While I wheeled myself to the beach a couple of dogs that stunk of oil and grease signalled me over to them.

“Hey Jack, Biter told us to make you a couple of leg braces.” One said, he was a Dalmatian. He was pretty scrawny but unlike most soldiers he was equipped with a variety of tools on his belt.

“Thanks, I didn't know he cared that much about some soldiers well-being.” I said back to him.

“Yeah, we were supposed to give you these earlier, but a dog accidentally broke a few dozen rifles. Sorry we almost missed you.” The other one was a Corgi, he was pretty short.

I let them attach the braces to my legs, they were pretty gentile with it too. When they were done they put my legs back into position.

“So what are you names?” I asked them nicely.

“I'm Alam and he's Garnt.” The Dalmatian said as he point to the Corgi.

“Say, my friends are going through a lot and need people to support them. Can you two go and try to cheer him up?” I asked the dogs.

“Of course, after what you and your friends have been through, you need as much support as possible.” Garnt said happily.

“Thanks, they mean a lot to me. Jasper can be really shy though, just don't try to pressure him into doing anything. That's all I gotta say though, you two have a wonderful day.” I said as I started to wheel myself towards the beach again

As I wheeled myself to the beach I saw more soldiers marching past me, some looked at me, but the rest ignored me like a ghost. When I got to the shore there were more transport boats coming in to land. There was also a Unicorn in an doctor uniform that had the Equestrian flag on the shoulders of it. They stood out like sore thumb, I was about to wheel past her, but she ran over to me when she saw me.

“Are you Private Jack Stonewall?” She asked as she got close to me. Before I spoke to her I looked at her, she had a smaller frame, she had grey hair and white fur, hazel eyes, and her cutie mark was a first-aid cross with a syrette poking it.

“Yes I am miss, why are you asking?” I asked back as I looked at soldiers marching out of more transport boats.

“I am to be your aide during the trip to Equestria where I will be helping you get settled into the Ponyville hospital and later into your own house there.” She used her telekinetic powers to grab the handles of my wheelchair and move me in front of her. “I am Morphine Giver, I work and live in Ponyville, so I'll be with you even when I stop being your aide.”

“Thanks, is Ponyville a good town?” I asked her as we got on a transport boat.

“Oh it's wonderful! There's so many nice ponies there!” She said as she lifted me up with her magic to get me your a flight of stairs.

As we went through the boat I saw many sailors doing their jobs, the boat was mostly devoid of soldiers and felt extremely empty. After a few minutes of going through the corridors of the ship we arrive at the mess hall where sailors who were taking their lunch break were either eating or messing around. Morphine pushed me near an empty table and sat near me.

“Do you need lunch? They do serve meat for Diamond Dogs.” She asked.

“Yes please, I haven't had lunch yet.” I said back.

She got back up and went over to the food serving area. While she was gone I looked around the hall, most sailors look away when I turned my head to them. While I was looking a dog sat near me, he was a slim young dog, he was a brown lab that had black spots on his arms.

“So, you're the guy we're taking back to the mountain. What's your name soldier?” he asked me as he extended his hand to me.

“I'm jack Stonewall”. I said as I shook his hand.

“What Happened to get you in this situation?”

“I got hit by an artillery shell and shrapnel from it severed a part of my spinal cord.” I said awkwardly, I felt strange about talking about this.

“I'm sorry for that, my brother lost one of his legs during the rebel suppression, I'm Bud by the way.” He said sadly.

“I’m sorry that happened, what happened to him after the slaves were suppressed?” I asked him, not a lot of dogs would even mention they were apart of that now considering how our culture has changed.

“Most forgave him over it, the ones that didn't just steer clear of him. He's fine now, he's working at a craft-forge making toys for pups.”

“Really? I thought most dogs had to at least walk for the job?.” I asked him. I started to think that after I was done in Equestria I could get a job where his brother worked at if they let disabled dogs work there.

“Not really anymore, most of the factories have areas where dogs sit around and package the toys. It can be really boring, but it's a job right?” He said smiling.

“Yeah, I guess it is, I'm sure when I go back to the mountain I'll get a job at a forge then.” I smiled happily.

“I gotta go soon, but I'd like to talk again tonight, my name's Bud by the way.” He said smiling at me.

“Yeah, I'd like that too.”

“Goodbye then Jack.” He said as he got up and left to do his job.

As I saw him leave the mess hall Morphine came back with food.

“I see you've made a friend.” She said as she put a tray of food in front of me.

“Yeah, that dog seems nice enough.” I said as I started eating. “So, tell me more about Ponyville.”

“It's a wonderful town, most of the jobs are related to agriculture, the only factory is small and mainly produces toys. It's also mostly populated by ponies of all races, but there are other races there too.” She says to me.

“Really? I heard some of the richer ponies can be jerks, is this true?” I asked.

“Oh… well there's a few, but they're teenagers so they might change their attitudes.”

“How do the ponies feel about other races?.” When I asked this she lowered her head, it seemed there was more to this town than what everyone says.

“Most races are treated nicely, but changelings and Diamond Dogs are looked down upon because of past experiences.” She said as she turned away from me.

“Wait, there are Diamond Dogs near Ponyville?” This surprised me, I wonder why no one would talk about that.

“Well, there were Diamond Dogs near Ponyville. After Rarity, the element of generosity, was kidnapped and enslaved by them for a short time the ponies really haven't treated Diamond Dogs well.” She said sadly.

“That… That was how we used to act, but we don't act like that anymore. I'm sure we can convince Rarity that my people are different.” I say to her.

“Yeah, here's the thing though, you were specifically picked by one of the elements of harmony.”

When she said this I was about to spit my food out. After what my people did one of them wanted to take me in? I quickly composed myself and swallow my food.

“Which one would even want to be in my presence after what happened?” I asked her.

“That would be Fluttershy, the element of kindness.” She said and finally turned to me again. “It might be because it'll help improve relations with other Diamond Dogs.”

“That's true…. Did that include you?”

She looks at me surprised, she looks down again and covered her face.

“Yes, but because I was helping wounded soldiers I ended up helping Diamond Dogs too. I started to question what I thought. I'd like to go into specifics, but I'd prefer to do it while you're not eating.” She said sadly, she sounded on the verge of tears.

“Okay then. If you need to leave for a second you can.”

“I'll be fine, I just need to recompose myself.” She said and started to breath slowly.

After a few minutes of silence I finished eating. Before I could tell her I was done Morphine levitated my tray up and went to take it back to the kitchen. As I sat there I wondered how long this war would go on for, I just wanted it to end quickly so Jasper and Dirk wouldn't be in danger anymore. Soon she came back and took me to our sleeping area, it was small with two beds and a desk.

“This is a surprisingly nice room for us.” I said as I looked around the room.

“Yes, it's nice how they treat wounded soldiers. Though not all can get this treatment.” Morphine said sadly.

“So, do you wanna tell me what made you consider your prejudice against dogs?” I asked, I was expecting her to say no again since it's such a touchy topic.

Morphine sighed and sat on the bed across from me and looked down.

“Before I was sent home with you I was helping your friend Dirk to help wounded soldiers. Unfortunately one of the dogs we were helping was in an extremely bad position. He had lost one of his arms and he was bleeding profusely, there wasn't anything we could do. We injected with with enough morphine so he wouldn't feel pain as he died. I watched him die in front of me and after seeing Dirk's reaction, the fact we were told as kids Diamond Dogs didn't care for the well being of each other shattered in front of me. I thought about everything I was told about Diamond Dogs and threw it out of my mind.” She said, halfway through she became on the verge of tears. I went over to her and hugged her, she hugged back tightly.

“Thanks for telling me, and I'm sorry for what you went through.” I said to her as we hugged.

“Thank you, thank you so much for listening.” She said as she rubbed her eyes.

“You're welcome.” I stopped hugging her and went over to my bed.

She got back up and helped me get into bed.

“Do you want me to get you a book to read?” She asked, her voice was close to being normal again.

“I guess, thanks by the way.” I said.

Morphine left the room leaving me to my thoughts. I layed there thinking about what she had said, could someone really get rid of their prejudice after one experience? As I thought this Morphine brought in a few books for me. Some were young adult fiction like Daring Doo, but there was some adult fiction like the “In The Hall of The Mountain Dog” series by Spitz Ruffles.

“I was gonna give these to twilight, but I think you should read them first. They might be important to your culture.” She said as she handed them to me. “And Daring Doo is popular with both kids and adults, including The Element of Loyalty Rainbow Dash.” She said as she put them on my wheelchair.

“Thanks, I'll read them too. I hope they're good.” I said as I opened up the first book in the “In the Hall of The Mountain Dog” which was called “In The Depths”.

The book was quite good, it follows the character of Richard, a Dog trying to gain support to overthrow his tyrannical brother. I couldn't stop reading after the first chapter, it was just incredible, though it definitely an adult story since Richard had to do some 'intimate’ things to advance at points. As I was done with the sixth chapter Morphine told me dinner was being served. I marked my spot and after Morphine moved the books off my wheelchair I got in it.

This cafeteria visit was less eventful than the first, but I still talked to Bud more. He was from Kazak-A-Karak, I wasn't sure if it was a coastal town, but he talked about it being grand and beautiful. As we talked we both ate pork chops and mashed potatoes, it was a good meal and put us both in high morale. After we ate we said our goodbyes and he went to do his shift. Morphine quickly took me back to our room and I got to reading again, and Around the tenth chapter Morphine took the book from me.

“I was trying to talk to you for a minute, you dogs get more into books than fillies do.” She said feigning annoyance.

“I was in the middle of my chapter.” I said actually annoyed by her rudeness.

“Sorry, but eight is usually when we send patients to bed, so that's what I'll start you on right now.” She said as she marked the page I was on and put the book on the table.

“Fine fine, but I'm reading more tomorrow.” I said as I put the blanket over me.

Morphine giggled and layed on the bed across from mine and covered herself up. As I was falling asleep I had the idea of taking the book, but considering the fact of my position it was probably a bad idea, so I just let myself fall asleep. My sleep was again plagued by nightmares of battle making me wake up multiple times before it was finally morning. We still had a long ways to go, but at least I had books to keep me from dying of boredom.

Author's Note

Thanks to Speedy Silverstreak for the idea of having soldiers make Jack leg braces.