Sharp of Mind and Claw

Chapters

Friends in the Most Unlikely Places
The Inconvenient Truth
Penance and Friendship

Friends in the Most Unlikely Places

The shadowed forest rustled as my dark form rushed between brambles and roots. My silver claws raked the earth, tearing scores into the crumbling surface. The pale moonlight cascaded onto the ferns and bushes down on the forest floor - the place where I ran on all fours. My speed was unimaginable, even to me, and the wind against my coat sent waves of joyous freedom through my whole being. I ran through thorns, fallen branches, and clumps of weeds, but eventually they broke.

I stood alone in a vast field, the green hue of the grasses shown by the white light of the moon. Without a single other thought, I turned to the luminous body above and howled. It was a howl filled with passion, filled with glee, filled with freedom. Unfortunately for me, it ended much too soon. . .

“Wake up, grunt. Work to be done, dogs to do work,” a harsh voice came, along with a swift kick the stomach. I rolled slightly as the pain dissipated before rising to my feet. This was a wake-up I had grown accustomed to, but I never held any less animosity toward it. Next to the grueling torture of watching these simpletons boss us around, it was my least favorite part of the day.

With visions of fresh air and running wild still haunting my mind, I trudged toward the tunnel that led to our site of work. It was going to be another long day. . .

Perhaps I should explain. You see, I am a diamond dog, one by the name of White Claw, to be exact. While I may be of the same species as these. . . Imbeciles, I refused to stoop to their level of complete mediocrity and incompetence. Never before in my life had I met a worse band of beings, although I hadn't met very many beings.

From the day I was born, I was a slave to these beasts. I was born in these caves, I lived in these caves, and they seemed hell-bent on making me die in these caves. I, on the other paw, had places to go, things to see, and a life to live. About the time I turned twelve I hatched an idea. A rather simple one, one that I wasn't even sure was attainable at the time. Freedom. Freedom from slavery, freedom from idiots, and freedom to do as I please. Unfortunately, life would not have it so simple.

I tried escaping one day, such a terrible plan, really, and I was caught and dragged back to my home. In reality, my home was a cell in which my mother and I lived, eating the smallest of grains and gems, and occasionally dirt. When they dragged me back there, I saw my mother bound about the wrists and ankles. I called to her, but the guards stopped me. The pack leader, one called Greyscar, on account of the grey scar that ran though his face, stood over me and grinned his vicious grin.

“Pup needs a lesson. Pup doesn't understand hurt. We teach pup what hurt really mean,” he grumbled, his voice somewhere between a wood chipper filled with rocks and a blender filled with forks. He snapped two of his heavily furred fingers, and I was forced to watch as each guardsman took advantage of my mother. She cried out in pain, sobs racking her whole form, and I had to press my ears to my skull to deaden the screams. It was unbearable to watch, and I knew she was suffering for my crime.

Now any normal diamond dog would have been stupid enough to hate himself after such a punishment, but I was better than that. I was smarter than that. Instead, I grew to hate the stupid, flea-bitten mongrels who savaged my mother in such a manner. With every movement they made, every step, every thrust, every bite, I ground my teeth a bit harder. As Greyscar stepped up to my mother, I bore my eyes into him while I waited for it to come. It never did.

He brought his spear down, the leaf-shaped head cleaving straight down through my poor mother’s skull and into the hard floor beneath. My breath caught, my heart stopped, and my claws extended. Instantly, my blood was filled with the urge to fight, the urge to hunt. The urge to kill. Faster than I had thought possible, I spun on my guards, cutting every tendon and muscle in the fronts of their legs in one swift motion, and their cries of surprise and agony fell on deaf ears. I harbored no more care for these beasts. Claws extending from my hind legs as well, I brought one paw down on a guards skull.

The curved claws cut into his thick skull like butter, leaving a dead mass of blood and mangled facial features. The other guard looked up to me with pleading eyes, and I leaned down to slit his miserable throat with a forefinger as I was seized from behind. Snarling wildly, I attempted to bite at my captor, but Greyscar held fast.

“Pup fight back. No pup ever fight back,” he mused, his tone filled with something akin to disbelief. “This one strong.” He tossed me down on my paws and walked to the door. Without turning around, he snapped his fingers. “Break pup,” he barked, and the guardsmen were on me. I was viciously beaten, my coat torn, my muzzle fractured, ribs bruised -- the injuries were countless. After in immeasurable amount of time, the hitting ceased, and I cracked an eye open. The guards were exiting, leaving only my mother’s savaged and bloodied corpse and myself, a beaten and furious bundle of fur.

I couldn't even bear to look at her in the near darkness, the only light coming from a single torch by the door of our cell, and I pulled myself to bunk. I licked my wounds as I brooded over my new-found hate for the species I was unfortunate enough to call my own. And that was only the beginning.

As I drifted into sleep, I wondered how in the world I would ever finally escape these tunnels, and pondered it as the dark grasp of slumber took me.

In my dream, a stood before a throne, one made of something that appeared to be iron swords melted together, and a disturbing looking creature posing atop it. With mismatching horns, a bird leg and a lion paw for forearms, a scaled dragon leg, a pony hoof, and the scaled tail of a serpent, the patchwork beast eyed me with a grin of malicious intent on his face.

“Welcome, little dog,” he said with a voice somehow silky and deep, despite the air of cruelty to it.

“Who you?” I barked, using standard Diamond Dog speak. I stepped toward him threateningly and my hackles rose.

“My, my, your grammar is simply horrid! We’ll have to do something about that. But to answer your question, I am Discord. Perhaps you've heard of me? Ruling the world with a wake of chaos, making ponies everywhere miserable?” He tweaked his bushy white eyebrows humorously, but the humor was lost on me. At that point, my skull was nearly as dense as that of the guard I’d killed.

“What you want, monster?” I growled back at him, lowering my top half, ready to pounce at him at any moment. He laughed at my threatening display and waved his lion paw. Next thing I knew, I was on the ceiling, and he watched me from his throne now made of tiny, rectangular, multicolored blocks.

He slid through the air and looked directly up at me. I bared my teeth at him, and he did the same, revealing a long, pointed canine on one side. He chuckled at my stunned look and placed a hand on my head, just between my ears. “Me? I want what I always want! I want things to change, and who better to cause it than you, my furry little com padre! I want things to change because ponies can’t handle change. Change for them in bad, evil almost, and it sends them scrambling for stability. Between all their scrambling and all the change, one thing arises, and it delights me so,” he said, grinning evilly again. He leaned in close and whispered a single word into my ear. “Chaos.” The word held a massive weight, despite me only having a vague knowledge of it at the time. The air around us had nearly become electrified, the power of the word and the one speaking it changing the atmosphere completely.

I stared hard at Discord for a few moments, before quietly asking, “What you want with White Claw, monster?” His laughs echoed through the empty space we resided in, and I was suddenly back on the floor as he walked back to his throne. It appeared to be made of gelatin, and it swayed back and forth as he rested himself on it.

“White Claw, I can give you something nobody else but me has,” he told me, being deathly serious. My tail tucked between my legs, and his words came out right in my ear, despite him being at least two body lengths away. “I can give you wisdom. Knowledge beyond your years, beyond your race, beyond your world even! You’d be reborn, a diamond dog like no other! Smart, strong, cynical, cruel, but most importantly. . . Different,” he whispered, and the words echoed through my mind. It didn't take a genius to see that I had always wanted to be better than those other savages, and this being could grant me that power. Still, I was hesitant.

“What monster want FROM White Claw?” I asked, my eyes prying slits by now. He smiled as sweetly as possibly with his horrid looks, and was gone in a POOF of smoke. Instantly, he was behind me, hand around my shoulder.

“Little Diamond Dog, all I want from you is for you to be you. You do that, and change will be change, different will still be different, and best of all, chaos will still be. . .” His words faded off, and he pointed at me.

Finishing his sentence for him, I grumbled, “Chaos will still be chaos.” He jumped with glee and was suddenly back on his ever-changing throne, and it appeared to be made of bones now. The beast in me told me to race forward for those bones, but I pushed it back down. This monster, this man, this. . . Discord, could give me something I desperately needed. Intelligence. I nodded at him.

“I do. Make White Claw smart,” I ordered in my broken language. His eyes narrowed to cruel slits, and his grin one again oozed malice.

“Gladly,” he whispered, and walked across the room to me. Standing at full height, he was still over twice my size. With a swift but fluid movement, he rested his bird claw on the top of my skull. The world flashed, and I was blinded by foreign images.

Bulky tan boxes with glass screens, fat hairless beasts sitting before them, machines of destruction and chaos, wars, books, homes made like those of ponies, strangely shaped machines that fired unseen projectiles at incredible speeds, metal birds that soared through the air carrying those hairless beasts overhead, wagons and carts that moved without anything pulling them, and words. So many words. So many things that I didn't know existed. I could feel my skull being filled with these things, and I could faintly hear Discord cackling beside me. All of the sudden, it stopped and I dropped to my paws and knees.

“Did you enjoy that, little one?” His silky voice asked, and I was helpless to do anything but nod. In my head were images, images of seas of hot sauce, clouds made of cotton candy and chocolate rain, and trees that bent like rubber. I looked up at him and finally recognized him as Discord, the dragonequus, the last of his kind, the harbinger of chaos.

In my head, as I tried to speak, words I never knew existed came to mind, and I recognized them all. Even better, I knew how to use them correctly. “You’re Discord. You’re evil,” I mumbled. In the blink of an eye, I was back on my paws and snarling at him. “Give me one reason I shouldn't kill you now!” I growled, and my claws extended. He just smiled and nodded to me.

“One reason? Look at yourself! Look into yourself! Look at what I've given you,” he told me, and I closed my eyes. I understood things I was sure no other Diamond Dogs did. Grammar, humor, technology, and even a vast world around us. My eyes shot open and I looked inquiringly at Discord.

“You. . . You gave me this? What are these memories you've given me?” I said, my voice hardly reaching a whisper.

“Visions, my friend. Sights and thoughts born of a different world, a new universe. A name, surely you can find it a name,” he said, raising a single eyebrow inquisitively.

I closed my eyes again and sifted through thoughts and memories. I saw nations crumbling, empires growing, conquests failing. I saw a pasty man with slick black hair and a rectangular patch of hair on his upper lip screaming to thousands of onlookers, and they all hailed him as some sort of king. I saw pictures of some sort of massive, dark room as gunshots began and people screamed. I saw a metal pod cruising through space and touching down on the surface of the moon. They planted a single flag, one adorning thirteen stripes of red and white and a blue corner filled with stars. As my eyes slowly opened, I registered all I had seen, and I had a name.

“Earth,” I answered, and Discord nodded. I looked down at my paws and they suddenly seemed unreal. I looked back to him with pleading eyes. His throne had vanished and he was packing garments into a leather box. No, not a leather box. A suitcase. I recognized he was preparing to leave. “Discord, wait!” I called after him, and he stopped in his tracks. He looked genuinely surprised as he met my gaze. My look was that of desperation, and I could tell he was confused by it.

“Yes, White Claw? Are you not happy with your new knowledge?” He asked, and I backed away, eyes wide.

I shook my head furiously. “N-no, that’s not it at all! I love it, but. . . I don’t know what to do with it all. . . I can’t make sense of it all. Help me, please,” I begged, reaching out to him. He attempted to move back, but I caught his wrist in time. He looked down at me, and an idea flashed through my head. I pressed my ears back, shrank my size down, held his arms gingerly, and put on my sweetest look. I could see his resolve melting like ice behind his lopsided eyes. He sighed and hung his head, dropping the suitcase in the process.

“You’re killin’ me, kid. . . Alright. Twice a week, I’ll come to you in your dreams and help you figure it all out. Sound good?” He offered, and I nodded excitedly. My tail even wagged, brushing across the floor. He conjured at hat from the air and set it on his head. Grabbing the suitcase, he gave me a salute. “Until then, auf wiedersehen, sweetheart,” he said, snapping his fingers. With a spiral of smoke, he was gone, and I collapsed to the ground. As the dream world faded, I smiled grimly. I am different. I am smart. I am better. And with those thoughts, the real world came rushing back.

Author's Note

First chapter of what I hope will be many more. I wrote this section quite some time ago, so if this goes over well, there will be more on the way fairly quickly.

As you may have guessed, the idea for this was inspired by Rust's 'Ballad of Echo the Diamond Dog'. If you haven't read it yet and liked this, I highly recommend it. Heck, even if you hated this, I still recommend you check out Rust's stuff. Anyway, let me know what you think in the comments and if you have any corrections to give, don't be afraid to let me know.

The Inconvenient Truth

That was a decade ago, and he never failed to show up twice a week, unannounced. He taught me of books, ones that made me laugh, ones that made me shed tears, ones that made me wonder what on Earth could have inspired such thoughts. The man from before, the one called Adolf Hitler, had his own book even, and his ideas disturbed me greatly. He had made it his goal to try and purge the surface of their world of anything but his ideal of perfection. And people had followed him! The madness of the world of humans never ceased to amaze me.

He taught me of movies, which were like books, but without the mental picture and strain on the eyes. Some movies simply wouldn’t make sense on paper, and others were made magnificent by the place called Hollywood. He taught me to focus on memories of these movies, and I saw them in full length like I was there. I saw short men with big feet roaming through a vast and broken land in an attempt to free themselves of a powerful talisman. While I didn’t understand how one ring could grant such unimaginable power, I didn’t doubt that being granted power in such an instant was possible, seeing as I was a living example of the idea.

My head nearly exploded as I explored the phenomena called the Internet. There were pictures that made me want to vomit, pictures that made me laugh, ones that made me confused, and even ones that made my mind foggy with lurid ideas.

One day, while exploring my memories of the Internet, I looked to Discord, who sat on a black leather couch reading an article of Cosmoponytan. He looked up when he realized I was watching him. The look on my face was one I had thoroughly enjoyed learning, and it clearly read ‘Are you serious?’. He held his hands up defensively.

“Don’t look at me like that. I read it for the articles, okay?” He explained, and I shook my head disappointedly.

“That’s what I’m worried about. . .” I mumbled, and he laughed. Over the years, we had become quite the pair, and he was practically a father to me, despite his title and standing as the most chaotic being to ever walk Equestria. When he finished laughing, he looked at me expectantly. These days, I didn’t need spent much of the dreams out of my own mind, and he mostly just stuck around for support. He knew that if I came out of my trance-like state, I had something important to say.

“Discord, I seem to have found something that troubles me,” I said, and he grinned at me.

“Well, I would hope you find something that troubles you, or else I’ve created the next great philosopher,” he jibbed, still smiling. “What seems to be the trouble?” I swallowed.

“Their world. . . It seems to be openly aware of ours. . .” I told him nervously, and his smile fell. His face grim, he stood and put a hand on my shoulder.

“White Claw, there are some things that are a mystery even to me. The best I can come up with is that one day, one of their kind got a view of our world and it became famous. They don’t actually see our world as it is, but they see it as that human believed it to be. He saw things like the Elements of Harmony, Princess Celestia, their legends like Nightmare Moon, all of that,” he explained, and I frowned at him.

As he turned away, I said to him, “But. . . You were there. They knew of you, and there was. . . A man. A man with your voice, and he-“ Faster than lightning, my friend whipped around and grabbed my muzzle firmly in his large bird claw.

“I know of the man!” He hissed, and my eyes grew wide. I had never seen Discord angry before, but it was terrifying. “I know they know of me, and I know that man seems to portray me! I don’t have all of the answers, White Claw! Never bring that man up again, understood?” His yellow and red eyes bore into mine from mere inches away, and I weakly nodded. He slid his hand from my muzzle and sat back down on the couch. He stared at his hands for quite some time, and I was worried for him. He had clearly spent a fairly long time thinking over the man who seemed have given Discord a voice.

Hopping off the pedestal I always meditated on, I landed next to him and tossed an arm around his shoulders. I may have still been growing, but my paw barely reached his far shoulder. “I’m sorry for bringing it up, Discord. I was only curious, and you know I haven’t been able to watch the whole time as you have,” I explained, and he looked at me out of the corner of his larger eye. Before I knew it, there was large, rough bird arm wrapped around my neck and a massive lion paw rubbing my head so hard the fur nearly came off. A classic noogie. I should have expected as much from Discord.

Using all my strength, I was able to topple him to the floor and a battle of scratching, biting, and rolling ensued. In the end, he sat on my chest, looking contented. He leaned forward and stuck out a single finger. I raised an eyebrow just before he tapped the end of my wet nose and said, “Boop!” With a rush of wind, the room around me as well as my companion vanished.

After that, I remembered to never once bring up the man called John de Lancie. Discord taught me more than even the memories could have shown me. As my intelligence grew, so did my self-doubt. I began to wonder if I would ever escape my prison, and even worse, if I should even be trusting Discord. I still remembered it clearly, and I never wanted to confront the awful truth that he was only sharpening his newest weapon to being chaos to Equestria. He wanted me to escape so I could unleash a fresh hell onto the unsuspecting ponies above, and the memories he gave me almost made me indifferent. As I said before, I have become harsh, cold, almost dead on the inside.

It doesn’t take a genius to put on a false smile and pretend to care, but my only moments of true happiness were when I was with Discord. He was the only family I had left in this terrible life, but there was still a catch. He told me that the day I left would be the last he would ever be able to visit me; that once I was out and about in Equestria, his influence would be dead. His power only went so far, and the ever-present sun and moon kept him from having power in the outside world.

However, as much as I loved having him there for me, my very being called for adventure. Discord said I bear something called human nature, which apparently meant that every fiber of my being ached for freedom. I didn’t like the idea that I shared such a human characteristic, but he said that I had possessed it long before he came along.

And so his support and teaching proceeded. Now, on this day, I turn twenty two years old, and I’ve finally formed a plan to escape. I was never quite sure if Discord has some role in it, but even to the Diamond Dog guards, I towered over them. My fists were easily as large as their heads, and a single claw was long enough to gouge into their thick skulls and small brains. I just needed the opportunity to escape, and freedom would be mine.

As I was roughly shoved back into my cell, I sat down on the floor where I normally rested. Closing my eyes, I allowed the dream to take me. When I opened them again, I was in throne room much like Princess Celestia’s, except Discord sat upon the throne with a warming smile of jagged teeth. I grinned back, flashing my own set of teeth well-equipped to bite and tear. He sauntered over to me and threw an arm around my shoulders. He barely had to stoop anymore to do so, although I doubted he was maintaining his full size.

“White Claw, how nice to see you! I didn’t know you were dropping by today!” He said with a surprised tone in his voice. I laughed and shoved him off of me, and he had to take to the air to keep his balance. “It never ceases to amaze me how strong you’ve gotten over the years, boy. . . I’m gonna miss moments like these,” he mumbled, looking as though he was going to shed a tear. I look at him confusedly.

“What do you mean? What makes you think this is coming to an end any time soon?” He smiled kindly at my words, a smile that he only used when I was being extremely naïve.

“White Claw, I’ve been watching you. You know I always have been. And I can see that you’re planning something. Something very soon,” he said very knowingly, and my ears dropped. Ashamedly, I kicked the carpet at my feet. It felt good under my tired paws.

“I didn’t want to tell you because I figured you’d try to stop me from going,” I grumbled, and he burst into laughter. I looked at him again, and he wiped an actual tear from his eye.

“Why would I ever try to stop you? I gave you this gift so you could make a change in Equestria, and you certainly can’t do that in imprisonment! White Claw, I knew from the day I gave you that knowledge that a time would come when I would never see you again, and I’m alright with that,” he explained, and I felt a weight come off my shoulders. “I just decided that it was time for me to say goodbye and give you one last present. But you’re not going to like it. . .” His voice trailed off, and I furrowed my brow in confusion. He looked at me apologetically as the tip of his tail came to rest on my forehead and a stream of visions, almost like a movie, came rushing forward.

I was in a room filled with gems and polished white bones. A large bed rested in the back of the circular area, and a table before it. At the table sat a single Diamond Dog, a spear leaning against his chair. Pack leader and Alpha, Greyscar smiled malevolently at somebody behind me, and they came into view.

“Sit now. Eat food,” he said. I always hated their awful broken language, and it rose even more hatred hearing Greyscar speak it. I watched as the figure didn’t move an inch, and I hear their voice.

“Do what Greyscar wants with this one, then I leave,” she said, her voice defiant and filled with resolve. My heartbeat was deafening in my ears as I recognized the voice. It was my poor mother, but much younger than I remembered her. It must have been over a decade before she was murdered by the same monster that sat before her now.

Greyscar rose and seized her wrist. “This one will birth Greyscar a son, a healthy one,” he growled, and tossed her forward toward the bed. I watched as a terrible grin flicked across his face and he advance toward my mother’s bent form. I shut my eyes tight, refusing to see the terrible crime being committed. I then realized all sound had stopped as well. When I hesitantly opened my eyes, I found Discord watching me with a saddened look on his face.

“I’m sorry I had to show you this, but you had to know. The reason Greyscar murdered your mother that day was because he realized you would never walk in his footsteps as he had hoped. He was filled with a rage that his successor was a deserter, and so he killed your mother for raising you as one,” he told me, his voice serious but saddened. “I truly am sorry, White Claw.”

I looked down at my hands in disbelief. My own white fur seemed like a traitor now, and my mind raced. I am the spawn of my mother’s murderer. I am the spawn of a rape. I’m worth less than nothing. I’m a bastard and a monster. Tears streamed down my face as I looked back at Discord. “Why? Why did you show me this?” I pleaded, my voice hushed as though I’d been wounded.

He sighed and almost looked as though he was going to cry. “White Claw, you forget who I am. I may love you like a son, but I am still Discord. Above all, I bring chaos. I have trained you, and now you are strong enough to benefit me,” he replied, and I narrowed my eyes at him.

“How could this possibly help you? If I kill Greyscar, how does that help you at all?” I asked, taking a step closer. He looked up at me with disappointment in his eyes. For a split second, I was confused, but I realized he was disappointed in himself.

“If you were to kill Greyscar, you become Alpha. With you as Alpha, the pack must follow your orders. Immediately after killing Greyscar, you would flee, leaving the pack without a leader. There would be chaos among the pack, and it would branch to other packs for assistance, and there would be outsiders who wished to claim power as well. Diamond Dogs would come for hundreds of miles to become an Alpha-“

“Leading to mass bloodshed and havoc through the packs,” I finished, and he nodded solemnly. A thought popped into my head, one I couldn’t simply ignore. I took another step toward him. “Were you responsible?” He raised an eyebrow at me and I scowled in return. “Don’t give me that! You know exactly what I’m talking about!” I growled, a vicious edge to my voice. Discord hung his head in shame.

“Yes. I was the one who provoked Greyscar to impregnate your mother,” he admitted. The world stopped spinning for a moment. Adrenaline flooded my veins, my pupils narrowed to predatory pinpricks, and my claws were fully extended. Baring my teeth and snarling, I dove at Discord as time resumed its natural course. He slid out of the way narrowly and took to the air. Using all the power in my hind legs, I thrust myself into the air and made a grab for his tail. My claw barely clipped the end of his tail, forking it at the finned part.

“White Claw, I’m sorry! I am force of chaos, it is my job to bring about those sorts of things! I had no plans for you until we met that day a decade ago, but I cannot say I regret my decision. I was doing my duty, just as I am now,” he called down to me as I snarled up at him. He snapped his fingers, and my vision blackened. As the world faded, I faintly heard a voice in my ear. “I’m going to miss you, White Claw. I truly am,” it said, and I recognized it as Discord’s. In it was something I had never heard before. Sincerity. And just like that, my final meeting with my closest friend and bane of my existence came to a close.

Penance and Friendship

As my eyes readjusted to the darkness of my cell, I realized my teeth were still bared and my claws had dug themselves into the ground. The fury in me hadn’t subsided, and it left me with a very difficult decision. I sat in the dark, panting, as I came to a conclusion. I stood up and did a quick flip over to the door. Slamming my fist against the door, I cried, “Help guards! White Claw is dying!” I heard grumbles of recognition from outside the door and a keep sliding into the lock. I held my breath as the first guard stepped inside. My black coat hid me in the darkness, and he looked around the room for me.

“Where pup go?” He thought out loud as he walked toward the door. Just before he reached it, a white paw darted from the dark next to the door. My paw seized him by the jaw, and I lifted him with one arm into the air. I stepped out of the shadows and grinned up at him, my teeth shining white in the dark.

“Goodbye,” I hissed just before bringing his neck down on his own spearhead. It plunged through his esophagus and into his spinal cord, killing him instantly. The pool of blood spread quickly, and as it touched my claws, I looked down at him. “Pup,” I said, spitting on his corpse. I rustling of armor from behind me told the other guard had heard me.

“Pup, what you do!” He growled, and I could hear him lower his spear at me. Faster than he could blink, I spun on a paw, using my left to grab the spear just below the head and kicking the shaft with my other. The whole staff broke in half, leaving him with a jagged stick and me with a deadly spearhead. His moment of stunned silence was just once second too long, and I whipped the spearhead around just fast enough to slit his throat. He grasped at it as blood ran between his fingers, and I threw his spear into the dirt. I looked down at him and shook my head.

“Pity,” I said nonchalantly and exited through the still-open door. Outside, there were many other cells for dogs and ponies I cared nothing for. I walked right by them as I came to a branch of three tunnels. Let’s see, what had they always taught us. . . Left goes up, right goes down. What does that mean for the middle? It dawned on me that there could only be one other explanation for a third tunnel. Greyscar’s quarters. I gritted my teeth. My mind told me not to be Discord’s pawn, that if I didn’t kill Greyscar, his plan would be foiled. Every other part of me cried out for me to seek vengeance against Greyscar.

The other parts won.

I followed the tunnel forward as it slanted upward, almost like I was going up a hill. The torches at the end illuminated the door that lead to Greyscar’s quarters, and it appeared to be dark inside. He was either sleeping inside or out of his room. I hoped for the latter. As I pushed the door, it held fast. Locked. Son of a bitch. I extended a single claw and jammed it into the keyhole, and the door gave the shudder as the tumblers and mechanisms inside the hole were torn to hell. I didn’t even have to turn the handle for the door to open, and it slowly swung out toward me. A few steps later, I was immersed in nearly complete darkness.

My eyes adjusted to the dark, and I spotted a chair. The same chair at the same table that Greyscar had sat at just before defiling my mother. I grabbed the chair and pulled it toward me. There I sat, watching the door, waiting for Greyscar to return.

A growl at the door alerted me hours later that Greyscar had finally come back to find his room had been savagely unlocked. He yanked the door toward himself, gripping his spear tightly and pointing it toward the darkness where I sat. I smiled grimly at him focused on his face.

“How nice of you to visit, father,” I said, stressing the last word with such venom that Greyscar’s face fell just before he resumed snarling.

“Pup has returned to Greyscar! Pup want Alpha? Pup will have to take Alpha!” He growled, jumping forward into the darkness. With a deft spin, I rolled off the chair and grabbed it by a leg. I swung it with all my might right into the side of my father’s face, and he went tumbling left as the wooden furniture shattered on impact. He pulled himself off the ground, spitting a glob of blood onto the floor and smiling.

“Pup will have to fight better than that!” He grumbled, and my voice whispered in his ear.

“Oh, I intend to.” With a swift but powerful punch, I hit him in the back of his ribcage, sending him sprawling forward. I felt a couple of his delicate ribs crack on impact, and it made me smile viciously. He scrambled back to his feet, wielding the spear angrily. Unafraid, I stepped forward and into the light. I saw fear touch his eyes as he realized how large I’d gotten. I opened my arms toward him. “Go ahead, make your move, Greyscar,” I taunted and he growled at me again. Such a simple form of communication.

He lunged for me, attempting to bury the spear in my neck. He wasn’t fast enough, though, and I was under his attack before he had a chance to register. I swung my claws upward, cutting the spear like I did the guard’s hours before. I then swung my other claw across the front of his ankle, tripping him. He let out a pained yelp and fell onto the ground. He pulled himself toward the open doorway as I rose up and walked toward him, his fearful eyes darting between the door and myself. I grabbed him by his good ankle and pulled him close enough so that he could feel my breath on his face.

Frantically, he begged, “Pup no kill Greyscar! Greyscar surrender! Greyscar surrender!” He shielded his face with his arms and squeezed his eyes shut tight. I’m Alpha now. There’s no need to kill him anymore. It’s already done, I’ve completed Discord’s plan. . . I looked down at the poor sniveling mass I was unfortunate enough to call my father. I pitied him, actually. He had been beaten in combat by his own son, one he had cast aside years ago. It was ironic that the one he had decided unfit to take his place would be his downfall. I stood upright again, releasing his ankle. He lowered his arms and opened his eyes pensively as he realized I was no longer close enough to tear in throat out.

“Oh, thank Pup! Pup has spared Greyscar! Greyscar love Pup! Pup make great-“

Every Diamond Dog for miles heard my roar of pure fury as I tore Greyscar’s head form is shoulders, spine in hand.

I walked back the prison room, holding Greyscar’s head between the ears. The dark tunnel slowly gave way to light and I saw the entire pack standing there, waiting to see the results of the battle. They blinked in astonishment as I stepped out of shadow, holding Greyscar’s dismembered head and spine before me. Red blood stained my white paws, and the sight of it reminded me that I was not a Diamond Dog. I was a cold-blooded killer now. I tossed Greyscar’s head into the crowd of them and they parted as it sailed toward them.

A few of them kneeled in front of me, and I growled at them. Quickly, they all stood up. I cleared my throat, and it boomed through the tunnels. “I am not your Alpha! Your Alpha is dead, and your pack is dead! I refuse the title and position, and relinquish all power and claim to this pack! You are free to do as you please!” I bellowed, and instantly the hackles of every Diamond Dog in the room rose, as well as a chorus of angered growls. Perhaps I had made a bad decision. . .

Not ten minutes later, I was racing through the forest, a furious pack of Diamond Dogs chasing at my heels, their howls echoing for miles. Apparently, they actually like Greyscar and wanted revenge on his killer, regardless of whether or not I had freed them from his control. I ran forward on all fours, and the smell of the forest around me excited me to no end. It was just like my dreams, aside from the pissed off pack of beasts chasing me down to tear my throat out.

I leapt over creeks, logs, rocks, under broken trees and thorn bushes, but still my fur and skin were being torn. I was finally far enough ahead of the Diamond Dogs to look back, and I could barely see ferns and weeds behind me shuffling as they rushed toward me. With my damned luck, I tripped over something in my foolishness and went tumbling through the forest. I hopped up and prepared to start running as I heard a voice behind me.

“Watch where you’re going next time, buddy!” I spun around and found a white mare with a light brown mane and a Cutie Mark shaped like a seed. Faster than Discord had ever taught me, my mind connected the dots once more.

She’s not hurt. But if the Dogs catch her, she’ll be forced into slavery or eaten alive! Is she worth the risk? I took another glance at her. Her mane sparkled in the afternoon light, and her coat glistened with tiny droplets of sweat. She’s worth the risk. Code of Honor, White Claw. I rolled my eyes as I remembered my personal Code of Honor and dashed back toward her. She let out a fearful yelp as I slid into view, but it was silenced when I placed a paw over her mouth.

Taking my paw away, I pulled a line from the classics Discord had taught me. I extended a paw to her, and took on a very serious tone of voice. “Come with me if you want to live!” I quoted, and she looked at me questioningly. She glanced back as she heard bushes rustling, and looked back to me, even more worried than before. Hesitantly, she placed her hoof in my paw and I threw her onto my back as I lowered to all fours and began an even more frantic sprint than before. I tore through the forest in a frenzy, not only to save myself now, but the mare who was trusting enough to take my paw and allow me to save her life.

I searched for a way to throw them off, and I found it with a low, hanging branch. “Hold on tight,” I told the mare, and she threw her arms around my neck. I grabbed the branch and swung our collective weight as forcefully as possible. I let go just in time and sailed up into the higher branches of the tree. Grabbing onto the thickest one I could find, I called back to her, “Climb off! I’m too heavy for this one!” She scrambled off my back and onto the thick limb just before I let go. I fell for about ten feet before I landed on a branch strong enough to hold me. Once I was sure my balance was regained, I turned to look over my shoulder and gave her a friendly wave. Surprisingly, she waved back.

I went back to watching the woods, and the Diamond Dog pack soon caught up with us. I made myself as small as possible, which isn’t easy when you’re my size. I froze as a tall dog walked just under me and sniffed. He had to sniff a few times before he looked up and saw the edges of my form hanging off the side of the branch.

“I foun-“ That was a far as he got. Positioning one foot on top of the branch, one under with my claws sunk into the wood, I hung the full length of my body, which was still concealed my various leaves and plants, down and outstretched my arms. I prayed the innocent mare above couldn’t see as I lashed my claws out and severed his throat, cutting off any chance to call for help. Using my claws which were sunk into the tree as leverage, I pulled myself back up to the branch where I went back to hiding tensely.

It must have been a couple of hours before the majority of the pack called it quits and returned to the tunnels. Extending my claws, I clawed my way to the tree branch where the unfortunate mare had fallen asleep. I poked her lightly, and she woke with a start. “Wha- Woah!” She cried as she jerked up and out of her sleep, making her fall from the branch. I swung by one paw and caught her tail with the other. As I looked down to make sure she was alright, I was greeted by a not-so-pretty sight, and I went back to looking up. Note to self: Don’t look down.

“Well, that was a close one,” she called up to me, and if I swear I blushed as I almost looked down again.

Clearing my throat, I called down to her, “Indeed, miss.”

“Say, mind doing me a favor?” She asked, and I raised an eyebrow.

“What would that be?” I inquired.

“GET ME DOWN FROM HERE!” She ordered, and I loosed a cough.

“Well, you see, Miss. . .” I trailing off, waiting for her to give me her name.

“My friends call me Ivy,” she replied gruffly.

“Miss Ivy. Lovely name. Well, the problem appears to be that, while I dangle here by one paw, I must hold you with the other, and I dare not look down,” I explained, and she twitched in my grasp.

“Well why the buck not? I’m gettin’ a headache here, bud,” she said. I could tell form the way her weight swung back and forth that she was trying to look up at me. Clearly, she had been able to follow where my line of sight would go, as she uttered a knowledgeable, “Oooh. That’s why.”

“Indeed,” I responded. “It seems we have reached an impasse, Miss Ivy.” My mind searched for possibilities, and I only found one. “I believe I have a solution, miss, but you’ll have to trust me,” I told me. After a moment she called back with an answer.

“Well, I trusted you enough not to kill me by now. And you’re polite enough not to look at my privates, something I’m very grateful for. . . Sure, why not,” she said, and with all strength I could muster in my left arm, I launched her up into the air and over the branch I clung to. I released my grip on the thick branch, drawing my claws back in, and dropping through the branches like a rock. Sticks snapped, branches hit me, but I broke them all with my fall, landing on my back on the ground below. The breath was knocked from my lungs, and as I struggled to get it back, a white bullet from above landed square on my chest, further knocking my breath out.

“Well, that certainly wasn’t the easiest plan of action, was it?” She asked as I rolled back in forth in pain. It registered to her that while I had broken her fall, I had both taken the full force of the ground as well as her own body weight. “Ooo, that’s gotta hurt. Sorry about that, sweetheart,” she said, sitting on my chest. I gave her a weak thumbs up before setting my hand back down on the dirt. Slowly, I got my breath back, and I watched her out of the corner of my eyes as she rose and fell with the rhythm of my breathing. I watched her for a few moments, and she finally noticed me staring.

“Something I can help you with?” She said rather snidely. She would have gotten along with Discord great.

The thought of my former mentor and current nemesis sent a stabbing pain through my heart, and I quickly brushed it aside, focusing on the pony straddling my chest. “Actually, there is. You see, I believe your legs may be a spread a teensy bit wider than you think, and it makes me fairly uncomfortable to think about,” I grumbled. I had never met a pony I didn’t hate before, and watching her white face go scarlet as she realized what I was speaking of was possibly the happiest I had been in years. She rolled uncomfortably off my chest and sat in the dirt, pulling her hind legs in tight. I smiled kindly at her, and her ears flattened to her head.

She swallowed hard and looked up at me. “I don’t think I can make it home tonight. It’s quite late, the sun’s about to set, and I don’t even know where we are,” she explained, finally relaxing a bit. I rose to my feet and bowed before her, gesturing out into the forest.

“I understand perfectly if you wish to be rid of me, Miss Ivy. If you wish, I can lead you back to your home,” I said as gentlemanly as possible. She seemed to consider it for a bit.

She shook her head, tossing her mane back and forth through the air, the twilight catching the loose strands. “You don’t seem so bad, sweetheart. We’ll just chill here for today and head out tomor-“ Her voice caught in her throat and I followed her gaze. My white paw was stained with the blood of the dog I’d killed to protect us both, and I quickly hid it behind my back. Nervously, she asked me, “Did you kill one of those dogs?” Regretfully, I nodded.

“I had to, Miss Ivy. He spotted me, and if they had found out about me, they surely would have caught your scent. I only wished to protect us both,” I explained, keeping my fingers crossed in hopes that she’d accept it. After a tense moment, she released her breath, as did I.

“You’re a strange one, you are. But if we’re sharin’ camp tonight, you owe me some answers,” she said sternly and I nodded politely to her.

“I would be glad to oblige, Miss Ivy,” I replied, sliding myself up against the tree. I looked skyward to watch the purple of dusk give way to the beauty of night.

“Alright, first things first, stop callin’ me ‘miss.’” I nodded in reply as she trotted over to the same tree and sat herself down, looking upward as well. “Okay, first question. Who are you?” I frowned as I recalled I had been rude enough to forget to introduce myself.

“They call me White Claw, Mi- I mean, Ivy, on account of these babies,” I said, extending my claws. The ones covered in drying blood were somewhat brownish, but the other set were gleaming white, practically a polished silver color. She nodded approvingly, and looked back to the sky.

“Makes sense. Why were you running from those other Diamond Dogs, though? I mean, no offense, but you are one of them,” she asked, and I sighed, looking back down at my paws.

“Unfortunately, yes, I am a Diamond Dog, though not a normal one.”

“Well I can see that. I’m not stupid. You’re kinder, smarter, softer, better looking, stronger, all of that. You’d make a good Alpha,” she told me, and I raised an eyebrow at her.

“What was that fourth one again?” I pried, and she thought back. The look of realization on her face was priceless, and her face turned scarlet once more. I set a large paw on her shoulder and she looked at me. “I’m only joking, Ivy. I appreciate the sentiment,” I explained, and she calmed herself. Sliding my paw off her, I continued. “Well, you see, I was a slave to them. For years. I was born in their prison.”

She gasped, looking at me pityingly. “That’s awful!”

“Just wait, it gets better. . . When I was twelve, I attempted to flee and was caught. As punishment, I was forced to watch as my dear mother was brutally raped by those beasts, and then the Alpha murdered her in anger.” Her gasp was even louder this time, and she set a hoof on my paw. “That night, I made a deal with a monster. He gave me unimaginable knowledge, something I yearned for, and he became my mentor. You may know this monster as the dragonequus called Discord,” I told her, and she pulled her hoof back.

“You work for Discord?!” She sounded panicked now, and pulled back as I attempted to rest a paw on her.

“Please, allow me to finish. For a decade, he taught me. On my twenty second birthday, yesterday, he appeared to me one last time, saying his goodbyes and granting me a vision. It was of the day I was conceived, and I realized my mother had been prisoner for some time when the Alpha of the pack, one called Greyscar, violated her, I was brought into creation,” I grumbled at the memory, and I could see the tension in Ivy’s body give way to compassion again. It was too late to stop now. “I am the atrocious spawn of my own mother’s murderer, and a bastard to boot. With his last moments with me, Discord informed me that he was behind my birth the whole time, and I came to the realization that I was only a pawn in his game. No matter how many times he says he will miss me, I refuse to believe that monster has feelings for anyone but himself.

“After he did that, I had to make the decision between becoming his pawn and living in slavery for eternity. I chose the former. I found Greyscar and battled him, if it can be called that. He was no match for me, and I nearly spared him. The only thing that changed my mind was. . . He said he loved me. After all these years of torture, after raping my mother and killing her in cold blood, he had the nerve to say he loved me. . .” My voice faded as I recalled it, and my roar of white fury echoed through my ears.

“What did you do, White Claw?” Ivy asked hesitantly, and my voice grew low as I told her.

“I tore his head from his body, spine and all. I had no control over myself, and the rage inside me was overwhelming. I told the other dogs that they would have to find their own Alpha because I was leaving, and they didn’t like that one bit. Apparently, they liked my father’s leadership, and they hunted me down, which is when I met you. You were there for the rest of it, so I shan’t explain that part,” I finished, and I looked over to her. She wasn’t sitting a few feet away as she was before, but instead right at my side, resting her head on my stomach.

“I’m sorry you went through all that, White Claw. It must have been terrible, and I’m sorry for judging you as a minion of Discord,” she said, and her throat vibrated against my fur in a curious way. “Why did you save me, though? I mean, I’m only a pony, and most Diamond Dogs only care for their own kind.” She had a point, and I was forced to reveal the truth.

“I did it because Discord’s lessons taught me many things, and honor is one of them. I developed my own personal code of honor, one that I follow every day,” I divulged, and she nodded.

“What are the rules in this code?”

“Well, first and foremost, manners. Secondly, always save a worthy damsel in distress. Especially a beautiful one. Third, no kill that is unwarranted. Whether it be my reasoning or another’s, I must have reason to kill, I won’t kill just for the sake of killing. I broke that rule with Greyscar, and I paid for it. I nearly cost an innocent mare her life because of it. There are a few other rules, but those are by far the most important,” I told her, and she nodded again.

“Very noble of you. Namely the second rule,” she said, rolling her head to look at me with both eyes. Her eyes were a dazzling crystal blue that entranced me, and I struggled to look away. I must have blushed, because Ivy laughed. “Aww, cute. Even the big bad wolf’s got a heart. Well, thank you for saving me, even if you did put me in danger more than once today.” I nodded to the forest, but it was directed at her. I was just unwilling to risk looking back into her eyes. Suddenly, she was standing on my stomach her forehooves on my chest. I looked at her quizzically.

“Excuse me, but what are you doing?” I was genuinely confused by her actions.

“Shut up and lie down. I’m tired and you’re an excellent pillow,” she explained, and I nodded, sliding my back off the tree and resting it in the dirt. As awkward for me as this was, I was content to let my new friend sleep on my chest as dozed off as well. I craned my neck up to look at her, and the rising moon caught her mane and coat in just a way that gave my heart a little kick. I leaned my head back as my heart rate picked up, and I heard in a soft voice from below my neck, “You know, I can hear that.”

Embarrassed, I looked down again to be greeted by the sight of Ivy’s muzzle inches from my own, her glittering eyes staring sultrily at my own. My mind froze for a moment, and she smiled devilishly as she licked the end of my muzzle. My heart was racing like a jackhammer as she curled her head back up and into her normal position. She was practically giggling at my uncomfortable manner, and it made I had to let out small pants to keep myself from overheating.

Somewhere between my breathing, her laughs, my own heartbeat, and the rustling of leaves around us, I noticed an unnatural calm around us. Suddenly, in the dense foliage, a single twig snapped not five feet away.