"So, is there any reason we can't just... shoot the Nightwalker?" Boomstick asked.

Tenna and I both looked at him with a pained expression that we even had to explain the situation to him.

"Because she's part of a large tribe of ambushing, flying and vicious hybrids that kill you in your sleep?" I replied.

"Because yer a fokin' idiot?" was Tenna's reply.

Boomstick blinked. "I liked Sanguine's response betta'."

"We should really get going before they return." I urged. They're already wearing everything they needed, right?

"Hold on, Just gotta get one las' thing." Boomstick asked, holding up his gun like a finger pointing upwards as he shuffled around a pile of junk.

"What could ya need that we didn't already grab?" Tenna inquired impatiently.

"Goggles!"

Goggles?

"You know those don't actually do anythin', Right?"

"I feel better with 'em on!" Boomstick replied, now donning some kind of glasses with a leather strap that went around his head. The 'goggles' were oval in shape and covered his eyes. They were also green for some reason.

"How are you supposed to see anythin' with them on?" Tenna protested.

"Fine, I'll put em on my forehead then!" Boomstick stuck his tongue out at his brother, adjusting the eyewear. "We all set?"

"We were waitin' on you," Tenna grumbled before looking at me. "You need anythin'?"

"My knives?" I asked hopefully.

Tenna and Boomstick both looked at each other. "Well, we did catch you with his machete a moment ago. You can probably handle a knife or two. I mean, them bein' yours and all." Boomstick replied.

Tenna rolled his eyes at his brother. "Sure, here's your knives back." He said, the knives themselves sliding from his sleeve and landing in his hand.

I quickly swiped both of them, sheathing them in my chest belt next to the remaining healing potion. There was also herb and snack food pouches, but those had been ruined by my lake dive. I flipped the containers for both of them, dumping the contents onto the shack's dead grass floor.

"Alright, ready." I stated. They were both looking at me strangely. "What?"

"Did you just dump a whole load of plants onto our floor like nothin' was the matter?" Tenna asked.

I looked around at the piles of junk stacked to the ceiling. "Yes?"

"I don't think we have time for this, Tenna." Boomstick pointed out. "Sun is comin' up and if these 'Nightwalkers' are so spooky like you think, then let's not be 'round to piss em off, yeah?"

Tenna and I nodded.

"Are you two ready to follow me?" I asked.

"Let's shoot us some armored dogs." Boomstick affirmed.

We had left the shack far behind at this point. Nothing very much of note occurred along our travels beyond my foraging for various fruits that could be found and the typical arguing between the two brothers that followed me. I kept my ears sharp for any odd noises and picked up more than a few whispered conversations about me during the walk.

"You think she's ever gonna wear clothin'?" Boomstick whispered.

"She already said she wouldn't." Tenna replied.

"What if we haf'ta take her to Los Pegasus with us? She can't go walkin' 'round naked all the time. There's laws against it 'n everythin'."

"Why would she be goin' with us to Los Pegasus?"

"I dunno... Maybe she might wanna stick around after this quest of hers is done?"

"What, and be your wife or something?" Tenna scoffed quietly.

"I can have dreams, you sod!" Boomstick retorted with a chest smack to his brother.

"That's about the only place you're gonna find a mare like her with a colt like you, mate." Tenna chuckled.

My tail was swishing back and forth with my steps, which had probably brought about the conversation in the first place. I was still on the lookout for any berries I could use for body paint as well, but their conversations helped pass the time.

"How'd ya think she'd look in a corset?" Boomstick began again.

"Mate, forget about it. I think the day she wears anything, she'll have been replaced by a changeling."

"But that flank of hers!" He continued, ignoring Tenna. "and the way her mane and tail are colored along with that pure white..."

"I can hear your erection from here, Boomstick!" I called out behind myself, my tail lifting and wrapping around my waist to give him a teasing view for a moment. I then heard him go silent and looked over my shoulder, finding him staring open mouthed at my flank. His eyes flicked up to my face and I gave him a wink before resuming my usual pace, as if nothing had happened.

"Mate, she's out of your league and she's teasin' you." Tenna giggled. "Just let it go. At best, she'll want to be friends with a bloke like you."

Boomstick was silently fuming, or mentally having his way with me. At any rate, something they had brought up peaked my interest.

"What is a 'changeling'?" I asked over my shoulder, still leading the way towards Diamond Dog territory. We were far enough away still that noise didn't matter all that much.

"You never heard of 'em?" Tenna asked.

"Not until today."

"Wait, how'd you hear of them? It's just us three out 'ere." Boomstick asked.

"I overheard your conversation." I replied honestly.

I could imagine the looks on their faces as they shared glances of horror.

"You mean this entire time..." Boomstick gasped.

"And you didn't..." Tenna continued.

"Yes." Was my answer.

Unfortunately, that realization was enough to make them unable to talk or form a coherent sentence for awhile, so I let them be. I let my mind wander to the various other things I had been overlooking aside from my personal grooming lately. I haven't had sex in ages. So... that was a thing that existed in my mind, apparently as my first thought. Great. Good job, brain. Good priorities to keep track of. 'Oh, Sanguine is on a mission to save Spike? Let's keep track of when the last time we had a good roll in the hay with somepony!' Fantastic.

My tail twitched again as if irritated, revealing my flank and marehood yet again to Boomstick and Tenna behind me, making both of them spurt noises for a moment. They still weren't used to being around a naked mare, though I suppose it had only been a single day for them. I had been naked all my life on my own insistence, so their looks couldn't bother me. I had simply taken as a compliment whenever anypony in the tribe looked at me that way. It meant that my appearance, despite looking savage, was so enticing that even breaking tribal customs could be thrown to the wind in the face of my 'assets'. Sure, that had attracted the odd creep or seven from the tribe, but knives to the throat and sincere declarations of 'You won't have anything left to play with' to those that didn't take 'no' for an answer swiftly solved the problem.

My mind drifted back to the question of what Changelings even were, aside from what the name could tell me. Obviously they changed, but... lings? The 's' would probably mean more than one, so that would be... groups, right? I don't know what a 'ling' is, but it doesn't sound good. They also said 'replaced by a changeling', so does that mean they can act?

"Tenna?" I called behind me.

"Yeah?"

"What's a changeling?"

"They're shapeshiftin' bug monsters."

I stopped and turned around. "What?"

"They look like somepony you know and steal your feelin's for em." Boomstick explained.

...What?

"I can tell by the look on yer face that you don't get it." Tenna remarked amusedly. "Ah'right, picture this:" He was starting to pantomime his words with his hands. "Ya got regular pony 'ere, right?" I nodded. " 'An overe here, ya got a changelin'." He held out both hands like platforms, as if a tiny representation of both would stand on his palms. "When yer pony friend over here finds a pony they like, they get feelin's for em." He held up the hand that was 'holding' the changeling now. "Then this little fuck comes along, and shapeshifts to look like yer friend!" He said with a bit of anger, smacking the 'pony' hand away. "Now you go along with your life, thinkin' everything is fine and dandy aside from your friend actin' a little bit odd," he continued, holding up the changeling hand. "You think 'Gee, somethin' must be botherin' my mate from how strange he's actin'! So you go an talk to 'em about it. You ask em to meet you at your usual hang-out spot, thinking you'll 'ave a good chat and laugh about it!" he holds up a finger as if to pause, darkly chuckling to himself. "But!" He said suddenly, "You think, 'hey, why don't I just bring all my kit along with me, just incase things don't go so well, yeah?"

I was keeping track of the story, but my only response was to blink stupidly and nod that I was still listening.

"Right, so you go to the meetin' place to see yer friend. Lo and behold, he isn't there! You go on out for an adventure to find 'im, bringin' your dear brotha' along for support," He wrapped an arm around Boomstick's shoulder. "And you go on your merry way. Then, when you finally do find your friend, it turns out they're a fuckin' bug monster that's been sappin' the life out of everypony you know, and keepin' your friend in a great big glob o' goop the entire time!" He was very angry at this point, the story having gone from educational to personal experience. "You know what you do then?" He hissed. "You take your fuckin' rifle, you point it at that damn bug's head, and you BLOW IT THE FUCK OFF!" He shouted, throwing his gun to the ground in anger.

"Oi, Tenna! Keep it cool, mate!" Boomstick attempted to reason with him.

"That slimy insect cunt killed our fuckin' brotha', and you want me to be CALM about it?!"

"There was nothin' we could'a done!" Boomstick pleaded. Things were getting out of hand quickly now. I had greatly upset Tenna by asking about changelings and was now trying to calm Tenna down as well.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to bring up something so close to--"

"You don't know the first thing about close, U-nee!" He spat back. I assume the 'U-nee' was a slur for Unicorns amongst Earthen. Every tribe had their slurs for the others, though this was the first time I had actually heard any of them. Despite the attempted insult, the actual word meant nothing to me other than I was a unicorn.

What do I do? Tenna is having a breakdown! I thought in panic. I had seen my mother deal with situations like this, but it usually involved 'oral distractions' and I didn't think that now was the best time for something like that. Maybe a hug would work?

Boomstick and Tenna were still struggling and arguing, and I took that as my moment to strike. I practically tackled Tenna to the ground from his equipment weighing him down and making him top heavy, fighting against his flailing arms and holding on for dear life as he flailed about, trying to get me off of him.

"The fock do ya think yer doin'!?" Tenna shouted.

"You need a hug!" I yelled back, trying to hold on despite his arms attempting to shove me off.

"I don't want no fockin' hug!"

"Well, you're getting a hug!" I looked up to a shocked Boomstick. "Hug your brother!" I pleaded.

He looked at Tenna in confusion. "Don't you fockin' hug me!" he warned.

He looked back at me. "Do it!" I insisted desperately, trying to hold onto Tenna.

Boomstick looked to the sky as if searching for answers before declaring, "Fock me!" before diving on top of myself and Tenna, wrapping the both of us in a hug with his more muscular arms, squeezing the air from my lungs and causing Tenna to halt his protests.

"Too... much!" I squeaked. His forearm was across my entire back, squeezing myself uncomfortably into the gear and clothing he wore.

"Get... off!" Tenna grunted.

Boomstick released the both of us, falling to the ground in a heap of equipment and fur. I was on my backside, Tenna's backpack laying on my chest from where he had fallen. Thankfully Tenna soon rolled over, allowing me to both move clear and breathe. I sat upright, holding my chest and taking back all the air that had been squeezed from my lungs. I looked in surprise over to Tenna whom was recovering similarly, though it seemed like my plan had worked. He was too shocked about the sudden hug to continue on his path into a meltdown.

"The fock... was that... for?" He huffed, looking at me incredulously.

"You needed... a hug!" I replied, semi-cheerfully.

"I think that's the first time I seen her smile." Boomstick commented.

"Mate, if that's her happy face, then you're really doomed." Tenna shot back, the beginning of their typical banter informing me that everything was going back to normal.

"But look at it! It's so small and pure!"

I looked at Boomstick.

"And you just killed it." Tenna snickered.

I didn't smile often because there wasn't anything to smile about most of the time. Having anypony point out my own smile made me self concious from barely remembered experiences I had as a filly. All I knew was that at some point, somepony had noticed me smiling happily and beaten me for it. Since then, genuine smiles haven't been a thing regularly seen from me.

"Ah fuck, you've gone and made her sad!" Boomstick complained, moving towards me. "You need a hug too, love?"

"Love?" I asked in confusion before being lifted from the ground and squeezed tightly by Boomstick. I kicked my hooves uselessly in the air in a struggle before he set me down.

"Better?" he asked, taking a step back from me.

I took a moment. I actually was feeling a slight bit better. "Yes..." I replied cautiously. "Warn me next time?"

"A'course." He agreed with a nod.

Tenna had taken up his gun from the ground in the meantime, inspecting it for damage.

"Good ol' Bertha... ain't nothin' that can hurt you, old mare." He cooed to his gun.

Boomstick and I allowed Tenna to have his moment with his rifle before we continued. I decided it was best to give Tenna and Boomstick some room to recover after the eruption of anger I had unintentionally set off left me emotionally singed; another reason I generally preferred solitude. The emotions of others were so powerful sometimes that It was all I could do to not get wrapped up in somepony else's problems and go along for the ride with them. Somepony was sad? My own empathy for their situation would make me feel worse than they did. I just learned to avoid those with problems altogether to save myself.

"Oi, Sanguine." I heard Tenna call to me, more calm now that some time had gone by.

"Yes?"

"What about those Diamond Dogs? Anythin' we should know specific?"

"They're nearly double the average pony in height for the larger ones. Those tend to be in the role of a Pack Leader and wear heavy metal armoring that is usually poor in quality. It generally looks like pieces of scrap metal or roofing tiles held together with rope, vine or whatever else is on hand. The 'Alphas' are a lot stronger as well. I don't know how well your 'guns' will do against them, but they're not my main worry."

"The big plate armored dogs are the small fries?" Boomstick asked, confused.

"The Alphas use large swords or maces and take a moment or two for their swings to connect. I've dodged more than a few clumsy strikes... though your armoring makes that feat more difficult, I suppose."

There was a pause from both of the brothers, I assume to share a look of concern. I continued my briefing anyway.

"What worries me is the Pack. They're composed of the 'lesser' Diamond Dogs that can't rule over the others, so they bunch up into large groups. They generally wear only a plate over their chest and possibly a gauntlet over a paw that is sharpened with metal claws reaching out like a group of swords. They run in packs of two up to twenty and ambush their targets."

"Oh, great." Tenna scroffed. "Big lumbering oafs that can kill ya wit a single strike, or swarms of the bastards that jump ya."

"Finally, they have the Howlers." I continued. "They fit in neither role, but are generally smarter than either the Pack or the Alphas. They focus on creating or scavenging the armor and weapons for the others and are well protected by both Packs and Alphas for it. They're mid-height between the Alpha and those Dogs that make up the Packs. If they spot one of us, like their name suggests, they alert the other Dogs in the area by howling."

"So how tall are the 'Packs' then?"

"They're about... my height." I said uncertainly. "It varies usually, but they're generally the same range as an average pony."

"How do you know so much about the Diamond Dogs?"

"I'm the forager, scavenger, and sometimes scout for the tribe. They like sending me on suicide missions." I replied honestly.

"Great." Tenna muttered.

"So what are we fightin' the Dogs for, again?" Boomstick asked.

"They like making their dens in old mine-shafts filled with gemstone, preferring Diamonds like their name suggests."

"Oi, you hear that?" Boomstick whispered excitedly. "We could get us some diamonds to sell!"

"Yeah, if we don't get ripped apart by dogs." Tenna countered darkly.

Boomstick brandished his 'shot-gun'. "Come on, mate! A bunch-a dogs 'gainst Bertha and Boomy?"

I had to stop at that just to re-affirm what I just heard. I turned around to look at Boomstick, noting Tenna's equally disappointed expression matched my own.

"Boomy?" We both asked. "Really?" Tenna followed up.

"Well, you got ta name your gun, why can't I?"

" 'Boomstick's Boomy' doesn't seem that... inspired?" I suggested about as tenderly as I could.

"You're callin' Boomy dumb, ain't ya?" Boomstick asked with suspicious eyes. "Well Boomy's a strong gun, and you can't say nuffin' to make her feel stupid!"

I rolled my eyes and Tenna covered his face with his hand.

"Nevermind, Boomstick. Boomy is fine." Tenna sighed.

"Damn straight!" Boomstick agreed.

That pretty much killed the conversation as nopony could find anything to say afterwards to continue it into a useful direction that wasn't as awkward as what just happened. I lead the both of them onward after Boomstick had finished complimenting his shot-gun and soothing its imaginary ego. Dense forest overgrowth and underbrush soon began to thin out; old tree trunks from deforestation becoming a more common sight as we drew closer to the Mineshafts that the Diamond Dogs called home.

"Alright you two. You need to be quiet now. We're very close to the Dogs' territory and they already have a good sense of smell. We don't need to add hearing to their list of advantages." I whispered.

"What?" Tenna asked too loudly.

*Thwack*

"Shut up!" I hissed loud enough for them to hear.

We eventually reached an overlook that opened into a large quarry; staggered steps of stone cascaded downwards towards an open pit with a Pack lazily messing around at the bottom. I motioned for Tenna and Boomstick to come closer, pointing down at the Pack.

"Damn." Tenna commented in his 'whisper'. "They're a lot meaner lookin' in the flesh, ain't they?"

Boomstick held his shot-gun closer to his chest at the ready. "Doesn't mean they like gettin' shot." he grinned.

This emboldened Tenna, whom also readied his gun. The both of them looked to me for direction while I thought about a plan of attack.

Author's Note

Hoooo boy!

Here we go! Into the Diamond Dog's Den, finally!

Are you ready for the Doggo's?

Let me know in the comments!