Diamond Dogs? Remember, they were used to dig Manehatten's new subway system a few years back. He seems to want Trixie's gem...you have two stances you can assume. The first involves revealing yourself and either talking him down with your clever tongue or trying to intimidate him into leaving. The other option is to kill it immediately by either sneaking up on it and cutting it's throat, or lunging out of the bushes to stab it with your sword. Either way, it's threatening your...companion? Doll? slave?...Random unicorn with a log up her plot?...I wonder what that collar would look like on Trixie. Regardless, Diamond Dogs have highly sensitive ears, didn't that one bum you used to share the alley with say your whistling could break glass? Let's give that a try if negotiation doesn't work.

Nomad

Well well well. Looks like the prissy unicorn blowhard has gotten herself into a jam. She's shaking like a schoolfilly pinned between a tree and a scary dog-thing... Actually you think you might know what this one is.

About a year or two back when you were pulling a few newspapers over your body for a night in the dumpster, it was cold out and they didn't pick up the trash until Thursday, you noticed the headline from one of the papers and started reading. Apparently some things called "Diamond Dogs" were sentenced to community service in Manehatten for foalnapping. They were arrested outside of some small settlement in Central Equestria. What was it called again? Muleville? Ponytown?

Anyways they were allowed to pay-off their debt to society by working as diggers for the Royal Pan-Equestria Railroad Company. One of the few major companies in Equestria, and operating with heavy oversight from Celestia and her court. The Diamond Dogs were supposedly extremely skilled diggers and subterranean tunnel constructors, so instead of shipping them straight to Tartarus, Celestia decided to give them a chance to redeem themselves and serve Equestria. Specifically, she decided to assign them to the RPERC's Manehatten Sub-Railroad project, supposed to revolutionize public transportation in Manehatten. Come to think of it the project was supposed to be done by next week. Well, um that was what you heard the day before you woke up in a scary forest with numerous creatures trying to kill you... How many days has it been since then?

Well rapid thinking tangents aside, due to the canine nature of this creature, the dug-up dirt patch that paved the way for his arrival as evidenced by the dust on his coat and jacket, and it's focus on Trixie's gem, you can conclude that this thing is a Diamond Dog. Also it looks kinda like the front page picture of the Diamond Dogs that the newspaper had... Yeah... you're not sure why you didn't use that mental evidence first.

However back to the present, The Diamond Dog is harassing Trixie and fondling her gem with a paw. He is also asking if she has others, implying that he believes she may have a stash somewhere and that the Diamond Dog wants to know where it is. Foalnapping may very well be in Trixie's future if the Dog decides to question her about her supposed gem stashes. And since that mare is essentially a useless blowhard, it's up to you to save her flank... Of course maybe she'll surprise you. Maybe there is something to all that bragging and she actually can take care of her-

KILL IT WITH FIRE.!!!!!!!!

"S-stay back you brute! I am no mere pony! I am the Great and Powerful Trixie! T-the greatest unicorn that has ever lived!" Shouted Trixie, shaking against the tree as she gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes. Her horn began to glow purple as she channeled her magic and a black storm cloud just puffed into existence. You find yourself with a slight amount of unicorn envy again as the storm cloud appears, up and behind the Diamond Dog a few feet off the ground. You honestly weren't expecting her to summon a cloud. You are kind of expecting the-

KRAK!

That follows though, sounding through the air as a yellow bolt of lightning shoots down from the cloud and strikes the Diamond Dog right in the butt.

"EEEYYYAAAA!!!" Yelped the Diamond Dog, leaping into the air as both paws went down to clutch at his hind-quarters. He sailed a few feet up into the air, before he fell back down towards the Earth. His body tilted forward on the way back down and he struck the ground flat-bellied. Dust rose up from his coat in a small cloud, shaken loose from the impact as he hit the moss-bed, muzzle up and eyes closed, limbs splayed outward. His bum was burnt black as was his tail, the latter sticking straight up into the air, a small tuft of flame lit upon the end. The Diamond Dog let out a low groan as he lay on the ground before Trixie, eyes squeezed shut and a small trail of black smoke rising from his blackened hinnie and still burning tail.

... Well damn. You guess the prissy showmare does have some punch to back up her boasting. The fire on the end of the Dog's tail is kinda cool to... heh. If she shot that bolt into your rods and you shot them out from your back, would you be able to light the whole dog up like a candle? Fur burning as he bursts into flames? ... Something to think about.

Trixie looked down at the splayed form of the Diamond Dog, breathing quickly. She blinked, and slowly leaned forward, reaching out with her front-right hoof to poke the dog in the muzzle. A low groan was the dog's only response... Trixie closed her eyes, and took a few deep calming breaths. Then she shook her head, opened her eyes, and smirked. She got to her hooves, standing up straight and proud, no hint of the shakes and shivers that plagued her before, a cocky glint in her eye. She raised her front right hoof up in front of her, pointing up and into the distance, striking a stance as she proclaimed-

"Hah! The Great and Powerful Trixie has once again proven that she is without a doubt the-GACK!"

The Diamond Dog's right paw shot up from the ground to Trixie's neck, clenching around it and cutting off her boasting, along with her air. You cringe as Trixie's eyes go wide and she starts gasping for oxygen, another low growl coming from the dog's throat.

"Pony is too noisy..." Muttered the Diamond Dog, before his eyes opened slowly, yellow orbs narrowing as he growled low, his left paw pushing against the ground, bringing him up to his knees. He kept a grip on Trixie's neck, ignoring her gasps as he slowly rose up the rest of the way onto his feet. He took a second to blink, and shake his head as he finished standing on his little paw-feet, then looked back to his tail. It was black and charred as his bum, with the tip still alight with a playful flickering fire. His eyes drooped and his ears pressed close to his head.

He let out a low whimper, and brought his left paw up to his muzzle. He opened his mouth and started to lick his paw, running his long blue tongue over his palm and claws, coating them with saliva as Trixie's forehooves started hitting against his right paw in a futile effort to get him to loosen his grip. He reached back with his saliva-coated paw to his tail and wrapped it around the flaming tip, letting out a whimpering whine as a sizzling noise rose from his rear appendage. Slight moisture formed at the edges of his eyes as he opened his paw, revealing the burnt and blackened tail, black smoke still rising from the now unlit but very crispy tail... It'd hurt to sit down for quite some time.

He looked at his tail with a sort of longing, and whimpered softly once again... And then his eyes narrowed into a glare as he snapped his gaze to Trixie, yellow slit eyes burrowing into her frightened purple orbs. He bared his sharp yellow teeth, a rumbling growl rising from his throat.

The Diamond Dog wrenched Trixie up off of the ground, leaving her hind-legs dangling and kicking as she gasped for air, and pulled her close to his face. He held her in front of him, his eyes boring into her terrified orbs, moisture forming at the edges of her eyes as his hot putrid breathe wafted over her fur, her nose centimeters away from his muzzle as her hind legs scrambled for a support that wasn't there.

"STUPID PONY! THAT HURT!!!" He barked right in her face, opening his mouth to give Trixie a front-row view of his canine chompers, pointed and lethal, able to rip off a little pony's face in a bite. Trixie let out a choked whimper and squeezed her eyes shut, apparently willing the image away as much as she willed her breath to return.

Careful now: that's a Diamond Dog. Unlike some wild Everfree beast, they're intelligent!

Well, somewhat intelligent.

And they usually roam in packs. So, just because you can only see one doesn't mean that there are no others around. You should try and defuse the situation. You had a rough few days; actually fighting could be too hard right now. Plus, killing another thinking creature is... iffy.

Try to reason with it. Get it to leave you alone. If that gem's the only thing it wants, fine- surely Trixie can make that sacrifice if it means she can leave unmolested! Heehee, molested Trixie... Anyhow: if talking doesn't work, try to scare it off.

Be careful. Dogs are pack hunters; odds are, there's more of them in hiding. Ignore Trixie for now, go make sure you're not being surrounded. If you are, you'll have to fight them off. Or frighten them off, whichever. The latter is probably better, you're less likely to get injured again that way. If not, then I recommend just stabbing the dog while it's not looking at you. Should be easy, Trixie will probably be saying stupid things really loudly. The perfect distraction. Maybe you should drag her along with you as a prisoner/slave. You never know when you might need a good distraction.

You have an urge to rush out and attack the Diamond Dog. Slice it up like you've been doing with so many things recently. You may not like Trixie but you don't want her to die. There are a few problems with that strategy however. One is that you've recently gone through a lot of physical trauma, enough that you probably wouldn't have survived if you weren't a superpony. You are NOT in your peak condition and your sore bucking muscles help remind you of this. Another problem is that when that Diamond Dog leaped it wasn't a foot, but three or four feet into the air. Powerful leg muscles. He also just picked up Trixie with one paw and is showing no signs of physical fatigue. Powerful arm muscles. He obviously has you beat when it comes to raw physical strength, and that's not even measuring the chomping he can do with those teeth. And third... He's not alone.

You can tell from a couple of factors, one being the holes in the ground. True those holes could have been made by him alone in theory, multiple times choosing this area and altering location slightly. But it's not likely. While it is feasible that he might possibly for some reason choose to create multiple surface tunnels in one area, it's more likely that multiple surface tunnels were created by multiple dogs, each for their use, rather than a single dog just making a different tunnel each time instead of using one premade for convenience sake. Even if the choice to dig multiple tunnels for one location was a choice consciously made or a part of his psychology, the irrefutable evidence of his being part of a society is the simple fact that he is wearing a collar and a jacket.

Ponies don't wear clothes for the sake of wearing clothes. Ponies wear clothes to look good and impress other ponies, sometimes for reasons of cultural identity. In any case clothes are worn to be seen by others, and thus not by the isolated unless there are significant environmental concerns. That he is wearing clothing that does not protect him from the environment to any significant degree, sleeveless jacket open at the front, makes it safe to assume that he is wearing the jacket because other Diamond Dogs might see him wearing the jacket. In short, he was and likely still is a member of a larger group with a societal structure, and as such he is probably not alone.

True he is using pockets in the outfit to carry gems, however if that was the sole reason for wearing an item he would wear some kind of pack, like pony saddle-bags. So the pockets were likely an afterthought of convenience added to the outfit rather than the purpose of the outfit itself. When all the evidence is examined it is fairly apparent that he is a member of a larger group with potential allies.

However there have been numerous loud sounds and shouting and no support for the Diamond Dog has arrived. Perhaps the rendezvous is time-based, or this one just happens to be alone today? In any event, it is logical to assume that whatever societal aid he might gain is not currently nearby judging by the lack of reaction to his loud yelps and sounds. Of course if you're wrong about that, or if help's coming, then you're going to pay for it. Because they're diggers, and judging by the holes his aid will come up from right beneath your hooves. Damn bad spot to be caught in an ambush.

"STUPID PONY WILL PAY FOR HURTING DOG!!!" Shouted the Diamond Dog, snapping you out of your rapid thought process and bringing you back to the present. The Diamond Dog, already proving the validty of his statement by choking Trixie, decides to drive this point home. The gasping Trixie still dangling from his grip, the Diamond Dog pulls his right arm back, and then rams it forward into the tree, striking Trixie hard into the wood. Trixie gives out a choked gasp and gurgle mix that was probably meant to be a cry of pain as the back of her head hits the tree she'd previously been cowering against. Tears begin streaking down her cheeks, pouring down from her wide orbs as her hooves fall uselessly against to her sides, the strength to fight back gone from them.

Would you look at that, the illusionist needs help. Figures.

Ok, Mr Stabby around Diamond Dog neck and a few whispered threats should fix this.

If not? Well, we did kill those timber wolves.

You grimace at the spectacle and swallow down a lump in your throat. You're going to have to risk him having backup, at this rate Trixie won't survive much longer. So how to approach? Not loudly that's for sure, for all the reasons aforementioned. So quietly. He's distracted, focusing on Trixie, and you possess a rather sharp blade that you can summon at will. Speaking of which, why don't you get that out now...

You close your eyes for a moment, trying to ignore the gasping noises from Trixie as you picture your blade emerging from your left hoof. The weapon juts out even as the Diamond Dog continues to shout.

"PONY IS GOING TO GIVE DOG ALL THE GEMS!!!" Yelled the Diamond Dog, as the a red trickle started to run down the bark behind Trixie's head. As you open your eyes, and begin to move slowly around the bush and into the clearing, you see Trixie's wincing gaze focus on the Diamond Dog, and her horn begin to glow again with her purple magic. You're not the only one who notices though. The Diamond Dog's eyes snap up to her horn, and with a loud angry growl, he reaches up with his left paw and roughly grabs Trixie's horn.

"Ga-ack-gruh-ak!" Comes the pained and choked cries from Trixie as the Diamond Dog begins to tug on her horn, roughty and violently jerking it this way and that, shoving it back and forth on her head, her magic sputtering and dissipating under the assault.

"AND STUPID PONY WON'T NEED THIS TO GIVE THEM!!!" Shouted the dog as you slowly moved forward across the grass and dirt, towards the dog and pony show. You breathe in slowly and steadily, the dog focusing on Trixie as you put one hoof in front of the other. Trixie, her gasps for breathe becoming weak, tears streaking down her cheeks, and blood running down the tree behind her, is in no position to acknowledge you. Her eyes start to roll up in her skull as you keep moving forward, Obsidian Blade up and ready, the dog's attention still on the young showmare.

"DOG WILL RIP OFF STUPID HORN!!! AND CHAIN PONY UP TO CARTS!!! AND MAKE HER PU- 'sniff sniff'." The Diamond Dog halts his tirade to lift his muzzle up and smell the air.

"Ugh! Bad smell! Very bad smell! What is making that smell!?" Shouted the dog, before turning his gaze back over his shoulder, to you...

... ... ... well shit.

Moreso, look at that, Trixie humbled and needing your help—you spin this right, and she might appreciate you a lot more. Otherwise, try to negotiate things out, killing it is no issue, but you're a bit sore, best to try communication first.

Attempt diplomacy, such that Trixie is not required to hand over her gem.

The gem may have sentimental value or her pride may get in the way and cause her to lash out.

Either way, driving off the dog without her giving anything up will cause her to be indebted to you even more.

And she is rather fetching, so why not start your harem now.

If the dog is unable to be reasoned with, allow his insides to become intimately acquainted with Mr.Stabby.

Keep an eye out for other dogs, it is unlikely that he is alone.

If violence is what results, lick blood off blade. Having foreign contaminants and toxins enter your body has worked well so far, why stop now.

Use guile and wit to trick the dog. Then brake Trixie and turn her into your slave.

You look at the Diamond Dog... the Diamond Dog looks at you... You blink and lose the impromptu staring contest. The Diamond Dog narrows his eyes and growls low... You slowly contort your visage into a nervous grin, sweat forming on your brow.

"Ummmm... hi?" You say. Which seems to successfully break the awkward silence and clear the way for unbridled rage.

"GRRRAAAAHHH!!!" Shouted the Diamond Dog, releasing Trixie from his grip and whirling to face you. The choking showmare crumbled to the ground, wheezing and gasping for breath, the back of her white mane stained red, her eyes half-lidded and tears pouring down her cheeks, streaking the fur.

The Diamond Dog bared his teeth as he glared at you, eyes narrowed in rage, paws curling into fists at his sides as he barked out in anger!

"STINKY PONY WAS TRYING TO SNEAK UP ON US!!!" It shouted, paws shaking at it's sides with the pure level of it's aggravation.

Yes.

"No!" You shout out as the Diamond Dog growls in front of you and looks at you with bloody murder in his eyes. Okay okay okay, you've got to think! Come on, intelligent excuse!

"I was just, uh, taking a walk!"

... Really?

"PONY HAS WEAPON!!!" Shouts the Diamond Dog, pointing his left paw angrily and accusingly towards your Obsidian Blade. Well gee, this old thing, I forgot it was even on my OF COURSE HE WAS GOING TO NOTICE THAT!!! Shame on you! A foal could've thought of a better excuse! Quite a few of the ones that threw rocks or rotten fruit at you did, in fact, when their mommies and daddies came around the corner. Skilled little liars those brats... Anyways, back to your life or death situation. Plan B! Let's see if this Dog will be open to negotiation!

"Uh well yes I do, safety in the Everfree, you know how it is!" You speak grinning an entirely false smile, starting to back away as the growling Dog starts to step forward.

"And, uh, I happened to notice you and that pony weren't getting along, so I decided to see what was going on!" You proclaim, still lying your flank off, still backing up as the dog emits a low growl.

"And I noticed that you seem to be interested in her gem! So, uh, why don't you just take that and go away and-"

"ENOUGH!" The dog's roar interrupts your desperate attempt at speech, and your eyes widen as you look into his rage-filled orbs.

"Stupid pony hurt dog! Stinky pony tried to hurt dog! Dog will rip them both apart! YAAARRRGGGHH!!!" He shouted, before hitting the dirt with his paws, lowering down to all fours, and sprinting straight at you.

Moments pass like hours. You start to try to run backwards but a job that would have been difficult with four unoccupied hooves is impossible with three. You fall onto your flank in a dirt patch, staring wide-eyed with sweat on your brow as the Diamond Dog barrels towards you. It's eyes are narrowed with blind rage and it's mouth is open, tongue flopping out and muzzle full of glistening sharp teeth, catching light from the afternoon sun. You breathe fast, sweat breaking out across your coat, and you suddenly wince as your stomach cramps up.

"AGH!" You say, a burning pain flaring up in your stomach at THE WORST POSSIBLE TIME!!! You bend forward with your right foreleg crossing over your stomach, biting your bottom lip, still very much aware that there is a rabid angry killer dog hurtling at you. Your blood pounds in your ears as your body demands movement that is not going to come, and your stomach sends streaking pain through your form because you don't even know the buck why. You squeeze your eyes shut, moisture starting to squeeze out of your eyes partly because of the pain and partly because you're about to die. You blindly throw your left hoof up forward in a wide arch, clumsily trying to keep your impending death at bay as your back muscles start to spasm and twitch from the pain, rods going erect as your hoof flies a bit too far up, and crystal hits metal and-

You ever rub crystal and rock together? What about crystal and metal? That is a sound like hooves on a chalkboard. If a pony hates that high pitch noise, what'll it do to a dog? You've got a crystal sword and a pair of big shiny metal rods in your back, those keen senses that Diamond Dogs possess might just prove to your advantage. If negotiations fail, lets try alittle sonic persuasion.

CLLLLAAAAANNNNNNGGGGGG!!!!

The sound echoes throughout the clearing. Loud and vibrant, spreading out in a sonic wave from your back. Your ears ring, your head buzzes, and as quickly as it came the pain in your stomach seems to be subsiding. But all of that takes secondary status in your brain as you hear a-

"EEEYYYYAAA!!!" Coming from inches away from you. You raise your head slowly, opening your eyes and blinking away the moisture. The Diamond Dog is crouching in the dirt, paws over his ears, eyes squeezed shut, whimpering from the loud sound... The sound... THE SOUND!!!

You practically jump to your hooves as the realization hits you. Of course! Loud! Dogs have great hearing, sensitive hearing! Hahahaha! You're going to live through this! Because you've got a damn tuning fork on your back! You feel a tingling sensation in your front-left hoof and in your back for a moment upon this realization but are far too elated to care. You grin as you look down to the recovering Diamond Dog as he opens his eyes, still narrowed in a glare. He starts to growl again and lowers his paws to the ground to push himself back up. With an almost gleeful look in your eyes you strike your blade back against the rods once more.

CLLLLAAAAANNNNNNGGGGGG!!!!

You're not gonna lie. That shit hurts. It feels as though the rods are vibrating into your back. Definitely a new kind of muscle soreness. Also you might have gone deaf. You're fairly certain that was loud because you can't hear a bucking thing. But you can see. Specifically you can see the Diamond Dog rolling in the dirt, clutching his head, paws over his ears, mouth open like he's screaming. As you fight to keep your legs steady, disoriented from the sonic backlash, and your hearing slowly starts to clear up, you realize that that's exactly what he's doing.

You keep on grinning, a triumphant gleam in your eyes as he stops rolling around and groans, getting to his knees in the dirt, paws still clutched over his ears. You think you can see red dribbling down from them, down his coat on either side of his head, streaking his white and black fur. He opens his eyes and looks up at you, whimpering as tears start to roll down his cheeks. With a gleam in your eye, you slowly raise your blade back up in preparation for another strike. The Dog's eyes go wide.

"N-no! No stinky pony please!" Shouted the Dog, raising his front-right paw up towards you, shaking it in a pleading gesture. You can't help but note, with some satisfaction, that the palm of his right paw is stained red.

"STOP CALLING ME STINKY PONY!!!" You shout, causing the Diamond Dog to flinch as he whimpers further, lowering himself and bringing both paws up stretched out towards you, palms out, both covered in crimson from his ears.

"R-right! Not stinky pony! Powerful pony! Great pony! Important pony!" He speaks, excitedly, pleading like a little... well, bitch. You can't help but widen your grin.

"That's better!" You speak superiorly, before affecting a scowl upon your features, and raising your voice in an angry tone.

"Now you! Dog! You've ruined my walk! Ruined my mood! And made slanderous accusations against my person!" Stretching it a little thin there but you're in the zone.

"What do you have to say for yourself!? Why shouldn't I just make the noise again!?" You ask, loudly, as the Dog's eyes go wide and he quickly shakes his paws, waving them back and forth as though to ward off your decision.

"N-no! Please! Dog is sorry! Dog will make it up to pony! Dog will do anything!" Shouted the Diamond Dog, causing you to raise your right eyebrow.

"Anything?"

"Oh yes anything great pony! Anything! Just no more noises!" He spoke, rapidly nodding his head and prostrating himself, arms down on the dirt.

You take the opportunity to think on this generous offer... Anything in the dog's power... You could take his gems! Or his jacket! Maybe his never-ending loyalty! Or-

"Your collar." ... Sometimes you're not entirely sure how your own mind works.

"W-what?" Asked the Diamond Dog, lifting it's gaze to you as you look down towards it with a grin.

"Give me your collar dog! And be quick about it!" You shout, and the Dog whimpers gently once more, bringing his paws up to his neck and loosening the collar, unfastening it, and pulling it off. He stops and looks at it for a moment, ears pressed flat against his head, gazing at the diamonds embedded in it... And then he throws it down at your hooves, falling prostrate in the dirt again.

"There! Now please! No more noises!" He shouts, putting his paws back over his ears as he whines... and you smirk with satisfaction.

"Very good dog. Now go! Back down your hole! And don't let me catch you up here again!" You speak, pointing your blade over towards the dug up hole in the dirt patch.

The Diamond Dog looks over to the hole, then looks back to you. He whimpers pitifully once more, before scrambling over to the hole and ducking down inside of it, scrambling deep into the dark, whining all the way... You wait until you can no longer hear the pathetic noises, before you look down to the collar thrown at your hooves. You reach down with your front-right hoof and pick up the black diamond-studded neck-wear, examining it closely.

It's a dusty thing, covered with dirt and worn at several places from extended contact with a rough environment, almost certainly the tunnels dug by the Diamond Dog. Very expensive for being so carelessly kept. The diamonds look in pretty good condition though. Like they were given special attention even. Extravagance placed on a crude collar like this, seems kind of off-putting, but at the same time has a certain appeal... Like Trixie's gem is needlessly extravagant for a relatively flimsy and gaudy cape, but seems to pull it together well enough... Hmmmm... Maybe THAT'S why you decided on the collar... You want to see what Trixie looks like in it. Get back at her for the way she treated you by making her your bitch? Make her follow you around like a doggie? Now there's an idea...

"Hey Trixie, I've got a present fo-" You start to say as you turn to look at Trixie. And then you stop short.

She's sitting back against the tree. Her entire body is shaking. Red stains her mane near the back of her head, and some blood has trickled down her fur at the front of her face, to the side of her nose and down her cheek just to the right of her mouth, before running down to her chin and dripping slowly onto her right hind-leg. The red trickle on her face looks like it's coming from the base of her horn, purple swelling all around and a red gash near the bottom. Her hindlegs are pulled up to her chest and her forelegs are wrapped around them. Tears are rolling down from her eyes, staining her cheeks and mixing in with the blood at the right. Her eyes themselves are shimmering, wide, and staring forward without focusing... ... If you wanted to see Trixie broken... Then it seems that you've gotten your wish.

As much as you wanted to put Trixie into her place, and fantasized about beating her admittedly sexy behind with a stick, looking at her right now... It's... well... Not what you had in mind. You lick your lips, and clear your throat, before hazarding actual words.

"Ummm... Trixie?" You speak, slowly, looking to the mare as her bottom lip starts to tremble. And then, before your eyes, the Great and Powerful Trixie breaks down.

"WAAAAAAHHHHAAAAHHHHAAAAA!!!!" Comes the sob as she buries her face into her forelegs, her hat left lying the dirt, hoarse sobbing cries leaving her throat as she keeps her face buried in her forelegs. Tears gush from her like a fountain, and you're left standing there, blade jutting from your left hoof, tip in the ground to keep you balanced, and collar hanging around your right hoof. Calling this awkward might be a bit of an understatement.

"Ummm..." You repeat tactfully, trying to think of something to say... When you hear a noise nearby.

You furrow your brows and twitch your ears. Was... was that? You turn your head to the left as bushes start to rustle, and another sound comes louder this time, but just as familiar as the first.

And upon that note an extremely familiar figure bursts out of the foliage and into the clearing, breathing heavily. Zecora stands there, hooves spread and tail flicking, body lowered slightly as in a charge, her entire form prepped and ready for action. She's wearing a very unique set of saddlebags, one that you haven't seen before. They're kind of basket-like, made out of some kind of red material, with green circlets around them right below the curved tops. They're held by a black strap stretching across her back. Also across her back, tied with what looks like a small loop of black to the strap, is a long stick, bamboo you think from some pictures you once saw as a foal.

Zecora's appearance brings about mixed emotions in your being. Relief and joy are among them. But also is fear. When you left her hut it was in a sorry state. You stole her cloak, and her map, destroyed a book, and damaged her table. You can talk about that though. What might be a bit harder to talk about to the sweating zebra, as her eyes dart to Trixie, and then back to you, is why there is a crying mare against a tree, bleeding, with you standing here, coat matted with blood, a kind of mystical looking blade jutting from your left hoof and a collar hanging around your right hoof. THAT is her first sight upon entering the clearing, and as her eyes widen you feel that she may indeed be making some inferences from it. So the first thing that you greet Zecora with is not a friendly hello, or a passionate cry for aid, but rather a very simple phrase that sums up your feelings quite succinctly.

"Well... ... buck."

MUTATION ADVANCEMENT: Obsidian Blade: Final Lullaby The Obsidian Blade has altered it's crystal form in such a manner that the crystal now vibrates when struck, without sacrificing hardness or puncture ability. To do this the Obsidian Blade has grown about an inch in length. The result of this vibration is that sound similar to musical notes sound when the Obsidian Blade is struck against an object, different objects resulting in different sounds, and the force difference causing an effect as well. As a result of this Legacy Advancement, the Host now has a blue streak, going through his mane

MUTATION ADVANCEMENT: Lightning Rods: Tuning Forks The Lightning Rods have altered themselves to amplify impacting noise. From a powerful gust of wind to a physical object striking them, the rods will now vibrate with the energy and transfer it into sound, at a highly amplified volume to whatever struck it. They have slightly widened to accommodate this change.

Author's Notes:

I love seeing what you all come up with. So many times it's not what I think it will be. And often it's very well thought out, and then you all start discussing it, and frankly that just fills me with warm snuggly feelings inside. Thank you for that it is very much appreciated.

Also, while it would probably be more in spirit with the Tumblr accounts that inspired this fanfic, I'm probably not going to go to direct voices in the head. The reason for this is that it's just plain harder to work with. While the conversations would probably be entertaining, it would limit my story options. Having the interaction with the Star of Woe be an influence instead of a voice just lets me do more.

And as for this chapter... ... ... I stayed up way too late to finish it and am dead tired and may very well have made mistakes. I hope that I didn't, however please be forgiving.

And finally, because apparently I like to push my luck when it comes to social interaction, here's a pony RAP battle that I think was rather well done, and I listen to it sometimes when I'm writing for Zecora.

Zecora Versus Iron Will