Chapter 43

Draco sat in the Captain’s nest on the ship as the sun shone over the growing town of Ponyville. After their business was concluded in Canterlot, Draco felt it necessary that he and the others return to Ponyville and continue preparations for the coming infiltration of the Diamond Dog kingdom.

Draco had a large piece of paper laid out on the desk as he drew up an idea he’d been pondering for the last couple of days. Alpha Squad had their own weapons and skills to use for combat, but he thought about how Beta Squad would fare better if they had weapons of their own. Since then, Draco had been hard at work by locking himself on the ship as he hypothesized and theorized his new idea for the dogs.

Knock, knock, knock!

“Draco?” Violet said on the other side of the door.

Draco looked up and saw the time. “Come in, Violet,” he called out.

The door opened and in walked the female greyhound. She approached the desk as Draco used a pencil to draw on the paper.

“No one’s seen you for two days, boss, what have you been doing?” Violet asked.

Draco had bags under his eyes as he rubbed them. “Working on my plans to improve our arsenal. With you and the other diamond dogs here, we may yet gain a lead against the caribou.”

Violet peered over at the paper to see what Draco was drawing.

“Staffs?” Violet said aloud, tilting her head.

“Magical staffs. Magic that can be used by any race will give us a rather large advantage. Even some that can help cure wounds and relieve fatigue. To have these on the battlefield is a must,” Draco added.

“I see,” Violet said. “Well, I’ve come to tell you that Ms. Rarity is asking for you.”

Nodding Draco stood up and stubbed a bit, before catching himself at the edge of the desk. “Whoa, guess I’ve been sitting too long. Thank you Violet, I’ll head over there now.”

“Don’t overwork yourself, boss!” Violet teased as he left.

“Sorry I guess I’m dog tired.” Draco looked back and smirked.

Draco made his way up to the top deck and down the gangplank of the ship. He walked past Twilight’s castle, but picked up a distant noise, thanks to his super sensitive hearing. He noticed one of the windows was open and could make out the sounds of someone…crying.

A compelling feeling drew him to the front door of the castle, where the guards looked at him, nodded and allowed him inside. He walked in the direction of where he thought he heard the crying coming from.

His trek was not a long one as he found himself making his way to where Spike’s old room was. The door was open ajar, and he peered in to see a sobbing Twilight. She held a small blanket in her arms as Moon sat next to her and tried to comfort her herd-sister.

“Oh Moon…” Twilight sniffled. “Where could he be? I lost my big brother; I can’t lose my little brother too!”

“I’m sure he’s out there somewhere, Twilight,” Moon said with a sad frown and rubbed her back. “You must have faith that young Spike will return to us.”

“The scouts said he could be hurt!” Twilight whimpered. “He’s just a baby dragon! In the middle of all this turmoil!”

Draco wasn’t sure if he had any right to be here, yet in his heart he could not just abandon Twilight. Clearing his throat, he made his presence known. “Pardon the intrusion ladies.”

“Oh, hello Draco,” Moon said with a brief smile, but Twilight looked up at him with bloodshot eyes.

“Draco…” Twilight shakily sat up as tears flowed from her eyes. “Maybe you can help! You’re good at finding stuff! All the scouts have found were mere traces! But you can find him! Please! Please find Spike for me!”

Draco felt a pain in his chest. This look of desperation, the begging tone in Twilight’s voice. It yanked at his heartstrings something fierce. Walking over to the two mares, Draco knelt down next to Twilight. “First, I need you to calm down a bit, Twilight, it won’t do it anypony good if you give yourself an anxiety attack,” he said while stroking her back carefully.

Twilight sat back down as Draco sat on the other side and took deep breaths.

“She’s been very stressed lately,” Moon said. “The loss of her brother, the disappearance of Lock, and young Spike missing are beginning to take their toll on Twilight. The visit with her parents didn’t help since Mr. Night Light has taken up drinking and Mrs. Twilight Velvet has become mostly mute.”

Draco hadn’t known this, and he could see how all this could snowball for the poor mare. “I’m sorry to hear that, truly I am.” Draco looked to Twilight and watched as he tried to calm herself, almost relapsing as she tried. “Twilight, tell me what the scouts have reported thus far. I know it may be hard, but I need as much information as possible.”

Twilight took more breaths and began to speak. “There have been sightings, before you and Lock showed up. A young dragon on the run towards the crystal empire, hiding in a cave beneath the snow, and barely making his escape from captors. The scouts found more camps outside Equrstria’s borders. The caribou had once been talking about a special prisoner one of the commanders took for his own sick desires. The reports say the prisoner was…a-a young dragon.”

Draco took this information and nodded. “Just to clarify. A body hasn’t been found, right?”

“N-No…” Twilight said.

Just then, Draco’s phone rang, and he saw it was Phill calling him.

Checking his phone Draco answered. “Well? Is he up there?”

“Nope, even asked Lord Azrael,” Phill answered over the phone. “He ain’t seen a soul like the one yer lookin’ for.”

Draco smiled and nodded. “And I highly doubt he’d be sent to Hell. Now, before I hang up, did you manage to give him the you know what, and asked him to write his you know what?”

“Aye, but he’s been quiet about it. Must still be comin’ to terms,” Phill said.

“I can understand that. I wish I could switch places with him. But for now, I hope this can help ease the pain of his absence. Anyway, I have to go. Thanks again, Phill, your timing is perfect.” Hanging up the phone Draco turned to Twilight with a smile on his face. “Twilight, he is alive.”

“B-But how can you know that?” Twilight asked.

Draco sat next to Twilight and kept his warm smile. “Before this, I had Phill run an errand that would take him to Heaven. I asked while he was there to see if one Spike the dragon had passed away and went there. And as fate would have it, he’s not there, and I would highly doubt he would go to Hell. So that can only mean?” Draco smiled.

“So…there’s still hope?” Twilight said, sounding happier.

“Indeed, there is,” Moon said with a smile of her own.

“I’m so relieved,” Twilight said. “I just…I just wish he were her with us. His birthday is soon.”

Draco wasn’t sure what else he could do to ease her worried mind. That is until a thought occurred. Standing up, Draco moved to remove his upper armor as well as his shirt.

“What are you doing?” Twilight asked.

Draco raised his hand as it turned to claws before scraping it along his bare chest. He drew blood as making a long claw mark over his heart, wincing slightly from the pain.

“Draco?!” Both mares yelped.

Once his chest could easily bare his claw marks, enough that it could leave scarring, Draco looked to the mares.” This is my promise to you, Twilight. This wound and the scar made by it can easily be healed by me. However, until the day I bring Spike home, I won’t let this scar leave my body.” As he spoke the wound closed and left an easily visible scar on his skin. “Anytime I’m not spending to fight the caribou will now be dedicated to finding your little brother, this I swear to you.”

Twilight’s tears welled up again in her eyes, but they were happy tears. She stood up and wrapped her arms around his chest as she wept happily

“Thank you…please find him,” Twilight said quietly.

Cleaning the blood off his hands, Draco moved his hand to pat her back. “I will, this I swear to you.”

Twilight took a step back and smile gratefully at Draco. Just then, Draco heard the sounds of giggling outside the window. Curious, Draco opened the window only for something to latch onto his face.

“Merida!” The familiar voice of Phill snapped. “Ya gotta stop doin’ that!”

“For the love of-” Draco struggled to remove the little filly clamped onto his face, like some face hugger in an alien movie.

Merida giggled when she finally decided to let go and Draco held the filly in front of her. She wore a cute little sweater and snow pants and a beanie that barely held her frizzy red hair in place.

“Hi, Uncle Dwaco!” Merida chirped.

Draco eyes widened as he held the giggling filly in his hands. “Merida, did you just talk?”

“Daddy teach me!” Merida said gleefully.

“She’s a fast learner,” Phill said as he walked up to the window. Next to him was little Pipsqueak holding his hand. “Took me by surprise meself, Iemme tell ya.”

Draco spotted the little colt and smiled. He hopped out of the window and knelt down, so he was eye level with the colt and moved a hand to pat his head. “It’s good to see you again, my friend.”

Pip nodded and hid behind Phill’s leg.

“He’s still a shy one,” Phill said, smiling down at the colt. “But he accepted me proposal of adopting him.” Phill ruffled the colt’s head. “You’re lookin’ at the newest member of the McHaggard clan.”

Draco was surprised, but not all that shocked. “Well, I guess that means I’m your new uncle too then.”

“Are ya gonna tell me how ya got that shiner on your chest, boy?” Phill asked as he held Merida with one arm.

Draco looked down and smiled before slipping on his undershirt back on. “It’s the mark of a promise I made to Twilight before you came here.”

“And ya clawed yourself to do so?” Phill questioned. “Seems a tad excessive, no?”

Shaking his head Draco moved to put the upper layer of his armor on. “Nope. I can easily fix my skin so that the scar can go away. But I’m keeping it there so I can never forget the promise I made. As a reminder to myself that I am a man of my word.”

“If ya say so,” Phill shrugged. “How’re them dinos ya got stored away?”

“Well…” Draco trailed off.

Near the Everfree Forest a large padauk could be seen, and from within it snarls and growls could be heard.

“They have started growing faster than I would have expected,” Draco chuckled nervously.

“Draco…” Phill said, thanking God that he made the right decision to leave his kids back at the castle. “What the bloody hell is that sound?”

“Aww, well that’s the sound of my kids roughing around,” Draco said with a proud tone like a father watching his children.

Draco took a step forward and pulled out a remote and pressed it. The large metal doors began slowly opening.

“What the-! What’re you doin’?! Don’t let them out!” Phill panicked.

Draco made some raptor calls, and immediately in response a call cried back. The sound of stampeding footsteps could be heard. And in the blink of an eye, eight raptors nearing four feet tall sprinted out, towards the two.

The raptors had closed the gap between the groups, before Draco raised his hand up and made a roar-like cry that stopped the raptors in their feet, all lined up at attention.

“Sweet Jaysus, look at ‘em!” Phill said as he gazed at the dinosaurs in person. “They look just like they did in them picture books me Nan used to read me when I was a wee lad!”

“Aren’t they just the cutest?” Draco cooed as he walked over to one that had light orange skin and black tiger stripes. “My little babies have grown up so fast, yes you have,” he said, rubbing the head of the raptor.

“Ya really raised them up good, didn’t ya?” Phill said as Draco pet them. One of the raptors slowly approached Phill, making him nervous. “E-Easy now…”

The raptor was light gray, with long blue stripes along its body. “Don’t worry, they have been trained to discern good from bad. They know not to attack people and ponies. Raise your hand out and let her come to you.”

Phill gulped as he held his hand out to the raptor. It took another step towards him and sniffed his hand a few times. The raptor then gently tapped Phill’s hand with its snout and brushed its head under his palm.

“Blimey…” Phill breathed out.

“That’s Blue, she's the beta of the raptors,” Draco smiled and watched as the rest of the raptors soon moved in. Some circled Phill before moving closer to nudge against him making chirping noises.

“And who amongst them is the Alpha?” Phill asked as he let more of the raptors. Draco only crossed his arms and grinned. “Oh, right.”

“Har har.” Draco faked a laugh before making another raptor call, causing the group to march back to the enclosure. “Fluttershy helped me with their enclosure. She knew some ponies who could help build it in no time flat.”

“So why here?” Phill wondered, gesturing to area around them that sat close the forest.

“Well, the Everfree has some wildlife that they can eat, and we can practice hunting and combat. I’m getting them used to the idea of hunting select targets,” Draco added.

“When do ya think they’ll be ready for the field?” Phill asked as they made their way back to the castle.

Draco scratched his chin as he hummed to himself. “Well, I wanna wait ‘til they’re full grown. I was gonna see if Bismuth could give them some form of protection while out on the field.”

“I see,” Phill said and pulled out a cigarette. He put it in his mouth and used a light from his finger to ignite it. “So…ya really think you can pull it off on your own?” Phill asked as he took a puff.

“Aye, that’s the plan you cooked up,” Phill said, holding his cigarette between his fingers. “By the way, much as I wish to tag along, I got a favor to ask regarding my kids.”

“What kind of favor?” Draco asked, sounding curious and worried.

“I got some…personal business comin’ up. Think I can leave them with you for a few days?” Phill requested.

“Where are you going? And couldn’t you leave them in Sanctuary?” Draco asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Much as my men are capable of protecting Sanctuary, I’d personally prefer they be with people I can trust to keep them as safe as possible,” Phill said, taking another drag. “Could ya look after them while I’m gone?”

“Okay, I get why not leave them with your men, but why me specifically? You see the things I do, right?” Draco nodded to the guards as they entered the castle. “You could have asked Cadence, Twilight or Moon.”

“Draco.” Phill looked at his friend with a serious expression. “Did you know that one of the Saint’s abilities is to be able to see a soul for what it truly is for every individual?”

This has the man somewhat perplexed. “Um…no? What does that mean exactly?”

Phill took another drag from his cigarette before looking away.

“…Your soul is black,” Phill said.

Draco’s heart sank, his face now sweating profoundly. “I-Is that a bad thing?” He asked, now nervous as hell.

“Normally, yes, if you’re a cold-hearted bastard who could kill for fock all,” Phill said. “But you’ve kept your morality and fought for what’s right. However,…it’s not the color of your soul that bothers me. It’s the fact that I can see how old it is too.”

Draco’s eyes widened before he grabbed the Saint and dragged him into the closet room, cupping a hand over his mouth. “You shut up about that and never repeat those words!”

“Oi! It’s clear that it ain’t my business, boy!” Phill said, pulling Draco’s hand away. “Plus, it ain’t even me who took notice in the first place. It was Lord Michael, and he told me to investigate you.”

“Well, you can tell him to keep his feathery ass away from my business!” Draco’s voice almost sounded warped as his eyes flared red.

“Draco, it’s me,” Phill tried to say. “Have I ever done you wrong?”

For a good while Draco took a deep breath and was fuming, before slowly calming down and leaning back against the wall. “No, you didn’t. I’m sorry Phill.”

“It’s fine.” The two stood in the closet for about another minute. “You know I won’t tell another soul about it, right? It ain’t my place nor my style to go behind another’s back.”

Draco lowered his head and sighed. “I know, I…just need time before I could tell anyone.”

“Wanna tell me? At least just one person who’d know could do you some good instead of shouldering the burden by yourself,” Phill offered. “Don’t tell me as the Saint.” He placed a comforting hand on Draco’s shoulder. “Tell me, Phill McHaggard, your friend.”

Draco said nothing for what felt like minutes before letting out a deep breath. “I’ll tell you my name, that alone should be enough.” Draco gestured for Phill to lean closer, which the Saint did. Once close enough Draco whispered something in his ear.

Phill’s eyes went as wide as dinner plates. He looked back at Draco with his mouth hanging open and swallowed a massive lump in his throat. The Saint began to sweat bullets but managed to keep his cool.

“I-Impossible…” Phill muttered. “Blimey, that’s a total mind fock.”

“I imagine it is, and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t act so scared around me. I buried that part of myself in the past, which is where I would like to keep it.” Draco could see the fear in his friend’s eyes.

“Don’t get me wrong, I still trust you, but…by god’s grace, this is just…” Phill tried to find the words, but none could make their way out of his mouth.

“Still sure you want to leave your kids with me then? I can understand if you don’t.” Despite his words, Draco’s tone sounded as though he wasn’t relieved.

“Draco…thank you,” Phill finally said.

“For what? Scaring the shit out of you?” Draco joked.

“No, ya did, but no. For trusting me with this,” Phill said. “I’m honored ya trust me with something like this. It just proves that you’re as good a man as I thought you were. Despite what your soul’s true nature is.”

“Believe me, I’m not happy about it either, you know? But do me a favor, even if Lock asks, please don’t tell him. I want to be the one who eventually tells him the truth,” Draco asked respectfully.

“Fine by me, it’s your business anyway,” Phill nodded, then looked around. “Why the fock are we still in the fockn’ closet?!”

Draco smiled and placed a hand on Phill’s shoulders. “Hey, I’m just waiting for you to finally come out of the closet, man. No judgments here.”

“Up yers, ya little shite!” Phill barked and burst out the door. “Don’t you got mares to check on?!”

“Hey, I’m proud of you, man! It takes a real man to come out of the closet!” Draco shouted for all to hear.

“FOCK EFF!” Phill shouted, flipping him the bird.

Draco laughed as he turned to walk away but was met with Pip and Merida. Merida was holding her adopted brother’s hand as the two looked up at him.

Fuuuuuuuck, Draco groaned internally, before kneeling down to the two foals. “Hey kids, do you want a tour of the castle?”

“Is Pop okay?” Pip asked.

Draco sighed and placed his hands on Pip’s shoulders. “Yes he is, he’s just coming to grips with the fact that he just came out of the closet is all. I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

“What’s that mean?” Pip tilted his head.

“Cwoset!” Merida said, pointing at Draco.

“It means your dad really likes coconuts and bananas, is all.” Draco was doing his best to not laugh his ass off.

“Oh, can we make him a smoothie or something?” Pip asked.

“Swoothie!” Merida chirped.

“Heh, sure kids, I’m sure he’ll love it. Just tell him it's a coming out of the closet shake, and I’m sure he’ll drink every last drop,” Draco said.

“Okay,” Pip said. Merida giggled as Draco noticed her unfurling her wings.

“No…no no no.” Draco slowly backed away as he saw her getting ready. “Don’t even think about it.”

“Even I don’t know why she does it, but you better run, Uncle Draco,” Pip warned as Merida’s wings buzzed.

Needing no second opinion, Draco quickly bolted away running at maximum speed, down as many corridors as he could.

“Why me?!” Draco complained as Merida chased after him.

Draco spent the better part of an hour avoiding his niece hugging his face and managed to make his escape from his adorable pursuer. Draco knew the little filly was too cute for her own good to stay mad at her, and he got the distinct feeling that she was aware of how cute she was. Draco was now finally making his way to Rarity’s boutique, where he expected his new outfit from Rarity and new invention he requested Bismuth to make. Upon arriving at the boutique, Draco knocked on the door.

“Come in~!” Rarity called out in her singsong voice.

Turning the doorknob Draco walked into the boutique. “Rarity?” He called out. “I’m here to see about my outfit for the mission.”

Draco found Rarity and Bismuth in the room, talking with each other. Standing by them was a mannequin with a large white drape over it and a table next to it with another white drape and something underneath it.

“Perfect timing, boss, we have your new equipment here,” Bismuth said.

“Sorry for the rush order, you guys, but this should help with the mission.” Draco walked over to Rarity and hugged her close before kissing her on the horn.

“Oh! Careful, darling, it’s sensitive!” Rarity giggled.

“Heh, oh, I know, Shadow likes it when I give it equal attention.” Nuzzling his marefriend, Draco kissed her cheeks next snd and turned to the cloaked object. “So, can I see the final product?”

Rarity nodded and grabbed the cloak that draped over the mannequin. A set of fancy robes with leather straps, boots, and a hooded coat stood in front of Draco as Rarity beamed with pride.

“Does this satisfy you, my dear Draco?” Rarity said while batting her eyelashes.

Draco smiled as he walked around the new attire, marveling in the craftsmanship. The leather was well-placed, to offer not only protection, but wouldn’t constrict his movements either. “

It’s fantastic, Rarity, I expected nothing less from you,” Draco said, proud of his marefriend.

“But of course!” Rarity said as she fluffed her mane with her hand.

“Very impressive,” Bismuth said with a nod. “And I believe you’ll be equally satisfied with these.”

Bismuth pulled the cloak off the table and revealed two wrist straps. On the underside of the straps was a small blade that looked to be attached to some kind of spring mechanism.

“The design you gave us was quite intricate, to say the least, but I believe we managed to craft them just as you wanted,” Bismuth said.

Draco lifted the gauntlet and examined it closely before slipping it on his right wrist. With a flex of his wrist the hidden blade sprang out and with another flex, back in. All while not damaging his hand. “I was worried I might have given you guys a tall order, but you truly are the master of the forge, and for that you have my utmost respect.”

“I aim to please,” Bismuth said as Draco slipped the second gauntlet on his left wrist. “If I may ask, where did you come up with such an interesting design?”

“I concur,” Rarity said. “I’ve never made such a roguish-looking attire.”

Draco wasn’t sure how to answer. Rarity already knew of how he hailed from another world where their lives were a TV show. Bismuth, on the other hand, didn’t, and it could cause problems should he accidentally spill the beans.

“A long time ago, there was a group of assassins. They fought a radical group known as the Templars who wanted to subjugate humanity. These are both their clothing that they wore, and the weapons they kept on them, hidden to the innocent, but revealed to their enemies,” Draco explained.

“My word, assassins?” Rarity said, sounding concerned.

“That means they killed people,” Bismuth surmised.

“More or less.” Draco scratched the back of his head. “You see, there were these items created by unknown beings, known as the Pieces of Eden. The Templars wanted them to subjugate humanity. The assassin killed only those who would try and send the world into chaos. So they weren’t the villains really.”

“That’s terrifying,” Rarity said.

“Sounds like they were a righteous bunch,” Bismuth said with an accepting nod. “Any well-known assassins throughout their history?”

“None that I would know. They pride themselves in secrecy.” Draco smiled as he grabbed his new wardrobe and slipped into a room to change.

“Draco? Bismuth and I are going to step out so I can measure his Beta Squad for their battle outfits,” Rarity said as Draco changed in the dressing room. “We’ll be back shortly.”

“Okay, babe!” Draco called out.

Rarity and Bismuth stepped out of the door and Draco out on the rest of his robes. After about another minute of putting them on and making sure everything was strapped on, Draco stepped out of the changing room. He walked over to a mirror and admired how his new robes looked on him. He couldn’t help but smirk as he spun around a bit and played with his long coat.

“Hmph, I thought they’d never leave,” a sudden voice came out of nowhere.

The room suddenly darkened and Draco senses spiked up, making his skin crawl.

“Who’s there?” Draco demanded. “Don’t you know it’s rude to peep on someone while they’re changing? Come out, you got balls sneaking into my marefriend’s place.”

“Bold of you to assume that I would be intimidated by such a threat,” the voice spoke again but came from the mirror.

When Draco looked, he saw a human with black eyes was in the mirror looking over his reflection’s shoulder. When Draco spun around to look, he saw no one was there, and when he looked back at the mirror the figure was still there.

“How in the-?! Okay, what the hell’s going on? Who the hell are you?” Draco growled, his eyes turning reptilian.

“Forgive my intrusion, and as for my name there are many for me. But the one I am most commonly known for is The Outsider,” the man said as he gave a brief bow.

“Sounds like something a goth teen with mommy issues would call himself,” Draco scoffed.

“You’re as smart with your words as Dimitri is,” the Outsider mocked, piquing Draco’s attention.

“How do you know Lock?” Draco questioned.

“That is my business, as it is to watch all creatures of interest to my specifics,” the Outsider said vaguely. “A curious thing, you are, chosen by a spirit of chaos to wreak havoc on all in your choosing with an undecided future. Much like Dimitri, the fate of this country rests on both yours and his choices with many outcomes being the end result. It makes me wonder what you will do now that you’ve heard me?”

“I swore to protect this land and liberate the world,” Draco proclaimed. “I don’t much care what my fate may be, so long as those whom I care for are safe.”

“So much like Dimitri, misguided, but determined,” the Outsider said with a blank expression. “Much like the other one I met.”

“Who?” Draco asked.

“That is my decision. But you should know, in your desire to save this country, you may just end up burning it first,” The Outsider said, making Draco stumble back at the word. “Either way, whatever the outcome, I’ll be expecting a good show.”

“Are we done? Because I have more important things to worry about than talking to a mirror,” Draco scoffed.

The Outsider only chuckled before vanishing and the dim, dark atmosphere became bright again in the boutique.

The door opened up again and Rarity and Bismuth walked back in.

“My mind is brimming with new ideas!” Rarity said. “I’ve never made clothing for diamond dogs before!”

“I’m glad the squad went along with their measurements,” Bismuth agreed and they noticed Draco staring at the mirror. “Boss? You okay?”

“Oh my stars!” Rarity gasped with wide, happy eyes. “You look so dashing, darling!”

Draco, forgetting that he had dawned his new suit, smiled, pushing the events prior aside in his mind. “Thanks, it kind of reminds me of something I wore back in London.”

“London? What’s that?” Rarity wondered.

“Oh, a place back on earth. Honestly, I think you would enjoy a place like that.” Draco kissed his marefriend’s cheek, before pulling a radio out of his pocket. “Draco to the Prometheus, do you copy?”

“Soarin here, what’s up General Draco?” Soarin said. Draco could detect a faint mocking tone in his voice.

“Well, I was going to tell you about how I just saw Fleetfoot buying some very naughty lingerie, and what she was gonna do to you tonight, but judging by that tone of yours, you seem to not be in the mood to talk,” Draco said.

“F-Fleets?!” Soarin yelped. “Wh-Why would she buy lingerie?!”

“Apparently, and this is what I heard, mind you. That she said something about seducing you and sucking you till you dryer than the Saddle Arabia desert,” Draco said without any filters.

There was a lot of incoherent mumbling before a crashing sound was heard. About a minute later, someone picked the radio back up.

“Um, sir? He passed out,” a recruit said.

“That’s fine, just splash some water on his face and kick him in the balls for good measure. That’s an order.” Draco hung up the radio and turned to Rarity. “Love, could you be so kind as to invite Fleetfoot here and make her some lingerie? I’ll pay.”

“But of course,” Rarity said and walked away to work, but turned around one more time. “Red or black?”

“Hmm, black. I think it will really stand out with her fur color. Also, if you could help me set a secret date up for these two, I’d very much appreciate it.” Draco winked at her.

“AAAIIIYYYY!!” The radio suddenly came on followed by a screech of pain from the other line.

“What the forge was that?!” Bismuth said in a startled tone.

“That, my good friend, is the sound of a stallion getting his balls kicked. God rest his seed.” Draco playfully lowered his head.

That Night

The cold winter night sky was quiet as a dense fog loomed over the trees near the mountains. The fog stretched for miles and miles as it continued to spread more and more. Deep within the fog was a huge airship that flew high above the ground and a couple of smaller airships following behind. Standing near the wheel on the bridge was Draco as Zephyr was waving his arms in and out. The stallion’s eyes were pure white as he kept the fog as dense as possible and they flew back to the mountain where the diamond dog kingdom resided. The crew were all dressed up in winter uniforms and Draco kept his eyes focused forward.

“Never made fog this dense before,” Zephyr said.

“I think you did a good job, now remember the plan.” Draco pulled out a map of the mountain, before taping on the lower left of the picture of said map. “You will be going here for the extraction while I go in and free the captors. I’ll be going radio silent so don’t freak out when you can’t hear from me.”

Draco checked to make sure he had the compass that he got from Lock’s quarters and slipped it back into his pocket. “The moment we start the extraction, I’ll lead the caribou away to keep their attention from you guys as you get the last of the prisoners out.”

“Are you sure at least one of us can’t come with you?” Flash asked.

“Unless one of you passed my test without me knowing, then yes I’m sure,” Draco shot back.

Bismuth and a few others from Beta Squad started sniffing the air.

“We’re nearly there, boss, just a few more miles,” Gravel said.

“Good. Did you prepare the other invention I asked for?” Draco started to check and make sure all his equipment was on him.

“We attached it below the bow of the ship, boss,” Jasper said.

“Good.” Soon the mountain's silhouette could be seen in the horizon. “Alright guys this should be far enough. I’ll jump off here. Hang back so the caribou don’t get suspicious.”

Shadow grabbed Draco and held him close. Maud got in as well as she hugged Draco too.

“Be safe,” Shadow said.

“Please,” Maud said.

“I’ll be alright, it’s the caribou you should be worried about…and Soarin’s balls,” Draco joked.

“They still hurt!” Soarin complained, making Fleetfoot giggled off to the side.

Catching the giggle from Fleetfoot, Draco had another twisted idea. “If it hurts that much, maybe Fleetfoot could kiss them better for you. Feel free to go to Lock’s quarters for some privacy.”

At this, Fleetfoot blushed profusely while Soarin looked away embarrassed.

“What did I say about bullying the kids, babe?” Shadow said.

“Who says I was joking?” Draco winked before jumping off to the side of the ship and flying off to the mountain.

Draco flew away from the hidden ships and eventually out of the fog. He stayed low enough to not be spotted by any patrols outside the mountain and made his way back to the hole Maud carved out. Remembering where it was, Draco managed to spot it easily. However, much to his inconvenience, there were already several guards outside the hole. They had supplies laying around and it looked like they were trying to reseal it.

“Well, now I’m glad I came alone. Trying to sneak a whole squad through all that would have been a pain,” Draco said silently to himself.

Draco slowly began to morph his body, and his physique began shrinking down. His body become black forming a hard shell, four buzzing wings forming on his back. His eyes becoming large and round with tiny squares for eyes. Soon, Draco was morphed into a dragonfly the size of a pigeon. His wings flapped at such high speed they were practically a blur, while his head swiveled side to side before flying forward.

The only sound he made was a faint buzzing noise, which was muffled by the grunts and groans of the caribou, who were hard at work covering the tunnel. Swift and precise, the large dragonfly flew past the caribou and through a narrow passage.

“Can’t bucking believe those mutts in the lower district got away. And they managed to kill Sir Styr!” A caribou grunt complained as Draco flew by.

“I hear ya, and it’s a shame too. I would’ve loved to try one of them bitches out,” another grunt chortled.

“Dude, seriously? That’s gross,” a traitor stallion said. “Lord Gluttony had plans to force the bitches into War Beast breeding camps, since he said that’s all they were good for. But now we’re left with what we got.”

Tempering his anger, Draco continued flying through the tunnel until he exited out on the other side. While remaining in his large insect form, Draco buzzed along the wall of the mountain to not attract attention to himself.

Within a few minutes he flew high enough to reach the second level. Finding a quiet alley, he shifted back and touched down on the ground.

“Alright now it’s time to see if this drill was worth the warm up,” Draco said.

Draco pulled over his hood and stuck to the shadows. He ducked and walked silently past the buildings as guards roamed the streets. Much to his discomfort, and despite it being the dead of night, he could hear the unsettling noises coming from some of the buildings. If Draco had to guess, caribou and traitor stallions were busy indulging themselves with their mare slaves.

Seeing as this was a rescue mission, Draco had no intention of leaving any mare behind. Carefully opening a window leading into one of the buildings, Draco silently slipped inside and snuck through the house. Looking for the source of the sound.

“Yeah, take it bitch!”

Draco heard a grunt laugh maniacally up the stairs. Candles lit the area as he silently made his way up.

“Yes! Master! Ahn~! Buck your slut!”

“You lowly cunt! I’ll stuff you with my seed and make you bear my child!”

“No please! Somepony help! I don’t wanna be a mom!”

“Quiet!”

Smack!

Draco peered around the corner and his eyes grew wide with rage as he saw who was inside.

Among the many mares in the room being raped by stags and stallions on the floor, and out of all the females to run into on this mission, the familiar, pink-feathered hippogriff Silverstream could be seen being raped from behind on the bed. Her clothes were torn to shreds, tears streamed down her eyes, and there were black boxes where her wings were supposed to be. A black collar was strapped around her throat as a caribou stag pulled her arms back and raped the young hippogriff mercilessly.

“Buck, you’re tight! I always like ‘em when they’re young!” The stag mocked as he slapped her beet red bottom.

“Please stop!” Silverstream begged. “It hurts so much!”

In the back of Draco’s mind, something snapped. His eyes turned black as mercy faded from his mind. Pulling out one of his throwing knives, Draco threw it towards the candle, snuffing out the only light.

“What the buck?! Who blew out the light again?!” A stallion barked.

“Don’t worry I got-hey, what’s that sound?” A stag said.

“🎵Peaceful young races with fires on their houses.🎵”

A cold chilling voice soon filled the room.

“🎵Millions of voices silenced like mouses.🎵”

The caribou scrambled around as they heard the voice getting louder.

“🎵Watching the cowards bow toward their new king.🎵”

“🎵These are the few of my favorite things.🎵”

“Wh-Who’s singing? Who-GAK!” A stallion tried to say when his throat was slashed.

“Hey! What just happ-GUH!” A stag was about to speak when two blades stuck through his windpipe.

“What the buck’s going on-ARCH!” A stallion panicked when a blade pierced through his heart. He slowly looked up to see a hooded figure in the darkness. “Wh-Who…?!”

The figure that was Draco moved a hand to light a match. Only instead of showing his face, the flickering light revealed the horrifying face of a snarling raptor, teeth bared and eyes cold and fixed on the last stallion.

“Dainn…help us!” The stallion whimpered.

The light went out and the only sound that could be heard was a high pitch screech and the sound of the caribou’s voice dying out.

Several tense minutes passed as all the females were huddled in the corner. They were all terrified of whatever was happening but couldn’t see due to the light being snuffed out. Just then, the sounds of footsteps slowly walked to another part of the room, followed by another match being lit and the candle shed light again. Unfortunately, their regained sight did little to calm their nerves. Dead bodies and oozing blood littered the floor as a lone hooded person stood right in the middle of it. He slowly turned to the frightened mares as they pushed against the wall, trying to keep as far away from him as possible.

Draco slowly stopped closer before crouching down. Slowly and without sudden movements, he flipped his hood off to look at the frightened females.

“Easy, I’m here to free you girls,” Draco said calmly.

“P-Please,” one of the red collars got on her hands and knees and bowed her head to the floor. “Spare this worthless cunt’s life, and I’ll offer my slutty body to you, master.”

Draco stared at the mare offering her body, while she was trying to save her fellow slaves. It was obvious that she was still under the influence inflicted by the caribou.

“If that’s how you feel, then I shall accept your body. Under one condition.” Slipping a hand into his coat, Draco pulled out a vial with a lightly glowing liquid inside. “Drink this and our time together will be all that more pleasurable.”

The mare nodded and quickly took the vial, uncorked it, and downed the contents. There was a brief moment when the mare held her head as if she was going through a massive headache until she slowly opened her eyes and blinked a few times.

“Where…where am I?” She asked, looking around.

“Do you still desire pleasure?” Draco asked, a hint of fear in his tone, wondering if the experiment worked.

“What? No! Who are you?! Why am I naked?” The mare said, covering herself. Draco noticed among the slaves there were two more red collars.

“We don’t have much time.” Pulling a set of rags off the floor Draco passed them to the mare who had been cured, before moving to the other two mares and pulled out another set of vials. “Drink these, and you will know pleasure only gods can dream about.”

As the red collars drank their potions, and the black collars covered themselves, Draco saw Silverstream still huddled far in the corner as she covered her head with her arms.

Carefully and slowly, Draco approached her. “Hey there. I’m sorry I couldn't have come sooner, Silverstream, but please don’t be afraid. I’m not going to hurt you.”

“S-Stay away!” Silverstream said, fear gripped her heart. “No more…n-no more!”

It was clear the poor girl was in absolute terror, and his words did little to sooth her. Leaving Draco with one last option. Slowly, once again, Draco began to morph his body, his arms and legs shrinking as he morphed into the sabertooth cub. Gently nudging the cowering Silverstream, Draco let out a few mews to see if she would react.

Silverstream slowly removed her head from under her arms and looked down. When she saw the cub, she sniffled and gently picked him up.

“Who…are you, little guy?” Silverstream said, already beginning to calm down.

While it felt somewhat underhanded, Draco used this form to better calm down the hippogriff. Letting out a few mews and purrs, Draco let his tail wag to see if the old cute charm would work.

“You’re so cute…” Silverstream said, until she began to weep and cry. “Why…why am I here? What did I do…?” The poor girl hugged Draco as she wept uncontrollably. “Why did they…why did they kill her?! I miss my mommy! I miss my home! Why?!”

Draco felt his heartstrings being tugged, he knew why she was crying and could do nothing. He nuzzled into her before slowly changing back. As he changed back his arms moved to hold her gently as he hugged her back, stroking her back slowly as he tried to calm her.

“I’m so sorry, there is nothing I can do about that,” Draco said softly.

“They killed her…!” Silverstream cried into his chest, then looked up at him with red teary eyes. “She was my mom! And they just killed her! They took me away after taking Mt. Aris! Why?!”

Feeling his heart and throat dry up, Draco could only hold the young hippogriff closer. He had no idea that the caribou found their way to the hidden kingdom of the Hippogriffs. Which meant that these monsters were more resourceful than he anticipated.

“I'm sorry, Silverstream, I really am. If I had the power to bring back the dead, I’d do so even if it cost my life. But she’s gone, and you’re still alive. And I know your mother would have wanted you to survive.”

Silverstream cried and cried, and the mares could only watch with pity. To kill a child’s mother, an unforgiveable crime.

“Um…sir?” One of the mares said. “Who exactly are you? We’ve never seen a male treat us so…well, respectfully.”

Turning to see the now clothed mares surrounding him, Draco helped Silverstream to her feet. His hand was still stroking her back as he tried to calm her. “My name is Draco Saurian, and I’m currently leading the revolution of the freedom fight against the caribou and the Sins.”

“Really? Wait…are you with the Hand?” One of the other mares asked.

“That I am. You may have heard of me by my other name, the Beast of Chaos,” Draco added as he draped a towel over Silverstream.

“You’re the Beast?!” All the mares gasped.

“But you don’t look like a monster,” one mare pointed out.

“Not now, but when I need to, I can be.” Draco slowly guided the females through the house until they reached the living room.

“Listen, I can’t afford to stay here for too long. I have more prisoners to liberate.” Draco could see the females were scared and didn't want him to leave. “Don’t worry, I have a crew ready to take you all out of here and back to Ponyville. But I can’t afford for you all to get caught again. I promise I’ll be back, and when I do return you will follow me to the extraction point so you can be taken away from here.”

“How can we trust you?” One of the former black collared mares said. “You may have saved us, but you’re a male. And males now ruthlessly dominate these lands and oppress us females. This could all be a ploy to get our hopes up.”

Draco turned to the female and pulled out one of his throwing knives. The females in question now looked shocked and frightened. Draco instead flipped the knife and caught the blade while holding it out to the mare.

“What’re you doing?” The mare wondered.

“Giving you an out. Take the blade and stab me through the heart.” He forced the knife into the mare’s hand.

“Y-You want me to stab you?!” The mare gasped.

“Naturally. It’s like you said, you can’t trust me. And I can’t convince you by just saying trust in me. So, kill me, then find a way to escape with the other girls out of this mountain while avoiding armed caribou and traitor stallions,” Draco said, staring holes into the mares.

“Wait!” Silverstream sprang up and stood in front of Draco. “He saved us! He’s not like the others!”

“And how do you know that, little hippogriff?” One of the other mares questioned.

“If he were bad, he would’ve killed us, taken us for himself, or just left us to these dead stags and stallions!” Silverstream said and glanced back at Draco. “Right mister?”

“That’s right. And not to add insult to injury, but I did cure you of your mental illness too,” Draco pointed out while holding his hands up.

“He’s got a point,” one of the former red collar mares said, rubbing her neck. “I’d rather not go through that again, and I’ll probably need some major therapy.”

“So, you’re saying you, the Hand, and the resistance fighters are here to liberate us?” The mare with the knife asked. “Like you did with the dogs in the lower district?”

Smiling and nodding his head, Draco moved from around Silverstream to the mare with the knife. “We’re here to stick it to the Sins. Lust is already dead, and Gluttony is next on the chopping block.”

The mares were now more visibly content after hearing Draco’s proclamation.

“Um…mister?” Silverstream said shyly.

“Yes Ms. Silverstream?” Draco asked, turning to face her.

“While I was being…well, tortured, I heard, um, a weird thing from the stags about that Gluttony guy,” Silverstream said.

“Listen, I understand that you might wanna help, but don’t force yourself. I know you went through a dark moment so please try and rest.” Draco wanted to know what she knew, but he wasn’t cruel enough to make her try and remember something from a painful moment.

Silverstream nodded and took a deep breath to calm herself.

“It’s just, I heard them say that Gluttony’s been eating a lot,” Silverstream said, confusing Draco.

“He’s been eating a lot? Do you maybe know what it is he’s eating? After all, he is Gluttony, it’s kinda his thing,” Draco said.

“But that’s just it!” Silverstream said. “The weird part is that I think…I think he’s eating rocks!”

This had Draco concerned. Rocks? Does she mean the Star Ore the diamond dogs had mined? Couldn’t be, he and the ponies stole the shipment that was meant to go to him before. Unless, he had more from before and hadn’t gone through it.

Gently patting her shoulder, Draco smiled at the young hippogriff. “Thanks kid, this might be useful information.”

Silverstream nodded with a small smile as Draco headed for the stairs.

“Good luck, mister!” Silverstream said.

Draco politely shushed her, to which she converted her beak and rushed back into hiding with the other females.

From then on, it was a matter of sneaking through the district, killing caribou and traitor stallions as he went. While also freeing mares and telling them the same thing he told the first batch.

One by one, death followed Draco’s wake with every building he infiltrated and liberated. His hidden blades were drenched with enemy blood as he slit the throats of any stag and traitor stallion. The last thing they heard before their brutal demise was the same tune Draco sang in the beginning. It would be a haunting tune for his victims on their way down to Hell. After clearing over a dozen buildings, and scaring the soul out of countless mares, and a few other female creature species, Draco spotted a building near the center of the district, much larger than the others. It stood at least four stories tall and had more guards surrounding the place than any other building or street he passed by. One stag stood out front wearing a sharp-looking suit. There was an eerie vibe coming off the stag until Draco noticed the familiar black markings that went around his eyes.

Draco knew it was another devil fruit user, yet despite this he prepared for this moment. However, he wasn’t sure what sort of powers he would possess.

It could be something flashy and loud that could alert the whole caribou army. Meaning he was left with one choice, to sneak around the foe until he could assure the safety of the prisoners.

Shapeshifting into a compy, Draco slowly and silently crept around some nearby buildings to get to the side of the large four-story building.

Draco scurried across the street and avoided any prying eyes. He made his way to the other side of the building where he spotted what looked like a manhole in the middle of the street.

In Draco’s mind he groaned knowing all too well what he had to do to get in. Shifting back long enough to lift the manhole cover, he changed into a spider the size of a large dog and climbed along the ceiling of the sewer, avoiding the scat and piss that ran on the floor of the sewer.

Draco had to take as little breaths as possible to avoid taking a deep whiff of the vile odor of the sewer. He navigated his way through the tunnels until he spotted a pipe that went upwards. According to his navigation, he should be directly below the building.

The pipe was thankfully large enough for him to crawl up, though this did mean his spider limbs did touch the walls that were sometimes coated in shit. If spiders could vomit, he would have done so. After what felt like an hour, he managed to reach the exit in a stall, where thankfully no one was in.

After double checking to make sure the coast was clear, Draco morphed back into his human form and cringed uncomfortably. He would soon take this infiltration method to the grave, if it meant not letting anyone else back home know what he did. Just as he was about to leave, he glanced at the sink that had a bottle of hand soap next to it. Draco shrugged as he quickly pulled off his gloves and quickly washed his hands with the soap before putting them back on.

“Oh, the literal shit I go through for justice,” Draco groaned as he exited the bathroom and slowly stalked his way through the prison.

Bismuth had told Draco that the middle level of the building was the most fortified, and if they were keeping any prisoners of war anywhere, it would be there.

He tiptoed his way through the halls, being as quiet as possible. He listened in on every door he passed by to see if there were distinctive sounds, but everything was unnaturally silent. Just then, the front doors opened, and Draco ducked behind a cabinet. He peered through to see the stag from before as a few other stags followed him.

“How is it that I’m surrounded by so many incompetent mongrels that they can’t seem to deal with that infernal Hand and his ragtag band of rebels?!” The stag sneered. “Lord Gluttony should have sent me to deal with them, not Styr!”

“There is a message for you from Lord Gluttony, Sir Klakkr,” one of his men said.

Draco slowly cupped a hand to his ear as he morphed it into that of a bat, improving his hearing.

“Not another one,” Klakkr grumbled. “Of all times to take a brief leave of absence to the Homeland, he chooses now? Fine, what did he say?”

“Lord Gluttony has received word from his majesty, King Dainn. All top-ranking officers must depart for Saddle Arabia within half a year,” the stag said.

“Saddle Arabia? Why the buck must we be summoned back to the capital?!” Klakkr demanded.

“I am just reporting to you as ordered, sir,” the stag said.

Saddle Arabia? Why would they be moving there? Draco thought to himself as he made a mental note of this and moved on as silently as possible.

“Saddle Arabia… Heh, you know, that takes me back a ways,“ Klakkr said with a sick grin. “It was the first continent we conquered when we began our regime. Those fools didn’t know what hit them, and I still remember how Dainn beheaded their king and claimed the queen and three princesses as his own personal whores.” A low and unsettling chuckle escaped the stag’s lips. “Ah, those mares are arguably more buckable than the ones around here. It was only a taste of what was to come for the other continents. That is, until these pathetic equestrian ponies began to rebel.“

Nothing would have pleased Draco more than to slit the stag’s throat. However, he wasn’t sure what his power was, nor did he want to jeopardize the mission. He moved away from the pair and made his way to the next floor.

Draco stealthily crept up the stairs, avoiding any more guards. He ducked behind a wall and peeked over to see two guards on patrol, headed his way.

Quick on his feet, Draco jumped straight up and shifted his hands to claws, digging them into the ceiling and holding himself up. Tucking his legs into himself, he waited till the two guards were just under him.

Just when the two stags were below him, Draco released his grip and extended his hidden blades. In one fluid motion, Draco plunged both blades into their backs as he fell on top of them. There was a loud grunt from both stags but they both couldn’t cry out loud enough before they died instantly, and Draco pulled back his blades.

Moving his hands across their bodies Draco found a set of keys. Grabbed the two guards’ body’s he headed for the door that would lead to the prison cells. Dropping the two bodies one the ground, Draco used the keys to open the door.

Inside were two floors of prison cells. There was a starcase that led to a catwalk to the cells on the second level and circled the whole room. In each cell, there were a mix of mares, female griffins, zebra mares, and the rest were female and male diamond dogs. They all flinched and backed away from Draco, fearful of what he might do to them.

Draco dragged the two corpses of the guard into the room, before shutting it behind him. “It’s alright, I’m here to help.” Draco removed his hood and looked at the prisoners. “I’m Draco Saurian, part of the liberation army.”

“The rebels?” One of the dogs said. “You’re the ones who freed the lower district.”

“The very same.” Draco pulled out the keys and one by one, opened each of the cell doors. “Listen we are all on a tight schedule, Bismuth and the rest of my allies will be here to get us all out soon.”

“Chief Bismuth sent you?” Another dog asked, sounding more hopeful.

“We are allies, he and I.” Draco raised his hand to show off his hidden blade. “He’s the one who made these.”

“But what about that stag with the creepy powers?” A griffin asked.

“Wait, you know his power?” Draco asked, turning to the griffin. “If you do, please tell me. If I know what I’m dealing with, fighting him wouldn’t be a problem.”

“It’s sand!” A unicorn mare said, her horn had been chopped off as she clamored out of the cell. “He can turn into sand and do other weird stuff.”

“That’s not all…” a diamond dog said sadly as he glanced over to the corner of one of the cells. Draco spotted a couple diamond dog corpses that looked like they were dried out husks. “He can absorb all the moisture in your body and make you look like that. He drained our friends dry after they talked back to him.”

Draco walked to the two dried corpses and fell to his knees. In his mind he wondered if he had been here sooner, could he have saved them?

“Hey!” A voice called out from the door. “What the buck are you all doing out of your cells?!” He pulled out a pistol from his holster. “Get back inside right now!”

In a swift movement, Draco dashed right in front of the stallion and changed his head into a Baryonyx. His massive jaws clamped down on the stag’s head. There was a brief scream before a sickening crunch, and the body went limp.

The body fell down with blood bursting from the stump as the whole crowd was shellshocked at what transpired.

“What was that?!” A voice from downstairs yelled.

“It came from the cells!”

“All units! Fall in to the holding cells!”

Draco shifted his voice. “False alarm, one of the prisoners had escaped but they are back in their cell,” he called out in the voice of the stallion he killed.

“Are you sure?” One of the other guards said. “We’re coming up anyway!”

“Hope all you carnivores are hungry because room service is about to swing by.” Draco hid behind the door, and waited for the guards to enter.

The prisoners quickly pretended to get back in their cells so they wouldn’t be in the way. About a dozen guards stormed in the room and were shocked to see the headless corpse of the pony Draco ate.

“What the buck?! What the Tartarus happened?!” A stag yelped.

“His head’s gone…completely ripped off!” A stallion gagged.

Suddenly, the door slammed shut behind them, causing the group to turn around to see a long figure standing by the door. “Hello boys, so nice of you to join me for dinner.”

All the guards immediately aimed their guns.

“Hands in the air! We got you know, rebel scum!” A stag demanded.

“He doesn’t look like the Hand, who the buck are you?!”

Draco smiled as he raised his hands up into the air. But as he did, his hands slowly began to shift into massively long claws. His body grew larger, his neck and jaw elongated. His eyes became blank and white. His body looked similar to a raptor, yet there was a sinister aura coming off his striped body.

“Wh-what the b-buck-!”

“SCRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!”

A high-pitched roar echoed around the room and even shook the whole building.

“SHOOT IT!” One of the stags ordered as they prepared to fire.

The massive dinosaur lunged forward, slicing two guards clean in half, with a single swing of its claws. The guard howled in pain as their entrails spilled out of their body as they soon died on the ground.

One guard began to open fire at the beast, only to anger it to the point he jumped forward and bit the caribou’s arms off. Blood gushed out where his arms once were as he fell to the ground and writhed in pain.

“BUCKING KILL IT-GAAAH!!” A stallion screamed as the dinosaur jumped on him and began tearing away at his gut.

Blood and gore flew everywhere, organs were shredded to pieces as it jumped out of the way from another stag shooting at it. The beast sprinted at the stag and dug its claws straight through his skull. Pieces of brain stuck to its claws as the skull was caved in and it retracted its claws. The guards were ruthlessly slaughtered by this hunter of a dinosaur. Blood and entrails coated the walls and their screams were all that could be heard to anyone listening.

One stag who watched this all in the corner trembled in fear, as he watched every last one of his allies perish before him. Only when the last stag was a bit clean in half did the monster turn its sights on him. He helplessly watched as it slowly stalked its way forever, blood and entrails dripping from its jaws and claws. The stag pulled his gun to his head, and with a pull of his finger, blew his brains out and fell to the ground lifeless.

Draco snorted through his nostrils as he slowly began to transform back to a human. Similar to his Indominus form, this form also took a bit of a toll on Draco. He rolled his shoulders and groaned when he felt his legs ache, followed by a slight migraine coming on.

“Ugh, note to self, put that form on the back burner,” he groaned, rubbing his head and almost felt sick.

Clap…clap…clap…clap.

The sound of slow clapping was heard as Draco turned to see Klakkr standing in the doorway with an amused look on his face.

“Bravo, Beast, bravo indeed,” Klakkr said.

“Ugh, I guess I was a little too loud just now,” Draco grumbled as he pinched the bridge between his nose. “Well, no point worrying about it now.”

“You’ve gone and made quite a mess,” Klakkr said. “Why weren’t you this brutal back in Styr’s district?”

“To be fair, that form is something I only recently stumbled on, and let me tell you, it is a doozy.” A chunk of meat that was stuck to the ceiling soon plopped to the ground. “And second, I didn’t need to since my opponents were so weak. Overkill gets you so far, you know?”

“I suppose I must agree with you,” Klakkr said with a disappointed sigh. “Despite his overzealous prowess, Styr was nothing more than a junkie with devil fruit powers. Must’ve been quite disappointing when he doped himself during your squabble, hm?”

Draco nodded and sighed. “Yeah, I was having fun using him as a test subject for my new skills, but what can you do?” He shrugged his shoulders. “So, are you gonna try and pull that with me, Mr. Sandman?”

Klakkr flinched and glanced around the room. When his eyes landed on the mare and diamond dog who told Draco about him, they flinched instinctively.

“Damn big mouths.” Suddenly, Klakkr outstretched his hand towards them. His whole arm turned into sand and shot towards them through the bars. The sand enveloped their faces as the sand began to compress around them. “I have no tolerance for disobedience!”

“Stop! You’re crushing them!” The other prisoners begged as they tried to dig the sand away.

Before the two could be harmed further, a massive blast of fire blasted Klakkr’s outstretched hand.

“Gah!” Klakkr grunted as he retracted his hand. The sand caught in the blaze turned into glass shards and shattered on the ground. “What the buck?!”

The two prisoners who were engulfed in the sand were freed and gasped for air. “Oh, what? Never attended a science class before?” Klakkr turned to Draco whose hands were burning with fire. “When you superheat sand, it turns into glass.”

“Fire?! Wait, but you’re not the Hand!” Klakkr accused. “How do you have his abilities?!”

Draco allowed the flames in his right hand to go out, revealing a gemstone embedded into his gloves. “That’s the power of magic, baby. I’ve been working on some magical items, and this, here, is my second creation.”

Klakkr was surprised at this, but also relieved in a way.

“You little punk. You still think you have a chance just because you have a little magic rock?” Klakkr’s whole body began to morph into sand as he lowered his body. “You don’t have the slightest inkling of what I’m capable of.”

“I know well enough that you have limits.” Slamming his fist into the ground, a ring of fire surrounded the two, keeping the prisoners out of harm’s way. “I’m guessing you can only make sand equal to your body mass. I also know you can use your sand to try and absorb the water in someone’s body.”

“Grr, now this wouldn’t be considered fair, now would it?” Klakkr sneered, holding his arm up from the intensity of the flames.

“Fair?” Draco said coldly. “You think you deserve to be treated fair?” The flames around then began to grow hotter and bigger. “Was it fair how you enslaved these poor innocent creatures?” He slowly began to march towards the stag. “Was it fair for you to slaughter their families, and force them to be sex slaves?!”

“It’s just the new natural order of things, boy,” Klakkr said as he made his fists bigger with his sand. “By the will of our glorious king Dainn, we have made this world pure again for all male kind.”

“Then I guess I’m the invasive species who screws around with the order of things.” Clenching his fists, they soon became engulfed in flames. “Now then, come at me so I may bring your life to a crispy end.”

Not having to be told twice, Klakkr launched forward like a rocket made of sand at breakneck speeds. Draco quickly raised his arms as he slammed his sand infused fist into Draco. The Knight of Chaos clenched his teeth hard as it felt like he was being hit by a car and he skidded back several feet. Klakkr followed it up with a fierce uppercut that sent Draco flying and smashed into the ceiling before falling back down.

Before his body touched the ground, Draco extended his arms, they touched down on the floor first before he pushed them off and flipped to his feet. Not wasting any time, he shot a blaze of fire directly at the caribou’s body.

Klakkr jumped out of the way and placed his hand on the ground. The stone floor. Draco watched as the floor began to disintegrate and become sand at his touch. Klakkr then swiped his hand upwards as sand projectiles flew at Draco.

Draco tucked and rolled as he dogged the flying projectiles, knowing full well that if he turned them into glass, they would still be deadly. Draco had to put this fight to an end soon, less the prisoners he was trying to save were in danger.

Klakkr kept up the offence as he morphed his hands into large blades made of sand. He rushed at Draco and began skilfully slashing at Draco. Draco backed up and attempted to use his fire gem, but the stag seemed too quick and managed to cut Draco a few times.

Wincing in pain Draco set his body ablaze, causing Klakkr to back off. There wasn’t much time to waste Draco knew he was on a deadline, and their was the matter of all the other slaves he needed to gather to take to the extraction point. There was one way, but he barely had time to practice.

“No better time like now in the present,” Draco said and got into position.

Raising his hands Draco slowly began to spin his hands round and round in a circle. The flames surrounding them began to shrink slowly.

“As or if I’d let you!” Klakkr said as he slammed both hands on the ground.

A large mass of the stone floor turned into sand and soon Klakkr’s whole body turned into sand. The ground beneath him began to rise and a massive wave of sand rose up over Draco.

“I’ll bury you and the rest of the swine here!” Klakkr laughed maniacally as the wave of sand was about to envelope Draco.

“Glad you fell for it,” Draco smiled as he raised the cloak on his shoulder, another gemstone was there, and from it sparks of electricity danced down along his arm. “If you strike sand with a high enough voltage, it will also cause sand to turn into glass.”

“LET’S SEE WHO SURVIVES THEN!” Klakkr said as the wave of sand crashed down on Draco.

For a few brief moments, the sand settled, and no movement was made or seen. Then sparks of electricity sparked out, and fire began to blaze. As the fire and electricity spread, the sand began to harden and become clear, turning into glass.

“WH-WHAT?!” Klakkr’s voice was heard as a mass shot up from the sand and the slaves could see the stag’s body try and reform. “NO! IMPOSSIBLE! YOU WERE MEANT…TO…DIE…!”

Klakkr’s voice slowed down and died out when his body was enveloped by fire and electricity. His body began to harden and soon it turned into solid glass. The glass statue of Klakkr had his arms reaching out and his face had a panicked expression. The caribou DF user in charge of the middle district had been defeated and was now nothing but a glass sculpture.

From the thick glass, the body of Draco could be easily seen by the prisoners from the floor above the cells.

“Is…is he dead?” One prisoner asked.

“He got buried alive! No way he could survive that!” A griffin said.

“So, they killed each other?” A diamond dog deadpanned. “Great…”

Draco’s eyelids opened before the glass began to rumble, soon cracks formed and from the glass erupted Draco, gasping but alive.

“Holy shit! He lives!” A dog cheered.

“That crazy bastard did it!”

Dusting himself off glass shards, Draco climbed out and looked at the glass statue. “See, this is what happens when you neglect your studies.” Pulling one of his throwing knives out, he tossed it at the statue and watched as it shattered to pieces.

From the glass rubble, dust started to swirl around the chunks. Draco watched as a fruit appeared from the dust and sat in the middle of the remains of Klakkr.

“What’s that thing?” A prisoner wondered as Draco approached the fruit.

Picking the fruit up, Draco stowed it away in his pack. "” horrible thing, something you needn’t worry about."”

Jumping up to the second floor, Draco pointed to the bodies of the dead caribou. “Grab their weapons, I hope we won’t need to use them, but better safe than sorry.”

Once again, the slaves opened the doors and followed Draco’s orders. The remaining diamond dogs were the ones who armed themselves as the whole group stood in front of Draco.

“What do we do now, sir?” A diamond dog asked.

Pulling out the map Bismuth gave him; Draco laid it down on the ground. “The extraction point is here, so we will make our way there while collecting the slaves from the buildings that I marked here,” he said while tapping the building with marks on them. “We’ll head there and if all goes well, you’ll be free before sunrise.”

“Sir, a word?” A husky diamond dog requested to speak in private.

Draco nodded and walked over to him. “You don’t need to call me sir you know? Draco will suffice.”

“I must implore you to save our king and queen,” the husky said. “Gluttony plans to execute them as soon he returns.”

“They’re still alive?” Draco asked, surprised.

“Yes, they’ve been held captive in the throne room where Gluttony resides. I overheard that bastard Klakkr say so once as he boasted about it in front of us as to add insult to injury,” the husky said.

“You mean at the top district?” Draco asked, already knowing where the throne room is. “I can’t. There is no way for me to lead you all up there and save them and then bring you to the extraction point. We run the risk of you being captured again.”

The husky looked down at the map before turning back to Draco. “Then let me lead the slaves to the extraction point. We diamond dogs know this mountain like the back of our paws. We can guide them and gather the other slaves. If we do this, would you be able to try and rescue our king and queen?” He asked, sounding hopeful.

Draco looked down at the map. In it, he saw a good pathway he could take to get to the castle, but it could ruin the plan. But the promise he made to Bismuth echoed in his mind. “Alright, I’ll try. But you need to promise me that with or without me, you’ll leave this mountain. This would all be pointless if none of you got out.”

“We shall, I swear,” the husky said. “And whatever you do, don’t let Gluttony’s Elites see you.” The husky’s face went pale. “You thought Klakkr was bad…those stags are worse.”

Nodding his head, Draco led the group out of the building. From there they went their separate ways. Draco shapeshifted back into his dragonfly form, and buzzed up along the rooftops, making his way to the upper level.

Almost immediately as he flew upwards, a dense and foreboding atmosphere filled the entire upper district. It was as if there was a heavy weight crushing down on Draco’s insect body and he struggled to fly straight.

Buzzing down to an open area, Draco changed back to his human form gasping as the pressure was still strong.

Despite the pressure surrounding him, Draco knew he had to keep himself focused. He presumed this pressure he was feeling was the cause of the Elites that the husky mentioned. Which could only mean that they too were DF users, and quite the strong ones. Draco sharpened his mind. He wouldn’t let this get in the way of this critical rescue mission and had to press on.

Closing his eyes, he began to take deep breaths. He focused on every breath he took, until his mind was at ease. He reminded himself of the mission at hand and wouldn’t let this affect his own willpower to see it through to the end.

The pressure soon became less intense as his willpower regained its strength. Nodding his head, Draco transformed back into a dragonfly and continued towards the castle. The whole place was crawling with multiple heavily armed guards. If he were to launch an invasion on this place, there would be heavy casualties.

In his mind, Draco remembered that the throne room was in the highest tower, with a terrace that overlooked the kingdom.

Flying slowly up and along the wall, Draco soon found himself under the terrace. Changing into his human form, he carefully peaked inside.

The whole place was encrusted with marble and gemstones decorated the whole room. The throne sat in the middle against the back wall. The wall had some kind of mural with diamond dogs, shooting stars, and a vast mountain range. However, something was off, very off. He could see in the throne room, but there was nobody in it. After leaning in closer to see more in the room, he spotted something in each corner of the throne room. One corner had a large male wolf diamond dog with jet black fur, another corner had a slightly smaller female wolf diamond dog with snow white fur. On the other side, a young-looking wolf diamond pup, and in the last corner another wolf diamond dog pup. Each dog looked like they were chained up against their corners.

These must be the royals, Draco mentally deduced before slowly crawling along the wall and jumping onto the terrace. Carefully and silently, he walked into the throne room, his footsteps barely echoing along the walls.

Sweat dripped off the side of his head as he made his way to the large male wolf diamond dog. The dog was at least a few feet taller than Draco as he looked slumped over. Chains wrapped around his arms and legs and his breathing was low and subtle.

“Pst pst. Hey are you alive?” Draco whispered, making sure that no guards that could be near could hear him.

The dog snorted and slowly raised his head. A glare followed suit as he bore his fangs.

“Who the fuck are you…?” the dog said, his voice sounding hoarse.

Draco raised his finger to his lips and tried to shush him. “Shh. I’m here to get you and your family out of here.” Draco glanced at the shackles keeping the king’s arms over his head. “I really don’t have time to explain, can you just trust in me enough to get you out of the mountain?”

“He feasts…on our precious ore,” the king said bitterly. “Like the pig he is…”

Draco slowly picked the lock before finally a click was made, the shackles open and the king fell to his knees. “He eats them?” Draco asked, trying to carefully undo the shackles on the king’s legs next.

The king coughed and tried to stand, but his malnourished state made him collapse back on the ground.

“It is unlike anything I have ever seen,” the king said, trying to get a hold of himself. “Ever since he discovered the ore, he’s had shipments delivered to my throne room. I once watched as he picked an ore chunk the size of a watermelon and ate the whole damn thing. Not to mention the mountains of food he hoards from the entire city.”

Draco slowly and carefully picked the king up and moved him to the next royal, the queen was in no better condition. He began to work on her chains next.

“I can’t imagine why he would need to eat ore when he has real food.” Like before he started with the top lock, catching the queen before she could hit the ground, then proceeding to undo the ones at her legs.

“My love…!” The king picked her up and cradled her. “That monster…he raped my queen in front of me and my sons.” The king brushed a hair from the unconscious queen’s dirty face as he growled viciously. “I’ll have his innards roasted on a spit for what he’s done to my family!”

Draco moved to grab the king’s muzzle and shushed him. “Shhh! Are you trying to get us all killed?!” Draco glared at the king. “I get it you want revenge, join the club. But if you want it you’ll need to be patient, and not scream and alert the guards, do you understand?”

The king growled as he managed to regain the strength a little more and sat up while still cradling his wife.

“My sons are on the other corners, please get them. I’ll wait here with my beloved queen,” the king said.

Before Draco left, he reached into his back and pulled out some chunks of meat. One was handed to each of the diamond dog royals. “Eat this and try and regain your strength, you’ll need it for the escape. I have some for your kids too, so don't hold back.” Draco stood up and went to undo the other two’s locks.

He made his way to the other side of the throne room and to the corner where one of the sons was. The diamond dog wolf pup looked like he hadn’t been fed in days. His fur was black with white patches on his body and one ear was black furred while the other was white patched. The poor pup looked no older than ten years of age. He whimpered weakly and sniffled a little, as if he had no more tears to shed.

Draco made quick work of the locks and gently carried the pup over to the next, cradling him in his arms. “Don’t worry, I’m here to save you.”

Draco walked over to the last corner of the room and his heart broke at what he saw. An even younger pup that looked no older than five years old. His fur was grey like ash, and he was huddled in the corner. The diamond dog wolf pup looked as malnourished and skinny as his brother but seemed to be in worse condition since he was younger, and his body was frailer. Draco could hear his whimpering and could tell that he was suffering.

Like before he undid the locks and carried the pup in his arms. With both pups in each arm, Draco walked over to the king and set them down next to their parents. He pulled out two more chunks of meat. “Here, eat and try not to worry,” Draco said.

The king nodded and helped feed his sons and wife. After some coaxing, the three dogs managed to regain consciousness and ate the meat chunks.

“My family is whole again, thanks to you,” the king smiled as his wife and sons remained silent and ate. “This is a debt I can never repay, even with all the gems and gold that my people have mined for generations.”

Draco kneeled down next to the king and placed a hand on his shoulder. “If you really want to pay me back, then live. Live to see a day when these antler fucks are nothing more than a bad memory.”

“There is something else you should know,” the king said as Draco fed more pieces of meat to the royal family. “We are not alone. There is another, in Gluttony’s bedchambers. A former unicorn pony mare with white fur and pink hair.”

At the moment Draco had no idea who he could be referring to, but he did know what he had to do next. Emptying out all the food in his back along with a water sack, Draco looked to the king. “Can you tell me where the room is from here and what color was her collar?”

“She was a red collar, if I recall. Go out those doors,” the king said, pointing behind the throne to a gem encrusted door. “That’s where the royal bedchambers are. We could hear that pig violating the poor mare every night.” His face then looked grim. “I fear he may have sown his offspring.”

Draco nodded and pointed to the food. “Eat up, when I get back, we make our escape.”

Draco turned and quietly ran towards the door behind the throne. He didn’t hesitate and grabbed the handle, breaking it off. He knew something was off about the mare’s description, but he couldn’t place it. It was gnawing at him, like an itch that couldn’t be scratched. His trek down the fancy hall only made this feeling worse until he made it to the far end of the hall. He reached for the door, but hesitated. What would he see? Could he handle it? His conscience was screaming that something was very wrong, and it was behind this door. Shaking his head, Draco stole his nerves and opened the door seeing the horror inside.

Silence… Dead. Dreadful. Appalling. Silence. A very pungent and sickening stench filled his nostrils, making him gag. Draco tried to blink, but his eyes remained open. There was a naked mare inside, but she was tied up in leather straps. She hung suspended in midair with her arms and legs tied behind her. A bright red collar tied around her neck, almost too tight to make her suffocate. A ball gag strapped around her head and in her mouth, drool dripped from her maw. Her eyes were covered by a blindfold so she couldn’t see anything. An apparent stump on her forehead indicated that she indeed was once a unicorn. Bruises, cuts, handprints, scars littered her body. Her breasts had large handprints etched around them and were too large and very saggy, like something was pulling on them like a cow’s udder. Half her mane was shaved off and the other half was dirty and matted together from unknown fluids. But what caught Draco’s eyes the most was the heavily pregnant belly she sported. The mare could easily be carrying twins, maybe triplets, and looked as though she was about to pop. Draco immideatly recognized the mare, though he wished he hadn’t. This mare was none other than poor Fleur de Lis.

In the back of Draco’s mind was nothing but pure unadulterated rage, one that could even shake the heavens. Yet in his nearly blind rage, Draco knew he needed to be calm. He knew there was hope for her in the form of an angel’s saint. Draco walked over to the mare and undid tore off the binds and gag in her mouth, and in one swift movement poured the last of his cure into her mouth. He watched her drink it and carefully picked the mare up carried her back to the throne room as fast he could.

“Uuhhh…mmm…” the pregnant mare groaned in pain. Draco could feel kicks from within the mare’s belly.

“Shssh,” Draco said softly and quietly. Soon he entered the throne room again. “Listen up and listen carefully, I’m gonna fly us all down to the extraction point. Once we are there, you are to do as you are told by my crew no if, and, or butts.” Draco saw the king and queen and their children were standing and had them help hold Fleur up. “What’s about to happen may seem terrifying, but all you need to remember to hop on my back.”

“By the First Smith, look at her…” the king said as she eyed her stomach. “He really did sow his bastards in her.” The king shook his head and looked back at Draco as he and his family stepped back. “Whatever you are going to do, do it quickly. I fear those Elites of Gluttony’s will be here soon to check on us.”

Draco nodded and led the group out to the terrace. With the wide-open area, Draco soon began to change. His body grew massive, and his neck began to stretch. His mouth turned to an elongated beak and his arms stretched into massive wings. Draco had turned into his Quetzalcoatlus form. His body towering over the canines and mare.

“Smith ancestors, protect me…” the king gasped as he and his family hesitantly climbed on Draco’s back.

With the royals and mare on his back, Draco pushed off the terrace, gliding swiftly down from the castle. As he flew his massive body casted shadows on the building below and soon the sound of alarms filled the air.

“ALERT! INTRUDER! ALL GUNS OPEN FIRE!” Many of the guards shouted and began firing their rifles at Draco.

Bullets whizzed by Draco and the royal family. The king and queen ducked their heads as they desperately avoided any stray bullets.

“We’ll be shot out of the sky at this rate!” The queen panicked.

Draco squawked as his eyes were fixated on the area where he needed to go. He made sure that those on his back had good grips, before diving down faster.

“Hang on!” The king yelled as he and his family held on to Draco’s back for dear life.

Soon the group was right on top of the extraction point. Draco spiraled down slowly until his body touched the ground. Carefully sliding the diamond dogs and mare off his back, he transformed back into a human. Wasting no time, he pulled out his radio and made the call. “This is Draco to Prometheus, execute phase two now!”

“Roger that!” Soarin said.

Suddenly, the walls of the mountain began to shake. A loud rumbling sound filled the whole mountain that mixed with the gunfire from the enemy forces closing in. The rumbling grew louder and more intense, like an earthquake was shaking the whole mountain. All of a sudden, a large mass of the wall broke apart as a giant spinning drill bore into the rock and was attached to the Prometheus.

“Draco! Get on board! We’re outta here!” Soarin yelled as the troops returned fire from the deck.

Draco handed Fleur over to some stallions who were shouting for all the slaves to board the Prometheus. “You go on ahead, I’ll keep these fuckers busy.” He pointed to Fleur. “Call Phill the Saint and ask him to see if Michael will help her. Please!”

“Yes sir!” The stallions said and carried her away.

“Ah!” Fluer shot up and awake as a splashing noise was heard. “AAAAAAAHHH!!”

“Oh no! The mare’s water broke!” A stallion panicked.

“Get her on the ship! Now!” Another stallion demanded as they quickly carried her onto the ship.

“Fuck!” Draco knew it was too late. Now they had to deal with the newborns. “Get them out of here, and have doctors tend to her. Don’t harm the babies and still call Phill!” Draco ordered.

“Don’t let them escape!” A whole battalion of heavily armed stags kept firing and rushing towards the ship.

“You all get going now!” Draco looked up at Zephyr on the deck. “Keep the fog around this area as you leave, I’ll use it to slip away once you’re far away.” Draco changed into a Triceratops and rushed the battalion of caribou.

Draco charged forward, deflecting any bullet fired at him and bulldozed through the group of stags. The stags went flying but the ones who managed to evade his charge kept firing their weapons. A few even tried to meet Draco head on by jumping on his back and pulled out large knives and stabbed his scaly flesh.

He roared in pain and anger, before slamming his body into nearby walls, crushing the bodies like flies on a wall. He crashed into groups of stags, even crushing some beneath his feet as he rampaged through the enemy forces.

Draco saw that more stags and traitor stallions were pouring in from the upper and middle districts. Even if he could fight them all, these guys had the advantage in numbers and would probably overwhelm him. He looked back to where the Prometheus had left and couldn’t see it anymore through the fog.

Thinking he had given them enough time, Draco charged towards the open hole. Once he reached the edge he changed back to his human form and turned his arms into wings, flying in the opposite direction the Prometheus went.

“Come, you dumb fucks. Try and catch me if you can!” Draco called out, taunting them.

Try as they might, giving chase and firing their weapons, Draco was long gone and made his escape. Once again, the resistance claimed another victory over the caribou.

One Week Later

The throne room of the diamond dog kingdom sat empty, its prisoners escaped, and no one left in the room where the mare once hung. Just then, the front doors of the throne room opened. Heavy footsteps echoed throughout the room as a lone caribou walked in. From the look on his face, he was not happy in the slightest. Especially when he noticed a note hanging off a knife embedded in the wall. The caribou sneered at the note before pulling it off and reading its contents.

Dear fat fuck,

I wanted to send you this friendly little letter to inform you of your imminent demise. If you’re curious about the frequency of which I’ve sent these letters, it’s merely to instill as much fear as I can. As if basting a turkey. Which I will proceed to have sex with.

That’s right.

I’m going to fuck the fear turkey.

Follow me on Twitter @Beastofchaos69.

Sincerely,

Draco Saurian.

The stag growled venomously as he crumpled up the paper and grit his teeth. A dark aura surrounded the stag as the ground beneath him cracked from the pressure.

“I will devour you, filthy animal, and savor every. Last. Morsel…!”

Author's Note

Another victory aquired, but somewhat bittersweet.

Hope you enjoyed!

~WurkyWilk has left the building…