ugh, Lucian, look… going out there, warning them, and maybe asking for peace and an alliance is one thing, but what you’re proposing…” Thane growled with a frustrated snort, twin tails of black smoke rising from his snout. “It’s crazy, probably even bordering on insane,”

“Not to mention you’d be going against a millennia old custom of theirs,” Twilight put in without looking up from her reading, the unicorn seated comfortable in the shade of a nearby branch, and presently flicking through a book on diamond dog history. “Silver-Fang may be the commander of the steel guard, but from what I can gather here, the unit itself has always fallen under the direct control of the pack’s alpha male, kind of like a royal guard almost…”

“And you just marching over there, and asking him if you can turn his personal warriors into a legion of lycans… probably won’t go down too well.” Thane finished bluntly, an undeniable tone of distaste in his thunderous voice.

Lucian groaned, and rolled his eyes in reply to the slight insult. “If this turns to war, which it probably will in the end, it’s the only way any of us will have a fighting chance against these beasts. Equestria isn’t a nation of military strength you two, no doubt you both remember how well the royal guard coped during Shining Armor’s wedding?”

The young adult dragon gave another unamused snort while Twilight nervously bit her lip, but taking a glance over his shoulder and judging their facial expressions, Lucian knew his words had hit home for them both.

“And may I remind you both those were normal changelings,” he continued matter-of-factly, turning to face his two uneasy friends directly. “The ones we’re up against now bear unnatural strength, speed, and carry a vicious thirst for any kind of blood they can get.”

“We know that already Lucian, you told us all earlier.” Twilight said with a scold, a shiver running down her back as she remembered the lycan’s disturbing tale. “But how does that change the fact that your plan can’t work?”

“It can work Twilight, the diamond dogs know they’re under threat from these things; Silver-Fang even said they’ve lost some of their own already in tunnel ambushes, ambushes which will no doubt become more frequent in the coming days and weeks, so with all due respect, I cannot see why they’d be so against me giving them the means to fight back.”

“Because you’d be going against the diamond dog way of life!” she retorted as she slapped her book shut, causing both Lucian and Thane to first glance worriedly at each other and then stare at the frustrated unicorn. “Ugh, think about what you’re saying Lucian! The diamond dog pack itself has always held the alpha in the highest possible regard, but as the elite of the pack, who happen to also serve under the alpha directly, the steel guard take that devotion to a whole different level. They will only ever obey his order and his order alone, and they’ll never openly challenge his judgement or his authority. Yet you insist that you can walk in and convince them to change loyalties?”

Within a moment Lucian regretted getting into an argument with the mare, for she was quickly up on her hooves, and pacing in wide circles around the balcony, picking apart every flaw with his plan, and as he was now beginning to realize...there were many; and evidently more as she continued on while he and Thane just stared at her.

“But that’s only the first part of the problem, the other issue is the alpha, named Stone-Paw according to Silver-Fang, himself; he more than likely won’t be too happy with what you’re proposing Lucian, if anything he’d see it as suspicious, or maybe even hostile… I mean, it’s almost like a griffin just approaching Princess Celestia out of the blue, and asking her if he could just take control of the royal guard.”

Lucian groaned and rubbed his temples, despite the fact he didn’t like what the mare was saying, she had a good point; Luna had mentioned the alpha’s orders were never questioned, since he was considered and respected as the strongest dog and best possible leader of the pack. Given the entire race had completely and utterly retreated from pony society, and into the depths of the mountains, at his word a few centuries past, there was very little chance an outsider like himself could sway even a single dog, let alone the entire steel guard.

“So this alpha figure commands absolute power then huh?” Lucian growled, a hand now scratching at his beard once again as he pondered. “You know, Luna mentioned to me the most powerful dog rules the pack… Twilight, do you believe I could challenge Stone-Paw for the title of alpha male?”

“WHAT!?” both the dragon and unicorn cried in unison, prompting the formerly composed lycan to snarl and cover his ringing ears, and few passing ponies below to glance up curiously at the balcony.

“Are you actually crazy?! Of course you can’t!” Twilight snorted as her furious pacing resumed, now looking even more frustrated than she had before. “Firstly, in case you haven’t noticed already, you are not a diamond dog Lucian! Secondly, you’re closely connected with Princess Luna of Equestria…”

Thane couldn’t help but curiously raise an eyebrow at the statement. “Ok, Umm, yeah, Twilight… I get the first part, about him not being a diamond dog and all… but what exactly does that have to do with anything?”

“Ugh! Thane! If Lucian were to… somehow… become the diamond dog’s alpha male, most would see him as puppet controlled by the princess,” she scolded as she face-hoofed again. “Can either of you really see the diamond dogs accepting her as their ruler? Given diamond dogs and ponies have been at total cultural odds with each other for centuries.”

“Quite the opposite,” Lucian grunted in distaste, annoyed at once again realizing she had a very valid point.

“The very notion of having a pony in power of the diamond dogs could even lead to all-out war!” Twilight added matter-of-factly.

That’s when Thane said something, although more than likely just for a joke in his mind, which suddenly changed everything.

“You know… we could always just have Silver-Fang challenge the alpha.”

Twilight literally stopped pacing mid-stride with a front hoof in the air, and Lucian was caught with a hand midway through his locks of black hair, both of them slowly turning their heads towards the dragon, and staring at him in absolute disbelief; the lavender unicorn’s jaw working up and down a few times while the lycan’s thought pattern was left shattered, rendering him unable to do more than just stand there in silence.

“W-What?” Twilight managed to get out eventually.

“Well, think about it Twi, normally Silver-Fang wouldn’t dare question the alpha right? Since he’s a member of the steel guard and all,” the dragon went on, sounding a little embarrassed at suddenly being the centre of attention. “But now he’s also a lycan, so... in a way... his loyalty no longer lies solely with the alpha male… instead it’s now kind of split between Lucian as the leader of the lycans, and Stone-Paw as the diamond dog’s leader, you see what I’m getting at here?”

“Umm… kind of… I think,” Twilight blushed, the redness in her purple cheeks prompting Lucian to grin.

“It means that if Stone-Paw didn’t like Lucian’s strategy, Silver-Fang could instead challenge him for the right to rule the pack… and if Silver-Fang were to become alpha, he could allow Lucian to convert the steel guard without challenge, plus they’d be more than willing since their new alpha would be a lycan anyway.”

For a moment, both the seven centuries old lycan master, and studious intellectual unicorn, just stood there and stared at Thane in total and utter amazement; out of the three dragons who he had come to know, Lucian had always seen Thane as the least serious, and perhaps the last one to be able to ever come up with a decently logical chain of thought, and now in ten seconds flat he had been made to eat his words by the green dragon.

“You... but... how?” Twilight stuttered finally, holding a hoof to her temple, and vigorously shaking her head in an effort to pull her jumbled mind back together.

Thane just laughed and smiled smugly, showing off his rows upon rows of pearl white fangs. “I have my moments,” He grinned. “But, Lucian, your plan more or less hinges on Silver-Fang liking your idea... I mean, I’m pretty sure he will since he’s a lycan now too, but...”

The lycan waved a hand dismissively. “I understand what you’re saying Thane, my plan is... drastic... amongst other things, but we’ll see..."

"Yeah, who knows, maybe that fur ball will be some use after all," Thane chuckled as he rolled his eyes, his action prompting his two fellows to do the same.

"I will never fully understand you, Thane," Lucian smirked as he rubbed his brow. "Anyway, I’ve been meaning to ask you something... who out you, Titan, and Ash is the fastest flyer?”

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“Much more of this and the treasury will be left bit-less,” Celestia sighed aloud to herself, her eyes running over the unrolled parchment before her as a hoof rubbed her aching temple.

Gingerly, she set the parchment down on the floor with all the others, and took a moment to simply close her eyes, sit there in total silence, and try and catch her breath for once. For the entirety of her day thus far, the alabaster alicorn had found herself locked in her chambers looking over the requests and suggestions, most of which she found ludicrous, put to her in light of the changeling attack.

And to say it was taking a toll on her would’ve been a vast understatement.

She didn’t really dislike the task, so to speak; it was, after all her subjects simply voicing their own opinions on how their land could be better defended, a matter Celestia was glad they shared her concern in. No, the main reason behind her current sour mood and bought of annoyance, was that she was trying to read through a decently large pile of suggestions all on her own, courtesy of her little sister presently being elsewhere.

She figured she knew exactly where.

Despite her mood and frustration with her sister, however, she couldn’t help but feel a small bit of relief in the back of her mind as she looked around her lavish room, and remembered how her younger sibling once seemed content to garrison herself in her own. Ever since Luna return from her thousand years of imprisonment, she had been distrusted, shunned, and even feared in every town and city bar Ponyville; even in Canterlot her presence was often regarded as dangerous by the common ponies. As a result, Luna had elected to hide herself away in the palace or her chambers, not even daring to come out and show a single hair or bit of hide at the Grand Galloping Gala, nor any other formal event for that matter.

All the while Celestia had been forced to watch her younger sibling sink deeper into sadness and despair, and find herself believing she would never be truly welcome in Equestria ever again.

Within the last week though, all of that had swiftly and dramatically changed, thanks to the presence of a certain lycan in the night alicorn’s life; how Lucian had so easily been able to coax Luna out of the shadows, Celestia wasn’t entirely sure as of yet, but to simply see her sister happy for once was enough to reassure her.

“I will never truly understand you, dear sister,” the white alicorn sighed, a small smile growing across her marble muzzle. “You are an alicorn and the immortal ruler of the night, and yet I now find you prancing around Lucian like an excited school-filly.”

She dared think that, with time, where that road would lead.

Before her thoughts could progress any further, or her eyes return to the parchment that lay in her hooves, a loud clatter of hooves echoed from the hallway outside. This was followed quickly by the banging sound of her golden knocker being beaten against her chamber door, and the voice of the very pony who had previously been occupying her mind.

“Tia! Open this door! We must speak at once!”

The white alicorn giggled to herself and rolled her eyes. “Though your bossiness never seems to change Lulu,” She smirked, her horn glowing as she released her former lock spell.

Within a heart beat the heavy door was violently swung open as the night princess entered, revealing to a surprised Celestia the form of her younger sister trotting in through the arched doorway, and for some reason looking the furthest from pleased. Three rather uneasy looking solar royal guards followed hastily in toe of the dark alicorn, surprisingly, including the stocky unicorn first lieutenant, and current acting guard captain in Shining Armor’s absence, Iron Lance.

Celestia’s brow furrowed slightly as she glanced between him and her sister. “Luna, two things if you will; firstly, why exactly were you not present this morning? And secondly, may I ask why my royal guards look so on edge?”

Despite the seriousness of the situation she had found herself in, Luna couldn’t help but feel her cheeks sting as they glossed red with embarrassment, the recent memory of waking up in the spare room of Ponyville library, and finding herself gently held in Lucian’s embrace, quickly finding its way to the forefront of her mind.

“I… well,” she stammered weakly as she played with her hooves, only to find her sister now smirking at her, and the royal guards looking between the two alicorns in confusion. “Ehem, we will discuss that matter later Tia, for now we have far more pressing issues to address.” She said at last, the new firmness in her royal voice almost causing the guards to cringe.

Celestia’s eyebrow rose a little, the dark tone in her sisters voice already causing worry to sprout in her gut. “What sort of issues, sister?”

The night black alicorn’s face went as hard as stone, and her eyes darkened with supressed fury. “Issues of diamond dogs, changelings, and vile monsters, Celestia… and of war.”

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Author's Note

Hmmmm, Freelancer didn’t add any A/N’s this time...I’ll just type some stuff here and see if he notices. (yes I did memorize several of the icon commands )

Let’s see...I’m Edragon. I edit stuff for him sometimes...uh...well if you see anything I missed please point it out in a comment headed with: EDRAGON YOU DUMMY HOW COULD YOU MISS THIS?!

(Freelancer) Edragon wh… you know what, never mind, I’m too tired (falls asleep at laptop). Anyway, I’ve been playing with the idea of lycan ponies (lyquine?); most of the opinions thus far have been in support of the idea, but more are welcome and appreciated.