Winds of color, book 1: Digging up the past

“I meant," said Ipslore bitterly, "what is there in this world that truly makes living worthwhile?"

Death thought about it.

CATS, he said eventually. CATS ARE NICE.”

― Terry Pratchett, Sourcery

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A Few hours earlier...

Another day in the training field, Pete thought to himself. There was always another day, just like the last. He would march past the same three classes of diamond dogs with the same three grumpy instructors who were all teaching a method of fighting that was just too cliché for his tastes. Seriously, he rolled his eyes, weapon training and claw to hoof combat Is fine and all. But when the only tactics they teach for squad engagements are either overwhelming numbers in a straight forward suicidal charge or to simply eject the occupants trying to enter sealing themselves in at the same time by using dirt.

He absentmindedly saluted as he passed an officer dog, noted by his Vest’s adornment of onyx gems that were arranged in the formation of the thirty first infantry.  He began to mutter to himself about the lack of actual weapons being issued to his dogs, “They want us to train in spears and sword use… yet they have yet to actually issue… them.” Personally he blamed the distance between his own territory and the capital.

In relations the capital of their race was currently under the badlands, where he and his pack had built under Smokey Mountain in hopes of finding more gems to fund his own retirement. Instead they had found more and more “Strange pony Ruins” as they progressed deeper. While this irked him to no extent, it did have a value as other nations would buy these strange artifacts for their own museums and research. While tensions with the Equestrian Co-Rulers, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, were high (mainly in part of the inhumane treatment of other races as slaves and test subjects); even they were avid collectors of the junk they found. Albeit, he thought to himself, through lots of other merchants to lose the source of where it had originally came from.

Though it wasn’t military or economic matters that mattered to Pete, The building he was so waiting for was being cleaned up by his many servants. Until then he wouldn’t be able to partake in his true desire, announcing it to the world quietly as slowly his mutterings turned into hums and then into a song of a nursery rhyme he had made from a medical fiction novel he had read almost having him force himself not to scream it,

“We do what we must because we can.

For the good of all of us,

Except the ones who are dead.

But there's no sense crying over every mistake.

You just keep on trying till you run out of time,

And when the science gets done,

And you had some great fun.”

He resumed humming for a short while, his mind drawing a blank over a few lines before rejoining in a hushed tone.

“Go ahead and leave me.

I think I prefer to stay in here.

Testing away and smiling to my own mirror.

How they are so easy,

To trick… Steal, and lie…

The simplest enchantment stops them.

From seeing the truth!

Where I make Corpses,

They only see dung and muck and filfth.

Iron smell replaced by skunk…

And a bottle of ooze,

I’m going to come for you-”

Luckily for the air molecules, and the few dogs close enough to hear it, he was forced to halt as he drew close to the Slaves Cages. No point scaring them all to death and un-cooperation, He considered. If they knew they were really cleaning up remains of my experiments in my lab or how roughly treated each other are there is no telling what kind of havoc would be reeked before we quieted all of it down. A Guard nodded to One-eye Pete and spoke with a formal tone, “Good dig General.”

Not giving a care in the world for formalities he simply waved a claw at him in a shooing motion when the guard started to follow him, “Good dig. Sure, whatever. Back to your post before we get the whips.”

He headed into his home, the servants, an title for slaves that have proven themselves completely loyal, had finished cleaning his room. Grinning Like a pup he threw himself onto his bed making himself bounce and land on the other side, his claws digging into a patch of carpet that he only knew was loose, and completing the landing by flipping back onto his hind legs holding the dark blue carpet patch above his head. He looked down upon his hidden chest full of different toys he would be using this incoming night of “Divine research”. He had been planning this night for a while now.

A blue male filly of unicorn origins with red hair had been captured as well as an acid green earth pony filly of female gender with a bright yellow mane. The Timber wolf he had been collecting the sap of was at its ripest point this night, and by Celestias beard he had completed all his tasks beforehand weeks ago to ready up for this night. He was going to test what was considered taboo among most nations, nothing new for him to be doing such a thing but this time he was interested he checked his notes above his bedrooms desk, it read quite clearly to him.

Experiment #487: Chimera project

U+E+TS= ?

Unicorn + Earth pony + Timber wolf seed = ?

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Current time...

Flameclaw, keeper of the keys, leaned against his fence post and watched as the last ponies were guided back to their cages. A Pretty land, this... though he would be happier if it weren't ruled by slavers and mad scientists who swaggered wherever they went, treating even other dogs as slaves or cattle.... or worse...

He sighed. So long as they didn't get foolish or arrogant enough to face the ponies of canterlot Claw to hoof or offend some ruler sorely enough to all be struck down on the spot, there was no way he could see that these ponies would ever be free of these dogs. Flameclaw frowned, sighed again, and turned back for his candle. It was fast growing dark now with the day ending with dogs and ponies alike estinguishing their light sources and the guards would need their light for duty. He reached up, with the ease of long habit standing clear of the dripping wax and lit the street lamp next to his fence post. As he drew the candle down and blew it out, he saw her coming wearily up the track from the showering area up past his fence post. Irids mane was flat and long for once with both it and her fur slim and drenched even then there was slight colorations of blood on her hooves. He had been checking on her before and had left her in the showers after she was done cleaning up an week old experiment of One-eye Pete's.

Flameclaw snorted and looked unamused, "escape drowning did you lass?"

There was no response from the unicorn to this sarcastic question, Flameclaw noticed this and looked curiously towards her, "Something the matter?"

she didnt reply through words but Flameclaw had long since learned how the opposite gender reacted from his miserable life with his wife. she was showing a relucantcy to talk by biting her lower lip slightly just as his wife had did when she had told him a few minutes later she was pregnant....with another's pups.

the silence continued for a solid minute that seemed like hours and finally Irid spoke up, and flameclaw realised that the unicorn had seen through the lies pete had put on Everybody as she gestured to the labatory that he had watched her clean, holding his own stomache as she had passed by with load after load of rotting blood and flesh. "Why?"

His response was one he couldnt fully understand himself and he would probably be court martialed or worse if any of his superiors had said it, but he said it anyway, a feeling of personal shame for his race's actions settling in as well as this abuse of power that he followed, "Because the... Alpha...wanted to, I suppose..." He quietly and gently lead the mare back to her cage. holding back his own breathe as much as possiable as the remains of several other ponies were still stuffed into a corner of the room, the mares face paled but made no attempt to resist going in knowing that it would be futile to attack the guards herself probably. A unicorn who couldnt use her horn was as useless as a pegasus who couldnt use his wings, he considered. With a moment of pity he looked upon the poor girl, she is distraught and shocked... he thought. But when he counted the occupants only two were present, Irid and the diamond dog who was snoozing in a corner. Subject E-101, also known as Twig, was gone. though five minutes ago when he last checked on them he was there... Then he remembered it was friday. His eye twitched, Not another experiment... Screw this im going to get drunk on some hard cider tonight if that damn bucker is now experimenting on fillies as well as mares and stallions.

He slammed the cage door shut and locked it leaving without another word not noticing that during the time he was walking away his keyring had opened quietly and a quarter of the keys including bob's were floating quietly back towards Bob the cage. The diamond dog stomped indiginty towards the nearest bar with the full intention of getting wasted tonight. Duty or no duty.

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Irid grabbed hold of the keys with her hooves and looked around hurriedly, nopony had saw her take them, she sighed in relief despite the feeling of guilt of stealing such a thing. The shock had long since worn off since she had cleaned the blood and gutts of varietys off creatures off of herself, but looking around she did notice one thing missing, "umm... Baney? Wheres Twig?"