Chapter 40

In the span of the past month, since the disappearance of Dimitri Lockdrom, Draco has taken command in his absence for the war efforts against the Caribou scourge. Thanks to his leadership, and the assistance of the Angel’s Saint, Phillip McHaggard, the Knight of Chaos was successful in finishing Lock’s work by liberating all of Equestria from the oppression of the Stonehoofs. However, Draco knew that just because they were victorious in this battle, it only meant more conflicts would arise in the coming future.

Today, Draco had the resistance fleet stationed right by Canterlot and the army were all ordered to keep at their basic training and to look after the dozens of ships. Meanwhile, from inside the castle, Shadow Star and her fellow Alpha Squad members were traversing the halls in search of their leader since he had told them he needed to take care of something important.

“It still baffles me,” Berry said, leaning his hands behind his head as they walked. “Who’d’ve thought there were good caribou among those rapists.”

“It’s also a shame,” Swift said. “That chieftain those stags mentioned sounded nothing like Dainn.”

“And yet they were wiped out in the blink of an eye, supposedly,” Ace said. “I wonder what Lock would do if he were there at Sanctuary with us?”

“He’d probably kill those stags,” Cloud said. “Knowing him, Lock has a sort of personal vendetta against these sick pricks.”

“He and the rest of us,” Shadow reminded them. “But he isn’t here now. So, the only thing we can do is keep the fight going until he gets back.”

“Aren’t Flash and the other apprentices gonna join us meeting with Draco?” Ace asked.

“Flash is actually on a date with Spitfire, Maud is looking after the fleet, and Zephyr is helping Fluttershy consoling Pinkie with the death of her dad,” Shadow explained.

“What about Pharynx?” Berry said.

“He’s still recovering, Doc Steel said he’s going through some physical therapy before being approved for active duty.”

As they rounded they neared the workshop area when rounding the corner, where Draco told them he’d be, they noticed the door was open ajar a little. As they came closer, they heard some noises coming from inside the workshop.

“Draco, it’s too big.” They heard a female voice grunt as they got closer.

“Just hold still, I’ll push harder.” They heard Draco’s voice grunting next.

“Uh…what was that?” Ace said as the group stopped approaching the door and leaned in the listen.

“Draco, I’m telling you, it won’t fit inside there. Maybe you should try the other hole.” The female voice gasped and grunted.

“Twilight it has to go in this one, just because it’s tight doesn’t mean it won’t fit inside.” Draco’s voice replied.

“What the?! Draco and Twilight?!” Berry gasped.

“M-Maybe it's a misunderstanding?” Swift said sheepishly.

“Just pull out for a minute. Draco, I’m starting to feel sore,” Twilight said.

“Yeah, alright, give me two minutes and I’ll try and shove this big boy back in,” Draco’s voice responds.

“Why, that no good, dirty, rotten, cheater!” Shadow hissed. “He should’ve at least talked to me before rutting Lock’s bucking marefriend!”

“Hello, everypony, what are you all doing here?” Alpha Squad whipped their heads around to see Cadence approaching them, wearing casual clothing.

“P-Princess Cadence!” Ace yelped.

“Now, now, we’re all friends here, you may just call me Cadence.” Cadence heard Draco’s voice from inside the room. “Is that Draco I hear?”

“Okay Draco, I think I’m ready to go again,” the voice of Twilight came from the room.

“Yeah, me too, and hey I found a lubricant we can use. This should help slide the thing all the way,” Draco’s voice followed after.

“Wh-what in stars name?!” Cadence gasped. “How could Twilight cheat on Lock?!” Cadence was about to reach for the door when Cloud and Swift blocked her.

“You can’t just barge in there! There’s rules to this stuff!” Cloud said.

“I-I agree! They need their privacy!” Swift said.

“Babe, move! I’m gonna knock some sense into Draco!” Berry growled at his marefriend.

“Okay, one more push, Twi, and then we should be in business,” Draco grunted loudly.

“Thank Celestia, I’m so sore. Go ahead, Draco, slam it in!” Twilight called out.

Cadence and Shadow glared in irritation as they both used their magic to shove Cloud and Swift aside before Shadow kicked the door down.

“You have a lot of nerve, buster!” Shadow barked. “Explain yourself!”

“Twilight! I never took you for such a-!”

Both mares stopped mid sentence as they did not see Draco and Twilight going at it like a pair of horny teenagers. Rather, they saw the two on either side of a larger lab table. On said table, was a large great sword, with Twilight holding it with her hands from the dull side. While Draco had both his hands pressing down on a green glass ball, which he was pushing into a round hole slot.

Both Twilight and Draco were staring at the two mares with confused looks. “Uh…I was gonna explain when you guys got here, but I feel like I’m missing some content here?” Draco said.

“And you never took me for what, Cadence? Why do you and Shadow look upset, did something happen?” Twilight asked her sister-in-law.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Shadow said as the other members of Alpha Squad walked in. “Weren’t you two rutting like animals just a minute ago?”

Both Draco and Twilight’s face burned crimson. “WHAT?!” They shouted in unison.

“We heard weird noises!” Shadow said. “It won’t fit, Draco! One more push, Twi! I found some lube! Oh please, Draco, push it in! You sounded like you were giving it to Twilight good! Like you did to me!”

Twilight’s mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water making no sound. Draco’s face went five shades redder as steam came from his ears. “NO! We weren’t doing that! And for Christ’s sake, Shadow, did you have to announce that to everypony here?!”

“Well, it’s true!” Shadow huffed, crossing her arms and looking away.

Ace and Berry walked over to the large blade and looked at it curiously.

“So…what’s this thing supposed to be? New weapon for you, Draco?” Berry guessed as Draco tried to calm down and Twilight hid her face in her hands.

Draco, after massaging his temples, walked over to the table and picked up the sword. “I would’ve liked to tell you what this is for, without the drama.” He took a moment to glare at both Shadow and Cadence.

“You cannot blame us for reacting in such a way when we were misinformed, due to the obscene sounds and words being said between the both of you,” Cadence argued.

“And you thought I’d cheat on Lock?! What kind of mare do you take me for, Cadence?! Lock is my one and true only!” Twilight snapped. “No offense, Draco.”

“None taken.” Draco waved his hand before getting a devilish grin. “Although, if you two are down for a couples orgy with me and Shadow, we probably wouldn’t say no.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

“DRACO!” Twilight shrieked and the rest of the ponies laughed. “NOT! FUNNY!”

“Hehe sorry, Twilight, I couldn’t resist,” Draco chuckled before turning his attention back to the group. “As for the rest of you, I would think you guys would know better to just eavesdrop like that.” He turned to look at Shadow. “And I would think my marefriend would have more faith in me.”

“Well I-but you-but she-!” Draco raised his hand and shook his head.

“For that, no sex for a full month,” Draco added sternly.

Shadow’s jaw went slack and she tried to think of something quick. When she got an idea, she quickly stepped over to Draco and whispered in his ear.

“If you forgive me, I’ll let you take my back door’s first time~?” Shadow purred quietly.

Draco folded his arms and shook his head. “Nope, sorry, but you need to learn a lesson,” Draco said with a smile. “Be lucky it isn’t for longer than a month.”

“Aww!” Shadow pouted and crossed her arms. “Fine…”

“So, back to this thing, Draco?” Berry said again, pointing to the sword.

“Looks kind of big for even you. You trying to compensate for something?” Cloud teased.

“Psh, as if I need to. Ask Shadow, she’ll gladly tell you,” Draco shot back with a confident grin.

“So what is this?” Swift asked.

Draco picked up the sword with ease and held up to Berry. “I made this with you in mind.”

“Me?” Berry eyed the weapon. “Good thing I practice with a hammer and a sword sometimes, I guess.” The large stallion took the sword but was surprised how heavy it was. “Damn! This thing weighs a ton! What’s it made of?”

“Only the strongest steel available. Hang on, I forgot to add the other orb.” Draco walked around the counter and grabbed a purple orb from the counter. “This should reduce any weight, and this should slip in without problems.”

Walking back over to the struggling earth pony, before slipping the orb into the second hole which was empty.

As if in an instant, the sword became light as a feather and Berry could hold it with one hand. “Woah! It barely weighs anything!” Berry twirled the large sword, and Alpha Squad and Cadence watched in awe.

“I believe our prototype was a success, Draco,” Twilight said proudly.

“Prototype?” Cadence repeated.

“Oh, we will see if this next test works.” Draco rubbed his hands together with excitement. “Now Berry, just to clarify, you are an Earth pony, meaning you can’t cast offensive spells like a unicorn could?”

“Nope, just your average earth pony stallion with a gun show,” Berry joked, flexing his arms.

“So beefy~,” Swift sighed, batting her eyes.

“Well let’s change that.” Draco smirked. “You see that green orb right above the purple one I installed?” He said while pointing to said orb.

“What about it?” Berry wondered, eyeing the orb.

“Tap it,” Draco instructed.

Berry did as he was told and tapped the orb. Suddenly, the blade ignited in flames, startling Berry and the others.

“Holy crap! It’s on fire?!” Berry yelped.

“Good, it worked!” Draco pumped his fist in the air before high-fiving Twilight who looked equally pleased.

Moving to a nearby window and opening Draco pointed at the opening. “Okay, now aim at this open window and call out Fireball.”

“Uh…” Berry looked at his squadmates and they all just shrugged. “Fireball!” As Berry pointed the sword, the flames surrounding the blade swirled around to the tip as a ball of fire the size of a soccer ball took form and shot out the window. “What the buck?! How’d it do that?!”

“It works!” Twilight hugged Draco tight and shook him back and forth. “We did it, Draco, we did it!”

Draco gasped as Twilight’s alicorn strength squeezed him too tight. “Twilight, you’re gonna snap my spine!”

“Oh! Sorry…” Twilight let Draco go with a sheepish smile.

“Geez with all that strength I’m surprised you have broken Lock’s pelvis when you two-”

“ANYWAY!” Twilight interrupted Draco. “How do you like your new sword, Berry?”

“It’s awesome! How’d you even make this?” Berry wondered as he tapped the orb again and the flames snuffed out.

“Well I’m glad you asked.” Draco, who had stopped laughing, walked back to where he grabbed the purple orb and pulled out a large box.

Setting the box on the table, he opened it to reveal clear see-through orbs. Grabbing one, he lifted it up. “We did it with these.”

“How intriguing,” Cadence said as she examined the orbs with Alpha Squad. “What are these orbs?”

“They’re the latest and newest magical discovery! All thanks to Draco here!” Twilight chirped.

Draco cheeks blushed a bit before continuing. “You see, I wanted to up our arsenal, but I was having a hard time figuring out how. But then it hit me, Equestria has items that are magically enhanced right?”

“Correct,” Cadence said. “But how does this sword function?”

“Well, I figured if we can imbue magic in common day items, then why not weapons?” He looked at the clear orb in his hand. “Then after some studying with Twilight, we found a way for all the races to use this. All one needs is any form of magic. Earth ponies and pegasi have their own form of magic.”

“I imagine our type of magic has something to do with wind?” Ace asked, gesturing to himself and Cloud.

“In some cases, however, with these you won’t be limited to any type of magic,” Draco added as he reached into a box pulling out another green orb, before tossing it to Ace. “Catch.”

Ace caught the orb and held it in front of him. “Do I do the same thing Berry did?”

“Just focus on the orb, and hold out your hand towards the open window.” Draco instructed, while pointing to said window.

Ace nodded and held the orb out towards the window and focused on the orb. The orb began to glow and soon a torrent of water shot out and sprayed out the window.

“What the?! Water?!” Ace gasped.

“Incredible! How is there water within the orb?” Cadence wondered in awe as the water continued to spray out of the orb.

“It’s a bit complicated, but basically-”

“Ahhhh!” Before Draco could finish, they heard a scream come from out the window. “Where is all this water coming from?!”

“Uh oh…that sounded like-”

Before Shadow could finish, the sounds of stampeding hooves were heard rushing towards the lab and in burst Luna. Her hair and dress were sopping wet as she glanced around the room with an annoyed look.

“What is the meaning of drenching me with water?! Is this some kind of joke?! My mane and dress are ruined!” Luna snapped.

Everypony in the room was quiet, the only sound was the water still gushing from Ace’s palm. “Ummm, we were demonstrating a new development in magical weaponry.” Draco shrugged meekly.

“You call making a squirt gun weaponry?!” Luna marched over to Ace and swiped the orb away from him, causing the orb to stop gushing water. “What manner of magic even is this thing?!”

“Well, this was an idea that came from my world.” Draco, still shaken up, tried to explain. “These are called matria, and based on which kind you have, it can offer different means of helping the owner.”

“Oh really?” Luna placed a hand on her hip and leaned in to squint her eyes at Draco. “And pray tell, how do you use those oh so great orbs?” Unbeknownst to Luna, Draco could smell her perfume. She smelled like mint and roses.

“With any form of magic, really. You see, princess, we found a way for ponies other than unicorns to use magic.” He admitted while adjusting his shirt collar.

“Is that so?” Luna leaned back and used her magic to dry herself off before shoving the orb into Draco’s chest. “Just make sure you don’t spray somepony again like that.” With that, Luna marched off with a frustrated grunt.

“Sorry again, your majesty,” Draco called out. “Okay, we really need to be careful with these things.”

“You sure?” Shadow teased. “Princess Luna looked kinda sexy, all wet like that.”

“Shadow, come on, really?” Swift rolled her eyes.

“I’m a bi mare, and I’m proud.” Shadow crossed her arms.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t expect a princess to join us in the bedroom, babe.” Draco smirked. “That is, if Lock is up for that couples orgy, you can ask.” He wiggled his brow.

“Draco, I swear to Celestia, stop joking about my sex life with my coltfriend!” Twilight screeched, stamping her hoof. “If Moon were here, she’d rip you a new one!”

“Hey, who do you think gave me the idea?” Draco said in a serious tone.

“Wait…huh?” Twilight tilted her head.

“Yeah, I overheard her talking to Lock about it before he disappeared. She said she was curious about a couples orgy. She thought it was cute when she ate you out las-”

“MOON!” Twilight yelled as she ran out of the room with a crimson face.

“Wow…that’s hot,” Cloud snickered.

“Careful, bro, you don’t wanna be fantasizing about another stallion’s mares,” Berry warned.

“You weren’t serious about that, were you?” Shadow asked Draco.

“What? Are you telling me you never thought about me and Lock giving you the double-D?” Draco smirked at his marefriend.

Shadow blinked in surprise but then drooled a little bit. “Oh yeah…I can imagine that. You boys would probably wreck me~.”

“No shame, huh, Shadow?” Swift rolled her eyes.

“Haha yeah, well tell you what Shadow. When Lock gets back you can ask, and if he says yes we’ll make sure to give the pounding of a lifetime.” Draco smirked as he kissed his marefriend’s neck.

“Ahn~, I hope the Captain comes back soon,” Shadow moaned.

“Ugh, Draco, you mentioned you wanted to talk about our next move against Gluttony?” Berry said as Draco was about to fondle his marefriend.

“I recall that the demon is in charge of the Diamond Dog kingdom,” Cadence commented.

Draco and Shadow stopped suddenly and straightened themselves out. “Right, I wanted to show you guys the plan.”

Pulling a large scroll of paper from his jacket, Draco flattened onto the counter to show it's content. “So after talking with the Caribou at Sanctuary, I was able to find out more about the Diamond Dog kingdom, and where Gluttony is.”

“They mentioned it’s in some kind of mountain range?” Berry guessed.

“Ice Gem Mountain,” Cadence said, pointing on the map where it showed a picture of various mountains. One of which looked much taller than the others surrounding it. “From what I know, the Diamond Dog kingdom was founded deep within the mountain. They mine various gems and ore deep within the earth of the mountain. It is also said to be one of the highest peaks in all of Eques.”

“And as we all learned, it’s where the Caribou get their main supply of weapons here in Equestria. Now pop quiz, class.” Draco looked up at the ponies with a smile. “Say we liberate the Diamond Dogs, and destroy the forge. What do you think would happen?”

“They’d lose one of their main weapon suppliers?” Swift raised her hand.

“And what do you guys think that would do to the Caribou directly?” Draco said with a nod of his head.

“They’d be outgunned, should we perfect these new weapons you invented. Plus, adding any weaponry of theirs to our own ranks,” Cloud answered.

“Exactly. If we can get this done, we can reduce the frequency in their attacks. This should stall them until Lock gets back,” Draco summarized.

“I should hope so,” Ace said warily. “Your ruse of pretending to be Lock whenever we go fight is good and all, but the troops have begun to notice he’s not around when we’re not fighting. We always tell them he’s out on recon, but some are starting to not buy that excuse anymore.”

Draco nodded, he knew full well that the ponies wouldn’t be easy to fool for too long. “I know. That’s why this next mission will be only the members of Alpha Squad and the devil fruit users. If we follow my plan, we can be in and out with no casualties.”

“When do we move out?” Berry wondered.

“Tomorrow, we will strike when the sun has set. Take this time to rest and collect yourselves. We will strike swiftly and with precision.” Draco ordered.

“I just wonder if those dogs will be grateful to us,” Berry scoffed. “Ponies and dogs haven’t always got along in the past. I remember my pop got in a fight with one once.”

“We aren’t looking for gratitude,” Draco said flatly before stepping up to Berry. “If Lock had ended up arriving in the Diamond Dogs kingdom rather than here, wouldn’t you still want someone to come save you even if it’s with a race you formally consider an enemy?” He asked with a stern look on his face.

“I…I guess,” Berry sighed.

“Will it be alright with just us? We’d be stepping into enemy territory, severely outnumbered,” Shadow said.

“As long as we remain undetected, we should be good, right?” Cloud said.

“Yes. I chose night fall for a reason. I asked Rarity to make us some dark combat gear. If we stay quiet and follow my plan, we can catch the Caribou off guard.”

Draco tapped his finger on a part of the map, which was on the outside of the mountain. “According to the Caribou from the Sanctuary, both the outside and inside of the mountain have the least amount of patrol. It’s because it’s a part of the mountain that has nothing of value and it’s too thick for someone to blow their way in.”

With a smirk Draco rolled up the scroll of paper. “But we won’t be blowing our way in.”

“Why can’t we make a flashy entrance like we always do?” Swift wondered. “Since Maud can control the earth, maybe she can cause a fissure to bury those pricks in the ground?”

Draco delivers a swift chop to the top of Swift's head. “We run the risk of killing the Diamond Dogs we are trying to save.”

“Oh yeah…” Swift rubbed the top of her head.

“What about Gluttony?” Cadence wondered. “Where would he be?”

“The stags said he’s at the highest peak of the mountain,” Shadow said.

“According to the information, the Diamond Dog kingdom is broken into three parts.” Holding up three fingers, Draco began to list off the different sections. “At the bottom of the mountain is the mining and work district, where they mine for gemstones and make all their goods. After that, there is the town area where they live when they are not working and can have markets and trade goods. Finally, there is the top which is the main castle. Originally, this was where the king lived to handle diplomatic and royal affairs.”

“Our scouts recently came back with some info,” Shadow said. “They said that the king was killed when the kingdom fell, but no pony saw his body. What’s that tell you?”

“King Night Gem may still live?” Cadence said, surprised.

“Let’s not get our hopes up. However, assuming this may be true, I would guess that he is in the castle dungeon,” Draco theorized.

“And his family.” Draco and the rest turned to Cadence. “Auntie Celestia and Auntie Luna told me they once met the royal family. King Night Gem has a wife and two pups, a son and a daughter. Stars above know what dreadful things that might be happening to them.”

“You know what this means, guys?” Ace said. “This has now also become a rescue mission.”

This bit of information set an unease sense of despair in the air, some of the ponies who had no reason to help the Diamond Dogs, felt a sense of guilt now. “We will make saving them our next priority,” Draco snapped everyone’s attention back to reality. “If we cripple their weapons supply, they will need to use their weapons and ammunition sparingly. We can save them with a higher success rate if we do this.”

All the ponies nodded as they exited the room, except for Cadence.

“Do you truly believe we can be successful in this endeavor without Dimitri?” Cadence wondered.

There was a moment of hesitation in the back of his mind. Yet he knew that they could not sit idly by and hoped that Lock would return soon. “I am. So long as we stick by my plan, I am sure we can achieve this goal.”

“I surely hope so.” Cadence frowned and she looked at the floor. Draco pitied the mare, since he knew she was still in mourning. Building up his courage, Draco stepped towards Cadence and brought her in for a comforting hug.

“Everything will be okay, Cadence, I will do my best to make sure you and everypony is kept safe.” He patted her back gently.

Cadence stood there as Draco hugged her, and tried her best not to cry. She then wrapped her arms around Draco and buried her face in his chest.

“Don’t look at me…” Cadence said, her voice muffled. “I always look awful when I cry.”

Draco ignored this and held her close and continued to pat her back. “I know that you’re still suffering, princess. I don’t think anypony would blame you. You are surrounded by friends and family, so don’t think you need to hide your pain to maintain appearance,” he said in a soothing tone.

Cadence nodded as she sniffled and looked up at Draco. “Please come back safely, Draco, promise me.”

Draco found himself a loss for words unsure if he could make such a promise so easily. Yet he knew if he didn’t, he’d only make her sadder. So he began to perform a very familiar and special gesture. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

Cadence giggled and completely caught Draco off guard when she leaned up and gently pecked him on the cheek. “Thank you.” Cadence broke their hug and quickly left the room.

For the remainder of that evening Draco had been stuck in place, his face redder than an apple.

The Next Dusk

The sun had yet to set as a small airship flew low to the ground and made its way East. Draco, Alpha Squad, and the Apprentices were all geared up and were ready to begin their mission. With the utmost stealth, the ship landed on the ground near the base of the mountain. Quickly and quietly, the team of Draco, Alpha Squad and the devil fruit users hopped out and ran to the mountain face.

“Alright Maud, first things first start opening a tunnel as quietly as possible,” Draco ordered while pointing to the mountain.

Maud nodded and raised her hands. The mare thrusted her arms forward and punched the stone wall of the mountain, making it crack open. It was a low rumbling sound, but Maud managed to create a tunnel as the group followed her.

“Ugh, it suddenly got hot in here,” Swift complained.

Draco noticed the rise in temperature as well, he placed his hand on the walls and felt the heat radiating off them. “We are getting close. The diamond dogs have access to this mountain’s lava flow, it’s what they use to help melt their metals and other items.”

“The stone in the walls feels more dense,” Maud said as she continued to dig.

“Probably from the heat, can you still tunnel through?” Draco asked, making sure that they maintain their element of surprise.

“No stone is a match for me,” Maud said as she stomped her hoof and the wall cracked open like it was nothing.

“Sheesh, remind me not to get on her bad side,” Zephyr muttered.

Draco pulled out a radio and adjusted the dial before speaking. “Razor Claw to Skittle Butt, do you copy Skittle Butt?”

“I thought I told you I didn’t want that to be my code name!” Rainbow snapped on the other line. “I wanted it to be Rainbow Bolt!”

“Does Rainbow Butt sound better?” Draco teased getting everypony to snicker. “By the way, did Zephyr ever get a chance to taste the rainbow?”

“WHAT?! ZEPHYR, I’M GONNA KILL YOU!” Rainbow shrieked.

“Geez, Dash, cool it!” Zephyr chuckled. “I didn’t say anything. Well, except now, Dash and I have started dating.”

“And I’m already starting to regret it!” Rainbow barked.

“Congrats, you two,” Shadow said. “Draco, stop teasing the kids and their new relationship.”

“Yes, dear.” He said in an old fashioned manner. “We are almost done with phase one Dash, how is phase two?”

“Half the bombs are already set and ready so far, but I almost got spotted twice now. These guys must be more on edge lately because of all we’ve done and those broadcasts Lock and Phill put out.”

“They are on high guard because of how important this place is. Just plant the rest of the explosive wherever is easiest, and fly back home. With any luck, we will be done within the hour.” Draco ordered as he and the rest of the group followed behind Maud.

Maud soon stopped her digging movements and punched her hands through the stone. She pulled them apart and the group were met with an amazing sight to behold. The kingdom of the Diamond Dogs.

“Great stars of Luna…” Ace gasped.

Across the way was a massive city built into the inner wall of the mountain. Its structure was exactly as Draco has described it, yet the beauty of it all could not be placed into words.

“That’s the Diamond Dog kingdom?!” Flash said in a hushed voice.

“It’s nothing like I thought it would be,” Cloud said. “And look, you can tell how the city is layered, just like how Draco described it.”

Draco pulled his radio out once more and spoke into it. “Rainbow, are you done yet?”

“Just about…done!” Rainbow said over the radio.

“Get out of here, babe, it’s gonna get loud,” Zephyr said over Draco’s shoulder.

“You all better come back in one piece!” Rainbow said before she hung up.

“How can the dogs stand this heat? Aren’t they covered in fur?” Shadow wondered as she wiped her brow.

“They probably have gotten used to it, or have some means of ventilation.” Pulling out binoculars, Draco scanned along the wall at the bottom of the kingdom. He could see a pair of caribou guards pacing back and forth, and noticed they were sweating as much as his group.

“Yeah the caribou are feeling it just as much as us.” Draco put his binoculars away, and smiled as he reached into his bag. “Luckily, I planned for this.”

He smiled as he pulled metal wrist bands, each with a small blue sphere in each one. “Put these on.”

The ponies each put the bands on their wrists. All of a sudden, a feeling similar to a cold breeze washed over them and they could not feel the strain of the heat from the mountain.

“Woah, I can no longer feel the heat,” Swift said. “Do these things resist heat?”

“Yes, but enough that it won’t bother you. They don’t make you fireproof.” Slipping one on his own band, Draco pulled out a detonator. “Alright listen up. The moment I press this button, the bombs will go off and all hell will brake loose. The caribou will send whatever forces they can spare to the outside. Our goal is simple, save the diamond dogs. Kill as many caribou you see, but don’t go out of your way to look for them. Once we gather the diamond dogs in the forge we will destroy the caribou stocks and the forge.”

“Let’s just hope these dogs will be thankful to us,” Berry said under his breath.

“Wouldn’t you?” Draco asked in a serious tone.

“Of course, but the dogs are known to be stubborn,” Berry shrugged.

“Save this argument for later, boys,” Shadow lectured. “Draco? Hit it.”

With a nod of his head, Draco flipped the lid on the detonator, and with a quick click of his thumb the mountain shook. The sound of thundering booms echoed around the cavern.

Ahead, they could hear the sound of Caribou shouting orders and lights migrating higher into the upper levels of the kingdom. “We wait two minutes then we move.” Draco commanded.

The group watched as the caribou scrambled around the city streets in a panic. They were completely unaware of how or why the explosions went off and they all rushed to see who was injured and who wasn’t. Draco soon noticed that most of the caribou were riding War Beasts.

“Ugh, those War Beasts are so huge, it’s unnatural,” Swift said with a shiver.

“There sure are a lot of them here, and most of the caribou are riding them,” Ace pointed out.

“Doesn’t matter, they end the same way.” Draco snarled as he led the group closer and closer. “Zephyr and Flash, on my command, I want you guys to take out the guard towers.”

Pointing with his finger, Draco gestured to the larger structures set up across the lower area, where they could see Caribou pacing around frantically, no doubt trying to find out the cause of the explosions.

Flash and Zephyr nodded and waited for Draco’s signal. Draco raised his hand and watched the guards very carefully. The three towers had three stags each and they looked in the direction of where the explosions were set off.

“Now!” He whispered as charged forward along with the rest of the ponies.

Zephyr’s eyes turned white as he whipped his arms forward. Large thick clouds formed out of thin air and enveloped the structures in a dense fog. The stags were confused and surprised from the sudden fog, but had little time to dwell on it. Flash flew with his super speed up each guard tower and snapped every guard’s neck. The stags didn’t even have time to think as their necks were broken and they all fell down dead.

Draco ran toward the front gate and shape shifted into a raging Triceratop. Letting out a roar as he smashed through the gate, causing the wood to splinter apart, and any behind the gate sent flying.

“Intruder! Intruder!” One stag cried. “Something just burst through the gate!”

Without hesitation or losing speed, Draco shifted his attention to the stags before him and charged. His horns pierced through armor and chainmail, as he skewered the caribou, and crushed others beneath his massive legs.

“What the buck is that thing?!”

“There’s ponies behind it! Kill them!”

Alpha Squad soon went to work at dispatching the stags. Ace and Cloud used their new rifles and worked as a duo by firing head shots. Berry used his new sword and charged at the stags and sliced them like butter. He then pointed his sword at a group of charging stags.

“Fireball!” The sword lit up and a large fireball shot forward and blasted the attacking stags. “Ha! I love this thing! I think I’ll call you Firecracker!”

The raging Triceratop stopped alongside Berry, caribou still screaming in pain as they were impaled on its horns. With a flick of his head, Draco sent the caribous on his horns off tossed aside like mere garbage, before changing back. “When you’re done kissing your own ass, we need to take out any communication towers we see.”

CRASH!

Both Berry and Draco jumped when they saw huge boulders smash into two other buildings. Maud soon hovered over to them on a floating rock.

“Comms array is dealt with, let’s keep moving.” Without another word, Maud went in another direction and continued pelting stags through their skulls with bits of rock from the one she floated on.

“Remind me not to buck with that mare,” Berry said nervously.

“If you do, you better make sure she is pleased dude before you get your own rocks off.” Draco joked before jumping in front of Berry using his own body as a shield as a group of caribou started firing at them. The bullets bounced off Draco’s skin, as he reinforced it with Ankylosaurus skin.

“It’s the Beast! Bucking shoot him!”

“Why isn’t he going down?!”

Suddenly, a magical light gray dome appeared around the stags. Shadow walked up next to Draco and Berry with her horn shining and her arms out. She then closed the dome and it began to shrink and crush the stags inside.

“How do you like your meat, babe? Pulverized or minced?” Shadow said.

Draco scratched his chin deep in thought. “Hmm, I like mine juiced, with no chunks.” Draco smirked.

Shadow nodded and in an instant, clapped her hands and crushed the stags in the dome to a bloody pulp. When Shadow released her magic, a pool of blood and gore washed along the dirt.

“Ugh, nasty,” Berry gagged.

“So, where’s the leader?” Swift said as she and the rest of Alpha Squad regrouped while the apprentices continued to run amok. “There should be a leader, right?”

“Well, from what I gathered, the leader is near the end of the work district. He guards the crossing from this district to the second one.” Draco explained. “Odds are he is waiting there to make sure no creature passes though.”

“Draco.” Flash came running back with a serious look on his face. “There’s something you should know, there’s a fruit user here.”

“Let me guess, he’s also the leader of this section of the diamond dog kingdom?” Already connecting the dots, Draco couldn’t afford to waste any time. “We’ll worry about him later, right now we need to free the prisoners. The Prometheus will be here along with some other ships, to take whoever we find out of here.”

“Should we hit the forge first?” Ace suggested. “Saw a big building due east of our position with large smoke stacks coming out of it.”

“Not yet. From what I’ve learned, the diamond dogs are on lockdown at night. The caribou didn’t want to risk them trying to escape at night when they would be tired, so they locked them up till dawn.”

Pointing ahead to the next section of the level, Draco started to lead the way. “We need to get to the third section where they keep the prisoners, it’s just past the guard house.”

“Right, I’m gonna go and rejoin Maud and Zephyr and keep these stags busy. Call us if you need backup.” Flash saluted and sped off with an electric trail behind him.

“Alright, Alpha Squad, next up is the guard house, that’s where a large majority of caribou will be. After that we move to free the slaves.” Draco marched on his team in tow.

The group marched through the streets as they dispatched any caribou that tried to attack them. Shadow used her magic to create a protective dome around the squad, in case any stag tried to get the drop on them. In the distance, thunder bolts could be heard echoing and large slabs of earth flew in all directions. Every once in a while, Flash would run past the group and speed through the air.

“Sheesh, they’re really going at it,” Berry said. “I wonder what it must feel like to use powers like that?”

“Why don’t you sell your soul to the devil and find out,” Draco snarled under his breath which started the group. “Just because they have power now, doesn’t mean they won’t regret it later.” There was the same bitter tone in Draco’s voice that always made itself present when talking about this topic.

“Guys, please don’t talk about fruit stuff,” Shadow said. “It’s okay, Draco, we’re fine with the way we are. None of us want to eat any devil fruit.”

“By the way, Draco, what did you do with the fruit we got from that exploding guy back in Vanhoover?” Ace asked.

Draco was currently crunching on an arm that he ripped off a caribou soldier that tried to run into the bubble, which ended faster than most would expect. “I had the princesses lock it up somewhere safe.”

“You don’t think anypony would be stupid enough to try and eat it without somepony’s permission, right?” Swift wondered as Cloud shot a stag off of a roof with his rifle.

“Only the princesses have access to where it’s locked up, meaning only an alicorn can open it,” Draco added as he tossed the remaining arm aside. “Plus if anyone does eat it who could be a threat, I have a secret weapon just in case.”

“Secret weapon?” Swift said, only for Draco to glance back at the colt turned mare with a grin.

“The less you know the better.” Draco added before marching on forward.

Ace flew high above in the air and looked around a bit. He then came back down and landed back by the group.

“They’re all headed to a larger building. Seems like it’s some sort of tactical retreat,” Ace said.

“It’s most likely the guard house. They have it in the middle of this district where the caribou sleep, they’ll probably want to barricade themselves till reinforcements come.” Draco pulled the map out. “We should destroy it while we’re here before going to the diamond dogs.”

“What about Flash and the others?” Berry wondered, gripping his sword. The group looked to see a large black thundercloud and thunderbolts raining down and echoing across the town.

“Let them do their own thing for now.” Draco turned to look at Berry. “Unless you’re too weak to take on some caribou, without devil fruit users as a safety net?”

“You kidding? I want them to stay away so Firecracker and I can kill more of those bastards,” Berry said.

“Dude, please don’t treat the sword like it’s a person…” Cloud groaned.

“You’re all just jealous,” Berry grinned.

“You did this,” Shadow deadpanned at Draco as they spotted the barracks. “You just had to give him a new toy.”

“Would it make you feel better if I told you, I got you guys some new weapons too?” Draco smirked as he drew his sword.

“Maybe,” Shadow said.

BANG!

The group stopped when a shot fired out and hit the ground just in front of them.

“That’s far enough, rebels!” A stag called out from the window. “Don’t you dare take another step! We got rifles pointed at you all around! Reinforcements are on their way, and we’ll skewer you bastards up and buck those bitches until they’ve conceived our young until they die!”

Draco smirked before moving forward, stepping out of the bubble and held his arms out. “Go ahead, you guys, fire when ready, I’m right here,” he said in a taunting tone.

“You bucking-TEAR HIM APART!”

All rifles sticking out of the windows began firing at Draco. Dust began kicking up as the stags kept firing until their magazines ran dry. After about five minutes of straight shooting, they eventually stopped and waited for the dust to settle. What emerged from the dust baffled the lot of them as Draco stood completely unharmed, minus his slightly damaged armor. At his feet were dozens upon dozens of bullets that seemingly had bounced off of Draco.

“What the buck?!” A stag cried.

Draco left out a yawn and scattered under his chin like nothing had happened. “Oh, was that it? Well that was anticlimactic. I guess it’s my turn then.”

Turning his head to look back at his group, Draco gestured for them to move back. “Guys, I’m gonna need you to run back a few yards, I’m gonna need the space.”

“Ooh! Are you gonna take my favorite form, babe?” Shadow asked excitedly as the Squad stepped back.

Draco smirked and shook his head. “Naw, I think I’ll try something a wee bit bigger today.”

Draco lowered his body a little and took a deep breath. He exhaled as his body began to morph. First his neck began to stretch, spines grew from the back of his head down his back. His body became significantly more bulky and his hands and feet morphed into large feet like elephants, but thick like tree trunks. From his back, a long, whip-like tail grew out as Draco grew in size. The stags in the building couldn’t bear to tear away their gaze as they looked up in fear at Draco’s new form.

“Sweet merciful Dainn, help us…” a stag gulped.

With a loud trumpet-like roar, the air vibrated as Draco transformed into a Diplodocidae. The sheer size of the dinosaur body nearly dwarfed the size of the Prometheus. Every step he took shook the ground, making the building shudder as he turned his body.

His massive tail swung and demolished the building’s tops as he turned. With little effort he crashed his tail into the caribou’s on the roof, breaking their bodies on impact.

“Holy bucking shit!” Berry cried out as Shadow held up her shield and debris flew everywhere.

The caribou stood in absolute terror as the massive sauropod moved closer. Once within distance, Draco pushed off his front legs above the guard house. And with the air of gravity, slammed his front legs down on the building and every creature inside.

“Woohoo! Go baby! Crush them all!” Shadow cheered as the guards inside were screaming at the top of their lungs as they were crushed to death.

Alpha Squad watched as Draco stomped the once well built guard house, into a pile of debris and pool of blood. One caribou could be seen crawling away, the very same who threatened the group.

“Oh buck…oh buck…” The stag tried crawling with a broken leg as Draco stared down at him. “Lord Gluttony…you fat bastard! Why aren’t you here helping us?! You sit on that throne…devouring anything brought to you…and let us get killed?! This wasn’t supposed to happen!”

Before the caribou could get away, he felt a massive leg pinning him to the ground. The foot of the sauropod practically covered the caribou’s body. Draco had yet to even apply full force, only enough to keep the caribou from moving.

“Gak! Shit…! To die like this?! Just get it over with!“ The stag barked.

Draco slowly began to bring his leg down. Everypony could hear the stag’s bones creaking as he yelled in agony. Before Draco pushed his foot completely down, splattering the stag’s guts and blood around the ground, like a bug squashed under a foot.

“Yeesh…that sounded awful,” Cloud cringed.

Draco stepped back and slowly turned back to normal. He then heard someone running up to him and turned around. Draco was tackled to the ground and something mashed against his lips. Shadow engaged in a heated lip lock with her stallion before pulling back with a strand of saliva dripping between them.

“That was so bucking hot, I don’t care if you banned sex for two weeks~,” Shadow purred, her tail wagging side-to-side.

Draco smirked before standing up and lifting his mare in his arms at the same time. “Thanks babe, but also nice try. I said one month, not two weeks.” He playfully booped her nose.

“Guys, turn around for a sec?” Shadow told her fellow squadmates. Once they did, Shadow grabbed the bottom hem of her armor-shirts and lifted them up, giving Draco a full view of her bosoms. “How about now?!”

Draco’s checks flushed a bit and he turned his head away. “Okay fine, one week.”

Shadow grinned and pulled her shirts down and pecked him on the cheek. “I can always count on my girls to help me out.”

“So where to next, Draco?” Swift wondered as the others cleared their throats bashfully.

Draco, who cleared his throat trying to compose himself, looked past the destroyed remains of the guard house. Pulling out his map, he saw the path that would need to take for the next phase of the plan. “We head this way now, the diamond dogs should be in some building ahead. Look for any that are locked from the outside.”

“Draco!” Flash, Zephyr, and Maud came to rejoin the group.

“Holy shit, dude! I could see you from all the way over there!” Zephyr said.

“You were pretty big, what was that?” Maud wondered.

“That was my Diplodocidae form. One of the biggest breeds of dinosaurs,” Draco said with a satisfied grin. He enjoyed teaching others about the many forms he could turn into. “Anyway, we are heading to free the diamond dogs next.”

“While we were wreaking our own havoc, we overheard some radio chatter,” Flash said as they made their way to the prison building. “The leader is wanting an audience with you, he wants to take your head then come for the rest of ours.”

“Tch, I figured as much. He can wait though, I want to check the condition of the diamond dogs.” Looking at his map Draco noticed some markings that looked like stables. “Seems they have stables for the War Beasts nearby. Once we check on the diamond dogs, we’ll take them out before dealing with the leader.”

The group nodded and went to approach the building where the diamond dogs were being held prisoner. When they got closer, an uneasy feeling hung over the group as they approached the doors.

“Uh…guys?” Zephyr spoke up. “I just realised. Did…did anypony see any slaves in this town?”

“We won’t find any pony slaves in this part of the kingdom,” Draco added as they walked on forward. “Any mares are held at the top where the castle is located, and where Gluttony watches from the comfort of the throne.”

“Why wouldn’t they at least keep any of the female dogs around for their own use?” Ace said. “As much as I hate to say it, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’d be used to breed with War Beasts.”

“You’re right, I kinda do hate you for saying that,” Maud said in a cold tone.

“That’s not likely. They wouldn’ be stupid enough to use the female diamond dogs to breed War Beasts,” Draco said without hesitation as they marched onwards.

“What makes you say that?” Shadow wondered as they approached the doors to the building. “Don’t the caribou want to rape any female they can get their hands on?”

“While War Beasts are effective in certain battles, they require time to grow and raise to take part in battle. Weapons can be manufactured for instant use. If they took half of diamond dogs away to breed, that means that their weapons output would decrease by the same margin.” He explained as though it was common knowledge.

“Why do some areas still use War Beasts?” Swift wondered.

“Maybe before the resistance came to be, they figured all they’d need were the War Beasts. But now we’re proving to be more formidable than they anticipated,” Flash surmised.

“As a beast of burden, they have more uses besides war use. They probably use them to pull heavy cargo that ponies can’t.” Draco looked down at his map as he saw they were slowly approaching their destination.

The group arrived at the main building and Draco wasted no time. Draco approached the doors and kicked them down. The group was met with a horrendous odour of waste and rot, making some of the group members gag.

“Ack! Sweet Celestia! What’s that smell?!” Berry gagged.

When they were able to look inside, they saw several diamond dogs all cowering and huddling with one another. Most of them looked lethargic and malnourished, but there were other dogs that looked healthy enough with chains around their necks and wrists. The healthy ones bore their teeth and stood defensively in front of the weaker dogs. Draco took note of their physical appearances and noticed they resembled some dog breeds from back on earth.

“Stay away!” A male dog barked, he looked like an anthro german shepherd. “Don’t come any closer!”

Draco ignored the warning and walked forward. He took his sword’s sheath and all off his hips and handed them to Shadow. As he approached he kept his hands where the diamond dogs could see them. “We are not here to harm you. We are here to liberate you.” He spoke in a calm tone.

“And who the fuck are you to say that?!” A bulldog-looking diamond dog demanded.

Draco stopped a few feet away from the diamond dogs and sat on his knees. He bowed his head before speaking. “I am Draco Saurian, acting leader of the rebellion against the caribou. We have come to save you and take you away from this place, until Gluttony can be dealt with.”

“You…is that true?” Draco glanced up to see a female greyhound-looking female diamond dog speak.

“It is.” Draco slowly stood up and looked around. He could tell that this wasn't all of the diamond dogs. He turned back to his team. “The others must be in other cells. Track them down and free them, but be careful if they don’t want you to come closer than don’t approach and find me.”

“What will you do?” Shadow asked as Draco took back his sword and rifle.

“I will convince our friends here to trust us.” Draco smiled.

“Hey, you said your name’s Saurian?” Draco glanced over his shoulder to see a bulldog diamond dog step towards him. “That blade, where did you get it? I’ve never seen the like.”

Draco glanced down at his sword and held it out for the diamond dog. “Would you like to have a look?”

The team left the building and Draco behind. The bulldog took the sword and examined it. He then sniffed it all around before glancing at Draco. “I’ve crafted many swords in my life as head smith. Yet I’ve not seen or smelled anything like this. What is it, and how did you get it?”

“How I got it may be hard to believe, and I will tell you another time when we aren’t pressed for time. As for what kind of sword it is, it is known as a Katana. A type of Japanese sword.”

“Ka-whata?” All the dogs cocked their heads.

Draco could help but chuckle a bit. “As much as I would love to talk swords with you guys, I must remind you that we need to get you all out of here.”

“How can we trust you?” The bulldog questioned. “More importantly, how do you plan to get us out? My boys and I are the only ones able to walk around, and shit. Most of these poor pups can barely walk, let alone stand.”

Draco glanced around and saw that the bulldog was right, most if not all the prisoners didn't look like they could lift a finger, let alone escape. “I promise you that you can trust us. We have a ship on the way to get us out of here. But as for the last problem.”

“What do you suggest?” The german shepherd wondered.

Before Draco could respond, he heard the distinct sound of a gun’s hammer being pulled back. He turned around to see a stag aiming his rifle at one of the diamond dogs.

“At least let me take down one of those fleabags!” He heard the stag say.

Pushing the german shepherd diamond dog back, Draco put himself in the line of the Caribou’s fire.

BANG!

All the dogs yelped in surprise when Draco took the brunt of the shot. They expected him to fall down dead, but he kept standing as if he didn’t even feel the bullet.

“What the?! How aren’t you dead?!” The german shepherd said.

The stag panicked and made a break for it.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Draco turned on his heels, and before anyone could blink he covered the distance between himself, and the caribou stag. He held the stag by his face as he lifted him off the ground. “Eyes, lungs, pancreas. So many snacks, so little time.” The diamond dogs watched as Draco’s jaws grew before biting the head off the caribou.

Some of the dogs gaged at the gruesome display and Draco tossed the headless corpse aside.

“You sure don’t mess around, do you?” The bulldog said.

“I can’t afford to, when there are lives to save.” Draco kicked the headless corpse over to the diamond dog and pointed at it. “Eat that ‘till we can get you guys some actual food. They may be scumbags, but they have surprisingly tasty meat.”

“Uh…are you sure you want us to eat him?” The greyhound dog woman asked.

“In war you can’t be picky about what you eat.” Draco’s words echoed in each of the diamond dog’s heads. “You need your strength to help you escape this place. We will feed you a proper meal once we have gathered all the other prisoners. So for now, sate your hunger with that. How many of his kind murdered your own? Don’t tell me being slaves has domesticated you.”

Some of the weakened dogs looked at the corpse and sniffed the smell of blood leaking out. Some of them began to drool a little as they crawled over to it. As if their primal instincts took over, they began to eat the flesh off the corpse and became more violent about it by growling and sometimes at each other.

“Can you find us more corpses?” The bulldog asked.

“Over there!”

Draco turned to see five more caribou charging towards them, each brandishing guns and spears.

Draco gave a toothy smirk as he walked towards the oncoming squad. “Fresh meat, coming right up.”

After some coaxing, Draco and the rest of the ponies, managed to round up the diamond dogs in the center of the district.

“Man, there sure are a lot of them,” Ace said as he looked at all the diamond dogs.

“You mentioned that their faces are familiar, Draco?” Shadow asked and Draco nodded. “But how?”

“Yeah they look like breeds of dogs back on earth. Rather than the Diamond Dogs we would see on the show,” Draco summarized that was yet another instance of the universe being different from that of the show.

“Really? What kind of breeds?” Cloud asked. Draco scanned the area and looked at a few dogs.

“German Shepards, Bulldogs, Greyhounds et cetera.” He listed as he saw the different breeds.

“Wow, those are some breeds I’ve never heard of,” Swift said.

“You think maybe we should feed these dogs?” Berry said. “I think there’s a storehouse here somewhere.”

“That’s the plan. Most of them are too weak to move on their own, and have little strength.” Draco turned to the devil fruit users. “Flash and Zephyr, I want you guys to establish a perimeter, let me know if you see any activity. Maud you’re with me, we are gonna head to the storehouse.”

“On it.”

“You got it, Draco.”

“Sure.”

Flash and Zephyr flew off to set the perimeter while Draco and Maud set off for the storehouse.

“Is it weird that I don’t trust the diamond dogs?” Maud asked.

“Considering that neither of your species cared for each other. Not really, but why bring it up now?” Draco asked as they walked onward.

“Pinkie told me what happened to Rarity some years ago. Now that she’s my friend, I guess you could say I’m a little protective of her.”

“I’ve seen bad ponies. Does that mean all ponies are bad?” Draco asked with a serious tone.

“No, but that’s just my opinion,” Maud shrugged. “I suppose I just need to trust more.”

The two made it to a large two story building with steel metal double doors, locked by a chain . Draco then caught a scent in the air around it, making him instinctively lick his lips.

“Smells like we have just found our storehouse,” Draco said.

“Would you like to break the chain or should I?” Maud offered.

“Beauty before the beast.” Draco winked as he moved aside for the earth pony.

Maud merely blinked and stomped her hoof into the ground. A small column of earth shot out and crushed the lock, along with ripping the doors off their hinges. Inside was an assortment of food ranging from gemstones, various meats, assorted fruits and veggies, and even loafs of bread.

“Seems we found our feast,” Maud said.

Draco whistled with administration as Maud made easy work of the steel doors. “Damn Maud, whoever the lucky stallion you end up with better be careful, otherwise you’ll end up rocking his world.” He wiggled his eyebrows playfully.

Maud, again, merely blinked her eyes.

“What, too cheesy? Geez you ponies really take these jokes for granite, eh?” Draco playfully wiggled his hands in a joking manner.

All of a sudden, Maud grabbed Draco’s collar and pulled him in to mash her lips onto his. The act sent Draco into a tizzy as Maud kept her lips planted firmly onto his, even moaning just a little before pulling back.

“You made my heart skip like a stone,” Maud whispered. “I hope you understand that you must take responsibility for this.”

Draco’s face was quite literally steaming as his mouth opened and closed like a fish. “Ugh, I…ugh, probably should…um, talk with…S-Shadow first.”

“You do that.” Maud sauntered away and stopped her hoof in the ground. Two flat pieces of earth hovered in the air as Maud began placing items on the slabs. “Are you gonna help, or just stand there?”

Draco snapped out of his daze and quickly moved to help Maud, still baffled on what just happened, and how he was going to explain this to Shadow. “Did you really just decide to kiss me, just because of a few rock puns?”

“Well for one, I think you’re cute.” Draco blushed a little. “Two, no pony really understands or can tell proper rock jokes, and three, you and Captain Lock are going out of your way to help ponies like me avenge those who we lost. Namely, my father. You managed to convince me not to go charging into the Crystal Empire and get myself killed.” Muad paused from loading supplies on the earth slabs. “Perhaps I should’ve shown my affection for you in a more subtle way, but since you were so clever with your words, it seemed right to me.”

Draco scratched the back of his head, thinking of his next words carefully. “Well…I won’t lie and say this will be easy. I’m already worried about adding Rarity to my herd, but now there’s you.” Draco sighed and shrugged his shoulders, accepting the situation. “Just fair warning, this might be a bit of a rocky relationship, but I doubt it will crumble apart.”

Maud looked at Draco and blinked, making him nervous and chuckle sheepishly.

“Uh…too many rock puns?”

“Put it this way.” Maud turned around and bent over, giving him a view of her flank being firmly pressed against his pants. “Are you a breast or a flank kind of stallion?”

Draco gulped nervously, his face turning crimson. “W-we should get back to the others.” He stammered.

“Agreed.”

“Pffft! Hahahahahahaha!” Shadow was tossing and turning on the ground right as Draco explained his and Maud’s interaction with each other.

Meanwhile, the rest of Alpha Squad were busy feeding the diamond dogs and tending to any injuries.

“Why are you laughing? Aren’t you bothered there is another mare to consider?” Draco asked, still surprised by Shadow’s reaction.

“I’m laughing because she’s more bold than I gave her credit for!” Shadow giggled. “She really caught you off guard, didn’t she?”

“No shit.” Draco buried his face in his hands groaning. “One second in making rock puns, the next thing I know I’m locking lips.”

“Aw, don’t be so uptight!” Shadow stood back up and tousled his head. “Maybe I am a little miffed at the mare for kissing my stallion, but at least she’s got good taste. Look, if it makes you feel better I’ll go talk to Maud and set the record straight. When we’re done here, I’ll let you at least take her out on a date so you confirm whether or not you feel comfortable adding her to your future herd. Does that sound good?”

Sighing, Draco knew that’s about all he could do, without causing any damage to anyone’s feelings. “I guess that’s the best we can do for now.”

“Great!” Shadow hugged her coltfriend. “Don’t worry, I’m not mad at you. I could never be mad at you. We mares just have a knack for seeking out a stallion worthy of our desires.”

A small blush and Draco turned away giving his cheek a scratch. “Geez, you sure know how to make a guy feel special.”

“Sir?” Berry and Swift approached the couple. “The dogs are eating everything we give them and are regaining strength. One of the dogs wants to talk to you though, something about a special project?”

Recomposing himself Draco nodded his head. “Bring them, I will hear what they need to say.”

The two nodded and Berry left to fetch the dog. About a minute later, the bulldog from before followed Berry back to Draco.

“I wasn’t sure you’d go this far to help us.” The bulldog stuck out his hand. “All I can say at this point is thank you.”

Draco smiled and took the dog’s hand on his own and shook it. “I told you I was here to save you, and that’s what I plan to do.” Draco released the dog’s hand and continued onto business. “You mentioned a project you wanted to tell us about?”

“Yeah, the caribou have been gearing up those War Beast monsters,” the bulldog said.

“Gearing up? Like putting armor on them?” Swift said.

“Yup, and with our own special ore we mine from deep within the mountain, no less!” The bulldog growled.

“What makes this ore so special if you don’t mind me asking?” Draco was now curious.

“According to the scriptures of the first diamond dog settlers, this mountain is said to have formed due to an enormous rock falling from the skies. The force, when it impacted the earth, was so great, it’s what rose up the mountain and the other mountain ranges surrounding it. That great rock is also what makes our ore special since it’s said the ore comes from the great rock itself,” the bulldog explained. “If forged correctly, it’s more durable than any metal. It can create weapons that will never dull, armor that would require a great deal of force to dent, and has its own special name.”

“What do you call it?” Berry wondered.

“We call it Star Metal.”

“Have you been using this metal to forge the caribou’s weapons since you were enslaved?” Draco asked curiously.

“Regrettably, we have,” the bulldog sighed, his ears drooping. “They’ve forced us to mine the ore without rest and help them manufacture weaponry. Some of the weapons they’ve forced us to create are nothing I’ve ever seen before.”

“He must be talking about weapons from your world,” Ace muttered to Draco.

“I haven’t bothered to examine the weapons, maybe I should from now on.” Draco considered this and had an idea. “Can this metal be reused? Like melt the metal again and make it into something else?”

“What’s it to you?” The bulldog crossed his arms.

“If I’m being honest, a metal like this could be used to be made into armor. Or maybe a special project I’ve been working on.” Draco shook his head. “But that is neither here nor later. For now, I want to make sure you guys are safe. So this armor for the War Beasts, how many sets did you complete?”

“Not many, thankfully, only about six sets. They’ve had us focus more on their own personal weapons” the bulldog said.

“I guess we should be thankful it’s not that many,” Cloud said.

“However…there’s something else that concerns me more than the weaponry. It’s about that bastard who sits on our king’s throne.”

“You mean Gluttony? What about him?”

“Yeah him. Ever since he took over, he’s been having his own personal shipment of Star Metal be delivered to the throne room where he resides. Once in a while, I see a large wagon of Star Metal be pulled up to the throne room. The next day, it’s completely empty. It’s bizarre, and my gut has been gnawing at me that whatever he’s doing up there with it can’t be good.”

“Are you guys the only ones who know how to properly forge it? Or maybe the caribou figured it out too, and are working on some big secret projects?” Draco asked.

“Absolutely not,” the bulldog said firmly. “We diamond dogs are the one true masters of the forge. We literally work with our bare paws and douse them in liquid hot metal. It is our tradition in order to handle our craft, Star Metal especially.”

This confused Draco. If the diamond dogs are the only ones with the necessary skills and abilities to forge the metal, then for what reason would they send the ore to the castle? “Well, I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, we probably should worry about those armored warbeast.”

Moving a hand to pull out his radio, Draco made a call. “Zephyr, Flash, any moments out there?”

“We got movement heading due East, looks like some huge animal pen,” Flash said over the radio.

“20 bits says that’s where their ‘pets’ are,” Zephyr said.

“Alright, fly back you guys, we are dealing with some new enemies. Reconvene here and help us prepare to protect the diamond dogs. Prometheus should be here soon,” Draco ordered.

“Roger that, we’re heading back-”

CRRSSZZZHHHHT!

“Hello? Is this the so-called Beast of Chaos?”

Draco didn’t recognize the voice on the comm, but he knew it wasn’t anypony he brought with him. “This is he, and who is speaking to me now?”

“Styr, I’m supposed to be in charge of the mutts you’re springing loose,” the voice said.

“Styr, you bastard!” The bulldog barked into the radio. “When I find you, I’ll tear your antlers off and shove them up your ass so far, you won’t be shitting for weeks!”

“Keep that mutt on a tighter leash, will ya?”

“What’s wrong, afraid to face the slaves you lorded over? I’m surprised, for someone who ate a devil fruit. Unless that devil fruit was the pussy-pussy fruit, and made you a bigger pussy than you already are,” Draco mocked.

“Ah, so you know I am also blessed with power. Lord Gluttony gave me and my fellow high-ranked officers his blessing because we proved ourselves worthy. Tell me, did the Hand deem you worthy and bless you?”

“No, but then again, I’m not weak enough that I need one. Sucks for you really, but hey those powers must help compensate for your micro penis,” Draco shot back.

The bulldog and some of the other diamond dogs laughed out loud, but Styr merely scoffed. “You speak like an immature buck going through puberty, I shall take great pleasure skinning you alive and mounting your head on a pike. Lord Gluttony will most likely bless me once more.”

“Sure you will. Tell you what, I’ll come after you once I’m done dealing with the armored War Beasts. So make sure to get yourself pumped up for your funeral.” With that, Draco turned off the radio.

“He sounds like a friendly stag,” Berry scoffed sarcastically.

“Oh yeah, a real dream boat.” Draco joked before turning to look around the area. “Alright guys, the caribou are likely gonna bring those armored War Beasts soon. Let’s get these guys somewhere safe and prepare to hold our ground here.”

“Should Alpha Squad lead them to the tunnel where we came in?” Shadow offered.

“No, the ship will come from the other side. Besides.” Draco looked at the diamond dogs and could tell they wouldn’t leave without some form of revenge. “I think our K-9 companions want some of the action.”

“You’re gods damn right we do,” the bulldog growled. “We ain’t going no where until we’ve paid back those horned bastards for all they’ve done to us!”

“I’m with him.” The german shepherd, greyhound, and another diamond dog that looked like a Rottweiler joined the group. “By the way, I suppose it’s only fair that we officially introduce ourselves. I’m Jasper,” the german shepherd said.

“I’m Violet,” the greyhound said.

“Name’s Bismuth,” the bulldog said.

“And I’m Gravel,” the rottweiler said. “I want to get back at them because…” He looked back at one of the dogs whose leg was in a thick cast. “They crippled my cousin.”

“When we get out of here, I’ll make sure we give him the best medical treatment we have.” Draco took a look around one last time and saw some tall buildings still remaining. “Maud, you and Berry go collect the guns from the caribou we killed. Shadow and the rest of you, help the diamond dogs who aren’t able to fight get to safe distance.” He then looked to diamond dogs who gave their names. “Do you guys think you can use the weapons you made for the caribou?”

“We studied how they were made and gave them each a field test before shipping them off,” Bismuth said. “We’re more than familiar with how to use them. I for one and privy with one of those large rifles.”

“Well, I’m gonna need you guys to grab some and take position on those roofs.” He pointed to the top of the remaining buildings. “You guys take out any caribou you see, while I’ll deal with the War Beasts.”

“How are you gonna do that?” Gravel asked, taking a rifle and loading it.

Draco smirked and motioned for the diamond dogs to move on. “You’ll see, just try not to shit yourself.” Moving a hand to radio Draco turned the dial to a more secure line. “Alright everyone get into position, and remember your roles.”

Shadow helped lead the diamond dogs away from the fighting while Bismuth, Violet, Gravel, and Jasper ran towards the buildings Draco pointed out and made for the roofs.

“Want me to whip up a dense fog again, Draco?” Zephyr offered.

“Nah, I want both our enemies, and our new allies to see what I can do.” Draco declined the offer and waited for his foes to show.

Zephyr nodded and flew off to leave Draco by himself. The rumblings of the war beast brigade drew closer until they began riding all around Draco in a circle. Draco had his arms folded as he watched the armored beast and riders circle around him. His eyes kept track of his enemies. One thing Draco noticed about the War Beasts was the armor they wore. It was thick metal that covered their hides and heads. Spikes poked out from the sides and there were even pointed covers on their tusks. The group soon stopped riding around in circles and one rider approached Draco. He rode a fairly large War Beast as it snarled and small flames escaped its mouth.

“So you’re the one who’s made a mess of things in Lord Gluttony’s territory?!” The leader spat.

“Oh no no, that was another guy. His name was Shit Sherlock, first name No.” Draco smiled as he stared at the leader of the riders.

“Cocky little shit!” One of the riders snarled, but the leader held up his hand.

“You got guts, kid, I’ll give you that, but not enough to spare your life. So I’ll make this easy. Tell us where our slaves are, and I’ll make it quick and painless. Old Dozer here wants a new mate, since he bucked the brains out of the last cunt I let him screw,” the leader said, gesturing to his drooling mount.

“Tell you what, I’ll let you know what you need to do.” Draco kept his cocky smirk as he talked down to the Caribou. “First you head to a supermarket, buy something called Viagra, and if will help you go fuck yourselves!”

“You really wanna die, don’t you?” The leader sneered as he held his hand up in the air. All riders aimed their rifles at Draco. “Too bad you aren’t the Hand, I’d’ve liked to take a crack at him.”

“Please, you wouldn’t be worth licking the blood of his boots. The blood of your pussy-ass race by the way.” Held up his arms in a mock gesture.

“Rifles ready!” All riders had their fingers on the triggers.

Draco flipped them the bird as he waited for the guns to fire.

“FIRE!”

A volley of rifles firing erupted from the group of riders as they unloaded everything they had on Draco.

“What the fuck is he thinking?!” Gravel yelped as he went to try to help, but Violet stopped him.

“No Gravel! He said to wait here!”

“Are you kidding?! There won’t be anything left of him!”

The riders kept firing and a large cloud of dust kicked up in the process. The leader smirked and held his hand up again for the group to cease firing. As the cloud began to rise higher and thin out, a menacing growl could be heard coming from within. Without warning, a white clawed hand popped out of the dust cloud, and grabbed the lead caribou before pulling him in.

The riders gasped when the next thing they heard the unsettling sounds of flesh ripping apart, followed by blood-curdling screams.

“What the Tartarus…?” Bismuth said, unable to look away from his scope.

As the dust settled, a massive two legged dinosaur with arms ending with blade length claws, and eyes redder than a ruby stood where Draco once did. In its jaw dangled the upper torso of the caribou leader, and his legs firmly grasped in one of its hands.

“Th-The Beast…?” A rider gulped.

“IT’S THE BEAST!” A rider shouted.

“What the fuck is that?!” Jasper yelped. “Where’s Draco?!”

“I…I think that is Draco!” Bismuth said.

“WAR BEASTS! FIRE FIREBALLS!”

The war beasts all opened their maws and fireballs shot out towards Draco. The massive white dinosaur quickly pushed its way out from the killing circle, and moved its jaws to bite down on one of the riders, before tossing it away.

With two of the six riders now killed, Draco moved to dig his claws into the exposed leg of one of the armored War Beasts. His massive claw sinking deep into the flesh of the beast. The beast roared in pain as the other riders fired at the dinosaur, along with the war beasts firing fireballs.

“KEEP SHOOTING!”

“OUR WEAPONS ARE USELESS!”

“DON’T LET UP!”

With another roar the red eyed dinosaur lunged forward, swinging his head into the side of a War Beast. The impact sent the beast skidding across the ground before being turned onto its side.

“Uh…should we do something?” Violet said as she watched the carnage.

“I wouldn’t bother.” Violet and Gravel looked up to see Flash flying above them with his arms crossed. “That’s just how Draco works.”

“Hold up, that’s Draco?!” Gravel gasped.

“Rrrrooaaaarrr!!”

Draco kicked the down war beast into its back, crushing the rider underneath as he stopped his scaly foot on the belly of the war beast.

“Buck this! I’m getting outta here!” One rider turned his beast around and made a break for it. Jasper saw the rider and took aim with his rifle. He took a deep breath before pulling the trigger and firing. The bullet hit the stag square in the head, causing him to fall off the beast and tumble across the ground.

“Not one of you bastards leaves alive,” Jasper growled.

Three riders remained, and Draco was swinging his claws at the armored War Beast. His claws only scraped or bounced off the armor. The three war beasts huddled together as they charged, slamming into Draco’s body, forcing him back.

“That’s it! Keep pushing it back!” One rider commanded.

“We’ll shoot it’s eyes out before-!”

BLAM!

Another rider fell as a gunshot wound pierced his head and he fell to the ground. Bismuth pulled back the hammer as he ejected the used bullet before replacing it with a new one in the chamber. Digging his toe claws into the ground, and using his tail to brace against one of the nearest buildings. Draco was able to halt the War Beast pushing, and snapped his jaws onto one of the remaining caribou riders, leaving one left, and four armored War Beasts remaining.

“Buck! Buck! BUCK!” The remaining rider cursed. “I WON’T DIE AS YOUR MEAL!” The rider dug into his pockets and pulled out two objects. Draco could make out what the stag held in his hands and saw he was holding a couple of frag grenades. The stag pulled the pins and held them up high.

“I’M TAKING YOU WITH ME!!”

Letting out a mock roar, Draco spun his body around and slammed his tail into the caribou. Sending him flying off his war beast and into the air. Before his body could slam into the rock face, the grenades went off, blowing the screaming stag to pieces.

“Damn! That was loud!” Jasper said.

“All that remains are the War Beasts. And is it me, or does Draco look kinda hungry?” Flash said.

From their vantage point the diamond dogs and ponies could see the white dinosaur drooling. He slowly circled around the four remaining War Beasts as they began to circle up. Unleashing fireballs that never met their mark.

Draco roared again, making the air quake and vibrate, before charging forward. Draco could see there were few spots in the armor that he could get his claws and fangs into.

With a slash of his claws, he jammed them into the eye sockets of the closest War Beast, driving them deep inside the creature’s skull.

The war beast roared in agony as Draco pulled and literally was tearing its skull apart. Blood sprayed like a fountain as Draco carved open its skull to reveal its brain. Draco leaned down and clamped his jaws on the beast’s head and ripped out a chunk of flesh and brain.

“Urp! I’m gonna be sick…” Zephyr gagged.

“Brutal as always,” Maud said.

Soon there were only three War Beasts remaining, and the fear of this new predator struck fear into them. After gulping down some ragged flesh from his recent kill, Draco turned his sights on the last three War beasts. In an act of desperation to survive, the remaining War Beasts began unleashing a barrage of fireballs at Draco to try and keep him away from them. Draco charged through fire and brimstone, enduring the pain before shoving both his clawed arms into the gaping maws of two of the War Beasts. His razor sharp claws cut their throats open as he pulled them back. The War Beasts had their throats and intestines ripped out front from their maws and they both plopped down dead as Draco helped himself to their innards. The one remaining War Beast whimpered in utter fear as it lowered its head to the ground, as if submitting to the apex predator. Draco stomped his way towards the remaining War Beast and growled at it. With fast swipes of his claws, he was able to cut the harnesses that kept the armor on the War Beast. He opened his jaws and unleashed a mighty roar.

“RRRRRRRRRAHHHHHHHHH!!!”

The War Beast wasted no time and scrambled away and ran as fast as it could. The four diamond dogs on the roof were in complete shock at the brutal display of violence as Maud and Berry gathered the weapons on the ground. Draco took a deep breath and slowly but surely transformed back into his human form. He staggered a little, but caught himself as he began taking deep breaths to slow his heartbeat. As he was doing so, the four diamond dogs and Flash made their way to where Draco was standing.

“You good, Draco?” Flash asked.

Bracing his hands on his knees, Draco was still catching his breath. “Y-yeah. Just not used to using hybrids like that yet.” He was able to slowly stand back up and leaned against the closest wall for support.

“Excuse me.” Draco turned to be met in close proximity with a very pissed off-looking bulldog. “Explain. Now!”

“What do you mean? Did you guys watch the fight?” Draco curiously asked, cocking his head to the side.

“How did you do that?!” Violet asked, hiding behind Gravel. “What kind of monster are you?!”

“That’s a bit harsh,” Berry said as he arrived with Maud.

“Well I guess it has to do with this.” Draco adjusted his armor to pull the hem of his shirt down, to reveal the amber stone in his chest. “This stone allows me to take the form of creatures that were extinct in my world, millions of years ago which are now extinct.”

“Your world?” Jasper and the other dogs cocked their heads.

“Yep. I’m not from this planet. Myself and two others, who are leading the liberation of this planet from the caribou, come from another world.”

“Who’re the other two?” Bismuth wondered.

“The Angel’s Saint Philip, and the Devil’s Hand Dimitri.” Draco smiled. “If you think I’m strong, I’m only the third strongest amongst the three of us.”

“They’re stronger than you?” Bismuth snorted. “After what we saw?”

“Oh yeah. I can’t hold a candle to them.” Draco shrugged as he admitted his own weakness. “Anyway, now that we took care of the War Beasts, that just leaves one last loose end to take care of.”

“Want us to come with you?” Maud offered. “All that bravado he showed off over the radio may not have been all talk as we think.”

“If you want, but let me do the talking.” Draco pulled his radio out and adjusted the dial. “Draco to Prometheus, Draco to Prometheus. Do you copy? Over.”

“Soarin here, the Prometheus has arrived and is in position, what are your orders?” Soarin asked over the radio.

Draco looked over to the crowd of diamond dogs. “I’ll have Berry and Alpha Squad lead the diamond dogs to you. I’m gonna cause a distraction while you guys do so.”

“Copy that, we’ll await their arrival.” The radio shut off and Draco tucked his radio away.

“So, you’re really gonna face the leader of this area?” Shadow and the rest of Alpha Squad, along with Zephyr, came up to Draco.

“I need to send a message for my plan to work.” Draco, who had regained his breath, started to stretch. He walked over to one of the nearby War Beast. With a click of his hands, he transformed them into claws and ripped off some flesh. He grabbed the flesh and began to eat. “I’m gonna keep their attention on me while you guys get the diamond dogs to the ship.”

“Stay safe, okay?” Shadow hugged Draco. “Kick that stag’s flank.”

Draco smiled and hugged her back, giving her a kiss on the lips. “Count on it.”

“Let us tag along.” Bismuth and Violet stepped forward.

“Bis, Vi, are you both crazy?” Jasper said and Gravel nodded in agreement. “You’ve seen what these guys can do, we’d only get in their way.”

“I know, but I only wanna come along to watch that bastard bleed,” Bismuth said.

“The same goes for me, he’s killed too many of our kin,” Violet said.

“Don’t worry dude, we’ll keep a close watch over them,” Zephyr said as he gave a thumbs up.

Draco continued to eat the carcass of the War Beast as he tried to regain his strength. “If you two want to come then that’s fine. But at the first sign of trouble, I want you two to leave. I won’t tolerate a single loss today.”

“Fair enough,” Bismuth nodded.

“Okay, everyone, follow us!” Shadow called out to the crowds of diamond dogs. “We’ll lead you all to safety!”

Alpha Squad left the apprentices and Draco, Bismuth and Violet. The bulldog and greyhound watched Draco feast on the carcass while Maud and Flash kept watch.

“It don’t matter how many times I see that,” Zephyr gagged. “It’s still gross.”

“Oh, grow a pair,” Draco groaned before looking at the two diamond dogs. “You guys want some? There’s plenty to go around, you know?”

Bismuth and Violet looked at each other then approached the carcass. They both took a sniff before Bismuth instinctively opened his jaws and bit into the flesh and ripped some off.

“Mmm…hey, not bad,” Bismuth said as Violet took a bite.

“You know, for a mindless beast bred for war and destruction, it’s pretty tasty,” Violet said.

“I’m gonna hurl…” Zephyr lurched.

“I forgot diamond dogs were also carnivorous,” Flash said, also looking a little queasy.

Draco ripped the head off the beast and sunk his teeth into it. “Oh, don’t forget to eat the head, that’s where all the nutrients are.”

“Hey thanks, can I have the brain?” Violet asked.

“Sure thing.” Draco passed the severed head to Violet before looking over at Bismuth. “By the way, how good are you with the forge?”

“Before our kingdom fell, I was the forge master,” Bismuth said. “My family have been blacksmiths for over eight generations. Going back to my grandpa’s, grandpa’s, grandpa’s, grandpa.”

“It’s true,” Violet said as she munched away. “Had it not been for the caribou’s strange and dangerous new weapons, the diamond dog kingdom would have never fallen in the first place.”

Nodding, Draco pulled his second sword off his hip, along with a thick cloth sack from his jacket. “Listen, I don't have much time to explain, but can you melt the metal in this bag down and coat my second blade in it?” He passed the items to the master forger.

Bismuth stopped eating and took his sword and cloth sack. The bulldog peaked into the bag and arched a brow. “What is this stuff?”

“I’ll tell you later, all you need to know is it will kill the caribou leader.” Draco glanced over at the three apprentices, before looking back to Bismuth. “I need it fast. Can you, or can you not do it?”

“Violet, come with me.” Violet nodded and followed Bismuth towards one of the buildings with a large chimney. Draco and the apprentices waited for about 20 minutes until Bismuth and Violet came back with Draco’s sword. One thing Draco noticed about his sword was that it had a more pristine shine coming off the blade. The edge looked more razor sharp, and made it look like a new sword all together.

“Sorry it took so long, I’ve never seen such a metal like the kind in that sack,” Bismuth said, handing Draco’s sword back

“Dude, you were only gone for about twenty minutes, and you call that taking too long?” Zephyr said.

Draco examined the sword carefully and admired the craftsmanship. “Truly, you are master's of the forge. I’ve never seen such beauty such as this.”

“Of course, I wasn’t lying when I said there’s no one else who can do what we can,” Bismuth said.

“Are we ready to go, Draco?” Maud asked.

Sheathing the sword, Draco nodded. “Yep, I think we kept our lovely host waiting long enough.”

Draco ripped off a hunk of meat for the road and led the apprentices and two diamond dogs down the street. It felt like a ghost town, it was so quiet, since the remaining forces had fallen back to the main fort of the district. The group could already hear loud commotion in the distance as they spotted a much larger fortress near the city’s end, where the next level could be seen behind.

“Beyond that fortress is the next section of the city, is that right Bismuth?” Draco asked after taking a bite from the meat in his hand.

“That’s right,” Bismuth nodded. “This is the mining district, where we mine from within the mountain and forge weapons for the kingdom. The residential district is just beyond, where the stags go about their everyday lives. Which consists of fucking any poor female they drag along with them from other places.” Bismuth pointed near the top of the city. “The upper district is called the Alpha District. It used to be where renowned diamond dog mining families lived, since they had a history of discovering new types of ore or gemstones and their ancestors have been mining since the founding of our kingdom.” Bismuth narrowed his eyes. “I’ve also heard that…well, that’s where our king and his family are being held prisoner.”

“Do you believe them to still be alive?” Draco wondered if Gluttony would keep the royal family alive or not.

“When Gluttony took over, his first action was keeping the royal family in the throne room. No one really knows if they’re dead, being tortured…or worse,” Violet responded, her ears drooping.

“But what we do know is Styr answers to him directly. So he may know of their fate,” Bismuth growled.

Nodding his head Draco made sure to keep this in mind. “Gotcha, I’ll see if I can squeeze that bit of information out of him. Just make sure you don’t say anything to him, I don’t want him to know how desperate we are for any information.”

Bismuth and Violet nodded and the group found themselves standing just in front of the large fortress. The structure was four stories tall and almost all of the windows had stags peaking outside with their rifles.

“What are they waiting for?” Flash wondered.

“To get crushed?” Maud said, but Draco held up his hand to halt the mare.

“They’re sacred, let’s keep it that way. I’ll do all the talking.” Stepping forward, Draco glared around, his eyes catching caribou ducking down when his eyes came in their directions.

Smiling Draco sank his teeth into the hunk of flesh in his hands, and made a show of eating it. “So, how many of you are there? Because I’m not gonna lie, those War beasts aren’t enough to sate my hunger. And caribou meat tastes better than War Beast meat.”

The stags didn’t respond until the gates suddenly began to move and slowly open.

“Oh boy, here we go,” Zephyr said as he and the others stood their ground.

Draco smiled as he watched the gate slowly open, he took a few more bites of his snack. The sounds of heavy marching was heard and a dozen heavily armoured stags came out. They were armed with great-swords and axes and wore helmets with their visors opened. Leading the group was a sort of lanky-looking stag. He wore a black coat, grey cargo pants, but no undershirt. His torso looked a tad thin, but was still as muscular as any of the other stags. His fur was grey and his eyes were brownish-red. His antlers were fairly large and the tips looked pointed like a predator’s fangs.

“Oh, is this the first course?” Draco licked his lips as ate the rest of his meat. “Looks like it will be a heavy meal, but I’m sure I have room in my belly.”

The stags all stopped when the lead stag raised his hand. He looked at Draco, as if sizing him up, and stepped towards Draco. The two were at equal height and the stag scoffed.

“I thought you’d be bigger, Beast,” the stag mocked.

“I’m sure that’s what every female ever said about your dick, when you force them to have sex with you.” Draco shot back with a smile.

“You’d think, but I have only red collars and a few purples. They know how to please me whenever they kiss my hooves. I am Styr, Watchman of the lower district, and you have made a right mess of things.”

“Well, are you the text fucking book of classy.” Draco mocked, doing his best to maintain his cool. “But I’m afraid that this is just the first of many messes I plan to make.”

Styr arched a brow at Draco until a sly grin grew on his face. “Would you like me to share something interesting with you, Beast? Regarding a certain former royal family Lord Gluttony has so graciously taken in?” Bismuth and Violet growled at the stag.

“Is that right?” Styr grabbed his coat and tossed it off his body. “I wonder how Lord Gluttony shall reward me when I take your head?”

Draco smiled and began to coat his body in thick armored scales as he stared at the stag. “Please, like he would give a damn about what a low-rank, foot soldier could do.”

SLASH!!

Styr swiped his arm to the side, faster than anyone had time to blink. Something that sounded like droplets hitting the ground was heard as Draco’s eyes panned to Styr’s arm. Styr’s entire forearm looked like it was made out of a large blade. Dripping off the end of his hand was a thin trail of blood. Draco slowly looked down at his chest to see a shallow slash wound that, to his shock, managed to pierce past his scales.

“Surprised?” Styr chuckled. “Oh, I know all about your special abilities. Especially how you’re able to deflect bullets and any other type of physical attacks.” Draco grunted a bit as he dropped his snack. “However, you made one miscalculation.” Styr raised his other arm and it became a blade as well. “I am much more different than what you might’ve expected.”

Draco stared at the blade that had cut his flesh before smiling. “Well congratulations, you jumped from a lowly foot soldier, to a slightly less lowly foot soldier.” Flexing his muscles, Draco forced the wound closed. New thick armor began to replace the old one. “Never thought I’d meet someone who could force me to improve on my defenses.”

“Spare me the bravado.” Styr widened his stance. “You say you wish to devour me? Then by all means, try to do so.”

Draco smiled and held out his arms. “Tell you what, come at me. Let’s see whose power is stronger than who? I’ll let you have the first go.”

“Your funeral.” The bottom Styr’s hooves morphed into blades and he charged at Draco with surprisingly fast speeds. He looked like an ice skater on land as he reeled his arms back, ready to slash at Draco.

Draco with a confident smile kept his arms out and awaited the attack. “Try your best not to disappoint me.”

Styr swung his arms at Draco and slashed his chest. The stag sped past Draco, but there was no blood this time. The only thing anyone heard was a loud clang as Draco kept standing where he stood.

“What the-didn’t he get him?” Flash said.

“He definitely cut him, but there’s no blood,” Bismuth said.

Draco glanced down to notice a fairly noticeable scratch on his new scales. He gently scratched it before shrugging his shoulders. “Well you made me itchy, guess that’s a start.”

“Tch! Don’t get cocky, brat!” Styr skated back around and began spinning like a top while lifting his leg. His leg grew a massive blade and swung it at Draco’s chest.

CLANG!

Styr’s leg clashed with Draco, sending out a loud metallic clang. The force made Draco step back a few feet, but once again there was no blood. However, Draco couldn’t help but wince a little since that attack managed to cut deeper than the last one.

“That’s strike two, better make three a good one.” He smirked as he maintained his stance. “Otherwise you’ll regret it.”

Styr growled in annoyance when he was about to come back at Draco, but he paused. He narrowed his gaze and morphed his hooves and limbs back to normal.

“Are you trying to prove something?” Styr accused. “You think I won’t be able to cut you again because you toughened up your skin?”

Draco lowered his arms and smiled. “Actually, I’m using you really. As I mentioned before, I haven’t ever had a reason to try and improve my powers. In a way I respect your power, enough to better myself to fight it.”

“So why bother allowing me to attack you? Are you trying to put a stain on my honor?!” Draco arched a brow.

Shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head, Draco sighed. “Were you not listening to a word I said? Geez, I honestly try to give a compliment this one time, and you go and take it the wrong way.”

“I may be many things, Beast, but I am no fool. We Caribou are warriors at heart. You say you respect my power and wish to use me to become stronger, yet you just stand there. If that is how you will treat this battle, then you might as well just turn and leave!”

“Sheesh, talk about dramatic,” Zephyr rolled his eyes.

“Call me crazy, but he’s kinda got a point. What good is a fight if only one side is doing it?” Flash said.

This struck a chord with Draco. While the foe before him was a disgusting, unholy rapist, he did seem to pride himself as a warrior. “Alright fine, if that’s how you feel, I’ll fight back.” Draco slowly widened his stance and positioned his arms. One at his side, while the other hung out in front of him. “Come at me.”

“Now that’s more like it!” Styr crossed his arms and his fingers became blades. Smaller curved blades grew out from his forearms and he charged at Draco once more.

Pushing off his back leg, Draco darted forward faster than Styr or the spectators, the ones coated in armor, could move. Swinging his fist from before, Draco delivered a hard uppercut to Styr’s chest, sending him flying back.

Styr fell on his back but pushed off his hands and landed on his hooves again as he skidded backwards. Draco felt something drip from his cheek and reached up to feel and see blood on his fingers, which meant the stag cut his cheek.

“Hmm, well would you look at that.” Draco looked back at Styr and smiled. “I take it you see the weakness in my powers?”

“Indeed, these abilities of yours, you are able to wield them one at a time, yes?” Styr said, cracking his neck.

“Clever. Yes you’re right. In my human form I’m only allowed to change my body to match the aspects of one dinosaur at a time. Honestly, I thought I was able to drop my armor and reapply my armored scales fast enough that your blades wouldn’t cut me,” Draco explained. “Seems I got a bit cocky after all.”

“Warriors must always keep a level head and never overestimate themselves, some advice from one warrior to another,” Styr said as he morphed both his arms into large blades.

“Okay I’m gonna stop you there.” Draco sighed before cracking his own neck. “You are not a warrior, you’re a thug, a murderer, and a plague on life. A warrior is honorable, and fights accordingly. You are a barbarian, at best. But don’t get me wrong, I’m not a warrior myself.”

“I suppose we can only agree to disagree,” Styr said as he held his bladed arms out.

Draco charged forward swinging his arms forward, his armored fist clashing against Styr’s metal body, while maintaining his own defenses. Styr held his ground and swiped at Draco’s neck. Shifting his body, Draco moved his from the caribou’s blade, while thrusting his arm upward. Forcing Styr’s blade over his head. Pulling his fist and quickly launching it forward, Draco delivered a hard and powerful gut punch.

Styr launched backwards and skidded to a halt. He grunted a bit and managed to feel that strike, despite his iron body. When he saw Draco coming at him again, he leaned back and watched Draco’s fist fly just in front of his face. The stag leaned back more while morphing his hands back to normal and used the momentum to swing his bladed leg and cut Draco’s side.

While his flesh was unharmed, Draco could still feel the blades cutting into his armored scales. “So are you able to sharpen your blades the more you fight?”

“Indeed!” Styr backflipped and spun his body for a roundhouse kick that swiped Draco’s chest again. Draco felt a stinging sensation and looked to see the cut was even deeper. “Soon my blades will break through those scales!”

As Styr’s leg blade came up for another slash Draco smirked and moved his arm to block it. Thinking he could easily cut through the armor like before, Styr made no effort to stop.

As the blade inched ever closer both the caribou’s in the fortress and Draco’s allies turned to frightened to see what would happen next.

CLANG!!

Everyone gasped at the sight, Styr’s leg was locked on Draco’s arm and expected his arm to be sliced off, but the opposite. Styr’s blade barely made a dent in Draco’s scales, which only confused the stag to no end.

“How can this be…?” Styr muttered in shock.

Draco, who wore a confident smile, grabbed onto the leg and pushed it away, causing his opponent to stagger back as he regained his balance. “The thing I love about dinosaurs is their ability to evolve. The Ankylosaurus armor never started off as thick and as powerful as I made it seem. It took millions of years for their armor to become as strong as they were before their extinction.”

Dusting off his hands Draco rolled his shoulders while admiring his new scales. “So I thought to myself. Couldn’t I evolve just like they did? To further improve their abilities and traits? That’s why earlier I let you attack me without fighting back. I wanted to see if I could further my powers beyond my preconceived knowledge. And my experiment was a success, and I thank you for that, Styr, you have my gratitude.”

“Just…what are you?” Styr said, still in slight shock before turning his legs back to normal.

Draco smiled. “I’m the man that will cut you head clean off your shoulders.”

“I don’t think so.” Styr reached into his pocket and pulled out a baggie with a powder of some kind. Before Draco could question him, Styr smashed the baggie on his face, causing the white powder to burst out and scatter all over his face. Styr took a deep breath through his nostrils, causing him to groan as the pupils in his eyes dilated.

“Ooooohhh…YEAH!” Styr bellowed as he sniffed the air more.

Draco shook his head in disgust. “Some warrior, using enhancing drugs to try and win a fight. What little respect I had for you, just went out the window.”

Suddenly, Styr knelt down and sprung his legs from the ground. Draco had little time as Styr slammed his fist into Draco’s chest. Draco was sent flying and crashed through the wall to a nearby building.

“You think I give a buck how I win?!” Styr bellowed, the veins in his muscles pulsating. “I am a cheater of a warrior, true, but I’m the kind of warrior who likes to win! We all have our own view of honour, and it is as I said before. We agree to disagree!” Styr raised his arms and they became serrated blades. “Let’s see whose head shall roll off before the other’s!”

“You bastard! Using Unicorn Dust?!” Flash said bitterly. “You disgust me!”

“Sticks and stones, brat!” Styr shot back.

“Sticks and stones may not break your bones.” Styr caught a mere glimpse of Draco’s rage-filled eyes, before he felt a fist slamming into his jaw, returning the favor of sending him flying next. “But I sure as hell will.”

“Hahaha! Yes!” Styr sprung up and jumped in the air towards Draco. “Draw your sword! Let us clash metal against metal! My mind is racing! I’ll cleave you in two!”

Draco never inched his hands towards any of his swords. “I’d rather not stain my blades by letting them touch yours, you’re not worth them.” Draco adopted a more defensive stance and braced for impact.

Styr landed on Draco and Styr’s bladed arms clashed with his scales. Draco dug his boots into the ground as he skidded back and Styr began slashing sporadically at Draco, driving him back further.

“I can feel those scales! So hard! So dense and seemingly indestructible! But you must remember! The more I fight, the sharper my blades become! It’s only a matter of time before I slice something of yours off!”

Draco had already come to this conclusion himself, and knew his scales wouldn”t last too long. However he didn’t plan for this fight to go on long than needed.

When Draco moved to his arms to guard another slash from Styr’s blade, however, as the blade struck down, the blade’s sharp edges cut through and blood began to trickle down.

“Hahaha! Blood! The beautiful blood!” Styr’s eyes became bloodshot as chips of Draco’s scales were being ripped apart.

“We gotta help him!” Zephyr said, until the armed stags stood in their way.

“No one disturbs Sir Styr!” One stag said in a gruff voice.

“Get the buck out of our way…” Maud growled.

Draco kept his arms up trying to protect his neck and face as Styr slashed at him. His blades cut through with each strike. “Hahahaha! Where was all that bravado you had, welp?!” With a hard kick to the gut, Styr sent Draco flying back again.

Draco’s body lay crouched on the ground, his body shaking as he tried to get back up. “Look at you! On the ground like the lowly worm you are!” Styr gloated as he walked slowly toward Draco’s body. “You put up a good enough fight, but now I think I shall end this battle!”

Once he was within striking range Styr raised his bladed arm, and prepared to lop off Draco’s head. “SO LONG, BEAST OF CHAOS!” With a swing of his arm Styr’s blade aimed for Draco’s neck.

“Draco!” Maud screamed as the others gasped and were about to step in.

CLANG!!

The sound echoed throughout the mountain, leaving a dead silence afterwards. Styr, who had every intention to boast on how he killed the Beast of Chaps, died in his throat.

Holding the edge of his blade but mere inches from his neck with only his thumb and index finger, Draco smiled. “Hold on, let me get some sip.”

“W-what the Tartarus?!” Styr stuttered.

In a flash of movement, Draco placed his hand on the handle of his second blade and drew it out. Using the momentum of his draw, Draco aimed his blade to cut through his opponent’s neck.

Styr moved his free hand to block the blade with his own. “You fool! You think your blade can-!” His words died once more as he stared in horror. As Draco’s blade came in contact with Styr’s, the metal changed back to his normal flesh without his command. He watched as the blade cut through his arm and moved ever closer to his neck.

As if the world was put in slow motion, Styr watched the blade cut through his arm, and soon moved to his neck.

His vision spun around and felt a breeze. In a single second he caught a glimpse of a decapitated body, blood gushing out where ahead should be. Then the realization dawned on him, that was his body, his vision went to black shortly after this realization.

As the head of Styr spun around in the air, Draco’s hand reached up grabbing it by the antlers, before allowing blood gushing from the severed head to pour into his mouth. “I SAID LET ME GET SOME SSSSSIIIIIIPPPP!!”

“What the buck?!” An armoured stag panicked.

“Sir Styr…got beat?!” Another yelped.

Suddenly, two huge boulders came flying in and smashed them to a pulp. All eyes turned to Maud as she glared at the remaining armoured stags.

“Now it’s your turn…” Maud said with anger in her voice.

“Settle down, Maud.” Draco smiled as he helped up his hand. It was now that the members of his group could see that Draco wasn’t as injured as they would have guessed. “I think they get the message.”

“Dude, are you okay?” Zephyr wondered as he formed black stone clouds above the armoured stags.

“That stag cut you several times,” Flash said.

“That was the most intense fight I’ve seen, so far,” Bismuth said.

Before Draco could respond, Maud quickly walked over to him and began patting his body while circling him. She patted his shoulders, his legs, his back, his chest, even reached up to pat his cheeks and head.

“Aren’t you hurt?” Maud wondered.

Draco smiled and shook his head. “Nope. See, I let him think he was cutting me.” Draco pointed to his arm where a barely noticeable cut could be seen. “I reduced the strength of my scales where his blade was going to cut, but just enough that his blade could draw a bit of blood, but nothing fatal. He was so high on Unicorn Dust, that at the first glimpse he thought he was doing damage, he failed to pay attention to how deep his blade was cutting.”

Maud cupped his cheeks and brought him down to face her at eye level. “I’m telling Shadow you risked your head.”

Draco smiled and held Maud’s hands. “Maud, there wasn’t a second my life was in any danger. I made sure any vital areas were well protected.”

For the first time since meeting the mare, Maud seemed to frown a genuine sad frown at Draco as she stared into his eyes. “You…scared me.”

Draco, not sure on what to do, leaned in and nuzzled Maud and kissed her cheek. “They would need all seven Sins to kill me.”

Maud’s cheeks reddened a little as Draco stood back up straight and looked up at the windows of the fortress. Some of the stags were still watching and one leaned his head out a little.

“How…how did you do that?!” One stag demanded while his comrades tried to pull him back in. “Sir Styr’s whole body was made of steel! Like a sword! How did you cut off his head.”

Draco caught sight of something forming on Styr’s decapitated body. Shadowy wisps took form until a fruit in the shape of a pineapple appeared. The fruit looked like it was made up of razor blades and the leaves were mini daggers.

“Oh, well that’s an easy answer.” Draco walked over to the dead corpse and took the devil fruit. “Since he WAS a devil fruit user, that meant he had the exact same weakness as one.” Flashing his second sword Draco smiled. “This sword here is coated in sea prison and sharpened to the fullest. Courtesy of one of the beast forgemasters in this world.”

Bismuth nodded with a smirk and pounded his chest.

“Sea prison?! But we only use that stuff for handcuffs!” Another stag said.

“That’s right, you did.” Draco kept his confident smile proudly on his face. “However, I happened to keep some after Blueblood’s battle with me, back when he thought I was Lock and tried to shackle me down.”

The stags looked at each other in fear, but the armoured stags stood firm.

“You think just because Styr’s gone, we’ll back down?!”

“Your leader literally just got his head ripped off and was made into a protein shake for our boss here,” Zephyr said, pointing his thumb at Draco. “And you still wanna fight?”

“Styr was all talk!” One armoured stag barked. “He made a mockery with his for honor bullshit! He was nothing but a junkie!”

Draco sighed and rolled his neck as he got a few good cracks out. “Fine, guess I’ll kill you guys next. Oh, but before I do, I should warn you that I wasn’t even giving 50% of my true strength with your former boss. I never once fully transformed. But I guess you guys are stronger than him, meaning I don’t need to hold back.”

The armoured stags took position and readied their weapons.

“You want an assist?” Zephyr offered.

“You know what, sure.” Draco looked at Maud, he gently took her hand and kissed it gently. “Would the beautiful mare care to turn these armored shits into paste?”

Muad nodded and stopped her hoof as she brushed it to the side. The earth beneath the stags gave way, causing a knee-deep trench to open up. They all dropped into the small trench, some losing their balance, before Maud clasped her hands together.

CRUNCH!!

The trench closed up as Maud crushed their legs into the earth, some legs being torn off from the sheer force. The stags all screamed in agony as they crawled along the dirt, unable to stand.

“Eish, brutal,” Flash gulped.

Draco gave the mare a peck on the cheek before walking up to the fortress. “So, would you guys like to change your decision now? If not, I can have Maud here do the same with you lot, it wouldn’t be that hard you know?”

“If we surrender, are you going to slaughter us anyway?” Another stag called out.

“Lay your weapons at my feet, and you have nothing to fear. Do this and pass a message from me to Gluttony and all your lives will be spared this day,” Draco called back.

“Are you crazy?!” One stag snapped. “Lord Gluttony will eat us alive if he finds out this district was lost!”

“Is it weird that I think he meant that literally?” Zephyr said.

“Then I’ll give an alternative!” Draco called out once more. “Simply fire a letter on an arrow into the castle. I will give you a letter to attach to it. So long as no one knows you fired it, all you would need to do is blend in with the crowd. I doubt Gluttony gives enough of a damn to know your names, let alone where you were stationed.”

The stags all looked at each other until they stepped away from the windows. About fifteen minutes later, the gates opened again and the remaining stags all walked out with their weapons. There was a brief tense moment until the stags all dropped their guns and handheld weapons on the floor.

“We surrender,” the stag in front said.

“Cowards!” One of the crippled armoured stags hissed. “When I get my hands on you, I’ll rip your antlers off!”

Draco walked over to the crippled armored stag and grabbed him by his head. With little effort, Draco picked the stag up. “I think you must be mistaken.” Draco’s lips curled into a toothy grin show rows of sharp teeth. “You won’t be alive to make good on that threat.” Pulling the stag’s helmet off, Draco’s jaw opened wide.

“DAMN YOUU-!!”

CRUNCH!!

Everyone, aside from the diamond dogs, turned away as they heard the stag’s voice go silent, only the sound of loud crunching and blood gushing could be heard. After a while they turned to look back to see Draco licking some blood off the back of his hand. “Mmm, a bold finish of wild cherries, with just a hint of oak.” Draco let out a burp before kicking the remains aside.

The remaining crippled armoured stag all lost his nerve and made his best efforts to crawl away. Maud clenched her fists and raised it in the air as a large piece of earth tore out from the ground. She made it float over the escaping stag.

“Shall I?” Maud said.

“No.” Draco held up his hand. “He’s not worth it.” Draco turned to the stags who surrendered and crossed his arms. “Before you go, I have a question for you all.”

“Do you honestly think you guys will win this war?” Draco asked bluntly.

The stags all looked at each other again. “Lord Dainn seeks something, or so we’ve heard.”

“I didn’t ask what your boss wanted. I asked you a simple yes or no question.” Draco shot back.

“You don’t understand, we’ve heard rumours,” another said. “Before we invaded these lands, we’ve heard that after Lord Dainn struck a bargain with the Seven Sins, they offered to help him find something of great value. No one knows exactly what it is he seeks, but considering the lengths Lord Dainn went through? Well, to answer your question, as your resistance stands now, you have a fighting chance so long as none of the Sins, Lord Gluttony included, doesn’t manage to kill you. However, be warned, Beast, we assume that what Dainn seeks may turn the tide of this war back in his favour, should he discover it. And if that happens, all I can say is you’d better pray for a miracle.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. And to show my thanks, I’m gonna tell you something important.” Draco moved closer to the stags. “You guys will die.” Before the stag could say a word, Draco raised his hand. “I don’t mean right here, right now, but in the future. You guys are nothing more than foot soldiers. You are expendable. Ask yourselves something real quick. Will your superiors mourn your death? Will they take a second out of their day to remember your name, or pay you the respects you deserve?”

“Then what would you have us do if our fate is to die?” A stag asked.

“Maybe leave. After you pass along my message, sneak out and pray to the Saint, Phillip McHaggard. If you truly want to repent for your sins and live, he will hear your prayer and take you away to a safe place.”

Draco could see that some of the stags were looking skeptical. “Every time we lose a soldier, I say a prayer for them, and go to tell their families of their loss. I stay and comfort them till I move onto the next family. Do you think the Sins give a damn whether you live or die? So long as they get what they want, they won’t hesitate to sacrifice your lives.”

“Then I’ll write my message. I’ll make sure he thinks it was me. Once you fire it, burn the bow and run.” Draco pulled some parchment from his jacket and walked over to a place to write his message. After completing it, he walked back and handed the note to the stag. “One last thing. If you know any Caribou, you can trust and who feel the same way as you guys, you should escape together. I don’t like you guys, but I feel enough pity that I don’t think you need to die for nothing.”

“Had the Hand been here instead of you, I doubt we would even be standing here at all,” the stag pointed out as he readied the bow.

“Maybe, but lucky for you guys I still have my soul, and my compassion still exists.”

The stag nodded and aimed his bow up high. He took a few deep breaths until he let loose the arrow and it soared towards the top of the city where the palace stood. The stag then dropped the bow and smashed it in two before he ushered his fellow stags along and they made their escape out of the city.

“One more thing!” The stag called out as he left. “You should know that the royal family is still alive! Lord Gluttony has kept them untouched in the throne room for reasons unknown, but he has something public planned for them. So if you wish to save them, I would hurry!”

Draco simply nodded as they made their leave.

“Is it worth letting that many go free?” Flash said bitterly.

Draco considered this for a moment before speaking. “When this war first started they may have thought they were unstoppable. But now, me, as well as the other two champions arrived, their opinions changed. By letting them go free with the knowledge they would die; should they continue fighting, we ensure ourselves that we have fewer opponents to deal with.”

Crouching down Draco picked up one of the guns and examined it. “Some of them may have been forced into this war. I won’t defend their actions and say they are guilt free. But I think Phill may be rubbing off on me about this whole mercy thing.”

“Ever wonder about what those stags back at Sanctuary said?” Flash asked. “About that clan that fought back?”

Draco nodded. “I did. Maybe there’s some survivors, but they have to blend in with the others or die otherwise.”

With the lower district of the city claimed and the diamond enslaved diamond dogs freed, all that was left to do was to raid the armoury. Bismuth led the group into the fortress as they walked down a large staircase.

“The stags had us move all their weaponry and other specific items to the storeroom down below this fortress. We should find what we’re looking for there.”

“Good. Thankfully, the Prometheus is close and isn’t suffering any attacks. We can take what we find and leave.” Draco looked to Bismuth. “Once we get you back to the pony nation, I’ll make sure you and your fellow diamond dogs are taken care of.”

“Thank you.”

The group eventually arrived at a set of large metal doors. Bismuth fished out a key he swiped from one of the armoured stags and unlocked the door. When he pushed the doors open, they were met with a large store room full of various items. Weapons, schematics, treasures consisting of a variety of gemstones, and a large cart full of shiny-looking ore deposits.

“Jackpot, baby!” Zephyr cheered.

“That’s a lot of stuff,” Maud said.

“Is this the Star Ore you spoke of?” Draxo asked Bismuth as he examined some of the ore.

“Yes, our pride and joy in forging,” Bismuth nodded.

Draco put the piece back and turned to the diamond dog. “Then we’ll take it with us, better than letting Gluttony have it.”

“What about all the rest of this stuff?” Flash asked as he looked through some schematics. “Huh, hey Draco? What’s this…tank thing?” Draco looked at Flash with wide eyes.

Draco moved over to stare at the schematics with disgust and fear. “Something worse than a hundred War Beasts put together.” Draco turned to look at Bismuth. “Have any of these been made yet?”

“Not that I know of, but I have heard these same schematics were sent to the Yak kingdom,” Bismuth said. “Why? What is it?”

“Given the skills of the caribou themselves, what are the odds they could make these without the diamond dogs?”

“Hmm, not likely, but I suppose anything is possible if given time,” Bismuth shrugged.

Draco bit at his thumb as he considered what to do. “For now we take everything in here. Leave nothing that looks important behind.”

“What’s wrong Draco?” Maud asked, concerned for Draco’s sudden change of attitude.

“Tanks were powerful weapons in my world’s warfare. If they start producing these, we can expect them to become much more deadly,” Draco said while trying to keep calm.

“And…these other schematics that say fighter jets?” Flash asked hesitantly.

There was yet another brief pause, but everyone in the room could see Draco was slightly more agitated. “It would seem the Sins want to bring weapons and vehicles of mass destruction to this world. Our enemies are looking to upgrade themselves….perhaps we should try to do the same?”

“Let us continue this conversation elsewhere.” Bismuth walked over to the side of the room and picked up some large burlap bags and tossed them to Draco, Flash, and Zephyr. “Let’s take it all.”

After making sure nothing was left behind, the group exited a near empty storeroom and left the fortress. They made their way back from where they came as they heard more commotion coming from the main city. The group walked back out the tunnel Maud made and managed to make it back out to the open where they saw the Prometheus in the air above them. A couple smaller air ships came down to pick up the group and they brought them back up to the Prometheus. Once they were back on board the top deck, they were met with dozens upon dozens of diamond dogs. Every dog had a cloak draped over their shoulders and were being tended to by Doctors Warm Heart and Surgical Steel.

“Welcome back, Lieutenant!” A few of the crew saluted Draco.

Draco nodded and smiled. “At ease you guys, prepare to return to Canterlot. We need to get the survivors tended to and rested.”

Draco and the others set their takings down and Draco was met with a pair of arms wrapping around his neck from behind.

“Hey you.”

Draco glanced over his shoulders to see his marefriend. “Hey yourself.”

“Did you kick flank and take names as usual?” Shadow twirled her finger along his chest.

“To a degree.” Draco turned around and hugged his mare, nuzzling against her muzzle. “Sorry if you were worried about me.”

“I’m your marefriend, it’s my job to worry about you and love you,” Shadow said sweetly.

“Yeah, I know.” Draco kissed his mare lovingly as he nuzzled and hugged her.

It wasn’t until Draco noticed Maud staring at them with a blank expression and Shadow took notice as well.

“Hmm, might as well rip the bandaid off, tiger,” Shadow teased.

“I know. After this I’ll need to talk with Rarity next, but I think I’m ready.” Stepping away from Shadow, Draco walked over to Maud till he was standing right in front of her. “Maud.”

“She really loves you, huh?” Maud said.

“She does.” Draco leaned in, his arms moving to gently wrap around her waist before kissing her lips softly. “Would you like to join her and be a member of my herd?”

Maud’s eyes widened a bit. “Are you sure? I know I was a bit aggressive before, aren’t you mad?”

“Well, I will admit, I was caught off guard, but I wasn’t mad. And honestly, I’m kinda flattered you picked me.” Draco leaned in and gave Maud another kiss.

Maud moaned into the kiss as she wrapped her arms around Draco’s neck before they pulled away. “I’d love to be in your herd.” For the first time since he’d met her, Maud smiled a little as they let go of each other.

“Oh! Let me get in on this!” Shadow jumped in and planted her lips on Maud’s making Draco and any other stallion go slack-jawed.

Draco, after snapping himself out of his daze, looked at the mares kissing. “Okay, I’m removing your punishment, Shadow. As soon as we get home, you me and Maud are fucking.”

“Woohoo!” Shadow cheered as Maud went red-faced.

“I…I look forward to it,” Maud said as she licked her lips at Draco.

“You better, Muad, because I’m rock hard, if you know what I mean.” Draco wiggled his eyebrows.

Draco looked over to Soarin and smiled. “Take us home, Soarin!”