Rarity walked through the diamond dog tunnels. She’d volunteered for this rather than waiting to be asked. She knew Twilight was going to ask somepony, so she felt it polite to just volunteer. She did have ulterior motives to be here, however. Without Spike, some creature was going to have to haul the gems back. Her predator would do just fine.

She knew the path. She’d been too and from the Diamond Dog city plenty of times to barter for gems. They wanted gems, in general. She merely wanted the finer stones. She would find gem deposits, they would dig them up, their most skilled appraisers would look at the gems and she would get the finer gems that were the purest while the Diamond Dogs got the rest. It was a win-win situation.

The diamond dog who was going to swallow her sat in the largest chair they could find, trying to make himself comfortable. An act that was giving the prim and proper mare a rather unobstructed view. She eventually cleared her throat and he looked at her as if just realizing she was there. “Pony is impatient to become Dog Food?” he asked, and Rarity just rolled her eyes.

“It’s simply that… well the camera equipment has been set up for several minutes now. I am beginning to think you are stalling for time because you do not want to eat me.” The dog huffed and stepped down from the chair. He was several times larger than she was. So large, in fact, she was certain she could fit inside his nostril. She wouldn’t bulge his middle at all.

“Why would pony think that? Lobo merely is getting comfortable so that after he has eaten pony, he does not have to adjust in his seat while pony digests into ass fat.” He wasn’t annoyed. At least she didn’t think he was. He was talking softly so his voice didn’t echo and hurt his own ears. “Perhaps it is Pony who thinks Lobo does not want to eat her. Is pony worried about her curly purple mane? Or her purple tail? Lobo could always cut them off.” Rarity’s eyes went wide as the large white dog grabbed what looked like a massive farming scythe.

“No no. That’s quite alright. I am worried about my mane and tail but they will be fine. I will shower once I am home.” His laugh caught her off guard.

“Home? Ponies home will be pile at the base of Hound Mountain once Lobo’s guts have finished with it.” Rarity swallowed nervously. Already he was referring to her as “it”. She wasn’t a pony anymore. Not even worthy of a name in his eyes. She was food. One did not give its food a name. He was doing her the courtesy of talking to her already.

“You… you did read Princess Twilight’s letter… correct?” she asked, and he looked at her for a moment. Could they read? Her eyes flicked to the large scroll sitting next to his seat and he turned to look at it.

“Too much time. Summarize.” He commanded and she swallowed again. He really did make her nervous.

“The… the letter explains the circumstances of my visit but… in summary… Princess Twilight is updating the Royal Bestiary and we came across an entry for Diamond Dogs.”

“Dogs know of Royal Bestiary. Only pony who ever came here to write about us is the author, Thorough Quill. Is Pony suggesting author not as thorough as he claimed to be?” He asked and Rarity shook her head.

“No, certainly not. But… he did not get any information on… your insides.” She jumped when the massive hound barked with laughter.

“Pony wishes to see Lobo’s insides? Very well. Thorough was kind pony. If pony is adding to Dog Friend’s book, Lobo will oblige.”

Rarity sighed with relief and was about to thank him for his generosity when she found her world replaced by darkness. It wasn’t wet. It was merely dark. His paw. She hadn’t seen it coming. Hadn’t even heard it. She was only there for a moment however. Gravity became obsolete as she looked down.

The view made her freeze. Twilight had told her how terrifying it could be. How it could freeze your blood and make you feel like time stopped. Gazing into the gaping maw of a predator about to swallow you whole. Even if she was going to be safe, even if she could teleport out if it got to be too much for her to bare. The sight of the throat of a predator gaping wide to greet you was enough to make her blood run cold.

As gravity caught back up with her, she couldn’t even see herself falling. Her eyes were focused entirely on the dark abyss rushing up to meet her. She couldn’t even scream. The giant dog’s jaws snapped closed around her and a loud swallow nearly deafened her. Not that he really needed too. Enough saliva had built up that the moment she fell into it, she was simply sliding down the abyss of a throat.

She recorded everything mentally. She had to. For the bestiary. For Twilight. She exited the throat and fell once again. It wasn’t as long a fall as from his paw to his throat. The splash down into acids would have worried her if she hadn’t quickly used the acid resistance spell Twilight had taught her. Did she have to wait here? Did she have to teleport to safety? Did she have to simply let time pass and she would pass with the rest of the Dogs’ food?

Thoughts came to her in rapid succession. If the documentary failed, most of the creatures in it would rush Ponyville. Ponies were willingly feeding themselves to monsters now. It must be ok to simply eat them now, right? Celestia is allowing this. It must be ok.

Sweetie Belle caught in a cage with her friends, swinging from a giant monster’s hip. The cage door opening and a massive hand coming in and plucking dear sweet little Sweetie from the cage. Sweetie screaming as she was raised above a gaping maw before being dropped in.

Rarity clamped her eyes shut as the thoughts came to her. She didn’t want to see them. She didn’t want to think that the documentary could be the start of Equestria’s end. Twilight was doing this for medical science. This wasn’t a fatalistic cry for help. Nor was this a list of possible suicide attempts. This was a medical documentary.

Rarity teleported herself back to Ponyville all the same. Her thoughts were placed into a crystal sphere. Twilight had designed these for ponies who didn’t want to recount their experiences verbally. She left out all of the negative thoughts. They weren’t needed for the documentary. Certainly Twilight didn’t need to know that her friends, at least one of them, was terrified.

Author's Note

Rarity volunteers to go, alone, to visit the Diamond Dogs. What sort of fashion designer would she be if she left behind diamonds and jewels after all?