Old legend made new
She was starting to hate this, more than usual even. The way he just followed her with that vacant look, though at times that look became a nervous one. “Why we here shorty? This pony settle-ment. What we doing here?” Fetch said looking at the house windows with a look of concern.
“We’re here to settle a few things…that’s all.” Short Herder said coldly, not turning around. “It’s that building there.” She pointed her hoof at the school house, the one she used to go to. It was night fall, and she knew no one was there, but that didn’t matter, not to her. She was just sending a message.
She ran away from home just yesterday over her lot in life. Tending to a herd of sheep on a farm her parents owned. She had felt ignored with a vengeance. They fed her, cleaned her, and gave her tasks and that was it. Her days were tedium of watching vacant forms of sheep eat grass and mill about.
No real conversation from her parents apart from “Would you kindly…?” this or that. It left her with the creeping feeling that she may as well be some sheep dog. With the cuety mark of a shepards crook, her options were limited.
School life wasn’t much better as some lowly farm filly that reeks of sheep. Just some jokes that got tired at some point. She couldn’t even talk to her folks about it; they were busy with the farm and all. At some eerie point she though a Changling could replace her and not only would no one notice, no one would care other than it was a changling in town. So she ran away, with all the spirit of a pony who would make their own destiny. At first anyway…
Running from Manticores and Timber Wolves was clearly not on her mind until after she set up camp in the woods outside town. Afterward she felt like she was going to be dead before dawn. She hid in a cave with the hope to lose her pursuers. The good news for her was that it worked as planned; the bad news was she wasn’t alone.
A Diamond Dog lived there, well twice the size of her dad. It was staring at her with vacant eyes. With what stories she had heard, the nightmare of being dragged into some dark cave never to see the sun again would have caused an accident. Well, if the incident with other predators hadn’t caused one already.
She was frozen in terror as it walked up to her and then said the last thing she would expect. “Are you ok puppy? It’s a hard would for little things.”
Back in the present, Fetch had unlocked the school from the inside. A trick he said his dad had taught him, by digging under a wood floor he could break inside with minimum noise. Like the other legends he told of his dad they would have scared her once, but not anymore. With the door open she stepped inside.
Everything was as it was last she came. Inside there were desks, a banner about friendship, and black board. But what she wanted was up above, on a shelf. An oil lamp filled with oil. “Fetch?” She called to her companion, who she could see looking thru desks like trash cans. “I can’t reach that lantern; it’s too high for me.”
“Ok shorty.” Was his prompt reply as he stopped his search and walked over to her. He reached up and grabbed the lantern off the shelf and handed it to Short Herder. She smiled, the lamp was full. “Thanks Fetch!” She said.
“Not a problem shorty!” Was the dogs reply with a smile, and with that he went back to his searching. Short often figured his concept of foraging was natural for a diamond dog, looking from treasure or food. However she could recall another reason, based on a stories Fetch told about his dad.
He had carried her deeper into that cave, despite her flailing. She stopped when she realized she could not escape, and more importantly when she saw where she was going. There was a fire there and some food. Some carrots were there and, of all things, zap apples. How a dog had gotten zap apples was a question that temporally caused her to forget her predicament.
But, the leg of a chimera near the apples reminded her how bad it was. And not far from that leg was the rest of it, torn flesh and shattered bone. She didn’t move much when she was put down.
“What’s wrong puppy? They not come in here. You is safe!” Spoke the dog with some form of concern, even being friendly. “Please, have some. Tang apple tastes funny!” He said with a funny smile. Despite the humor it had presenting the food she was too terrified to have an appetite.
Despite the vacant look in its eye, she found it could tell she was trembling. With little other warning it gave her a hug, she was shocked. “No worry, me here. Lost puppy safe with me.” On one hand she felt good, on the other she wanted to hoof him in the nose. It mistook her for a diamond dog pup. Her fur and mane, with her yellow eyes, had him mistaken her for some lost diamond dog he apparently just adopted. That made her mad, and still kind of angry as time went on.
He said his name was Fetch; the other dogs named him that as a sort of joke. Mostly because he was a digger who got things you ask him for or something. Despite his size and smell, and due to his low IQ, he was friendly and welcoming. As her original provisions were an apple and some hay crackers, lost by now due to her running in terror, the three zap apples were much appreciated. She still didn’t like the look of that leg, or that earthen pot of soup.
They talked as they ate, she giggled at his stupidity thinking “school” was a pack name. Even more so on how a dog mother is referred to as a bitch. He even referred to it like it was a genuine term of endearment. He then spoke of his own stories; mostly it was just him doing tasks like digging or eating. And then he got to his dad, and the tone got…creepy.
He and his dad did stuff, lots of stuff. It was the stuff of adventure, and of horror. To hear Fetch speak of him, his dad Temujin was a great hero. He was a warrior king with a vision that diamond dogs would be as great as dragons or even ponies. A dog who taught Fetch everything he knew. He learned hunting, herbalist skills, and even how to fight. And Fetch loved his father greatly for it.
He talked lengths about their hunts, even if Short was just pretending to listen as she ate. It was mostly stalking, chasing, and killing. He called it cleaning, after something his dad said once. Other details would also give her some pause.
Fetch and his father would ambush from below at times, even pulling their prey under the ground and tearing the animal’s neck open with a bite. Or even just pulling and crippling limbs from underneath, breaking them or holding the limb in place as the other moved in for the kill. Their quarry frantic to pull its leg free as it has its wings were torn off and neck broken. Then its body cleaned and cooked for the meal after. She didn’t want to think too hard about it, and the way he spoke of it was like he was recalling a happy childhood.
She started to cringe then, it was like a horror story. Like the story of the Mad Baker or stories that a gryphon had its way with and ate fool hardy ponies after dark, and the ongoing legend of what Nightmare Moon was really was. He clearly saw her fear and went for the soup pot, returning with a small wooden bowl with said soup.
“Have pea soup, it nice.” Fetch said, handing the bowl to her hooves with a caring look. “It helps, Ten-mi-jn made it for me when traveled. Felt calmer when drink, me felt scared too sometimes. Yes, have some?”
She looked at the murky, milky, fluid in the bowl, seeing green with a trace of red. Like some Heart Warming’s Eve gone wrong. She pondered how many ponies would say they need a drink at a time like this. She decided she needed one now and downed the soup. She felt calmer already; at least her blood was no long ice.
Then came the zebra story, she knew about zebras or the legends there of. They were dark magic users, fueled by pony sacrifices and horrible curses. But there was the odd story of ponyvile befriending one, but that was hearsay to her. This story made zebras a lot less scary and Fetch’s dad much more so.
At first, when they went to the jungle of some far off region Fetch could not recall the name of, then they just watched. Took notes on zebra actions, where they went, when they ate, and tried to understand the secret of their dark arts. His father was intrigued by their magic, as it needed no horn.
Then it moved to luring them away as the other stole “papers” from the zebra huts, and then the hunt. The zebra were on the attack, with painted faces and wearing ornate sounding items on them. Fetch and his dad feinted, hit and ran, even dragged some under and tunneled away as the zebra warriors stabbed the earth. Then they used bait, and she dropped the carrot she was eating.
His dad crippled a zebra and left the victim crying out in pain, and Fetch called it bait. Other zebra ran to their friend’s aid and were ambushed. Either pulled under or fought hoof to paw. Fetch said his dad knew and taught him about zebra magic and they knew how to counter it.
Then it was over, at least ten dead zebra, a younger Fetch was likely still shaking with surprise and excitement on such a victory, and his dad said he couldn’t be more proud. If the dread zebras that ponies fear so much was this easy then ponies would have to count there days if there god could be usurped.
And Temujin stated “Every dog has its day.” Then they started eating the bodies, and using what they didn’t eat as fertilizer. “Decaying bodies good for soil.” Fetch said like a cleaver student, even saying it was how he kept a small garden growing. She asked for another bowl, she would drown her fear and disgust in it.
Back in present, the oil was now on several parts of the floor and some of the desks. Even if the school was still intact after the fire, those desks were not going to make it. “Uh, Shorty?” Fetch asked. Short Herder looked back at him to see that he looked distressed. “Fire gas makes my nose tingly, why pour it all over here?” He put his paw over his nose, as if it would help.
She felt bad for a moment; she would sometimes feel bad for this moron. “Can you wait outside? I’m almost done in here.” She said with a smile, Fetch however looked unsure. Thankfully she knew how to deal with this. “I’ll be ok Fetch…I need to do something before I light it.” She said with a reassuring look. “I’ll tell you when I’m about to start, is that ok?” Fetch was convinced then.
“Ok Shorty, me trust you, Fetch keep watch. Let know if have trouble, ok?” He said with a smile and a nod and went outside. Despite his faults, Fetch was a good dog she thought. A stupid, horrifying creature though he was, he always had her best interests in mind. Even when those interests involved setting a school on fire.
She recalled having at least five bowls of “pea soup” before her legs got numb, and soon gave out on her. She felt like the world was distant, and Fetch was now uttering nonsense that was even more unintelligible. She didn’t know it then but she nearly died. The world came back after a while, with her legs moveable again and a foul taste in her mouth.
Fetch had given her some medicine, and she learned why. The “Pea soup” had more than peas in it; it also had chimera venom in it and worse. Ground Parasprites, manticore liver, even crushed cockatrice eyes. She would have puked, but a best she had dry heaves.
She was not happy with what she had drunk and, despite making this clear to Fetch he didn’t seem too bothered by it. Even the other diamond dogs he dug for don’t want to drink this mash. She decided to drop this subject, she could yell at him all night and he would never get the point about how horrible his soup really is. At best, she though, he might just see if seasoning helps and it won’t.
With the soup she drank, the story of the mad baker came to her mind again. It was about a giddy pony that killed and baked other ponies in her baked goods. The customers loved the new flavor she gave to her bread and cakes, even an equestrian guard unit in town ordered a feast of her tasty breads. They even invited the whole town and some nobles to it. All those ponies eating their own loved ones…meat never felt less appetizing. With how Fetch could talk about “cleaning” such horror might only make him scratch his head.
Short told Fetch to stop talking and leave her alone, Fetch sadly nodded. It seemed like he understood she was angry, even if he didn’t know why. She lay down near the fire and sighed, eventually growing tired and dozing off. With Fetch still deceived by her “cleaver disguise” this dank cave made for a good place to sleep. It was then she learned the other reason no one else drinks pea soup.
She had a nightmare and a vivid one too. Dragons covered the skies and bellowed flame, the flames as thick as clouds. She was outside her school and the other foals were there. They called her those names, sheep dog, sheep pony, even face in the herd. Now she had enough of them and she hoofed one foal in the face. She had drawn blood, and an angry teacher was going to let her have it. So she bit off his nose, now they were screaming.
Now everything was on fire, from any shadow and the earth itself dogs emerged. These diamond dogs however had rough scales that dripped black ooze. The ponies were overrun; guard ponies fought back but were cut down, torn apart, even burned alive as the tar dogs breathed tongues of flame. She trotted alone despite the chaos and could now see Canterlot.
Large dragons tore ancient spires apart, even as the Royal Air Ponies and even the Wonderbolts fought back. But the dragons would not be denied. The air juggernauts smashed pegasus formations like bowling pins, and those who fell from the sky were snapped up by other leviathans like falling berries. Equestra was burning and she was horrified. Now she had Diamond dogs before her, but they did not attack. They just stood there when one spoke to her.
“Command us master! Time is hand!”
She backed away at this. “No…” Short muttered, still backing away. “It can’t be, it not…!” She then saw her reflection on a still intact window. Her mane and fur were the same, as well as her eyes, but there was still blood on her muzzle and her teeth were all canine. Sharp enough to bite apart any enemy. Before she woke she heard a voice bellow. “No city immortal.”
She remembered screaming a lot, likely waking Fetch, and Fetch giving her a hug. “I sorry.” He said, stroking her mane. “I forget small ones not drink as much. Shorty OK? Me forget visions come with soup. Bad Fetch.” He had called these things visions, and with how he drank twice as much soup as she did, he was used to them. They talked about it, and by talk she mostly stuttered about the pony killing she saw. She was glad to know when Fetch said he never “Cleaned” a pony. It would help her sleep easier.
He told her about of the Order of the Dragons. How his dad wanted to form an army of dogs based of an old superstition where some diggers had wondered if diamond dogs were related to dragons somehow. They both lived in caves and liked shiny objects. While ponies also liked shiny objects, they lived in houses. His dad thought it was silly, but it motivated him to a new cause.
One day he went into the dreaded Everfree forest and remained there for several months. When he came back he asked for volunteers to find something better than gems. Fetch seemed to be the only one who stood up for the challenge, the other dogs thinking Temujin was crazy. It was there he said he got an understanding of the world.
“For something to live, something will die. Bodies feed the ground, ground feeds the plants, plants feed the animal or feed on animal, even plants have live flesh.” Fetch had said with a serious look on his face. “In everfree life can end fast, Ten-jin said pony fear makes them weak. Said pony think they center of world when they not. He said he prove them wrong.” Fetch would continue on with this, how Temujin left the caves to find other dogs further north to find suitable recruits.
Short figured suitable meant smart, seeing as Fetch will still under the impression she was a puppy even while hugging her.
She calmed down as Fetch’s story went on to digging exploits after his dad left. So she told him to stop, that she was ok, and just wanted to get back to sleep. No more visions plagued her, on the other hand she was going to smell like she forgot to take a bath for weeks due to that hug.
She woke up in the morning to find Fetch still was still asleep…and drooling. She shrugged and trotted back home. The town was normal, no posters, and no one seemed to be too concerned as she walked to her school. She found the foals in the playground and decided to scare them.
She told them of the beast in the woods, how it was her friend, and how it could drag them under and eat them. And they laughed, they just laughed. They didn’t care; they just made the same comments and continued to laugh. She ran off in tears, hiding in an old shed. No one cared, maybe not even her parents. With how little anyone seemed to think of her disappearance, the phrase “Back with her tail between her legs.” came to mind. Now she was mad…and sad.
She came back to the cave to find Fetch looking around in a panic. He sniffed the air and turned to see her, with a smile on his face. “Shorty! I worried, where you go?” She felt some of her own relief; at least something cared if she was gone. On the other hand it wasn’t a pony and it though she was a puppy.
It was then she had that idea and asked if Fetch knew anything about the nearby town. She was glad to know how he had been watching the town after dark, and took notes. All he just needed was a reason to go there.
And now with the oil in place she just needed a light, but first she looked at an old photo. The picture was from her first day of school, she was the angry looking one in the corner. She didn’t like the other kids, the teacher wasn’t half bad but there was little he could do about this. She sighed.
She didn’t feel like a face in the herd. Quite the opposite she felt like she was to be put apart from it. No real friends, distant parents, she felt isolated, even unneeded. She was a ghost, and what she wanted to do was scare the heck out of her home town.
They would remember her for this, burning her school down. Those ponies that ignored her would take notice. She would be a new ghost story to scare any foal or adult pony, the dread black sheep pony…or something. The name wouldn’t be important, the school foals terror however was. What would be better remembered a ghost or a ghost story after all?
It was then she realized she was hesitating. She wanted it to be simple, go in, light it up, skip town or maybe light some school filly’s house latter on. And Fetch would likely not mind it at all; he would probably even fight off anypony who tried to stop them. He might even learn how to “clean” ponies after all. They would teach ponykind fear and then some… It’s just that nasty good half that got in the way.
Short sighed as she put a hoof to her face. “I hate you, I hate all of you.” She said to no one. She then grabbed the framed photo and threw it across the room. The smash and shatter sound it made didn’t make her feel any better. In the end she decided not to light the fire, she just left a nasty note on the teacher’s desk and left. She figured burning it wouldn’t do much for her at this point. They can live in fear about how she could burn it all down.
“What now Shorty?” Asked Fetch as Short exited the school, he didn’t quite note how her head was down. “Pony walk streets after sun up, time is wasting.” The seconds it took for him to pick up on Short’s mood were painful for her. “Uh, shorty, you OK?”
“Let’s just go home.” Short said with a depressed tone. “I don’t want to be here now.”
“Ok shorty, let’s head back.” It was then that Fetch noticed the lack of fire. “What happen to message? Why no fire?”
“I left a note on the table Fetch, I just want to go home.” Short was starting to tremble.
Strangely, the gears in Fetch’s head (all two of them) made a off leap of logic. “What ponies do to shorty?” He asked.
“I’ll talk about it later Fetch, can you…?” Short started, but Fetch caught on.
“Carry back, can do.” With that Fetch picked up Short and put her on his back. On their way out of town Fetch asked a simple question. “Want bowl of soup? Just one though, don’t want see you hurt.”
“I’ll think about it.” Was Short’s quiet response. “I just want to sleep now.” Short eventually dozed off with Fetch carrying her. She wasn’t sure what else to do now.