Rum Raisin Brandy

Chapter 3

Midi Waffle crawled out of his bed roll and stretched his legs out like a cat. He shook out his mane and looked around outside. "Hmm, diamond dog field. Diamond dog field."

He looked up into the tallest tree and teleported onto its highest limb, using his large tail to keep his balance as he surveyed the wilderness. "Should be someplace rocky and barren. Couldn't be too far, though, if Rarity is willing to walk there." Midi scanned the horizon until he saw a gray area with large boulders and what looked like a few dead shrubs. "Aha! That must be it!"

The unicorn picked a point on the edge of the barren ground and teleported to it, the trudged through the dry badlands. He drew up energy into his horn and began to emit a magic ping, searching underground for crystals.

"Look there," Fido whispered, "New pony!"

"Yeah, new pony," Spot said, "Male too. He won't whine like Rarity."

Rover chuckled. "Yes, he will find us the gems. Let's get.. the pony!"

Midi looked up and swiveled his head. "Hello? Is somepony there?" His ear turned to face a rustling noise off to the side. "Heh heh. Already, huh?" He smirked and faced the bushes. "Hey you cowardly whelps! Show yourselves!"

The three diamond dogs jumped out and moved to surround the unicorn.

"Whelps? Cowardly?" Rover chided, "New pony has nasty attitude."

"Uh-huh. Whatever." Midi rolled his eyes. "You dogs out here hunting for gems?"

"Yes, we are the gem hunters!" Rover growled.

"That's nice," Midi said, looking off nonchalantly, "I'm hunting for something else."

"What's that?" Fido asked.

Midi narrowed his eyes and gave the dogs a vicious grin. "I hunt... for you!" He stood up on his hind legs as his horn flashed, and an acorn bomb appeared at the tip which he grabbed and held behind himself, then swung his foreleg and released the acorn bomb which exploded as soon as it struck Rover in the chest.

The dog when flying backwards and crashed into a rock, passing out on impact. Midi produced two more bombs and blasted Spot and Fido away.

"BOOM-YAH!" he cheered, pumping his hoof like a fist. He trotted up to Rover and stood triumphantly above him. "So then, pooch, you ready to fork over the rocks?"

Rover growled and pulled out his dog whistle. A silent puff later, and a dozen bulldogs in iron armor tunneled up around Midi. They got in a circle around him and bared their drool-soaked fangs at him.

Midi sighed. "These dogs just don't learn." He spun around and launched several new bombs at them.

Crescendo paced back and forth at the entrance to Sweet Apple Acres, nervously muttering to himself. "Come on, you can do this. You're just asking for a job, and these ponies are friendly. They're not gonna judge you. If they need help, they'll say yes, and if not, you go somewhere else. Simple." He looked towards the farm and gulped. "Here goes." He cantered forward and spotted Applejack. "Hello! Excuse me, ma'am. Are you busy?"

Applejack looked to her visitor and smiled. "Well howdy there. What can Ah do ya fer?"

"Well, actually, um..." Crescendo cleared his throat. "Uh, see, I'm kinda new in town, and I'm looking for a job. And you've got a big farm here, and I couldn't help but notice there were only two ponies working here, so uh..." He rubbed the back of his head.

Applejack chuckled. "Ah see where this is going. And frankly Ah think we could afford it. Oh, but where are mah manners? Ah'm Applejack." She held her hoof out to him.

Crescendo took her hoof and shook it. "I'm Crescendo Wolfang. My friend Midi and I are camped out in Whitetail Wood until we can afford a house."

"Mighty pretty place to set up," Applejack said, "If y'all like, we could get right to--"

A thunderous explosion interrupted the earth mare and sent out a shock wave that caused the ground to rumble.

"What in the name off Celestia was that?!" Applejack shouted, ducking for cover.

Crescendo lifted off and used his raptor vision to see in the direction the explosion originated from. A moment later, he lighted down and smiled. "Oh, that was nothing. Just my friend Midi fighting the diamond dogs."

"He must be in trouble, what with all that ruckus an' all! C'mon, Crescendo! We gotta help him!" Apolejack started for the road, but Crescendo blocked her path.

"Whoa, hold up there," the pegasus said, "Midi told me that explosions are a good sign. I forgot to mention this, but he's actually a very powerful unicorn. Those explosions are his."

Another explosion echoed through.

"Just how powerful is he?" Applejack asked, looking nervous.

"Oh, he could probably level a town all on his own, if he wanted to," Crescendo answered with a shrug.

"Boy, Ah wouldn't wanna meet him on a bad day!"

"Oh, no, nothing to worry about." The pegasus smiled. "He's actually the sweetest guy I know." Another explosion. "Quite the cuddler, actually." The sound of rocks crumbling. "You'd like him." One more explosion.

Applejack stood upright, still a bit shaken. "And y'all're sure he can hold his own?"

"Definitely," Crescendo said with a nod, "I'll bet he's giving them hell right now."

"Oh man, these dogs are really giving me hell!" Midi popped off another bomb and stretched the gap between himself and the oncoming diamond dogs.

He charged his horn and let loose a phalanx of smaller bombs, striking a good number of the canids. For every one he beat, one or two more would surface to take its place.

"These gems better be worth all this crap!"

"So, um, about that job?" Crescendo tried to steer the conversation to a calmer topic, despite the fiery elephant in the room.

"Oh, yeah," said Applejack, "Ah completely forgot. Well, we'll give ya a small plot to start with, just to see how ya handle it. Sound alright with ya?"

The pegasus nodded. "Sure, sounds good." Although I wish it was a certain stallion's plot I was taking care of.

"Alright then." Applejack turned and motioned for her new employee to follow her. "Y'all come this way, an' we'll git ya set up an' buckin'."

Midi panted and flopped on the ground, ignoring the stinging sensation coming from his many scrapes and cuts. Fighting with hooves was harder than he expected. Throwing bombs with them was even harder. Several times, the dogs got close enough to take a swipe at him, and each time he had to throw a bomb under himself and blast himself into the air to escape, only to suffer a rough landing.

He only allowed himself a moment to breathe once the dogs had given up and retreated, but not without dropping a moderate ammount of small precious stones from their burnt pockets.

The unicorn quickly stashed some of them in his knicked-up saddlebags and teleported back to the camp. He dropped his loot inside the tent and looked around. After finding a feather shed by Crescendo, he took it and a lock of his mane, and used them to conjure a magic ward only he and his friend could cross.

"There. I doubt anypony short of Twilight or the princesses could get in here." Pleased with his work, he nodded in approval. "I guess I should head into town and see about renting a spot in the market. I shoukd check up on Cres, too."

He tried to canter but tripped over his own hooves. "Ugh, darn it. Maybe I should rest a bit, first. I've been pushing myself too hard..." He crawled back into the tent and fell asleep in the middle room, not even bothering to go all the way to his bed.