Author's Note

Look at that. Another Chapter posted in the afternoon hours of Sunday. I hope you have all had a good two weeks. I am trying to respond more to the comments. Forgive me for the slow roll that is my response times.

In any case, this chapter was one of the more difficult ones to set and make cohesive to the overall story, but I like how it turned out.

Spring is coming to us in the Northern Hemisphere. So instead of you doing the typical comments on my progress, I wanna hear what y'all have planned for this year, any exciting vacations? War with Roman Candles? Let me know in the comments below.

As always, thank you for reading!

Peace!

Waiting in the Dark

Orion's ears twitched in time to the slow, steady drip of water splashing against the cavern floor. He couldn't help it, like an involuntary response or an itch that wouldn't go away. His ear just kept beat with each droplet that splashed somewhere in the darkness.

Then there was, of course, the snoring. One of the Dogs set to watch him was asleep, and from the sounds of it, destroying an entire forest in the process. From his vantage point, and with the help of a couple of clear stones stuffed with some kind of glowing substance he hadn't bothered to identify, he could just see them.

One, leaning against the wall with a crude cudgel against his knees and dressed in only a soiled loin cloth, his head lolling to the side against a wall, was just snoring away for all he was worth. The low light made it impossible to really see details, but looking at the burly breed, he could only describe him as some type of bulldog. He could even see patches of missing fur and an open sore on the left thigh that looked like it hadn't been disinfected.

The other, looking more like that dog he had seen on The Little Rascals, sat and simply stared off into space. Occasionally picking his nose and eating whatever he managed to dig out.

But the black colt was not deceived into thinking he might somehow get the jump on either of them.

No, that ear on the still awake one occasionally flicked in his direction; after a moment, the Diamond Dog would nod, and the ear would return to a more normal position.

"At least one of them isn't an idiot." He thought sourly.

Not that any plan of escape would have a decent margin for success in any case. He was virtually blind inside what was no doubt a rat's nest of tunnels and dead ends. Without his Radar enchantment, there was no way he was going to be able to make it out on his own.

That had terrified him at first. The nullstone ring was nothing, and he could deal with that. Radar had the wonderful ability to be able to operate without needing magic fed into it. Many of the ornaments he wore did so as well, a fail-safe for just an occasion as this.

But since the bastards had taken them all, it was pointless to make any kind of egress from his current situation.

Then there was the nullstone ring wrapped securely around his horn. While it wasn't truly a hindrance, as he had lived much of his previous life without magic, it was still stuck on with no way of coming loose, which was likely ultimately why Barney had him untied from the wall. Without spells, the mutt was convinced he posed little threat.

Orion had to agree despite still being physically capable.

Since leaving Equestria on his little vacation, he had found that all the "badass" skills he thought would work in the real world meant a pile of dog shit compared to reality.

Reality, the dream killer.

Gilda had been a prime example that he was not fast enough and was just the first in a long list of issues. The fact that these mutts managed to sneak up on him. Him! With all the enchantments at his disposal, it was just another nail in the coffin that he was doing something wrong.

More and more, he was convinced that the events on AJ's family farm were a freak accident brought on by some insane godlike being that was just waiting to drop the hammer on him.

That wasn't a comforting though in a world of magic, that might very well be possible.

"Please don't let that be a reality and just chalk it up to me being extremely lucky." He prayed fervently in his own mind.

Thumping his head against the wall, he redirected his thoughts to the conversation a few hours ago.

Barney was a wreck of a leader. Either the dog wasn't cut out for the role, or he had been under such immense stress tha,t at this point, there wasn't much left of his sanity.

Considering his workforce, the latter was an all too real possibility.

When he had marched into the room, trying to project an air of confidence and authority that Orion didn't even need a Liedar, another enchantment he still hadn’t gotten to work right, to tell him the fucker was terrified.

He chuckled dryly to himself, which got Rascal's attention for a moment before he was ignored once more with a snort.

The runt of a leader had been cagey about how he was supposed to "help". A lot of questions about who he had come with, why they were here, what was going on in the town, and why he was blowing boulders up in a field.

Orion learned that because of his little experiment in heat expansion, he had become a target to a couple of the dumber examples of their species.

Barney didn't even want him, a realization that had been pieced together after everything was said and done. That had actually been a shock to figure out. The waist-high canine was actually in a fury over his capture. But when he suggested just getting his stuff back and being let go, he got a flat look and the comment: "You don't know Griffons, pup."

That raised all sorts of questions. Chief among those is the relationship between the species.

He had heard some of the birdcat people in Aviary regard their northern neighbors with a mixture of pity and outright disgust, even anger in some cases.

Still, at the end of the interview, Orion was left with more questions than he had answered.

The big one being, what was going to happen to him?

Movement in his periphery and the accompanying sound of flesh smacking against stone drew his attention to the entrance and pulled him to his hooves.

The person standing there was not Rascal or the sleeping one, but another short Diamond Dog. He thought it was Barney again, back with more questions or to hit him with a stick some more. In which case, he may just go through with his threat and bite the living hell out of him.

However, what stood before him was a female of the species, the second that he encountered down in these dark depths and the first he could actually see, which wasn't much due to the low lighting.

Her fluffy fur, of which color might have been rust red or orange, was decked out with a threadbare garment that was little more than rags that just hid her body from view. Short muzzle, like the aforementioned leader of mutts, and startlingly piercing blue eyes.

Those seemed to almost glow in the darkness of the cell.

For long minutes, the pair just stared at each other. Orion couldn't tolerate that for long.

"Can I help you? Or did you just come to stare? I don't do tricks." He broke the silence, as her eyes were a bit unnerving. The way they cast over him, taking in details that Barney certainly didn't bother with, made him uncomfortable.

A giggle escaped her lips. It was thin and without much humor, but it was there.

"Well, he was correct. You definitely don't sound like a pony." He blinked at her.

"No shit? And here I thought everyPONY," he emphasized the last portion of the word, "sounded like me. Fuck me running. I just guess I was fooling myself."

"No. And do not act like that." She suddenly chided. "You are smarter than that. Act with your intelligence, please."

"Okay, wow. Who the hell is this bitch?" He almost laughed. That slur might actually be appropriate in this instance.

"Fine. What the fuck do you want?"

The unknown canine gave him a flat look before saying, "Come with me." With that, she turned and walked away.

Orion just stared after her. Watching her fluffy tail slowly wave back and forth as it disappeared and reappeared as she passed through the areas where the tunnel was lit up.

"What the hell is going on?"

The still unnamed Dog stopped beside his jailers, and looked back at him expectantly. Rascal had not moved, and Sleeping Beauty had woken up to look at her, give a respectful nod, and was already sawing logs.

Was she Barney's wife? Sister? Second cousin twice removed?

Quickly he decided that it would be better to get out and stretch his legs than continue to stare at her like an oncoming train was about to end his life. He got his legs moving. Ducking his head down as he stumbled into the tunnel after her.

"If this is some bullshit game, I am going to bite someone." He noted without mirth that he might be coming a little too fond of the euphemism.

Nodding, obviously more to herself than just him, she turned left and headed down the passage. Orion hesitated when passing his wardens, but neither made to get up to stop him. Taking that as the go-ahead, he quickly followed her steps.

Here, lights were a little more present, but like the one in his cell, they were weak and pulsed slightly. It was oddly hypnotic, and he found himself leaning in to see what they actually were.

His eyes adjusted to the increase in light with proximity, and he flinched back.

"Is that…wiggling!?"

They were insects! The Dogs had found and used what he believed were cave insects that possessed bioluminescent properties. Likely better than lighting a fire and letting the smoke billow up into the higher reaches of tunnels. Rather clever of them.

"Glowbugs. We discovered them in the lower reaches of the cave we built our Den into." Her response startled him. She had somehow snuck up on him while he had been distracted.

"And…the glass?" It looked like glass, only really grainy.

"Stone, actually. We have a process by which we alter the look and feel of rocks to be more see-through. Some of the wealthier Packs use crystals, and even diamonds if they are particularly rich."

He gave her a side-eyed glance. "What are you up to?"

Orion was a bit unnerved, to say the least. She had appeared, had him come with her, without a guard no less, and was now giving him an overview of how they made their lights.

"Do you have a name, or do I just call you "Her" for the duration of this field trip?" That giggle again, strained and sounding very much out of practice.

"My name is Tilly. You've met my brother, Barney, already."

So his second guess was correct, she was the sister.

"How come you don't sound like him?" Tilly's accent was a bit more polished. He heard the New Yorker in her, but only just barely.

"Our mother spent more time with me than him. She was a…she led an interesting life before she came to know our father."

"Oh." He did not pry, because he could see the pain in her eyes when she mentioned both of her parents said volumes on a terrible history.

Not knowing what else to do, he gestured for her to continue down the hall and hoped that a little silence would wash away the awkward moment he had inadvertently caused.

It was not long before he was led to a large open chamber, one naturally made rather than created with tools, or in their case, claws.

There was evidence of stalactites having been removed, as well as stalagmites. Allowing for pathways to be made that went down other tunnels he could see. Pillars of stone had been shaved away roughly to allow passage around them while still acting as support. Often what lined those pathways was more glowbugs inside the weirdly clear stone Tilly had mentioned before.

The open space also allowed him to do one thing he had not been able to in his cell, or the passage that brought them here.

He stood, and every bone in his spine popped, sending echoes all about them and pulling a groan from the depths of his soul.

"Ow, you need to seriously consider raising the roof on like…everything."

"You might try shrinking instead. You are too tall." She giggled again. At least one of them was happy.

He shot her a withering look.

Though she was right in retrospect. Orion towered over every Diamond Dog that he had seen so far. According to his brief instruction on them in biology, the average Dog was not that tall. Though many seemed to stoop naturally so it might be possible, there were larger ones out there with straightened-out backs.

"Whatever." He finally said, eliciting more giggles from his snarky guide. "This is a lovely cave, but unless you are giving me the grand tour on my way out, I don't see the point of all this."

"It's not far." Was her non-answer as she took a turn, and headed toward the far side. Forcing himself to once again trudge after, he couldn't help but notice in the improved lighting of the chamber what he hadn't before.

Tilly was emaciated. As if she had not been eating in a couple of weeks. Past the grime he could now see the garments that hung loosely on her, and he could not help but notice the joints of her spine protruding outward in a disturbing way.

The sudden thought of knocking her out and trying to make his way out on his own was ruthlessly crushed by shame and self-loathing. She had not done anything to him personally and was showing him a good deal of kindness by letting him out of confinement, even if only for a momentary reprieve. He hoped she could not see his ears flushing in the gloom.

Now, if Barney was the one giving him a tour, that would be a different story.

Their journey went on for a time, the tunnel they marched through occasionally punctuated by a variety of rooms or other side passages that lead into locations unknown. Mostly the chambers seemed to be mushroom farms of some sort.

At one room's entrance, he simply stopped and took in more than what a few glances could provide.

The black and yellow fungi sat in inch-deep water like some weird twist on rice fields he had seen pictures of what felt like a lifetime ago. Looking above he could see stalactites dripping steadily down into the standing water.

"Must be something in the stone that feeds them…" He muttered to himself.

"Excuse me? What did you say?"

She was at his side again with no indication of how she got there other than her sudden appearance. She had been several steps away from him when he had stopped.

Orion blinked at her, then shrugged and explained what he was muttering about.

"I was just trying to figure out how the hell you guys can grow mushrooms down here. I am betting on something in the stone that comes off as water slides down them and into the catch basins below."

"Oh." Was all she said as she looked first at the ceiling, then below at where the mushrooms sat. "That might be it. Honestly, we don't know. Do you study plants?"

"Naw. I just know a little about a lot. At least enough to reason out what might be happening if not fully understanding it." He shrugged again.

"I see. Well, come. We don't have much farther to go." Clearly, the canine was not looking for an education in mycology, not that he could provide one with any sense of fact, but her clear dismissal of the topic indicated that she had other far more important things on her mind.

Tilly turned and left. Her little tail just swishing back and forth. Orion followed, noting her continued shift in mood from mischievous, to concern.

It wasn't long before the unlikely pair came into another large chamber, this one completely carved out of the earth.

Several alcoves could be seen scattered throughout with pallets of what he hoped was grass tucked away into their corners.

"A sleeping chamber?"

His guide said nothing, but she also didn't move. Just standing to one side, her eyes switching from him to the rest of the room.

"Okay, she apparently wants me to figure it out myself."

Looking closer, he noticed only a few of the dugout bedrooms were occupied. Those occupiers looked out at him fearfully, shrinking back when his gaze fell on them with whimpers and mutterings.

"Why are they looking at me as if I am the devil himself?"

Something was very wrong here. He looked at the empty holes in the walls again, noting that some had little stairs leading up above to more little bedrooms. Those were empty too, far too many holes, and most of them showed signs of recent habitation.

A sickening feeling settled into his stomach.

"What happened?" He asked and grimaced when his voice made the Dogs flinch and turn away.

"We are not yet certain." Came his guide's subdued voice. "We had sent out a hunting party not too long before you arrived during the night. Our hope was to get some meat or anything we can eat, but those sent away have not returned, and it has been too long." A pause. "We Diamond Dogs do not like to be on the surface for long." Tilly said soberly.

Orion groaned.

This had Screaming written all over it. No, this was likely Eberhard's plan. The more he thought about it, the more certain he was that whatever happened, was the actions of griffons.

Judging by the short canine face next to him, she had reasoned out the same. Which meant so did Barney.

"I don't see them acting in cold blood. This is likely going to be a hostage exchange, or they're going to attempt it to be so. They know I'm here, and the Dogs are likely just now becoming aware of that fact. Shit. If that little prick is difficult…."

If this turned sour, a lot of people were going to die, and he may just be one of them.

"How many have you sent out to check? To look for them." He asked, softer this time so as not to put further stress on those still in their homes.

"None, we don't have enough Dogs to send out again." She paused. "And we don't wanna lose more."

"How many did you originally send out for food?"

"Thirty."

He knew his eyes had bulged, judging by the strain and her own sheepish sad smile, she could see at least the widening of expression.

"We are…desperate, Orion. Our pups are so hungry."

"Crap." He knew the game now. When whatever was going to happen finally went down, Tilly and the rest of them were likely hoping he would salvage the situation so they would not be hit as hard. It made sense.

"Just how many are there of you guys?"

"We number just over three hundred. Many are sick and hungry, so our overall population is not in good condition."

He nodded silently. Those were not good numbers. Could a tribe of Diamond Dogs sustain on just that alone? He had read somewhere that there was a set low end of how many could sustain a people. He couldn't remember the exact numbers, but he was positive it was more than what they had.

"You are dying."

"Yes."

Well, that was a mood killer if Orion had ever heard one.

"Any way to fight that?"

"Yes." It was a breathless word, one full of hope. "But it relies on our success here. Orion, Barney doesn't want me to tell you this, but I think it's important. We are not the only Diamond Dogs to leave the south and head elsewhere. We are one clan, but only I and Barney have brought our people this far north."

"Why? Why make the trip in a place that obviously hates you guys?"

"It was our idea that, because there was once an ancient kingdom, one that made wonders with crystals and gems not too far away, we would find a dragon's hoard of gems to pull from the ground." She kicked a stray rock with a paw. "We have been…too ambitious."

"So that was why a random group of mutts just appeared so far from where Dogs normally roam." It had been a gamble, something only desperate people would attempt.

"There is more isn't there?" It was Orion's turn to be sober. They had taken a chance, and now it may cost them their lives.

"Yes…there was a…civil war among us from the south." Her voice shook. "My brother and I lead one of many splinter groups from the infighting." Her eyes looked up to him, pleadingly with tears in her eyes. "I have no right to ask you, but as you are doing for the griffons, please, do for us."

"Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me!" He was a prisoner, suppressed, and had no authority whatsoever, yet still, this ball of teary-eyed fluff was begging for him to save them. "Why me?!"

The question prompted a little voice to suddenly pop into existence, with a slight manic tone to it.

"Because, you feel guilty for allowing yourself to be used to make others suffer. That guilt has gotten to the point where you will do just about anything to assuage even a quarter of it. But it will never be enough, will it? No, it won't-"

He crushed the voice as thoroughly as he had his earlier traitorous thoughts of escape.

"Where the fuck did that come from?!" It sounded like him, at least a little. But he had never heard himself sound quite so crazy.

Blinking and desperate to reorganize his thoughts, he looked back down at his escort.

"Okay, let me get this straight. You want me to do what? Teach you how to farm, build graineries, learn to store things for long term use? Build tools?"

Barney must have told her everything. He had unfortunately been too pissed off for deception and had said exactly what they were doing here. Minus mentioning the whole steel manufacturing plot.

"Yes!" She cried, gripping his torn pajama bottoms. "I don't…I don't want to see any more dead puppies! I don't want to bury another mother who could not live without their offspring!"

Tilly had maintained a calm and quiet composure through their little tour of Barker Den, but the moment he had figured out what she was asking for, pleading for, the wail that ripped from her throat as she buried her head into his leg tore at his soul.

Looking around, he could see those few others willing to meet his eyes with the same tears she was now painting his leg with.

A heavy sigh escaped him.

His heart yearned to help them, but he had so little time as it was just with the griffons alone. What could he possibly do in the time he had left for yet another broken people?

"We are ready, my Lady."

Dawn was fast approaching, and with it, the greatest challenge she had ever faced would come with it. Since just after midnight, the soldiers under her had been busy.

The Diamond Dogs had taken the bait, if not in the way they had originally expected.

Rather than come from the hidden tunnels that they had assumed, they had come from over the hills further north. Rounding the top they quickly spotted the herded wild gordat that had been left out for them to find.

It was almost pitiful how the howling pack, obviously ellated at their sudden increase in fortunes, descended onto the already aware animals. For a few moments, all the griffon soldiers could do was look on with pity as the Dogs tried, and failed, to capture even one of the well-fed beasts.

She had remembered wondering what had happened to these people to make them almost no better than a timberwolf, if much less effective of a hunter.

Eberhard had been the one to snap them out of their mournful trance, and quickly enough they had all thirty pinned to the ground, manacles securely binding hands and paws.

Now the dispirited group sat behind her, huddled against one another. Some shivering, some not. However, none of them could look their captors in the eyes.

"And their main entrance?" She asked, projecting as much stately calm as she could.

"There are at least ten now, and the other tunnels are showing activity as well. They either know we are here or this group is late on their return. Either Way, they know something has gone wrong." Eberhard sighed. "I had a few words with what passed for leadership amongst the group we have captured. From what I've been able to gather, they have no idea if Orion is there or not." He kicked at a small pile of odds and ends. "They had been sent out to hunt some days before. There is no way they would know anything about what had transpired in their absence."

She refused to listen to the little voice in her mind. This was absolutely the only way to get the results she wanted; she was sure of it. Still, she felt guilty. It was her decision that led to all of this now. But she comforted herself with knowing that their leadership ultimately started this.

"You are certain he is in there?" Her own beak betrayed the trembling in her heart.

"Yes, my Lady. There is very little doubt in my mind that he is within the warren of tunnels below." She wanted to ask how he knew for certain, but the advice of her uncle kept her tongue still.

"Sometimes, it's best to be unaware of what your subordinates know. Sometimes, it is best to simply trust in those most trusted."

At the time, he had looked to Eberhard, who had been in the courtyard with them instructing a newly trained Gilda Broadwing in her duties as a personal guard.

How Grace wished she could return to those days of learning, of first discovering her true past. Even if the learning came with the pain of knowing what she had lost.

She shook the memories away.

"Then…begin the next phase in your plan, Master Lonelycall. The sooner we can get to him, the better."

Grace took a steady breath.

"May the Winds buffet my flight. May Boreas keep my goal safe." A simple prayer, but not something the twelfth in line had done before. It had just been one of many firsts. And invoking a name of a deity that may or may not exist was perhaps a prudent precaution.

If there was something to this god of the skies, she wanted all the available support she could receive.

"Hang on, Orion. We are coming to get you."

Something pulled at Orion's face, something wet and disgusting.

Pushing the offending, whatever it was, away, he reeled back and opened his eyes to the ever-present gloom in his cell. At least there was a bug light.

Blinking, he peered at the slimy attacker.

Aspen's face was pushed back in a comical way. Her tongue lolling between his fingers, an obvious happy dog grin on her idiotic face.

"Goddamnit. How in the hell did you get in here this time?" He moaned, already tired of her nonsense.

"Come hole in floor!" She happily replied, all the while trying to get around his hands to slobber his face some more.

"Hole in the floor? What hole in…" The black pony's eyes widened in alarm and horror. "Are you talking about my bathroom hole?!"

Her tail picked up speed, and now he could smell it on her. Old piss and shit battling it out for top billing on the worst smell in the universe at that moment.

Orion had news for them. Their powers combined, they smelled apocalyptic. One of the other Diamond Dogs had used it not long before he had crashed out after a far more composed Tilly had brought him back from their little walkabout.

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!" He screeched, shoving her across the small cell in a manic fit of strength.

For his efforts, he got a hurt look from the canine as she curled in on herself. Now he felt guilty.

"How does someone so big manage to look so tiny?" He pushed the thought away with a shake of his head and fixed her with a glare fighting back the shamed feeling.

This had not been her first daring break-in. Oh no, it was not. She had a brief visit when Barney had gotten done interrogating him. The hulking beast quite literally bowled the short leader and the two guards over in her pursuit of cleaning him. It had been why the runt of a leader had ultimately decided to release him from all but one binding.

The way he had figured it, Orion wasn't going to get very far with Aspen tailing him.

So the black colt just sat there, fuming, being groomed with tongue and rough paws as the guards laughed and removed the stone restraints. Utter humiliation painted on his face as he endured a slimy bath for the amusement of others was not what he would call a fun time.

The second time had been after the other Baker sibling had escorted him back to his cell.

The brawn-for-everything mutt had tackled him from the corner of the room. In her hands was what might have been a squirrel. The carcass was drier than the Sahara and still had its patchy coarse fur.

Aspen had noticed that he wasn't eating and had wanted to remedy that. He didn't mean to be ungrateful, but the smell of rot from the sun-dried animal had been too much for him, and he doubled over to hurl.

Another sign of pony constitution, as far as any to witness figured it, he was sure.

Fortunately, he hadn't been eating much lately, so he left very little in his makeshift bathroom hole.

Now, now this was happening.

"Aspen, that is gross." He thought for a second, realizing she might not know what gross meant. "Not good." Both his English and Equish class teachers would have beaten him for his butchering of sentences. But he wanted to get his point across in a way she would hopefully understand. "It filthy. You need to wash up. Now."

Blinking slowly at him from under her tail. "Fil-thy?"

"Yes. Smell bad. Look bad. Not good. Go get clean." If this went on for too long, he was going to end up sounding like a caveman. Or was that cavepony?

"You won't mad if clean?"

"Yes. Get clean. Please."

What he expected was for her to leave his little hole in the ground and go somewhere to bathe and freshen up. Or whatever they did to not look like they rolled in the mud.

What he got was the canine fully sitting down in front of him, stripped to the fur, then spread eagle as she began licking herself.

"Huh, so that's what it looks like on one of them…Wait! No! Focus!"

"Aspen." She briefly looked up at him, head cocked and tongue poked tentatively past her teeth. "Go. Do that away." He pulled a face, sticking his own tongue out, this time in plain disgust as he gestured violently for her to leave.

Aspen didn't argue other than give a rueful snort as she gathered her garments, and left with a smile on her face, her tongue still poking past her teeth.

"What a fuckin' weirdo." He muttered, looking around, his nose wrinkled in disgust at the smell wafting from a now far larger hole than what had originally been provided, and carefully chose a spot well away from it to sit down again.

He never made it there.

Orion paused at a sudden realization. On every other incursion, the white shaggy dog had eventually been intercepted by either Barney or Tilly and the guards they had posted.

Diverting course, he placed himself at the mouth of the tunnel in which the big white furry disaster had used to exit.

He should have seen Rascal and Winston. That had been the name he had chosen for the sleepy Bulldog-looking mutt. There was no one there, nor was there the sound of heavy breathing indicating one of them was asleep.

The black pony crept forward slowly.

"I swear to Christ, if you fuckers are just waiting to jump me for a laugh, I am gonna neuter you all," Orion said suddenly, quite loudly.

Getting to the entrance to his cell, he discovered not even a hair of either mutt was in evidence. Even their crude weapons were gone.

"Alien invasion?" He snarkily thought.

Shaking his head at the improbable, if not impossible, thought, he picked a direction he remembered Tilly guiding him down and proceeded to slowly stalk into the tunnels. Pausing a few feet in to the darkness between a pair of bug lights to listen for any indication his jailers were returning.

Hearing nothing, he moved on into the darkness.

Tilly found him. What he could only guess was roughly a half hour after he made his daring escape.

He had gotten lost, turned around twice, and he was positive he had seen that particular scone full of oversized fireflies at least three times now. They had an unusually brighter pulse than the others.

"How did you get out of your cell?!" Came her shout.

Orion was so startled that he jumped and smacked his skull against the earthen roof.

"The fuck!" He clamped a hand on his head. "Could have given me a warning cough or something!"

She just glared at him as he scowled back till he realized she had asked a question.

"Oh, uh, Rascal and Winston weren't on guard. For that matter, no one was even there, to begin with. And rather than let Aspen find me again, I decided a little walk would do me some good."

He tactfully decided to omit the part where he had tried finding his own way out. An idea that he had to admit was a dumb one.

"I'm sure." She muttered, then cocked her head. "Aspen bothering you again?"

"Uh, yeah. Came up through my..a...toilet…"

"Oh…" Tilly tried to hide the giggles that he could clearly see bubbling up in her throat. If anyone could do with a laugh, it was her, so he pushed it.

"The worst part, she tried to give me a tongue bath while still covered in the stuff."

The stifled giggles turned to outright laughter as she howled and thumped her little thigh.

"SHE DID NOT!" The littlest canine that could screamed.

"She did, and she got some all over me." He deadpanned at her, keeping up his mock dismay. "Actually, now that I think about it, where the fuck can I clean this muck off?"

"That…hehe….that explains the smell I picked up!" She snorted.

"Yeah, yeah." The colt moaned. "Can you please tell me where I might get at least a wash rag?"

"How about…your tongue!" Tilly doubled over.

Orion was really beginning to reconsider hitting her over the head when she finally pulled herself together.

"I am sorry. But I haven't had a good laugh in a long, long time." She chuckled, wiping tears from her eyes.

"I am so happy to provide that to you. Now. Anything?"

"Unfortunately for you, no. We don't really even have water for you to use. But that is not important." She shook herself, the firm expression from before reappearing on her face. "There is trouble."

He groaned. There could only be two reasons. Either Barney had enough of his presence in his den, or Screaming had finally made her move.

"Three guesses as to what it is, and the first two don't count." Running a hand across his face, he sighed heavily.

"Alright. Where are we heading?" At this point, what was there to argue? He had been worried that his friend was doing something rash when Tilly had told him about their missing hunting party.

True, it was likely Eberhard's or one of the other soldier's idea, but they wouldn't move without her okay either way.

The short canine merely nodded, and headed off down the passage in the direction he had been heading surprisingly. Had he been right in his guesswork? He followed after her.

"I'm not sure how you got this far over, but we will have to take the long way around. The tunnels behind are too packed with others, and we won't make it through without some effort." She darted around the bend, forcing him to sprint after her in a shortened gait so as not to smack his already bruised skull.

His mind, however, was flooded with what-ifs and concerns about what he could do.

"Okay, what the hell is this place?"

It had only been ten minutes since Tilly had found him, stinking up the tunnels with Aspen's unpleasant present and not knowing where to go. Yet he was just as lost as before.

They had journeyed down a winding path of twisted corridors and opened ended cave systems that the bug lights could not reach the other before.

"This…" she hesitantly began, "is the last place we tried to explore for gems before giving up…this is the…I…"

His question had pulled the little canine short as if she had become glued to the spot just before the next tunnel. Before she had been charging through, her shoulders hunched as if expecting a blow of some sort.

Now she seemed to slump even further on herself, making her spine even more noticeable. Her eyes not looking at him or the cave, just staring at the ground.

"Don't look out." She said quietly. "It…it may see you. And keep your voice down."

Orion blinked in shock. Tilly Barker was crying. He could see tears drip to the ground in front of her. The trembles, however, were of terror, not sadness.

She said not to, but he couldn't help it. He glanced about slowly, using his periphery to look. The path here looked old, way older than the other parts of the den, as if disused. There were stalactites evenly hung from the tunnels in very tiny groupings. It was damp, almost humid, which was unusual given the dry cool air he had experienced everywhere else inside the Diamond Dog home.

Out in the darkness, he couldn't see anything. But, there was a noise that he hadn't noticed before, hadn't been listening for. Heavy, slow whooshing.

"Tilly…" Swallowing hard, he pitched his voice lower. "What's down here? Why…did you bring us this way?" Running his tongue over dry cracked lips, he got a very uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"I…I wasn't thinking…I…" He realized she could not, or at least would not, move. Slowly he reached out and pushed her. Gentle at first, but as each heavy whoosh reached them, he increased the pressure. He wasn't certain, but it sounded like breathing, and was getting closer.

Step, by agonizingly ponderous step, they made the short distance to the next tunnel. Each time his hoof made connection with the cavern floor, he winced at the all-too-loud echo it would produce.

They did not stop once they reached the hole in the cave wall. Orion would not let them as he continued to force the mutt deeper and deeper into the gloom.

"What. Was. That?" His fear had kept his voice barely above a whisper, and only by will alone did he not chatter out his question. "The fuck was that?!" The colt hissed.

Tilly had sagged against the wall, her hand over her heart as her breathing came in ragged gasps.

Just like his own.

Sliding down the opposite wall, he collapsed, trying to steady his mind.

"Just what in the hell was that?"

The only sound to be heard was faint drips of another mushroom chamber behind him.

"We call it a Burrow Eater." Her voice was surprisingly steady, considering what had just happened. Though, when he looked up, it seemed the Diamond Dog had aged with the encounter. "You ponies, and the griffons, call it a Basilisk."

Orion's throat seized in spasming panic.

Basilisk. Not much was actually known about the enigmatic creatures. Many attempts to find and study them had either led to a failure to discover or, worse, failure for the researchers to return at all.

What was known is that they were legless lizards, judging by what marks they could find, that inhabited tunnels and caves. Rumors said they can inflict a paralysis effect on victims with a gaze, and their breath was toxic to the flesh. Like an acid that worked to poison and digest their prey.

"A-re…yo-u s-s-s-su-re?" He stuttered out, fighting to get his body back under control. He was not entirely sure he hadn't just pissed himself.

"Ye…yes…"

"WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU IDIOTS STILL HERE?!" He whisper shouted at the still trembling canine. The idea of even living at a known distance from one of those things was insane at best.

The stories of last year's mythology teacher, Mrs. Galvanized Thought, had actually terrified him. Stories of half-devoured corpses in uncomfortable details had given him nightmares that lasted weeks. Worse yet, it was always accompanied by the feeling of being watched. What was worse is the creature was known to exist but fell under mythology because of its elusive nature and what could be gleaned from the aftermath of attacks.

Another thought struck him.

"Wait. Why the hell did you bring us down this way?"

"I didn't realize just where we were when we started. I wanted to avoid…our…" She faltered, swallowed, and began again. "Our crypt tunnels." He blinked at her, and she turned her head. "Too many small graves." Came her quiet reply to his unasked question.

"Oh…" Silence returned as his ears listened for any notion of pursuit. Hearing nothing, he asked his earlier question again. "Why are you all still here?"

"Believe me. W-we would have left long ago if we could. But we are too few to move our normal way and too weak to make the attempt worthwhile. We are barely holding on as it is. You are not the only one to spit out our mushrooms."

It was true. He had tried to eat the rancid things but just couldn't. They tasted like rotten shoe leather mixed with garlic, too much garlic.

His mind reeled at all the new information he had gotten over the past few hours.

"These poor bastards…they are effectively trapped here."

"How come it hasn't just killed you all by now?" He asked, now curious about the sudden thought of it just lingering in the area.

"We are not certain. It seems to hate the soil and stone we have dug our homes into." She brushed a hand against the walls and came away with some type of dust. "This red and purple dust seems to upset it for some reason."

"Red and purple dust?" Orion reached out a hand of his own against the wall and rubbed it between his fingers when he pulled back. "Tilly, this is Iron dust." He gasped in surprise. Turning around, he took a closer look.

The entire wall on his side shimmered in the light of bug butts. He could not fathom how he had not noticed it before.

"Tilly?"

"Yes?" She asked timidly, seeming bothered by his change in demeanor.

"Is your whole Den like this?" He asked. His voice breathless.

"Yes, it is. We found chunks of iron everywhere we dug. Why?"

His heart rate picked up.

"And you all can just…plow through it like it's nothing?"

"Well, yes. Anything that is stone and earth we can dig through." He could see her now. She had come up next to him, a worried expression on her face. "Why?"

"Another question, if you would permit it." An idea was beginning to form in his mind. "I have read you have super sensitive noses that you can pick up on the faintest trails."

"Some of us can do it far better than others. My brother happens to be one of those. Again, why?"

"Sorry, that answer gave rise to one more question. Can you smell iron itself?"

She paused, thinking.

"I…I can tell the difference if that is what you are asking. Yes, I can smell iron, and as I said, I do not have my brother's gift. Now please, answer me. Why?"

"Because my little reluctant ponynapper," a grin blossoming on his face. "I think I may have just figured out a way to save your pack, after all."

Fighting through the mob of Dogs blocking the exit had not been as terrible as he or Tilly had feared.

That was due in large part to the absolutely nasty odorant he was currently rocking. As his guide pushed past the quickly dispersing crowd of mutts, he had made the comment that they hadn't really needed to go the long way around at all.

She gave no reply. Only growled in anger.

Now they stood just inside the entrance, and to Orion's eyes, the world outside was a blinding movie-grade studio floodlight.

A tug at his shirt prompted him to look down, just barely seeing a very impatient Tilly trying to get him moving.

With a groan, he noted with wry amusement that he was doing that too often, he shielded his eyes and stepped into the light to the angered shouts of griffons and Diamond Dogs.

Blinking rapidly, he began to tell shapes and people apart. "God damn, Celestia, if you do control the sun, could ya turn the gamma down? Please?!

Stumbling forward, his visage cleared enough for him to finally see what was going on, and he groaned in response.

Opposite each other were two groups of very angry people. On one side, with their backs facing him, were the mutts. Across from them, with Screaming leading, were armored-up griffons, brandishing weapons ready to brawl.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me…" He moaned out.

Sadly, his sudden appearance behind the Dogs had not gone unnoticed. Eberhard, standing off to the right of Orion's friend and surprisingly not in armor or a weapon of his own in hand, eyes lit up, and he shouted something at Grace.

Their eyes locked, and in the brief moments, they were, he could see all the pain, relief, anxiety, and rage in hers.

He was sure that all she saw was tired annoyance in his.

She looked away, and shouted something he couldn't understand in the din of noise coming from both sides.

Suddenly, the small force of mutts parted, and there at the end was Barney. He was decked out in an old helmet that likely hadn't seen a fight since the unification wars. About his person were metal disks that looked more like they belonged in a scrap yard.

Oh boy, he was angry.

"HOW DA FUCK DID YA GET OUT OF YOUR CELL!?" He roared into the sudden silence.

"Jesus Christ, he has a pair of lungs on him." It sounded like he was standing in front of him rather than being almost a hundred yards away.

Instead of having a chance to answer and reminding the idiot of the fact that they never installed a door, Tilly stepped forward and shouted back, though less loudly.

"Brother, he was already wandering the tunnels, Buddy and Guy were nowhere to be found when I checked on him!" She took a deep breath. "Besides, this is stupid! All they want is him! Let's just give him back!"

Orion blinked and looked down at his little guide to the surface world. "Buddy? Guy? Heh, if there is even a chance of a Friend or Pal living in this den or anywhere in the world, there's a South Park joke in there."

His humor was short-lived.

Barney turned, enraged, to a Dog the colt was very familiar with.

"I told you to leave 'em on da damn door guard!" He shouted into Balo's face. The diminutive leader's gaze swung and inevitably found his targets. "Why da fuck are ya up here!?"

The right-hand dog spoke up first. "You said, need strong Dogs. Them strong dogs. Need for fight." He shrugged his shoulders. "Pony asleep. Not knowing he wake soon."

"RAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Was Barney's totally useful response.

"Barney Barker. Return Orion Falls at once." Came a booming command that almost sounded alien considering its source.

Scream had stepped forward, and for the first time in two days, Orion got a good look at his friend, and his mouth fell open in surprise.

In just a couple of days' time, she had changed. Drastically. The slump in her shoulders that he hadn't noticed before now was gone, her head held high, arms thrown back. Instead of the dresses and sometimes fancy pants and blouses, she wore steel mail that gleamed in the morning sun.

Steel-shod boots covered her paws, and upon her shoulders were topped with pauldrons in silver and steel. Belted to her was a tabard bearing her family's crest.

But to him, the greatest change was her face. He had only caught glimpses of the hardened, disapproving glare when he said something dumb or not to her liking. But this was leagues beyond stone. Only the hint of fear and worry remained in her eyes.

"Jesus Christ! This in just two days of me being kidnapped?"

It was such a jarring change that Orion hadn't noticed when Barney had started barking orders again, and the black colt suddenly found himself very pressed. Pressed in the way the blade at his throat threatened to saw through his neck.

"When did they knock me to the ground!?"

"Alrighty, you cluckal-fucks, here's da deal. You give us back our Dogs, and I don't send ya his head back. Sounds fair, eh?"

If there was one thing Orion was going to do before this was all over, he was going to beat the ever-living shit out of Barney.